Ukraine: The World's Political Fault Line

Journalist and political scientist Deniz Berktay has been living in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, for nearly 20 years. As the grandson of a naval officer who was a Gallipoli veteran and a member of the Kuvayı Milliye (National Forces) (Halil Namık Berktay), and the son of a Mülkiye graduate, Deniz Berktay is the son of a medical doctor (Dr. Alpaslan Berktay) known not only for his medical profession but also for his Republicanism, leftist views, anti-imperialist stance, and storytelling. He stands out as one of the experts in our country who knows Ukraine best and closely monitors the Eurasian geography, especially Russia. In this context, his work, in which he examines Ukraine and the Ukraine-Russia war in all its aspects, "Ukraine: The World's Political Fault Line" (Cumhuriyet Kitapları, Istanbul, 1st Edition August 2023, 2nd Edition March 2024), is an important work for understanding the war in Ukraine, which has been overshadowed by the recent attacks by the US and Israel on Iran and developments in the Strait of Hormuz.

The foreword to Berktay's book was written by the late Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı, his professor at the Mekteb-i Mülkiye. Berktay, whose articles, news reports, and commentaries we know from NTV screens and his column in Cumhuriyet, and who also shares his analyses and evaluations on his own YouTube channel, had tackled a very important topic in his first book: The Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Russia-West Conflict (Cumhuriyet Kitapları, Istanbul, 1st Edition 2021, 2nd Edition 2023). Beyond the religious dimension of the Patriarchate, he explained its political dimension, its historical orientation, and its efforts to violate the Treaty of Lausanne, which is the founding treaty and title deed of our country. He examined how US imperialism and European Union imperialism used the Patriarchate in Fener against Turkey and tried to make it ecumenical. He addressed the function of the Patriarchate in the polarization within the Orthodox world and its position in the Ukraine-Russia tension.

Since Berktay knows Russian and Ukrainian in addition to English, he shares both his observations and testimonies as a journalist in his book, where he examines Ukraine in all its aspects. He also opens an academic window as a researcher living in Kyiv, continuing his doctoral studies in Kyiv, and having completed his master's degree with a study on Russia-Ukraine relations in the 2004-2014 period at the Kyiv Slavic University. In the 445-page book, findings, diagnoses, analyses regarding Ukraine's past and present, and predictions about its future stand out. The country is examined in all its historical, social, political, class, cultural, economic, geographical, and diplomatic aspects.

While describing the languages spoken in Ukraine, religious beliefs, similarities and differences between Ukrainians and Russians, Ukraine during the USSR period, and nationalist movements in the country, Berktay also sheds light on the roles played by Poland, Russia, Austria, and Germany in Ukrainian history. Ukraine after the dissolution of the USSR, efforts to create a nation and establish a national church, the Orange Revolution, relations with Russia during that period, Putin's Ukraine policy and his statement that "there is no such state as Ukraine," the loss of Crimea, the influence of the US and Europe in Ukraine, Zelensky's rise to power, and the appointment of oligarchs as governors are just a few of the prominent topics among dozens in the book.

While interpreting the stages of the Ukraine-Russia war, Berktay makes important determinations with his conceptual awareness, ideological clarity, and political consistency, stating: "The war is not only being fought between Ukraine and Russia. It should also be seen as a Russia-West war. This war cannot be handled independently of the US and UK's containment policies against Russia." According to Berktay, the US and the UK, knowing that the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979-1989 brought an end to the Soviet Union during the final period of the Cold War, hope that the war in Ukraine will turn into a quagmire that will bring an end to the administration in Russia. For this reason, Berktay recalls that when Turkey brought up mediation initiatives to stop the war, the UK prevented the Kyiv administration by saying, "There is no negotiation with Russia," and writes the following:

"What happens, happens to Ukraine. Those who defend their country against Russia, those who lose their lives, are Ukrainians. However, it is the Western countries that provide weapons to Ukraine, train Ukrainian soldiers, provide intelligence support to Ukraine, and finance the war. For this reason, it would be wrong to see the war only as a Russia-West war and ignore Ukraine, or to look at the war only as a Russia-Ukraine war and ignore the West's policy of containing Russia... Many commentators explain Russia's intervention in Ukraine with Putin's ambition and compare Putin to Hitler. However, Ukraine has both geopolitical and national and religious importance for Russia. Russian nationalists see the area around Kyiv as their first homeland. The largest monastery of the Russian Orthodox, the Pechersk Lavra, is in Kyiv. To put it in our terms, Ukraine is both the Ergenekon and the Kaaba of Russian nationalists. Without knowing these, it is impossible to explain why the war started and why it continues."

Berktay also touches upon the double-sided result of Ukraine being caught between the West and Russia with these words: "On one hand, Ukraine is affected by the conflicts between Russia and the West. On the other hand, the conflicts between the West and Russia largely determine Ukraine's internal politics."

Emphasizing that the orange revolutions (2004 and 2014) that took place in the country's recent history cannot be explained without the support of the West, but also cannot be explained solely by Western support, Berktay underscores that Ukraine has its own internal dynamics. He also states that these internal dynamics affect the policies of Russia and the West, saying: "Ukraine is a unique country. There are very different regions in Ukraine. Their preferences are very different from each other. This place cannot be understood by looking from the West or from Russia. The war has shown that Ukraine is the main conflict area between Russia and the West."

Pointing out that the most important turning point on the path that transformed Ukraine from a society where pro-Russia and pro-West supporters lived in balance to a largely anti-Russia society was the events of 2014, Berktay's book carries great importance in terms of understanding what is happening around us and in the world today, as the Atlantic order, whose institutions were established by the US and whose rules were set by the US, is collapsing and a new world is being shaped.