He accused a colleague of trying to “kidnap the youngest daughter of Prince Yaroslav the Wise into Russian history,” and his administration told about her truly Ukrainian roots. The Institute of National Memory convicted Putin of stealing history itself, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs even stated that Pushkin should then be considered a Ukrainian. The heated debate over the genealogy of Henry I's wife has not subsided to this day: some insist on renaming the Queen of France to Hanna, others remind of the common roots of the Slavic peoples. Why Ukrainian politicians over and over again try to “re-stubbornly” historical facts and whether they will find another way to exalt the state - I figured it out.

Princely trick

During his French visit, Putin thanked President Emmanuel Macron for his impressions of Versailles, where he had never been before, and recalled that ties between the two countries have existed for a very long time: “The history of Russian-French relations did not begin with the trip of Tsar Peter to France. It has much deeper roots. The educated French public knows about the Russian Anna, the Queen of France,” he said. The head of state had in mind the youngest daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Anna Yaroslavna, who became the wife of King Henry I of France and the ancestor of two monarchical dynasties - the Bourbons and the Valois, one of which still rules in Spain.

For the Russians, this statement by the president was only an excuse to deepen their knowledge of history. But in Ukraine, Putin's words about the "Russian Anna" caused a stir. The media were the first to react. They were full of materials that the statement of the Russian leader contradicts the accepted in the country
interpretation of history, according to which all ancient Russian princes have long been considered Ukrainians. “Russian President Vladimir Putin called Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv “our beloved prince” and his daughter Anna Yaroslavna “Russian Anna,” wrote Ukrainian publications.

It is noteworthy that in the comments to such news there were directly opposite opinions. “Shame on Putin for not reading Ukrainian history books! Yaroslav the Wise was from the ancient Ukrainian family of Mudrenko,” some netizens joked. “And how will Yaroslav the Wise be in Ukrainian? Something like Valtsman Dotepny? ”- ironically others.

Stop the thief!

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials were not laughing. During the day they collected their thoughts and on May 30 launched a massive attack on Putin's quote. Before others spoke in the administration of the Ukrainian president. Deputy head of the Presidential Administration Dmitry Shimkiv on his page on the social network that Anna is from Kyiv. "My dear French friends, Russian President Putin tried to mislead you - Anna Kyiv, Queen of France, from Kyiv, not from Moscow (Moscow did not even exist at that time)," the official wrote. In support of his words, he published an image of the sign of the father of the princess, Yaroslav the Wise, in the form of a trident. “Do you need more proof of the origin of Anna of Kyiv?” - triumphantly concluded Shimkiv.

Next, the head of state also presented his claims to Anna. Poroshenko did not begin to speak out and bluntly attributed to Putin an attempt to "kidnap" the princess. He stated that Ukraine has historically been part of Europe. “And, by the way, since the time of the ancient Ukrainian prince Yaroslav the Wise and his daughter, Anna Yaroslavna from Kiev, whom just yesterday Putin tried to kidnap into Russian history before the eyes of all Europe,” points on i the leader of Ukraine.

Vladimir Vyatrovich, director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, accused the Russian president of the theft. True, he went further and declared that the head of Russia illegally took possession of the whole history. “History is capital that is earned, developed, invested or stolen. It is the latter that Putin is engaged in, continuing the tradition of appropriating someone else's past, which is familiar to the Russian imperialists, ”the official said.

And she was not slow to follow. By the way, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry gave the most non-trivial comment about the nationality of the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise. He stated that after Russia's attempt to "appropriate" Princess Anna Yaroslavna, he would make the great Russian poet Ukrainian. “I will consider Pushkin a Ukrainian. After all, the Ukrainian Odessa and Crimea have repeatedly inspired his creative genius, - knowledge of Russian literature, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

look back

But representatives of the Ukrainian political beau monde do not shine with knowledge of history. Otherwise, they should have understood that Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, nicknamed the Wise, ruled in Kyiv from 1016 to 1054, and before his accession to the Kyiv throne, he reigned in Rostov and Novgorod, which you definitely cannot call Ukraine.

The first mention of the "state of the Rus" in Western sources appeared in the middle of the 9th century. A hundred years later, the ethnic name "Rus" becomes common for the lands under the rule of the Kyiv prince. Gradually, the whole country began to be called Rus, and since princely power united the territories, Kyiv became the capital.

