The Ukrainian Weekly 2009-36

8/14/2019 The Ukrainian Weekly 2009-36

1/56

Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association

$1/$2 in UkraineVol. LXXVII No.36 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2009

THE UKRAINIANWEEKLY

INSIDE: Poland and Russia disagree on World War II page 3. Ukrainian World Congress appeals for Demjanjuk page 4. Our Generation Uke page page 13.

by Oleh Wolowyna and Vasyl Lopukh

NEW YORK Since the indepen-dence of Ukraine, the Ukrainian diaspo-ras attention, resources and activitieshave shifted to a large degree to Ukraineand its problems, to the detriment of activities by the Ukrainian diaspora inthe United States and other countries.Also most of our organized communitywork is still being conducted on an infor-mal basis, and the planning and imple-mentation of different activities are oftendone without the benefit of factual andobjective information.

Available data from the United StatesBureau of the Census from the last threepopulation censuses and from theAmerican Community Survey, as well asofficial immigration statistics and other

data, if properly exploited, can provide amore rational and efficient basis for ourdiasporas activities.

These data also provide a uniqueopportunity for research on the Ukrainianethnic group from the academic perspec-tive. They allow researchers to augmentthe field of ethnic studies in the U.S. withresearch on Ukrainians and make contri-butions to different social and economicdisciplines using Ukrainians in theUnited States as a case study.

In order to encourage and facilitateresearch on this topic, the ShevchenkoScientific Society in New York hasdecided to create a Center forDemographic and SocioeconomicResearch of Ukrainians in the U.S. Awebsite has been set up which containsdetailed information about the center, itsmission and objectives: http://www.inform-decisions.com/ukrstat/.

This website provides access to anintegrated database with census and sur-vey data on Ukrainians in the U.S. Inorder to facilitate comparisons betweenUkrainians and the total U.S. population,a companion database is also availablewith data for the whole US population.

These databases contain data for 1980,1990, 2000 and 2006, and the necessarytechnical information needed for analyz-ing the data is included.

The website also contains dynamictables with key statistical information onUkrainians in the U.S. by states and bymetropolitan areas. In these tables read-ers will find basic statistical informationfor the country, their state and their city.

The data are made available free of charge to anybody who wants to find outmore about Ukrainians in the U.S., usethem for research or as a managementtool for planning community work. TheResearch Center invites scholars, stu-dents, community leaders and interestedpersons to make use of this information.

A program of prizes for best research

papers by students in the United Statesand in Ukraine is being set up, as is fund-ing for conferences and publications todisseminate the results.

In order to expand the scope of researchers on this topic and as a comple-ment to the Ukrainian governmentsinterest in Ukrainians living outside of Ukraine, contacts have been made withseveral universities in Ukraine to encour-age faculty and students to do researchusing these databases.

These data also provide importantinformation for organized UkrainianAmerican communities. Detailed demo-graphic and socio-economic profiles of Ukrainians can be elaborated for manycities, with indicators like total size, age-sex structure, number and percent speak-ing Ukrainian (and Russian) by age andsex, marital status, occupation, educa-tion, different types of income, countryof birth for migrants, year of immigra-tion, etc.

The databases also have informationon housing and household characteristics(homeownership or renting, mortgage orrent payments, age, size and value of thehouse for homeowners), as well as fami-ly characteristics (structure of the familyand family income). All these and manyother variables are available in the inte-grated databases.

Analysis of the population dynamicsfor different states and metropolitan areasbetween 1980 and 2006 allows one tosee which states and cities are losingpopulation and which are growing, todetect the formation of new centers of Ukrainian settlements in cities with fewor no Ukrainians, and to document thecontribution to this growth by FourthWave migrants and/or by Ukrainiansmoving out of cities with large Ukrainiancommunities (from Northeastern andnorthern Midwestern cities to the Southand the West Coast). These data providetimely information on challenges andopportunities for our churches, coopera-tives and civic organizations.

The new center will maintain, updateand expand the website and the databas-es, provide technical assistance to per-sons who want to use the data, administerresearch grants, organize conferencesand publish research results. A specialfund is being set up to support the cen-ters activities, and the center is appeal-ing to persons who recognize the impor-tance of this activity to provide financialsupport.

For donations and general questionsabout the center, readers may contact theShevchenko Scientif ic Society,212-254-5130; for technical questionsabout the data and research, readersshould contact Oleh Wolowyna at919-923-1316 or [email protected].

