In the year since Russia began its full-scale invasion against Ukraine, we have all witnessed the brutal side of the world’s largest nation. Russian forces continue to bomb apartment buildings and other civilian infrastructure, war crimes frequently caught on tape for the world to see the plight of Ukrainians. Beyond graphic images of war, the stories of Russian soldiers raping women and pillaging from occupied territory are numerous and abhorrent. President Putin and his small group of advisors have made unilateral decisions that imperiled millions of Ukrainians and Russians, all while shutting down any dissent among the Russian populace. State propaganda paints this war as a broader crusade against the encroaching West, and with no other choice the Russian people are forced to support it. The whole situation is dehumanizing and despicable, with Russia as the clear aggressor and no end in sight as long as Putin retains control.
I used to be proud to mention my connection with Russia. I have family members who speak Russian and attend Russian Orthodox Church. We exchange letters in Russian with a distant cousin who lives in Estonia. We enjoy Russian cuisine as a family, preparing dishes including pierogi, pirozhki, blini, borscht, shchavelya, golubtsi, and kielbasa. But for a few reasons, the invasion of Ukraine chief among them, I have stopped claiming Russian heritage. The truth is that Bakshti, the village that my great-grandparents emigrated from in the mid-1910s, is located in Belarus close to the Lithuanian border. The dialect that my grandmother speaks, as learned from her parents, is actually Belarussian, which (like Ukrainian) is a distinct language with many similar roots to Russian. Much of the Russian culture that my ancestors brought to America was imposed on them from Russian imperial times. In fact, my great-grandparents left their homeland due to scarcity on the eve of the Russian Revolution, as increasingly limited resources were funneled to the heart of Russia to support the lavish lifestyles of the elites and to run the empire. Russia has a long history of sapping the wealth from its outlying provinces and leaving behind a wake of suffering, and Ukraine has suffered particularly harsh outcomes from the Holodomor to Chernobyl to the last 9 years of military aggression. My ancestors’ experience in Belarus and Russian-occupied Poland shares much more in common historically with Ukraine, making it particularly easy to sympathize with Ukraine’s current plight.
When someone asks about my family history, I now proudly claim Polish heritage. Which is actually a more truthful response, as 50% of my great-grandparents were Polish immigrants to only 25% Belarussian (to 0% Russian). I am excited about this development in my identity, too, as the magic of Facebook recently connected me with many second- and third-cousins on my maternal grandfather’s side. My family now has a videocall with our Polish relatives every Christmas, and we hope to all meet one another in their hometown of Krosno this upcoming summer. Their community has housed and supported Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war, which gives me both pride and hope. I look forward to visiting and sharing Polish foods like pierogies, kielbasa, and golabki – fortunately I don’t have to disavow these family favorites! And of course, my thoughts remain with our brethren in Ukraine as they summon the strength to continue into another year of defending their homeland against Russia.
Worldly Observations 