David A. Rosenthal
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy's magnum opus on "War and Peace," which he wrote after falling from his horse and breaking his arm, is, and always will be, relevant for understanding the nature of wars, their rise, decline, and outcome. In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars against the Russian Empire, around 1812, in what would become known to Russians as the "Patriotic War," Napoleon managed to conquer a phantom Moscow, consumed by flames, which the Russian soldiers themselves had set alight. This meant not only ruin for the Imperial France of the legendary Napoleon, but also defeat. Napoleon failed to make Tsar Alexander I surrender, and on the contrary, Napoleon's troops had to abandon Moscow. Grande Armee, was a thing of the past. This dwindled, due to hypothermia, typhus, and starvation, and they had to travel on foot, as horses became their only source of food, given the poverty, barrenness, and arid Russian land.
For Russian nationalists, the "Fatherland War" is a vivid example of the resilience and endurance of their troops and their people. Then, in 1941, a new term emerged, the "Great Patriotic War," first mentioned in the newspaper Pravda, referring to the confrontation between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, which saw the former triumph on May 2, 1945, with the fall of Berlin by the Red Army.
Russia was attacked in these two great wars, and in its legitimate defense, it won. These wars were considered just by the world. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, 15 independent countries were formed; among them: Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Sister republics, with a common language and religion: Orthodox Christianity. Nevertheless, Russia, while still considering itself Great Russia, never ceased to believe it had rights over the other nations that were part of the USSR and, before that, the Empire.
The invasion of Ukraine, like the invasion of Crimea before it, the war with Chechnya, the attempted annexation of Georgia, etc., demonstrate that Russia is not at all trustworthy and that Putin is not a president or a prime minister, but a tyrant or dictator, or, rather, in Russian terms, a "tsar." A tsar like Peter the Great, who left his testament for the Russia of posterity. A testament that prays for the conquest of Europe. Although this testament is said to be forged, and was created by Napoleon as a covert campaign against his adversary, Russia's expansionist stance would cast doubt on this.
Regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine, nothing would be more desirable than peace, but not a peace without challenges. Not a peace with impunity. Putin and Russia have committed war crimes against humanity and violated all international law. Trump's quest for peace is valid, and as the highest representative of the United States, it is his duty to pursue it. But not by revictimizing Ukraine or making it a defeated party, after having defended itself with such honor. Russia cannot be the victor this time. No to Russian irredentism.
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