May Creative Writing

Consequences of Russia being Victorious, and Why the West Should Do More

Russia wants to foist its cruel vision on Ukraine, and everybody should care. If Russia does indeed succeed in its invasion of Ukraine, there will be more ramifications than just the casualties.

First and foremost, the end result of the Russo-Ukrainian War will decide the fate of 44 million Ukrainians. But in the now demolished ruins of Mariupol and Kharkiv where one can hear the cries of tortured citizens from a mile away, a conception is also at stake. The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine to compel it to cut all ties with the West and to submit to the Kremlin. Mr. Putin’s belief is that vicious hegemonies should be free to dominate smaller countries, and that they are able to do so at any time, anywhere they want. Ukraine has been countering this approach with the fact that it will choose its own allies. With Western backing, it is declaring the universal (or not so universal in Russia) principle that all countries are sovereign. Whoever triumphs on this bloody battlefield will win a fundamental, but extremely paramount argument about how the world should work.

On March 2nd of this year, 141 countries in the UN voted to abhor Russia’s invasion. Just five voted against and 35 sat on the fence. But the real shape is more complex. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, “Only a third of the world’s people live in countries that have not only castigated Russia but also imposed sanctions on it. Most of them are Western.” Another third of these countries are in neutral countries. This group includes global hegemonies like India, or some countries that the West trades with, such as Saudi Arabia. The final third are in countries that repeat Russia’s flawed rationale for the invasion. In Putin’s world, where might makes right, lack of appeal from Russians for his invasion is proof of Western decline. After the Soviet collapse in December of 1991, when America became the sole world power, countries aligned themselves with its political, economic and social beliefs. This was not so much out of ideological conviction but to win the United States’ backing.

What’s more, Putin’s belief in the dominance of great powers will not be limited to the

battlefield. For he is right that, ultimately, the successful use of force underpins the structure of

geopolitics. If Russia is allowed to prevail in Ukraine, bullying, lying and manipulation will further

permeate trade, treaties and international law—the whole panoply of arrangements that are so easily taken for granted, but which keep the world turning. This would certainly suit tyrants, who want free rein to abuse their countries and terrorise their neighbours. But it cannot be welcome to leaders who want the best for their people. Furthermore, sanctions do not do enough to deter Putin to stop his invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions only take bites at the wallets of the poverty-stricken, instead of the elite circle of Putin and Russian oligarchs. This means that ultimately, the West and NATO must militarily intervene in the war, else Russia may win, potentially causing all hell to break loose. Partly in answer to Russian hostility, Ukraine has emerged as a beacon of democracy. Like the West and any other country for that matter, it is flawed. But it stands for freedom and hope.

And a round of applause for that essay on the Russo-Ukrainian conflict!

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