Topping all the New's headlines, the war is Ukraine seems to be all everyone can talk about. Filling people’s hearts with sorrow and sadness, as much as possible is being done to prevent the surge of Putin. But does it all sound familiar?  

100 years ago, on the 30th of December, the Soviet Union was set up, engulfing Ukraine in its path. The long-standing Tsar was destroyed. The Bolshevik party seizing power. Then, 7 years later, the infamous Georgian became the unchallenged leader of the USSR and his name was Joseph Stalin. Following the defeat of his destryed alliances: Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin, Stalin began to rule with an iron fist. But who got caught up with him? Ukraine.  

Following the obliteration of the New Economic Policy and of its capitalist state, Stalin introduced the communist ‘Collectivization” to the countryside and its inhabitants: the peasants. Hidden below the sensese of 'being brought togther, a masked ploy to get grain and to inforce control swam below the surface of his lies. The peasants would join collective farms where together they would have been brought together and form a mass increase in grain production, right? Wrong. It was failure in the lightest terms. Refusing to come togther as a collective a community, the peasants work ethic was smashed to pieces much like Trotsky brutal crush tothe head with an ice-axe. In 1932 to 1933, it hit Ukraine the hardest. Called the Great Famine or Holodomor, great starvation blanketed this nation. Five million peasants dead. 2,500 convicted of cannibalism. All because of Stalin’s selfish desires to seize control over the countryside and hungry desire for more power. Recognisable?

Stalin and evidently other Russian leaders have always been threatened about the independence of Ukraine. With Stalin’s paranoid and untrusting self, he ruled over Ukraine with terror, his purges inflicting fear into the Ukrainians hearts, never daring to stand up or revolt for fear of death was largely too strong. This allowed Stalin total control because no-one felt safe, they had no choice but to obey, no control over the turning and changes of the country. Parrells between Stalin and Putin have been brought up before, but in a time like no other they seem the most prevalent. Are they looking in a mirror?

The comparisons between Putin and Stalin may also be used to predict his next strike. Some believe Putin is trying to reclaim the old Soviet borders. Starting with Ukraine. However, it seems Ukraine isn’t in the weakened and controlled state it was under Soviet rule. They have constantly pushed the Russia back, Kiev still held firmly in their grasp. The question that hangs in the air and runs through all heads is that will Putin be able to do it? Will he be able to control and seize power like his predecessor Joseph Stalin or will Ukraine be able to hold up against this ruthless oppression?