Living in Russia's shadow

Ted. Having just spent a month in Kaunas, which is just 40 miles from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, we have been asked on a couple of occasions what the current feelings are in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland regarding their unruly neighbor. 

Judy and I are not in the habit of asking every person we encounter, “What do you think of Russia?” We normally avoid asking anyone about local politics, wherever we roam, unless a resident brings the subject up first. 

Having said that, we have heard a few comments. Do these thoughts represent the majority opinion? Who knows? 

For example, a Lithuanian Uber driver told us that “He loves Putin and he hopes that Putin is successful in killing all of the Russian people!” 

We mentioned to our friends in Poland that, should their country be invaded, we would help them to resettle in the US. They politely declined, saying “Thank you, but if that happens, we will stay and fight!” That sounds surprising until one understands that young Poles still hear stories from their grandparents about the Polish-Russian War of 1920 - which Poland won! 

Most folks that we have encountered seem to be genuinely patriotic. Several, who lived abroad for a number of years, have returned home for good. A young Polish man dreams of studying in another country but says he would then return home to live. 

The determination demonstrated by the citizens of Ukraine seems to be a good example. Eating in a Georgian restaurant (the country, not the state), Judy spied a woman with a t-shirt that said “20% of Georgia is also occupied by Russia!” 

The total population of the EU nations is three times larger than Russia and its GDP (PPP) is four times bigger! Thus one would conclude that a united Europe could easily withstand any challenge by Russia. They key word there, though, is “united.” 

Furthermore, I can understand the reluctance of countries like Poland and Lithuania to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as that would weaken the defense of their own borders. We have all read about the recent incursions into NATO countries and that just adds to the anger of the affected peoples. 

The big question on everyone’s mind is always, “What will the Americans do?” As a country, we like to pull for the underdog but we are also reluctant to get our troops involved in more wars. I try to bear in mind what Abba Eban used to say, “Nations do behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.”

Along a rail siding in Poland