At the same time, the term "Kievan Rus" did not exist until the 19th century. One of the first of his historian Mikhail Maksimovich in the work of 1837 "Where did the Russian land come from." The term was used as one of the definitions of the territory of the Kyiv principality. So, for example, the territory Suzdal Principality called "Suzdal Rus". Only years later, the stage of development of Russian statehood began to be called Kievan Rus.

By the way, the Kyiv trident crowning the Ukrainian coat of arms did not appear in the current capital of Ukraine, but in ancient Novgorod: it was introduced as a counterweight to the bident of Yaropolk's elder brother, Prince Vladimir the Holy.

Cherche la femme

As historians note, Yaroslav the Wise led an active international policy and sought to expand ties, including through dynastic marriages. Therefore, his daughter Anastasia Yaroslavna became the wife of King Andras I of Hungary. He married his other daughter, Elizabeth Yaroslavna, to King Harald III Sigurdarson of Norway.

The younger, Anna Yaroslavna, the father first tried to marry the Roman Emperor Henry III, but this party failed, and the Kyiv prince married her to the King of France Henry I. The marriage took place in May 1051. In 1052, Anna gave birth to her husband's heir, the future King Philip I, then gave birth to three more children, the youngest of whom would become the leader of the first crusade.

The life of Anna Yaroslavna in France was not easy. After the death of her husband, she remarried, but this marriage was met with disapproval by the French court and church. Anna had no influence on Philip I and last years life at court was called "the mother of the king", and not a royal title. Nevertheless, the descendants of Anna Yaroslavna ruled France for centuries and even occupied the English throne for some time.

In French sources, there are references to the fact that Anna arrived from the "land of the Rus". In historical documents, the queen is called Anna or Agnes of Russia, sometimes Anna of Kyiv. However, she was never called Anna of Ukraine - it was simply impossible, since the geographical concept of "Ukraine" took shape only in the 18th century.

Everybody is dancing

The absurdity of the statements of Ukrainian politicians was pointed out by the academician of the National Ukraine, director of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Petro Tolochko. He did not see any contradictions in the words of the Russian president about Anna Yaroslavna. “By ethnicity and nationality, Princess Anna Yaroslavna was Russian, Putin correctly said. And at the place of residence she was Kyiv. I see no reason for our politicians to be indignant,” Tolochko emphasized and added that the statement of the head of Russia sounded absolutely correct. “There was a state of Rus, a Russian land, the princes were all Russian, their children were also Russian, and nothing offensive was said for Ukraine,” he noted.

The desire of Kyiv to “fasten” any achievements of mankind to Ukraine Academician called "childhood disease". “All that is best in the world is all ours,” the historian joked. “It seems to me that this is such a disease of a young state.” Tolochko clarified that Ukraine wants to position itself by "twisting" history. “But this is all from ignorance,” he concluded.

Russian princess and queen of France. "The enlightened French public knows about the Russian Anna - the Queen of France. The youngest daughter of our Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise was the wife of Henry I and made a significant contribution to the development of France, being one of the founders of at least two European dynasties - the Bourbons and the Valois - one of which still rules in Spain," the Russian president said.

Poroshenko immediately got excited: this is "Ukrainophobia". Although, as you know, we are talking about the events of the XI century, when not only Ukraine or Ukrainians - even the words themselves were not, as they say, even in the project. But now Anna Yaroslavna, like her father Yaroslav the Wise, should sharply become "Ukrainians". By the will of Poroshenko. Let them come out and line up under the yellow-blue ensign.

"The Kremlin, smitten with chronic Ukrainophobia, did us harm at every step. It used all available resources: money, propaganda, lies, intrigues, intelligence structures and influence groups. By the way, since the time of the ancient Ukrainian prince Yaroslav the Wise and his daughter Anna Yaroslavna, who was from Kiev, who Putin tried to steal into Russian history in front of the eyes of all Europe," Poroshenko said.

Why kidnap if Anna Yaroslavna remains the same as she was there? Some stupidity. They are Rurikovich. And modern Ukrainian history comes from a different root, from Bandera. Bandera we do not need. Let him be historically caressed by Poroshenko and his nationalists, comrades-in-arms in the coup. We remain in respect for the already unchanged historical constants of the ancient Russian state with its capital first in Novgorod, then in Kyiv. Then it was called Kievan Rus.

From Kyiv, too, no one refuses. Just Ukraine as a term with the designation of a specific land appeared at least 600 years after Yaroslav the Wise and his daughter Anna, who was married to King Henry the First of France. She was also called so in France for centuries - Anna Russian.

