No

"A people cannot perish heroically, cannot be criminal, cannot act morally or immorally; only its individuals can do so", wrote the German psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers.

This view applies to the ongoing debate surrounding the responsibility for the war in Ukraine, which has not died down in the three years since February 24, 2022. Terms such as "the nation", "the people", or "the majority of Russians" suit propagandists and the generals who order "meat grinder attacks". But when it comes to moral issues, they are of little help.

Over 140 million people live in Russia. One of them gave the order to launch the "special military operation" — the Kremlin’s official euphemism for the war in Ukraine. Another supported it. A third shouted: "Fire!" A fourth pulled the trigger. A fifth filmed a propaganda news report. A sixth saved their employees from conscription, keeping them away from the trenches. A seventh posted an anti-war statement on social media and had the police pay them a visit. An eighth dedicated his life to fighting the regime and died behind bars.

Do they all bear the same degree of responsibility? Clearly not. But describing millions of distinct situations would take an eternity. A more productive approach would be to ask: What did I personally do? Would I have acted differently if I had known how the whole thing would turn out? Am I responsible and if so, to what extent?

When I, the author of this essay, ask myself this question, the answer is: Yes, I am, in my view, responsible.

It would be unfair, however, to expect the same degree of reflection on this issue from the CEO of a defense industry plant as from, say, their accountant — a single mother raising her children in a house without gas and central heating. Yet for each of them individually, such reflection would certainly be beneficial, since it shapes our daily lives and can help us from disengaging on a moral level.
In Russia, the mere act of speaking out against the war can mean years in prison, while supporting it often leads to career advancement and financial benefits. Like many other peoples, Russians face a choice between the "host of the beast" and the "host of the lamb", as Nobel laureate Heinrich Böll put it while describing citizens’ moral dilemmas in Nazi Germany.

This choice feels so wrenching that many prefer not to think about it. But between these two paths lies an entire spectrum of actions, which only reflection makes visible. Reflection can also restore a sense of political agency that the Russian state works relentlessly to erase. And most importantly, reflection allows us to live without turning away from even the most distressing and shameful aspects of reality.

Jaspers and his fellow philosophers expressed the same idea in different words: we must reflect on responsibility, not because it is demanded of us from the outside, but because it is a personal necessity. It is "a question of life for the soul". As Jaspers wrote, "Our own lives can attain dignity only in truthfulness with ourselves".

To consider where we stand, what we took part in, and what we did not do, is the least we can do. And we owe it, first and foremost, to ourselves.

Anastasia Stognei