Give Peace a Chance
People who haveabsolute power, as a rule, begin to feel like gods. They are not able to create palaces and gardens with one swing of a magic wand, to make their citizens richer and happier. Thus, they have the ability to deprive other people of freedom or even life. They feel like a god who decides people's destinies.
The Soviet Union, having the world's second economy, the world's largest army, a large number of allies in the world, suffered a humiliating defeat in the Cold War. Thus, the history has taught the leaders of today's Russia nothing. Thirty years later, on February 24, 2022, the leadership of the Russian Federation, knowing full that their country's economy ranks only 11th in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product, the military budget is 15 times smaller than that of the United States, decided not just to resume a new cold war with the United States and the EU, but also start a real war to capture Ukraine. Despite the fact that for several months in a row the Russian media kept saying that the information about plans to attack Ukraine was only a fantasy of the US administration.
There is only one explanation why the Russian leadership did this. In February 2014, after numerous popular protests, power changed in Ukraine. The country's new leadership announced democratic reforms and intentions to join the EU. At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin had already been in power for 14 years and did everything to stay in this place for the rest of his life. The precedent of changing power in Ukraine at the will of the people was very dangerous for him. In Russia, despite the colossal natural wealth, the poor citizens became even poorer, and the rich became super rich even on a global scale. The citizens of Russia have already tried in 2012 to overthrow Putin's power, but unsuccessfully. In 2014, Putin and his team decided to get ahead of the situation - to give an object lesson to the citizens of Ukraine and Russia on their desire to live in a democratic, rule-of-law state.
In March, the Russian armed forces entered the Crimean peninsula without any resistance. On March 16, at gunpoint, a referendum was held on the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Based on its results, the independent Republic of Crimea was proclaimed, the next day signing an agreement with Russia on joining the Russian Federation. The majority of Russian citizens approved the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Crimea passed from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954 by decision of the leadership of the Soviet Union. In April of the same year, the puppet Donetsk and Lugansk Republics were formed in Donbass. An armed confrontation began between the government forces of Ukraine and the military formations of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, which lasted 8 years. The reaction of the EU and its allies to the annexation of part of the territory of Ukraine was restrained. The imposition of sanctions did nothing to weaken the power of Putin and his team. On the contrary, Putin's rating in Russia has increased markedly. Even the Boeing 777-200ER airliner of Malaysia Airlines, which was flying on the Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur route, shot down on July 17, 2014 by the forces of the armed forces of the Donetsk People's Republic, did not raise big questions among Russian citizens. As a result, Russia's leadership further curtailed the rights and freedoms of its citizens.
The velvet revolution in Armenia in 2018 and the coming to power of Armenian political forces outside the control of the Russian leadership came as an unpleasant surprise for Presidents Putin in Russia and Aliyev in Azerbaijan. The latter received power from his father and ruled Azerbaijan for 17 years, turning his country into the property of his family. Voices have already been heard in Russia and Azerbaijan why the Armenians can get rid of their autocratic and corrupt power, but their peoples cannot. In summer of 2020, a mass campaign began in the Russian media against the new leadership of Armenia. They were called agents of George Soros and accused that they would certainly destroy Armenia. In July 2020, at the height of the coronovirus pandemic, Azerbaijan, with the support of Turkey, contrary to UN resolutions and decisions of The OSCE Minsk Group, launched a full-scale war against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. In a strange way, the air defense equipment bought by the Armenian country in Russia stopped working. During the war, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan said that if Europe does not stop the war, the war will soon reach Vienna. Thus, Europe was busy with its own problems. Armenia burned through the war. About ten thousand of young people died on both sides, Russian troops entered Karabakh, Armenia fell not only into economic, but also political dependence on Russia.
From that moment on, the Kremlin decided that the EU and the US were so weakened that, apart from stating the need to resolve controversial issues with the help of sentences, they were no longer capable of anything. The quick victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan was a signal to them that with a quick and sudden attack on Ukraine, the resistance of the civilized world would be minimal. As a result, Putin's rating will be able to rise again, otherwise he began to fall rapidly.
If there is a person in this world who is popular as God, then this is John Lennon, the idol of millions of people in all corners of the world. His famous song GIVE PEACE A CHANCE. he wrote in 1969 against the senseless war in Vietnam. In the same year, he and Yoko Ono held week-long anti-war performances in Amsterdam and Montreal. It's been 53 years, but this song is now more relevant. On February 27, Putin ordered the nuclear forces of the Russian Federation to be put on special alert. Contrary to his expectations, the Ukrainians did not want to give up their homeland and began to fiercely resist. The EU and the US have imposed sanctions against Russia.
The question arises - what will Putin do if the military campaign in Ukraine drags on for months? Withdrawing troops from Ukraine, like Gorbachev withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1988, or will he press the nuclear button? In the second case, the war will come not only to Vienna, but to all corners of the world. Herostratus in Greece 356 B.C. e burned the temple of Artemis to become replaceable. The idol of millions of John Lennon was killed by Mark Chapman in 1980, and the world realized that crazy people who aspired to fame have their own logic, and they have no moral barriers.
In 2014, at the initiative of the famous Russian singer Stas Namen, the children again sang John Lennon's song. Give the peace a chance, they sang in English, Russian and Ukrainian. Now they are eight years older. I really wish that in their later life there would never again be a need to ask someone to give the world a chance.
Artur Dashtenc