Anyone who knows Ukraine knows that Ukrainians are a pretty conservative bunch by and large. Home and family are primary as is a Judeo-Christian based society dating back to St. Andrew in the 1st Century, where lore has it he preached the gospel from the banks of the Dnieper River. Almost a millennium later in 988 AD Prince Volodymyr baptized his entire Kievan Rus empire two centuries before Moscow was a speck on a map.

​So why do Christian Nationalists in the Republican Party treat Ukrainians so non-Christianly? Ukraine is largely populated by folks they would likely have a great affinity with if they knew them a little better. We have so much in common as I have tried to document in my two films since the full-scale invasion we are remembering on February 24th.

This includes the innate desire to raise their kids just like we do, with nice homes, schools, soccer fields, freedom - and peace. Moms in both countries also share an incessant fear that their children might not make it home from school in the afternoon. In Ukraine the fear is of missile/drone attacks. In the USA it’s the threat of a school shooting.

Christian Nationalists have adopted Donald Trump as their political standard bearer and have imbued him with a kind of zeal for one that is heaven sent. Like a modern-day King David they simply see an imperfect figure whose crimes are akin to David sending Bathsheba’s husband Uriah to the front lines in a battle with the Ammonites. This conveniently allows them to avoid having to noodle too hard on the well documented sexual deviancy of their candidate. Or explain it to their congregations.

Unfortunately for Ukrainians – and those concerned with the security of the free world - these same Christian Nationalists in the House of Representatives are calling the shots on Ukraine aid.

This group reads like a who’s who of those opposing Ukraine, Israel, and other foreign aid. It includes Lauren Boebert, Mo Brooks, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Louis Gohmert, the list goes on with more than half the House Republican caucus according to a 2023 report by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution. Talk about the tail wagging the proverbial tail. Only 1 in 10 Americans identify themselves with this Theo-political moniker – and yet these self-identified Christian Nationalists are the ones holding things up. Trump controls these votes, including Mike Johnson’s. This is an autocratic theocracy evolving before our eyes. Our country is losing its separation of church and state without much notice or outcry.

Putin is seen by many Christian Nationalists as worthy of their praise because of his cynical support of the Russian Orthodox Church. But then, so did Stalin once the Russian Church had its independent voice squashed and became a tool for Russian communists. It’s voice is still silent, hence the immergence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Trump sees it in his best interests to oppose Ukraine funding though it is not clear why. Ukraine has always been at the heart of his political “black box”. Going back to his first presidential campaign with the hiring of Paul Manafort, the Hunter Biden/Burisma accusations, the Mueller Report findings, his first impeachment, the list goes on.

It seems apparent that these politically motivated Christian Nationalists are veering towards a time when their churches might also lose their independent voice. It’s already happened to a large degree. Trump and the Christian Nationalists in the image of Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church? It boils down to irreligious autocrats blessed by subservient and opportunistic church leaders.

Go figure. David loved God. He wrote Psalms, fought battles, repented, and prayed for forgiveness. Can you imagine our former president doing any of these things?

The Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw
BySteve Richards
​
The day after Christmas I happened to be in Warsaw on my way to Ukraine and didn’t have much time. But I decided to visit a place that has haunted me since my first time there in March 2022. A place as cold and uncheery as I’ve ever witnessed. Soviet Realism is the manner of architecture and the monuments are reminders of Russia’s idealized history. It was meant to keep its former bloc in line including Poland and Ukraine. A place designed to mythologize the term: “Invincible Red Army”. Over two years Ukraine has certainly punctured that fairy tale.

I’m talking about the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw; final resting place to the ashes of 21,000 Soviet soldiers from the battle for Warsaw as the Red Army marched to Berlin. I went back to see if there was any more love for the place at Christmas, which might also reflect a bit of love for Russia.

It was no different. Not a single wreath. No poinsettias. Not a single string of lights. Just a forlorn miserable place with an occasional straggler taking a shortcut home. I suppose the twilight added to the miserableness; it made the towering red starred obelisk doubly dark. This to me seems like a pretty good metaphor for how the former Soviet satellites – like Poland - are reacting to Russia’s war in Ukraine. They get what’s at stake.

