After two years in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2022 went down in human history as a year when the Russia-Ukraine war, which was another disaster this time, changed the balances all over the world.
While the effect of the pandemic continued to weaken in 2022, the world had a very active year when the events erupted one after the other, as the global effects of the war that returned to Europe years later, riots in different places, deaths and crises.
The new war in Europe that changed the world balance
2021 was the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the event that marked the world in 2022 was undoubtedly the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gradually growing tension in the region reached its peak in early 2022, with Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering a “special military operation” on Ukraine on February 24.
Although the missiles that started to rain down on Ukraine shocked the world, this tension was the continuation of a crisis that had been going on for many years. After the pro-Western Maidan demonstrations that lasted for months in Ukraine in 2014, after President Viktor Yanukovych, who is close to Moscow, fled to Russia, pro-Western supporters came to power in the country, Russian forces annexed Crimea, and pro-Russian rebellions broke out in Donbas in the east. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republic decided to unilaterally declare independence.
More than 14,000 people have died in clashes between the Ukrainian army and separatists in Donbas since 2014. Although Russia claimed that it launched a military operation to solve this crisis, increasing civilian deaths and destruction, allegations of massacres and the tragedy experienced by those who fled the country caused a great reaction, and many countries targeted Moscow with sanctions one after another.
Although the exact figures are not given, thousands of people from both sides lost their lives in the war, and the conflicts continue with all its violence.
This war, which is the biggest security crisis in Europe since World War II, shook the whole world, leaving Europe with an energy crisis and rapidly increasing inflation. Since the beginning of the occupation, the world has been discussing the fear of a major war and nuclear conflict between NATO and the USA and Russia, and even the 3rd World War scenarios.
While Ukraine, which received great military support from the West, surprised Russia, which had to take a step back with its resistance, the world is pregnant with new war-related crises in 2023, as the war is unlikely to end any time soon.
Meanwhile, Turkey became one of the countries that made the most mention of the process due to its mediation efforts, its failure to support sanctions against Russia despite being a NATO member, and Sweden and Finland’s objections to NATO membership.
The hijab revolt in Iran that shook the Islamic Republic
Iran, where anti-government protests have erupted from time to time in recent years, witnessed unprecedented mass protests led by women in 2022. The event that ignited the demonstrations was 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained on the grounds that she did not comply with the headscarf ban. The death of the young woman led to the rapid growth of reaction to the headscarf requirement and religious practices in the country. Women demonstrators led the revolt by removing their headscarves and burning them, and high schools and universities became the center of the protests.
It is estimated that nearly 500 people, including security guards, died in the events that lasted for more than 100 days. Thousands of people were detained, two people linked to the demonstrations have been executed so far.
These demonstrations, which are described as the biggest revolt against Iranian religious leaders since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, brought with them discussions about the headscarf requirement, which is one of the symbols of the Islamic regime, and the morality police. Tehran, on the other hand, blames the West, especially the “mortal enemies” USA and Israel, for the escalation of events.
People’s uprising surprise in calm Central Asia
In the first days of 2022, the eyes of the international press suddenly turned to Central Asia, which is generally calm. In Kazakhstan, the largest landlocked country in Central Asia, where public protests are rare and opposition is weak, the government’s increase in liquefied petroleum gas prices on January 2 ignited unprecedented mass actions in the region.
Increasing discontent with former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who resigned in 2019 after ruling the country for nearly 30 years, but continued his influence on the administration, was also effective in the demonstrations. Thousands of demonstrators targeted government buildings in the events that spread rapidly across the country, and the government declared a state of emergency as the conflicts escalated. 225 people lost their lives in 10 days, nearly 10 thousand people were detained.
Upon the escalation of the events, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, led by Russia, consisting of former USSR states, sent peacekeepers to Kazakhstan. Soldiers were ordered to use force, demonstrations were brutally suppressed.
The removal of the founding President Nazarbayev from his post as the head of the Security Council, the removal of the lifetime presidential powers in the Kazakhstan People’s Assembly by a parliamentary decision, and the resignation of his son-in-laws, which were the targets of the demonstrators, also revealed the dimensions of the rivalry in the country’s administration.
Taiwan-China crisis brings Washington and Beijing face to face
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the number 3 name in US politics, with her visit to China’s “red line” Taiwan in August, caused a major crisis in the region and between the USA and China.
China, which did not accept Taiwan’s independence, considered this visit an “arrogant challenge” and besieged the island with warplanes and ships. While China’s exercises with long-range missiles, which brought the possibility of war to the agenda by saying “We will not sit and watch”, caused the tension to rise rapidly, the USA sent warships to the region.
The tension, which lasted for days, became one of the biggest crises of recent years in the already tense Beijing-Washington line. The increasing competition between the two countries is expected to continue next year as the Joe Biden administration in the USA gives priority to the Asia-Pacific region in foreign policy.
Meanwhile, US President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met face-to-face in Indonesia, where they went to the G20 Summit in November. The meeting marked the two leaders’ first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office in 2021.
Queen of England dies, anti-monarchy voices rise
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in England, died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, at the age of 96. The Queen, who ruled the country in stormy times during her 70-year adventure on the throne, was among the most well-known names around the world.
The death of Elizabeth II, whose glorious life was the subject of movies, TV series and songs, was a turning point in the history of England.
