Russia, Ukraine & The Politics of it all

It was the early 1990s. I was in a boarding school. Life was simple and routine; until the day the “Mandal Commission” reservations were announced. Suddenly there was a disruption to the daily rhythm. We could not venture out of the hostel premises, not even to the school building. Classes were held in the hostel and meals were served in the quadrangle of the building. Social media was non-existent and being in a boarding school meant that information we had was very limited. There was no way we knew about the large-scale protests and self-immolations occurring around the nation. All we knew was that educational institutions were asked to be closed and our institution was trying their best to continue our education. Then one fine day the protestors realised that we were all still at school. Before violence erupted, the authorities packed us all home.

Alas, today Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not have the option of evacuating the Ukrainian citizens away to a safe home. They are fighting hard and heroically to save their way of life and their harbour of livelihood. Social media, television news, newspapers; they are all filled with stories of terror, courage and generosity of the civilians and armed forces of the attacked nation. Global leaders have imposed heavy sanctions and have had a dialogue with the aggressor as well. Yet the bombings and raging continue. I can only imagine the anxiety and worry of the Ukrainians and those with loved ones there. What I cannot still get my hands around is why this conflict.

I have read enough to understand that Ukraine is a great treasure trove of natural reserves and arable land. Historically, the interest of Russia in “owning” this part of the world is also something I am aware of. People have told me how the fear of the country joining NATO means Russia will have missiles targeted on it from its own borders. Yet I do not get the kind of invasion that has been launched. Yes, Russia can own the ore and the land. That could be done via trade treaties as well. Africa and Latin Amercia have seen these in abundance. A victory for Russia will satisfy its ego and pride of extending its empire. But was there an EU like solve plausible? I do not know, and acknowledge that for the said ambition a coalition may not be the perfect answer. Lastly of course, if real, with Ukraine surrendering the NATO threat will be annihilated. The last two achievements may come but at what cost? The cost of leaving a legacy of violence, decades of unrest, famine, economic downfall, and travesty all around! How is this even remotely rationale! But then there are certain styles of leadership that do not rely on rationality or compassion at all. They depend on achieving the end result, whatever maybe the price and whoever may have to render it as long as it is not them.

Every nation has the right to protect and defend its borders and govern its citizens so that there is a balance maintained across economic, cultural, and historic planes. We have seen recent, widespread discomfort in two large democracies of the world with the decisions of the government and the leader of the nation. The anti-views have largely hinged on human rights and liberal thought. The pro views have taken the approach of preserving what is core to the country and to a group of people fearing displacement and disenfranchisement.  Both have a viewpoint that could have been balanced but instead have polarised the populations. Yet these issues have been internal, creating discomfort and tilts of power within the borders of these democracies. None created a situation of endangering the lives of neighbouring civilians. While not ideal they are still matters that are not taking us back to ages of Genghis Khan and Alexander where it was power and loot that extended national boundaries.

All the happenings that I am writing of highlight the importance of leadership and the onus on citizens to elect the right leaders, to hold them accountable, and to ensure that we leave a world that is better than today for our children. We already have the environmental degradation that threatens the survival of the planet. Now with hostility and war we may just be either hastening the end of the earth or making the survival unpalatable. Once again, is this the legacy that we want to leave for the generations that may come after?

I consider myself a cautiously optimistic individual and believe that there is a likelihood that the sanctions will stop this madness. The fervent hope that this invasion stops is also so that there is no China – Taiwan next or a furthering of the Russian empire agenda. While change is the only constant and we must be prepared to deal with situations that come our way, I believe that we can also affect change and improve the situations that some our way. So today, it is more than ever that we have a moral obligation to think hard of how to render our responsibility of electing those who would govern with rationality and compassion, how can we hold those who we elect accountable to us and how can the world come together to live in harmony even when we have our myriad differences. Maybe it is time that I personally end my indifference to polity, or I will be the biggest hypocrite and culprit around. To quote Albert Einstein – “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”