Historical Society Talk: "Ukraine, Poland and the Roots of American Opposition to Russian Tyranny"

Americans looked on with horror as a massive Russian military force invaded one of Europe's poorest and weakest nations. Day after day, the news media reported one atrocity after another committed by a heartless Russian regime. Churches burned, cities reduced to rubble, civilians trapped with no place to flee, reports flooded into the United States of how the Russian army indiscriminately killed children, the sick, the elderly and women. Faced with such brutality and unrelenting hostility to the rights and freedoms of common, everday and innocent people, Americans across the country vehemently denounced the corrupt Russian state and the tyrant behind this evil war. Despite the United States being a staunch ally of this unfortunate victim of Russian aggression, the media predicted this proud nation of Europe would soon be crushed by Russia with not much we could do to intervene:

"The enemy [Russia] was slowly, but we feel surely and fatally gathering around her capital; and there will be no human arm stretched to aid its heroic defenders."

Although it may appear we're referring to reports from today's news of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the corruption of Vladimir Putin's regime and the struggle for freedom and democracy around the world, this is not the story of the invasion of Ukraine, but of Russia's invasion of Poland, and not of events in 2022, but instead of wars and a series of events that took place over 190 years ago. What certainly remains the same is the American public's steadfast support for the underdog and impassioned defense for the God given rights and freedoms that belong to all humanity.

Join us as we discuss and learn more about ...

• the invasions that tore apart the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (which included most of Ukraine);
• the rise of the Russian Empire, the despotic rule of the "tsars," how their views of the West and position in the      world helped shape Russian national interest to the detriment of Russia's smaller and weaker neighbors;
• the status of Ukrainian, Polish, Jewish, Lithuanian and other minority groups within the Russian Empire;
• how American ideals and the plight of these minority people groups galvanized support in the United States against the Russia Empire and, eventually, for the independence of Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine;
• the similarities and differences between the Russian invasion of Ukraine today and the invasions/rebellions that took place in that part of the world since the late 1700s;
• how the roots of the current conflict stretch back to the events in the late 1700s and early 1800s;
• the resilience of American ideals, how they help shape U.S. foreign policy interests, policies and our current views of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

We're aware of certain attempts to distort and obscure historical facts to justify the invasion of Ukraine.  You can learn more about this by reading the February 29, 2022 statement from the American Historical Association.  It's our hope by sponsoring this Historical Society Talk to do our small part in dispelling these attempts to spread misinformation, while at the same time better understanding the impetus for such revisionist views of history.  Through this Talk, we aim to both shed light on these current events, by looking through the lens of history, and ultimately reaffirm the ideals and principles that unite us as Americans and with freedom loving people around the world.