Ukraine Has A History... It's About To Be Unleashed on Russia

For the last couple of weeks, I've been waging an inner war with myself over Ukraine. 

Odessa Pogrom of 1905

Grandma Bessie, aka Grandma Don't (whom I've written about before) was from Odessa in Ukraine having fled, as she put it, after one pogrom too many, specifically the Odessa Pogrom of 1905. When I could get her to talk about something other than seeing the four Grand Duchesses disembark from The Standart, she would, if pressed, talk about the Cossacks. Having shared my room with her whenever she visited, I can also tell you she had nightmares about the Cossacks burning down our house. She called anyone one behaved badly a Cossack, including me on occasion. Until her dying day, Grandma Bessie was afraid of Cossacks. 

She had good reason to be afraid of Cossacks. They rode through the streets of Odessa's Jewish quarter killing whomever they came across. They broke into houses, including hers, to steal everything and then set fire to it. She told me how they had a place to hide when the Cossacks came. She also told me she was terrified of Easter because they said the Jews killed their Jesus. And she could not understand any Jewish person celebrating any sort of Christian holiday for any reason because the Cossacks came to kill them in the name of their religion. My mild, laidback Grandma had a tipping point, and it was Cossacks. Never once did I ever hear her refer to herself as Ukarinian; she was always Russian. 

For the record, Fiddler On The Roof hit real close to home for her. Not only was it implied that Anatevka was in Ukraine, Perchik the Revolutionary Suitor was from Kyiv. The pogrom depicted in both the show and the movie were very nice pogroms. They didn't really show you the sword wielding Cossacks mowing down Jews in cold blood. 

The pogroms in what was then called The Ukraine didn't stop when most of the Jews left. And the Ukrainians didn't stop hating Jews after the area was pretty much Jew-free. Nope. They turned lots and lots of Jews, including my Great-Aunt Sarai Schwaidel and her family over to the Nazis for ground fodder at Babi Yar. From the Wikipedia article on Babi Yar:

According to the testimony of a truck driver named Hofer, victims were ordered to undress and were beaten if they resisted:

I watched what happened when the Jews—men, women and children—arrived. The Ukrainians led them past a number of different places where one after the other they had to give up their luggage, then their coats, shoes and over-garments and also underwear. They also had to leave their valuables in a designated place. There was a special pile for each article of clothing. It all happened very quickly and anyone who hesitated was kicked or pushed by the Ukrainians [sic] to keep them moving.

— Michael Berenbaum: "Statement of Truck-Driver Hofer describing the murder of Jews at Babi Yar"

Feel free to read all about Jews in Ukraine. Wiki provides a pretty good timeline. It's worth at the very least a glance.

But now, the President of Ukraine is a Jew. 

That's almost as remarkable as knowing the Ukrainian people elected Volodymyr Zelensky, a well known comic and actor for president. He had a great comedy series called Servant Of the People where he played a high school history teacher who finds himself elected President of Ukraine. Oddly enough. I've watched the first 2 episodes and its actually pretty funny. I plan on watching the whole thing. And if that doesn't bring you joy, he's the voice of Paddington Bear, AND he's a Ukraine Dancing With The Stars winner! The guy may be an actor, but he is not a buffoon.

Seems like there's nothing this guy can't do....and that includes leading his nation through this nightmare war. Zelensky is proving himself to be a strong leader for his country. He has drawn the line and he is not about to abandon it. 

Although Zelensky has been offered asylum by other countries, including the US, he and his family are refusing to leave; instead, he said, "I need ammunition, not a ride." He is out in front with the population of Kyiv and the rest of Ukraine leading the battle. He has refused to cross the border to Belarus for peace-talks because he will not leave the front line. He does not have to be in the room to be in the room. Belarus, while well intentioned, cannot guarantee his safety from assassination. According to a variety of news outlets, some more reliable than others, something called The Wagner Group has been instructed to take out Zelensky. From The Independent:

On Monday, an anonymous source told The Times newspaper that the Wagner mercenaries in the country were part of a scheme to assassinate Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials – a scenario that experts say would be a stunning departure from the group’s modus operandi.          

Oh, I'm not so sure about that being a departure. Hmmmm. And even if it is, it still sounds like a movie script. 

And another interesting tidbit on this conflict. Neutral Switzerland is not so neutral this time. According to the NY Times, Switzerland will freeze Russian assets. 

Switzerland said it was departing from its usual policy of neutrality because of “the unprecedented military attack by Russia on a sovereign European state,” but expressed a willingness to help mediate in the conflict. It also joined European neighbors in closing its airspace to Russian aircraft, except for humanitarian or diplomatic purposes. But said it would evaluate whether to join in subsequent E.U. sanctions on a case-by-case basis.

That great tax haven Monaco is also freezing Russian assets. That's saying something.  

Meanwhile, back at the dacha, the ruble is plummeting and the ones hardest hit by the sanctions will be the Russian populace. The question then becomes whether or not the voice of the Russian people protesting this fictionalized war will be loud enough to drown out the bees buzzing in Putin's head. 

The world has been pretty forthcoming in telling Putin this is NOT okay. That Putin has put his nuclear arsenal on high alert may be disconcerting, but frankly, I think it's the ultimate dick wave. He's playing chicken at a new level and so far, most of the world has been telling him not that is needs to stop, but that is will stop. I'm guessing Putin's only supporters at this point are China and North Korea, and China is not exactly jumping on the bandwagon here. Hell, even the Afghans, betrayed by their own government, are supporting Ukraine and calling Zelensky a hero.

Former Miss Ukraine Lenna

Which makes me wonder about the sanity level of Putin. Did he really believe the world would appease him with the human sacrifice of Ukraine? Does he not understand Cossacks are really good at fighting? Whilst they may have fought for Russia once upon a time, now it's their homeland under attack. Even the former Miss Ukraine, Anastaslia Lenna, is armed and out there. Grandmas are armed with Molotov cocktails. Mothers are hitting the streets to defend their families. Fathers have pretty much all enlisted. You think your army will stand against that, Vlad? Russia, you might be a bear, but you just dumped a brand new nest of angry bees on top of your own head. 

This is why, We, the People, have a moral and ethical obligation to stand with Ukraine...along with the rest of the civilized world. Putin cannot be permitted to wave his nuclear penis at Europe or the rest of the world and walk away unfettered, if not dead. Unlike Iraq, this nutcase actually has WMD and is threatening to use them. Global outcry didn't happen in 1938 or the subsequent years. Did We, the People of this Planet learn anything from that? One can only hope.

Not okay, Vlad, and you're about to find out how NOT okay this is. 

BONUS COMMENT: Pravda Brewery, based in Lviv, Ukraine, has suspended its beer brewing operations and is now making Molotov cocktails for residents to use against invading Russian forces. The labels on the bottles say “Putin is a dickhead.”

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

For the record, Israel is taking over 200,000 Jewish refugees out of Ukraine.

This has two purposes:

One: to get them out of harm's way

Two: to keep them out of harm's way in the event Ukraine falls.

It's Ukraine. The president is Jewish

They will blame the Jews.