Letter to the Editor: In response to Hunter Paul’s take on the Ukraine crisis

As a person with both Russian and American education, I have a deep concern about the lack of objective information that Hunter Paul is using in his article about the Ukraine crisis. The true conflict in Ukraine is not between its people but between the corporate businesses. If Hunter Paul made his research, he would have known that American oil company Shell has a huge interest in natural resources found in the eastern part of Ukraine. Naturally, Russia protects its business interests. The Europe simply serves as a voiceless wingman for the White House. As for Hunter Paul’s childish proposal of ‘dramatically increasing sanctions’ against Russia, the only side that will truly suffer from sanctions is the European economy and its people.

There is a lot more to say about poorly researched and narrow-mindedly written article. Hunter Paul smoothly lays out the too well familiar picture of good and bad guys. How come he does not mention that Russian politicians were crying out loud for months for the United Nation independent observers to come and see for themselves how the Ukrainian government was killing its people while the White House kept saying that there was no rush? Why does he not mention that Ukraine owns to Russia millions of dollars for its natural gas? Why does he not mention that millions of Ukrainian people work and have families in Russia? Why does he not mention that Ukrainian government supported by the White House would not let any independent news network to operate at the zone of conflict? Why does he not mention that the Ukrainian military shot three independent Russian journalists at the zone of conflict? Why does he think that Russia has to let the White House dictate its interests in the country that borders with it?

Only after Hunter Paul answers these questions has he a right to call himself ‘a happy medium.’

It is time American people start watching and listening to other news resources. Otherwise, the nation is doomed to become a blind corporate machine that believes everything the mainstream news tells it.

Artur Varjapetian is a senior BFA Dance Major/ Theater Minor at CSULB and BA in International Economy in Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University.