Since 2019, I have been working on a collection of opinion columns under the title "All History Is Contemporary History." Scheduled for publication sometime this year, its subtitle reveals what prompted me to embark on this project: "the unimaginable events of 2019-2022."

It doesn't get much more unimaginable than former President Donald Trump's Jan. 6, 2021, bellicose harangue and the resulting siege and temporary capture of the U.S. Capitol later that day. And now, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an aggression deemed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg a "war in Europe, on a scale and of a type we thought belong to history."

Olympic Truce I (Sochi, 2014)

I dedicated my Feb. 5 column to the Beijing Winter Olympics with particular attention to its opening ceremony, its messages and symbolisms, contextualizing them against a backdrop of increasing international tensions and rumors of war. I connected previous Russian military attacks to past Olympic Games: the invasion of Georgia during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the invasion of Crimea just four days after the closing ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi.

The Sochi closing ceremonies celebrated Russia's contributions to civilization, highlighting the music of Rachmaninov and other Russian composers, the Swan Lake and ballet in general — falsely taking credit for the development of the waltz — and the works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. But in contrast with the militaristic and expansionist overtones of the opening ceremony, the spectacle conjured images of harmony and peace: children dressed in white, doves, waltz music. We see children carrying sticks with flying white doves. The announcer introduces them as "the doves of peace."

Toward the ceremony's end: more happy children singing, dancing, holding hands; everything evokes the Olympic values "Peace, Tolerance, and Respect." Then, at the very end, the world is forced to endure insufferable speeches by a host dignitary and the president of the IOC of turn. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak (aka Cheshire Cat), an old comrade of Russian President Vladimir Putin's, boasts: "This is the new face of Russia, Our Russia."

The Russian Federation had won the most Olympic medals with 29, followed by the United States (28) and Norway (25). Ukrainian biathlon athletes carried two medals, including gold in women's relay.

OIC President Thomas Bach spoke the closing words, "I appeal to everybody implicated in confrontation, oppression, or violence. Act on this Olympic message of dialogue and peace."

On the eve of the Sochi closing ceremonies, Putin had assembled his inner circle for an all-night meeting to discuss the annexation of Crimea. Most likely present at the meeting was Kosak with his frozen-in-place pseudo-smile. Four days later, on Feb. 27, Russian special forces raised the Russian flag over the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea, where it still flies.

Eight years later, almost to the day, the world anticipates in horror that the same flag will soon fly over the Ukrainian Government Building in Kyiv. As I put the finishing touches on this column, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ominously warns, "Russia will storm Kyiv tonight."

Olympic Truce II (Beijing, 2022)

In my Feb. 5 column, I said that I felt "safe saying that Russia will observe an Olympic truce until at least the end of the games." There were times, however, when I thought Putin would rain on Xi's parade. After all, before the games were over, the Biden administration issued grim warnings: "Every indication we have is they are prepared to go into Ukraine (Feb. 15)"; "We have reason to believe Russian forces are planning and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming days (Feb. 18)."

When the competitions were over, Norway had earned the most medals (37); the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) — IOC sanctions prohibited them from competing under the Russian flag and the country's name — won 32 medals. Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for banned performance-enhancement drugs, which begs the question: will sanctions deter Putin? Ukraine carried only one medal, silver in men's aerials, outperforming a ROC skier who got the bronze medal.

On the closing ceremonies (Feb. 20) OIC President Bach delivers another hackneyed speech. He quotes John Lennon, asking Olympians to "give peace a chance." Three nights later, the U.N. Security Council holds an emergency meeting. Secretary General Antonio Guterres pleads with Putin: "give peace a chance." No chance. While the meeting continues. Putin announces a special military operation against Ukraine. All hell breaks loose.

I don't use this kind of language but echo the Ukrainian martyred heroes who said, "Russian warship, go f—- yourself."

And as for Putin, he has echoed the grave mistake Hitler made in 1939, when he ordered Nazi tanks to invade Poland. This will not end well for Putin and his oligarchs.

Luis Martinez-Fernandez is a Fellow of the Heterodox Academy's Writing Group. He is the author of "Revolutionary Cuba: A History" and "Key to the New World: A History of Early Colonial Cuba." Readers can reach him at LMF_Column@yahoo.com. To find out more about Luis Martinez-Fernandez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www. creators.com.

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