Invasion Day +24 I will start with an inspiring note: amongst the many Ukrainian heroes let's also hear it for the awesome Yelena Osipova, a small 77-year-old Russian artist and grandmother who, undaunted by fears and threats, has been jailed (again) for standing up for peace. And thank you to today's correspondent, Emily Ward, for bringing Yelena to our notice. You are without doubt a hero Yelena, and your inspiration is a beacon for all those in Russia and beyond who are also fighting for a free and just world. If you ever get to read this blog please know you and your family are also in our thoughts and held in the highest regard for the hope that you bring for all those who ae being incarcerated in Russia for trying to stop the war right now. You are also victims of Putin. We hope beyond hope you are decently treated and will be released very soon. Let other grandparents and parents in Russia be moved for peace by your stand.
To the blog. At this very moment nineteen years ago today, western land forces were crossing the borders of Iraq in a conflict that, until now, has led to the deaths of over 200,000 civilians and still more who die each day. Civil strife and unexploded ordnance continue to kill and maim in Iraq to this very moment After the Second World War, at the Nuremberg trials, the repeat of which will surely follow this war, it was declared that 'to initiate a war of aggression is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.' Putin initiated this war, the supreme international crime, and all at 'Hoggy' stand with European leaders in seeking the prosecution of Putin for his 'accumulated evil of the whole'. Hoggy is grateful to 'Iraq Body Count' and in particular to Dr Lily Hamourtziadou, author and senior lecturer, for reminding us of this date.
Ben Jennings, political cartoonist of the 'i' newspaper, summed it up yesterday in an image of Putin dancing with the devil under the words 'I'm not sure this is a good look for Satan'. We here are lost for words to describe a being so evil that even Satan has been scorched by him. Perhaps in the image Putin was dancing alone, looking at a mirror? But shockingly, he is not quite alone is he?
Whilst the image of the pathetic Assad will stick in the mind for the vision of what hell does to the human soul, (never have we seen such a bodily frame now so completely devoured of any semblance of personality as this in the United Arab Emirates yesterday), the fact that the war continues to spread Putin's evil talons should be causing even more alarm bells. For the UAE is, or shall we now have to say was, our ally? Now we have Syria involved in the war. Qatar hovering. The UAE beguiled by evil. Surely the Arabs are not people, for all their faults, to embrace this level of evil? China is an ever present threat to world order whichever way they swing, but even a Chinese-brokered peace would at least be peace. But like Iraq, far worse in fact due to Russian military incompetence, unexploded ordnance now litters Ukraine, a very high percentage of Russian missiles and bombs are reportedly failing to explode. It appears Putin is no student of war, history should tell him that modern military invasions against the will of the people such as this have no winners. We know. We tried. And he tried. In Afghanistan. This war is a global catastrophe, not just a Ukrainian one. Let us hope it does not become The Endgame.
(Hoggy says: after a week of what we consider entirely justifiable invective we feel we have now made our point about Putin's war. From tomorrow we are going to try and also offer visons for the future, positive news, starting with a comment on the amazing power of the image of Lego to rebuild. You might be surprised. If you have powerful words to say about Ukraine's future, the preservation and re-building of its culture and essence, please do let us know at: hoggytheyimp@gmail.com. Thank you all for your continued and inspiring support for Ukraine. It is being heard. Hoggy.)
Today's Letters:
From Emily Ward, Birmingham City University
Dear Hoggy,
Russia and its citizens
I have been shocked and appalled to witness what is happening within Ukraine over the last three weeks. The shocking images of Putin’s disgraceful decision to invade, has made me want to act. However, I believe in fairness, and it is very important to also see the deceptions, propaganda, and censorship in Russia, that influences its citizens and ensures they have poor understanding of the truth.
Now before I begin, I think it is also important to acknowledge the people who do know and who understand what is really happening and still offer their support to these illegal actions. Every state in the world must face the threat posed by extremist groups or people with heavily distorted views. Poland, who has accepted well over a million refugees from Ukraine, is no exception, with many far-right groups showing their anger at their government’s response to refugees. Polish Nationalists have targeted people of colour leaving Ukraine in places like Przemyśl, showing how this conflict has revived old hatreds.
Russia, the country with the largest landmass in the world, an estimated 145.5 million citizens and yet less than 30% have a valid passport. Not only have very few citizens been outside of Russia, only 80% of the population have access to the internet leaving nearly 30 million without. For some perspective, in 2011 79.9% citizens in England and Wales had a valid passport, and in February 2020, 96% of households in Great Britain had internet access. Above is just a brief look at the realities of many Russian citizens, but is designed to look at the outside influence it’s citizens can, or should I say can’t, receive.
