Russia, Ukraine and Western Media

My close friend Laura Jaffee recently drew my attention to an interview of Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian Studies and Politics at New York University and Princeton University, conducted on February 21, 2014 on the recent events in Ukraine. In the interview Cohen exposes much of the rhetoric that we are fed through Western news channels that promote the image of a morally corrupt Russia that is acting in flagrant violation of international law.

The media often tells me that Russia wants the violence in Ukraine to escalate, but Cohen counters this assertion by mentioning that Putin attempted to avoid conflict in November of 2013 when the European Union told Ukraine that the country had to choose between Europe and Russia by asking, “Why does Ukraine have to choose?” Similarly, in another article written on March 5, 2014 Jeffrey Sommers, associate professor at senior fellow of the Institute of World Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, reminds us that, "we have to remember now that before the Russians took this action into Crimea, Putin offered the prospect of a tripartite agreement with the US and the EU" which was essentially ignored.

Cohen also points out that the media is often guilty of oversimplifying the relationship between Russia and Ukraine in order to portray Russia in a solely negative light. In his interview Cohen talks about how Ukraine is not as unified as the media portrays it to be. “Historically, ethnically, religiously, culturally, politically, economically,” the Ukraine is two countries, and Cohen claims that for this reason it makes sense that one half wants to bond with the West while the other half wants to retain its close ties to Russia. Monroe also points out that Ukraine has solid reasons for wanting to remain close to Russia, including the fact that Russia gave the country $15 billion of aid to bail out the economy while the EU only made empty promises.

The assertion that Russia violated international law by intervening in Crimea is also less black and white then Western media often lets on. John Quigley, professor emeritus of international law at Ohio State University, points out that, "in principle it is a violation of international law to intervene in the territory of another state," however, the Ukraine and Russia have many bilateral treaties one of which "requires Ukraine to ensure the linguistic and other rights of minority populations within" the country. From a Russian perspective, the rights of minority populations in Crimea are being violated due to recent conflicts and so it is their obligation to protect these peoples. One of Russia’s major military bases is located within Crimea’s borders, further complicating the relationship between Russia and Ukraine. 

Cohen notes Russia has been criticized recently by the West for its opposition to uprisings that took place in the Arab Spring. The West claims that Russia's lack of enthusiasm surrounding the uprisings its evidence of Russia's opposition to democracy. In reality, Cohen notes that it is more likely that Putin has been wary the uprisings because he realizes that destabilized states can result in power vacuums that can be filled by radical groups, as it has been in Libya and Egypt.  

Cohen then draws our attention to the recently leaked conversation between US ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt and top US diplomat for Europe Victoria Nuland. The media focused nearly all its attention on Nuland's unsavory choice of vocabulary during the recording, but Cohen points out that if we pay attention to the actual content of the conversation instead it becomes apparent that Pyatt and Nuland are discussing who would be the best strategic replacement for the current president in Ukraine. Pyatt and Nuland hardly seem primarily concerned with the wishes of the Ukrainian people, and instead appear to be supporting a coup that is a much less democratic approach than waiting a year for the next election.

I do not claim to know everything about the situation in Crimea or the terrible violence taking place there, however, Cohen’s article has opened my eyes to the possibility that the situation may be more complex than the good-guy bad-guy rhetoric that we are continuously fed through our major media channels.

© Elizabeth "Elise" Sidamon-Eristoff April 16, 2014