The Independent Analytical Center for Geopolitical Studies “Borysfen Intel” affords ground to the analysts generation for expressing their point of view regarding the political, economic, security, information situation in Ukraine and in the world in general, according to their personal geopolitical studies and analyses.
Note that an authors’ point of view
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Nadiya Serbenko
Born in 1995,
student at the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, specialty “International Law”
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to anotherwith no loss of enthusiasm”
Winston Churchill
Introduction.
Two years ago, I was given a book by the English writer and political analyst Barry Singer “Churchill Style”. I read it in one breath. The fate of the outstanding Englishman impressed me immeasurably. I began searching bookstores, second-hand bookshops, bazaars, book fairs and the Internet for “all there was” about this outstanding person, and I think that now I have quite a good book collection (electronic one included). And then I began not just studying Winston Churchill's biography, but investigating his fate's dependence on the historic events of that time, while observing the peculiarities of life of a real Englishman. Of course, I could not do without his contemporaries' reminiscences.
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Lord Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was born to aristocratic family on November 30, 1874. His father, Randolph Churchill, a descendant of the famous Duke of Marlborough, was a Member of Parliament, and his mother — Jenny Randolph Churchill — was the daughter and heiress of the American financier, owner of the newspaper “The New York Times”.
Since the age of 8 Winston Churchill had been attending private schools, and at the age of fourteen he entered the prestigious Harrow College. I must say that this way was for the first time broken the family tradition, since all the Churchills had studied at Eton. In fact, his father didn't mind Harrow for a banal reason: he feared that Winston would not pass the exams at Eton. Because the son studied at school without much zeal, being fond of playing with toy soldiers. Had the father known it was not just a hobby of the teenager. As it turned out later, it marked his characteristic feature, and he would have a direct relation to military arts all his life through.
In 1893, Winston at the third attempt enters the Royal Military College Sandhurst, and graduates from it in two years, gaining his commission in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars. That was the beginning of “playing with toy soldiers” in an adult way.
Barry Singer in his book “Churchill Style” writes that young Churchill was guided by the following principle: “...one who is waiting for the war, is likely to remain on the sidelines. You yourself have to go to your war”. And to achieve the desired — to participate in hostilities — even before leaving for India, Winston Churchill decided (not without the help of his father's old friends) to go to Cuba as the military correspondent for the newspaper “Daily Graphic”. There he learnt what danger is about and how it hardens the character. And there, by the way, he gets acquainted with the future US President Theodore Roosevelt.
Soon, once in India, he felt the lack of necessary knowledge and tried to improve it with the help of self-education. Having returned from the highlands of Malakand, he decides to immediately go to North Africa, from where he sends correspondence about the suppression of the Mahdi uprising in the Sudan. And subsequently, as a war correspondent of the London “Morning Post” he worked in South Africa, was taken prisoner, successfully escaped (hidden among bales of wool and provisions). He later explained to his mother about the purpose of his “adventures” — to make it into Parliament on the wave of military glory. That is what will make him famous; later he will leave military service and will stand for Parliament from the Conservative Party in Oldham. And in 1900, he wins the “khaki- election”! His career rapidly goes up. Paul Johnson states that at that moment Churchill became the most famous young man of his generation. In February 1901 he will stand on the corner spot above the passage in the House of Commons and deliver his first speech. This was the place from which his father in 1866 notified of his resignation. At that time Winston was not even twenty-six years old. In 1904, he switched to the Liberal Party, because he did not agree with Chamberlain's protectionist program. Churchill quickly rises through the ranks, alternately occupying the post of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the President of the board of Trade, the Secretary of State for the Home Department. Soon he marries Clementine Hozier.
From 1911 to 1915, Winston Churchill served in the position of First Lord of the Admiralty (he always wanted to be First Lord of the Admiralty). At this time, he was very much alarmed by Germany's intention to build a large number of submarines. “What for?” The answer was obvious: Britain had the world's largest merchant fleet, significant share of imports was food. Those German submarines could hinder the delivery of food to Britain and thus trigger hunger. Later in his book “The Second World War”, Churchill wrote that he feared subs most of all. The only solution, in his opinion, was construction of a large number of high-speed, maneuverable destroyers, capable of hitting deep targets. And Churchill managed to regularize the Royal Navy. Foreseeing the war, after the next maneuvers he leaves the Navy in combat readiness. Paul Johnson points out that when the war broke out, Churchill was already psychologically (and not only psychologically) prepared for this most serious conflict in human history. And later, at the moment of Churchill's “fall” (when he was dismissed from his post of First Lord of the Admiralty), Lord Kitchener, appointed the Commander in Chief tried to calm him down: “There is at least one thing for which no one can blame you: when the war started the Navy was in full combat readiness”.
