Russian Kaliningrad: The Bizarre Global Decisions After WW I and II Have Sown the Seeds of Conflict

The Austria-Hungary Empire of pre-World War I was one of the most successful empires of the day.  Unlike similar empires which were assembled through conquest, Austria-Hungary was assembled through voluntary association, mainly in fear of aggression by the Muslim Ottoman Turks who were hell bent on conquest for their entire existence.  Countries such as Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Montenegro became part of the Austria-Hungary Empire for this reason.  One exception was the takeover of Bosnia Herzegovina in 1878 when it was awarded control by the Congress of Berlin.  In 1908 Austria-Hungary annexed it, to the chagrin and objection of the Bosnians.

Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, was the heir to the Austria-Hungary throne in 1914 when he decided to visit and tour Bosnia-Herzegovina in an open car.  He was shot to death June 28, 1914, at the hands of a Serbian national, Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. These two men are credited with starting World War I.  The Archduke had to know that this was a very bad idea, but perhaps he did not; it was.  For some bizarre reason, he wanted an open car parade.  There was a first failed attempt against him, which he survived, he brushed it off and continued.  His driver took a wrong turn and he, and his wife, Sophie, were killed; both shot to death.  One stupid move by one man and the world pays the price. Four empires were destroyed after World War I:  The Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the German Empire and the Austria-Hungary Empire.

At the end of World War I and World War II, twenty years later, international politicians made some of the most bizarre and destructive decisions of all time, again: the not ready for prime-time players.  The Treaty of Versailles produced some of the most poorly decided dumb decisions.  One example is President of the United States Woodrow Wilson, on his own authority, and overriding other European leaders, decided to ignore the Treaty of London of 1915 which promised territory concessions to Italy if it agreed to enter the war (WW I).  Second, the Treaty of Versailles after WW I created the conditions that caused the second World War.  

Among the many controversial decisions made after the world wars was the redrawing of borders that helped shape the new Yugoslavia. In the process, Italy lost territories with long-standing Italian communities, including the Istrian Peninsula, the city of Fiume, and parts of the Dalmatian Coast. To critics, these decisions appeared to represent another act of appeasement—rewarding Josip Broz Tito’s communist regime while disregarding the historical and ethnic complexities of the region. The consequences were severe: ethnic tensions intensified, and Italian civilians suffered atrocities at the hands of Tito’s communist forces, known as the Foibe Massacres between 1943 and 1950.

 Reward a tyrant, such as Tito, and he will like you better, was the thought.  All this at the price of thousands of people losing their lives and stoking ethnic hate for the long term.  History has shown that all these decisions were disastrous.  After the death of the dictator Tito, Yugoslavia broke up and a war of independence of the member states caused more atrocities.  From 1991to 1995 over 100,000 people were killed.  Some of these decisions reverberate with us today such as the enclave of Kaliningrad, the German city known before 1946 as Konigsberg, the largest German easternmost city, gifted to the Soviets at the Potsdam Agreement in 1945.  Who thought that this was a good idea but the Soviets?  Look at the map of where it is compared to the Russian border.  Appeasement roars its ugly head again and the world pays the price.  Just yesterday (8/24/26) the Wall Street Journal had a story about how the Russians are drawing plans for mobilization of the Kaliningrad residents.  This suggests they have aggressive military plans. Déjà vu all over again.  Will we ever lean?

Déjà Vu All Over Again

 The Crimean War of 1853–56 was fought, in part, to contain Russian territorial expansion. The main combatants were the Ottoman Empire, Britain, France, and Sardinia-Piedmont, all aligned in support of the Ottoman Empire against Russia. Fast-forward from 2014 to the present, and Europe is again confronting a war driven by Russian aggression—this time against Ukraine. At its core, the conflict reflects Russia’s desire to reassert imperial influence and revive elements of the former Soviet sphere, along with the ambitions of Vladimir Putin.

 

Human history has often followed a brutal pattern: dominate your neighbor and take what he has. Russia is already the largest country in the world, spanning eleven time zones, yet its leadership has repeatedly shown that size alone does not satisfy imperial ambition.

 

European history is filled with territorial ambition, recurring wars, and moments when nations failed to aid neighbors threatened by aggression. The former Austro-Hungarian Empire emerged partly as a collection of peoples seeking security in a turbulent region. Several Central and Balkan European lands looked to larger powers for protection from the Ottoman Empire, which for centuries sought to expand its reach into Europe. The lesson is familiar: when expansionist powers are not checked, instability spreads far beyond the original battlefield.

 

History has repeatedly shown that European nations can be reluctant to intervene in distant or emerging conflicts until the danger is unmistakable. A striking example is the Byzantine Empire, which was gradually consumed by Ottoman expansion, culminating in the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Appeals for help from the Byzantines to their fellow Christians in Europe largely went unanswered. European leaders failed to recognize the broader threat: the Ottoman ambition to push deeper into Europe and extend its power across the continent.

