There have been many reactions in the United States to the war in Ukraine. Most logical people see the encroachment of an independent country’s sovereignty as an act of aggression. It’s an invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and it should be condemned. Yet, inexplicably, there are those who seem to be supporting Putin in his latest attempt to conquer Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with Inna Sovsun, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, she explained why Putin doesn’t deserve any support.
“Russia has had imperial and aggressive policies for centuries. Nowadays, Russia continues to be a bearer of the ideas of Russian imperialism. Their violence has always been justified for them by the narrative of their own ‘greatness,’” Sovsun told me. “So now, Putin just continues to spread the image inside the country that Russia is a center of the world that protects its ‘blessed’ people from the ‘evil’ of the West.”
Historically speaking, Russia has habitually been suspicious of the West, routinely viewing it as a potential aggressor and nefarious agitator. This phenomenon predates Putin, going back to at least the 19th century; it’s embedded in Russian geopolitical thought. Typically, when Russia has had conflict with the West, this narrative is resurrected by its leaders. Today’s crisis with Ukraine is no different, and the West continues to be evil.
“This ‘evil’ is, in fact, all goods and prosperity that civilization gave to us, including technology, progress, democracy, science, medicine, economy, et cetera,” Sovsun said. “But the Kremlin has successfully built a picture for its citizens where everybody hates ‘Great Russia’ and wants to destroy it. So they ‘need to destroy them first.’”
This explanation is not only used to justify Russia’s military action today, but it can be used to explain most of Russia’s position during the Cold War. Granted, the basis for hostilities in that era was predicated on the fundamental differences between communism and capitalism, but the root of the anger was disdain for all the things that Inna Sovsun mentioned.
Putin has identified NATO expansion as one of the root causes for his invasion. And, there may be some credibility to this claim. However, that is not the real reason Putin invaded. Regardless of the validity of any claims of NATO expansion, there is a long history of conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The countries are intertwined, and Russia has long sought to dominate Ukraine.
In the past 100 years, Russia has repeatedly tried to invade Ukraine and cause its citizens great harm. The preeminent example of this was the terror-famine known as the Holodomor, which lasted from 1932 to 1933. Other acts of aggression include the Bolshevik invasion of Ukraine and its incorporation into the Soviet Union. In the 21st century, Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014 and annexed the Crimea region. “Russian hate is streamed against our country, which Putin, as well as many people in Russia, consider as part of their country, not an independent and sovereign one,” Sovsun said. “They do not recognize our country, our government, and our nation because of their sick imperialism.”
In a more interesting twist, a point that has not received much attention, Sovsun stated that she believes one of Putin’s real reasons for ordering the invasion relates to the liberties associated with democracy itself. It wasn’t NATO expansion but the expansion of democratic ideals that threatened Putin. In that regard, the fuse for the recent invasion of Ukraine might have been ignited back in 2014 during the Euromaidan protests.
“Russian elites feared a democratic state nearby, which was supposed to be part of Russia in their minds, because it could have been an example to their citizens and a threat to their authoritarian regime,” Sovsun said. “Because Ukrainians repeatedly show that the state is the responsibility of citizens, and if we are not satisfied with what the government or president are doing, we protest and change the situation, they were afraid that we would spread these sentiments to Russia as well.”
“So, Putin simply cannot forgive the fact that our country makes its own choices and writes its own history, regardless of him. He clearly wants to occupy and conquer Ukraine,” Sovsun continued.
Furthermore, Sovsun believes that Putin has his sights set on more than just Ukraine. She thinks Putin is trying to create a new Iron Curtain, and not a communist one. Putin’s aspirations to be more than a regional hegemon could pave the way for more Russian aggression. Such action seems unlikely given the difficulties the Russian military seems to be experiencing in Ukraine. However, it is a warning the rest of the world might want to pay attention to.
“But the point is that afterward, he is not intended to stop. He really wants to move forward, as NATO members like Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are all ‘danger to the Russian security’ for Putin,” Sovsun said. “That’s why I want to stress this point — this war is not simply the war in Ukraine. It’s about the global threat to the developed and democratic world which comes from the dictator and his followers.”