As a result of the economic sanctions that have been put into place because of the war, many companies are pulling out of the country. The Russian government is trying to prevent its citizens from accessing foreign social media, such as Facebook/ Instagram/ TikTok, and very limited access to Twitter. Social media has been able to connect people together and show the realities of what is really happening, as well as youths connecting and establishing protest preparations for the ‘No to War’ movement. Unfortunately, ‘free speech’ has never had a place within Russia. Around the March 5th, 2022. The Kremlin announced that any report/article that is not approved by the state and still published, can land its author fifteen years in prison. This has worried foreign news outlets such as the BBC, CNN, Canada/German/Italian Public broadcasters, and others. Most notably, an independent Russian news outlet TV Rain, which aired on Dozhd TV channel, ended its last report on March 4th, 2022, stating ‘(No Pasarán) ‘They shall not pass and no to war’ in the studio where they would later walk out and play Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, which in Russia can be seen as a symbol of the end.
Particularly within Moscow, the police (the 'army'?) are patrolling the streets and removing anyone who is speaking out, or even just talking to journalists. Many have been arrested for just saying ‘two words’ and then soon after, taken away by the authorities. This indiscriminate ‘carting off’ of the citizens of Russia is showing the lack of ‘free speech’. There are many videos showing people being arrested for protesting. Within the first couple days of the war starting over 700 Russian citizens were detained for protesting within Moscow, most at St Petersburg. Now, anyone who knows me has heard this many times but within the UK we have a saying during protests… ‘They can’t put us all in jail’, but in Russia they will, have, and will continue, to place people in detention for expressing their opinions that go against The Kremlin. One person named Yelena Osipova, a small 77-year-old artist who is well known for protesting and as a baby during WW2 survived Nazi Germany’s siege of Leningrad (St-Petersburg), was taken away by military forces within a matter of minutes of her holding the signs explaining everything and her having to speak up and out again.
As Russian TikTok is being restricted to the outside, one person within Russia is using this app to show what everyday life is currently like, risking all by using covers such as ‘city tours’ and ‘weather updates’ within Moscow. Using code words such as ‘Mandalorians’ to describe the military presence, ‘Long Walks’ as people protest, ‘Disco lights’ to show the police presence, ‘Free lifts in luxury buses’, saying how many people have been taken away on that day. Those small everyday insights can show what is happening behind the scenes that the western media seems to be avoiding as the war within Ukraine does not seem to be ending soon. This TikToker who says that the city is feeling so ‘safe’ with all the new ‘safety’ features being placed within the city to make sure nothing ‘terrible’ such as an uprising happens, notes many of the new surveillance features being added into the city. The newest addition being facial recognition posts. Many people compare this surveillance movement to the book and film '1984' showing a dystopian ‘big brother’ future, a 'must read' in helping to understand what potentially is happening within Moscow right now.
If you think about it, if the BBC and all other UK news outlets and newspapers, argued that the war in Ukraine was over and everyone was living happily back at home, most people within the UK would probably believe it and go back to ‘normal’. Russian Independent newspapers have been removed and repressed from speaking the truth and so it wouldn’t be heard, the government ‘fact’ checking before media becoming public, removing anyone who says differently. That is the normal for many Russians right now. It is seen on TV every day; the Russian news online is the same. Parents being told how to explain to their children what is happening, just like in the UK, but a different story is being told. There are even suggestions that Putin may remove copyright laws, and ‘’Russian firms will be allowed to use innovations from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia without having to pay for their intellectual property.’’ This would mean that Russia could continue to use and copy other businesses without their permission, McDonalds/Netflix/Microsoft, any business that has left the country can be copied and continue under a new name of the Russian Government, effectively becoming a ‘self-sufficient state’ without the need for outside invention. All of this demonstrates the control in which Putin has on the story, it’s narrative and the Russian people.
Those are my thoughts, my ideas, and my theories over the process of this war and what is happening within Russia. The poor people of Ukraine are having to suffer from their neighbours yet again, but we must remember, this is Putin’s War.
Thank you for this opportunity to express my views
Emily.
Dear Emily,
You and Caitlin, a previous correspondent, are clearly in a most inspiring course at Birmingham City University and your insight is, like hers, movingly powerful, thank you. And thank you for highlighting Yelda, an important symbol in this present struggle for peace.
Your insight into the use of social media is critical and the Star Wars allusion by the TikToker to the 'Mandalorians' is particularly apt. For, in the creation of George Lucas, the Madalorains were 'a clan-based cultural group that was composed from multiple species all bound by common creed, language and code, they originated on the desert planet of Mandalore in the Galaxy's Outer Rim Territories...and flourished at large colonizing worlds...' So says Wiki. How reality follows art.
But the Jedi Warriors finally defeat them we are told. And so it will be again, but your point, that this is Putin's war not the war of the Russian people, is well made. Let us hope that enough Russian people can be brought to the realisation that they have been lied to, cheated upon, their futures stolen, and their past distorted. All for one man's imperial nightmare inflicted upon the world.
No wonder Putin was seen limping yesterday. He may be bad enough to dance with the devil but the devil can still stand on his toes.
Thank you again Emily. We all wish you well with your studies and hope to hear more from all your incisive pens at Birmingham.
Regards,
Hoggy
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