Wilkes University Associate Professor of History Jonathan Kuiken speaks during a brief ‘Gathering for Peace’ held at the school’s Veterans Memorial Court Tuesday morning with Senior Vice President and Provost David Ward nearby. The voiced strong support for Ukraine amid a Russian invasion. ‘I’m sure that you, like me, are filled in equal measure by revulsion for this horrific attack,’ Kuiken said.
                                 Mark Guydish | Times Leader

Wilkes University Associate Professor of History Jonathan Kuiken speaks during a brief ‘Gathering for Peace’ held at the school’s Veterans Memorial Court Tuesday morning with Senior Vice President and Provost David Ward nearby. The voiced strong support for Ukraine amid a Russian invasion. ‘I’m sure that you, like me, are filled in equal measure by revulsion for this horrific attack,’ Kuiken said.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

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<p>From left, Wilkes University faculty members Andrew Miller, Andrea Maieran and Jonathan Kuiken discuss developments in the Russian invasion of Ukraine during a session with students at the McHale Athletic Center Tuesday.</p>
                                 <p>Mark Guydish | Times Leader</p>

From left, Wilkes University faculty members Andrew Miller, Andrea Maieran and Jonathan Kuiken discuss developments in the Russian invasion of Ukraine during a session with students at the McHale Athletic Center Tuesday.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

<p>Wilkes University Assistant Professor of Political Science Andreea Maierean, left, speaks about one of the heart breaking photos coming out of Ukraine, with an image of a child pulling a large suitcase while attempting to flee the violence. A Romanian Native who has relatives just 20 miles from the Ukraine border, Maierean choked up when recalling images of relief agencies giving toys to children crossing the border to escape Russian attacks.</p>
                                 <p>Mark Guydish | Times Leader</p>

Wilkes University Assistant Professor of Political Science Andreea Maierean, left, speaks about one of the heart breaking photos coming out of Ukraine, with an image of a child pulling a large suitcase while attempting to flee the violence. A Romanian Native who has relatives just 20 miles from the Ukraine border, Maierean choked up when recalling images of relief agencies giving toys to children crossing the border to escape Russian attacks.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

<p>Wilkes University Associate Professor of Political Science Andy Miller talks about the growing potential for the Russian invasion of Ukraine to backfire on President Vladimir Putin. ‘He can’t win,’ Miller said. ‘All authoritarian regimes end because freedom and liberty cannot be oppressed.’</p>
                                 <p>Mark Guydish | Times Leader</p>

Wilkes University Associate Professor of Political Science Andy Miller talks about the growing potential for the Russian invasion of Ukraine to backfire on President Vladimir Putin. ‘He can’t win,’ Miller said. ‘All authoritarian regimes end because freedom and liberty cannot be oppressed.’

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

WILKES-BARRE — The Russian invasion of Ukraine evoked strong emotional reactions from Wilkes University faculty and administration Tuesday during both a brief “Gathering for Peace” ceremony near the Veterans Memorial Court and a panel discussion indoors a short time later.

“We stand here this morning for peace and against violence. We stand here for democracy and against totalitarianism. We stand here for a lawyer turned comedian, a comedian turned president and a president turned hero of democracy. We stand against a dictator,” Senior Vice President and Provost David Ward said in his opening remarks at the ceremony.

“We stand here today because we realize how small our world is. When democracy is under attack anywhere it is under attack everywhere.”

“I’m sure that you, like me, are filled in equal measure by revulsion for this horrific attack and admiration for the bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian defenders,” Associate Professor of History Jonathan Kuiken said at the same ceremony.

He pointed out that there is “a long list of terrible conflicts that are currently causing suffering around our globe,” citing Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia, and said a common thread is that leaders pushing war “have utilized the human tendency to ‘otherize’ people different than us,” stoking fears and promoting divisions.

“The dehumanization of ‘enemies’ which is involved in these efforts is a crucial first step in creating the conditions for any war,” he said, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to “otherize” Ukrainian leaders with “the ludicrous idea that Ukraine’s Jewish president is also a Neo-Nazi.”

Kuiken warned similar attempts at dehumanizing and dividing are at work in this country. “I want to urge each and everyone of you here today to fight for peace in our community, in our country, in our world today. Fight against the poison of division in our own society as a means of standing in solidarity with those who share our values across the globe.”

About 30 minutes later, Kuiken joined Associate Professor of Political Science Andy Miller and Assistant Professor of Political Science Andreea Maierean for a panel discussion and a Q and A session open to the public in the McHale Athletic Center.

Kuiken said while Russia and the Ukraine shared some history, Ukraine had a large western section that long favored Europe, fought for independence from Tsarist Russia, suffered some 5 million deaths due to a “manufactured” famine under the rule of Joseph Stalin despite being a major producer of grain, and overwhelmingly voted out a pro-Russia president to install a pro-Western one. He also noted that since Putin’s annexation Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, some 14,000 people have died in a low-grade war in eastern Ukraine fought by Russian-backed separatists.

Putin’s claim that Ukraine does not really exist as a sovereign state is clearly wrong, Kuiken said.

Maierean, a native of Romania who said she has family just 20 miles from the Ukrainian border, talked about different theories to explain Putin’s unprovoked attack on a smaller country that posed no immediate threat to Russia. One is that, in his mind, Putin is protecting ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. Another is that he wants control of the largest network of energy pipelines in the region currently controlled by Ukraine and thus potentially risking Russia’s large oil and gas industry sales.

A third theory, which Kuiken also touched on, is that Putin “never made peace” with the break up of the Soviet Union. “He was a (KGB) agent in East Germany at the time,” she said. Putin tried to call Moscow to voice his opposition to the break up, but no one would take his call. And Putin also couldn’t stomach the turn of events after the break up, when many former members of the Soviet Union eagerly sought trade with the European Union and membership in NATO, leaving past forced relations with Russia behind.

She suggested possible outcomes from the invasion: A Russian-imposed regime favorable to Moscow installed in Ukraine, annexation of Ukraine completely into Russia, or a recreation of the Soviet Union. “Putin condemns what Stalin did,” Maierean said, “But he’s not far from that.”

She urged audience members to be careful about social media posts regarding the invasion, and asked that they consider donating to Non-Government Agencies that are helping Ukrainian refugees. She seemed to hold back tears when she recounted images of NGO workers giving toys to refugee children arriving at the borders of neighboring countries.

When fleeing such violence, she said, you pack the essentials “but you most likely forget to pack toys.” Even small contributions could make a big difference to those children, she added.

Miller pointed out the venue for the panel discussion had changed three times because there was so much interest they kept needing more room. It was also streamed live online via Zoom. He spoke of one constant in many wars: “The Dilemma of Security.”

When the Soviet Union broke up and many nations joined NATO, the did so to increase their own security against a much larger Russia, but that made Russia feel less secure, he explained as an example. When Ukraine moved toward Europe for it’s own security, that further deepened Russia’s sense it had to do something to protect itself. Yet the invasion already is changing the security structure in NATO, with member nations vowing to increase spending on defense in response to the new threat Russia presents.

While most U.S. Presidents following World War II understood the “dilemma of security” at work in the region, after the break up of the Soviet Union the U.S. seemed to retract from confronting the risks in Europe, under administrations of both parties. This “allowed Putin to believe he could get away with an invasion.”

“He clearly misunderstood world reaction,” Miller said, “and he appears to have over-estimated the abilities of his army.”

While Russia may still prevail with the invasion, Miller predicted Putin will fail in the end. “He cannot win,” he said, choking up a little, “All authoritarian regimes end because freedom and liberty cannot be oppressed.”

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish