On March 1, SUNY Oswego history professors Dr. Courtney Doucette and Dr. Murat Yasar held “Ukraine Under Siege: The Past and Future of War in Europe” in the Marano Campus Center.

The presentation sought to explain the historical context of the conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and offer answers about potential futures for Europe.

History department chair and professor Dr. Frank Byrne opened up the talk, welcoming everyone to the presentation and introducing Doucette and Yasar.

Doucette’s research includes the history of Russia and the Soviet Union and Yasar’s research consists of the history of the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire, according to their respective SUNY Oswego faculty pages.

The presentation, which lasted for approximately one hour, predominantly focused on the history of Ukraine and Russia.

“This conflict is deeply rooted in history,” Doucette said before the slideshow began. 

Ukraine and Russia have shared beginnings in the Kievan Rus’ Confederation, a group of eastern Slavic people, which began in the mid 800s, Yasar said. 

Via treaties in 1654 and 1667, Cossack Hetmanate was an independent Ukrainian state, which Russia abolished in 1764 Yassar said.

Starting in 1765, with Russia in control of Ukraine, “Russification” efforts began under Catherine II in an attempt to force all Ukrainians to become Russian, Yasar said. The “all Russian nation” policy, which sought to unite Slavic countries, became an official Russian policy in 1863. This policy and the common historical origin of Ukraine and Russia is the basis of Putin’s involvement in Ukraine today; the reunification of the Slavic people.

To this day, Putin suggests that Ukraine “has no identity apart from Russia,” the slideshow said.

Following World War I, Ukraine was granted sovereignty, but the deal was disbanded, Doucette said. Ukraine then became a republic within the Soviet Federation, and Ukrainian national identity thrived. But by the 1930s, with the rise of Joseph Stalin and the Holodomor, a famine caused by policy, the cultivation of Ukrainian identity ended. 

Then, World War II began, and between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian Jewish people were killed in the holocaust, Doucette said. Current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s entire family was killed during the holocaust, except for his grandfather.

Ukraine became a sovereign nation on Dec. 8, 1991, after the fall of the USSR, Doucette said. Leaders of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia signed the Belavezha Accords, which dissolved the federal government of the Soviet Union. 

Yasar then discussed modern Ukraine, including the various revolutions, elections and invasions that have occurred in Ukraine in the last twenty years, such as the Orange Revolution in 2004, the election of pro-Putin President Viktor Yanukovych in 2010, and the Maidan Revolution in 2014, and the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. Yasar also said that Ukraine has significantly built up its military in order to combat Russia in the years since the invasion of Crimea.

Yasar ended the presentation with discussions on Putin, saying that he uses international incidents to boost his support domestically. However, the sanctions being placed on Russia and the massive devaluation of the ruble may harm Putin’s image with the Russian people and with his powerful friends. If Putin were to lose the support of the oligarchy, the rich and powerful people around him, he “may be over,” Yasar said.

Putin, however, has state-run media on his side, with massive disinformation campaigns spreading falsities like Ukraine is committing genocide on Russian people and soldiers and that Ukrainians are neo-nazis, Yasar said.

Following the end of the presentation, Doucette and Yasar spent about half an hour answering questions from the audience. Most questions regarded future fall-out from the war in Ukraine, including the potential for an invasion of Moldova, the threat of weapons of mass destruction, the impacts on people of color in Ukraine and the differing perceptions between Ukrainian refugees and Syrian refugees.

Professors in various departments on SUNY Oswego’s campus urged students to attend the presentation. Scott R. Furlong, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, invited “all students, faculty and staff” to attend the event via the news and events section of the SUNY Oswego website.

In the same message, Furlong commented on the situation in Ukraine.

“On behalf of the SUNY Oswego campus community, I am writing to express our deep concern for the Ukrainian people and the recent attack on their nation,” Furlong wrote. “We condemn these atrocities and all human rights violations and injustices happening in Ukraine and around the globe. These acts are an attack on all of us committed to global peace, democratic principles and our unwavering pursuit of a more tolerant and humane world.”

“We understand that this recent conflict has deeply affected many members of the SUNY Oswego community and we are here for you,” Furlong wrote. “Our Counseling Services Center and staff in the International Student and Scholar Services Office are standing by to listen, engage and provide support. 

Following World War I, Ukraine was granted sovereignty, but the deal was disbanded, Doucette said. Ukraine then became a republic within the Soviet Federation, and Ukrainian national identity thrived. But by the 1930s, with the rise of Joseph Stalin and the Holodomor, a famine caused by policy, the cultivation of Ukrainian identity ended. 

Then, World War II began, and between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian Jewish people were killed in the holocaust, Doucette said. Current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s entire family was killed during the holocaust, except for his grandfather.

Ukraine became a sovereign nation on Dec. 8, 1991, after the fall of the USSR, Doucette said. Leaders of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia signed the Belavezha Accords, which dissolved the federal government of the Soviet Union. 

Yasar then discussed modern Ukraine, including the various revolutions, elections and invasions that have occurred in Ukraine in the last twenty years, such as the Orange Revolution in 2004, the election of pro-Putin President Viktor Yanukovych in 2010, and the Maidan Revolution in 2014, and the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. Yasar also said that Ukraine has significantly built up its military in order to combat Russia in the years since the invasion of Crimea.

Yasar ended the presentation with discussions on Putin, saying that he uses international incidents to boost his support domestically. However, the sanctions being placed on Russia and the massive devaluation of the ruble may harm Putin’s image with the Russian people and with his powerful friends. If Putin were to lose the support of the oligarchy, the rich and powerful people around him, he “may be over,” Yasar said.

Putin, however, has state-run media on his side, with massive disinformation campaigns spreading falsities like Ukraine is committing genocide on Russian people and soldiers and that Ukrainians are neo-nazis, Yasar said.

Following the end of the presentation, Doucette and Yasar spent about half an hour answering questions from the audience. Most questions regarded future fall-out from the war in Ukraine, including the potential for an invasion of Moldova, the threat of weapons of mass destruction, the impacts on people of color in Ukraine and the differing perceptions between Ukrainian refugees and Syrian refugees.

Professors in various departments on SUNY Oswego’s campus urged students to attend the presentation. Scott R. Furlong, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, invited “all students, faculty and staff” to attend the event via the news and events section of the SUNY Oswego website.

In the same message, Furlong commented on the situation in Ukraine.

“On behalf of the SUNY Oswego campus community, I am writing to express our deep concern for the Ukrainian people and the recent attack on their nation,” Furlong wrote. “We condemn these atrocities and all human rights violations and injustices happening in Ukraine and around the globe. These acts are an attack on all of us committed to global peace, democratic principles and our unwavering pursuit of a more tolerant and humane world.”

“We understand that this recent conflict has deeply affected many members of the SUNY Oswego community and we are here for you,” Furlong wrote. “Our Counseling Services Center and staff in the International Student and Scholar Services Office are standing by to listen, engage and provide support.”

John Custodio | The Oswegonian