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These micro-republics didn't leave any lasting trace on the land, unlike the successful neo-nationalist movements (e.g., Tiso's Slovak Republic) that landed on one side or another of World War Two. I tend to think of them as the tail end of the 19th century kulturkampfs that swept nationalism, clericalism, liberalism, and socialism into a ferment of conflict from 1848 on; by the time Hitler rolls through, and Stalin after him, most of this has been steamrolled into a smaller number of national and ideological movements. Having said that, viewing the invasion of Ukraine and the complex political machinations of the Central European Visegrad states through the lens of this time period is, I think, fruitful, and explains some things (such as the Russian insistence on going to war to "defend" Russophones abroad) that are otherwise unintuitive if not inexplicable to Americans and many Europeans.



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