Watching the news these past days has been horrifying. War is bad enough. But there’s a huge difference between a military campaign and indiscriminate carnage and war crimes. Turning thriving cities into rubble is very similar to what the Russians did in Aleppo, Syria, and Grozny, Chechnya. It’s understandable that the Ukrainians are willing to fight to the end. It’s only been thirty years since the end of the Soviet state, and the Ukrainians well remember being under the boot of the Communists. Even more, they understand what happened when the USSR took control of Ukraine 90 years ago. If you haven’t heard about the Holodomor–the Terror-Famine–which decimated Ukraine, take a look at Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder.

Snyder’s book covers the years 1930-1945, focusing on Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and the Baltic states. After the victory of the Red Army in 1921, the Soviets were in such dire straits that Lenin set up the New Economic Policy which allowed the peasant farmers, called Kulaks, in Ukraine to provide food for the country. It worked well and Ukraine was again the breadbasket of their nation. Unfortunately, by 1927 General Secretary Josef Stalin decided it was more important to exterminate the “capitalist” kulaks than it was to allow them to feed his people. He deliberately confiscated all of the food grown in Ukraine for several years. In the mid-1930s, over 4 million Ukrainians died of starvation, while many of those kulaks who managed to survived were simply shot because of their “capitalist tendencies.” At the same time, there were numerous rounds of purges in Ukraine. to finish the job

After World War II, Ukraine remained part of the Soviet Union with everything that goes with a communist country. However, Ukrainians have long memories, particularly memories of the Holodomor and purges of the ’30s and the disasters of the war. They were eager to break away when the USSR disintegrated in 1991. It’s been a difficult 30 years, with the country growing in fits and starts, but always with the goal of developing a stable democracy. When Vladimir Putin’s army crossed into their country, it’s an updated effort to take the country. Rather than starvation, it’s tanks and MIGs. But this time, Ukrainian civilians have joined the military to save their country. They need all the help we can give them!

If you don’t know much about Central Europe other than the chilling photos of bombs hitting maternity hospitals and cities with no food, heat, light, medical supplies or even water, take a look at Bloodlands. It becomes crystal clear why the Ukrainians are willing to fight for their freedom, and why the Poles and the Baltic states. are doing everything they can to help.

http://Timothy Snyder. Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin