Nika Imamberdieva, Period 1, 3/1/22

Nika Imamberdieva, 2/28/22, Pd 1


Socio-political Consciousness:



1. What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

With everything going on in the world at this time, particularly with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, I felt it only fitting to divulge my thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and power.

In regards to inequity, there stands a very obvious line of separation between the nationalist Western side of Ukraine and the Russian-aligned eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. These lines demonstrate a very clear distinction between the regions’ cultures, beliefs, and values. While the western side stands as its own nation whose ideals align with that of Europeans nations, the eastern republics recognize themselves as independent states which are more conformed to Russian than Ukraine. This apparent inequity between the two regions is at the root of all the conflict. Based on my limited knowledge of the circumstances, my understanding is that when Ukraine gained a new president in 2014, the vast majority of the country and its citizens fought for true independence from Russian influence. This is because, prior to this upheaval, Russia still had Ukraine under its wing. However, the people of Crimea, who were prominently Russian, stood against this change, thereby inadvertently leading to the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula. However, shortly after, it became clear that the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions did not side with the beliefs of the new Ukrainian government either and therefore declared themselves as independent republics. However, the Western nationalists were less than happy with this which therefore ignited the conflicts within the opposing regions of Ukraine. This raises the topic of oppression because the circumstances surrounding this separation led to adversity on the eastern side at the hand of the western side. The rebellion ensued, and in a similar nature to that of what happened with Crimea, Russia agreed to back the eastern regions. However, after years of both armed and unarmed conflict, the western side was not backing down, and in response, Russia decided to take action. This, thereby, leads to the discussion of power because it begs the question of whether or not Putin’s decision to advance and invade Ukraine was an abuse of his power. Although it may appear as though he was doing as promised and helping the oppressed eastern republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, his decision to use violence was extreme. I believe that if he had used his power in the correct way, there may have been a more diplomatic approach to finding a solution. However, the choice he made is one that will create more trouble than what it’s worth and will cost many their lives in the process. Through this reflection of everything that has occurred in the recent weeks, I’ve been able to consider how aspects of inequity, oppression, and power coincide with each other in our day to day lives.



2. How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Within a socio-political scope, I often reflect critically on my own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences because of my background and the ideals that have been engraved within me through generations. This is because I generally tend to separate myself from anything having to do with politics or international affairs because of how disheartening it can be sometimes. I often take a neutral stance towards anything going on because I don’t want to form beliefs that could potentially offend another side. While this form of apathy is not particularly great, I feel as though it’s the only way for me to retain a balance in the world around me. This is because the friends that surround me and the community I live in have a very liberal view on the world, whereas my Russian immigrant parents have a very conservative view. This places me in the middle of the two opposing ideologies where if I form my own distinct belief, I’d feel as though I’m disappointing one side or the other. In this particular case, I had initially taken a very detached stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, amid recent events, it became very hard to avoid all the news surrounding the turmoil. Specifically, I began to see a lot of negative bias towards Russia, which made me question the nature of these circumstances as a whole. This is because as someone who considers herself Russian, it was upsetting to see the vast majority of the world standing against it. So, as a result, I decided to learn more about the situation by first asking my parents who were sitting in the car with me at the time. They told me what they knew, but in a way that didn’t necessarily paint Russia as the “bad guy,” which is why my own understanding of this conflict may resemble some of that bias. However, in doing my own research I came to the conclusion that there’s some truth to both sides of the argument, thus further lamenting my neutral stance. Although this is the belief I hold, I am critical of it because I fear that in not siding completely with one side or the other I’m simultaneously opposing one side or the other. This explains the way in which my own values and ideals can influence my perception of myself and of others.