History Repeats Itself: A Historical Comparison

Note: This article is a comparison between two events and talks about a potential war; this war is only hypothetical and is not likely to happen.

Not long ago on December 19, 2016, the Russian ambassador to Turkey was assassinated in Turkey. This may not seem like a big deal, and hopefully is not, but the situation eerily reminds some people of an event that unfolded more than a hundred years ago.

For those who have not taken eighth grade Social Studies yet, the event mentioned was the cause of World War I. The archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Bosnia, which lead Austria-Hungary to declare war against Serbia. Alliances were then involved.

However, World War III is not likely to be a product of the recent assassination. Relations between Russia and Turkey have actually improved since the incident. A chilling video exists of it, but I would not recommend watching it as it’s very graphic. The murderer, a 22 year-old police officer named Mevlut Mert Altintas, shot the ambassador seven times from behind. It happened at an art exhibit in Ankara, Turkey. The motive was to destroy relations between the two countries, but it instead strengthened them, as the countries agreed to work together to investigate. On the other hand, the result of the assassination long ago did not go well. The man who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a 19 year-old Serbian nationalist named Gabrillo Princip, who was similar to the mentioned killer.

When the Russian Ambassador was killed, most people thought that a world war would be a result because of these similarities and the NATO alliance. Some of the countries in NATO are the United States, Turkey, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, and many more. However, Russia is not included in this treaty. Fortunately, a war is not likely.

As most people have realized, history does repeat itself. Because of this, it is very important to be educated on it. We can only guess what will happen in the future, and what sections of history will be repeated.

 

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