Centenary Professors Unpack Russia and Ukraine
Photo by Punch Newspapers
It was almost impossible to not hear about Russia invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Many of us have seen updates about Russia and Ukraine, and we may have even done some basic research on the history between these two countries, but in order to gain more clarity on why Russia invaded Ukraine and what the possible future could be as a result of this conflict, I conducted an interview with Dr. Donahoe and Dr. Fulwider, two professors here at Centenary. This article will mostly be based on that conversation.
What’s the Basic History Between Russia and Ukraine?
Russia and Ukraine were both a part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine declared its independence in 1991. Dr. Fulwider said that in 2014, a “pro-Western government took power in Ukraine.” This government considered joining the European Union (the European Union is a group of European countries that share common legislation, economic policies, and trading rights, so they can have both economic and political benefits). This 2014 government also considered joining NATO which stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is a defense alliance between different countries. Because Russia felt threatened by Ukraine possibly joining NATO, Russia took the Crimean Peninsula that had been a part of Ukraine. This situation in 2014 was significantly smaller than the current war going on.
Why did Russia Decide to Invade this Time?
Dr. Fulwider said that Ukraine is known “as the ‘breadbasket’ of Europe because it has been an agriculturally rich region.” Another economic benefit of Russia getting Ukraine is the fact that there are oil pipelines in Ukraine.
However, the other big reason why Russia is currently in Ukraine goes back to Russia feeling threatened by NATO. Dr. Fulwider said that he thinks “the main interest for Russia is to maintain or to reassert a buffer zone, a buffer area, between Russia and the West.” Dr. Fulwider also thinks Russia is hoping for the Ukrainian government to either fall or be replaced by a government that is less pro-Western and more pro-Russian.
World War III?
There has definitely been concern that this war will end up becoming World War III. Although no one knows for sure how exactly this will all pan out, Dr. Fulwider brought up the term mutually assured destruction. This is a term associated with the Cold War, which was a period when tensions were high between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. Basically, both superpowers knew that if they were to use their nuclear weapons, then both of them would be destroyed. Even though Ukraine is not a superpower, if Russia goes too far and does something like invading a NATO country, that’s when things can get dangerous really quickly for both sides. Because Russia has not unleashed all of the damage that the country is capable of, it appears that Russia is still aware and wary of mutually assured destruction.
How is this War Different?
Dr. Donahoe said that “on the continent, this is the first aggression we’ve seen at this scale.” Both Dr. Donahoe and Dr. Fulwider talked about how modern technology has impacted this war. Although Russia’s supply lines are not the greatest (some of their tanks literally have flat tires), Russia is using modern technology which we haven’t seen in Eurasia since the last world war. In addition, things like cell phones have allowed people across the world to stay up to date with what is currently going on and help send aid through various donation platforms.
Photo by Associated Press
But this modern technology has also impacted Putin’s narrative that he’s telling Russian citizens. The Russian government is not calling the war a war, which is what it is. Instead, they are referring to it as a “special military operation.” Additionally, Putin is claiming to “denazify” Ukraine, he is using this particular narrative with the Russian people because the Soviet Union lost a lot of people in World War II. According to The Washington Post, “an estimated 26 million Soviet citizens died during World War II, including as many as 11 million soldiers.” So, the narrative that Putin is using is a manipulative way for Putin to get the Russian citizens to empathize with him.
However, Russian citizens can access what is actually going on through things like VPNs. According to Atlas VPN, “VPN usage in Russia skyrockets by 10,000% following Instagram ban.”
Is the End in Sight?
Unfortunately, we don’t know. When the invasion first happened, the world was surprised at how well Ukraine held up, but Dr. Fulwider says that “the sort of elephant in the room is to recognize that Russia is still a superpower. They have an enormous army, navy, air force. They’re constantly bombing cities . . . They could easily ramp up their bombing campaigns.” Both Dr. Fulwider and Dr. Donahoe also pointed out that even if the war ends soon, we can look at conflicts in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, which ended up having decades-long problems.
Messages from Dr. Donahoe and Dr. Fulwider
At the end of the interview, I asked Dr. Fulwider and Dr. Donahoe if they had anything else that they would like the Centenary student body to know regarding Russia and Ukraine. Dr. Fulwider said, “I think this is an excellent case to show how important it is for people to be informed and to have access to accurate information.” Dr. Donahoe said, “My hope is that the legacy of whatever the world does next will be on the side of human rights and humanitarian ethics, but I don’t think we’re doing enough yet.”
Ending Thoughts
My hope is that this article provided a bit of clarity about the war between Russia and Ukraine, and I recommend doing your own research with accurate information.
Also, thank you so much Dr. Fulwider and Dr. Donahoe for taking the time to give me some truly informative and thoughtful responses!