LettersUkraine war: ordinary Russians and soldiers must look to history and choose peace

While it is hard for individuals to stand up against a powerful state, people can start by forming their own views of right and wrong, independent of ideology

Russians must also grapple with what they will choose if Putin loses power. Will they be able to stand united and prevent a bloody spiral?

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A view from the destroyed window of a building amid shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in early May. Photo: Zuma Press Wire/DPA

Published: 2:30pm, 5 May 2022

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I was born 58 years ago to a Soviet military family in Siberia. From early childhood, amid the marches of soldiers and the movement of tanks, I dreamed of the sea. Finally, I chose oceanography as my profession.

My job saved me from the Soviet and post-Soviet matrix with its strong connection to ideology. There was a stairway to the Soviet skyline – birth, education, army service, career, a good pension – and recognisable markers of success if there were no deviations in the trajectory of one’s life under communist rule. I now see the same ideology, with communism replaced by a great imperial motive that lacks personal human values.

Fortunately, the profession I chose is far enough from the military, and I was able to travel the world since the 1980s.

I now have my own company, selling oceanography equipment. In 2014, my business was affected heavily by export restrictions and since then I experienced difficulties in sales until they ceased completely after February 24.

I ask myself what an individual can do against a war, which one could argue started eight years ago, when one lives inside a military giant like Russia, which has been accused of war crimes. First, do not be afraid of thinking about what is right and wrong from a humanitarian perspective. If you’re independent and brave, you would start to rethink the flatness of our Earth, developing your own mind enough not to accept ideology.