Are we really surprised it happened? As everyone knows by now, Russian President Vladimir
Putin has proceeded to invade Ukraine with military force. The death toll is already more
than 130. Let me say at this point that this article is not meant to be about politics as such;
like a lot of people in Western countries, I know pretty much nothing about the ins and outs
of Russian politics or Putin’s motivations and what he hopes to achieve by doing this, but it
says something about his own conviction that he appears comfortable talking to press
cameras about it despite worldwide condemnation. Myself, I’m not taking sides here.
Speaking of conviction: the media is currently full of footage of people, reporters and
Ukrainian citizens alike, putting on a brave face and talking calmly (even smiling) even when
they have a good reason to be afraid for their life. Meanwhile, it’s fair to suggest that Putin
wants us to be afraid. If nothing else, Putin is certainly on everyone’s lips now. Beyond all
the purely negative emotional response (vilification, if you prefer), there are people with less
subjective statements about him, openly calling him egotistical/on a power trip, and there are
people calling him paranoid. I know from his Wikipedia article that this man used to be a
KGB foreign intelligence officer and director of the Russian Federal Security Service and
secretary of the Russian Security Council before he became Prime Minister. And he’s an
eighth dan black belt in judo. No wonder he’s so self-assured in the face of hostility.
Of course, the more urgent question is: what does fate hold in store for Ukraine? Putin seems
undeterred by all the economic sanctions. I definitely won’t claim to be an expert in that sort
of thing! But that sentence right there kind of hints at what I’m really getting at for the actual
purpose of this article. It’s a crisis which just cannot be resolved through the simple exercise
of common positive, and indeed important, qualities like honesty, determination and maturity
alone. Wild complications will be inevitable. So it is in political incidents, so it is in business
concerns; such as, in my case, how I will continue to manage at least well enough in my
career of professional translation in wartime.
Even if the UK isn’t afraid of being attacked by Russia right now, how can you blame
someone for wondering what the invasion of Ukraine will mean for the UK? At the very
least, a massive increase in already soaring gas and petrol prices. Myself, I would do well to
preoccupy myself with the question of what kind of impact the invasion will have on the
translation market (if any). I will probably never come across any kind of definitive
information to answer that. But where and how would I even begin my research into this,
even with the Internet? Maybe there are plenty of professional translators posting their stories
about what they have been going through since the invasion, on the likes of ProZ? I don’t
know. I guess I have learned the hard way that it’s human nature to look for things to take for
granted – I mentioned “conviction” earlier for a reason.
Either way, it’s hard for me not to be overwhelmed by it all. It will certainly mean more
stress and disquiet in my life, and if I let that get to me too much it will hinder me doing even
simple tasks only too much. I relate this to looking for things to take for granted, as
mentioned earlier: yes, escapist thoughts help to calm my mood – they are free, and it doesn’t
matter if they make sense or not. But the people of Ukraine are much more urgently in need
of sympathy and support. They feel powerless (…don’t they?); whereas I am still in a more-
or-less reasonable position to take control of my own situation by forging ideas and plans at a
time when concern for my destiny has pretty much never demanded it more. The invasion of
Ukraine has seen the commencement of a new chapter in my life which has yet to be written
– but I wouldn’t know how to discuss this any further until I could substantiate the claim that
I do more than just hope for the best; and this will require far more than doing what I always
do, however important these things may be.
You know, I know I said I wouldn’t go into politics, or major broad societal concerns, in this
article but some people have gone as far as to argue that the Ukraine invasion poses a threat
to democracy itself. From what I’ve heard, Putin doesn’t regard Ukraine as a sovereign nation
worth the name. That said, it has been claimed that he’s not after civilian targets – only
military ones – but I don’t know how true that is. But, much as I know nothing about
Ukraine, the press have reported its civilians as civilians of a proud diplomatic nation who
look forward to defending themselves against Putin despite being heavily outnumbered. (Did
they really retake that airport from Russian special forces?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10549353/Ukraine-RETAKEN-Kyiv-airport-
Russian-special-forces-claims-defense-minister.html ) If they really know what they stand for
– which is far “higher” than looking for things to take for granted, as I said – good for them
(it certainly seems to have united them, compared to what can happen when fear is allowed to
sow the seeds of division). By the same token, I just hope that, during this now violent crisis,
entrepreneurs can learn to adopt the habit of turning to something “higher” than offhand
transient escapism as a means to keep going, even get themselves back on their feet and then
some. Much as I have never really expected ending up having to do my job in wartime,
turning my attention to embracing opportunities, or making new ones, the likes of which I’ve
just never been used to, which I have yet to even come to terms with, is likely the best
starting point for me at this time. I think it’s just as well that I don’t care about Putin any
more than he clearly doesn’t care about someone in my position. After all, there’s too much
at stake for me to be embarrassed or awkward anymore, so why should I keep giving myself
reasons to be angry at myself?