Shevchenko Society announces creation of research center on Ukrainians in U.S.

by Zenon ZawadaKyiv Press Bureau

KYIV The official campaign seasondoesnt start until October 19, but PrimeMinister Yulia Tymoshenko and opposi-tion leader Viktor Yanukovych are alreadybattling.

The Party of Regions of Ukraine (PRU)led by Mr. Yanukovych blockadedParliament again on September 1 as it con-tinued to demand higher minimum wagesand pensions in what observers describedas a crude ploy for the January 2010 presi-

dential election.Starting as early as June, the PRU hasrepeatedly demanded support for the legis-

lation, which the Yulia Tymoshenko Blocrefuses to support because the cash-strapped government led by PrimeMinister Tymoshenko is sinking furtherinto debt.

These are political games related to theelection campaign, said Ihor Kohut, coun-cil chair of the Kyiv-based LegislativeInitiatives Laboratory, which receivesWestern financing. No one is interested intruly resolving the matter, because thereisnt money in the budget. But the Party of Regions needs a tribune for its populiststatements aimed at gaining votes.

The vote for the legislation to raise

Party of Regions blocks Radaas campaign season approaches

by Yuriy BorysovSpecial to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV Ukrainian civic leaders andpolitical experts are debating PresidentViktor Yushchenkos proposed amend-ments to the Constitution of Ukraine after

his August 25 decree ordered a public dis-cussion on his proposals within the nationsacademia, civic and legal organizations,and mass media.

The proposal calls for open party listvoting to a proportionally based 300-mem-ber lower parliamentary chamber and indi-vidual candidate elections to a geographi-cally based 80-plus member Senate. Theyalso call for eliminating national deputiesimmunity from prosecution and the imper-ative mandate that requires unanimous fac-tion voting.

Though offering hope of reform for apoorly structured political system mired ingridlock, the Yushchenko Constitutionhas drawn many shrugs and little enthusi-asm from Ukraines political elite.

Not only does it fail to resolve the biggestcrisis in Ukrainian politics the sharedauthority between the president and theprime minister but many are wonderingwhy the president is even bothering when hehas no support in Parliament beyond a groupof about 35 loyal Our Ukraine deputies.

A bad political tradition has emerged inUkraine a president is initiating constitu-tional changes at the end of his term withminimal public support, said IhorZhdanov, president of the Open PoliticsAnalytical Center in Kyiv, who also cited

Experts in Ukraine offer assessmentsof proposed Yushchenko Constitution

Party of Regions of Ukraine deputies block the parliamentary podium at theSeptember 1 session, demanding legislation to increase the minimum wage for

government employees.

UNIAN

(Continued on page 18)



2/56

THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 20092 No. 36

NEWSBRIEFSANALYSIS

THEUKRAINIANWEEKLY FOUNDED 1933An English-language newspaper published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc.,

a non-profit association, at 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054.Yearly subscription rate: $55; for UNA members $45.

Periodicals postage paid at Parsippany, NJ 07054 and additional mailing offices.(ISSN 0273-9348)

The Weekly: UNA:Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 644-9510 Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 292-0900

Postmaster, send address changes to:The Ukrainian Weekly Editor-in-chief: Roma Hadzewycz2200 Route 10 Editors: Matthew DubasP.O. Box 280 Zenon Zawada (Kyiv)Parsippany, NJ 07054

The Ukrainian Weekly Archive: www.ukrweekly.com; e-mail: [email protected]

The Ukrainian Weekly, September 6, 2009, No. 36, Vol. LXXVIICopyright 2009 The Ukrainian Weekly

ADMINISTRATION OF THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY AND SVOBODA

(973) 292-9800, ext. 3041e-mail: [email protected](973) 292-9800, ext. 3040fax: (973) 644-9510e-mail: [email protected](973) 292-9800, ext. 3042e-mail: [email protected]

Walter Honcharyk, administrator

Maria Oscislawski, advertising manager

Mariyka Pendzola, subscriptions

Analysis of Gongadze tapes continues

KYIV Ukrainian authorities said onAugust 31 that they are close to complet-ing their analysis of audio recordings thatallegedly implicate a former president inthe murder of a prominent independent

journalist. Deputy Procurator-GeneralMykola Holomsha told journalists onAugust 31 that the final stage of the exam-ination of the so-called Melnychenko tapeswould be completed by October. The tapesare named for Mykola Melnychenko, theex-presidential security officer who sayshe secretly recorded conversations in theoffice of his ex-boss, former UkrainianPresident Leonid Kuchma. In them, avoice said to resemble Mr. Kuchmas isheard ordering top aides to deal with inde-pendent journalist Heorhii Gongadze,whose headless body was found in a forestnear Kyiv in 2000. The authenticity of thetapes so far has not been verified. Mr.

Holomsha said international experts wouldconduct their final checks on the record-ings authenticity next month. The previ-ous week, President Viktor Yushchenkotold journalists that the investigations intothe Gongadze murder and their resultswould affect the Ukrainian presidentialelection scheduled for January. (RFE/RL)

Memoranda of cooperation with diaspora

KYIV The Culture and TourismMinistry signed memoranda on culturalcooperation with the Ukrainian WorldCongress (UWC), as well as with theAustralian Federation of UkrainianOrganizations, it was reported on August27. The memorandum on cooperationbetween the ministry and the UWC was

signed by Culture and Tourism MinisterVasyl Vovkun and Ukrainian WorldCongress President Eugene Czolij. Thememorandum provides for creating con-dit ions to develop relat ions withUkrainians living abroad on a continuingbasis. Within the framework of this pro-gram, the unveiling of a monument toHolodomor vict ims is planned inWashington. In addition, the unveiling of monuments to Taras Shevchenko isplanned in Astana, Kazakhstan, toMykhailo Doroshenko in Komi, Russia,and Pylyp Orlyk in Sweden. In addition,

the Culture and Tourism Ministry and theUkrainian World Congress plan to returncultural values to Ukraine and to promotethe inclusion of Ukrainian sites on theUNESCO list. (Ukrinform)

Petition seeks Banderas reburial

LVIV The Ukrainian NationalistParty in western Ukraine has started col-lecting signatures for a petition to havethe remains of Stepan Bandera transferredfrom Germany to Ukraine, RFE/RLsUkrainian Service reported on September1. The party intends to send the petitionto the president, the prime minister andthe Verkhovna Rada. Bandera was one of the leaders of Ukrainian national move-ment. He headed the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), whichplayed a crucial role in the history of Ukraine during World War II. Banderawas assassinated by the Soviet KGB inMunich, Germany, on October 15, 1959,and buried in the Waldfriedhof Cemetery.The Ukrainian Nationalist Party wants hisremains to be reburied in LykachivCemetery in Lviv. (RFE/RL)

Grandson sues to clear Stalin

MOSCOW On August 31 a Russiancourt held a preliminary hearing in a libelcase brought by his Joseph Stalins grand-son over a newspaper story that said theSoviet dictator had ordered the killings of Soviet citizens. Rights groups told thepress the case shows a trend in Russia topaint a more benevolent picture of Stalin,under whose rule millions perished.Stalins grandson, Yevgeny Dzhugashvili,is seeking 9.5 million rubles ($299,000

U.S.) from the Novaya Gazeta newspaperand 500,000 rubles from the author of anarticle published last April claiming Stalinpersonally signed Politburo death orders.Leonid Zhura, a Stalinist who is repre-senting Mr. Dzhugashvili, said that thearticle, which was based on declassifiedKremlin documents, had damaged Stalinsreputation. (Reuters, Kyiv Post)

Ukrainian and Russian PMs meet

KYIV Following a meeting with her


The article UIMA: The Jewel of Chicagos Ukrainian Village (August23) was accompanied by a photo incor-rectly labeled as being from the gallery atthe Ukrainian National Museum. Thephoto was, of course, from the UkrainianInstitute of Modern Art.

Correction

RFE/RL

The start of World War II in Europe isgenerally regarded as September 1, 1939

the date when German Nazi troopsinvaded Poland from the north, south andwest on the pretext that Poland had firstattacked a radio s tation in Germany.

Three weeks later under the secretterms of a Nazi-Soviet accord, theMolotov-Ribbentrop Pact Soviet troopsinvaded and occupied eastern parts of Poland [including Ukrainian lands thenunder Polish control ed.].

It was at the then-German border townof Gleiwitz now a town in Poland calledGliwice that the Nazis fabricated anattack on a radio station in an attempt toportray Poland as an aggressor.

Andrzej Jarczewski, a historian and thecaretaker of the massive wooden radiostation tower at the center of the so-calledGliwice provocation, says that Germansoldiers broke into the radio station build-ing, locked its staff in a basement andexecuted a Polish prisoner on site asproof of the false attack.

The Gliwice provocation, which wasprepared a day ahead of the sta rt of WorldWar II, was supposed to tell England andFrance that Poland was the aggressor because in that case, France wouldnthave to help Poland, Mr. Jarczewskisaid.