A short video of the cemetery in March 2022. It looked identical at Christmas 2023.

Germany’s blitzkrieg through Poland in 1939 was the real beginning of WWII. It included a devastating siege and bombing of Warsaw – with the acquiescence of Stalin and his infamously dirty deal with Hitler to partition Poland with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Russia invaded from the east in September 1939, two weeks after Nazi Germany invaded from the west.
Which gets to the heart of why there is no love for the Russians…or their graveyard. Because the only reason the Red Army had to retake Warsaw in the first place was because Stalin gave it away. Of course, Hitler invaded Russia less than two years later after marching through the rest of Poland.

Let’s face it, when you make deals with autocrats, dictators, and tyrants, be ready for them to turn on you. Something we need to be cognizant of in this election cycle.

Zelensky recognizes this “Stalinesque” core in Putin. So does the West.

None more so than the former Warsaw Pact countries that the Iron Curtain fell on at the end of the war giving rise to NATO and the Cold War. Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, and Poland are all former Soviet bloc countries that regained their independence with the fall of the Soviet Union some 30 plus years ago. None were forced to join. All of them have citizenries that wanted to be part of a free Europe, like Ukraine does. All of them had the choice to stick with Russia; none did.

Poland is at the heart of NATO’s shield against Putin and Russia’s expansionist nightmare. They have a vibrant economy, a welcoming people, and are a primary conduit for arms and ammunition to Ukraine. They are a shining example right next door for Ukrainians and have much shared history over a millennium, not always on the same side. They are making sacrifices without whom Ukraine would have little chance to win.

The Poles see it as an existential cause since a defeated Ukraine would mean a reconstituting, belligerent Soviet Union next door with a new Stalin in the form of Putin. This lays bare the possibility of millions more dead in Poland and Ukraine.

What would prevent it?

Ukraine’s Sprit On Full Display March 9thI am very pleased to announce the premiere screening of Back to Bucha in my hometown of Kendall, FL, just southwest of Miami proper. Technically, it is part of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, so we are calling this the Miami-Dade premiere; but I digress…

​The screening takes place on Saturday, March 9th beginning at 6:00 PM. With Q&A and a potential surprise or two, the entire event will be a two-hour affair. It takes place at:

Sunset Chapel
9393 SW 72nd St, Miami, FL
(On the grounds of True North Academy)

This is a donation driven event and all proceeds will be shared with the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv through a donation to its USA based foundation.

This is our first screening/fundraiser for the university and is long overdue. It was the first place I went on my original trip to Ukraine when I arrived unannounced at the reception desk on March 31, 2022. I told the receptionist that I was there at the suggestion of Fr. Yaroslav of Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church (UCC) in Boston, who had told me that if I made it to Lviv I should stop in.

As the Spirit would have it, the next day I was shooting interviews and staying at the UCU Inn where I experienced my first air raid sirens and visits to bomb shelters. Several days later my plans had been turned upside down with the retreat of the Russians from Bucha and the other suburbs of Kyiv, allowing me to go there. The rest, as they say, is history. Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv (theoeco.org)

​UCU is a renowned educational institution in Ukraine known to be free of corruption and tops academically. In other words, you can’t buy your way in. It is a beacon of values we can all recognize, and my time there made me understand Ukrainians are just like us. Especially the students and teachers. Following is a 12-minute video shot I shot there in 2022:  

Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine - April 1, 2022 

Even though Back to Bucha is a secular film one can’t help but recognize the Spirit imbued within it where so many of the interviewees actually mention their beliefs, which to me sounds like I’m listening to folks I might meet in Anywhere, USA. Especially moms who have moved back so they can raise their children, in their own homes, in their own country.

People like those at Sunset Chapel. When I first stopped in to see my good friend Jovy play with the band on a Sunday before Covid I saw it was as welcoming a place as I’ve ever been on a Sunday. Pastor Russ immediately affected me in the manner all great preachers do. Plus the sanctuary was filled with flags from around the world, including Ukraine’s, and when I saw the big screen I knew I had to ask.

​It will be a great place to watch the film.

To register go to the event page at:
​ https://www.TheoEco.org/BackToBuchaMiamiDade