JOIN USUkraine war and the decline of Eurocentrism
In Cyprus's Mediterranean resort of Protaras, there is a tiny strip of land that juts into the tranquil blue waters of the Mediterranean sea. Here stands a rock with a plaque that endeavours to locate the relationship between the people of Russia and Cyprus in its shared history and in the vast expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. Now the US and EU sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine are threatening to undo this age-old relationship, which is written in stone and wrapped in complex religious history that is casting its long shadow on today's conflict.
While not many visit this desolate place, constantly slapped by the waves of the sea and at times submerged by a high tide, the implications emanating from the plaque on the strategically located rock are quite dramatic and help in understanding the war in Europe from a perspective that has not got much attention. Titled as Symbol of eternal friendship and religious history of Russia and Cyprus, the legend reads as follows:
"On October 15, 2011, it was appointed an honorary cross just 350 meters from here at a depth of 15 metres in memory of all the mariners. The cross was carried by the Russian sailing ship "running of the waves". The ship successfully performed the Christian Orthodox campaign, which began in Germany and travelled to 13 countries before reaching its final destination here..."
Cyprus is a Greek Orthodox country with close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, which has endorsed Russian President Vladimir Putin's military operations in Ukraine. Moscow and Cyprus are part of the same Eastern Christian orthodoxy. The differences between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodoxy took place over the sacking of Constantinople (today's Istanbul) by the Crusaders, which resulted in the loss of the Byzantine capital to the Muslim Ottomans. Both sides never forgot this epochal happening that took place in 1204.
Nationalism has always defined the loyalties of the Orthodox Church. Expectedly, differences between the Russian Orthodox Church and that of Ukraine showed up when the decisions that Church took seemed determined by nationalist reasons rather than spiritual ones. Simmering tensions between the two countries- after Russia occupied Crimea in 2014- climaxed this year when Ukraine's Orthodox Church split with that of Moscow. Many Ukrainian Churches, under pressure from their government and the West, demanded answers from the Russian Patriarch on how they could support Moscow in its invasion. No answers have been forthcoming as Moscow, and its Patriarch still has considerable sway over many churches in Ukraine.
The influence of the Orthodox Church and its well-located monasteries is considerable in this island country, where the Greek flag flies higher than its own. The country is the closest Mediterranean destination and, due to the commonality of religion, has seen hundreds of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians visiting Cyprus as tourists. In the past few years, 20,000 odd Russians picked up the island's citizenship under the golden passport scheme. Some think the number of Russians holding Cypriot citizenship is much higher. As Moscow allows dual citizenship, it worked very well for them to invest and live in the pleasant climes of Cyprus till the Ukraine war and the Russophobia that swept Europe in its wake changed the paradigms of global morality. Historical hate and antagonism towards Russia, visible in many European societies, have reared their head. Expectedly, the media narrative began to churn out reports of how dangerous Russia was. The Church schism of 1204 lent a feverish intensity when answering the key question - why do the US and the West hate Russia so much?
Russia, the precursor of the Soviet Union with whom the West fought a long Cold War, was shown to be a country with no respect for the rules-based international order. It has interfered in the elections of other countries (US), had no respect for human rights (Chechnya), prevented the overthrow of dictators like Syria's Basher-el-Assad and is now controlling the oil and gas supplies of Europe. Another criticism was how Russian President Putin had joined hands with China to challenge the balance of power in the region. What was not stated was that all the sanctions imposed by the US and Europe did not have the imprimatur of the United Nations and were meant to impose the new NATO-based order.
The outcome of this conflict is that there are no more Russian tourists in Cyprus. Only those remaining in the country struggle between the two citizenships and fear forceful repatriation to Moscow. Like citizens of many other European countries, Cypriots are getting sick of the Ukraine war. Though their needs are limited, they still have to deal with high fuel prices caused by European sanctions on Russian fuel, a collapsing economy and a dark and uncertain future. Many of its tourist resorts like Paphos, Protaras and Limassol are struggling to stay afloat due to the disappearance of tourists and Russian businesses. During a trip to the port city of Limassol, this writer was told about the hundreds of job losses due to Russian shipping companies being compelled to shut down as they could not ferry the cargo without being insured by western companies. "The company occupied three floors in a high-rise building, and they had to vacate all of them as their accounts are frozen and their ships are being sold off or docked," informed a local Cypriot shipping industry observer.
Some Cypriot companies have also taken advantage of the turmoil in Eastern Europe and rapidly pulled out Ukrainian professionals from the war zone. Informed sources claim that at least in one case, 400 IT professionals in the gaming industry and their families were airlifted to Cyprus and located in the sea resorts of the country. This was before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky passed an order to prevent the male members of the family from leaving the country. There could be many more who have found their way to Cyprus.
While Indians do not suffer from any Russophobia and hence are oblivious of the toxicity emanating from the violent history of the continent, still, the European Union's foreign policy is endeavouring to pass on its hatred to the countries it has ties with. Expectedly, there has been an attempt to convey to India and the rest of the sceptical world the evil of Russian aggression in Ukraine and how it has changed the balance of power in the continent. This Eurocentrism, which endeavours to give primacy to how Europe sees the world and its value system, is being questioned aggressively by the citizens of many countries that do not want to suffer more after the pandemic brought their lives to a standstill. This view goes contrary to the enthusiastic consensus on the support for sanctions visible in the news media. They just do not want another war on the continent. Observers of this conflict believe that the indications of this Armageddon would be available when the Russian government starts cutting gas supplies to Germany later this month. This will undo whatever recovery many European economies had experienced after the pandemic.
Cyprus, whose economy and society had been grievously hurt by Covid-19 and earlier 2013 slowdown, was clocking a healthy 4 per cent growth rate in its GDP when Russians invaded its neighbour. Usually, wars help revive the economies, but those who have followed the European and US-led sanctions recognise that the world is sinking deeper into recession. The question is will religious loyalties deepen this conflict or dampen it?
(The writer is the Editor of 'Hardnews' magazine)
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.