Viktor Yushchenko tried to "Ukrainize" Anna Yaroslavna. After the "orange revolution" in July 2005, Kyiv presented France as a gift - a monument to Anna Yaroslavna, the work of modern Ukrainian masters. On the pedestal is a persistent inscription, which, according to the plan of the Ukrainian revolutionaries, should be translated from French as "Anna of Kyiv - Queen of France."

The wave of sympathy for the Orange Revolution was so strong even then that the French swallowed everything, including two grammatical errors in French. And it turned out funny. The Ukrainians "put" two grammatical errors into the short inscription at once. The feminine singular definite articles la are not needed in both cases. Maybe from excessive diligence they put it, but they are definitely superfluous.

So now stands in the town of Senlis near Paris, a certain Anna of Kyiv - like a strange monument to the Queen of France and the ignorance of the Maydanuts.

I will start with a quote from the first person representing the state that was formed after the 2014 coup on the site of the disintegrated Ukraine. I emphasize in red pencil: this was said by the President of Ukraine, an official whose words are backed up by the laws and armed forces of an entire European state that is larger than France.

“Historically, we were part of it (Europe - approx. FAN), and, by the way, since the time of the ancient Ukrainian prince Yaroslav the Wise and his daughters are from Kiev Anna Yaroslavna, which literally yesterday Putin tried to steal into Russian history in front of the eyes of all Europe,” he said. Petro Poroshenko.

This happened during a joint press conference of the presidents of Russia and France. Everyone is discussing this event and this quote today, so I will quote it without taking anything out of context.

“The history of Russian-French relations has deep roots. The enlightened French public knows about the Russian Anna, Queen of France. The youngest daughter of our Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise was the wife of Henry the First and made a significant contribution to the development of France, being one of the founders of at least two European dynasties: the Bourbons and the Valois, one of which still rules in Spain,” said Vladimir Putin.

There is not a word of historical lies in this phrase. Strictly speaking, this is a protocol phrase of diplomatic etiquette. So it is customary during interstate meetings at the highest level: to mention those historical events, which are common in the histories of the countries whose leaders met.

From the point of view of historical truth, everything here is also the way historians of all countries have agreed to consider. Scientists, not laymen. It is believed that Anna was the daughter of Prince Yaroslav of Kyiv, that she was married to King Henry I of France, that she was the mother of the king Philip I and Hugo the Great. Thus Anna is the ancestor of the Bourbons and the Valois.

It is believed that Anna was Russian. But not in the modern sense, but in the understanding of Russia as Ruthenia. This is how our country was called almost a thousand years ago. No one has ever questioned this scientifically. No one has ever scientifically substantiated something to the contrary. No one has ever considered and does not consider ancient Rus to be Ukraine. Before Petro Poroshenko and his pan-headed gang.

I would never have thought they were serious. All these Internet stuffing of network trolls. There are many pearls.

There are "scientific". “When Ukraine was baptized, frogs were still croaking in the place of Moscow.” "Muscovites erected a monument to the Ukrainian prince Vladimir in Moscow." "Moscow stole the name Rus". "The name Russia was invented by Peter I."

There are popular ones. "Moscow is the Horde". Moscow was founded by the prince of Kyiv. "Kievan Rus - tse Ukraine".

There are many bright stars in the "cotton" network segment. But there, rather, in a hooligan way, they snap at more and more stuffing of the Ukrainian side. A similar phenomenon during war and unrest can be considered typical, although not normal.

However, much more conservative, cultured and educated societies were also subject to bouts of mass hatred and xenophobia. For example, the most respected, traditional and respectable monarchy in the world, the British, during the First World War, due to the fact that the country is at war with Germany, took an unprecedented step for the august families, which runs counter to all European traditions and even common sense. Changed the name of the royal house. In 1917, when the war was already coming to an end, King George V of Great Britain announced the decision of the dynasty: to change the surname from German to "national". From Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. Such a dynasty, such a surname, has never been in European genealogical books. It was adopted from the name of the castle-residence of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty, ruling in Great Britain.

From the point of view of European traditions, it was nonsense, sacrilege, ignorance and obscurantism. Nevertheless, such a political, completely political decision was made, and despite the fact that the wars between England and Germany are long in the past, the dynasty is still called Windsor.

A hundred years ago (it happened a hundred years ago) a lot of senseless and stupid things were done because of war and mutual hatred. Mozart was banned in France. In Russia - Wagner. St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. And sadly, prophetically, a contemporary poet wrote: “By allowing Petersburg to be renamed Petrograd, Russia and our entire society took the first step towards Leningrad.”

