With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, carried out with brutal ruthlessness and contempt for every norm of civilized behaviour, the question arises, how should we respond?
At the state level, various measures are being mounted to combat this act of aggression. Sanctions are being erected, offshore bank accounts of Russian oligarchs are being frozen, the skies of Europe are closed to Russian airlines.
While these measures are certainly having an effect — the ruble has all but collapsed — is this the best way of pushing back on Russian belligerence?
Actions of this kind will do little personal harm to Vladimir Putin or the militarists who surround him. Putin’s net wealth alone has been estimated at $200 billion.
Sanctions will, however, hit poorer Russians hard. If they end up losing their jobs or seeing their life savings wiped out, might not they blame the West, and close ranks around Putin?
The question becomes, what other options do we have? No doubt there are various ways to express our support for Ukraine and its population.
There have been rallies across the country; the internet and social media are swamped with images showing Ukrainian soldiers and civilians fighting back.
However, it is clear we also wish to send the strongest message possible to the Russian leadership. But in doing so, how do we retain the moral high ground?
Do we agree, for example, with the Vancouver Recital Society’s decision to cancel a concert by Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev?
The society’s artistic director called the choice a “horrible” one to make. Leila Getz says she has been trying for six years to book the 20-year-old.
Getz justified her decision on the grounds that Malofeev, who lives in Moscow, had not spoken out against the invasion. But did he dare do that?
Again, would we agree with the decision by the organizers of the Paralympic Winter Games to ban athletes from Russia and Belarus? What weight, if any, could those athletes bring to bear on Vladimir Putin?
And now we have FIFA voting to exclude the Russian soccer team from the World Cup, scheduled for late this year in Qatar. Likewise, Russia’s female soccer team has been scratched from the European Championship, to be held in July.
The Russian state may be clothed in some of the trappings of democracy, but the people of that country were not consulted on the decision to attack Ukraine. So how are they to blame for what is happening? Why should they be held accountable?
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There is, it’s true, another side to this matter. Even if these visitors are themselves blameless, cancelling their appearance at concerts or sports events sends a message back to ordinary Russians that their government’s actions are held in wide contempt.
Vladimir Putin may be a ruthless warmonger, but even he must take account of trends in domestic opinion. If the Russian people are brought to realize that their country is now an international pariah, might that not stay Putin’s hand?
There are no easy answers here. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cannot go unchallenged.
But it is essential that whatever measures are adopted, they target and punish those responsible, and not innocent bystanders.
