By Walter Derzko

Political scientist and Ukraine-watcher Anne Applebaum recently expressed her view of what’s wrong with Ukraine and Ukrainians. “Nationalism is exactly what Ukraine needs” she proclaims. But reluctantly she concludes that this is what Ukraine sadly lacks:

“The result can be seen right now in Eastern Ukraine” says Applebaum. She states: “For this—Donetsk, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk—is what a land without nationalism actually looks like: corrupt, anarchic, full of rent-a-mobs and mercenaries. For the most part, the men in balaclavas who have assaulted Ukrainian state institutions under the leadership of Russian commandos are not nationalists; they are people who will do the bidding of whichever political force pays the best or promises the most. And although they are a small minority, the majority does not oppose them. On the contrary, the majority is watching the battle passively and seems prepared to take whichever government they get. These are people…