Tensions are high as the whole world watches the Ukraine-Russia conflict drastically unfold. With history happening before our very eyes, it may seem as though all we can do is watch, but watching isn’t enough to fully grasp the issue. To fully understand the problem, we must look back to history, taking a step back to see the conflict in its entirety.
Long before Russia’s imminent threat to Ukraine and long before Ukraine joined the Soviet Union, then ruler of Kievan Rus (present-day Ukraine) Grand Prince Vladimir I chose the Orthodox Christian faith as the new state religion. With his baptism in present-day Crimea, the prince unknowingly bound Ukraine—and Crimea—with Russia, thus, beginning religious issues that still stand.
For ten centuries, Ukraine remained under the influence of other countries, but in the 18th century, the lands to the east of the Dnieper river—now known as Eastern Ukraine—fell under Russian control, beginning the centuries-long Russian influence in the nation that would also later hinder Ukraine’s complete unification.
Sadly, Russia’s control over Ukraine only grew in the following years, intensifying the brutal conflict that Ukraine had undergone because of the already prominent Russian influence. In 1917, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin took hold of power over the state after Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne, leaving Russia and Eastern Ukraine at the mercy of Communist rule.
Five years after the rise of Russian communism, the Soviet Union forcibly took over after Ukraine faced a series of internal conflicts and civil wars, finally having all nations under its control. This only contributed to the integration of Russian culture within Ukraine, especially with Joseph Stalin’s orchestrated famine that left millions of Ukrainians dead while introducing more Russians into the nation.
In August of 1991, Ukraine declared itself to be an independent nation with the Soviet Union falling in December of the same year—providing a way for Ukrainians to reunite in culture once more. But before they could rebuild their nation, Ukrainians had to face its religious divide between the East and the West—with factions formed when Russia took control of lands east of the Dnieper. Ukraine’s East and West are divided over the basis of their Orthodox Christian religion, with the East favoring the Moscow-based Orthodox Church and the West following the Kyiv-centered one.
While seemingly being a mere historical influence, religion in Ukraine has served as a historical basis for some of its more current conflicts. The first of these was Russia’s annexation of Crimea back in 2014 after President Putin declared the peninsula “holy ground” as it was Vladimir I’s baptism site.
Furthermore, Putin has claimed that the olden kingdom of Kievan Rus’ is Russia’s land by right, providing one more reason for its invasion on Ukraine soil.
Even the support of the East for much of Russia’s religious responsibilities plays a role in Putin’s decision for war. In defense of the Moscow Orthodox Church and for the unification of the Luhansk and Donetsk churches – both of which are Eastern Ukraine Churches – Putin saw it fitting to begin Russia’s invasion, believing that Ukraine should be properly returned to the motherland.
But behind the facade of historical rights and religious defense, Russia’s ultimate desire is to annex Ukraine and renew Ukraine’s alliance once more to Communism and Russian ideals. The final incentive seems to be to stop Ukraine’s petition to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—a group initially formed due to the expansion of Communism.
When the Russian forces finally invaded Ukraine last February 24, 2022, the whole world was left in a state of shock and uncertainty—a state that persists today.
As we try to foresee the possible outcomes of our present-day history, let’s not lose sight of the history of days passed. Although the future of Ukraine is uncertain, what can be said with certainty is this: the fight for Ukraine, though challenging and unpredictable, isn’t a fight that can be impeded by a national crisis nor halted by the fear of an obscure future. Instead, it’s a battle that will see itself fueled by the people’s will to defend all that has been fought for — this much Ukraine’s history has shown us.
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