Ukraine and Russia...what´s the deal?

What is happening between Ukraine and Russia *Simple terms (Some things have been purely simplified just so that it is easier to understand). Some understanding is better than NO understanding.

At one point in time Russia was a world superpower. Particularly between 1945 and 1991 when of course, Russia was called the USSR *a very big powerful communist state. Lots of independent countries around Russia were part of the Soviet Union (Including Ukraine), making the USSR extremely powerful. The USSR at this point had lots of influence over places like Ukraine, Latvia and Belarus. Between these years, the other superpower in the world was the USA. The USA and USSR competed against each other as to who could be the most powerful and the richest and have the most nuclear weapons. This was the Cold War! To be more powerful against the USSR, the USA and other western countries created NATO *North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. NATO is a group of countries including Britain, USA, Turkey etc who have promised to help each other out if any one of them is invaded or attacked. Ukraine have recently wanted to be part of NATO! Lots of countries surrounding Russia are already part of NATO, SO Russia to some extent feels threatened by the situation as they have very few allies (friends) close by their borders. Russia really can not afford for Ukraine to become part of NATO too, they would be surrounded by very Pro USA countries. And of course, USA and Russia do not get along at all. One of the things Vladmir Putin is saying is that he is going into Ukraine to stop this NATO expansion and to defend Russia´s security! 

Back to Ukraine, at the minute it is an independent country. In 2014, a part of Ukraine called the Crimea was invaded by the Russians. It is worth remembering that there are many people in Ukraine who are Russian speakers and WANT to be part of Russia or at least under Russian influence. But there are another group of Ukrainians who DON’T want to be part of Russia and want to be closer to NATO. Crimea was one of these places that was split between those who supported Russia and those who didn’t. Russia went in with its army in 2014 and invaded and Crimea came under Russian control.
Crimea was also important as it has a deep water port crucial for trade and strategic stuff. The West in 2014 did very little after this invasion, they tried to punish Russia using economic sanctions. Maybe another reason they didn’t really say anything was because The West relies a lot on Oil and Gas supplies coming from Russia. Clearly at that point it wasn’t worth a war! So fast forward 8 years and recently Russia have started to put their soldiers on the border between Russia and Ukraine, still worried about the prospect of Ukraine becoming part of NATO. Clearly then, this is an act of aggression and creates tension between Russia and the West who is supporting Ukraine. 

Russia have been threatening to push their soldiers into Ukraine for a while and they have got some supporters IN Ukraine called ´´ukrainian seperatists or rebels´´. The situation reached a boiling point a few days ago when Putin made a speech declaring an area called ‘Donbas’  - 2 places Donetsk and Luhansk as an independent region. (these places have lots of Russian speakers and supporters)! It is a little bit like France going into Barcelona and declaring it a seperate state! The problem is, they are legally part of UKRAINE! The west then, saw this as an act of aggression and started putting sanctions on Russia economically e.g. stopping their banks from being able to trade on European markets, freezing the assets of Russian oligarchs *very rich Russian people who own important companies like GAZPROM. Russia then probably thought that they have nothing to lose and launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine with some cities being shelled.

The situation now is that, Russia in some ways have little to lose. They will probably continue doing what they are doing. What will need to be seen now is the way Europe and The USA react. NATO cannot intervene directly in Ukraine as Ukraine is not part of NATO. However, the individual countries can support Ukraine with weapons *which they have been doing already. The West also does not benefit from a war in this instance, as gas pipes flow through Russia and Europe gets about 1/3 of its gas from Russia. Putin could easily turn the gas pipes off or make things extremely expensive for The West. But by doing this, Putin also loses out economically in the long term. Iran is also allied with Russia and both have nuclear capabilities. China´s position remains to be seen. On the other hand, Turkey is a member of NATO and could make life equally as difficult for the Russians by cutting off black sea access but again Turkey is trying to keep friends on both sides.  Its also true to be careful of misinformation on both sides. Russia is telling its people stories that Ukrainians are gathering and putting Russian speakers in Ukraine in concentration camps. There is a fascist element in Ukraine but it is not THAT strong. While the USA has been spreading misinformation suggesting Russia is going to invade earlier than expected. The USA also said that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in 2003 which turned out to be a lie. So, lots of misinformation on both sides......but learn the History and think critically. 

