Russia is older than Greece and Rome

[Natalia Pylypiuk]

Dear Colleagues,

Pursuant to the postings on the Ukrainian Buddha, let me draw your  
attention to the work of the Russian mathematician Anatolii Fomenko,  
who claims that
Russia is Older than Greece.  I quote from the 2009 book by Konstantin  
Sheiko in collaboration with Stephen Brown, **Nationalist Imaginings  
of the Russian Past.
Anatolii Fomenko and the Rise of Alternative History in Post-Communist  
Russia** (= Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society, vol. 86):

<<Anatolii Fomenko is a distinguished Russian mathematician turned  
popular history writer, founder of the so-called New Chronology  
school, and part of the explosion of alternative historical writing  
that has emerged in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.  
Among his more startling claims are that the Old Testament was written  
after the New Testament, that Russia is older than Greece and Rome,  
and that the medieval Mongol Empire was in fact a Slav-Turk world  
empire, a Russian Horde, to which Western and Eastern powers paid  
tribute. While academic historians dismiss Fomenko as a dangerous  
ethno-nationalist or post-modern clown, Fomenko’s publications  
invariably outsell his conventional rivals. Just as Putin has restored  
Russia’s faith in its future, Fomenko and an army of fellow  
alternative historians are determined to restore Russia’s faith in its  
past. For Fomenko, the key to Russia’s greatness in the future lies in  
ensuring that Russians
understand the true greatness of their past. Fomenko and other pseudo- 
historians have built upon existing Russian notions of identity,  
specifically the widespread belief in the positive qualities of empire  
and the special mission of Russia. He has drawn upon previous attempts  
to establish a Russian identity, ranging from Slavophilism through  
Stalinism to Eurasianism. While fantastic, Fomenko’s pseudo-history  
strikes many Russian readers as no less legitimate than the lies and  
distortions peddled by Communist propagandists, Tsarist historians and  
church chroniclers.>>

Kind regards,
Natalia Pylypiuk, University of Alberta


Begin forwarded message:

> From: Evgeny Steiner <es9 at SOAS.AC.UK>
> Date: March 12, 2009 3:37:16 PM MDT (CA)
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Subject: [SEELANGS] Ukrainian Buddha
> Reply-To: "SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and  
> Literatures list" <SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu>
>
> A colleague sent me a link to an interesting article in the official  
> voice of the Ukrainian parliament:
> http://www.golos.com.ua/rus/article/1236697388.html
> It argues that Buddha belonged to a people that lived (and still  
> lives) in
> the territory of the Ancient Ukraine. As far as I understood from  
> the text,
> Jesus Christ had the same roots too. Just couldn't resist sharing...
>
> ES
> Professor Evgeny Steiner
>

> From: William Ryan <wfr at SAS.AC.UK>
> Date: March 13, 2009 4:19:53 AM MDT (CA)
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Ukrainian Buddha
> Reply-To: "SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and  
> Literatures list" <SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu>
>
> Surely this article, though broadly based, written by a doctor of  
> political science, and apparently carrying the official imprimatur,  
> is lacking some significant elements? What about aliens, pyramids,  
> ley lines, Atlantis and the Lost Tribes of Israel?
> Will Ryan


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