...In 1914, German submarines took down several British battle cruisers, and near the port of Coronel the English lost. Churchill sent high-speed cruisers to the South Atlantic, seeking revenge for the defeat, and has it his own way in the battle near the Falkland Islands: the entire German squadron got drowned.
Later, Churchill formed a division of Marines and created a military base in Dunkirk, having placed an air squadron there and established production of Rolls-Royces (armored by steel wire sort of tanks). In my opinion, it was a great adventure! When it became known about the intention of the Belgian cities of Antwerp and Ostend to surrender, which would have expose the approaches to Britain, the question of the country's further participation in the war arose before the British Cabinet. At the time, Churchill obtained an order to go to Antwerp and take over command of the operation. Winston had gone through the most terrible moments of his life when he had to throw into battle all power available (later he mentioned this in his memoirs).
The military attack on Istanbul planned under his leadership ended in a large number of the advancing being killed and a shameful evacuation of Brits that followed. Thus, the attempt to capture the Dardanelles — the narrow strait, that opens the way to the Marmara Sea and Istanbul — turned into a political disaster for him. Winston Churchill, against his will, had to leave the post of First Lord of the Admiralty. For a long time the Dardanelles disaster had associated with his name.
The Bolshevik revolution in November 1917 in Russia, execution of the royal family and formation of the communist state was considered by Churchill one of the most serious crimes in the history of mankind. British troops were sent to Russia through Archangelsk. Although the intervention had begun before Churchill led the War Office, the desired results had not been achieved, it fell to him to withdraw those troops. Again he was “in sight” and again took the full responsibility. In a certain way it was like the failed operation of 1915 in the Dardanelles.
In 1917, at the suggestion of Lloyd George, Churchill joined the coalition government. In 1921, he initiated the Cairo Summit Conference, which addressed issues in the region in light of the aggressive actions of Saudi Arabia. In my opinion, this was one of the peaks in Churchill’s carreer — he entered the cohort of top leaders of world politics. The conference was super-successful. Two new kingdoms were created — Iraq and Trans-Jordan. They were led by the two princes of the Hashemite dynasty: the ruler of Mecca, Emir Faisal and Emir Abdullah. The Royal Air Force (RAF) got the status of the main branch of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom and a large military base was created in central Iraq, in Habbaniya (Al Habbaniyah), which is still used by the British Air Force.
Supporting the idea of Jews' return to Palestine, Britain in 1917 signed the so-called “Balfour Declaration” promising to “make every effort” to help Jews find their new home, “without harming local residents”. The Declaration did not provide for creation of the State of Israel and, in principle, was controversial. However, Churchill actively supported it. Later he, uttering one of his famous speeches, in fact, persuaded the Members of Parliament to give the Jews a chance. Perhaps it was thanks to Churchill's idea that the State of Israel got the right to exist.
Having rejoined the Conservative Party, this time as Chancellor of the Exchequer (the post he held from 1924 to 1929), W. Churchill resumed the gold parity of the pound. Since 1931 and up to September 1939, Churchill was an ordinary Member of Parliament.
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…from the time of Munich and the division of Czechoslovakia, Hitler faced so many open doors that he got excited…
After the signing of the Munich Accords, Winston Churchill warned (speaking in 1938 in the city of Chingford at the meeting of his voters), that Hitler would prepare for new conquests in Europe. “We do not know where his next aggression will be directed — Churchill said — because from the time of Munich and the division of Czechoslovakia, Hitler faced so many open doors that he got excited. Hitler himself did not know exactly what to do in the first place”. That is why Churchill's main task at the time was an immediate strengthening of the British defensive power.
At this, W. Churchill predicted a catastrophe in case if Chamberlain's government pursues its policy of appeasing the aggressor. In his article “General Confusion”, he argued that “...Chamberlain and his group's hand has completely destroyed the apparatus of trust and goodwill created by the United Kingdom. The War Is approaching inexorably”. He had good reason for such a statement, since German troops had concentrated on the eastern border, the German industry was completely mobilized for war. At the time, Hitler was creating a powerful Navy. This meant that war was being declared to Britain.
On May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and the leader of the House of Commons. And in late 1940, he also headed the Conservative Party. It is this date that most scholars and historians consider the starting point of his political, state-building and military career.
