A Haycock Township executive who worked on corporate business ventures in Moscow in the 1980s and 1990s has special insight into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He both knows and understands the Russians and the Ukrainians.
Ralf Augstroze expressed his admiration and faith in the Ukrainian people even as the Russian war machine was advancing on the capital city of Kyiv.
“The Ukrainians are a very determined people,” said Ralf, a Latvian American, who retains close ties with his ancestral homeland.
“Latvians certainly have spirit, but the Ukrainian spirit is unique. There’s something about Ukrainian culture that raises that to another level,” he said. “It’s one thing to conquer a country, another to hold it.”
Latvia, now a member of NATO, was once a part of the Soviet Union, and as such could be among Vladimir Putin’s future targets as he seeks to rebuild his empire.
During an interview March 2 in Haycock, Ralf pointed to the Russian convoy creeping toward Kyiv, the capital city. “Seven days into the war, and Russia does not control any of the major cities,” he said.
He suggested part of the reason could be low morale among the military. “These are young people in that long convoy moving toward Kyiv. They were told they were going to military exercises and now taking part in aggression against their Slavic brothers.
“I understand they’re sabotaging their own trucks, punching holes in the gas tanks, deliberately driving off road into the mud and getting their vehicles stuck.”
Ralf is the first member of his family born in America. His mother was a teenager when she fled Latvia with her parents during the post-World War II Soviet insurgency into the Baltics “with only the clothes on their backs and what they could fit in a suitcase.” He said, “She vividly remembers the horrors of Soviet terror and occupation.”
The family eventually settled in Haycock where Ralf’s grandfather became pastor at the Bucks County Latvian Baptist Church in Applebachsville, where Ralf is now superintendent and church council chairman. The little white church with its jewel-toned stained glass windows was founded 109 years ago. The Latvian language is still spoken there.
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