solidarnosc

My favorite image thus far of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution comes via the PostModern Clog:

Which, I suppose, requires a bit of context. Back in 1982 I was a fresh-faced high schooler who, although certainly more aware of world events than most of my peers, still didn't know much more of the history being made in Gdansk than what could be gleaned from the newspaper or evening news. But I nonetheless watched in admiration as Lech Walesa and his brothers in Solidarnosc stood tall in the face of a corrupt Soviet puppet state.

And, amazingly, they won: the first visible crack in a totalitarian edifice which tumbled so dramatically just a few years later.

I keep a little chunk of concrete on my desk: a friend of mine carved it out of the Berlin Wall during his time in that city, late in the summer of 1989.

It crumbles rather easily.

Let freedom reign.

UPDATE. Arthur Chrenkoff remembers the imposition of martial law in Poland twenty-three years ago today.

He was there.

My father braved the snow, the chilling wind, and the bundled up sentries, and went to our parish church for the evening mass. The church was full. People were crying and singing old religious hymns with patriotic overtones. “Free fatherland, return to us, O Lord…”

The martial law was not the end. The system merely stagnated for another few years, and then in 1989 collapsed from within, when the communist leadership realized there was no more room for maneuver and nothing left to save. Poland was the first domino to fall - some, like Serbia, Georgia or Ukraine are still falling, fifteen years later. It been a long revolution, and nothing like we'd expected that Sunday morning, December 13, 1981. But that's history for you - you never know where it's going to lead. One morning you wake up and there's nothing on TV, another morning there are dozens of Western channels on cable.

Anthony,

My first comment posted to your blog. Interesting post,

I am interested in your opinions on the Ukrainian situation. I am not sure that most American’s appreciate the political gravity of the situation from the Russian perspective. I not sure anyone has given must thought to the implication of a Ukraine in the Western rather then traditional Russian sphere of influence.

In order to understand the excitement and to go beyond the idea that this is simply about helping democracy grow in Ukraine. It is my opinion that the United Stated needs to consider the geopolitical implications if the pro-Western factions prevail in a new election. I would ask you to consider the geopolitical condition of the former Soviet Union (I use the old title as point of emphasis). Here are my questions:

Will the disintegration of the Soviet Union be followed by a disintegration of the Russian Federation if pro-Western factions prevail?

Should the West be concerned with or give any accommodation to the Russian sphere of influence in surrounding countries as a component of it’s real or perceived security needs?

How will Russia react to their obsession for secure and defensible borders for Russia would find its first line of defense along nearly the lines of Nazi's Germany’s deepest penetration into the country in World War II?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but without Ukraine, are Russia's political, economic and military survivability are called into question?

Sincerely,

TomBombadil

YATF (Yet Another Tolkien Fanatic)

Tom,

Very good questions indeed. Not sure that I'm entirely qualified to tackle them, but I tried here.