P4-PC: The fall of Russia and how Putins actions reflect those of past Soviet Dictators/leaders.

How does Russia’s actions against the sovereign nation of Ukraine mirror the grave mistakes committed by Russia’s past dictators?

    On December 12, 2022, the O.H.C.H.R (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) reported and confirmed 17,362 Ukrainian civilian casualties: 6,755 Ukrainian civilians killed and 10,607 Ukrainian civilians injured due to the recent invasion by Russian forces under President Putin’s order. (Ukraine: civilian casualty update 12 December 2022 | OHCHR) Throughout The Ukraine War, tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and other nations seem to have grown exponentially. Due to the rising tensions, more and more people fall victim to Putin’s war. Even Russian citizens are hugely affected by the war in both an economic and safety sense. However, though I provided numbers of deaths and Injuries of Ukrainian civilians this does not paint the entire picture. This is because the death and injury toll increases day by day especially when we factor in the deaths and injuries of Russian civilians, and Russian and Ukrainian soldiers as Putin continues to push for any reason to prolong this conflict.

How does Russia’s actions against the sovereign nation of Ukraine mirror the grave mistakes committed by Russia’s past dictators? 

    Since the war began, the effects of the conflict in Ukraine have been disastrous as Russia’s economy has been reduced to shambles; deaths of civilians and soldiers continue to rise; Putin has ordered mass arrests of anti-war protesters, and trade between Russia and other nations have been limited due to sanctions raised by the U.N.To explain why the current president of Russia, President Vladimir Putin, continues to mirror the actions of former Russian dictators/leaders; I need to explain how the Russo-Ukrainian conflict began. The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has been brewing for decades since the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics .) The U.S.S.R. was a group of fourteen former communist/socialist countries surrounding Russia, the U.S.S.R. had territory stretching from the Baltic states in Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean, including the majority of northern Asia and portions of central Asia, in 1991. Shortly after the dissolution, many former nations like Ukraine sought to gain political independence and then later true independence away from Russia. This action was achieved when Ukraine agreed to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, a treaty still maintained by N.A.T.O (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (N.A.T.O) is a military alliance originally established in 1949 to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe after World War II. When the Cold War ended, N.A.T.O. was reconceived as a “cooperative security” organization. It is also important to note that Ukraine agreed to the terms of the treaty when they were still part of the U.S.S.R., so the action was merely a jumpstart to how Ukraine would later act concerning its alliance with Russia. This steppingstone for Ukraine also set an example to other nations formerly under Soviet control when the eventual dissolution occurred in 1991 as former eastern bloc countries chose to align themselves with N.A.T.O. This action of course was viewed as an attack on Russian principles/control as Russia believed that N.A.T.O was overstepping their bounds. This assumption later culminated in multiple disputes over land/territory, specifically concerning the now-sovereign nation of Ukraine which eventually led to Putin declaring war on Ukraine under pretenses.

    The Ukraine war is the newest war between the Sovereign nation of Ukraine and Russia. A war that has shocked many nations around the world, many of whom condemn Russia’s President Putin for his blatant disregard for the safety of both Russia and Ukraine’s people due to his frivolous reasons behind invading the neighboring country of Ukraine as well as the Russian militaries actions during the campaign. President Zelensky of Ukraine has been fighting for democracy within his country of Ukraine ever since the war began. Countries like the U.S., U.K., Poland, India, and more continue to de-escalate tensions between the countries. Even the people’s republic of China, a nation with a long past and ties with countries that have supported communism including Russia, has issued multiple statements calling for peaceful negotiations before the war escalates further. While the invasion of Ukraine was initiated on February 24, 2022, the tensions between the sovereign nations have been brewing for decades under Russia’s many indiscretions. The 2022 war on Ukraine is just another instance of Russia exercising its military might against Ukraine as the conflict has lasted generations, but it also reveals a particular pattern in Russia’s history in terms of nations’ actions against foreign nations. Actions that mirror the predecessors of modern Russia like the Soviet Union led by Vladimir Lenin and then Joseph Stalin; to the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.).

What are the Soviet Union and the USSR, and what was the central idea behind Soviet Russia, how did that goal affect modern-day Russia?

