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Hello Halina,
This is a good discussion for me, in the sense that there was a gap in my knowledge with regard to Rzeczpospolita. Does this word stand for a Commonwealth policy or is it the name of the state at the time?
As for the loyalties of the Eastern Ukrainians, I'm still trying to get a handle on that myself. Many parodoxes exist, and I've encountered a wide spectrum of people and attitudes.
For example, therre is the "Sowjetski cholowjek" who feels allegiance to nothing and nobody. He is neither Ukrainian,Russian or even Soviet. I've met a few people like that and they are usually either cynical, arrogant, hostile or a combination thereof. Then there is the Russian speaker who feels ambivalent about western Ukrainians but feels proud about things such as Ukraine's take-over of the Black Sea Fleet. Then there is the Ukrainian speaker who also knows Russian and slides effortlessly between the languages as need dictates. He knows Ukrainian but doesn't make a big deal out of it. He or she also may have nationalistic feelings. You also have the Ukrainian speaker who is hostile to the languauge, deeming it below Russian in nobility and quality. You also get the nationalist who grew up on Ukrainian. Then you have the "Surzhyk" speaker, that mixure of Ukrainian and Russian who isn't so crazy about Ukrainian indepence.
Halina, I haven't even begun to scratch the surface with regard to the different allegiances and attitudes. It's a big puzzle, a large murky maze.
Y
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