February Blog: One-year anniversary of invasion of Ukraine
Saturday 25 February 2023
'Ukraine is at the forefront of a renewed great-power rivalry between the West and Russia, setting a dangerous precedent that will influence international relations for decades'. (CFR)
This week sees the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and so a good time to take stock of the impact of this devastating conflict.
This is an excellent article from Chatham House on what the impact of the war has meant for the international world order. Essential reading for any students studying Global Politics:
Seven ways Russia’s war on Ukraine has changed the world (Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank)
Chatham House experts examine the shifts in geopolitical alliances, security, energy, and supply chains and whether these changes are likely to be long-lasting.
There are many other articles in the news this week also discussing the implications of the war:
One-Year Anniversary: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine (Council on Foreign Relations)
As the war in Ukraine nears its one-year anniversary, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) offers background and analysis.
Historian Anne Applebaum has contributed several articles and interviews on the significance of the Ukrainian invasion - also linking to the previous history of Ukraine under Stalin. This article from The Atlantic takes a counter-factual approach and discusses what might have happened without US aid (though you need to register to keep reading).
The Brutal Alternate World in Which the U.S. Abandoned Ukraine (The Atlantic)
Ukrainian resistance and American support prevented a wide range of horrors.
Co-incidentally this month sees other significant anniversaries connected with the former Soviet Union.
It is the 75th anniversary of the Czechoslovak coup and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad. In a ceremony to mark the latter, Putin was able to use the anniversary to further justify his invasion of Ukraine:
Putin marks anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad, justifies invasion of Ukraine (PBS NewsHour)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi forces in the battle of Stalingrad, and evoked the long and grueling fight as justification for the conflict in Ukraine.
Site update
We are currently completing the new topic for Paper 3: Europe, Topic 11 Italy (1815 - 1871) and Germany (1815 - 1890).
Also under construction is a new section on feminist movements in Latin America to add to History of the Americas, Topic 17, Civil Rights and social movements.
And, as ever, we will continue to update existing pages with new materials and activities. For example, see these articles from History Today which have been added to the relevant sections under Paper 3.
What next?
In the upcoming couple of months as we approach the May examination season also look out for revision tasks and extra quizzes to help students with their revision.
IGCSE site
We have also now completed the IGCSE History site. This covers key themes in 20th Century history with content and activities for students, and we hope it will be useful for the teaching of any pre IBDP History course on the 20th Century.