Although Churchill did not take communism, but in the struggle against Nazism he was ready to take it as an ally. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, relations with the Kremlin became closer. Stalin and he shared the views on the need for the division of Germany. At the same time, Churchill tried to do everything possible to reduce the USSR's political influence on the course of world events after the war. For this purpose the “second front” was opened, and the Western allies sought to capture as much territory in Europe as possible (evidenced by his memoirs). He knew that the USSR's victory would eliminate two strong opponents — Japan and Germany — but would create a deadly enemy for the whole Western world.
Churchill proposed the idea of the “natural union” between the UK and France. The idea of the proposal was that France and Britain had to declare themselves a single nation, form an indivisible union, involving a single citizenship, joint bodies for defense, foreign, financial and economic policies, and the like.
W. Churchill made possible the signing of the Atlantic Charter, a draft text of which he had written himself, having included some Roosevelt's suggestions. After that January 1, 1942, during Churchill's visit to the United States, the Declaration of the United Nations was signed, in which the Atlantic Charter was proclaimed a common political program of the Anti-Hitler Coalition.
The first half of 1942 was marked by heavy losses. He harshly reproached himself for having underestimated the strength and spirit of Japan, which took down two warships “Prince of Wales” and “Defensive”. The ships went to the bottom with all those who were on board. Churchill also took over the responsibility for the fall of Singapore.
W. Churchill personally coordinated with the Americans all the details of the landing of allied troops in Africa (Operation “Torch”). The operation was successful. Of course, there was Churchill's merit in this. African formations of the Hitlerite bloc surrendered en masse, which in turn provided a successful invasion of Sicily and Italy, and then made the Italians make peace and join the Alliance. Then a massive bombardment of Hitler's Germany — the so-called. Churchill's “Bombing campaign” on the Eastern Front — began, which brought its defeat (those who argue that it was the Soviet Union alone who was victorious in World War II, usually prefer to forget about this campaign).
The first strategic victory (with the support of the US Air Force) was brought by the attack at Hamburg: this German “fortress” had been bombarded non-stop from July 24 to August 3, 1943. In this campaign, Churchill was merciless. The destruction of Dresden on the night of February 13 to 14, 1945, which killed 25,000 to 40,000 men, women and children, was also authorized by him!
From the point of view of human values, it was a terrifying step because a large number of civilians were killed. It is understood that there is no War In which people are not killed. But, probably, at the time there were grounds for that decision. The reason for such inhumanity was Churchill and Roosevelt's agreed decision in Yalta: they wanted to show Stalin they did everything possible to help the Eastern front, that is, the Soviet Union, (now this can be concluded from his books and memoirs).
Also one of his significant contributions to the successful conclusion of the war was the correct calculation and choosing the right moment to carry out the operation “Overlord” — the allied landing in the North West of Europe. This was done for the final defeat of Germany.
W. Churchill was actively involved in the Tehran Conference (28 November — 1 December 1943) and in the Crimean/Yalta one/ (February 4—11, 1945), as well as in post-war Potsdam/Berlin/ (July 17 — August 2, 1945 ) Conference. However, towards the end of last he was replaced by C. Attlee. With regard to the Yalta Conference, Churchill advocated the following: he proposed to separate Prussia from Germany and to form a South German state with its capital in Vienna (Stalin and Roosevelt agreed that Germany had to be divided, although the Conference did not establish procedures and mechanisms of this division or at least its approximate territorial contours). He also suggested that the Soviet Union should return Lviv to Poland. May 8, 1945, Winston Churchill was informed his countryman about Germany’s complete and unconditional surrender.
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By the way, it can be argued that, on the basis of the militarypolitical goals of allies as well as his own national interests, Winston Churchill actually saved Persia, by concluding a very favorable agreement with the Soviet Union which at that time brought to a minimum the influence of the Soviet Union on Britain. He clung to the Persian Gulf and the oil fields in the region. Besides, having saved Greece as a country of the Western world, W. Churchill, provided an opportunity for Turkey to remain outside the influence of the Soviet Union. Moreover, having chosen the best of the British military chiefs (Field Marshal William Slim) and having provided him with an effective power support, W. Churchill made a great contribution to the victory of the allied forces in the Far East.
Since that moment, when “Battle of Britain” was won (the term was first used by Churchill), he reflected on the construction of a system of global device capable of restraining the power of the Soviet Union. To this end, he organized a series of meetings at the highest level, because he believed that such a form of negotiating was the best: the heads of states and heads of governments came together face to face, surrounded by their advisors and experts. Paul Johnson writes that Churchill was actually “irreplaceable” and his environment was afraid even to think about who would replace him after his death.
