Individually, I feel as though there isn’t much for us to do to make an active presence in the fight for peace. However, I believe it should fall on everyone’s responsibility to spread the message. In addition to this, funding support organizations and simply siding with the Ukrainians and exiting the realm of becoming a bystander is a step in the right direction. By doing so, society can form their own opinions on the situation at hand and hopefully band together to make an impact. Fortunately, this has been practiced at a high level so far, as we see celebrities donating to the cause are raising awareness. In order to effectively make a difference and achieve true peace, this needs to be continued at a high level. It won’t be until then that the world can fight with the Ukrainians and solve this ongoing issue.

- I would have to agree that what is happening in Ukraine should be considered a genocide. The Russians were upset at ukraine over land agreements, so they decided to try to get rid of the ukranians. They used war tactics bombs, missiles, and invasions to kill as many of them as they could. There was, and still is, no remorse for human life. That is quite literally a textbook definition for genocide. 

- I think one of the most convincing pieces of evidence/classifications was hearing some of the things that russians would say about their feelings and what they were doing to ukraine. This would be considered dehumanizing, and the russians were called out for doing it, multiple times. One quote by Putin was that "they have ideas that come from the outside that makes them dangerous”. This quote and these comments are frighteningly similar to those of Hitlers, when he was talking about the jewish population. 
- Narcissism would have to take second place. Narcissism should not be encouraged, and can easily result in a turn of events. Having the belief that you are better than someone, or your whole country is better than another country, is very damaging to both parties. It blows my mind how narcissistic Putin and his fellow russians are. This whole genocide is just one big power move so that russia can try to show off its skill and expand ore so it can gain more respect. 
- The replacement theory kind of goes hand and hand with narcissism. I think that believing in te replacement theory is so strange and cowardly. This was not only a huge fear that the nazis and it supporters had, but its also a common fear for many white-supremacists today. These people are scared of an entire population wiping out their population, so they result in violence and untrue stereotypes to help boost their egos. This is a truly horrible outlook on other people, and definitely 100% not a justifiable reason for commiting a genocide. 
- the last very shocking classification would have to be the metaphysical reasons. This topic also goes hand-in-hand with dehumanizing. and narcissism. The ukranians were being compared to satan in this modern story.  This dehumanization would then lead to any russian believing it was okay to insinuate violence on the town. 

- I think that there is a lot of possibility for things we could possibly do, but as of right now there is not much we can totally confidentally do. With all of the allies and united groups formed between country and country, making bold decisions would be extremely difficult. If we were to do anything to the country, we would not only be messing with the russians, but also with their allies. Once we attack or start violence, then the violence will begin to break out absolutely everywhere. It sucks to be a bystander right now, but there is geuinely not a ton of options. What we can do right now is spread awareness and try our best to support the good guys. We just have to be very careful in what we do. 

- I would have to agree that what is happening in Ukraine should be considered a genocide. The Russians were upset at ukraine over land agreements, so they decided to try to get rid of the ukranians. They used war tactics bombs, missiles, and invasions to kill as many of them as they could. There was, and still is, no remorse for human life. That is quite literally a textbook definition for genocide. 

- I think one of the most convincing pieces of evidence/classifications was hearing some of the things that russians would say about their feelings and what they were doing to ukraine. This would be considered dehumanizing, and the russians were called out for doing it, multiple times. One quote by Putin was that "they have ideas that come from the outside that makes them dangerous”. This quote and these comments are frighteningly similar to those of Hitlers, when he was talking about the jewish population. 
- Narcissism would have to take second place. Narcissism should not be encouraged, and can easily result in a turn of events. Having the belief that you are better than someone, or your whole country is better than another country, is very damaging to both parties. It blows my mind how narcissistic Putin and his fellow russians are. This whole genocide is just one big power move so that russia can try to show off its skill and expand ore so it can gain more respect. 
- The replacement theory kind of goes hand and hand with narcissism. I think that believing in te replacement theory is so strange and cowardly. This was not only a huge fear that the nazis and it supporters had, but its also a common fear for many white-supremacists today. These people are scared of an entire population wiping out their population, so they result in violence and untrue stereotypes to help boost their egos. This is a truly horrible outlook on other people, and definitely 100% not a justifiable reason for commiting a genocide. 
- the last very shocking classification would have to be the metaphysical reasons. This topic also goes hand-in-hand with dehumanizing. and narcissism. The ukranians were being compared to satan in this modern story.  This dehumanization would then lead to any russian believing it was okay to insinuate violence on the town. 

