Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And today, what is this strange, exotic place called Crimea? And why is it so important to both Russia and Ukraine in their war against one another? Those in America who advocate for our continued presence in and lavishing upon resources upon Ukraine, well, they cite Russia's seizure of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 as a primary reason for going to war with Russia.

The present dictator of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, insists that the return of Crimea to Ukraine be one of the territorial conditions Russia must fulfill before there can be peace. Yet, its defense and retention by Russia is one of the main reasons that Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022. The silly candidate for the Democrat nomination, the Democrat ticket in 2024, Kamala Harris, described it as, um, a big country, that is Russia, decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine. And that's wrong. Well, la-tida.

I guess that settles it. We all now know all there is to know about the region and its reasons. Or do we? No, we must insist that the situation is far more complex than is being portrayed by the war hawks in the United States and the corrupt media, which is beating the drums of war, and the military-industrial complex that demonizes Vladimir Putin and Russia. Most Americans are ill-informed about both parties to this conflict, as well as the deeper, darker reasons for the United States participation in it.

Well, let's look first at the fascinating history of the Crimean Peninsula and the respective claims that Russia and Ukraine make upon it. Well, the Crimean Peninsula is a beautiful and strategic section of land situated in the northern reaches of Asia's greatest body of water. The Black Sea, dozens of vacation mansions or Dakas, pepper the peninsula, where Russia's wealthy and privileged go to vacation and relax from the stress of imposing tyranny on the rest of their comrades. The climate is pleasant, the scenery is stunning, and luxuries and delicacies proliferate throughout the peninsula.

There are rugged, beautiful mountains in the south and a broad forested plateau in central and northern sections of Crimea, with a flat, open plain stretching eastward towards Russia. Crimea is a peninsula because there is a thin strip of land, it's called the Isthmus of Perakop, which connects it to the north with Ukraine. And to the east, Crimea is separated from Russia by the narrow Strait of Kerch, which today is connected by a bridge.

Crimea is not only valuable for what it is and has in and of itself, but because it is vital to the control of the entire Black Sea, which in turn determines access to the Mediterranean Sea and Russia has relied heavily upon the largest city in Crimea, Sevastopol, to project its Atlantic sea fleet into the Mediterranean and consequently into the Atlantic Ocean and also through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea and eventually into the Indian Ocean and eventually into the South Pacific, of course.

Well, the Black Sea provides naval access as well to a host of countries of Europe and Asia, and that would be Romania and Bulgaria and Turkey and Georgia and Russia and Ukraine, for example. In every conflict in history involving these nations and her enemies, domination of the Black Sea meant domination of the navies in those respective countries. Therefore, that peninsula that juts out into the middle of this giant continental sea, Crimea, presents a vital base of operations. Own Crimea and you own the Black Sea. Are you beginning to see why Ukraine and Russia place so much emphasis on this piece of real estate?

But it is worth pondering the historical claims to Crimea before rushing to judgment as to who is in the right planting their flag there. Well, for example, Russia considers Crimea to be the birthplace of Mother Russia, the primitive tribe from which all Russians descend, the Rus, came out of Crimea in the 9th century. Russia today looks on Crimea like we do Plymouth Rock, for example. It's where we came together in our earliest days, and we all fanned out into the greater world, right? Cape Cod, Plymouth Rock.

Well, the Russian emperor who led the Russians into Christianity, his name was Vladimir the Great. He was baptized in Crimea. This is why so many Russian men are named Vladimir after Vladimir the Great. Well, Vladimir the Great was baptized in Crimea, and he ruled what were then known as the Kievan Rus from Crimea. And one author calls Crimea the beginning of everything.

The beginning of everything. And Vladimir would go on to spread Christianity throughout his kingdom, building churches throughout Crimea, Ukraine, and Russia. Now, Putin gives, as a rationale for taking back Crimea in 2014, he says, and I quote, Crimea, ancient Kursun, Kursons, and Sevastopol, all of them bear an enormous civilizational and sacral meaning for Russia, just as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem does for those who profess Islam and Judaism, unquote. Consequently, Russia is not just a land-and-power-hungry country looking to dominate more and more territory.

