BLACK EARTH/чорнозем

AN INSTALLATION BY MICHAEL BOSS

Introduction

Each component of this exhibition stems from the notion of land ownership and, by extension, the right to defend territory against interlopers. “Land ownership” is a slippery notion but is most often tied to indigeneity; that is, to the notion that a group of people were the first to settle on a certain territory and therefore have the earliest claim to the land and its resources. 

Ukrainians and Russians stem from different roots even though both Slavic languages demonstrate some overlapping elements. The notion the Ukrainian lands are Russian lands is a myth perpetuated by Russian imperialist invaders who have, at various times in history, overrun some areas of Ukraine by force. Most recently, this creeping invasion began on a smaller scale in 2014, after the Maidan Protests led to the overthrow of the Russian proxy president, Viktor Yanukovych. 

From 1991, with the dissolution of the USSR, until 2014, Ukraine’s territorial boundaries were the same as they were under the Soviet Union. This territory included Donbas, Luhansk, Crimea and other eastern territories that were invaded and occupied by Russian proxies in 2014. These territories were recognized and acknowledged, even during the Soviet era, as Ukrainian. Once Russian backed President Viktor Yanukovych, was chased out of Ukraine, Putin decided to exert military force to compel Ukrainians to return to the Russian yoke. Anonymous Russian militias (they hid any identifying insignia) launched attacks on the local Ukrainian speaking population, forcing them out of their homes and villages and replacing them with Russians and Russian sympathizers. These battles and skirmishes continued throughout the years until Putin launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

It is also important to remember the various aspects of the betrayal of Ukraine throughout the years. One of the most significant of these was the Budapest Memorandum of 1994. Under this international agreement, Ukraine surrendered its stock of nuclear weapons. This was agreed to in exchange for the promise that Ukraine’s borders would be respected. There would be no threat or use of force against Ukraine, no economic coercion placed upon them, and the United Nations promised to help them if they were attacked. At the time of the agreement, Ukraine had the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world. The guarantors of this agreement are the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France and China. 

Although the United Kingdom and France have been moderately supportive lately, the USA, Russia and China have repeatedly broken their promises and have, due to self-interest, betrayed Ukrainians in their time of greatest need.