 

A similar condition exists today. Although Europe has supported Ukraine with funding, weapons, and political backing, many European governments remain reluctant to become more deeply involved. Yet the danger is clear: if Russia succeeds in conquering Ukraine, the threat will not end there. It would leave other European nations exposed as potential targets of Russian aggression.  The Spanish philosopher, George Santayana stated the famous saying:  Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.  We are here again.  Déjà vu.

 

Give Peace a Chance?

"Give Peace a Chance"  was an anti-war song by John Lennon recorded in 1969.  The  refrain is "All we are saying is give peace a chance."  Vietnam was the war. I was a participant in this war as an American soldier; I can understand the refrain.  Over 59,000 of my fellow soldiers gave their life in Vietnam for a misplaced political neurosis of the Washington politicians who really did not know what they were doing, starting with John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. The US Congress can be included here too.

We now have a war going on in Ukraine.  Many nations are appalled by the evil brought on the Ukrainian people and have provided weapons to Ukraine.  The United States and many others have imposed sanctions on the evil Russian regime led led by the tyrant Vladimir Putin. In the September 24, 2022 edition of the Wall Street Journal, there is a story about the Italian elections coming up this week.  One of the biggest controversies in Italian politics is should Italy provide weapons to Ukraine as well as sanctions on Russia.  The Italian people are divided; about half of the people do not favor sanctions, fearing economic retaliation by the Russians.   The leader of the right leaning party, La Lega, Matteo Salvini, a Putin supporter, is against sanctions and ignores the evil Putin has done in Ukraine. Some others on the right favor sanction and providing weapons.

Italian politicians not favoring sanction or poroviding weapons to Ukraine, repeat the same refrain, give peace a chance.  In their words, Italy should be mediating between the warring factions.  Now, either these people live in an alternative universe or they are denying reality.  So, you just call up Putin and talk him into ending his war, right?  Have they tried that?  If so, what result did they get?  We tried this type of diplomacy in 1938 with Hitler.  After he conquered half of Czechoslovakia, the Europeans entered into an "agreement" with Hitler providing that he not attack another country.  How did that work out?  When will they learn? Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oligarch and the richest Russian until he displeased Putin. His empire was seized by Putin and he spent 10 years in jail, says that Putin only understands force.  Diplomacy is useless.

Back to John Lennon's song "Give Peace a Chance."  So, what were the Ukrainians supposed to do when 150,000 Russian soldiers, their armored cars and ballistic missiles raining down on Ukraine?  Should they just play John Lennon's song to the approaching Russians and have a big sign saying "give peace a chance"?  As a former soldier who participated in a war, I agree that war is not the answer, but what do you do when attacked; just lay down?

The Italian politicians, and anyone else for that matter, who does not support sending weapons to Ukraine and supporting sanctions is cooperating with evil, I have just some questions for them: what will you do when the same evil comes to your back door? What will you do after the Russians conquer Ukraine and then go for the rest of the former Soviet Union?  Will you just sing "Give Peace a Chance"?  Will you not want others to help you?  Denying reality will not solve the problem.

Why America is an Exceptional Nation: Reason two of 77

History is replete with examples of multiple times when nations have failed to come to the aid of a neighbor in mortal danger from aggressors who wish to conquer them.  When the Muslim Turks conquered what remained of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 no European country raised a hand to help.  One noble individual from Genoa, Giovanni Giustiniani,  led a small army of 700 private soldiers to help the Byzantines defend Constantinople.  Such small numbers were destined to be ineffective.  Giustiniani himself was severely wounded in the battle and could not continue; his forces and those of the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI, were crushed by the superior Turkish forces. The rest of Europe failed to act.

In modern day, the Turks attacked the Island of Cyprus in 1974 and captured half of it, which they still hold.  No one came to the aid of the helpless Cypriots.  In 2014 Russia invades and captures the Crimea from Ukraine.  No one came to their aid.  Russia invades eastern Ukraine and no one comes to their aid.  To this day, the Turks and the Russians hold these territories.  Where are the Europeans? They only care about getting their oil and gas from Russia, naked aggression does not bother them. The Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, expressed his admiration for Vladimir Putin, the Russian despot. Click here to read more.

In 1939 Hitler invaded and took part of Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland, and no one came to their aid. In the now famous appeasement speech by the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, he made an agreement with Hitler that if he stopped with the Sudetenland he would accept this naked aggression against a helpless country.  Where were the rest of the Europeans?  Asleep at the wheel. Hitler, proceeded to take the rest of Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, Belgium, Holland and then he went after the UK and Russia. Europe was saved by American intervention, again.

Now lets look at America.  For the past 100 plus years, America has come to the aid of many countries.  In World War I it went to war to help the Europeans against German aggression.  In World War II it repeated the action.  Certainly, without American help Europe would have failed in both wars.  In modern day, we have the American examples of helping Korea from Chinese aggression in 1950-53, Vietnam in 1959-75, the Balkans in the 1990s to stop a genocide in Bosnia-Bosnia-Herzagovina; the Gulf war of 1991 to liberate Kuwait; Afghanistan and Iraq in 2003.  The list goes on and on.  What other nation in the world has a record of helping other nations from aggression like America? America is an exceptional nation. No one can match its record.  In all these cases, not one was done for American gain of territory.  Can you say it again, America is an exceptional nation.