Editor, The Spotlight;
Remarkable activities in the community need to be recognized and supported.
The March 4 session of the Spring Sampler Courses at the Delmar Reformed Church, titled “Russia, the Crimea & Right-bank Ukraine: Modern Paradoxes” presented by Nadieszda Kizenko, Associate Professor of History at SUNY, was impressively thorough. The overview of history — spanning a period from the 7th century BCE (secular BC) to the present of changes in multiple empires based on ethnicity, religion and politics of what is today Europe, the Middle East, north Africa, Russia and western Asia — in terms understandable to a wide audience, all within two hours, was professional and entertaining.
Unfortunately, there was no time left for the events after World War 2, including the foreign policies of the U.S. that forced Russia to re-acquire control of Crimea. That could be another currently interesting two-hour presentation of evolving history.
We are fortunate to have events such as the courses at the Delmar Reformed Church, and students at SUNY are fortunate to be exposed to history simply as events not colored by value judgments or the politically correct propaganda of the moment, as is presented in the media.
Alex Yatsevitch
Delmar
