Like everyone else, I have been glued to images on the internet and/or television for updates on the conflict in Ukraine. To some extent, it still almost feels surreal to think that such a major land conflict is actually happening again on the European continent, the largest such conflict that Europe has seen since the end of World War II.
Yet here we are. Shocking or not, it is happening.
But I began to wonder how this came about, and decided to do a little bit o exploring. Frankly, I learned about some historic tensions between Poland and Ukraine (as well as Poland the Russia/Soviet Union) back during my first visit to Poland in 2013, when I visited my girlfriend’s hometown, which is not far at all from the borders of both Ukraine and Slovakia. There is real hard feeling in Poland among the people I met towards both Ukrainians and Russians. Yet, there is a notable absence towards other neighbors, including Slovakia and Czechs, as well, surprisingly, as Germans. I would have thought that many Poles would still feel angry and distrustful towards Germans. But it did not seem to be the case. Perhaps there is no longer the same sense of military threat from Germany. Also, Germany is the neighbor to the west, and it seems that Poles generally are attracted to western Europe, far more than eastern Europe. Finally, many Polish people migrate to Germany to find work. There were a number of such people just in that small hometown which I spent a couple of weeks in 2013, and one week again in 2019.
Well, this complicated history - often unfamiliar to us westerners - obviously includes a complicated history between Russians and Ukrainians, as well. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, I tried to do a bit of research to try and learn more and better understand the background of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This relatively short video was one of the best sources that I found, because it is short, yet quite comprehensive for a video of such short duration. She talks a bit fast, so I had to watch it a couple of times, and I paused it several times and took notes, which I used below for this particular blog entry. So almost all of the information below - with the notable exception of the Holodomor - were basically taken from this video as talking points.
So, please watch the video above. I have tried to sum up some of the most important points below. Hopefully, this clarifies how this conflict came to be, and why it grew so tense, to the point where war broke out, and the entire world is now watching.
Vladmir Putin has invaded Ukraine, ostensibly with the idea of bringing Russians and Ukrainains together. He calls it "Holy Rus," and he has said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. Indeed, he is not entirely wrong. One in six Ukrainians are ethnically Russian, and one in three Ukrainians speak Russian as their native tongue. So it is not simply a crazy idea that should be dismissed automatically. There is a reason why he feels this way, and indeed, many Russians would agree with him, and are supportive of his efforts in Ukraine right now.
However, his efforts to unite the two countries - if that is indeed what he is trying to do - seems a little contradictory. It brings to my mind some lyrics penned by Jello Biafra, the frontman of the legendary punk band the Dead Kennedys, and the creator of the Alternative Tentacles label. He wrote lyrics to one song, "Chickenshit Conformist," that I have been thinking about on occasion since the beginning of this Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here they are:
Unity is bullshit.
When it's under someone's fat boot.
Another way to put it is that Putin wants to unify Russia and Ukrainians, but this invasion shows that his idea, both figuratively and literally, is to do so at the point of a gun.
Some unity.
Yes, Putin believes that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, and many Russians agree with this notion. Indeed, I have seen video - I only wish that I could remember where, but they are available on Youtube clips and elsewhere on the internet, surely - where Russians claim that Ukraine is a part of Russia.
However, many Ukrainians hold a very different view. A vast majority - a whopping 70 percent - of Ukrainians reject this notion, and even more - 72 percent - view Russia outright as a hostile state. Remember, this was before the current invasion began.
There is a historical and cultural divide within Ukraine, based on geographical, and to some extent, historical, lines. Western Ukrainians identify more closely with Europeans to the west, while in the east, the majority Russian Ukrainians identify more closely with Russia. More than two-thirds of Ukrainians - again, mostly those in western Ukraine - want to join the European Union. Slightly less, although still a majority at 59 percent, want to join NATO.
Now, NATO is a major bone of contention in this conflict. Perhaps it is even the main issue. NATO, historically, was a military alliance, originally consisting exclusively of countries on the western (American) side of the Iron Curtain. However, some people started to question the use of NATO after the fall of the Soviet Union, and the end of that nation as one of the world's two superpowers. But not only did NATO continue to exist, but it grew. At first, NATO promised not to expand to countries formerly on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain, or members of the Warsaw Pact, but they did. This, to many Russians, felt like a threat. Many felt like westerns were still targeting Russia, that they had it in for them. Indeed, many Russians still feel this skepticism, perhaps even more now in the 21st century, as NATO expanded to members that outright border Russia, which again feels to them like a threat. And right or wrong, for better or for worse, this is one of the main points of conflict with Russia and Ukraine. Putin wants NATO to exclude every former Soviet state. Obviously, that would include Ukraine, as it used to be part of the Soviet Union. Then again, so did the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, yet they also are members of NATO.
