kuritmanok

Russian Forces as of Feb 22, 2022; Source: Link

The above picture is giving me massive anxiety. The historical and current events implications are triggering the historical-nerd in me that I want to turn up the info-dump on what led to this mess–I know (please insert sarcasm here) as if any singular person could summarize the multi-faceted geopolitical nuances of the conflicts of 1st world countries (although I think Belarus and Moldova are considered 2nd world? sources varies), let alone for someone like me who is not qualified to have an opinion on this (gdi). And at most times, I feel that it is very disrespectful because people are dying and have died because of the extraterritorial “peacekeeping activities” of Russia.

On my end, I know people who got anxious because of relations, because of health—that paralyzes them. For me, it’s ‘war’ that really makes my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. This happened to me before when Malaysia and the Philippines have altercations over Sabah (2013) and I have to apologize to my friends since I won’t shut up about it, as if vomiting the facts would lessen my anxiety. Another time, when the US, UK, France bombed Syria (2018) and I am on phone calls with people just so I could calm down.

I think it started when I read a comic on the Rwandan Genocide, and I end up crying my heart out in Ateneo Library. The implication that it happened in 1993, the year I was born, really shook me. Until now, I still can’t wrap my mind around such senseless killings. It is happening, and a single Filipina in the countryside of a SouthEast Asian country, who happens to read so much about it, is powerless in the face of it all. The sheer helplessness can be so damningly suffocating. I just have to live with it and console myself that my trivial existence alongside such horrors is not something I should be guilty of.

Sorry for the off-tangent, but this would be an ongoing tendency of mine, and I’ll pepper in some pop culture references, coz that is how my brain works. Anyway, going back to the image, the thing, that really bogs me down are the countries and areas where the Russian troops are stationed.

For context, so World War II (WW2) happened. It is shitty and there are tons of documentaries about how bad wars are. Anyway, we have the Axis Alliance (Britain, France, US, USSR, China) fighting against the Allied Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan). Axis won, but the death toll has been tipped massively against USSR and China since the majority of conflicts have been on the Soviet Union. The US, although has been intervening in the war, was never a major player, and only came in late due to the Pearl Harbor attack (from Imperial Japan). On the other hand, China’s death toll was mainly due to the manpower support for logistics that they provided during wartime and the unprecedented assault of Imperial Japan when the latter refused to lay down arms despite Hitler’s death (April 1945) and Germany’s surrender (May 1945).

Note: The massacres were too horrific that it was dubbed the Asian Holocaust, which was estimated to have killed twice the number of innocents compared to Nazis. It was only in the aftermath of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima Bombing (August 1945) that Japan surrendered.

Focusing on the relations of those in the Axis Alliance, the unstable relations of US/UK (Democracy), and that of USSR/China (Communism) break into what is known as Cold War, with the 1st/2nd/3rd world countries categories being coined in the ’50s, denoting: US, and other western allied countries as “1st-World Countries”; the developing “Communist Bloc” countries as “2nd-World Countries”; and the remaining others as “3rd-World Countries”.

And so, not only were USSR and China suffered greatly from the war atrocities, but their economic status is also not that great in the following post-war years.

Having that said, the almost half-century feud continued even after the USSR collapsed. Although it sounds to be history, the collapse happened recently in the ’90s. It’s actually an escalation of internal issues within the USSR, but the singular event that broke the metaphorical camel’s back was the Afghan War. Which is again, requires a separate deep dive on US policies and presidents to understand the US justification of their presence on those lands (which is interconnected with the Pakistan War, Iraq War, and their War on Taliban and ISIS, etc.)

So when USSR continued to get involved in the Afghan War, it caused the rise of the opposition of some state members of the Soviet Union and led to its collapse and the subsequent establishment of 15 republics: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belorussia (now Belarus), Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

Note: In present times, the US has already pulled its military from Afghanistan last 2021, and the country is now under the Taliban regime. The losses of the USSR and US in Afghanistan cannot be quantified, but it reminds historians of how Afghanistan has received its moniker as “Graveyard of the Empires.” (such a badass name, but gosh darn it, that beautiful country deserves better than this)

But I digress. Despite USSR being once governed by a communist party, none of these 15 republics are communist states.

Note: Currently, the countries that are considered communist are China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam.

Russia is generally considered as the successor of the USSR and still has 85 federal subjects. Their form of government is a multi-party representative democracy, with Vladimir Putin as the President for almost two decades, and with a separate Prime Minister. Although, there is a question of whether there is true democracy due to the authoritarian hold of Putin in the government.

So that’s finally why Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova are independent republic countries but have such deep ties with Russia (that span as far back as the Tsars). They are all initially Democratic countries, but the encroaching influence of Russia can still be felt.

