CSULB professors discuss Ukrainian crisis to packed lecture hall

More than 60 students packed into Psychology building, Room 150 yesterday for “Ukraine In Crisis,” a teach-in where history professors explained Ukraine’s ongoing unrest and answered questions from students and faculty.

Although the teach-in was originally scheduled to be held in the Psychology building, Room 153, it was relocated to PSY-150 so that all the attendees could be accommodated.

The teach-in, presented primarily by Cal State Long Beach history professors Andrew Jenks and Ali Igmen and moderated by history professor Houri Berberian, was organized to provide an understanding of the complicated situation unfolding in Ukraine, Berberian said in her opening address.

Igmen began his presentation by asking the audience which country Crimea belongs to. In explaining the issue, Igmen addressed the concerns and vested interests of Russia and Ukraine.

“Basically Sevastopol, Crimea’s main port, is the home base for Russia and Ukrainian naval bases right now,” Igmen said. “Crimea was never Russian. It belonged to many people including the Byzantine Greeks, Goths and even the Mongols.”

Igmen added that Crimea was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchev, former first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

“Khrushchev served and worked in the mines of Ukraine as a young man,” Igmen said. “One of the arguments of de-Stalinization is that Khrushchev needed to establish his own place … Crimea is the gift that Russia gave to Ukraine.”

Concluding his argument, Igmen said that in his opinion, Crimea doesn’t belong to one specific group of people.

“The identity of the Crimean population is quite mixed,” Igmen said. “Many people who were living in Ukraine and also Crimea experienced one of the worst famines in the world. Ukrainians didn’t want to turn farms into collective farms, so they resisted the Soviet Union.”

As a result, millions of Ukrainians perished and an emphasis on national pride emerged out of this history, Igmen said.

Jenks, who began speaking after Igmen, stressed that a tragedy is underway in Ukraine and said he wished to dispel those media outlets that have framed the crisis as a battle between Western and Eastern powers.

“Economic issues have driven the crisis; those with nationalist agendas have hijacked the process,” Jenks said. “It is an issue of economic injustice and corruption. That is the situation as I see it developing.”

Jenks also emphasized that Ukraine’s problem is its division created by an influx of different ethnicities. There are solutions to the problem, however, Jenks said.

“First, they need to define Ukraine as it belongs to everyone who lives there, and there is an attempt to define citizenship,” Jenks said. “There are certain elements of what it means to be Ukrainian, like speaking a certain language and culture.”

A minority wants to push to establish a specific culture, Jenks said, but the mix of ethnic groups makes that goal difficult, which raises the level of tension and creates “a recipe for civil war.”

The teach-in concluded with several students and professors’ posing questions, including inquiries into the United States’ stance on the issue.

Jenks said he believes there is no justification for the Russian invasion; however, he believes there is little that the United States can do.

“My view is nothing. We can’t go to war with Russia; they have nukes,” Jenks said. “There’s really nothing we can do. We can impose sanctions, but the more sanctions we impose, the more powerful [Russian President Vladimir] Putin gets.”

Igmen agreed.

“Do nothing and pray,” he said. “We can try to put pressure on Russia. It doesn’t look like Europeans will be involved either.”

Igmen elaborated by saying that he doesn’t believe Europe will get involved because of the energy that runs through Ukraine.

“Many pipelines are going through Ukraine,” Igmen said. “This is one of the areas of leverage that Russia and Putin has in dealing with the issue.”