    Throughout all the forms of the Russian government over the years, to read more about the governments of Soviet Russia click here:https://putinhasfallen.blogspot.com/2022/12/expanded-history.html, we see an underlying theme present, this theme is expansionism. Expansionism, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is a policy or practice of expansion and especially of territorial expansion by a nation. (Expansionism Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster) The soviet and USSR alike had to resort to expansionism to complete their goals of expanding their border via the Russian invasion of surrounding territories which allowed Russia to gain the resources it needed to complete the goals set forth by their governments in their respective periods. So Soviet Russia made sure that their governments revolved around one clear idea to ensure that Russia remained a world power. Every aspect of Soviet Russia was influenced by it, and as such the actions as well as the government of Soviet Russia had to reflect this idea. To further expand the reach and power of the Russian government as well as secure Soviet Russia as a world power, Soviet Russia would have to expand and do so rapidly to a point where every Russian citizen was forced/ coerced to work towards expansion across not only the territories occupied by the Russian government but also neighboring territories that had not been invaded by Russian forces. This was especially true during Stalin’s reign as he was responsible for the over-industrialization of Russia leading them to invade and colonize surrounding territories under soviet control to increase his power across Europe. After Stalin had passed, Soviet Russia continued to follow the goal. Utilizing the same ferocity and lack of ethics in the era of the U.S.S.R. As the expansion continued, Soviet Russia investigated new territories for itself including Belarus and Ukraine. This need for expansionism can also be attributed to the actions of modern-day Russia or specifically why Putin began his conquest of Ukraine as Putin is the latest successor to a line of dictators/leaders who sought to expand their influence, power, wealth, and control by invading foreign territories. Putin has chosen to expand the Russian economy and the power of his government through his continued unsanctioned invasion of the Donbas region as well as Kyiv and the rest of Ukraine.

What actions did Putin take that mirror the actions of former soviet governments led by Vladimir Lenin, and Joseph Stalin?

    Soviet Russia was responsible for many horrendous crimes throughout Russia’s history, from terrible acts of aggression; to the removal of human rights; forced labor, and recruitment; Political imprisonment; mass incarceration; mass murder; execution of political rivals, and the abuse of power. These terrible crimes are thought to be a part of Russia’s dark past, but as history has told us time and again some events are doomed to be repeated. With President Putin’s continued war on Ukraine, Putin mirrors his country’s worst dictators as many of his recent decisions mimic both the hostility and overarching ideas which were thought then further perpetrated by former leaders of Russia. In fact, in the first few months of the conflict N.A.T.O had been engaged in talks with both Ukraine and Russia for peace. Ukraine was looking to join N.A.T.O and has engaged in talks much to the interruption and threats made by Russia. N.A.T.O (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a major threat to the forces of Russia as N.A.T.O has served as an organization that consists of many countries and nations including major world powers who are committed to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation as long nukes are an option and as such, they act as a barrier against foreign invasion and unsanctioned use of arms “Putin may have ambitions to restore a greater Russian empire, but he has no ideological superstructure to help him do it. That's one reason his invasion of Ukraine is so unsettling: we have no way of predicting what he will do next, or how far he will go. Putin's Russia is a dictatorship of one man. He is beholden to no ideology. That allows him to behave irrationally if he choose” (Wilson, 3/2/22) We see the same repetition of mistakes and disregard for the lives of Russian and Ukrainian civilians/soldiers, many of whom either do not wish for war to occur or want the current war to stop before it escalates further. We see the lengths that President Putin is willing to pursue in his quest for power. Putin has engaged in silencing opposition to the War in his country by arresting protesters en masse and even forcibly recruiting said protesters into voluntary service with forged registration papers with the dissident’s information. This is coupled with the fact that Russia has put out yet another statement that sent alarms through every country as Russia has stated that Ukraine is constructing and holding Dirty bombs, dirty bombs are terrorist weapons akin to nukes. This accusation is being investigated by N.A.T.O. However many countries much to the dismay of Russia are aware that this is a ploy to try to rally support for his continued expansion into the sovereign territory like his nation’s predecessors the Soviet Union and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.). Putin has tried on multiple occasions through fearmongering and propaganda to secure more support in his insane bid to try to paint the invasion of Ukraine as a mission of peace. We see how far he will go when he purposely mobilized Russian troops and separatist groups into the Donbas region and later into Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city. As Putin launched his campaign against Ukraine under the false narrative of removing NAZI sympathizers, he deployed Russian troops to Kyiv as well as ordered missile strikes on target zones that had Ukrainian civilians living in them or around them. These actions killed thousands of innocent civilians who were designated, non-combatants (anyone who surrenders or is not a part of any military/fighting force), this triggered a massive effort by Ukrainian soldiers to try to evacuate many civilians from Kyiv and any surrounding areas under siege by Russian forces. Many Russian soldiers deployed into Kyiv were not aware that the people they were ordered to destroy were in fact civilians, many soldiers who fought for Russia were intentionally kept in the dark. Some reported that they were given only targets and were not provided any reason beyond that. “Putin's stated reason for going to war - to prevent a genocide and root out the fascists - is just as absurd, while his probable real reason - to crush a burgeoning democracy on his doorstep because it could give his people dangerous ideas and threaten his hold on power - raises his unprovoked invasion to the level of a war crime”  (Wilson, 3/2/22) President Putin continues to affirm his reasons of pursuing the war with Ukraine is to weed out the fascist Nazi sympathizers, citing that his invasion of Ukraine is justifiable in both the moral and economic aspects as it involves the safety and stability of Russia. President Putin has manipulated Russian media to depict a fake story that many Russians look forward to engaging in the war against Ukraine. These claims have since been debunked by NATO and many nations were already aware that this assumption made by Putin is a blatant act to save face within the eyes of both the world and especially the Russian people. While Russia attempts to dissuade any rumors of Russia losing the Ukraine war as well as continued efforts to slander Ukraine as a potential threat to Russia’s economic and political infrastructure. Overall we see a broad display that reminds us of efforts taken by previous governments.

