President Putin of Russia has once again raised his voice and rattled his sabre towards the Ukraine, that oh, so defiant neighbor to the west. Yesterday the Ukraine signed a pact with the European Union, joining in the economic and political community of that organization. President Putin is really upset about this, and through one of his ministers, warned the Ukraine that their joining with the European Union would have "grave consequences."
Russia and the Ukraine have been entangled with each other for well over a thousand years. Both were fairly important villages in the 9th Century AD when the Vikings (yes, the VIKINGS!) invaded the area. While Moscow was relatively unscathed, the Vikings sacked Kiev, one of the most important cities in the Ukraine at the time. The Vikings maintained control over the area for the next four hundred years. During this time Moscow thrived and become the capitol of what would become the Russian Empire.
Kiev and the surrounding countryside was again invaded and laid waste, this time by the Mongols, in the 13th Century. With the city and the nation in ruins, Polish and Lithuanian forces occupied the Ukraine. Ultimately the Ukraine was absorbed by the Russian Empire. It was not until the Russian Revolution that the Ukraine was able to free itself from Czarist Russia and become an independent nation in 1917. Independence was short-lived, however, as the Bolsheviks consolidated several nations, including Russia and the Ukraine, into what would become the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin considered the Ukraine, along with Russia, to be the "motherland" of the Soviet Union. The Ukraine was also crucial to the Soviet Union because it was the gateway to Crimea, and most importantly, to the Black Sea.
In the 1930's, the Ukraine became the focus of Stalin's rage when Ukrainians refused to join the rest of the Soviet Union in creating farming "cooperatives." preferring to allow individuals to keep farms which they had owned for generations. This "private ownership" of course did not fit in with the communist ideal of "collectivism" and the "five year plans" of agricultural production. Stalin demonstrated his rage by "purging" around ten million Ukrainians. It is little wonder that the Nazi invasion of the Ukraine during World War II was seen by many Ukrainians, at least at first, as liberation from the evils of Stalin. Unfortunately the evils of the Nazi regime itself were soon revealed, as several million Ukrainian civilians were slaughtered by the German army. Ultimately some Ukrainians fought alongside the Germans while others joined forces with the Soviets.
After World War II, Stalin once again "purged" the Ukraine of any suspected of fighting with or collaborating with the Germans. Many thousands were killed, while thousands of others were sent to Siberia. At the same time, thousands of Russians were sent to the Ukraine to take the place of Ukrainians who had been displaced in one way or another. Thus, the Ukraine languished behind the "Iron Curtain" until nearly the turn of the century. During all this time, through all the hardship, the Ukrainians never lost their desire to be free. As soon as the Soviet Union began to collapse in early nineties, the Ukraine declared its independence. The population voted 92 percent in favor of leaving the former Soviet Union. Not surprisingly, the citizens of Russia who had been transplanted to the Ukraine, and their descendants, mostly voted against independence. The President of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin, recognized Ukrainian independence on December 3, 1991. Many other nations, including the United States, followed suit during the next few days. The Ukraine was finally free of Russian domination, or so it may have seemed to some.
Enter President Vladimir Putin of Russia. He was a life-long KGB agent before being brought into the highest levels of government by President Yeltsin. Leaving a trail of dead opponents that reads almost like Clinton's Whitewater scandal, President Putin was elected to that office by a vote of 70 percent of the people. Right....well, anyway, Putin was President and his eye turned immediately to the Ukraine. Unfortunately for the Ukraine, Premier Khrushchev may have inadvertently set up the 2014 Russian invasion by ceding to that nation the Crimean Peninsula way back in 1954, for reasons unknown. This was not a popular move, but still, no one at that time could have imagined that the Soviet Union would collapse less than forty years later, or that Soviet forces could ever lose access to the Black Sea via the Crimea. Many Russians, including President Putin, believed that the Crimean Peninsula rightly belonged Russia, particularly since this was the major access route to the Black Sea Fleet which anchored there.
Putin acted quickly, and in what I am sure he perceives, in the best interest of Russia. Maybe he will be satisfied with the re-acquisition of the Crimea. Perhaps he will stop his apparent lustful desire for the re-annexation of the Ukraine, this freedom-loving nation that, of course, poses no possible danger to the Russian Republic. I admire the people of the Ukraine for hanging on for so many generations to their desire for freedom. I realize that the Ukraine is not trying to be a "mini" United States, but the people there DO want the choice to have their own form of government, and most of all to be free from Russian occupation. One way to discourage Russian occupation is by joining the European Union, which the Ukraine has done. Militarily the Ukraine poses no threat to Russia, and Putin knows this; however, if the Ukraine allows NATO or American forces into its territory, Putin would no doubt see this as an act of aggression. In a sense it is easy to understand why. Remember how upset John F Kennedy was when he learned of the missiles being sent from the Soviet Union to Cuba. Our young president stood face to face (figuratively) with Premier Khrushchev during the "Cuban Missile Crisis," and it was ultimately the Premier who backed down.
The people of the Ukraine want to be free, whatever form that freedom takes for them. Putin wants the Ukraine to be securely in the Russian circle of allies because Moscow is only hours away from Kiev. More to the point, Putin wants a safety zone between Russia and the NATO aligned nations to his west. The Ukraine has been that safety zone since Stalin first came to power those many years ago, but now the Ukraine is a member of the European Union. This has to be a hard pill for President Putin to swallow. I have strong admiration for the people of the Ukraine as they face such troubled times, and I pray for them, that they may have a long taste of freedom. For President Putin, I pray that he can find a way to feel that his nation is secure without having to resort to forcibly placing the Ukraine back under Soviet rule.
