Pro-Russian Separatists Are Flying the Confederate Flag. Why?

The self-proclaimed leaders of
the so-called “people’s republic” of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine are
taking some tips from the U.S., but in a way that most people will
not find palatable: They adopted a modified version of the
Confederate Flag. It holds no meaning in Eastern Europe, so to whom
are these Russian-backed fighters trying to appeal? 

The Moscow Times
reports
:

The flag of the unrecognized Novorossia [“New Russia”]
confederation is not entirely identical to the banner of the Army
of Northern Virginia, as it lacks stars. …

But otherwise, it is the same as the Confederate flag, a blue
diagonal cross bordered with white on a red background. General Lee
would have been proud.

The pro-Russian rebels, known for their dislike of all things
American, do not take direct inspiration from the U.S. secession
movement or fear the implications of separatist bad luck that their
flag entails. …

The official news website of the separatist People’s Republic of
Donetsk, part of Novorossia, on May 31 credited Ukrainian political
analyst Mikhail Pavliv with creating the “official banner” of the
self-proclaimed territory.

Yet, Pavliv, a support of the insurgency, told The Moscow Times
he had simply stumbled upon the flag online somewhere.

It doesn’t make much sense that
anti-Americans, who already have
their own Russo-centric images
, would start waving this loaded
American artifact. For comparison, wouldn’t it be weird if instead
of calling themselves “the
State of Jefferson
,” the breakaway group in California picked
up a name from 1860s Russia opposition politics and called
themselves “the State of Mikhail
Bakunin
“? Transplanted foreign symbols just wouldn’t resonate
with locals, and Russia has long seen itself as
above the racial tensions
of America embodied in the Southern
banner.

Now, there have been a few incidents of Europeans waving the
rebel flag as a banner of anti-tyranny, such as at the fall of the
Berlin
Wall
and, in fact, when pro-Western Ukrainians deposed their
corrupt, pro-Russian president earlier this year. But, again, this
separatist movement is anti-Western.

The insurgents, by their own admission, don’t know jack about
Dixie and certainly aren’t defending its heritage. A lot of them
are just
Chechen mercenaries
, not history buffs. On the other hand,
Moscow has a
surprisingly effective
 propaganda
machine
 that does know history and does direct itself at
the U.S.

Americans, for many reasons, are divided about the conflict in
Ukraine. There are some who are wary of stopping the spread of
Russian oppression because they’re
more afraid of the U.S.’s imperialist tendencies
. Some of
those Americans are sympathetic to Vladimir Putin and
praise his conservative manliness
. Some of those Americans
identify positively with the Confederate Flag and see Russia as a
cultural
ally
. Does anyone hear a dog
whistle
?

Here’s a video of the bizarre
matchup

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