Why does President Putin continue to invade Ukraine amidst multiple losses and warnings from other countries, will he secede before Russia’s economy suffers?

    

    Putin’s main reason behind the continued invasion of Ukraine was to weed out fascist NAZI sympathizers who were a threat to the Russian government, but since then many nations around the world have seen this as an unjustified act of aggression. But why would Putin continue the war knowing that people do not believe in him and his goals, Putin continues to wage war against Ukraine for the simple reason, as stated before, to gain resources while also trying to desperately save face. Much of Russia’s success was attributed to the nation’s ability to be a threat, so much so that an entire organization (N.A.T.O.) was created to combat Russia’s fearsome reputation. This fear allowed Russia for many years to have an edge, meaning they were able to gain whatever territories they wanted but like all things as time went on their influence started to fade. While Russia remained a world power and a military threat to any nation including the United States of America, now even that assumption is waning as Putin’s recent defeat at the hands of Ukraine paints a very interesting picture. A picture that details that Russia is losing itself and has begun to unwind. We can see this when we look at how the Russian military is conducting their invasion further into Ukraine as reports have indicated that many Russian soldiers have grown disillusioned due to false reports and lies made by the Russian government. Simply put if Putin were to stop the war, he would have to admit defeat at the hands of an enemy which he viewed as an easy target. A view that he had constantly perpetuated through government-influenced media throughout Russia, desperately trying to convince the Russian people that this war would last a couple of months due to the inefficiency and size of the Ukraine Army. This brings me to my second point that Putin will not secede from his invasion of Ukraine before his economy suffers as his actions have already begun impacting Russia’s economy, we can see this when we start to look at Russia’s exportation of Oil. An important part of any nation’s economy is its ability to import and export goods. Putin’s crazed war impacts this vital part of any nation, since his deplorable actions in Ukraine the U.S. has formally cut off purchasing Russian oil which had resulted in increased gas prices, and with the help of the UN and NATO new sanctions are being put into place to limit and cut off Russia’s ability to import foreign products. “Putin may have ambitions to restore a greater Russian empire, but he has no ideological superstructure to help him do it. That is one reason his invasion of Ukraine is so unsettling: we have no way of predicting what he will do next, or how far he will go. Putin's Russia is a dictatorship of one man. He is beholden to no ideology. That allows him to behave irrationally if he chooses” (Wilson, 3/2/22) With the sanctions levied against Russia, it has led Russia into what some describe as a new recession as Russia shows signs such as the value of the Russian Ruble reaching drastic and unprecedented rates as well as Russia spending millions of dollars prolonging the conflict in Russia in a vain attempt to win and keep whatever influence Putin has left. Based on Putin’s actions, he seeks to restore the power and influence that was once held by his predecessors, we also see Putin has gone to such great lengths that he no longer seems to care what happens to his people and their businesses. Russia has lost many foreign businesses including Starbucks, McDonald’s, Adidas, Vans, and more due to the war. Of course, Putin has since rebranded the left-over places with new Russian-inspired names but his efforts to convince the people that everything is fine failed miserably. Even Russian business owners continue to denounce Putin’s reasons for war in the first place.