In July 1945, Winston Churchill resigned (the Labor Party won the parliamentary elections), but after that he did not stop his active participation in the political life of the country.
His famous speech in 1946 in Fulton (known as “Churchill's Fulton Speech”) is considered the starting point of the beginning of the “Cold War.” He called on “Western democracies to unite in the threat from the Soviet Union and world communism, to create a fraternal association of English-speaking peoples”. “A cold war against Russia has replaced the hot war against Germany,” he said.
In October 1951, W. Churchill is elected Prime Minister. In his view, the situation between East and West in the nuclear race, questioned the appropriateness of the pressure on the Soviet Union. He believed that it was necessary to look for ways to reach an agreement with the Soviet Union. In May 1953, in the House of Commons, Churchill declared his “concept of the summit of nations”. Its main idea was preparation and convening of an international conference at the highest level.
In April 1955, after Britain marked Churchill's 80th birthday, the great politician resigned from the post of the Prime Minister. The next morning, he for the last time brought together the Cabinet of Ministers, had tea with members of his team and left for his estate Chartwell, Singer writes in his book. Churchill's being in power was over in keeping with the best British traditions.
January 24, 1965, Winston Churchill died. The last farewell to him was arranged magnificently and could be equated to the funeral of a King.
My Evaluation of Winston Churchill's Life
I believe that Winston Churchill was one of the most influential and strong-willed people of the 20th century, perhaps even the first among them. His energy and inner strength of spirit, his will and determination in actions, as well as focus and perseverance in achieving goals (the features so much needed by our politicians!) significantly contributed to the fact that European democracies managed during World War II to defeat the Nazi Germany.
It is pertinent to quote here an extract from Churchill's first speech in the status of the Prime Minister at a meeting of the House of Commons, which took place after France's surrender to Germany. Winston Churchill made it clear that Britain would not compromise: “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory; victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival”. That is, Churchill was not even thinking about negotiating with Hitler. At least until the United States entered the war, Winston Churchill was going to fight alone against the insidious enemy! The basis of his strategy was bombing of Germany, and concentration of power in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Both of these positions were supported by the United States after the Japanese bombing of the military base at Pearl Harbor.
At the Yalta Conference, Stalin (during their joint dinner) described Churchill while proposing a toast: “I propose a toast for the leader of the British Empire, the most courageous of all Prime Ministers in the world, embodying political experience with military leadership, who when all Europe was ready to fall flat before Hitler said that Britain would stand and fight alone against Germany even without any allies. Even if the existing and possible allies deserted her he said she would continue to fight. To the health of the man who is born once in a hundred years, and who bravely held up the banner of Great Britain.” In his memoirs of the Second World War, Churchill will remember this episode. Perhaps Stalin was just flattering Churchill (who can now tell about the real intentions!), but these words describe Churchill surprisingly aptly.
W. Churchill served for the benefit of England as any citizen should serve his country — with intelligence and honor, respect and love for the nation's history and at the same time, with cold calculation. Moreover, one of the permanent principles of Winston Churchill's life was his faithfulness to himself, conscious reluctance to go beyond his own self-centeredness, being his own self under any circumstances. For all his eccentricity, he actually played one role — the role of an active and successful leader in relation to himself and in relation to his homeland and his people. His opponents often attributed to him cheerful sincerity that seemed to be caused by his subjective features, he cared little about how these features were perceived by his environment as he never lost sight of his main objective — to always be the center of attention and constantly conquer the audience.
I believe that self-centeredness was one of his main characteristics: he sought to gain power, and achieved this while consistently enhancing his status and influence. He never begged a Cabinet post, but always had it on its own terms. He dreamed of becoming the Prime Minister, and he made this dream true, at the same time realizing that only he can achieve the specific goal. In 1940, he did not just rush to storm the heights of power but directed steps to the very peak of it — for the sake of the country, threatened by national demoralization, to let the country feel solid ground under its feet, to save it and to celebrate its victory. However, he did not always reach the set goals, but was able to draw the right conclusions.
As for his self-centeredness, I think that his decision about the “bombing campaign” was certainly cruel. From a humanitarian point of view. But according to the situation when a merciless war was on, and Hitler kept giving soulless orders (including unnecessarily killing of millions of people both, in concentration camps, and in the “usual” for him repressions of Jews), it was almost impossible to avoid human victims! Without the “bombing campaign”, the Eastern Front would not have turned into the “smoldering” one, would it?..