According to agreements betweenPoland, France and Britain, France andBritain were required, in the case of

German aggression, to take action withintwo to three days and start a full frontwithin 15 days, Mr. Jarczewski added.So the message that Poland was theaggressor would have greatly secured theWestern border of Germany against anattack by France and Britain.

Seventy years later, the Nazi claim thatPoland started World War II by attackingGermany is considered laughable. Butdebate continues about the role of theMolotov-Ribbentrop Pact including themap in its secret protocol showing howthe two sides had agreed to divide EasternEurope into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence.

Opposing accounts

Many in Russia today continue tobelieve the Soviet-era claim that Soviettroops went into Poland to help defendagainst the Nazi invasion rather than aspart of a pre-agreed Nazi-Soviet plan.

The Kremlin continues to stress thatSoviet forces played a decisive role in thedefeat of the Nazis once Hitler declaredwar on the Soviet Union in June 1941.That was the start of what Moscow refersto as the Great Patriotic War, in which 20million Soviet citizens were killed whilefighting fascism.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedevin recent weeks has criticized those whointerpret World War II as some kind of confrontation between totalitarian sys-tems suggesting they are revisionistsakin to those who deny the Holocaust.

Speaking in Israel on August 18, Mr.

Historical disputes resurface as Poland marks anniversary of Nazi invasion

Medvedev said: Our task today is tomake sure that real history is not distortedfor the sake of any particular politicalscenarios. We cannot put up with anycountries casting doubt on the decisiverole of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazism or questioning the horrors of theHolocaust.

Invitations to events in Poland

It is within the context of these debatesabout history that Polish Prime MinisterDonald Tusk invited Russian PrimeMinister Vladimir Putin, GermanChancellor Angela Merkel and others to acommemorative ceremony in Gdansk onSeptember 1 to mark the anniversary of the Nazi invasion.

Mr. Putin has accepted the invitation signaling in an opinion column he wrotein the August 31 edition of the Polishdaily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza that hewill try to ca lm Russias ongoing disputeswith Poland about World War II.

Most significantly, Mr. Putin con-demned the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact asimmoral and acknowledged the massa-cre of some 22,000 Polish military offi-cers by the Red Army in 1940 in theKatyn Forest an act that the Kremlinhad for decades blamed on the Nazis.

Mr. Putin wrote that it is the duty of todays leaders to remove the burden of distrust and prejudice left from the past inPolish-Russian relations.

Still, while saying that any kind of

collusion with the Nazi regime was mor-ally unacceptable and had no prospect of practical implementation, Mr. Putin alsocriticized Western historians sayingthey take individual episodes out of theirhistorical context and apply double stan-dards in modern politics.

Citing the Munich accord

Mr. Putin then went on to blame theearlier 1938 Munich Agreement betweenGermany, Britain, France and others forpushing the Soviet Union into its so-called nonaggression pact with NaziGermany. He says it was the Munichaccord that destroyed all hope of the cre-ation of a united front in the struggleagainst fascism.

Now, Mr. Putin said, it is time to turnthe page and start to write a new one.

But with Mr. Putin expected to repeatsome finger-pointing at the West duringhis anniversary speech in Gdansk onSeptember 1, it remains to be seen wheth-er the Russian prime ministers remarkswill help improve relations with Polandor cause relations to deteriorate further.

For her part, German ChancellorMerkel has said she will meet with PrimeMinister Putin and other world leadersnot as enemies, but as partners.

Speaking in her latest weekly radiospeech, Mr. Merkel said the Gdansk cere-mony would be a day of sorrow for thesuffering and remembrance for the guiltthat Germany acquired from the start of the war. But she says it also will be a dayof gratitude and trust for post-war rec-onciliation.

Copyr igh t 2008 , RFE/RL Inc . Reprinted with the permission of RadioFree Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC 20036; www.rferl.org. (See http://www.rferl.org/content/Historical_Disputes_

R e s u r f a c e _ A s _ P o l a n d _ M a r k s _ Anniversary_of_Nazi_Invasion/1811603.html.)


3/56

THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2009 3No. 36

It is clear that Eastern Europe is out of the epicenter of this American admin-istration. The missile defense system is now under review. The chances that itwill be in Poland are 50-50.

Piotr Paszkowski, a spokesman for Polands foreign minister, as quoted inThe New York Times article headlined U.S. Mulls Alternatives for MissileShield, by Judy Dempsey and Peter Baker (August 28). He was commenting onreports that the Obama administration has developed alternative plans for a mis-sile defense shield that would not place the system in Poland or the Czech

Republic.

You can see that compared to the former Bush administration, the Obamaadministration is more interested in Russia, China and of course Afghanistanthan Eastern Europe.

