Ukraine has a revolution.
The protests have been driven by a faction that wants to push away from the domination of Russia, and pursue ties with the EU. They are culturally European, so much so that their symbols in the streets have been shields painted with Crusader crosses. Apparently inspired by these examples, other protesters went so far as to erect a trebuchet so as to provide artillery support to their lines.
Now we will see how far the Russians are prepared to go to support their client. In the past, they have been willing to go very far indeed. I can only wish the best to those resisting Russian domination in what seems to be an honest cause.
I'm waiting for the Russian anschluss into Ukraine, just as they did into Georgia.
ReplyDeleteAnd everyone in the West will stand by, meekly clucking their tongues in opprobrium.
A missile defense shield in nearby Poland and Czech Republic would have provided a different backdrop for such a move.
Eric Hines
Orthodox Christians don't tend to remember the Crusaders very fondly, so I wonder if they are consciously emulating them, or if some Catholics got into the mix, or if it means something else.
ReplyDeleteThe trebuchet is great.
And, of course, many of the shields are adorned with one of the standard crosses of the Orthodox Church, the Russian / Ukrainian cross, so not really a throwback to the Crusades.
ReplyDeleteI think there's an explicit appeal to the Catholics in Poland and Hungary, which they border, who remember the Russian oppressions well enough.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wonder if it isn't a form of rejection of the Soviet-era propaganda about the Battle of the Ice. If you wanted to reject the Soviet/Russian model in favor of the European one, it'd be hard to come up with a better symbol.
At least, if the Europeans are still moved enough by it to respond.
Interesting. In that case, it might be meaningful to have a mix of crosses, Eastern and Crusader.
ReplyDeleteTom, it depends. The Romanians don't have a lot of anti-Crusader spirit. They mostly don't remember them at all. Too many other groups have run them over for them to focus on that brief and not very bloody interlude.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the Ukrainian thinking is, though.
Also - I hate to see good people (even if they inevitably have some bad folks mixed in) seeking freedom against oppressors being struck down. Yet I think we have found that the freedom-loving people of America going and doing their dying for them hasn't resulted in enough love of freedom on their own.
ReplyDeleteGood article on the tactics being used in Kiev, including mention of the Roman turtle, training, and logistics.
ReplyDeletehttps://medium.com/war-is-boring/a292fc7a40c2
I laud your enthusiasm, but it needs to be tempered with caution. The problem is that this is the Western half of the Ukraine. There's an eastern half that is oriented towards Russia and is not thrilled about the events in the capital and rejects their legitimacy.
ReplyDeleteI'm just waiting for the ethnic Russians of the Crimean Peninsula to start begging Putin to 'come save them from Ukrainian oppression.' Why wouldn't he?
ReplyDeleteThe Romanians don't have a lot of anti-Crusader spirit.
ReplyDeleteYes, but they probably don't have much pro-Crusader spirit, either. A lack of antipathy doesn't explain why they'd actively paint Crusader crosses on their shields.
Then again, maybe I'm over-thinking this. The people doing it may not know we'd relate the symbol to the Crusaders, or maybe it has some locally-relevant meaning.
The people doing it are soon going to wish they had an army of any kind. The thirst for freedom is all very well, but Putin's not screwing around, and the most they're likely to hear out of anyone else is "Tsk."
ReplyDelete