    Russia’s actions against the sovereign nation of Ukraine while mirroring the grave mistakes committed by Russia’s past dictators as described through this project have since changed my understanding of the Ukraine war and its effect upon the world. Originally, my perspective was based on the investigation of the actions which revealed Russia’s call for aggression as well as the similarities which seemed to relate to how the socialist/communist governments of the past operated within bother their nation as well as other nation which they sought to take over. Throughout my research, I noticed that my original perspective began to evolve with the idea of similarities. As I continued to research, I noticed while we have some or better yet no idea what Putin will do in the future to keep his war afloat, there is a staggering number of similarities between Putin’s actions throughout the war and the events leading up to WWII. While this may seem like an outlandish theory, his actions have directly put not only his and Ukraine’s people in jeopardy it has put us as Americans in danger as we now face as a nation in what is best described as political upheaval due to Gas prices drastically going up to more important issues through our nation’s politics like how the 2022 election was stolen and before that involving Russian involvement in leaks. Events that have continued to divide the American people. As my perspective grew and widened, I started to realize that with Putin’s continued belligerence It is easy to assume that in part or whole that Russia will do something that may prompt intervention akin to the events of WWII. Whether it be a new draft or something closely resembling the steps we have taken so far, referring to how the U.K. and U.S have provided portable missile systems, weapons, and armor to Ukraine, mirror the events which prompted the United States to join their brethren in the defense of the world and its peace. Now I have a new question, a question that relates to my sense of safety and quality of life. What is the next step in ending the war in Ukraine, will it conclude into a new iteration of a world war, and will it reach our shores? Now, I realize that the idea of the Ukrainian war impacting my quality of life may seem petty in comparison to the lives of Russian and Ukrainian civilians caught in the literal/metaphorical crossfire of Russia’s war in Ukraine, It must also be realized that my new question has some merit in truth as the continued war in Ukraine coincides with the idea of WW3, which seemed like an exaggerated possibility, could be true as we have already started sending funding and weapons alongside other member-nations of N.A.T.O. An action which many historians and non-historians alike can recall that before we (the U.S) got involved in WWII we were providing both supplies and weapons to the Allied forces before formally joining them against the AXIS. I want to explore the aspects which culminated in the first WWII from an economic and socio-political standpoint as both aspects seem to hold similarities to the war in Ukraine. One action I wish to take is to personally explore this topic and my question as both reveal a certain element that has shown its face throughout history which is a repetition of certain events. This is a topic and question that very much interest me, in fact, it has already inspired me to start researching/studying the future action of Russia, Ukraine, N.A.T.O., the rest of the world, and the United States of America.

Cite:

Echoes of history in Kyiv; Russia’s advance recalls Soviet tanks entering Prague in 1968, but Putin’s goals differ. Toronto star. 2022:A9-.

History.com Editors. “Soviet Union.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 1 Sept. 2017, https://www.history.com/topics/russia/history-of-the-soviet-union.

“Expansionism Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expansionism

“Ukraine: Civilian Casualty Update 12 December 2022.” OHCHR, 12 Dec. 2022,https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2022/12/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-12-december-2022.