Stableford, Dylan.
"Ukraine or The Ukraine? Leaders, media put it both ways." Yahoo News. (March 5, 2014): n.
page. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-vs-the-ukraine-164351828.html.
This article is about whether Ukraine deserves to be called Ukraine or should be called The Ukraine. Ukraine was given the name 'The Ukraine' during the soviet union because that is how the Russians would refer to them. The people of Ukraine are currently fighting for freedom, democracy, and not be governed by a tyrant who puts their political opposition in jail. Russian president Vladmir Putin refered to Ukraine as The Ukraine while condemning "neo-Nazis, Nazis and anti-Semites in some part of The Ukraine including Kiev." To foreigners outside the Ukraine it may seem like something only linguistics care about but to Ukraine it is such a big deal. When they hear The Ukraine they fume because it denies their independence, and denies their sovereignty.
I read an article saying almost the opposite of what you are saying here-that Ukranians were upset over the fact that Ukraine isn't called The Ukraine. The article stated that by simply calling it Ukraine diminishes the significance of the country.
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