His wrong decisions. He made them all the time.
Thus, his “Eastern strategy” (the launched in January 1915 at his insistence operation to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Dardanelles) suffered a complete fiasco. As a result, W. Churchill had to leave the Admiralty. His unsuccessful attempt to strangle communism has never been forgotten either. Although if he had succeeded, it seems, more than twenty million people in Soviet Russia would have been saved from starvation, repression and death in Gulags!
In other words, his work was not in vain, or low-grade. He always worked hard and concentrated on any task, sparing no effort: in the Parliament, in the Government, in military and administrative work, in the fields of geopolitics and geo-strategy, when writing books, drawing, building an ideal house and garden, watching various things and, if possible, creating something for himself.
Interestingly, the British Professor of History John Charmley in his book “Churchill: The End of Glory” casts doubt on his reputation. According to him, “...Winston Churchill’s firm anti-Hitler position exhausted Britain.., cost it colonies, put it at the mercy of the United States and forced to give away Eastern Europe to the mercy of another demagogue – Iosif Stalin”. He believed that Britain should have made peace with Hitler's Germany, and Churchill could have done this back in July 1940. The Prime Minister's grandson responded to this as follows: “If any of these so-called historians had experienced difficult times of the Nazi occupation, they would have an absolutely different view of life”. I fully agree with him.
Political opponents often claimed that Churchill did not know what he wanted. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that he ran for Parliament under six different political labels: Conservative, Liberal, Constitutionalist, a member of the Coalition, Unionist (supporter of Ireland's entry into the Kingdom) and Nationalist-Conservative. He had never been “a man of the Party”. It's true! But he was devoted to the interests of his people — and this is the most important thing, more important than anything else! Returning again to the ranks of the Conservatives, he said: “Everyone can become a rat and abandon the ship. But not everyone will be able to come back”.
It seems to me that, among other things, it is his parliamentary activity that deserves special attention and voters' gratefulness.
Thus, one of the directions of this activity was to help the poor and the unemployed, as well as concern about the low-paid workers. With his participation were adopted the following laws: Wages Act (1909), which put an end to low-wage labor, and creation of labor exchanges helped the unemployed to find jobs faster; the Law on Compulsory Insurance (1911) guaranteeing social benefits to the unemployed and the Child Benefit as a compensation for the income tax; the Coal Mines Act (1911), which helped to improve the working conditions in the chronically unfavorable coal industry; finally, the Shops Act (1950), thanks to which sellers got a break for lunch and a normalized working day. For the first time, millions of low-wage workers got the right to one day off during the week.
W. Churchill himself, point by point, had consistently defended the adoption of bills in the House of Commons. He was seriously concerned about the most vulnerable members of the society, and believed that the social order can be both humane and effective, it being understood that the Revolution, the echoes of which were heard then all over the world, could only be prevented through smart reforms. On his initiative, there were introduced payments upon reaching retirement age — an innovation, which was considered sensational at the time. He also initiated mandatory independent arbitration in resolving labor disputes.
I also believe that the experience of participating in military campaigns strengthened and reinforced his imperialistic view of the world. It was he who predicted both the first and second World Wars. In one of his speeches, Churchill said that colonial wars are inherently disgusting, because they are accompanied by atrocities and senseless killings. However, the war in Europe would be much worse. He “worried” (as he put it) about “cold-bloodedness” and even “zeal” with which members of Parliament and, moreover, Ministers talked about the possibility of a new European war: “The war in Europe cannot be anything other than a brutal and violent bloodshed. And even if we can ever enjoy the bitter fruits of victory, we should for many years ahead stock up the courage, forget about peaceful labor and be extremely concentrated”. “Revenge of the peoples is more dangerous than revenge of Ministers. And wars of peoples will be more terrible than wars of kings” — these are his prophetic words. This shows that he “loved” war, and collected medals, but in his delight he was not blind, and whenever possible drew his fellow parliamentarians' attention to its dark nature (in the book “Chirchill Style” there are photos of British and foreign orders and medals, which he was awarded). General Ismay, his Military Adviser, says: “He is not a gamble, but never shrinks form taking a calculated risk if the situation so demands. His whole heart and soul are in the battle, and he is an apostle of the offensive”. In my personal opinion, Sir Winston Churchill's style of life and activity was greatly influenced by his military service.