How Andalucian architecture shows us the beauty of cultural coexistence and harmony

I was around 15yrs old when I first learnt that an Islamic Empire not only existed but flourished in Medieval Europe. The heart of this Empire for a while was Al Andalus, or modern day Andalucia. Andalucia was the bridge between East and West. Without Al Andalus, we may not have had palm trees, pomegranates, cotton, flamenco, lemons, algorithms, street lights or alcohol..to name a few. A place where relative harmony and coexistence flourished between Muslim, Christians and Jews, and a place of innovation and creation. (see previous posts for more on this). Fast forward 11 years and I am lucky to be living very close to beautiful Andalucia. Last year, I was fortunate enough to realise a dream and visit Granada. It’s fair to say, the beautiful city captured my imagination more so in real life, and…I fell in love. The whitewashed walls of The Albaicin homes, the narrow alleys, home to Arab wares a plenty, the cobbles teeming with brightly lit Moroccan tea houses and the sweet smell of baklava! The pavements filled with orange trees and the aroma of Azahar all well placed with the backdrop of the snow capped Sierra Nevada. Granada was pure magic and paradise and one which will always have my heart. Then I saw the Alhambra and well…my year was made. 

The architecture of Andalusia has always fascinated me and I truly believe it is a perfect reflection of the relative harmony that existed between religious communities at the time in Spain. For example, if we look at The Great Mosque of Cordoba. Until it was converted into a mosque in 789 by Caliph Abd Al Rahman I, it was a Visigoth church. Abd Al Rahman kept intact the Roman columns of the building and the Visigothic arches *the red and white ones. He also used Christian Byzantine Artisans to embellish the mihrab of the mosque with gold and blue glass mosaic. Byzantine and Roman art was further meshed with Arabic calligraphic inscriptions which called for Islamic unity. Some historians would say the use of Roman and Byzantine influence was a clear show of Islamic supremacy politically through the building of the Mosque. However, regardless of the political desires, the Islamic rulers showed genuine regard for the skills of the Romans and Byzantines and the building is a clear meshing of 3 faiths and cultures. To this day, the Great Mosque of Cordoba is known by locals as the ‘’Mezquita-Catedral’’. In some ways then, the multiculturality of the building has tried to be preserved. 

 

The amalgamation of cultural styles in Islamic art can clearly be seen in Mudejar art which appeared actually AFTER the Christian Reconquista of Spain. This form of art blending again three cultural styles was prevalent in Toledo. A perfect example is the Sinagogo del Transito built under the patronage of Samuel Halevi, leader of the Toledan Jewish community. It’s lace like window detail is very Islamic in influence, on the walls you see Arabic floral motifs interspersed with Christian shields of Castile and Leon. Therefore suggesting a purposeful blending of Christian and Isalmic techniques, thus suggesting cultural harmony in Al Andalus. Hebrew Jewish Calligraphy is also seen on the walls of the synagogue amongst intricate Islamic botanical plasterwork. The synagogue is indeed then a microcosm of three faiths’. 

 

Cultural harmony between three faiths is also evident in the Alcazar of Seville, again built In the Mudejar syle in the mid 14^th century. When Alfonso XI defeated the Islamic Marinids at he battle of Salado, he created the Alcazar’s Hall of Justice. In this hall, he included the heraldic shields of Castile and Leon, combined with a very Arabic fountain complete with floral motif and intricate calligraphy. The fact Alfonso XI freely chose to use Arabic decoration in tandem with Christian Emblems, shows his fascination with the Andalusi Arab culture, though arguably as well by using these influences perhaps he was trying to show an air of ‘’triumphalism’’ in his victory. However, later under the rule of King Pedro, the Alcazar was further ‘Arabized’’ as he used Nasrid ornamentation, wood carvings and intricate plaster stucco designs, similar to those found in the famous Alhambra. Moreover, the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith ‘there is no God but God’ was also present on the walls of the Alcazar in Arabic, in and amongst symbols of Christianity and verses from the Gospel of St John. Thereby emphasing a cross cultural harmony as Artisans from Muslim Granada also worked on the construct. 

 

For me, Andalucia architecturally is the perfect meshing and moulding together of the Abrahamic faiths of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, proving that coexistence and harmony can and ultimately has led to the most beautiful of creations. I would urge any eager traveller or lover of culture to visit Andalucia. Beauty is all around you in Al Andalus. This year, I hope to visit the Mezquita Catedral in Cordoba and the Alcazar In Seville.