re: #145 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge

I know I have more pet peeves than is healthy, but WTF is this obsession with leaving the definite article off of place names that require it? It’s The Ukraine, The Crimea, The Donbass…and The Sudan, while we’re at it. I suppose I’ve been fatigued into compliance on The Lebanon and The Labrador and The Gambia….

It’s interesting how using that article or not using that article could get you in a big argument with someone. Ukrainian nationalists prefer it just be Ukraine while the Russian sympathizers call it The Ukraine signifying their belief that they see Ukraine as another part of Russia. I find myself sympathetic to the nationalists since the borders have been defined and Ukraine has experienced Russian control before with disastrous results for the people there.