The Geneva conference on the Ukraine’s crisis ended a few week ago. To everybody’s surprise, both Lavarov (Russia) and Carry(USA) pronounced the closing statements, which mirrored each other in their entirety.
One might have said: ‘good - at last Russia comes to its senses, and maybe the catastrophe is going to be prevented…’
Although it sounded like a true possibility, the following days proved the opposite. Russians never openly accept responsibility for their conniving actions. They always try to ride a high horse and preach around about the moral values and international law… violating all of it at the same time themselves. So, why this time should be different? It isn’t.
Let’s remember that they didn’t have any moral dilemma sending tanks to Budapest (Hungary) in 1956 and to Prague (Czechoslovakia) in 1968, when the people started to voice their disapproval of the system… They got ‘smarter’ in time and in 1980 they didn’t invade Poland, but forced Polish government to impose over the revolting nation a year long ’Martial Law’. And then… Afghanistan, Chechnya…
Let’s not forget, that, when the Communist North Vietnam army attacked and eventually overcome the South Vietnam, it was the USSR, who helped them in arms and personnel. America felt compelled to respond, and did so, getting involved in the most unpopular war of the XX-h Century.
When in 1992 the Soviet Union fell apart - giving finally the opportunity for the independent and sovereign future to the former ‘satellite’ countries, like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and others, some of the former Soviet Republics broke away, becoming independent countries as well.
It’s never easy to try to develop the ‘new’ form of the democratic (not only democratically elected) government. Decades of the ‘communist’ rules with their corruption and almost unlimited power of the ‘red bourgeoisie’ are very difficult to shake off. In all of these countries, most of the society didn’t want to have anything to do with the Russia, but even that was impossible to achieve. All of these countries needed Russia as a trade partner, a buyer of their product (which in most cases, wouldn’t be too attractive to the West, but good enough for Russia) and as a supplier of the oil and gas, which was in the abundance in Russia.
As it transpires after more than two decades, the complacency of most of the European countries in creating any alternative energy sources, or attempting to find other supply markets for their gas needs, resulted in the Russian monopoly. It became dramatically obvious in 2010, when the supply of the gas to Europe was interrupted because of the trade dispute with the Ukraine… Ukrainians are dependent on Russian gas, and as of 2 weeks ago they have to pay 40% more the before, for the supply.
Let’s bring to the discussion some historical facts, concerning Ukraine, facts, of which most of the Americans are oblivious. Nothing is easy, when you think of the history of that region. Nothing is easily explainable. And, most of the completely opposing political positions have some justification, so well exploited by the Russians.
Ukrainians always had a strong separatist tendencies. Who can blame them? Different from the neighbors, speaking similar, but different language they were longing for independence for a long time. For centuries the Ukraine was divided between the neighboring countries (Poland, Russia).
The Ukrainian nationalism, and a separatist movement was growing steadily for centuries. It was born as early as in the 17-th Century Ruthenian uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (*1, *2). When in 1795 Poland disappeared from the map of Europe, split between the neighboring superpowers - Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia and Prussia (now Germany), Ukraine followed the same fate.
During the October revolution in Russia in 1917 the Kiev Uprising in November of 1917 resulted in defeat of the Imperial Russian Forces in the Ukrainian capital. Soon after the country split in 2 rival parts - one in Kiev run by Central Rada, and another - hostile to Kiev, established by the Bolsheviks in Kharkiv (in the Eastern Ukraine). On January 22, 1918 Kiev broke ties with Russia.
The WWI was in its last stages.
Facing the danger of being overcome by Russia, the Kiev government turned for help to Germans and Austro-Hungarians, whose armies freed the Western Ukraine from the Communists.
With the end of the WWI, when Germany and Austro-Hungary lost their strong grip over the Poland, Ukraine and other countries of the region, in 1919 Poland finally received its sovereignty.
Part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire - Galicia, which held until that moment Poland and Western Ukraine and was inhabited by both Poles and Ukrainians, fell apart.
Non-Communist Ukrainians tried again to withstand the Bolsheviks offensive, and finally joined their former adversary - Poland in April 1920. At this point Poland was involved in often successful, war activities against the Communist Russia. In the result - the most Western part of the Ukraine, sacrificing its sovereignty, joined Poland. It’s biggest city Lviv became one of the greatest cultural centers of the newly established, free Poland.
The Ukrainian part with it’s capital in Kiev fell under the communists pressure and became a Soviet Republic.
In 1918 the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine - an anarchist partisan army was created, and fought against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War. It died in 1920 with the execution of the leaders and commanders of the movement by the Red Army (*3).
In 1939 the WWII broke, and while Hitler’s army attacked from the West, Russians invaded from the East, taking Polish part of the Ukraine. The action was well coordinated with Germans, a part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939 (4*).
Everything changed when in June 1941, Germany invaded Russia.
In October 1942 the Ukrainian Nationalists created The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (in Ukrainian - UPA) with Stephen Bandera at the ‘helm’, paramilitary and later partisan army that engaged in a series of guerrilla conflicts during WWII against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, the Polish civilian population of German-occupied western Ukraine, and both Underground and Communist Poland. When summarized in a short sentence the picture looks very confusing. Although associated with Nazi Germany for a while (when Germans promised the creation of the Independent Ukraine of the German held territories - until the Germans’ ‘change of heart’), the main aggression of the UPA was directed toward Soviet and Polish (supported by Soviets) Armies, as well as the Polish Underground (both - sponsored by Russians as well as sponsored by the West). Some of UPA members served in the Galicia branch of the SS - the most cruel, elite forces of the Nazi German Army.
