​Ukrainian tractors vs. Russian tanks: The hundred-year history behind the meme

 
An ironic banner in Dnipro, Ukraine reads: "Russian soldier, the sowing campaign has already begun" on April 16, in reference to the famous snapshots of Ukrainian tractors pulling abandoned Russian tanks during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, news outlets and social media have captured the magnitude of the destruction: Cities like Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol, Chernihiv and Kherson surrounded by Russian tanks; shelling; children taking shelter in subway stations with relatives’ phone numbers written on their skin. But occasionally there have been more hopeful images, like those of the Ukrainian popular resistance. In the country’s small towns and villages, farmers driving humble tractors have hauled away Russian tanks. These photos and videos symbolize a popular narrative of Ukrainian heroes defending their homeland, risking their lives for the democratic world. In this narrative, farmers and, by extension, civilians, are not merely powerless victims of Russian aggression; they are people who just want to lead normal lives and are determined to fight back. ...”

 
Oleksandr Vilkul of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, in his office.

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