- I think that there is a lot of possibility for things we could possibly do, but as of right now there is not much we can totally confidentally do. With all of the allies and united groups formed between country and country, making bold decisions would be extremely difficult. If we were to do anything to the country, we would not only be messing with the russians, but also with their allies. Once we attack or start violence, then the violence will begin to break out absolutely everywhere. It sucks to be a bystander right now, but there is geuinely not a ton of options. What we can do right now is spread awareness and try our best to support the good guys. We just have to be very careful in what we do. 

I think that we need to actually recognize this genocide at the bare minimum. I am not completely sure what I as an individual could do, probably keep myself and others educated about what is really going on. I think there needs to be more support for the refugees, like finding them a safe place to be, supporting them, etc. 

One of the claims I find most interesting is that Russia’s genocide is partially fueled by a narcissism for the country’s identity. Snyder says that, by having a common enemy, the country is able to build up their own identity. It sounds like a pretty nationalist approach–having to think poorly of other countries in order to uplift your own.

-I’m not too sure if there is anything the U.S. can do. First of all, the U.S. is tied to NATO and the Russians have their allies too, so any instigation would likely cause a really large scale conflict. I also believe there are some pretty major threats regarding nuclear war if the U.S. were to engage. I think the most we can do individually is just donate and stare aware of these events. Snyder claims that once you see what’s happening, you can only be on the side of the perpetrator or the victim, and if you remain silent, you’re on the side of the former. But it sucks, especially being kids during these times and knowing that there’s pretty much nothing you can do.

Individually, I think we should start sharing more information to people who are not as knowledgeable about this topic. News of what is happening in Ukraine is no longer seen as a big subject anymore in the media, and that is the problem. People who do not care to research more about it will assume that the war in Ukraine is over but it is not. This is why it is important to research, keep up to date, and share information regarding Ukraine and Russia. The rest of the world who are not in this war should provide aid for refugees. We should donate what we can to charities that help with the Ukranians, whether it be money or supplies. 

The most overwhelming data that there was for this, was what the Russian state TV said. Stuff along the lines of Ukrainians shouldn’t exist, the Russians should obliterate all the Ukrainians, and they should drown the Ukrainian children rings clear in my mind the mentality that the Russians have going into this war. The Russians also sending Ukrainian women far into Russia is very convincing. I interpret this as a deliberate strategy of the Russians, to once again remove the identity of the Ukrainian people. By forcing women to live in Russia, and “be Russian”, there is no room for a “Ukrainian national identity” left. This leads to how Russia recognizes itself as a state of nation, but not Ukraine. By deliberately ignoring that Ukraine is an independent nation, the Russian government is always under the impression that Ukrainian are Russians. But this is completely false. The ideology behind this causes the reason for genocide, in my opinion. The Russians, besides simply killing Ukrainians, have also taken down their power supply, and ruined well-known monuments of Holodomor. Taking down the power supply is essentially indirect murder, electricity is used in many parts of life, and without it, living becomes much more difficult. Additionally, taking down the Holodomor monument, once against shows that the Russians don’t care about the identity of the Ukrainian people.

I think as people individually, we should be doing more. Specifically doing more activism and education, and less performative activism. Performative activism only extends so far. Donations can be made, donating blood, and starting drives in communities. Being an educated citizen of the world is the least we could do. Seeing this war as a genocide can be the first step. As for the US and for other nations, we should first recognize this tragedy. There really is no question that this event is a genocide. Nations should make sure they are spreading the correct information to their citizens too.

The evidence that Snyder cited that was most convincing for me would most likely be the evidence taken from the 1948 Genocide Convention. He took quotes from law specifying the definition of genocide. He had stated that something only had to apply to one of the criteria to be counted as genocide, but in fact what is currently happening in Ukraine applies to all of them (killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent birth within the group, and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group). Snyder also went into the specifics of how it applied to each criteria, most of which I hadn’t heard of because attention isn’t really brought to the crisis in Ukraine anymore. 