Ukraine, having taken the first step in 1991 towards a split and separation from Russia and Belarus, then split into Russians and Ukrainians, into pro-Russian and pro-Bandera ones. This second step inevitably led to civil war, to the collapse of Ukraine and that period of the history of this region, which is known as the "Ruin".

Now is the time to expose this trick. It's time - even though it means to drag yourself into a dogmatic argument with schizophrenics, to descend to their field, where they play the undress fool.

So I suggest not to go down. I propose not to argue with their heroin arguments and moonshine logic. Because going on the path of disintegration, split, theft of the Ukrainian people from the family of Slavic peoples and inscribing it, like Martin Borula, in a completely strange family - this is a crime and a crime. The instigators and their accomplices will certainly suffer severe punishment. First of all, before the court of history. But they will have to answer with their mortal flesh in this world. Well, if it will be a field tribunal. But I cannot promise it.

So, Anna Yaroslavna, Russian queen of France. Why Poroshenko believes that Putin stole it? He thinks so, because his cultural myth is a completely invented fantasy world of the Ukrainian intelligentsia of the 19th century. The second half of it. Then the European countries, under the pressure of the demographic processes caused by the revolutions, turned from a community of monarchical families into nation-states. Now the fate of their countries was thought not only by literate elites who have leisure for reflection, but also by the broadest masses. educated people. It was at that time that the national apologies of all countries were born. Canons, heroes and cultural myth were invented. And the “Ukrainian” cultural myth was invented by the Russian intelligentsia of Austria-Hungary, where the Rusyns (as the future Ukrainians were called in the “patchwork empire”) were deprived of the rights that the Little Russians of Russia had.

They were outcasts and came up with their own myth. But initially he suffered from a serious flaw. He could not explain the connection between Ukraine and ancient Russia. Because the period of Russia and the princes was completely different from the period of the Zaporozhian Sich, the Cossacks, the Cossack revolution of 1648, and everything else that Ukrainian mythology traditionally appeals to. He did not explain this myth and why Ukraine is not Russia. Nevertheless, the Kyiv princes ruled in Kyiv, and in Novgorod, and in Vladimir. And how could a prince of Kyiv found Moscow if he was not only a prince of Kyiv, but also a prince of Rostov, Suzdal and Vladimir. By the way, he was not in Kyiv for long. In Kyiv, the “Ukrainian founder of Moscow” was hated, considered a usurper and a stranger, he was poisoned there, and his palace was plundered. Somehow these facts do not fit with the “Ukrainianness” of the founder of Moscow, where “toads croaked” when “Ukraine was baptized”.

But let's go back to the times a hundred years earlier than the founder of Moscow. Those that the Ukrainian Poroshenko considers "ancient Ukrainian". So, what does science (science, not Poroshenko) know about Anna Yaroslavna? Almost nothing. Just what she was. All the news about her is semi-legendary, unreliable and very contradictory.

They are based not on Russian, but on Western European references. There she is even called differently: Anna, and Agna, and Agnes. The chronicles do not tell us about any "Ukraine" or "Ukrainian princess". For there was then no "Ukraine" and no "Ukrainians". But the princess is called "the daughter of the king of Ruthenia." We now understand this word as Russia or (voila!) - Russia.

Anna's father and mother, according to chronicles and annals, were not Ukrainians. Father is Russian. Mother is a curmudgeon. Then there was no concept of nationality, and the monarch was not identified with the people of the country. They were not interested in nationality, but only in whose son and whose king. Yaroslav, king of Ruthenia.

And yes, nationality. Both Anna's father and mother were not of Slavic, but of Scandinavian origin. One of the branches of these Scandinavian Viking tribes were called "Rus". Yaroslav the Wise is definitely not a "Ukrainian". His name is not even Yaroslav, but Yaritsleif. Even though he is not “Russian” in the modern sense, he was “Russian”. Metis son Waldemar and Ragnhild's mittens. Anna's mother is Swedish. Daughter of the first king of the Swedes Olof Shetkonunga.

So here you have the whole nationality of the princess, neither about the year of birth, nor about childhood-youth, nor even about the place of birth of which we know nothing. We do not know if Anna was from Kiev. We do not know whether this whole story is true that the king of France really wooed the daughter of the Kyiv kagan, who was far from him. Why did he need it? Usually they wooed those whose dad could help in the war or whose land could be inherited. And Henry I fought wars all his life. He needed help. But Yaroslav could not provide it. Moreover, he could not leave distant Kyiv as a legacy to Heinrich, and even more so Novgorod and that swamp (on the site of the future Moscow), where frogs croaked.

