Natalie Duckworth, Staff Writer When Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, recently invaded Ukraine with support from Belarus, everyone was left wondering why and how such an event could take place. Putin believes that despite being separate nations, the Slavic nations of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus should be one country due to their shared Slavic ethnicity. He believes that the national identities of Ukraine and Belarus are fake and therefore wants to manipulate these countries however he can. Putin’s main intention is to recreate the once-successful Russian Empire that stretched across Eurasia and lasted for 200 years from the 1700s through the 1900s (Mankoff). To fully understand the situation, we have to look back at the lengthy history of Russia and Ukraine, which reaches back almost 1000 years. At this time, Kyiv, the current capital of Ukraine, was the center of Kyivan Rus, the combined country of Ukraine and Russia. In 988 AD, Vladimir I declared Christianity the state religion of the country. This was the event from which Vladimir Putin declared the two countries one. From 988 and on, land from Ukraine was annexed multiple times, primarily from surrounding countries, such as Poland and Lithuania. In 1793, west Ukraine was annexed by the Russian empire, and a policy followed that banned most Ukrainian customs, including the speaking and studying of the language, in an attempt to boost Russian culture. Ukrainians faced further hardships throughout the 1900s due to the communist revolution in 1917. By 1922, Ukraine was accepted into the Soviet Union and in the 1930s, Joseph Stalin forced citizens to join collective farms by coordinating a famine. These conflicts have caused a political split in Ukraine, with those in the east more likely to support Russia due to being under Russian control for longer than those in the west. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine struggled with nationalism, divided by east and west. Ukrainians yearned for stability while transitioning to a democracy and a capitalist economic system having come off of communism. Ukrainians born after 1991, often called the “Born Free Generation,” want to be integrated into Europe and find their place in western culture, but are still facing challenges from Russia. In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and faced multiple uprisings in eastern Ukraine (Conant). Map from Aljazeera News; Due to the two country's close proximity, political tension has been prominent for the past millennium. It is not just Putin who believes that Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus should be one state; this is an idea common among Russian elites. Most Russian officials remain inattentive to the changing culture and national identity of Ukraine by continuing to treat it as a part of Russia. This is a sentiment that is shared with many of Putin’s works and speeches, including lines declaring that “Ukraine is not even a country” and a 6,000-word essay title “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” (Mankoff). The effects of the war have not been felt in just Ukraine, but also in Russia and in economies across the globe. Ukraine’s economy is largely reliant on its agricultural might, and with Russian troops blocking Kyiv, products such as corn and wheat are unable to be sent out to other countries (Mazalan and Becatoros). Multiple countries have tried to put pressure on Russia to give up through sanctions, which are penalties to punish a country for breaking international law or acting aggressively. Western countries have imposed a variety of sanctions on certain industries, including the financial and energy sectors, while popular global brands have pulled out of the country altogether. Russia’s central bank assets have been frozen and the United States has restricted the country from paying off debts using American money, which have both contributed to a 14% rise in inflation in Russia. The United States has banned all Russian gas and oil imports, with the United Kingdom hoping to do the same by the end of 2022. Germany has paused the opening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would provide natural gas throughout Eastern Europe, and the European Union has declared it will halt Russian coal imports. Food giants McDonalds and Nestle have withdrawn their services and products from Russia. All of these actions have angered Russian leaders, who have tried to fight back by banning the selling of certain products and paying overseas shareholders in governmental bonds (Landale). Photo from Yahoo! Sports; Maryland basketball player Pavlo Dziuba expresses support for his home country. The war has had an effect on the sports and entertainment industry as well, with Russians and Belarusians being harshly punished, and other athletes opening up on their support for Ukraine. In the arts, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev and pianist Denis Matsuev, who were scheduled to perform in Vienna Philharmonic concerts at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, ended up being replaced with other performers. As for sports, the International Olympic Committee has urged international sports bodies to relocate any events that were scheduled to take place in Russia. This resulted in the UEFA Champions League Final in soccer being moved to France, the cancellation of Formula One’s Russian Grand Prix, and the suspension of tennis’ mens and womens combined event set to take place in Moscow. Multiple athletes have spoken out against the war, including both Ukrainians and Russians. The only Ukrainians in the National Basketball Association, Alex Len and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, released a statement together expressing their grief over what is happening in their home country. A Ukrainian college basketball player, Pavlo Dziuba, wore shoes with the phrases “NO WAR PEACE” and “PRAY FOR UKRAINE” written on them during one of his games. Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev wrote “No war please” on the camera lens after winning his semifinal match at the Dubai Championships (Svokos). He, along with fellow Russian tennis players and other athletes, have been barred from some of their competitions. The international soccer, basketball, and skiing federations have banned Russian athletes from competing, while the international federations for skating, track and field, volleyball, and swimming have barred Russians and Belarusians from competing. As for tennis, Russian and Belarusian can still compete under a neutral flag, except for at the prestigious Wimbledon tournament held in England, where players are banned from competing at what is one of the most important tournaments of the year. World Taekwondo has taken direct action against President Putin, stripping him of his black belt (Gaydos). Works Cited Conant, Eve. "Russia and Ukraine: the Tangled History That Connects—and Divides—them." National Geographic, 18 Feb. 2022,
www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/russia-and-ukraine-the-tangled-history-that-connects-and-divides-them. Accessed 27 May 2022. Gaydos, Ryan. "Ukraine War: How Russia's Invasion Has Reverberating Effects on Sports World." Fox News, 2 Mar. 2022, www.foxnews.com/sports/ukraine-war-russia-invasion-sports-world. Accessed 27 May 2022. Landale, James. "What Sanctions are Being Imposed on Russia Over Ukraine Invasion?" BBC News, 25 May 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60125659. Accessed 27 May 2022. Mankoff, Jeffrey. "Russia’s War in Ukraine: Identity, History, and Conflict." Center for Strategic and International Studies, 22 Apr. 2022, www.csis.org/analysis/russias-war-ukraine-identity-history-and-conflict. Accessed 27 May 2022. Mazalan, Ricardo, and Elena Becatoros. "Russia Slams Sanctions, Seeks to Blame West for Food Crisis." AP News, 27 May 2022, apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-government-and-politics-blockades-d1c7c23939c7942e7bd4358444114e1e. Accessed 27 May 2022. Svokos, Alexandra. "Russia-Ukraine Conflict Impacts Sports, Entertainment." ABC News, 25 Feb. 2022, abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/russia-ukraine-conflict-impacts-sports-entertainment/story?id=83116339. Accessed 27 May 2022.
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