Snyder had opened with a quote. “They should not exist at all. We should execute them by firing squad. We will kill 1 million, we will kill 5 million, we will obliterate them all.” I had thought this quote was from the Holocaust, but to think it was from the last few days, and on television, is jarring. There are many more quotes said similar to this and I think this shows more intent than anything, to kill Ukrainians because of who they are. However, there are still people who might disagree to try and avoid responsibility (of being bystanders) so Snyder devised 9 classifications he would choose to think about the language of the perpetrators and gauge if there really was intent or not (colonial, apologist, dehumanizing, narcissistic, escalatory, metaphysical, fascist, replaceable and exceptionalist). The quote aforementioned displays escalatory language, jumping from 1 million to 5 million to the entire population. 

When Snyder talks about dehumanizing and escalatory language, he reveals the genocidal logic behind Russia’s actions. He says that Putin thinks Ukrainians don’t exist because the ones claiming to be Ukrainian are not actually Ukrainian. They have no ties to the land and they misunderstand themselves. Russia’s plan from the beginning was to get rid of the “Ukrainian elite”, the ones assumed to be running everything. Soon thereafter everyone else would “realize” they’re Russian. However, it wasn’t enough. 

They further “justify” their claims by saying that Ukrainians are not Ukrainians because they received international help, therefore are agents of international power. So to them, it is not enough just to kill the elites, they need to kill more Ukrainians. The more that claim they are Ukrainian, the more to kill. Now this, surely, is enough to prove intent. 

But there is more. Snyder mentions the metaphysical, religion, and how that plays into the intent of the Russians. Similarly to how Germany viewed the Jews, Russia sees Ukrainians as mentally ill Russians. So, if they fail to exorcize the devil, they must simply kill them. 

Russia sees itself as the only country which is not soiled, the innocent, a millennial civilization. Rules don’t apply to them, as their mission to to bring the world back to a sense of totality. This kind of language is an example of fascism, narcissism and exceptionalism. The belief that Russia alone is the exception. 

I think the first issue is people refusing to acknowledge what is going on in Ukraine. Many would heavily disagree with the fact that a genocide is happening right now, because they don’t want to call themselves bystanders. I think individually we should all strive to learn more about what is happening and spread the information, because it is not reaching as many people as it should. We as a nation should acknowledge that this is a genocide and help the Ukrainians in any way we can, offering any resources possible. 

Hearing some of the Russian people’s statements about what’s happening in Ukraine struck was the most persuasive pieces of evidence that Snyder provided. These citizens were criticized for their wrongdoing on numerous occasions because their thoughts are considered demeaning. They have ideas that originate from the outside, which makes them dangerous, according to a comment from Putin. This remark and others like it are startlingly reminiscent of what Hitler said about the Jewish community.

Narcissism shouldn't be promoted as it leads to dangerous, abusive outcomes- especially as one can start believing they are superior to others or that their nation as a whole is superior to others. How narcissistic Putin and his fellow Russians are truly astounds me because this entire atrocity is an enormous power play by Russia to demonstrate its prowess and enhance mining reserves in an effort to garner more respect.

Narcissism and the replacement theory resemble each other in several ways. This was not only a major concern for the Nazis and those who supported them because many modern white nationalists still have it. With their fear of their entire population being wiped out, these extremists often resort to violence and create false stereotypes in order to mask their consternation. This is an absolutely abhorrent perspective on other people, and it is by no means a justification for committing genocide.

The final and most surprising category would have to be the metaphysical explanations, because in this contemporary tale, Ukranian people were being compared to Satan. Allowing for Russian people to feel justified in suggesting and committing acts of violence against the country.

I believe there are many potential things we could accomplish, but as of today, there are few things we can do with absolute certainty. Making big judgments would be quite difficult given all of the alliances and united groups developed amongst nations. If we were to interfere with the nation in any way, we would be interfering not only with the Russians but also with their allies. Violence will start to spread all over the place as soon as we attack or initiate it. Being a spectator at this time is awful, but there aren't many other options. Right now, all we can do is raise awareness and do our best to stand behind the good guys.