And by the way, Henry I is the least known king in French history. Little is known about him. He didn't even have a nickname from his contemporaries. What is, gave the descendants, and even then past. Heinrich was not a "Conqueror". He had the smallest royal domain in the history of France.

The fact that Henry I was made happy with his Russian wife is also a problem. According to the chronicles, Anna was not faithful to her husband. She did not love her husband. Her husband did not love her. Anna was a mistress Raoul de Crepy, Count of Valois. But it was a vicious connection. De Crepy was married. In order to live with Anna, he faked her kidnapping and kicked out his lawful wife on a false charge of adultery. For this he was excommunicated from the church. However, the Pope could not punish the count, and the next pontiff recognized the marriage of Raul and Anna as legal. Anna was deprived of the title of queen for this, she was not made regent. But these are just beautiful and romantic stories of "Gothic", knightly Europe. Because these novels have absolutely no other confirmations than the chronicles, like the very existence of Anna Yaroslavna, Queen of France.

Anna's signature, a copy of which I received as a gift Nicholas II(Anna rina) - fake. Anna's grave is fake. Anna's letter is fake. The Reims Gospel, on which the French kings swore, has nothing to do with Anna Yaroslavna. She did not bring the Reims Gospel from Kyiv. This book was written in the 14th century. Most likely in Prague. The Glagolitic alphabet, in which half of the Reims Gospel is written, was never used in Russia. And in the days of Anna and Yaroslav the Wise, even the Cyrillic alphabet in Kyiv did not really go. "Yaroslav's Library" - a hypothesis. There is no evidence that she was. There was nowhere to bring Anna a book. There were no books like the Reims Gospel in Russia at that time. Like the full gospel. Right up to the 16th century, the Holy Scriptures in Russia went in the form of a collection of evangelical texts, known as the "Apostle". He published it Ivan Fedorov in Lviv. In a word, the story of Anna Yaroslavna, Queen of France, is more of a legend.

There is only one truth in it. And this is exactly what, due to poor knowledge of history and a small outlook, questioned Poroshenko. Anna Yaroslavna really was. And indeed it was called "Russian" by contemporaries. More precisely, "Russian". And yes, she is indeed the mother of Philip I and the wife of the Count of Valois. She is indeed the ancestor of the Spanish Bourbons and the French dynasty, which ended in the 16th century. But modern politicians can talk about this only during protocol speeches, in the name of diplomatic etiquette. Because Anna is the same ancestor of the Bourbons and Valois as Eve is the foremother of mankind.

But still, you can’t just take it and calm down, looking into the books in order to make sure that it’s not you who are crazy, but Poroshenko and company. The scale of this illiterate dispute is such that one can say that millions of people who believe in the fake history of a country that never existed have gone crazy. In the name of this fake, this invention, a war is being waged, people are killing each other. And the greater the gap between Ukraine and Russia, the greater will be the gap between the united Russian people. There is a risk that if measures are not taken today, then in two generations few young people will understand why the monument to the Ukrainian prince Vladimir stands near the Kremlin. Think about it!

Andrey Zubov

Professor, Head of the Department of History, Novaya Gazeta University

“Ha ha ha… This is just ridiculous. It is clear that at the time of Yaroslav the Wise and his daughter there was neither Russia nor Ukraine, but there was the Old Russian state. It's completely clear!

It is possible to talk about Russia and Ukraine as early as a hundred years after the Mongol invasion. When, in 1362, the Lithuanians drove the Mongols out of the territory of present-day Ukraine and liberated it in this way, the formation of a kind of Western Russian Ukrainian nation began. And before that, it was impossible to talk about it - it was a single community.

Therefore, this is a dispute between two ignoramuses, to put it simply. Yes, Princess Anna belongs to Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus equally.

Painting "Anna of Kyiv - Queen of France".

For the second day already, Kyiv and Moscow have been arguing in absentia about who still owns Princess Anna Yaroslavna, the youngest daughter of Kyiv Prince Yaroslav the Wise.

Vladimir Putin was the first to mention it in his response speech after the speech of French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron called Peter I "a symbol of Russia's openness to Europe." Putin clarified: the relations of the countries began with Anna Yaroslavovna, the daughter of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.

“The enlightened French public knows about the Russian Anna, the Queen of France; the youngest daughter of our Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise was the wife of Henry I and made a significant contribution to the development of France, being one of the founders of at least two European dynasties - the Bourbons and the Valois - one of which still rules in Spain, ”Putin said.

