I was born with a neutral mindset and so I naturally play devil's advocate.
I have always been someone who can look at two sides of a debate and try and
weigh up what side would Kindness lean towards.
Therefore, the current Russian attack on Ukraine has made me look fairly at
both country's perspectives.
The main question I have asked myself is:
Is Russia really the villain in the Ukrainian war?
There are always two sides to an argument, or in this case a war.
The way I get to my answer is to simply work through some basic questions.
These are:
- Did the Ukrainian army go into Russia with its army? No.
- Is the Ukraine an independent country who has the right to decide their own destiny? Yes.
- Would Russia like it if the Ukrainian army many times the size of its own drove tanks and other life-threatening equipment into its cities and started killing innocent children? No.
As you can see, I really struggled with finding any good case for what
Russia is doing.
I do understand the history of the region. I recommend this video:
If you watch that video you will see there have been many Ukraine wars. You will also see that the country borders and names as we now know them, were not always that way. In fact, The Kingdom of Sweden stretched all the way past St Petersburg.
I mention the latter because I do not believe there is any excuse for Russia to say the Ukraine belongs to them. The Swedish could say the same. I am confident Putin would not like the Swedish army rolling into modern day Russia saying it is theirs.
There has to come a time when humans all agree that we are one world. There should be no borders. Everywhere should be a good place to live hence there shouldn't be one country in particular that everyone wants to end up.
This United Earth vision leads me back to the question of, "Is Russia really the villain in the Ukrainian war?".
My answer is simple, Russia is not the villain in the Ukrainian war. Hang on. Hear me out.
It is not the Russian people who have instigated this war. The Russian people are every bit as proud of their country as the Ukrainian people are of their country. They want peace too.
The only people responsible for this war are Putin and his close team of wealthy oligarchs.
Let me be fair here in my accusation. I do not want to be seen as a Westerner picking on a Russian leadership I have not personally met and in all honesty do not know their individual histories.
So what have I based my assumption on. I have based it on Kindness, again.
To me, I see an irony in the Russian Revolution and the current situation. The revolution happened because the people were so far removed from the lifestyle of the Czar that in the end they had no choice but to take action. They were starving and dying whilst the rich in Russian society were comparatively much better off.
Fast forward to 2022 and you look at Putin and his oligarchs and you see someone who is obviously not being kind to his people with the wealth he has. How much money does he alone need?
Besides his own money, how about he govern Russia in such a way that he uses Russia's natural resources to make it one of the most wonderful places to live on earth. I am no fan of how the West governments are run but I do believe giving the Russian people an honest democratic right to vote freely on how they want their country to run is something that would make Russia prosper, probably more so than the USA has done. Russia could be an INCREDIBLE country to live in, if it allowed its people to decide how to run it without fear of being imprisoned or being shot.
Also, for what it is worth, I do not agree with the likes of Donald Trump sitting on billions whilst a growing number of US citizens in the USA are homeless. I do not agree with Nancy Polosi making huge amounts of money on the stock market linked with her government role.
I am not anti-Russian leaders. I am pro what-is-right given the state of the nation. If in your country there are no homeless and everyone can afford the basics like a home and healthcare then fine, then encourage entrepreneurs to grow their wealth. The richest of people, though, should always be mindful of those who do not have their money and where they see gross inequality they should humbly share their wealth where it really matters. The latter is something I believe Putin and his oligarchs do not do when they could. This, in my opinion, exposes the truth of what type of people they are.
The Ukrainian war is horrific. It should have never started and we do not know what will happen next because war has a way of spreading hate fast. For what I have seen so far though, I am seeing some real optimistic rays of hope shining through the horror the Ukrainians and manipulated Russians are going through. I see a globally connected people who are no longer able to be lied to.
No longer can power hungry billionaire's leading countries pull the wool over our eyes. I believe times have changed for the better and there will be a new and freer world when this is all over.
I wish you all peace and look forward to seeing this new world together where Ukrainians and Russians can live in harmony alongside everyone else.
Author: Christian Jacques Bennett*
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