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[U]Wick, your post was deleted, but I read it.

Hmm... it really was deleted... was there any profanity in it? It seemed like a calm and reasoned discussion. Well, maybe some kind of swear word slipped in... I don't know, anyway :)

There were a lot of paragraphs again and very little specifics; I'm talking about Foma, and you're talking about Yerema.

The whole point is in this Yerema. That's what I'm trying to convey.

Foma is basically saying: "I'm Ukrainian, my neighbors don't like me because I'm Ukrainian, and if I give in to them in any way, they will pressure and oppress me because I'm Ukrainian."

And Yerema says that your neighbors to the east don't divide people based on their national identity, but based on their cultural pattern. And this pattern is Russian for you, so interaction with you is built as with a Russian. There are such terms as "Russian Jew," "Russian Georgian," "Russian Estonian," etc., and "Russian Ukrainian," although it is rarely used, means approximately the same thing.

In my opinion, the Belarusian approach is the right one for national policy: yes, there is a Belarusian language, Belarusian culture, and other national attributes, but they do not conflict with the Russian cultural pattern, so there is no national problem there. Just as there are no attempts at territorial absorption, seizing businesses, and everything else that Ukrainians are frightened with.