I think the main quality of this man which, in fact, made him one of the most prominent political and public figures in the world's history is his extremely tough and consistent defense of the interests of his state and his social class. He was a highly educated man — he lectured in the United States, wrote articles. Few were able to have read “Mein Kampf” by Hitler, and few treated it with due attention. British authorities in general looked at Hitler as at an upstart, “king for a day”. Churchill — on the contrary: read, analyzed, and took very seriously the possibility of expansion (including after World War II) of this fascist ideology.
He held his ground to the end and in spite of everything, really with the iron fist of a fierce English bulldog, ready to jump down his opponent’s throat, tore him to his complete victory. “If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time — a tremendous whack”, the experienced and successful politician used to teach.
He never tried to “please everyone”: “If one agrees with everybody, nobody agrees with him”. Churchill always said: “The difference between a politician and a statesman is: a politician thinks of the next election and a statesman thinks of the next generation”. I'm sure this reveals Winston Churchill as a strong, strong-willed and competent person.
That's right, he was a man of great willpower. Suffice it to recall the courage with which he endured illnesses (during the Second World War, he was ill with pneumonia six times!), while continuing to work. His extraordinary insistence is confirmed by the following episode. For his 18th birthday, he received a beautiful watch as a present from his father. Once it slipped out of his hands into a stream. Winston immediately took off his clothes and dived for it. The stream was cold, and the watch fell into a deep hollow. The next morning he dived again and again. And to no avail. He hired a platoon of soldiers from the local infantry regiment, but they did not find his watch. He brought a fire brigade and it pumped the water out from the pond. Eventually the watch was rescued. (This typical episode is mentioned by Barry Singer in his book).
Like any of us W. Churchill loved life! He played polo and golf, smoked good cigars, drank champagne and strong drinks. He was always surrounded by friends, he maintained good relations with almost all who had served him or worked with him, regardless of social status.
By the way, Churchill initiated the historic transition from coal to oil, as a result there appeared a fundamentally new class of giant warships, such as the “Queen Elizabeth”, working on liquid fuel. He became the creator of the naval aviation, insisted on the development of innovative projects of an aircraft carrier. Ignoring the obstacles on his way, he confidently led Britain to oil development, invested into Persia (Iran) and created a powerful English-Persian Oil Company (now known as the “British Petroleum”). It turned out later that that investment was even more profitable than B. Disraeli's buying the Suez Canal.
In 1953, Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature. In Zurich, he proposed to create a European Union, led by France and Germany. Actually he again was a prophet here. And his dream to create a United States of Europe, bringing together European countries against the Soviet Union to curb his aggression, actually resulted in the creation of NATO.
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Colville, his secretary, said: “Churchill's greatest intellectual gift was his ability to choose priorities and focus on them”. He was courageous — one of the most important human features, showing the strength of the spirit. These are innate features, however, they can be developed, and Churchill worked on them all his life.
In the current situation of the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine, I could not pass by his estimates of Russia. Winston Churchill said about it as follows: “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. Again and again we see how aptly this saying was.
In recent years, in foreign and domestic political and diplomatic circles often can be heard complaints against leading European and Ukrainian leaders. Like, their policy against Russia is “spineless and backboneless”. In this context, noteworthy is the statement of one of modern British politicians “...Now we lack strong leaders, like, for example, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.”
It is difficult to disagree.
Conclusions.
Based on the above-said, we can conclude that W. Churchill made himself an outstanding personality. Thus demonstrating that the will and the analytical mind, steadfastness and courage and consistency in achieving a goal, multiplied by good luck and chance are a powerful weapon. Churchill managed it perfectly well and therefore he had won more than one, both political and military.
The slogan which Churchill professed throughout his difficult life path was: “In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: Magnanimity, In Peace: Goodwill”— says the best of his features of character as an outstanding statesman, purposeful politician, strong-willed military and simply an intelligent man.
With regard to the above-mentioned his assessment of the phenomenon of Russia, in the current situation of the Russian Federation's cynical military aggression against Ukraine, the apt expressions remain valid. Besides, it can also serve as a basis for action both for Western and Ukrainian leaders and politicians in the context of formation of a coordinated position, in particular, when making important, consolidated decisions to preserve and strengthen the political and economic sanctions in order to put pressure on Russia to stop its aggression against Ukraine and in general, against Europe.
I also believe that in a certain sense, the whole life of Winston Churchill and his career is a clear example of how we can develop, control, concentrate, and show courage and even share it with others. Politicians, in particular, heads of states and top leaders, not sure of their abilities, should follow Winston Churchill's example.
