Last Thursday, November 21, the news was dominated by the escalation of the Ukraine-Russia war—a deeply troubling development as we approach Thanksgiving and the holiday season here in the U.S.
From the U.S. election and promises of peace talks to today’s worsening situation, I found myself trying to connect the dots and understand how events unfolded to this point.
There are at least two ways of interpreting the current state of affairs. The more pessimistic perspective suggests that the Biden administration is deliberately undermining Trump’s promises to end the fighting. The more optimistic view is that the administration seeks to strengthen Ukraine’s position ahead of future negotiations.
Regardless of the reasoning, one harsh reality remains unchanged: more lives will be lost on both sides as a result of the ongoing conflict. By February, the war will mark its third year. I recall thinking about Leo Tolstoy and his novel back in 2022 when the war first began.
What would Tolstoy think if he were alive today? Surely, he would condemn the conflict. Tolstoy believed that war reveals the worst in humanity—greed, pride, and the unrelenting pursuit of power and possessions. As he once wrote: "War is such a terrible thing that no man, especially a Christian, has the right to voluntarily assume the responsibility of starting it."
This also brings to mind another profound Russian writer, Fyodor Dostoevsky, author of Crime and Punishment. His works explored timeless questions of morality, free will, faith, suffering, and redemption—issues that remain as relevant today as they were in his time.
Crime and Punishment, on the surface, examines a crime committed out of poverty. Yet Dostoevsky’s own life, marked by financial struggles and desperation, may have inspired its opening chapters.
In 1866, Dostoevsky found himself in dire financial straits due to gambling debts and other obligations. Desperate, he signed a highly unfavorable contract with publisher Fyodor Stellovsky. The terms stipulated that if he failed to deliver a new novel by a set deadline, Stellovsky would gain the rights to all of Dostoevsky’s past and future works without compensation.
Dostoevsky procrastinated for eleven months and only began work on the novel as the deadline approached. In October 1866, with less than a month remaining, he hired a young stenographer, Anna Snitkina, to help him dictate the book. Together, they worked tirelessly, and Dostoevsky completed the novel just in time to meet the deadline.
But perhaps the greatest outcome of this frantic period was Dostoevsky’s relationship with Anna. Just a few months later, in February 1867, they were married. Anna became an indispensable partner, managing his finances, organizing his work, and editing his later novels. Most importantly, their marriage brought much-needed stability to Dostoevsky’s tumultuous life.
In reflecting on the Ukraine-Russia war, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky remind us of the enduring cost of human conflict and the moral questions it raises. Their works urge us to seek understanding, compassion, and peace in the face of division and violence—lessons as vital today as they were in their time.