Category: History

Russian Disinformation and the Inconvenience of Truth – 1941 and 2022

May 10, 2023

This is the scene that has been unfolding for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. It is witness to familiar elements of what we have come to regard as the worst of humanity – indiscriminate destruction of cities, mass executions, kidnapping of children, displacement of millions of civilians, rape, forced prostitution and torture, highlighted recently by the savagery of beheading prisoners. The bare truth underlying this Russian invasion is that it is entirely unjustified. … More Russian Disinformation and the Inconvenience of Truth – 1941 and 2022

Moldova and the Putin Playbook

March 11, 2023

Moldova, a nation of 2.62 million people, shares a 759-mile border with Ukraine to the latter’s southwest. It emerged from a troubled history in the 20th century having gained its independence in 1991 from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), only to be threatened again by Russian authoritarianism and imperialist aspirations as it enters the 21st. The country possesses a pro-Russian separatist territory to its east, a situation not unlike its neighbor, Ukraine, that is now in open conflict with Russia and also not unlike that in the Republic of Georgia, invaded by Russia in 2008 for similar reasons. The pattern is quite familiar and it underlines Russia’s intent to retake territory that history has somehow proclaimed belongs to it. … More Moldova and the Putin Playbook

A History of Ukrainian Nationalism and its Partisan Movement

February 11, 2023

Global responses to efforts by Russia to label Ukrainians as Nazis have ranged from polite disbelief to cynical laughter over yet another clumsy propagandist attempt to justify its need to invade Ukraine. The label has served as a way of dehumanizing a people for daring to oppose what Putin believes to be Russia’s destiny. This opposition is, in reality, an expression of nationalism, an ideology that emphasizes loyalty, devotion or allegiance to a nation according to Britannica. Ukrainian resistance to Russian oppression has existed since the time of the Russian Empire dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries but, in the present day, it is convenient for Putin’s regime to conflate Ukraine’s sense of nationhood with fascist ideology. … More A History of Ukrainian Nationalism and its Partisan Movement

Lukashenko Versus Belarus

January 13, 2023

Alexander Lukashenko, dictator of Belarus and seemingly proud of it, came to power as its first president in 1994 following dissolution of the Soviet Union three years earlier. A true acolyte of the old Soviet regime, he retained state ownership of major industries and acquired the power to dismiss parliament, gradually consolidating his very centralized authority by 1996. The Russian language was given equivalent status to that of Belarusian and previously established economic ties with Russia were strengthened as the two countries formed a Commonwealth in 1996. The latter evolved into the Union State of Russia and Belarus with the signing of a treaty in 1999. This Union State formalized integration of their economies to which were also added both their intelligence agencies and defense. Clearly the much weaker of the two, Belarus would gain both financial and military security in the arrangement. The process was not a smooth one for Lukashenko, however. … More Lukashenko Versus Belarus

What Gain by Engagement in this War?

January 5, 2023

The causes of a war often amount to a complicated array of circumstances, misjudgments and intentions of varied priority, some laid out by those with particular biases in the hopes of lessening blame. Yet, on occasion, a perpetrator can be singled out sufficiently to warrant the full measure of scorn that can be afforded. This is Vladimir Putin’s lot and that of Russia for its compliance. The burden of war guilt is a terrible thing as the condemnation that comes with it carries a price, not just economic, but one requiring a moral reckoning within the national conscience. The extent to which this is realized depends upon the degree to which blame is cast upon the leaders and the degree to which they were enabled by the populace, whatever the circumstances. … More What Gain by Engagement in this War?

Crimea

December 31, 2022

As might be self-evident to most sentient beings, Crimea remains geographically contiguous with the territory of Ukraine, enough so that all but a Russian ultranationalist would understand the implacable logic of a situation that Putin chooses to ignore. Crimea is vital to the interests of Russia as a military stronghold providing access to the Mediterranean and, to a degree, still a favored nearby vacation destination that Russians would very much like to call their own. … More Crimea

Crime and Punishment (Part 1)

December 1, 2022

The European Union (EU) recently declared Russia to be a state sponsor of terror. Too often, a crime against humanity, though apparent for all to witness, is not universally condemned. Ulterior motives, less honorable, allow it to continue while the global community remains paralyzed by economic, geopolitical and legal deliberation. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is such a crime. … More Crime and Punishment (Part 1)