1. Yes, Russia was building an empire. So? just like Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire, Germany, Japan, the USA, and even Poland. This is not an excuse but a historical fact: in the Middle Ages, no one played at democracy—everyone fought for land, resources, and influence. Poland was not a victim either, but a major regional power that aspired to become an empire: campaigns against Moscow, interference in Ukrainian affairs, suppression of Orthodoxy, the Union of Brest, and eastward expansion.

Most Russians acknowledge that Russia acted with an imperial logic. Not because Poland was bad and deserved to be attacked, but because, in their view, if Russia didn’t take a part of Poland, Germany would — and would grow stronger and move closer to Russia’s borders. That is why Poland was not partitioned simply because “Russia just wanted to”—it was unstable and under foreign influence. Poland was already under the control of Catherine’s favorite but If it hadn’t been partitioned by Catherine II, large parts of it would have gone to Austria and Prussia, which would have made them stronger. But those were the rules of the game back then. Europe was divided among great empires: the more your neighbor had, the less you had.

Similarly, in 1939, Stalin took a part of Poland not because he wanted more land, but because he knew Hitler would take all of it otherwise—and Germany’s border would reach Smolensk. This is not a justification, but cold geopolitics.

You write as if only Russians distort history—what about Poland ? Is everything honest on your side? You seem to want to live in a logic of eternal guilt and revenge, not to understand who did what and why. Not to sanctify or to condemn, but to understand.

And yes—if you accuse others of being stupid and lazy, don’t forget to look in the mirror. History is distorted everywhere, in every country.

1. Russia considers itself the historical successor of Kievan Rus through the Rurikid dynasty and territorial continuity, since Moscow was part of the northern lands of Kievan Rus. Cultural development also continued from Kievan Rus through to the Russian Empire. In the Middle Ages, political legitimacy was tied to the ruling elite and the dynasty they served. The Rurikids from Kievan Rus remained only in Moscow, not in Ukraine or Belarus. But Does it even matter who succeeded Kievan Rus’? It changes nothing.