May God Bless the Ukraine, and yes, may God bless the Russians as well.
Russia and the Ukraine have been entangled with each other for well over a thousand years. Both were fairly important villages in the 9th Century AD when the Vikings (yes, the VIKINGS!) invaded the area. While Moscow was relatively unscathed, the Vikings sacked Kiev, one of the most important cities in the Ukraine at the time. The Vikings maintained control over the area for the next four hundred years. During this time Moscow thrived and become the capitol of what would become the Russian Empire.
Kiev and the surrounding countryside was again invaded and laid waste, this time by the Mongols, in the 13th Century. With the city and the nation in ruins, Polish and Lithuanian forces occupied the Ukraine. Ultimately the Ukraine was absorbed by the Russian Empire. It was not until the Russian Revolution that the Ukraine was able to free itself from Czarist Russia and become an independent nation in 1917. Independence was short-lived, however, as the Bolsheviks consolidated several nations, including Russia and the Ukraine, into what would become the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin considered the Ukraine, along with Russia, to be the "motherland" of the Soviet Union. The Ukraine was also crucial to the Soviet Union because it was the gateway to Crimea, and most importantly, to the Black Sea.
In the 1930's, the Ukraine became the focus of Stalin's rage when Ukrainians refused to join the rest of the Soviet Union in creating farming "cooperatives." preferring to allow individuals to keep farms which they had owned for generations. This "private ownership" of course did not fit in with the communist ideal of "collectivism" and the "five year plans" of agricultural production. Stalin demonstrated his rage by "purging" around ten million Ukrainians. It is little wonder that the Nazi invasion of the Ukraine during World War II was seen by many Ukrainians, at least at first, as liberation from the evils of Stalin. Unfortunately the evils of the Nazi regime itself were soon revealed, as several million Ukrainian civilians were slaughtered by the German army. Ultimately some Ukrainians fought alongside the Germans while others joined forces with the Soviets.
After World War II, Stalin once again "purged" the Ukraine of any suspected of fighting with or collaborating with the Germans. Many thousands were killed, while thousands of others were sent to Siberia. At the same time, thousands of Russians were sent to the Ukraine to take the place of Ukrainians who had been displaced in one way or another. Thus, the Ukraine languished behind the "Iron Curtain" until nearly the turn of the century. During all this time, through all the hardship, the Ukrainians never lost their desire to be free. As soon as the Soviet Union began to collapse in early nineties, the Ukraine declared its independence. The population voted 92 percent in favor of leaving the former Soviet Union. Not surprisingly, the citizens of Russia who had been transplanted to the Ukraine, and their descendants, mostly voted against independence. The President of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin, recognized Ukrainian independence on December 3, 1991. Many other nations, including the United States, followed suit during the next few days. The Ukraine was finally free of Russian domination, or so it may have seemed to some.
Enter President Vladimir Putin of Russia. He was a life-long KGB agent before being brought into the highest levels of government by President Yeltsin. Leaving a trail of dead opponents that reads almost like Clinton's Whitewater scandal, President Putin was elected to that office by a vote of 70 percent of the people. Right....well, anyway, Putin was President and his eye turned immediately to the Ukraine. Unfortunately for the Ukraine, Premier Khrushchev may have inadvertently set up the 2014 Russian invasion by ceding to that nation the Crimean Peninsula way back in 1954, for reasons unknown. This was not a popular move, but still, no one at that time could have imagined that the Soviet Union would collapse less than forty years later, or that Soviet forces could ever lose access to the Black Sea via the Crimea. Many Russians, including President Putin, believed that the Crimean Peninsula rightly belonged Russia, particularly since this was the major access route to the Black Sea Fleet which anchored there.
Putin acted quickly, and in what I am sure he perceives, in the best interest of Russia. Maybe he will be satisfied with the re-acquisition of the Crimea. Perhaps he will stop his apparent lustful desire for the re-annexation of the Ukraine, this freedom-loving nation that, of course, poses no possible danger to the Russian Republic. I admire the people of the Ukraine for hanging on for so many generations to their desire for freedom. I realize that the Ukraine is not trying to be a "mini" United States, but the people there DO want the choice to have their own form of government, and most of all to be free from Russian occupation. One way to discourage Russian occupation is by joining the European Union, which the Ukraine has done. Militarily the Ukraine poses no threat to Russia, and Putin knows this; however, if the Ukraine allows NATO or American forces into its territory, Putin would no doubt see this as an act of aggression. In a sense it is easy to understand why. Remember how upset John F Kennedy was when he learned of the missiles being sent from the Soviet Union to Cuba. Our young president stood face to face (figuratively) with Premier Khrushchev during the "Cuban Missile Crisis," and it was ultimately the Premier who backed down.
The people of the Ukraine want to be free, whatever form that freedom takes for them. Putin wants the Ukraine to be securely in the Russian circle of allies because Moscow is only hours away from Kiev. More to the point, Putin wants a safety zone between Russia and the NATO aligned nations to his west. The Ukraine has been that safety zone since Stalin first came to power those many years ago, but now the Ukraine is a member of the European Union. This has to be a hard pill for President Putin to swallow. I have strong admiration for the people of the Ukraine as they face such troubled times, and I pray for them, that they may have a long taste of freedom. For President Putin, I pray that he can find a way to feel that his nation is secure without having to resort to forcibly placing the Ukraine back under Soviet rule.
May God Bless the Ukraine, and yes, may God bless the Russians as well.
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