Ukraine - A Country That Deserves Better



The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is one that goes back a couple hundred years. For centuries on-end, the Czars of Russia saw Ukraine simply as a piece of Russia itself, personal property to play around with,  and nothing more. Ukraine had no unique national identity as far as they were concerned. Ukraine was devastated in the Russian Civil War in the late 1910's/early 1920's. Millions more died under Stalin's farming policies that resulted in a mass famine in the early 1930's. Ukraine was further devastated in World War II. The general economic incompetence of the Brezhnev period certainly didn't do wonders for them either. Then came Chernobyl. Ukraine has been thru Hell and back multiple times thanks to Russia. Not surprisingly, the Ukrainians were counting the seconds to strike out on their own (could you blame them). Yet, Putin still sees Ukraine as Russia's personal property. For many Russians, Ukraine's independence was only reluctantly tolerated after the fall of the Soviet Union because their wasn't much that they could do. Beyond that, Ukraine was never intended as being truly independent in their eyes. The Ukrainians have every right in the world to be upset about what's going on. This wasn't a recent conflict that came out of nowhere.

Some had floated the notion that this is partially NATO's fault because of the eastward expansion into the former Soviet Bloc. This idea is tomfoolery. The countries of Eastern Europe eagerly joined NATO quickly when given the opportunity of their free will. Thus, one has to ask the following question: Why? The answer is very simple in a nutshell: they didn't trust the Russia Government. These countries were occupied and oppressed by the Soviet Union for decades on-end after World War II. Thus, when democratization and for many, independence, came; it was no wonder why these states were eager to join NATO. When the oppressed fought back, Hell reigned down violently from the Kremlin. An uprising in East Germany in 1953 was violently crushed along with that in Hungary in 1956. Czechoslovakia was invaded in 1968 to row back political reforms. The Baltic States were forcibly annexed by the Soviet Union itself in 1940. The European countries don't trust the Russia Government. The invasion of a functional democracy without any regard for the people living there only confirms their suspicion. 

One tidbit piece of knowledge is that when the Soviet Union collapsed, the country tried to offload the Kaliningrad Oblast enclave to either Lithuania  or Poland. While both countries were open about expansion, they rejected the offer because they realized that if that area was absorbed into their own country, then their would be a sizable presence of nationalistic Russians citizens in their country which would have resulted in potential ethnic issues that Russia would have responded to down the road. However, the borders of Ukraine were already mapped out over a century earlier. The large amounts of Russian citizens in Ukraine, like in Kaliningrad (originally a part of German before World War II and given to the Soviet Union when the war ended) later, were late arrivals sent by the state as large scale resettlements to change the ethnic mix of the country. Also, many Ukrainians were forcibly relocated as a result of the 1930's famine, the Great Purge and World War II.

Trump has recent praised Putin for the invasion, calling him a "very smart man". I can make the safe assumption that the Ukrainians aren't celebrating the idea of their country being forcibly occupied and broken apart. I doubt that they are celebrating the bombs falling of them either. War is at their doorstep. Many have died quickly. Many more have lost their homes. The Russian military knows no bounds. Chechnya is a recent example of that. Many Russians aren't celebrating this conflict either. Many have taken to the streets in protested. Several of them have been horrible beaten. In fact, schoolchildren part of the demonstrates have been detained by the authorities their. These Russians wanted nothing to do with the conflict and they are as much victims of Putin's madness as the Ukrainians are. What is happening to Ukraine isn't something that should be praised or celebrated. This is a dark time, especially for them. Millions are suffering at the hands of a egotistical brute. A functional democracy had been invaded. Putin is someone who shouldn't be admired or praised.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine (Wikipedia)

The Ruin (Ukrainian history) (Wikipedia)

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire (Wikipedia)


Soviet–Ukrainian War (Wikipedia)

Holodomor (Wikipedia)

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Wikipedia)

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation (Wikipedia)

NATO

East German uprising of 1953

Hungarian Revolution of 1956

Prague Spring

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia

Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)


As it happened: Ukraine deaths as battles rage on day one of Russian invasion (BBC)

Live Reporting (BBC)

Live Reporting (BBC)

Ukraine conflict: Your guide to understanding day four (BBC)

Ukraine invasion: Kharkiv residents describe intense battle to defend city (BBC)

Ukraine conflict: Terrified but coping, residents of Dnipro jolt into action (BBC)

Ukraine: Kyiv residents answer call to defend nation (BBC)

Ukraine conflict: Children on their own, parents stay behind (BBC)

Ukraine invasion: Missiles hit Kyiv as fight for capital looms (BBC)

Ukraine maps: Tracking Russia's invasion (BBC)

Ukraine conflict: Shock and support on the streets of Moscow (BBC)

Trump Praises Putin, Leaving Republicans in a Bind (NYTimes)



















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