NEW YORK – In many ways, it was only fitting that the day our class visited the Ukrainian Institute of America was cold and dreary. On our 15-minute walk from the subway to the Institute, the grey skies opened up, soaking all twenty of us as we travelled uptown from Friends Seminary in Manhattan’s East Village.
Walking through the front doors and up the eloquent staircase in the Institute, we noticed a wooden shield with a message scrawled in Ukrainian, that when translated for us, read “DO NOT KILL.” We were then told by our guide and the exhibit curator Foma Fomenko, through a translator, that “it took two and a half months worth of peaceful protests in Kyiv, in five-degree weather, protected by nothing but these shields, before people started to react.”
Having just walked five blocks in near-freezing rain, the idea of being outside in much colder weather while passionately protesting all day, for months on end, was an idea that we could not fathom. Foma was incredibly articulate in his ability to explain how the protests shaped the Maidan. We were particularly interested to hear that the Maidan has now returned to the way it was pre-revolution, with the exception of the memorials to the fallen. Our academic instruction was brought to life by hearing and seeing the real-life stories and art at the Institute. Our interest in learning more about the Ukrainian revolution was truly heightened.
After we learned the basics of foreign relations and the inner workings of a state, Stefan Stawnychy, our teacher, decided to test as well as enhance our understanding of politics by giving us the grand challenge of simulating the current crisis in Ukraine.
We were all assigned roles, some Russian, some Ukrainian, some members of the E.U., and some American. We began by extensively researching the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, looking into the corruption of [fugitive former president Viktor] Yanukovych’s administration, and examining the Ukrainian people’s desire for tangible democratic change. Next, we had weekly simulations to talk about different levels and times of the crisis, first of course the revolution and the beatings of the protesters, then the sham Crimean referendum and subsequent U.N. Security Council meeting, the eastern separatist movements, the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 17, summing up with the current situation and likely future courses of action. Each simulation became more contentious and aggravating, as the groups were unable to get anything productive done due to Russia’s continued rhetoric.
Injustices left and right, yet Russia, sticking to their roles, kept denying others’ requests for discussion and the U.N. and the U.S. could provide little to no real assistance. Ukraine, currently in a transitional state attempting to stabilize after the huge revolution and creating a new people’s democracy, had the least power in the simulation. All that the representatives from Ukraine could do was explain how Russia was bombarding them, when really it felt like the only way to fix the situation was for Russia to stop trying to create spheres of influence and thus further its dictatorial empire.
Our conclusion: politics, especially international affairs, is exhausting and disheartening. However, we came away with the knowledge that we must start advocating for those in need and change our current system of international relations. Our class will forever be advocates for Ukraine and with no doubt will be a part of a large community calling for reform in the harsh global political system, both now and in the future.