No, rather, Putin and his leaders and the people feel that they are only reclaiming what is and always has been land of the Russian founding. Would we surrender Cape Cod or Plymouth Rock to Canada? How about Bunker Hill or Boston Harbor? Or maybe we should give back the Alamo to Mexico, huh? Would Texas stand for that?

Oh, my goodness. Many other nations, dear listener, many other nations and empires have contested Russia for Crimea. With what success, huh? For example, Vladimir the Great fought with other Rus princes for Crimea, including his own half brother. But he was finally victorious, and he brought the Christian faith to what would become Russia and Ukraine.

The Russians also fought the Mongol hordes all during the Middle Ages when Crimea was under their control for a time. And then, all during the long period between the 15th and the 18th century, Russia fought against the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. The Ottomans used Crimea as a raiding base into Russia, where they plundered the population, and they also developed a slave trade with Crimea as their base. The Russians longed to recapture Crimea during this period. The indignity of having their birthplace as a people being used by foreigners as a slave market with them as slaves, that was humiliating and degrading to the Russians.

One of the reasons, then, that the Russian Empress, Catherine is called Catherine the Great, is precisely because she defeated the Ottoman Empire in 1774, and she forced them to vacate Crimea. It was officially incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1783. And a European coalition, then, subsequently, composed mainly of England, France, and the Ottoman Empire, they went to war against Russia in 1854. And for several years, an intense struggle over who would predominate in Europe, that is, the traditional powers, or this new upstart, Russia, that struggle ensued for several years.

And most all of the fighting occurred in the strategic peninsula of what? Of Crimea. Russia would eventually lose the seaport of Sevastopol in 1855. And Russia retained Crimea, but her power and her influence were greatly diminished. Well, Crimea also played a vital role in Russia's defense during World War II.

The Germans, after invading Russia in Operation Barbarossa in 1941, they flooded into the Crimean Peninsula after suffering heavy casualties trying to get down the Isthmus of Perakulp. But Crimea was a prize that the Führer wanted. The Crimeans resisted valiantly such that even though the Germans eventually took most of the peninsula, the rugged inhabitants of the southern mountains never were conquered. They continued to inflict devastating losses, tying down forces that could have been used elsewhere, like in Stalingrad.

And as the war dragged on, and the Germans eventually retreated from Crimea, the Allies convened the famous Yalta Conference, where it was decided how the post-war world would be divided up among the victors. And Yalta was a beautiful jewel resort town in southern Crimea. Well, that brings us to the modern period, where Crimea became a kind of fratricidal volleyball, being lobbed over the net back and forth between Ukraine and Russia. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Crimea became a semi-autonomous region, still technically under the control of Ukraine.

And the collapse of the Soviet Union left those former member states like Poland or Romania, among others, in a state of turmoil, including and especially Ukraine. And as part of the Soviet Union, the Russians had deployed nuclear weapons throughout Ukraine. They were pointed at the West, however, but now they had to deal with a potential adversary with those weapons, turned back on Mother Russia, kind of like arming your little brother with a pistol under your direction and suddenly finding him mad at you. What's he gonna do with it? Are you safe?

Well, to help bring order among these former Soviet subjects, the United States and Russia drew up what's known as the Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine would give up her nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances. That is, if Ukraine were attacked, the United States would defend her. Well, there's one dark line, however, one dark black line, which Russia drew as unacceptable of crossing, and that was Ukraine's membership in NATO. That directly threatened Russia's national interests. A NATO member state, right on Russia's border, posed an existential threat to Russia.

It would be tantamount to having maybe a Soviet republic formed out of Mexico, or a radical Muslim caliphate made out of Canada. And we would see that, either one of those, as a direct threat to our national interests, and we would never stand for it. Well, we know from documents from the Budapest Memorandum, that going back to James Baker under George H. W. Bush, to Brent Scowcroft and Robert Strauss under Bill Clinton, that assurances were made to Russia that under no circumstances would Ukraine be allowed into NATO. It became standing policy for every administration subsequently.

