Hello and welcome to Waitt, What? The Podcast. Ever since President Vladimir Putin made his fateful decision to launch an all-out, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the world has definitely become a scarier place. Many Americans, long ignorant of the centuries-old conflicts that have defined Eastern Europe, especially the space between Germany and Russia, have been sent into scramble mode in order to understand why Putin did something we perceive as so extreme and so irrational. That is where this podcast comes in. As someone who has studied the region closely, I seek to give my listeners a proper context as to why this conflict matters to us, in the United States. My inaugural season's guests such as Sergey Rakhuba and Marcin Kusmiercyzk will hopefully help you understand not only Ukraine’s struggles, but the struggles of other nations who have dealt with Russian domination over the centuries. My guests carry a vast knowledge of their regions that I hope will give you a better perspective of the local perspective, not just our American perspective. And that is exactly why I am doing this podcast. I hope you enjoy this season.