Ukraine has always been at the center of any conflict between Russia and the West. It is a sort of meeting point of several different cultures and viewpoints, and truly understanding the current situation there requires us to go back to the beginning.
“So difficult a matter it is to trace and find the truth of anything by history”- Plutarch
I experienced the truth of this quote while trying to find sources for this article. Russia-Ukraine history is rife with opposing storylines put forward by different forces to further their own interests. I’ve tried my best to not be deafened by the loudest noises and look at both sides of the story.
Let us start some thousand years ago, between the 8th and 10th century AD, when a group of Norse people started settling along the river routes on the way to the Black Sea. These people were called The Rus, which is commonly agreed upon to have meant ‘men who row’. By the 11th century AD, two major cities developed: Kyiv and Novgorod. The state of Kyivan Rus or Land of the Rus was united under a single throne which ruled from Kyiv for a short period around the 12th century but split up later. The Mongols invaded Kyiv and its surrounding areas between 1237 and 1242, and the city fell from prominence.
The region of modern Ukraine, including Kyiv, was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire during different stages of its medieval history. During this time, the Grand Duchy of Moscow rose to power; and Ukraine became a part of the Russian Empire. Ukraine gained autonomy during the breakdown of Imperial Russia in 1917 but was forced to join the consolidated Soviet Union in 1922. This led to a few years of relative stability in Ukraine. Then came Stalin and his policy of Collectivization in 1928. This came about with a desire to produce surplus agricultural products and to reduce the hold the Kulaks had in the rural Russian society. Though meant with good intent the plan didn’t pan out, mainly due to peasant and kulak resistance. In 1932, the country was faced with severe food shortages and all the grain available was redirected to urban areas. This led to famine-like conditions in the villages and rural farmers were the worst hit. Millions were killed in the ‘Bread Basket of Europe’: Ukraine, and this incident has been named the Holodomor or the Great Famine. Some sources state that the famine was completely Russian-made, to suppress nationalist sentiments rising in Ukraine. This tragedy is an important cause for the rift between Russia and Ukraine to this day.
When World War II came, most of the fighting between the Germans and Russia happened in Ukraine and Belarus. Some Ukrainians welcomed Nazi occupation as a way to escape Russian control. Germans succeeded in taking over Western Ukraine with the help of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), and the annihilation of its Jewish population followed. There are also reports of Ukrainian-led ethnic cleansing of the Poles. This gives a base to the Russian narrative of the link between Ukrainian nationalism, ethnic cleansing and foreign influence in the nationalist movement. Even today some groups that support Ukrainian nationalism are reported to have Nazi roots, and that is one of Russia’s justifications for the current invasion.
Finally, when the USSR collapsed in 1991, Ukraine asserted its independence. Even so, the country is deeply divided between its ‘Rus’ian roots and its western outlook. This has been visible in its politics, which has frequently dawdled between pro-Russian and pro-Western policies. To understand the current scenario we must talk about Ukraine from 2010, when Viktor Yanukovych became the president. He was a pro-Russian ruler who on coming to power signed an agreement with Russia that extended Russian control over its naval base in Crimea for another 25 years, in exchange for cheaper gas. Later when Yanukovych faced corruption charges he tried to take away public attention by widely publicising his intent to sign the European Union Association Agreement. This got him a lot of public approval, but the president didn’t follow through on his promise. That caused a massive public uprising demanding his removal, called the ‘Euromaidan’ movement. By early 2014, Yanukovych was forced to leave the country. A few days after this, unmarked Russian forces invaded Crimea, took over the administrative infrastructure and annexed it. The ‘Euromaidan’ movement was also supported by a lot of right-wing ultra-nationalists who didn’t view Russians as part of the country. The Russian speaking population felt alienated and so pro-Russian separatists in the east started an armed uprising against the movement. This region, called the Donbas, declared independence from Ukraine with suspected Russian support. Several peace talks took place, but none of them could reach a reasonable agreement.
A new pro-Western government came into power, and more recently Ukraine has increased cooperation with the European Union and NATO. In 2016, NATO started moving troops through Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia to help counter more Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. In 2018, a group of large scale NATO air exercises were held in Ukraine. Even though Russia has remained vague regarding the reasons for its current invasion, the rising political and military ties of Ukraine with NATO and the EU may have forced its hand. Putin must’ve felt the country slipping away from its pro-Russian stance. It also wants to prevent NATO’s expansionism, especially around Russian frontiers. But I don’t think NATO had intended to allow Ukraine to be one of its members. Russian forces were already inside Ukraine (in the Donbas and Crimea) and if allowed to join NATO, it would’ve had no choice but to move on Russia with their troops. The US wouldn’t have wanted that because it may have provoked a Third World War and especially because it had just pulled out its troops from the long war in Afghanistan. Putin’s anti-NATO stance may have been an excuse to justify his thirst for territory and power. He also reasons that he has the right to ensure the well-being of the Russian speaking population of the east.
Whatever is behind the invasion, Ukrainians are going through one of the toughest times in their recent history. The loss of life and livelihood is unfathomable. The number of people who’ve fled Ukraine to find livelihood elsewhere is almost 6.5 million according to the UNHCR, and deaths are almost 4,500; as of May 2022. Russians are making small advances in their bid to completely liberate the Donbas, and missiles are raining down. It has made Ukraine going back to its previous way of life that much harder. The war and the sanctions associated with it also caused a downtrend in the global economy. Ukraine was one of the major producers of wheat and so, food shortages are expected in several parts of the world. I think we should also take time to acknowledge other war-torn parts of the world like Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria. And two of our neighbours, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, which are in the midst of crises.
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