If I Could But Say Just 8 Words to Vladimir Putin

Recently I was preparing the song “Carol of the Bells” for my family and me to play in four-part harmony on our brass instruments. We play Christmas Carols in front of a church at a festival of lights and at several other places during the Christmas Season. As I was preparing the music to this song, I noticed it was written by a Ukrainian composer named Mykola Leontovych. Mykola was born in Monastyrok, Podolia, Russian Empire (today Ukraine). The song, “Carol of the Bells”, is really a strange cacophony of sounds, but when the parts are played together, they make a truly beautiful symphony. It is totally different from anything that I would ever write.

Then it hit me. How many Mykolas are dying in Ukraine and now the world is deprived of ever hearing their music? How many artists are dying and now the world will never be able to contemplate and enjoy their art? How much of this beauty of humanity has to be destroyed? For that matter, how many people are dying that were simply nice people, who would greet you with a smile and say, “good morning” (доброго ранку, dobroho ranku), or “good afternoon” (доброго дня, dobroho dnya), or “good evening” (добрий вечір, dobryy vechir).

It is amazing to look at the history of Russia and Ukraine. They have a rich tangled history that connects them together going back “more than 1000 years with to a time when Kyiv, now Ukraine’s capital, was at the center of the first Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, the birthplace of both Ukraine and Russia”. Who would bomb your on birthplace? But more than that, both of these nations go back to Shem, the eldest son of Noah, to whom was given the double portion of the earth due him as his birthright, and as is shown on some of the earliest known maps of the world, called “T and O maps”, where Shem is shown to have all of Asia. Watching Russia’s war on Ukraine is like watching Cain kill Abel. Why would anyone want to be Cain and slay his brother Abel? The Bible says (Genesis 4:9-11) that when Cain slew Abel, Abel’s blood cried out to the LORD from the ground, and the LORD cursed Cain from the earth. So why would anyone want to be Cain?

President Putin, think about Saint Nicolas. He was a Christian who emulated the LORD Jesus Christ to such an extent that nearly 1800 years after his death, we still talk about Saint Nicolas. Saint Nicolas stood for what is right, helping to establish the Nicene Creed, fought against Arianism, forgave, and of course was the benefactor of children. Vladimir I brought St. Nicolas stories and devotion to his homeland where Nicolas became the most beloved saint. Vladimir I was born in Kyiv, and is known as the Grand Prince of Kyiv.

One of America’s greatest presidents was President Ronald Regan. I remember seeing President Ronald Regan and President Mikhail Gorbachev sitting down together and ending the Cold War. I remember thinking, “What great men! What a mark in history!” It is said that the turning point of the Cold War occurred when President Regan gave a speech at the Berlin Wall. In this speech it is said that President Regan spoke the most unforgettable 6 words of his entire presidency. What did he say? President Regan simply said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

I am no president. I am a husband, a father, an ordained minister, a scientist, a musician, and I love people. So, President Putin I would like to say just 8 words to you, and they are:

“President Putin, I implore you, stop the war.”

Please sir, consider these 8 words and remember, the number 8 represents “new beginnings”.