The next day, President Petro Poroshenko responded to this statement in a public address to the Ukrainians. Commenting on the association of the EU with Ukraine as a “return to the family”, the President: Putin “in front of the eyes of all Europe” yesterday tried to steal Anna Kievskaya from Ukrainian history into Russian history (video from 1:16).

If the intonation and grin with which Petro Poroshenko mentioned the episode with Anna Yaroslavna still allowed her to be considered a joke, then after the involvement of the Ukrainian and then the Russian Foreign Ministry, the discussion reached a new level.

In Ukraine, it was hinted that during the reign of Anna of Kyiv, there was still a forest in the place of Moscow.

In the Russian official account, they answered that even before the coronation of Anna Yaroslavna, the Cathedral of St. Sophia was already standing in Veliky Novgorod.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin tweeted that he would then consider Alexander Pushkin a Ukrainian, because many of his works were inspired by the Crimea and Odessa.

Вважатиму Пушкіна українцем.Зрештою,українські Одеса і Крим неодноразово надихали його творчого генія:)

Anna Yaroslavna.

A day earlier, the Russian leader, during a press conference following talks in Paris with the French president, said that Russian-French relations have a long history. For example, he pointed out that the Russian princess Anna was the wife of the French king Henry I and was the queen of France. She was also one of the founders of two European dynasties - the Bourbons and the Valois - one of which still rules in Spain.

In response to this, the next day, Poroshenko, commenting on the decision of the Dutch Senate to support the ratification of the Ukraine - association, said that Ukraine was reunited with the European family, mentioning that Anna was a Ukrainian princess, reports.

“It is reunification, because historically we have been a part of it... By the way, since the time of the ancient Ukrainian prince Yaroslav the Wise and his daughter from Kiev Anna Yaroslavna, whom just yesterday Putin tried to kidnap in front of all of Europe for Russian history,” the Ukrainian leader said.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in turn, said that if Anna is Russian, then Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is Ukrainian, "since Ukrainian Odessa and Crimea have repeatedly inspired his creative genius."

Two days earlier, Poroshenko had said that “appeasement” of Kyiv would lead to even “greater aggression” from outside.

“A new generation of hybrid warfare is gaining momentum. And its consequences extend beyond Ukraine. The Kremlin's tentacles reach the throats of the key centers of Europe and its overseas allies. The Western world must act together and stand together to defend their values ​​and respect for international law... Delays and soothing half-measures are not only ineffective, but also dangerous,” Poroshenko said.

During the meeting on May 29, 2017, Putin and Macron toured the exhibition “Peter the Great. King in France. 1717" at Versailles. Approximately 40 minutes after viewing the exposition, the leaders of the two countries left notes in the book of honored guests.

Putin presented the museum with a copy of the Reims Gospel, the book on which the rulers of France, including Anna Yaroslavna, took the oath.

“When Peter I arrived in France, they gave him this book, he opened it and began to read aloud,” Putin said.

On May 16, 2017, reports appeared in the Ukrainian media that a memorial complex to the Ukrainian military — participants of the ATO, which has the working title "Russian Aggression", will be installed on the territory of the Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II in Kyiv. This was told by the chief artist of the museum, who will take part in the competition for the best exposition of the memorial.

“It will not be just a memorial, but a whole memorial complex called “Russian Aggression”. The name is approved, but still working. Perhaps the memorial will be located on a patch near the “Upper Moscow Gates of the Old Pechersk Fortress,” he said.

Speaking about the appearance of the building, he noted that "there will be no memorial in the generally accepted concept of monuments", "symbols and allegories" will be used. The deputy director of the museum, Lyudmila Rybchenko, confirmed that the site for the creation of the memorial on the territory of the museum has been approved, but she does not yet know the name of the complex.

Earlier, Kyiv also questioned Moscow's point of view on historical events and symbols, in particular, the issue of the St. George ribbon was raised. On the eve of the celebration of Victory Day at the end of April 2017, Zoryan Shkiryak, adviser to the head of Ukraine, asked no one to use communist symbols, as well as St. George ribbons during May dates. He called the St. George ribbon "a symbol of Russian terrorism."

Two weeks later, she approved a bill on fines and even arrest for 15 days for wearing the St. George ribbon. The bill provides for fines of 850-2550 UAH (about 1800-5440 rubles) for public use, demonstration or wearing of the St. George ribbon or its image.