Ukraine: Nazi Occupation, Past; Russian Invasion Future?' - Limited Edition of 25 Photograph

In 2014, Ukrainians in the Maidan Revolution in Kyiv, Ukraine had concluded their overthrow of corrupt, president Viktor Yanukovych who fled to exile in Russia. Yanukovych, a thug from Eastern Ukraine with a criminal past, was sponsored by Ukrainian oligarchs to seek political power and to seek leadership of Ukraine. About a decade and a third after Ukraine gained national sovereignty in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed from overwhelming corruption and inability to provide properly for its citizens, Ukrainian voters elected Yanyukovych as Ukrainan president in a free election. Yanukovuch was corrupt to his core. Despite his Ukrainian counyrymen's clear, overwhelming wish to seek further Alliance with the West, this massively corrupt political pair, was opposed by potesters who sought greater allliance with Western Europe and he US. Maidan protesters stopped their president's steering their politics and economy into Russian dominance. Putin was deathly afraid of citizen uprising as a result of swift power changes that swept the worlds's political leadershiup after gthe various colored revoltions of the world. Ukraine had its own Orange Revolution.\ Putin clearly saw he was vulnereable and when Ukrainian protesters threw out Putin's corrupt proxy in Ukraine, Putin must have been greatly afraid for perpetuity of his rule. Putin's fear was heightened when the Ukrainian Maidan protesters were successful. Soon after Yanukovych fled to Russian exile, Putin began to engineer first the takeover of Russian-speaking Crimea, though Crime clearly was a part of Ukraine. Putin's hybrid warfare employed Russian soldier in uniforms without insignia nicknameed 'Little Green Men' who refuse/to identify their country. Not long after seizing Crimea in 2014 after Maidan and in apparent retaliation, an emboldened Putin fomented Russian separtists' taking over parts of the Donbass industrial basin and a real shooting war ensued in Ukraine's east. Russian officers, advisers and soldiers participated in attempts to seize much of Ukraine's east. That conflict stalemated and later became a 'frozen war,' but not without first claiming 14,000 lives and displacing millions. At that time and against that political background, I happened onto this view of a bazaar where a worker was carrying these mannequins. I knew some Nazi -- Ukraine history. I flashed on the history of Nazis overtaking Kyiv in 1941 and killing between 30,000 and 100,l000 Ukrainian citizens, mostly Jews, old women, kids and invalids who were too feeble to escape. Nazis ran so short of bullets tp kill rounded up citizens, they lined two victims' heads together to shoot two to death with only one bullet. Nazis dumped the bodies into Baba Yar ravine. Years later, as Russian soldiers approached towards war's end, Nazis exumed and burned the bodies. Seen by me in 2014, these 'bodies' merely indicated a growing prosperity among bazaar sellers. Now with advent of Russians who nearly have encircled Ukraine, as Putin seeks to invalidate Ukraine, the former meaning of so many 'bodies' again comes into focus. I fear this image inview of Putin's 2022 offensive with 190,000 soldiers surrunding Ukraine will soon symbolize deaths from deaths anticipated from the feared Russian offensive. This photo then would symboize past under Nazi occupation and the future under threatened Russian occupation. © 2022, all rights reserved, John Crosley, text and/or image. No reproduction or other use of this colpyrighted text an/or photo is allowed without first obtaining express priot written permission identifying th property protected an extent of permision allowed. John (Crosley) When the Soviet Union fell, its 15 constituent Republics immediatgely gained status as separatge nations. Long nicknamed 'Breadbasket of the Soviet Union for the product of its vast, fertile fields, Ukaine was transformed from Ukraine SSR, a Sovie Republic into the nation of Ukraine. In its shjort history, Ukrainians transformed from Soviet citizens in to Ukrainians who shared two languages, Russian and Ukraine, whichj reflected the ethnic background of its citizens. In some portions of Ukraine, particularly in Lviv, in the contry's far west and Donbass Industrial Basin in the country's far East near the Russian border, Ukrainians language did tend to reflect their allegiance to Ukraine for those who lived earest Poland, in West, or Russian, for those i n Eastern, Dobas area. Thje rest of the natikon spoke two langujages, Ukrainian or Russian at leaast in their homes. At work and otherwise manyh spoke Ukrainian and Russian adequatelyh. Except for areas closest to the east and west borders, thosoe whjo spoke at home one language or the other wer not bound to allegiance as one might speculatge based onm analsis of the language tghey spoke at home. Stalin sent his criminal prisoners to Ukraine's East in Donbass as factoryh and mine workers. He also is accused of causing intentionally the Holodor mass Ukrainian stavatiko just prior to World War II, called there the Great Patiotic War/ Unlike the Soviet Union where votges were routinely rigged and elections were farcical, as Ukraine progressed in the bumpty road to democracy, the citizens found that each time there was a presidential vote, the transition of power was mostly peaceful. \ This contrasted with neighboring Russia where presidential votes were commonly ocrrupt and elections rigged. In first power tansitioon, there was violence in Moscow as rival factinos sought control of newly independent Russia.\ Russiaan democracy basically failed because of failure to honor the ballot. Ukrainian votes initgially hielded highly corrupt leades, but the leaders were freely elected and after elections for president, there was a peaceful change of power. As tme passed Ukrfainian voters tended to vote more for the less corrupt leaders and thee was an 'Orange at abouut time of the Arab |Spring, and a 'reformer' won power. Yanukovych. groomee by American political Svengali, Paul Manaforte and clearly was both corrup tna dafter a 'free' election shjowed clearly he was about to steer Ukraine into orbit of neighboring Russia under Vladimir Putin' \ Citizens from throughout Ukraine gathered in 2013 to 2014 to Kyis's Maidan park and Kreschchtyk street to put up tents and figtht with Bercut riot police almost daily as they soought violent overthrow of Yanyukovych ( and also Manaforte) In Feb. 2014, the unspoken 'no firearms' at the protester---riot police was bropken and snjipers killed about 100 spectators and proestes in one day. Yanuykovych, under threat of being killed in retaliation for the killings, fled overnighty and abandoned his job and also almost all his personal bgelongings. understanding of 'no firearms' at the downtown Kiv battles was broken nd Manafwhen sentences ended, the tended to settle there. and mostlyh were hardcorps fffffffff At day's start amd end bazaar clothing merchants set out cheap plastic and lightweight mannequins, shown here. At clothing and related bazaar counters kiosks as with clothing retailers everwhere,it is far easier for bazaar merchans to sell clothing if it is properly displayed. These cheap plastic mannequins can be found at day's start and end at bazaars that endeavor to propery display clothes and try formaximum possible sales. When I saw a bazaar worker in a highly-populated area of Kyiv's city center hauling these mannequins, my mind immediately flashed on local history.

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