Good vs. Evil: Poland in Relation to Russia & Ukraine

Submitted by Ludvikus (United States), Feb 4, 2015 at 10:53

Dear Michael S.,

Unfortunately, Politics and International Relations are very complex, and it's not easy to make a simple moral judgment without knowledge of the history of places where Nationalism plays a strong role.

I know a bit about Ukraine because my parents' home town was in Poland, now Ukraine, in the City of Drohobych, which was mostly Ukrainian, Polish, and Jewish (not necessarlity in that order).

I'm slightly partial towards the Russians, who had a great Empire under the Tzar, and thereafter its effective Imperial successor was the Soviet Union.

On the other hand, the Ukrainians never had a state of their own, and during World War II they were under the delusion that Hitler would grant them one. But Ukraine was before WWII an integral part of the Republic of Poland - Poland having been restored as a sovreign state after World War I. It was previously a great Kingdom, but somewhat weak like the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, so that it used to be, later, called the Republic of Poland since its Princes in their territories had rights like those which England secure in 1215 when these rights were recorded in the Great Charter - Magna Carta.

But the three great powers in eastern Europe, Prussia, Austro-Hungary, and Russia, in the 18th Century succeeded in Partitioning Poland out of existence by taking it apart among themselves.

But this is not the place to discuss Eastern Europe - except that Russia now supports Syria and therefore Iran and Hezbollah, effectively, in the Middle East; my main concern is that Europe has to a great extent suppressed the use of violent or military force. But Tzar Putin is an opportunist dreaming, like Turkey's Erdogan, of restoring an Empire. And I don't think you know Obama if you believe that the CIA created the Ukrainian revolt. I rather imagine that the Russian immigrants of the Soviet era are the "Muslim" of Eastern Europe who cannot, or will not, assimilate into the Ukrainian country. Unfortunately, Russia hasn't accomplished much after the fall of communism. It only has its natural resources, primarily Carbon, for export. China, on the other hand, is still Communist, but look how its become the largest economy in the word! So if you think of Good vs. Evil, you should think that its better for everybody in Ukraine to turn West rather than East - for economic and democratic reasons at least.

But if you want to view things more in their historical context, which includes the Jews as well, by the way. I suggest you read the three links below to help one figure out how we should all learn how "to get along":

In brief summary, if you want to take a moral stand regarding Ukraine vs. Poland, listen to the voices of modern Poland, who have reasons to fear both, but their fear of Russia is greater, for reasons you can unravel I think if you study the contents of the 3 links below:

Bogdan Chmielnicki (Khmelnitski)

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0004_0_04259.html

Pale of Settlement [of Jews]

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/pale.html

Poland [& Polish & Ukraine Jews]

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Poland.html#Colonization

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