Easter offers a moment for hope in a year tainted by Russia’s ‘genocidal’ invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most repeated criminal aims are to change Ukraine’s leadership, kill Ukrainian nationalists, ‘save’ Russian speakers from (fictitious) ‘Nazi’ genocide, disarm Ukraine and prevent it from joining NATO, and to ‘Russify’ Ukraine as far as he possibly can.
Other reasons are of a cultural and religious nature, including replacing Ukrainian language and culture with Russia’s own.
Putin’s order of ‘genocide’ against Ukraine’s identity and independence has roots in imperialist Old Believer Orthodox nationalistic philosophies of Ivan Ilyin, Alexander Dugin, Vladislav Surkov, Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov (his reported confessor and advisor), and the Russian Orthodox Church to further his power hungry imperialistic ambitions.
Taking one example from this wall of infamy, Dugin uses hate speech to equate liberals with Nazis, saying that Russia needs to “bring the de-nazification of Ukraine to its logical conclusion” by attacking Ukraine to eliminate its cause. Just days before Russia invaded Ukraine, Dugin stated that “Russia will restore order, justice, prosperity and decent standards of life in Ukraine”, and that “Russia carries freedom with it.” What an outrageous lie!
Surkov, father of the 2014 invasion of Ukraine, founder of ‘Sovereign Democracy’, originator of ‘Putinism’, and reported overseer of the Maidan massacre, openly states in interviews his blatantly absurd belief that Ukraine is not a country with fixed borders. Putin’s words and invasion actions echo Surkov’s false declarations even after Surkov’s apparent demotion for failure in Ukraine.
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill (reported KGB call-sign ‘Mykhailov’) congratulated the Russian president and dictator for being a “defender of the Fatherland” in a statement issued only hours before Putin ordered the unprovoked and unwarranted illegal invasion of Ukraine.
How preposterous, perverted, sacrilegious, and profane are the claims of Putin’s Kremlin-controlled church supremacists to claim power and domination over others? Their pronouncement in a traditional Russian vein that Moscow is a “Third Rome” and the legitimate leader of Christendom are egregious. Their behavior is unlike any that can be recognized as Christian.
What Christian murders, rapes, lies, robs, bombs and imposes genocide against a neighbor? What religion decides that an entire people have no right to exist? Putin’s Kremlin church does.
The reported faith of Putin has no credibility in the context of his anti-Christian actions. He is a KGB trained officer who likely uses religion as a tool of control to increase his power, profits, tributes and monopolies.
War is about economics and Putin wants full control of the oil, gas, coal, water, agricultural land, minerals and transit hubs in the east and south of Ukraine and throughout the Black Sea region. By occupying these areas, he hopes to increase his profits, deny economic success to Ukraine and try to render Ukraine perpetually under the Kremlin’s influence. Ukraine will not accept his vile plan.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine today has less to do with national church supremacy, ‘security guarantees’, ‘Nazis’, foreign powers or Russian fears than it has to do with plundering and expansion, with an intent to commit the same crimes in new lands.
How can the civilized world stop Putinism from expanding? How can Ukraine and the West find a path to peaceful coexistence with such a deceptive lawless monstrosity that threatens global extinction to any group who opposes its heinous aims?
Several things are clear. The aggressor wants to continue using violence to feed an insatiable greed; and peace will only emerge when the intentions and orders of the aggressor are changed by agreement or by compulsion.
So is there a viable path to sustainable peace?
Seeking answers, I discussed the ethical dimensions of the Kremlin’s crimes with a senior Archbishop, who has chosen to remain anonymous in view of this position, He wisely shared that finding a resolution requires the offender to stop committing the offence, apologizing to God and to man, and to make reparations – as far as possible – for the crimes committed. Only then can there be Justice, and only following Justice can there be relative Peace.
