On the list of things which worry Americans — picking up the kids, doctor’s appointments, finding a job — Ukraine, and its five-year long conflict with Russia, is probably far from the top.
However, as Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day today, it would behoove Americans to pause and spare a thought for the Eastern European country. Why? Since independence, Ukraine has consistently proven itself to be one of the brightest lights shining against the cynicism overtaking Western politics today. And the people of Ukraine, in resisting foreign aggression and occupation, have shown themselves to be models for us to look to for inspiration.
Over almost 30 years, Ukraine has experienced three separate revolutionary events. The first was Aug. 24, 1991, when their Declaration of Independence from the U.S.S.R. was approved by the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. The declaration stated that its territory was “indivisible and inviolable.”
In 2004, the Ukrainians protested a blatantly fraudulent presidential election. The “Orange Revolution” flooded the streets and ultimately led to a re-vote.
Nearly 10 years later, in late 2013, they again took to the streets against the pro-Russian, corrupt then-incumbent President Viktor Yanukovych. Known as the Maidan Revolution, the peaceful gatherings soon became what can only be described as a battle, with heavily armed police loyal to Yanukovych facing off throughout Kyiv against protesters armed mostly with hope.
Maidan ultimately resulted in Yanukovych’s ouster and a new presidential election. This of course scared Russia, which promptly annexed the Crimean Peninsula and ignited, financed, and fanned the flames of a hybrid war in eastern Ukraine. Since then, Ukraine has fought hard to recapture land lost to Russian-backed separatists, with thousands perishing over the course of the still-ongoing fighting.
The world, however, seems to have moved on. Although the West smacked Russia with sanctions after the 2014 invasion, support for keeping them has decreased dramatically. The Council of Europe recently restored Russia’s voting rights in the organization’s parliament, rights which had been suspended after the occupation of Crimea, even though Russia has taken no steps to return Crimea to Ukraine. Germany, meanwhile, has pursued the Nordstream-2 pipeline, which would cut Ukraine out of a significant share of oil trade in Europe and would dramatically increase Russia’s influence. Other European states and parties have suggested removing EU sanctions on Russia entirely.
America has not been as forgiving. Legislation that would to some degree sanction those involved with Nordstream-2 is making its way through Congress, and the Trump administration has provided Ukraine with lethal aid to fight the separatists (something the Obama administration failed to do). Yet it is clear that the conflict in Ukraine is not exactly a pressing issue for most Americans. Indeed, when the war began in 2014, a study by the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage showed that only 1 in 6 Americans could point to Ukraine on a map.
Again, this is understandable. But Ukraine represents something unique in the world, something worth paying attention to. In a region often associated with longtime rulers, since the early 1990s Ukraine had six democratically elected presidents (their northern neighbor Belarus, by contrast, has had one). When Ukrainians decide a president isn’t up to snuff, they throw him out, as they did in this year’s presidential elections, which saw President Petro Poroshenko washed away by comedian Volodymyr Zelensky. And if a president isn’t willing to go, as happened with Maidan, they escort him out by other means.
Cynicism is consuming Western politics, with many on all sides having become convinced that nothing can change. This is dangerous thinking. The West, content with our victory in the Cold War, seems to have lost sight of how democracy can quickly wilt and die if not properly cared for.
The Ukrainian story definitively refutes this thinking. Over the last 30 years, Ukrainians have shown unabashedly that the people can indeed set the course of the ship of state. Ukrainians have and again rebutted cynicism, even at the cost of their own lives, and they have been rewarded with a stronger country, a stronger democracy, and a brighter future.
After five years of invasion, conflict, and death, let us not forget Ukraine now.
Anthony J. Constantini recently graduated from Saint Petersburg State University with a master’s degree in Strategic and Arms Control Studies. He currently lives in Vienna, Austria.
