A people's war or a war for Europe?
Translation of and commentary on a recent text
I decided to translate this Ukrainian article by Artem Kharchenko on ‘zahid.net’ (zahid means ‘west’ in Ukrainian) because it continues the topic of my earlier article ‘Who is the real antifascist’. The author of this text is critiquing those in Ukraine who are trying to portray Ukraine’s role in this war as analogous to that of the USSR in the war against Nazi Germany (which is supposedly analogous to the modern Russian Federation). The title is referring to the famous Soviet World War 2 song ‘the Sacred War’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sacred_War, with the famous chorus
‘Let noble wrath
Boil over like a wave!
This is a people's war,
a Sacred war!’
What I found particularly interesting:
- Clearly stating that there is 0 room in the new Ukrainian nation for Ukrainians who identify in any way with any parts of Soviet patriotism
- Identification of the Ukrainian motivation in fighting this war as ‘joining and defending European civilization’.
o This is counterposed to the motivation of ‘fighting fascism’, allegedly because it is irrelevant to modern Ukrainians and because it is already monopolized by Russian media narratives
o It is also counterposed to the possibility of a conceptualization of Ukrainian nationhood that could include any pro-Soviet feelings
No, there is no need for "a people’s war, a Sacred war" again
If the name of this war has contain something more, then maybe it’s worthwhile making some first steps towards new meanings?
This text is not a critique of someone, just an attempt to join a discussion that seems important to me, because it is about the future of our country, when the war is over and Ukraine continues to live a peaceful life. I feel only respect for the people I mentioned/did not mention in the text, who at a difficult moment took up arms or wrote/spoke in order to let the world know about the crimes of the Russian army against Ukraine.
February 24, 2022 is the first day of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against our country, now everywhere it is called the starting point of a new reality for Ukraine, an irreversible farewell to the past. It seems that this thesis already requires us to comprehend, and there are enough reflections - millions have become active, taking up arms, helping the army and people who have been forced to leave their homes or remain under fire. Social networks and websites daily chronicle the war and the opinions of Ukrainians. Attempts to mark the war itself - to define it, to add symbols to this description - became noticeable in this information flow. It is interesting because for most Ukrainians it is no secret that the war against Russia has been going on for eight years, and only its scale has changed. Even the methods - the path of war crimes - the use of prohibited weapons, shelling of civilian objects, the deliberate creation of local humanitarian catastrophes, which is going on today, is not new. All this has already been tested against Ukrainians in the Donbas, in fact in all previous Russian wars in Ichkeria, Georgia and Syria. Russian propaganda remains unchanged, stubbornly creating "its" world, where Russian troops can be called peacekeepers and Ukrainians are proclaimed "brotherly people."
No matter what, words are important, they help society to feel certain points of contact, so the attempt to single out February 24 as a starting point for the new history of Ukraine is quite understandable. Perhaps most notable, perhaps because this rhetoric was used in part by President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials. Theses about the "patriotic war", "hero cities" [these 2 terms were used by the USSR to refer to WW2 and to Soviet cities that suffered in this war], "Russian fascists" appeared. In particular, the President awarded the title of "Hero City of Ukraine" to my native Kharkiv. On March 2, the Ukrainian Pravda website published a text by Yaroslav Hrytsak. He called for "calling things by their names", defining the war as "patriotic" and outlining its collective subject on our part as the "Ukrainian nation". According to the historian, the definition of the war as "patriotic" will allow those who "still celebrated Victory Day on May 9" to feel like patriots.
Another notable vision was the thesis of "liberation struggle", "people's war". Vladimir Vyatrovych in fact answered to Hrytsak's text, writing that the adjective "patriotic" is a "repetition of Russian propaganda brands" and called for it to be considered a "war for independence," a "people's war." Similar texts / opinions also contain theses on repeated "liberation struggles" and "centuries of struggle for freedom".
Unfortunately, both discourses turn Ukrainian society back to the past. "The new historical reality needs new words," Hrytsak writes, and it is impossible to disagree with that. Another is whether you can see these new words, and most importantly - new meanings in "patriotic" and "people’s". Both words seem to have come back to us from the famous Soviet song of 1941, The Holy War. "Hero Cities" and "Fascist Invaders", sorry, from the same opera. I'm not sure that this lexicon will work even for the part of the population that "celebrates May 9." First, all its energy charge has long been depleted and it remains significant only for the oldest generation. Secondly, this field has long been plowed by Russian propaganda, and the fight against lies and maniacal historical excursions must be fought not by their reflection, but by their complete denial. Moreover, in the same Kharkiv, even those who measured the family memory of the Second World War using to the old Soviet motifs, were not ready to welcome the enemy on their land, as already the second week under the bombs shows.
Rhetoric about "liberation struggles" and "centuries of struggle" also prevents us from seeing Ukraine struggling today, understanding what inspires its citizens, and defining our priorities for the future. You can talk banalities that "history repeats itself", and here again are the Russians / Bolsheviks / Imperials, but this is not the case. Contexts change, ideas / phenomena that seem familiar and very old to us are filled with new meanings. Modern Russia is a separate phenomenon that has little in common with the Russian Empire or the USSR, except for mantras about historical ties. Her crimes in modern history will still lead to court decisions and research, and may lead to feelings of guilt and remorse on the part of Russians - but this is their history, which has to do with us only because of geographical proximity and the question of security.
The new Ukraine that emerges in this war has a chance for another discussion about the future, and it would be good if we did not take what is archaic and does not speak to us - modern Ukrainians. It would seem that the Ukrainian-Russian war should be enough. The question is, should war be glorified as such, filling it with unnecessary pathos? It is necessary to glorify those who today give their lives or health or make efforts to ensure that Ukraine survives and wins. But if the name of this war should contain something more, then maybe it is worth taking the first steps towards new meanings? Why not try to find something that motivates our citizens in this war, something that is said every day? Then "Russia" could be pushed out of this name altogether - it is not a landmark, it is not even a proper rival, but rather a war criminal. Why not call these events the War for Europe? This title will reflect both the long-standing desire of Ukrainians to prove their right to a place in European structures, the declaration of our involvement in European values, the sense of historical / cultural belonging to Europe, and the current reality where Ukraine has fallen victim to Putin's aggression, who openly threatens the continent with nuclear weapons, while most European governments are still trying to find some rationality for his behavior. Ukrainians want to be with Europe and defend it today at the most expensive price - their own lives. The war for Europe must open a new future for Ukraine and remind Europeans of their degree of responsibility.