Nearly one year to the day that Russia invaded Ukraine, and on the heels of President Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv, 2月23日，一个由电子游戏软件教师组成的跨学科小组在富尔顿大厅会面，分享他们的历史, geopolitical, cultural, and religious perspectives on the conflict, frequently characterized as a vicious war of attrition.
这是一个超越纯粹学术分析的场合, 正如小组组织者俄罗斯教授的评论所反映的那样, English, and Jewish Studies Maxim D. Shrayer:“我的三个祖父母都在乌克兰出生和长大, 我不仅感到与乌克兰及其人民的苦难有一种知识和专业上的联系，而且感到与乌克兰及其人民的苦难有一种强烈的个人联系.”
(L-R) Faculty members Nicole Eaton, Devin Pandas, Maxim D. 在乌克兰局势的小组讨论中. (Photo by Tim Correira)
In addition to Shrayer, panelists included Associate Professor of History Nicole Eaton; Professor Gerald M. Easter, chair of the Political Science Department; and Professor of History Devin O. Pendas. Curt Woolhiser, a lecturer in Russian and Slavic Studies, 概述了战争的历史，并担任调停者, while Professor of Near Eastern Studies Franck Salameh, chair of the Department of Eastern, Slavic, and German Studies, delivered the introduction.
伊斯特讨论了乌克兰战争的地缘政治影响, 随着战斗进入第二年，双方似乎都没有准备好谈判. “It’s a multi-dimensional conflict. At one level, 这是一场关于乌克兰国家地位的斗争:这个国家是如何定义的, who is in, and who is out. 当俄罗斯一年前介入时，内战已经开始.”
Another key factor, he said, 俄罗斯的野心是成为地区霸主，并保持对俄罗斯主导的帝国周边非俄罗斯民族的影响力吗, 但现在独立了——而且它对北约在其边境增兵的反感.
Yet another dimension is “the proxy war,” said Easter: “Ukraine may be the battlefield, but the fight is between Russia and the United States.” The Biden administration and U.S. security establishment “see Russia as a ‘peer competitor,’ whom they seek to weaken economically and militarily, and to effect regime change. Russia would have won the war last summer were it not for U.S. and NATO intervention on Ukraine’s behalf.”
Although media coverage often strikes an optimistic tone, Easter said, the fact is Ukraine is losing the war, 并且迫切需要西方提供更多的武器——尽管这样的援助不会让事情恢复到以前的样子.
“Ukraine has already lost one-fifth of its territory and population; its economy and infrastructure are in shambles. Sadly, neither side is backing down. 乌克兰的希望在于通过吸引更多的党派来扩大冲突. 与一年前冲突开始时相比，今天升级为更广泛的区域战争或更糟情况的风险要高得多.”
彭达斯称俄罗斯的战争“完全是犯罪行为，明显违反了国际法”.联合国宪章禁止国与国之间使用军事力量，除非出于自卫或得到联合国安理会授权, neither of which is the case, and Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory is also illegal.
俄罗斯以民用基础设施为目标的行为尤其严重地违反了战争法, he added, 除了战争罪和大规模反人类罪之外，俄罗斯还可能犯下种族灭绝罪，将乌克兰儿童绑架并驱逐到俄罗斯.
但是，不太可能有少数低级别犯罪者会因为他们的行为而面临刑事审判, Pendas added, 尽管乌克兰接受了国际刑事法院(ICC)的管辖权，国际刑事法院自去年3月以来一直在调查.
“过去的经验表明，国际刑事法院将难以获得俄罗斯掌握的证据，或逮捕尚未被乌克兰拘留的俄罗斯被告. 弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)几乎肯定会逃避国际起诉.”
小组成员还就冲突提供了历史和文化视角. 伊顿解释了俄罗斯如何反复利用古代来为其在乌克兰的侵略战争辩护. 两国都将古代史和近代史作为形成国家认同的一种方式, 而且，两者都以同样的遗产作为现代国家的基础, but in ultimately different ways.
“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, 在失去帝国领土后的后殖民时期，俄罗斯正试图创造一个积极的俄罗斯国内特征，因此俄罗斯正在应对一场全国性的认同危机,” she said. “Denying sovereignty and nationhood to Ukraine, paradoxically, is part of Putin’s goal to form a new Russian identity.”
伊顿描述了俄罗斯用来使其侵略合法化的三个历史神话:现代乌克兰是由弗拉基米尔·列宁创造的, first head of the Soviet Union; Russia is merely reclaiming “historic Russian lands”; and Russia’s mission is to “denazify” Ukraine. 这些都是俄罗斯自身认同感的基础, 但每一个最终都过于简单化，忽视了乌克兰的国家主权和民族自决.”
Shrayer关注的是乌克兰这个多民族、多宗教的国家, 以及宗教领袖和乌克兰少数民族在战争中的作用. 他指出，乌克兰是大约3800万乌克兰族人和800多万俄罗斯族人的家园, but also to Moldovans, Poles, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Jews, Greeks, and other minorities. 超过70%的乌克兰公民是东正教基督徒，大约9%的人口是乌克兰希腊天主教徒或罗马天主教徒, 而犹太人和穆斯林也居住在那里，这些社区规模较小，但充满活力.
“乌克兰所有的民族和宗教团体都团结起来保卫自己的国家,” Shrayer concluded. “As we fervently pray for Ukraine’s full victory, 我们还担心乌克兰较小的种族和宗教社区的生存前景.”
The panel was sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences; BC’s departments of History, Political Science, and Eastern, Slavic, and German Studies; and the Jewish Studies Program.
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | March 2023