Russia made it equally clear that they would never stand for such a policy from the West. Ah, but what the war hawks in America today, those who foolishly claim that we should continue the war in Ukraine, oh, what they do not realize is that that understanding has been repeatedly eroded over the decades. For example, George W. Bush issued the Bucharest Declaration in 2008, in which he promised future NATO membership to both Ukraine and Georgia. Russia. Oh, that's a gross violation of that understanding, isn't it?

But that was like an electric cattle prod to Russia, and they immediately took steps to shore up military defenses on those respective borders. And the Obama administration? Oh, that foolish administration constantly tinkered with Ukraine. They attempted to influence her policies towards the West and against Russia. For example, Ukraine elected a pro-Russian president in 2014, a popular election, and they elected Viktor Yanukovych.

And he began developing closer ties with Russia and integration into Eurasian Economic Union rather than the EU. And instead of allowing this to progress along normal democratic lines, American politicians like John McCain or Chris Murphy, and as well, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Newland, they all actively lobbied for a revolution, which eventually ousted Yakunovych in favor of Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who was pro-EU. And he was also pro-NATO. Yeah. Well, so egregious was the meddling and the violation of previous commitments that Putin invaded the Crimean Peninsula in February of 2014.

In consequence of this meddling, a referendum was held in Crimea in March of 2014, where 97% of the population voted to join the Russian Federation, and Crimea declared its independence from Ukraine. This was all decided by Crimeans themselves. They weren't under pressure from Putin and the Russians to do these things. So can you see why Russia in general, and Vladimir Putin in particular, has responded, as he has, and as Russia has?

An argument can be made, and I would make this argument, that rather than being a power-hungry dictator lusting after territory to conquer, instead, Putin has shown restraint against the Allies over aggressive actions on his border by them, by us, by the United States, for that matter, which threaten the sovereignty and integrity of Russia itself. We have done things to Russia in Ukraine that we would never stand for if Russia had done them on the border with Mexico or Canada. As we have seen in detail, Crimea is not, Crimea, excuse me, I'm sorry for mispronouncing Crimea several times now.

And as we have seen in detail, Crimea is not some disconnected, unrelated bauble that Putin has no business trying to seize. No, rather, Crimea has millennia-old organic bonds with Russia. In many ways, Crimean history is Russian history. And the population of Crimea also consistently votes for closer bonds with Russia rather than Ukraine, when given the fair chance to do so, that is. And it was clear that the Russian annexation of Crimea met no resistance either.

In fact, it was welcomed by most of the inhabitants. So many of the inhabitants of Crimea derive from Russian stock. They're proud of it, and indeed, they affirm it time and time again. And Putin also sees Crimea as a strategic military objective. When Russia holds Crimea, especially the naval base at Sevastopol, Russia is secure.

When other powers hold Crimea, Russian security is in jeopardy. In fact, history has abundantly proven that point, hasn't it, over time, as we have seen in our brief review of Crimea's history. In addition, most Americans are still hypnotized by the government and media propaganda that simplistically makes out as if Ukraine good, Russia bad, as if Ukraine is some kind of Jeffersonian democracy, while Putin is Hitler and Russia filled with Nazis. Do you remember when some in Congress called Zelensky the George Washington of Ukraine, when the war first broke out? How has that worked out, huh?

In fact, Zelensky suspended elections and has been ruling as Ukrainian dictator for years now. And he regularly throws his political opponents in prison and suppresses media criticism. Also, it is a mark of ironic stupidity to label Putin as Hitler and Russians as Nazis. In fact, the situation is quite the opposite. For example, when Hitler invaded Ukraine in 1941 in Operation Barbarossa, the Nazis were welcomed as liberators in Ukraine.

Joseph Stalin had spent the last decade destroying the liberties and way of life of Ukraine in trying to create a Marxist state. Before Stalin, Ukraine was composed of independent farmers who owned their own land and they marketed their crops for their own profit. This vast middle class in Ukraine were called kulaks. They were the backbone of Ukraine, and they had existed for generations. Stalin and the Marxists sent in troops to force these independent farmers into collective farms.

