Conclusion—Vladimir versus Volodymyr
(Mediamodifier, 2022)
“The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.” —Volodymyr Zelensky, when offered a safe place to rule Ukraine from exile (McCallig, 2022)
The 2022 war on Ukraine can be boiled down to how the two protagonists read the history of Ukraine.
The two Vladimirs (or the two Volodymyrs!) are cousins in culture. Their names betray their common ancestry. They share the same roots in the Vikings of the Dark Ages and the original Kyivan Rus’. But one culture has grown at the expense of the other. Ukraine has desperately held onto a secret independent identity while Russia has expanded its identity into a globe-dominating persona.Investigating the chain of command in Ukraine shows that the people of the earth—the Ukrainian peasants—have had to serve Poles or Austrians or Cossacks or Mongols or Russians throughout most of their existence.
Putin appeals to the history of subjugation and exploitation of Ukraine as establishing Russian rights to the use of its “Ukrainian Province.”
Zelensky, on the other hand, evokes memories of the Vikings who rowed down the Dnieper and established an independent marauder’s kingdom.
The 2022 conflict is still in the balance. The history of Ukraine shows that it has always been in the midst of a crisis; always a place of unfinished business. There has never been a leisurely moment to look back on and ponder—the next armies are always arming for battle over Ukraine. I offer this journalist’s view to help you make sense of what is happening and spot old trends—but also, hopefully, emerging trends that will allow history to take a different direction.
My hope is that reflection on this ugly war will offer us insights into how to make our world a more peaceful place.
THE END