Starting with Moldova. If we look at the map, the area where Russia has placed its troops is a region called Transnistria. In the ’90s, after the collapse of the USSR, Moldova has the option to be part of either Romania or Russia, or declare independence. Transnistria seek to remain part of Russia, and when Moldova choose independence, it refuse to follow suit and made its own government which is not recognized by Moldova, nor any country in the world. Transnistria is not alone in this vague state, other post-Soviet territories are under these so-called “frozen conflict” zones.

Among them is Crimea. Originally part of Ukraine, it was forcibly annexed by Russia on, coincidently, February 22, 2014. The majority of the residents are ethnically Russians, with Ukrainians as a minority. A referendum was conducted in the same year showing more than 90% votes to return to Russia Federation. I remember headlines and memes out of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest where a Crimean singer won the competition with a song 1944 (Ukraine) by Jamala. It was cathartic.

Then there is Belarus. It was the 2010 election that cemented Belarus in my memory. Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus has been in power for three decades. He declared himself the last Dictator in the west, and their Constitution has been flagged down for failing to have the bare minimum of a democratic country. It also has an authoritarian government with dissenters often disappearing and ending up dead. Belarus has been criticized as a puppet of Russia.

And ultimately, there is Ukraine. If one has to remember Ukraine, what comes to my mind is the Chernobyl Disaster (1986). It is actually one reason, Ukraine having nuclear power at that time, that it has been eyed by Russia for a long time. Despite the incident the country held the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world in the ’90s.

Note: One condition placed for Ukraine’s independence is on the dismantling of nuclear weapons and returning them to Russia (Minsk Accords I)

Note: The nuclear fallout was devastating and planted a deep fear on nuclear power (reminiscent of the tragedies brought by the nuclear arms race), that it halted the construction of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant here in the Philippines (mainly coz the foundation is suggested to be close to an underlying fault, and to Mt. Pinatubo—which at that time was still inactive, but erupted on 1991 and again on 2021; and the claimed defects found on the plant associated with the corruption of then-Dictator Marcos).

The contested territories of Ukraine are the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk (collectively known as the Donbas region). In some articles, it is labeled as ‘rebel-held’ territories (Link) since in 2013, a separatist group has been established in the area. It was on that year that Viktor Yanukovich, who was born in Donetsk and a staunch supporter of Russia, was ousted as President of Ukraine (Link). He fled to Russia and still claims that he is the legitimate head of state of Ukraine, decrying the violent street protests that forced him to flee as an act of coup d’etat, despite the Ukrainian Parliament voting to remove him from office (Link).

Now almost a decade later, Russia finally passed a resolution recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states on February 21, 2022 (Link), which is a violation of the Minsk Accords II (a peace treaty between Ukraine and Donetsk/Luhansk, signed in Belarus. Link). And an order was issued to send troops on said territories for “peacekeeping activities”. Months before said passing of the resolution, the military presence of Russia has been increasing with almost 100,000 troops. And on yesterday, February 23, 2022, the number of military has doubled, and Russia attacked Ukraine, through Russian, Belarus, and Crimean borders (Link)

For the timeline, please look on this site: Timeline Link

And now I am having a migraine. Goodbye. I need coffee.

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I’m in a dilemma. A stupid and shallow one actually.

I’ve started drawing fanart for the Philippine heroes about a year ago. It was triggered by my obsession with Hamilton, Hetalia and the newly released Heneral Luna movie. It was fun and I love doing it.

However, it is starting to hurt. I always portrayed them in happy situations, in the slice of life, a parody of themselves just to get the brighter side of their lives caught in my stupid chibis. Hey, I tried.

It was meant as a stress reliever. And there are so many ideas I wanted to do. Like the young heroes running away from a canon with crates of explosives on their arms, mischief abound. Or Manuel Tinio pushing a guardia civil off a canal for laughs. Or how the Bonifacio couple would spoil Emilio Jacinto and treating him like a son. Or how everyone always gathers to eat Gregoria de Jesus’ sinigang. And even how the Bonifacio toddlers walked after their big brother carrying medical kits and empty bullet shells for recycling. Or Macario Sakay and his fabulous hair, while teaching Jacinto to do the same.

It was fun. And I love it. I still do.

But afterwards, after I colored it and post it, I can’t help but feel despair. There’s just so much emotions of helplessness, really.

I’ve caught myself tearing up everytime I think of how a lost wife was looking for her husband’s body for three days. Only to be presented, years later, with skull and bones. With all the media, camera flashing, microphone on set, asking her if it was really ‘him’.

Or how a young man, forced to flee the country after his whole family was declared as traitors, and his older brothers killed by the revolution they all sacrificed and believed in. And now, he’s alone in a foreign country, vowing not to come back, knowing if ever he did, he can’t promise not take the lives of his brother’s killers.

Or how a bestfriend grieved after receiving the news of his brother-at-arm and mentor’s death…at the hands of a man that shares his very own name.

We don’t deserve them.