Stepan Vidnianskyi
Doctor of History, Full Professor, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine, Head of the Department of History of International Relations and Foreign Policy of Ukraine, Institute of History of Ukraine of the NAS of Ukraine
DOI: 10.37837/2707-7683-2022-31
Abstract. The article analyses the stance of prominent European intellectuals on the brutal military aggression against Ukraine, a sovereign European country, unleashed by russia, a terrorist-state, which challenged all the democratic values of the Western civilisation and brought humanity to the brink of World War III. In their public appearances, publications and civil engagement, the most prominent representatives of European elites have influenced considerably the European public perception of putin’s war against Ukraine. To wit, Germans Jürgen Habermas and Martin Schulze Wessel, French Françoise Thom and Jonathan Littell, Belgian Bart De Baere, Czech Jan Rychlík, the world-renowned American historian Timothy Snider, and other intellectuals firmly believe that not just putin, but also all russians are responsible for the war, having supported his criminal aggression. Moreover, they believe that Europeans should show utmost support to Ukraine, which is not just fighting against the aggressor for the sake of its existence, freedom, democracy, and pro-European choice, but also against totalitarianism for the sake of the future of Europe.
The author stresses that the Euro-Atlantic civilisation needs to unite in combating russia’s aggressive and insidious attempts at imposing on Europe, through its loyal foreign politicians, experts, and institutions, its desired perspective on the russian-Ukrainian war and, in general, Ukrainian history and culture. The author outlines three primary objectives of European intellectuals. The first lies in conveying the truth about the russian-Ukrainian war of 2014–22, its causes, and geopolitical implications, real and potential, to society. The second focuses on refuting russian deceitful propaganda. The third involves shedding light on the essence, components, and historical roots of ‘ruscism’, the dominant totalitarian ideology of contemporary russia, which poses a threat to the existence of the human civilisation and demands urgent attention and elimination.
Keywords: russia, Ukraine, aggression, Europe, intellectuals, public opinion.
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