He was succeeded by his eldest son and assumed the title of King Charles III. The anti-monarchy voices that rose during the Queen’s funeral ceremonies, which lasted for days, also signaled that republican debates could begin in the country in the new period. In addition, pro-independence statements in the member states of the British Commonwealth drew attention.
Endless crisis in England, the cradle of democracy
2022 has been an unforgettable year for Britain, the cradle of democracy. Alongside the death of Queen Elizabeth, the country had a year of successive political crises.
First, the colorful Prime Minister of the country, Boris Johnson, resigned in July, unable to withstand the pressure as a result of the series of scandals that broke out with the parties he gave in his office. She was replaced by Foreign Minister Liz Truss with votes within the Conservative Party, but the crisis did not end.
Truss, whose efforts to stay in power were in vain, became the British prime minister who remained in office for the shortest time with 45 days. The British press put a belly of lettuce with a photo of Truss on a table and asked, “Which will last longer?” he asked, and in the end, the winner of the race was the lettuce. Truss left the chair with a tragic end in his political career, and he was replaced by former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak. Although Sunak, the richest and first Hindu Prime Minister of the country, promised stability, the economic crisis and the strikes that broke out one after another show that the problems will not leave the country in the new year.
Assassination revealing cult ties in Japan
Japan, where political violence is rare, was shaken by the assassination of the former prime minister in July. Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot in the chest while speaking at an election rally in the city of Nara on 8 July. After the death of Abe, who died in the hospital where he was taken with serious injuries, the killer’s statement created a great controversy.
Murder suspect Yamagami Tetsuya said he held a grudge against Abe for supporting the Unification Church, which destroyed his family. While the sect-politics relations in the country were examined, it was revealed that 179 deputies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had relations with the aforementioned sect and close organizations. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dismissed some ministers.
Protesters stormed the palace in Sri Lanka, which was dragged into bankruptcy
In Sri Lanka, which suffered the worst economic crisis in its history and defaulted, months of protests spiraled out of control in the summer, as angry demonstrators stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s palace and government buildings in the capital, Colombo, in July.
Videos showing demonstrators chanting slogans in the corridors of the palace and swimming in the president’s pool went viral on social media. Many people lost their lives or were injured in the clashes that broke out with the involvement of supporters of the government and lasted for months. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country, resigned, his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency.
Finnish Prime Minister’s crazy dances became an event
In Finland, one of Europe’s quietest countries, the “crazy” nightlife of young Babakan Sanna Marin made a splash in the world agenda in 2022.
While the 37-year-old married prime minister’s style and clothes, which are far from the traditional politician profile, were talked about a lot, Marin’s crazy dances at a house party suddenly fell into the agenda like a bomb.
While the candid dance videos of the Finnish leader with different men were talked about a lot, the tears of Marin, who appeared before the press to apologize but argued that he had done nothing wrong, were also reflected in the cameras. Saying that he never used drugs and only drank alcohol at the party whose footage was leaked, Marin’s negative drug test helped reduce the criticism to a certain extent, but the young leader is still on the radar of traditional politicians.
Halloween turns into disaster in Seoul
A horrific incident in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, on October 30 was one of the biggest disasters of this year. 158 people, mostly young people and children, were killed and more than 180 injured in a stampede during the Halloween celebration held in one of the city’s popular areas.
The images of the young people piled up in the narrow street and tried to be brought back to life with CPR went down as a black mark in the history of the country. It was reported that most of those who lost their lives died as a result of sudden cardiac arrest in the stampede.
Other disasters
In March, a passenger plane belonging to China Eastern Airlines, carrying 132 people, crashed in a mountainous region in Guangxi province. There were no survivors in the accident.
On 22 June, 1150 people lost their lives in the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Afghanistan’s Paktika province.
133 people were killed and more than 300 injured in a stampede after police used tear gas to stop the brawl during a football match in Indonesia on October 1.
232 people died as a result of floods caused by heavy rains in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.
Europe scorched by extreme heat
This summer, temperature records were broken in many European countries. The temperature in England exceeded 40 degrees, reaching the highest level in the country’s history. It is reported that Europe has experienced the driest period of the last 500 years.
So is Covid over?
The corona virus epidemic, which marked 2020 and 2021 and changed the world, took many lives in 2022, although it was not as effective as in the early days. The increase in the number of cases in many countries, especially after the summer, showed that Covid-19 will not be on the agenda any time soon.
The loss of life has reached 6.7 million worldwide and the number of cases has approached 660 million. The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to continue to qualify the Covid-19 outbreak as a “global emergency”.
Meanwhile, the world faced the threat of a new epidemic in the spring months. Monkey pox virus, an endemic disease in Africa, spread rapidly to Europe and the whole world, with the number of cases exceeding 80 thousand. WHO declared a state of emergency regarding the disease.
World population exceeds 8 billion
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that the world population reached 8 billion people as of November 15. According to the report published by UNFPA, it is estimated that the world population will reach 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100.
Coup plot revealed in Germany
In the last month of the year, a far-right group was raided in Germany that wanted to stage a coup and change the constitutional system. 3000 special police participated in the operation, dozens of centers were raided in Germany and Austria.
It turned out that the group called “Reichsbürger”, which also includes judges and soldiers, dreaming of a German empire, plans to establish principalities and monarchy if the coup is successful, and creates a “military wing ready to shed blood if necessary”. The fact that such a detailed coup plan found many supporters in a country like Germany alarmed the authorities.