The most convincing evidence Snyder cited is the legal definition and criteria for what should be defined as genocide because the genocide happening in Ukraine meets all the standards. To be a genocide you have to be “killing members of a group”(Snyder) the target killing of Ukrainians by the Russian army and the filtrations camps for Ukrainian men proves this. you have to be “causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the group”(Snyder), the torture chambers since 2014, the bombings of hospitals and schools and how that affects children and sick people, the deportation and displacement of Ukrainians which causes loss of identity. They have to be “Imposing measures intended to prevent birth”(Snyder). The systematic 🤬 of Ukrainian women by soldiers, the bombing of hospitals, and the filtrations camps. “We will drive the children into the raging river”(Russian Federation).  The fact that Putin said “they [Ukrainians] should not exist”(Snyder). The metaphysical belief that “Ukrainians are Russians who are mentally ill, and are possessed by Satan”(Snyder), is an excuse to continue killing them. 

Individually I think we can post more about the genocide happening, I don’t see many people talking about it anymore, even on the news it makes it seem like the Russian invasion has stopped and there isn’t a genocide anymore. We could also donate to non-profit organizations in Ukraine that are helping Ukrainians deal with the devastating effects. The rest of the world should allow Ukrainian refugees into their country, and help Ukraine in the war, with arms and soldiers to push back the Russian soldiers. Finally, put it on mainstream news every week, and give updates so more people still know that the genocide is happening. Finally, we need to call it what it is “A Genocide Of Ukrainians”. 

What is happening in Ukraine is clearly a genocide, perpetrated by the Russians. Through the evidence stated by the Russian media, through corroboration with international law, and by comments and quotations from Putin himself, one can clearly see that genocide is being actively committed.

 

The evidence for Russia committing genocide unto the Ukrainian populous is clear. Snyder, in the beginning of his presentation, directly quotes the criteria of what constitutes a genocide from the 1948 genocide convention. A genocide is met if any, not necessarily all, of the following conditions are met killing members of a group, causing serious mental or bodily harm to members of the group, and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part. Snyder cites evidence that fulfills each of these criteria.

 

Some of the most striking examples presented were:

 

Also, mid-way in his speech, Snyder, in an attempt to solve a pervasive problem in identifying whether or not genocide is being committed, provides nine criteria used to evaluate genocidal intention. Colonial, apologist, dehumanizing, narcissistic, escalatory, metaphysical, fascist, replacement, and exceptionalism. Synder goes on to explain each criterion in length, particularly convincing elements of his descriptions were quotations either from the Russian state media or Putin himself, clearly showing evidence of genocide. Two examples that stood out to me were:

 

Particularly powerful were the quotations made by Pavel Gubarev on the Russian state media (directly controlled by Putin, the president of the federation). “They should not exist at all. We should execute them by firing squad. We will kill 1 million. we will kill 5 million. we will obliterate them all. We will drown the children in the raging river. We will throw the children into burning wooden huts.” Synder also noticed the connection between what Russia is saying and doing to the Nazi methodology and their conduct of political control and genocidal methodology in WWII.

Individually, our options are limited. As common members of the civilian body, we hold no power in government and thus can’t take executive action into our own hands. One could make the argument that actively protesting could lead to changes, but often protests do not lead to further government action. Individually, we should continue to donate to Ukrainian non-profits. Seeking to educate ourselves and move away from being a bystander is a necessity in times of calamity, as this assures the perpetrators cannot fulfill their horrific goals. As a nation, we should make efforts to educate the populous about what is happening and continue to provide media coverage of the war. Militaristically, we could even go one step further, and actively enforce a no-fly zone around Ukraine, preventing Russian aircraft from supplying their troops. The US could send more armaments, vehicles, and supplies to Ukraine, following in the example of our EU and NATO allies. This has its own risks, as historically American involvement in the re-establishment of a nation, especially militaristically, has only led to more issues and insurrection. One only has to look to the middle east to see this.  The options for what we as individuals can do, and for what we as a nation can do, are very limited. But we should continue to keep in mind that we cannot just be bystanders. Being a bystander in the midst of an overflow of evidence of genocide is unacceptable. Either we are on the side of the perpetrators, or we are on the side of the victims.

Russia’s efforts in the war are the most obvious piece of evidence for it being a genocide. Some of the legal criteria for genocide include killing members of the group or serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group. Russia has directed missiles at civilians, bombed hospitals and schools, and deported 4 million or 10% of all Ukrainians. They have also specifically targeted water and power supplies so that civilians cannot survive. By intentionally harming the innocent, Russia has made it clear that they are trying to kill or get rid of every single Ukrainian person.