Now, let us return to the direction that Ukrainians wanted to take their country. As mentioned earlier, a majority of Ukrainians wanted to align their country more closely with western Europe. A vast majority wanted Ukraine to join the EU, and a smaller majority - but still a clear majority - wanted it to join NATO. Putin is opposed to both of those actions, particularly the idea of Ukraine joining NATO. Yet, it did appear that Ukraine was heading in the direction of joining the EU, at the very least. But then President Viktor Yanukovych rejected this notion. He was more closely aligned with Russia, and signed a $15 billion bailout by Putin's Russia. So there was a revolution. Yanukovych was forced out of the country, and a new government was put in place. This event also has different interpretations, depending on who you ask. Ukrainians sympathetic to the West (and obviously, Westerners) feel that this was a legitimate political movement, something that was inevitable, as it represents the will of the majority. But for Russians, both in the Ukraine and in Russia itself, felt that this was nothing short of a coup d'état, illegally orchestrated and funded by the West, especially the United States.
For most of us, this conflict seemed to explode to the front and center of the world's attention in 2014, just after Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Russia took over Crimea. A vote was held, and a majority voted in favor of joining Russia, although many people would question the legitimacy of this election. Whether or not it was legitimate, Russia annexed Crimea. For all intents and purposes, since then, Crimea has belonged to Russia. Also, Russia intervened in the eastern regions of Ukraine, particularly in what is known as the Donbas region, which consists of Luhansk and Donetsk. These two regions are the most Russian regions in present-day Ukraine.
Returning to Crimea, the world condemned the Russian annexation of Crimea. However, the vast majority of Crimeans are Russians, historically. In fact, as a gesture of goodwill, then Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev gave Crimea from the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. This was done, according to Khrushchev as a gesture to strengthen the "brotherly ties between the Ukrainian and Russian people." But this goodwill gesture meant little at the time, as they both were part of the same country.
It became a bone of contention, however, once the Soviet Union broke up. Many felt that Crimea should no longer belong to Ukraine. But officially, it did. So that was why Russia felt entitled to do what they did in taking over Crimea. Even former Soviet Premiere Gorbachev said that Putin was right to do what he did, because Crimea, he felt, belonged to Russia. Indeed, this is a common sentiment in Russia, as Putin's approval ratings soared after Russia annexed Crimea.
Earlier, I mentioned that there are indeed historical ties between Ukrainians and Russians. However, quite a bit of this is due to colonialism, dating back all the way to the age of Catherine the Great. It was then that the first efforts to Russify Ukraine were begun, and with considerable success. Many Russians were brought to Ukraine, and schools were instructed to teach in Russian. In 1800, Ukrainian as a language was banned.
That particular chapter did not simply end there, nor is it the worst aspects of this rocky history. In 1930, Josef Stalin was attempting to modernize the Soviet Union. This had particularly tragic consequences for Ukraine, resulting in what is known as the Holodomor. The Holodomor, also known as the Terror-Famine or the Great Famine, saw millions of Ukrainians die. Estimates of just how many vary, but most people will place the number at least at four million, and there are some estimates that are closer to seven million. Indeed, according to some of these estimates, more people died in this tragedy than in the Holocaust which followed in other parts of Europe just a few years later. Ukrainians who perished were replaced by ethnic Russians, who re-populated the region. Indeed, it becomes more understandable how many Ukrainians actually view this terrible chapter in their history as a genocide, although many Russians generally reject this idea.
Then in the 1940's, ethnic Tartars were also relocated. They, also, were replaced by ethnic Russians. That is at least part of the reason why so many ethnic Russians are located in eastern Ukraine. Also, eastern Ukraine is rich in natural resources, including coal, iron, and some of the richest farmland in Europe.
So, it is understandable how Putin, and Russians more generally, regard at least parts of Ukraine as enviable land to either have friendly neighbors, or perhaps to outright bring into the fold of their country. But a majority of Ukrainians do not feel this same sense of kinship towards Russians. Fully one-third of Ukrainians already felt ready to take up arms against Russia before this invasion even began. By now, with Russia outright having invaded, that number likely has spiked up.
Volodymyr Zolensky right now serves as the face and voice of Ukrainians strongly, even militantly now opposed to Russia and it's invasion of their country. Zolensky won the presidency in a landslide election in 2019, garnering 73 percent of the vote. He has made no secret of his opposition to Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine. Many Russian reports tried to convince people that Zolensky fled the country, implying that he is a coward. But Zolensky released video clips showing that he was still in Kyiv, the capital city that Russians are presently still trying to reach.
So, there we have it. I think that this video helped to clarify some of the ambiguities in this complicated history, where history - often bitter - threads it's way in and out of almost every important event that occurs. Keeping this history in mind, and understanding the positions and objections on both sides, can at least help us to understand this situation better, if nothing else. And that is something, at least, even as we stand on the sidelines.
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