Valeriy,

Societies prosper when individuals have the freedom to pursue their life goals.

The Tatar Yoke impoverished Russian principalities it controlled. The “centuries-old autocracy” is today’s form of dependency mothballing advancement of people in Russia, regardless of whether they are ethnically Russian or Tatar.

Ukraine shares that tradition too, and by association with the EU, it intends to brush it off. Russians know that if Ukraine succeeds in following the path of Poland and the Baltic republics, Ukraine will become richer and more powerful faster than Russia can.

Your closing lines echo the dismissive treatment Ukrainians get in Russian propaganda. For the last eight years, the Ukrainian priority has been to deal with Russian meddling, militarily in Donbas and economically, in gas and oil policy.