*Originally recorded February 11, 2022*
Dr. Agnieszka Pawlowska-Mainville
Associate Professor, Department of First Nations Studies
University of Northern British Columbia

Dr. Maryna Romanets
Professor, Department of English
University of Northern British Columbia

Abstract: Media outlets around the world are now anxiously discussing the possibility of a full-blown Russo-Ukrainian war, which started in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of Crimea that followed the Ukrainian Maidan, prodemocracy and anti-corruption revolution. We are going to look here at some points in Russia’s downward journey in the protracted process of an aggressive reimperialization of its imaginary “spheres of privileged interests,” which include the former Soviet republics, the countries of the Soviet bloc, and the Western beyond. Putin is preparing to invade Ukraine again in order to further challenge the norms of international stability that emerged after WWII by destabilizing Ukraine economically and politically, showcasing it as a failed state, and taking his fight against democracy to the European Union, NATO, and the US. We will share some recent developments in Eastern Europe, particularly in Ukraine, as well as contextualize how the crisis has been weighing down on the Ukrainian/Polish citizens, political discourse, and emigrants alike.