But there is no indication that the Kremlin intends to apologize for its crimes or to stop committing them. In fact, the opposite is happening. Today, the Kremlin’s viral lies continue to condone what has been termed genocide in Ukraine. According to Russian media, the vast majority of Russian people believe Kremlin lies about ‘Nazis’ in Ukraine and they support the genocide of innocent Ukrainian people because they are told that Ukrainians are ‘Nazis’.
It would seem many Russian people are oblivious to the fact that World War II ended in 1945 before Putin was even born; that Europe was a peaceful place until Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine; that their Russian forces are behaving in the same manner as Nazis; and that Ukraine was never any threat to Russia, nor NATO and the U.S. It should be obvious to Russians but it’s not.
Peace will only be possible when Russian people research, investigate, reach and act upon evidence-based conclusions. They must find a way to bypass television memes manufactured by Kremlin agents that are designed to enslave their minds and direct their actions towards hate, war and destruction. The Kremlin lie machine fuels Kremlin-commanded violence. It must be stopped to put an end to the lies and to create a path to acknowledgement, remorse, reconciliation and eventual justice.
Russian people who call themselves ‘Orthodox’ old and traditional believers have to reject the horrors that are being committed in their names and to publicly denounce the ‘sins’ of their leaders. The blood of Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic people is the shared sin of those who support Putin’s genocide of choice against Ukraine. Russia must go through the pain of acknowledging a century of grievous sins against millions of innocent lives, a painful and necessary process towards personal, national and international peace.
Far from peace, today there is war in Ukraine. Every day, I receive multiple reports and accounts of Putin’s attacks on Ukraine’s people, economy, infrastructure, democracy, industry, language, and culture. I speak regularly with people who are trying hard just to survive, make sense of being forced to leave their homes, jobs and belongings, and to flee the invading Kremlin thugs. I speak with defenders, officials and allies and we do our collective best to look for solutions and to support one other.
Meanwhile, hospitals, schools, residential areas, and theaters are being bombed. Children and adults are being kidnapped and sent to Russia for ‘re-education’ and punishment for being Ukrainian.
In occupied areas, teachers and parents are being forced to teach in the Russian language with guns to their heads and threats to children. A good friend told me recently that they shot at her ‘Peace School’ and shot at a bus carrying some of the children. And there are casualties, but communication is restricted and we have no information as yet on injuries. Horrific terrorism and uncivilized inhumanity from the Kremlin Horde. Let’s call it what it is?
This ‘Russkiy Mir’ (meaning ‘Russian World’) is a world of lawless savagery and barbarity in which fear reigns. Within, there is no truth, no law, no standards and no freedom. Ukraine battles against this today. The world will have to battle against this tomorrow because Putinism plans to expand and expand while threatening weapons of mass destruction upon those who oppose the dictator’s criminal power projections.
On a positive note, Putin has failed, and in failing he has broken every Russian and international law and treaty that the Russian Federation has signed up to. Putin policy has disgraced and isolated Russia. He has achieved the polar opposite of all of his stated intentions and is on a path of self and national destruction. One prominent politician may have termed him as a ‘loser’ – a bad and dangerous loser for his own people, for business and for our world. Even so, our world continues!
Easter is here and there is hope amid the massive suffering and cost that millions of innocent Ukrainians are enduring. Support from around the world has been inspiring. Gratitude! More support is needed until the aggressor changes his intentions or is removed from his position by Russian elites.
Easter is a message of life, hope, love, joy and peace. Putin won’t allow our world to have peace so we must win our peace, value our peace, protect our peace and project our civilized rules-based peace to ensure that it survives and thrives in our world.
As free people with free intellects, we are free to choose the quality of our thoughts and to live lives that have value and meaning in every circumstance. We are not slaves. We will not be slaves.
Ukraine is a free and independent nation. Ukraine will exist long after the present Kremlin leadership is gone. God bless free Ukraine!
Glory to Ukraine! Gratitude to YOU!
Happy Easter! Christ is Risen!
Христос Воскрес!