The most controversial agenda, was conducting of the ‘ethnic cleansing’ on the territories, where the substantial part of the population was Polish.
Depending on what sources are consulted the number of Polish victims to the UPA ‘ethnic cleansing’ was as high as 50,000.
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army conducted the partisan activities even after the end of the WWII: until 1947 on Polish territories and until 1949 on the Soviet territories. The UPA was formally disbanded in early September, 1949. However, some of its units continued operations until 1956.
The memory of the UPA brings nightmares to the Polish population of the South East parts of the Poland until today. But it’s a nightmare of the long gone past.
At the same time the UPA’s importance in the fight for the Ukrainian independence and sovereignty is undeniable. Until today for some people UPA as a military arm of the Ukrainian Nationalists and its soldiers are heroes. Some people conveniently forget of the Nazi ‘episode’ in its history. But the UPA is not the current Ukrainian society. Societies evolve. Ideologies change.
Nazi Germany was a most destructive force in the World during the WWI and WWII, and yet at the end of the XX-th Century and at the beginning of the XXI-st Century, Germany are one of the most creative and balanced forces in the same Europe.
But this is the reason, why the Russians so strongly attack all the pro-Western Ukrainian activists.
We hear over and over the term ‘neo-nazism’ in reference to all Ukrainian activists who do not want to succumb to the conniving actions of the Russia, who sends their soldiers, and incites to the unrest in the Eastern Ukraine.
Since they (Russians) never evolved, always having the imperialistic appetites and acting upon them, enslaving countries and the peoples in the process - they suspect all others to live their lives the same way.
The Ukrainians tried different alliances in the history. Some of them worked, some other not, and let’s say were highly misguided.
They can’t be alone in the political World. If they want to be a sovereign country and resist the Russian aggression and the notion to absorb the 25 years old Free Ukraine, they have to get somebody’s support. In 1919 the Ukraine joined Poland in the opposition to the USSR threat.
In 2014, this is where the US is coming to play, along with the United Europe, of which the New Ukraine wanted to become a part.
At the very end of April 2014, the Russian rhetoric against the Government in Kiev is getting stronger. The Russian special forces, in the well pressed, new and unmarked uniforms, with the brand new Russian Army issued weapons keep infiltrate the Eastern part of the Ukraine, supporting the short sighted secession proponents, and inciting to more violence against the Kiev Government and its functionaries.
After the annexation of the Crimea, the same argument and the same tactics are in place taking over the district after district in the Eastern Ukraine.
Russians claim that all they do is to protect the Russian speaking population of the Eastern Ukraine, although no one ever claimed that the discrimination has ever occurred. Instead, the number of killed, maimed or missing pro-European activists or politicians in the Eastern Ukraine grows. The violence is perpetrated by the separatists - those who want to join Russia, not the other camp.
Kiev is promising the changes to the constitution giving more power to the Eastern parts, and accepting the Russian as a second language - and yet the Russian do not change the rhetoric.
When Russians invaded Poland and after the WWII appropriated the Polish Part of Lithuania, and Polish Part of Ukraine with at least 25% of population being Polish - the persecution of the Poles in these territories raised to the levels known only from the Nazi occupation of Poland.
Based on the 2014 Russian rhetoric, Poland should have invaded these territories back and take the Poles living there under the Polish umbrella…
Let’s look at a very interesting scenario:
The Eastern Ukraine is not Crimea. The majority of the population is the Ukrainians. They are right now mistreated by the ‘bullies’ and Russian-inspired militants. If Putin takes over this part of the country, knowing Russians so far, one can bet, that the Ukrainians will be persecuted by the Russia and pro-Russia individuals, who will be even more empowered, than now.
So, it would be the RESPONSIBILITY, not only the right, of Ukrainians to invade back, this part of (then) Russia, in order to protect the Ukrainian-speakers.
This is the behavior of the political ‘bully’.
And what is the US position on such an obvious act of aggression against a sovereign country?
So far we pile up the sanctions, which are ‘the slap on the hand’ for Putin and his cronies. Even when they start hurting the Russian economy, it wouldn’t change the Putin’s position. He is working on ‘his position in history’, as a uniter of the Russian people.
So far he hasn’t even blinked and he knows that the West is not so eager to ‘do’ anything to stop him. He enjoys a complete impunity. The on-going American military exercises in Estonia Lithuania and Poland are, maybe an annoying ‘mosquito’ under his nose, but nothing serious.
The Ukraine, unlike the actual members of NATO is not covered by the ‘Article 5’ of the NATO Statute. So, are we going to stand on the sidelines (literally), and do nothing while he (Putin) appropriates the huge part of Ukraine?
I would never thought that I would be inclined to advocate the military option. And yet, this is what I am considering and supporting. Someone has to put stop to the Putin’s bullying. If he is not stopped now, no other country, close to his borders is safe.
He wants to rebuild the empire. So, who is next? Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Poland…
The time to put stop to Putin’s aggression is not after he finishes the annexation of the Eastern Ukraine, and prepares for the farther aggressions. The time to stop him is now.
______________________
*1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthenians
*2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_nationalism
*3 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revolutionary_Insurrectionary_Army_of_Ukraine
*4 - https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Molotov–Ribbentrop_Pact.html
No comments:
Post a Comment