I was in the Ukraine 4 years ago on a mission trip. We spent some time in Kyiv, on north central Ukraine, and then made our way to Lviv, a beautiful city in western Ukraine, around 70 kilometers from the border with Poland. While there we visited a couple of sites that showed us the horrors of communism and Nazism. The ugly side of communism, in relation to Russia, is seen all over the country of Ukraine through run down buildings, poor infrastructure, and even today, eight years after the Russian invasion under Barack Obama, Crimea still has no running water for its people.
The people of Ukraine are beautiful, generous, and full of life. The Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv is one of the largest evangelical seminaries in all of Europe. It breaks my heart that they are now under the stress of such tyranny.
Yesterday marked a new chapter in the twenty-first century. The invasion of Russia into the Ukraine is the most brazen attempt on European Democracy since WWII. Vladimir Putin has no reasonable cause for invasion. He simply wants to expand his power on the world stage.
Has the Ukraine provoked Russia? Have the Russians been attacked by the Ukraine? Has any international conflict between the two nations happened in the recent months? Were any Russians attacked and unjustly killed by Ukrainians? The answer is no. This is why this invasion is unfounded, unwarranted, and a plain attempt to grab power through force. Even President Biden, this Wednesday condemned Russia’s war as “an unprovoked and unjustified attack.”
Why does this moment in history matter? It matters because communism is back on the advance. There is little doubt on my part that Putin is a communist. My proof? His speech on Monday, February 21. In his speech, says the NY Times, he declared, “So, I will start with the fact that modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia or, to be more precise, by Bolshevik, Communist Russia. This process started practically right after the 1917 revolution, and Lenin and his associates did it in a way that was extremely harsh on Russia — by separating, severing what is historically Russian land.“
Kristaps Andrejsons, a journalist from Latvia writing for foreignpolicy.com reported,
Putin then returned in his speech to the October Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent arguments between Stalin and Lenin about how the USSR should be formed. Again, in his version of history, Stalin is the good guy. Stalin suggested building the country on the principles of limited autonomy within a national framework—that is, giving the republics broad powers upon joining a unified state. Putin argued that Lenin criticized this plan and suggested making concessions to the nationalists. He summarized that Lenin’s ideas amounted to, in essence, a confederative state arrangement and a slogan about the right of nations to self-determination. This view won out in the end, but Putin is critical and raised questions about this choice of a government form and why the rights of secession—which the nations used to break away in 1991—were even included in the Soviet Constitution. Putin said Ukraine might as well have been named after Lenin himself. He ended this part with a clearly open threat: “You want decommunization? Well then, that works for us! But don’t stop halfway! We’re ready to show what a true decommunization would mean for Ukraine!” In this version of history, Ukraine only exists because of communism—and so decommunization means the end of Ukraine.
Why We Must Stand Against Communism
Ilya Somin, writing for the Washington Post points out, “Collectively, communist states killed as many as 100 million people, more than all other repressive regimes combined during the same time period … Millions died in slave labor camps, such as the USSR’s Gulag system and its equivalents elsewhere. Many others were killed in more conventional mass executions, such as those of Stalin’s Great Purge, and the “Killing Fields” of Cambodia.”
Communism is oppressive. It does not leave room for human flourishing. The utopian idea of communism leaves power in the hands of the few who are in control. Meanwhile, everyone else is supposed to comply “for the greater good,” even if it means you need to give up your personal property and possessions. And if you don’t, then the government can take it by force!
We must be aware of its dangers. The West condemns communist rule. However, communist ideology is present in some realms of our society, specially in the form of Cultural Marxism. Dr. Voddie Baucham offers a good explanation on the topic from a Christian perspective, I recommend that you watch it: Cultural Marxism. Cultural Marxism is means of propagating communist ideals.
For instance, the Black Lives Matter Movement was founded and is still led by trained Marxists:
But how is communism antithetical to Christianity?
Here’s a few examples:
- By law the Communist state requires Christians to worship only in congregations registered with the government. Even though there are churches in Russia, or even China, that are allowed to function congregationally, such churches operate under the auspices of the government.
- Communist regimes are opposed to natural child birth and try to control population growth by force. This is mostly a reality in China, for instance.
- The Bible is treated as a propagandistic tool against communist ideals. Since government is sovereign, there is no room for counter political ideologies to flourish in the public square. In turn, most communism countries are atheistic.
- Christianity is to be combatted. For instance, “Lenin’s famous essay “Socialism and Religion,” states, “We must combat religion — this is the ABC of all materialism, and consequently Marxism.”
- Though communist ideology contains certain traits similar to Christianity, like disdain for greed, the plight of social justice issues, and altruism, in the end it does not work. The reason? Humanity is broken, depraved, sinful (Romans 3:23; Matthew 7:21; Jeremiah 17:9; Galatians 5:17). All earthly governments are spoiled by sin.
How to Respond to the Russian/Ukraine Conflict
How are Christians supposed to respond to the invasion of Russia into the Ukraine?
- We must pray. Here’s a helpful prayer guide to pray for the Ukraine.
2. We must give. Here’s two trustworthy organizations I personally know that will use all monetary funds in a godly and helpful way:
May the words of the Prophet Isaiah ring true:
“And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.” Isaiah 2:4
Written by Daniel Messina