Individual property was seized and abolished. Farmers' markets disappeared and individual bartering and selling became illegal. Harvests were seized by the government and redistributed all over the Soviet Union. Ukraine herself experienced widespread famines. A formerly prosperous, independent people were turned into Marxist slaves on their own land.

Millions of Ukrainians perished in Stalin's wrenching dislocation of their way of life. A fierce hatred and resentment towards Russia and Marxism festered like an infected boil. And consequently, when the Nazis invaded in 1941, they were seen as liberators from the hated communists. It's one reason that Hitler saw such stunning success in the early days of Operation Barbarossa. They were welcomed all along the way with food, flowers, and favors by the Ukrainians themselves.

Well, the Ukrainians thus became ardent Nazis during this period. And that loyalty and partisanship never went away, dear listener. In fact, it is alive and well in groups like the Azov battalions. One example, the Azov battalions. Look these guys up.

They're a fellowship of Nazi military units all through Ukraine. And they fight not only the Russians, but anyone who opposes the war. Thus, we see the irony. It is Ukraine that is Nazi, not Russia. It is Zelensky who is Hitler, not Putin.

And we must acknowledge, as well, the extreme provocation of Russia by Ukraine prior to Russia's invasion in February of 2022. The Cato Institute details a number of reasons for Russia's invasion, four of them in particular. Number one, since the days of the Clinton administration, the West has consistently violated its commitment to hold the expansion of NATO towards Russia, including Ukraine. Number two, NATO's military intervention in the Balkans in the 90s under Clinton. You may remember that.

Or NATO's expansion, number three, to Russia's very border. Yes, membership was granted to the Warsaw Pact members and the three Baltic republics. And then finally, we have treated Russia as an outright enemy. Number four, an outright enemy in Ukraine and elsewhere. It is the United States that amassed the Ukrainian forces on the border with Russia prior to Russia's invasion.

It was provocative. It is Ukrainian forces that rained artillery into Russia and sent forays of troops into Russian territory before the invasion. It was very provocative. It is the United States that flooded Ukraine with advisers, quote-unquote, before Russia came in. Advisors that looked and acted a lot like special forces and Navy SEALs.

It is Ukraine that sent in U.S. Fighters into Russian airspace before the invasion, threatening the cities and forces of Russia. So, of course, we heard nothing about this prior to Putin's sending in his forces in February of 2022. And most Americans are still ignorant of these salient facts. Instead, it's the big bully Russia who invaded poor, vulnerable Ukraine.

Oh, it's the Hitler, Vladimir Putin, who's the aggressor. Ukraine is just an innocent democracy that wants to be left alone. Ah, balderdash. Furthermore, it is Zelensky in Ukraine that is persecuting the church, too. The Russian Orthodox Church in particular, Christian persecution in Ukraine, arrests of priests, closers of churches, persecution of believers has commenced unabated since the war's beginning.

One of the reasons Putin went into Crimea, for example, was to protect Orthodox Christians who were being persecuted there. So, dear listener, things are not always as they seem, are they, as we have seen. The enemy is not always the one pointed to by our government. I have been on this time and time again, pointing you to this fact. The enemy is not always the one pointed to by our government.

No, there is perfect logicality to see our government as the enemy in Ukraine. It's especially true in this wicked, bloody war being waged in Ukraine, being waged and being bloody largely because of our participation in it. It's time for this war to come to an end. President Trump is doing the right thing in trying to end this war, bringing it to a conclusion swiftly. We must pray that God will be with him as he does this and that we'll see this bloody, unnecessary war come to an end very soon.

New Geneva meets for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. We encourage you to come and join us. Participate with us in worship. You'll find a warm welcome and an opportunity to worship in spirit and in truth. And you can also call us then for more information about New Geneva or some comments perhaps on this broadcast.

You can give us a call at 208-523-0196. That's area code 208-523-0196.