Prayer for Peace
Reflections from a Saratogian on a life-changing trip (through Ukraine) to Moldova, where locals indulged the tourists their endless Putin questions.
As my modest plane landed in Kyiv a few short years ago, I watched in awe as the rest of business class disappeared in a flash, leaving me teetering down the jetway completely alone. A silent Secret Service-esque man had appeared and whisked away what I now could see was a family right off the plane and out a secret door with only a loud whoosh as it sealed shut behind them, leaving me standing there. No one came to help me, and the rest of the plane hadn’t been allowed to deboard yet.
It was a cinematic moment of stillness and aloneness that was completely forgotten as I entered the chaos that was the international airport (one of two in town; Kyiv is one of Europe’s most populous cities). Long lines of antsy passengers, families grabbing at children to not lose them in the crowd, businessmen waving their colored paper that indicated they could move to the front of the line…everyone was trying to get somewhere. It was loud, it was exciting, it was a day of travel I’ll never forget.
And now that vibrant city of almost 3 million people is abandoned and still.
I learned a lot about the crisis of Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries on that trip, even though I didn’t stay in Kyiv (if you haven’t already, it is time to switch from the Russian spelling and pronunciation; Ukranians pronounce it almost as one syllable). My short time there was (alas) but a layover, and I was off to the small, beautiful (and yes, former USSR) country of Moldova (if you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone), which now could be in danger as well. On that trip, we had full-time chaperones who warned us to steer clear of the plazas full of anti-Russian protesters and answered any question we asked about the duality of feeling Russian ancestrally but demanding independence. They were proud to be Moldovan, patriotic in a way I had never seen before.
One last anecdote from what was the most unusual wine trip of my life. Wine is a way of life in tiny, land-locked Moldova, which doesn’t have much of a diversified economy, in part because of its lack of resources. When Putin made it illegal for Russians to import the country’s wine, Moldova’s economy dove into a depression. Would you be irate? Of course. Like Ukranians, Moldovans were ready to gain independence from Russia, and that move put them over the edge. As one Moldovan told me dryly, “He knew what he was doing.”
So what is Putin doing now?
Six years after both Ukraine and Moldova signed their declarations of independence in August 1991, Polish-American diplomat Zbigniew Brzezinski famously said: “If Moscow regains control over Ukraine, with its 52 million people and major resources as well as access to the Black Sea, Russia automatically again regains the wherewithal to become a powerful imperial state.”
Like most, I shudder to think what that could mean on a global scale. Here in the U.S., the powers-that-be are concerned about the institution of a new Cold War, if Putin gains back land and resources. Europe doesn’t want war on their home turf, of course, and NO country, either former USSR or otherwise, wants to be forced to be affiliated with Russia if what they yearn for is the freedom to determine their own way, and becoming allies with the west.
It’s easy to brush off this week’s headlines with, “Oh, I stopped watching the news during COVID because it’s gotten too depressing,” or “I can’t even think about nuclear anything so I just avoid it.” I know I did just that for a day or two. But the risk is too high. As an American friend of mine who lived in Kyiv for years sadly told me when I checked in (her Twitter feed is on-the-ground Ukraine right now @joanna_haugen), “I’m concerned about what comes next.” Ukraine is first, because of the reasons mentioned above, but who might be next? My dad wrote the book The Essential Alliance, which pleaded for the U.S. to start looking at lessons learned during the Cold War, as Putin could indeed attack again. And here we are. He wonders if my beloved Moldova could be next, and much more. I’ll save the complicated international political discussion for writers much more entrenched than I am. But know that the implications are there and they are real.
For now, send positive thoughts to the Ukranians (so many of whom are now citizen soldiers) and Moldovans, to others in the region, and yes, to the many Russians who do not agree with what their warlord leader is doing.
They need our prayers.
—Abby
ICYMI Recap
This week in Saratoga Living After Hours: A clever word jumble based on a Saratoga staple and the vegan celebration of Twosday
Game Time: (Monday) A clever final answer after a trail of related word jumbles. How’d you do?
(Tuesday) Did you celebrate the only Tuesday Twosday any of us will live to see? If you forgot, here’s what the vegans among us were up to. Plus, if you were missing that grand finale answer (worth the frustration!) on Monday’s Game Time, we give you the answer here!
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