Why Did Russia Invade Ukraine in 2022? The Historical and Contemporary Causes of the War

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces that for weeks had been gathering along their border. The invasion also included attacks across the Belarus-Ukraine border and was followed by targeted airstrikes on military and civilian buildings in Ukraine. Chris Burton will analyze the conflict in Ukraine in light of the development of Putin’s regime over the years  and the longer history of Ukrainian relations with Russia. Speaker:  Dr. Chris Burton Chris grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland, taking his B.A. in History at Memorial University, followed by an M.A. from Carleton University. He worked in the Soviet Union during the glasnost’ years, then studied with Sheila Fitzpatrick in the 1990s at the University of Chicago for his PhD.  He is Associate Professor of History at the University of Lethbridge and has been teaching Russian History there, and Modern European History more generally, for the last twenty years.  His research interests include the medical profession under Stalin, social policy in the Soviet Union, and the Soviet science of environmental health, including their understanding of air and water pollution.