Ukraine, the West-Russia clash in the light of history

Why have Western and Eastern Europe been staring at each other for centuries? This sense of opposition between the two blocs is fully present in the Ukrainian crisis, and it's not necessarily just a linguistic issue between Russian speakers and non-Russian speakers.

The Ukrainian crisis is not just a linguistic issue between Russian speakers and non-Russian speakers.The Ukrainian crisis is not just a linguistic issue between Russian speakers and non-Russian speakers