In early 1945 U.S. Patton wanted to drive his 3rd Army into the Soviet hordes seizing Eastern Europe. General Eisenhower restrained him and the Soviet Union occupied a host of nations that had enjoyed freedom before World War II. Winston Churchill described the demarcation line between east and west Europe in a speech in March 1947 at Fulton College, Missouri: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended on the continent.”
His words marked the beginning of the Cold War. A time when we lived on the edge of nuclear destruction. The Soviet Union posed threats like the Berlin Blockade, the Wall, the nail-biting Cuban Missile crisis when silos were opened, and atomic bombers were in the air. Communism was a threat to dominate the world.
In 1985 Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union. He introduced glasnost, openers, and perestroika, reformation. Unexpected results occurred. In 1986 Baltic states sought freedom from the Soviets. By the end of 1991, 15 republics had broken away. The Ukraine took advantage of Gorbachev’s perestroika and secured its freedom from Russia in 1991.
At that time the Ukraine ranked third in the world as a nuclear power. It is interesting to note that the Ukraine gave its atomic weapons to Russia in 1994 in exchange for Moscow’s promise “to respect the independence and sovereignty of the Ukraine.”
Gorbachev was ousted from power replaced by Yeltsin and then his protégé Vladimir Putin. Putin said before invading the Ukraine, “The greatest disaster of the 20th century is the breakup of the Soviet Union.” Putin declared his intention to reunite the Ukraine to Russia. He implies that he seeks the return of the Soviet Union to its former greatness. By his special operation, he will rid the Ukraine of its “Nazis and Fascists,” and save Russia from the threat of NATO.
Gorbachev spoke out against the February 24, 2022 invasion. He asked for “an early cessation of hostilities and…peace negotiations. There is nothing more precious in the world than human lives…Negotiation…mutual respect…are the only way to resolve problems.”
This 91-year-old elder statesman won the Nobel peace prize in 1990 for ending the Cold War. He played a part in securing Ukrainian freedom in 1991.
Gorbachev just passed away. It is clear that his legacy is: ending the Cold War, freedom for the nations of Europe, especially the Ukraine, and preservation of human life. Putin has declared war on all the people of the Ukraine. He threatens genocide by his total war. That is why we must fully support the Ukrainian Republic and prevent the return of a second Cold War.
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William J. Fernandez is a retired judge and Kapa‘a resident.
