Russo-Ukrainian War

 Jack Cahalane

Professor Shirk

POLS 170

March 2, 2022

Blog Post#2

Russo-Ukrainian War

In class we watched a clip from the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, directed by acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick and released in 1964. As a fan of Stanley Kubrick's work, I was surprised I had never seen nor heard of it before, yet the context in which it was filmed in still felt relevant to current events today. In the context of the movie, I looked to find what the Doomsday Clock was set at today discovering to be only 100 seconds from midnight, the closest it’s ever been. In relation to current events, it made me wonder what the Doomsday Clock would be at with the threat of Russian invasion in Ukraine. Less than a week ago, “President” Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation announced that nuclear forces have been put on high alert. This recent event marks the latest in a transpiring and escalating situation in Ukraine. Yet, it should be realized that the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia not only marks a trend continued by Russia in the last two decades, but furthermore, one that extends past centuries.

In order to fully realize the extent to which Russia and Ukraine are linked, one must delve back to the beginnings. The geopolitical region known as Russia today would have its roots over a thousand years ago, with the settlements of the Vikings in Eastern Europe. Of these Viking tribes, a tribal chieftain Rurik would settle in this region with his seat of power centered around Novgorod, Ukraine. After Rurik’s death, power would ultimately rest in the hands of his son Igor’s regent, Oleg, who would go on to conquer Kiev along with vast regions of Eastern Europe. From Kiev, Oleg would base his empire, ultimately forming the polity of Kievan Rus until Igor was old enough to rule. Thus, through Igor’s lineage, descended from Rurik, the Rurikid Dynasty would be born ultimately creating an unbroken dynasty that would last for nearly 1,000 years. Yet, it would ultimately be the Rurikid Dynasty which would form the modern state of Russia, amassing colossal swathes of land over a millennium transforming Kievan Rus into the Tsardom of Russia through the first tsar and direct descendant of Rurik, Ivan the Terrible.

    It would be through this formation of the Tsardom of Russia which would eventually form the Russian Federation in its current iteration seen today. Interestingly enough, President Vladimir Putin has frequently admired St. Vladimir, the grandson of Rurik, going as far as erecting a 52 foot tall statue of him in Moscow. President Putin has frequently described Ukrainians and Russians as “one people — a single whole” (Guyer & Kirby 1). Furthermore, St. Vladimir is renowned in history to have reconquered Ukraine from his brother, marking interesting similarities with President Putin's horrifying invasion. Thus, although the invasions of Ukraine by Russia have only truly developed within the last month, they must be perceived through a historical precedent of a thousand years. Furthermore, Ukraine has only been a polity separate from Russia for thirty years due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

    Placed in the more contemporary visage of the 2007 Estonia cyberattacks, the 2008 invasion of Georgia, and the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the history of Russian aggression within Eurasia has been one that has only become increasingly more commonplace. Furthermore, the Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic were also founded during the events that transpired during 2014, which culminated in their declaration of independence by President Putin in February 2022. Although a seemingly irrational megalomaniac, President Putin likely saw an opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic to strike and has likely been biding his time for an opportunity such as this one since at least 2014. Although there has yet to be a succinctly direct explanation for Russia’s reasoning for an invasion of Ukraine now, this escalation falls in the backdrop of a history that extends nearly a thousand years, with the Russian government claiming that Ukraine is simply a part of Russia, utilizing its history through Kievan Rus along with the Soviet Union to justify this notion.

    I believe that this recent development in global politics truly marks the dangers of resting immense (hard) power in the hands of a dictator who will not rest until his terrible ambitions are fulfilled. I truly hope a resolution will result in favor of Ukrainian independence and that sanctions placed against Russia will be successful in averting further crisis against the innocent citizens of Ukraine.

Works Cited

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Kievan Rus". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kyivan-Rus. Accessed 2 March 2022.

“Russia's War in Ukraine: Complete Guide in Maps, Video and Pictures.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 Mar. 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/02/russia-war-in-ukraine-complete-guide-in-maps-video-and-pictures. 

Kirby, Jen, and Jonathan Guyer. “The Increasingly Complicated Russia-Ukraine Crisis, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 9 Feb. 2022, https://www.vox.com/22917719/russia-ukraine-invasion-border-crisis-nato-explained.

“Putin Unveils 'Provocative' Moscow Statue of St Vladimir.” BBC News, BBC, 4 Nov. 2016, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37871793.


Comments

  1. IngridMarch 8, 2022 at 4:19 PM

    I enjoyed reading this blog post because I did not know anything about the origin of Russia or the relationship between Putin's admiration for St. Vladimir and his current actions. This is a helpful explanation and I now understand more about his recent decisions as a dictator. I am also glad that you connected it to the Dr. Strangelove movie as it seems very relevant today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Drew AugustineMarch 12, 2022 at 8:17 PM

    This was a very interesting post to read. I really liked how you showed the connections of Putin to the origins of Russia which may help to explain his reasoning for invading Ukraine. I had no idea about these origins of Russia to include the Viking tribes.

    ReplyDelete

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