Another one of the criteria for a genocide is imposing measures intended to prevent birth. Russia has done exactly that by screening for fertile women and children in Ukrainian filtration camps and deporting them throughout Russia so that they will be assimilated into Russian society and cannot form a Ukrainian community within Russia. They are trying to prevent anyone from identifying as Ukrainian in the future so that if they kill all the current Ukrainians, there will never be Ukrainian people ever again. This fits the common definition of genocide as well, where Russia is deliberately killing Ukrainians with the intent of destroying all Ukrainians.

I think, just as compelling as their actions are Russia’s intentions behind their actions. The quote that Snyder uses in the beginning of his talk, “We will kill one million. We will kill five million. We will obliterate them all.” being used on Russian state television demonstrates exactly what their intentions are. Russian propaganda has continuously dehumanized the Ukrainian people, saying that they don’t exist as a people, claiming that Ukrainians are merely Russians who are mentally ill or possessed by Satan and thus, need to be killed. This sort of propaganda was also very common during the Holocaust when Jewish people were constantly associated with Satan, just like the Ukrainians are now. To the Russians, this justifies the mass murder that is happening. The Ukrainians cannot be “saved” so they need to be destroyed. There is also this idea that Russia and Ukraine were united by God and baptized so anyone who opposes the unification of Russia and Ukraine must be tied to Satan. 

Russia has taken an apologist viewpoint in which using their Memory Laws, they have made it very difficult to talk about Russia’s actions and allyship with Nazi Germany during World War II without being prosecuted. They have also taken down memorials to the Holodomor, a famine created by Stalin that killed millions of Ukrainians, claiming that it was actually just nature, not intention. In denying and ignoring the past, Russia essentially is paving the way for another genocide.

Individually, I think it is important for us to support Ukraine in any way possible. Whether that means spreading the word about what is happening to as many people as we can or donating. There isn’t much we as individuals can do, but when multiple people act, we can make a difference. The U.S. and the rest of the world also need to show their support for Ukraine. I think it’s important for us to keep all our citizens educated on what is going on. I did not know at all about some of the details of what has been happening until I listened to Snyder’s talk. The U.S. has simply forgotten about it. We can also help more directly by sending supplies to anyone who might need them, sending weapons or people to assist in the fighting, or accepting Ukrainian refugees that are fleeing the war. We cannot be bystanders and let this genocide continue to happen right in front of us.

What is happening in Ukraine is definitely a genocide. Even what the Russian federation says about "obliterating them all" just shows that they are targeting all Ukrainians for just calling themselves "Ukrainian." On top of the continued violence imposed by Russia, Russia wants to strip Ukrainians from their independence and their identities by perpetuating the idea that they're "devils" and that they are mentally ill Russians that need to be cleansed... like what the heck. Why isn't this more reported as a genocide rather than a war? Until this assignment, I haven't been hearing anyone referring to the war as a genocide, which is strange to me.

- Filtration camps: crazy how the news is still afraid of calling the situation a genocide when there are literal concentration camps happening. 
- Trying to get rid of future Ukrainian births by systematically letting Russian soldiers 🤬 Ukrainian women
- Bombings of hospitals and schools
- Wanting to get rid of Ukrainian's vital resources by denying food and water to Ukraine
- dehumanization of Ukrainians: calling them mentally ill, wanting to get rid of the elite in Ukrainian society, disrespecting Ukrainians in many ways, even through torture and murder, filtration camps, not seeing them as an independent nation, etc. 
- Narcissism: Putin has been acting like how bullies do when they are insecure; they fight those who they see as lesser than to have more power/feel more respected/powerful. It's disgusting. 

One thing we should do individually is spread the information about how the conflict with Russia and Ukraine is more than just a "land issue," and more of an insecure, twisted man's dream to stand on the obliterated bodies of dead Ukrainian children people. We could also donate to foundations that give funds to resources for Ukrainian refugees/citizens. As to what the U.S. and the rest of the world should do, I think they should try to restrict trade with Russia, though I don't think it would be that effective considering Russia's relationship with China. Another thing that could be done globally is send more resources to Ukraine whether it be food, water, weapons, or aiding in helping refugees get refuge.