Slawomir Debski, director of the Institute of International Affairs in Warsaw,as quoted in the same article. Russia has spoken out against basing the missiledefense shield in Poland or the Czech Republic.

Quotable notesKissing off Eastern Europe, opinion, Investor.com, (online version of Investors Business Daily), August 28:

Quoting a U.S. source, the Polishdaily Gazeta Wyborcza says the Obamaadministration has decided against buildinga missile shield to protect Poland and theCzech Republic. The reason? Russian oppo-sition.

Now, if we want to build a defense sys-tem for friends in Europe, well have toplace it in the Balkans, Israel or somewhereelse. That is, if Russia approves.

This is a stark reversal of past policy andreneges on promises made by the currentadministration. Worse, it shows weakness.We got into a staredown with the Russianbear and we blinked.

Weve just weakened Americas stand-

ing in a critical region of the world Eastern Europe and let our allies down.Weve made them vulnerable, in ways thatonly we could, to Russias growing militarymenace. Polish and Czech friends who hadrelied on us to stand firm and keep our wordno doubt feel betrayed.

Worst of all, according to The NewYork Times, President [Barack] Obama inFebruary sent a secret letter to RussianPresident Dmitri Medvedev offering to scrapour Eastern European missile defense inexchange for help with Irans burgeoningnuclear threat.

Given the threat to millions of Americanlives not to mention millions of our allies reducing missile defense is both danger-ous and irresponsible. President Obamashould rethink his decision to pull back onmissile defense before its too late.

Russia and U.S. missile defense

IN THE PRESS

by Gregory Feifer RFE/RL

Solemn ceremonies marking the 70thanniversary of the start of World War IIbegan before dawn on the Westerplattepeninsula near Gdansk, in northern Poland,

where a German battleship fired the firstshots of the war on a small Polish militaryoutpost on September 1, 1939.

Leaders from former allied and opponentstates across Europe took part in the cere-monies, which set off renewed disagree-ment over the wars causes, with Russiaaccusing the West of rewriting history.

Standing at a Soviet-era monument toPolish soldiers, Polish Prime MinisterDonald Tusk warned about the danger of forgetting history. We meet here toremember who started this war, who wasthe perpetrator of this war, who was theexecutioner in this war, and who was thevictim of this war and this aggression,Mr. Tusk said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

apologized for Germanys role, sayingthere are no words to describe the suffer-ing of the victims of the war and theHolocaust.

Seventy years ago, Germany hadexpected the 182 Polish soldiers defendinga small fort on Westerplatte to surrenderwithin hours. Instead they held off morethan 3,000 German troops for seven daysin a battle that became Polands chief sym-bol of resistance.

At the same time, German forces invad-ed Poland from east, west and south,prompting Britain and France to declarewar against Germany two days later. The20th centurys bloodiest conflict lastedalmost six years, killed more than 50 mil-lion people, and redrew the map of

Europe.Anger old and new

Mr. Tusk said seeking the truth aboutthe massive suffering during the warwould enable European countries to buildtrust in the future.

But the commemorative events havebeen colored by fresh controversy over thewars causes, with Russia condemning theWest for blaming Moscow for helping startthe war.

Poles believe a secret Nazi-Soviet pactgave Germany the green light to invade theircountry. Two weeks after the German attack,the Red Army also invaded, annexing east-ern Poland under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement. In a strong message

to Moscow during the September 1 ceremo-nies, Polish President Lech Kaczynski calledthe actions a stab in the back.

This blow came from Bolshevik

Russia, in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Mr. Kaczynski said.

The Polish view has produced growingfury in Moscow.

In an interview ahead of his visit toPoland, Russian Prime Minister VladimirPutin said that, viewed in retrospect, theMolotov-Ribbentrop pact was immoral.But anyone expecting him to deliver anapology was disappointed.

Mr. Putin said Moscow had no choicebut to sign the agreement to postpone warafter Western powers concluded their ownagreement with Germany. He said the1938 Munich pact ended all hope of cre-ating a united front against fascism.

Mr. Putin said the Soviet Union was justone country of many that had committedmistakes, blaming even Poland.

I want bring to the attention of ourrespected colleagues the fact that theMolotov-Ribbentrop pact was the last doc-ument signed by a European power theSoviet Union with Hitlers Germany,Mr. Putin said. It had been preceded by a1934 agreement between Poland andGermany, bilateral nonaggression agree-ments between [Germany and] leadingEuropean powers, much like the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and the so-called MunichAgreement signed in 1938.

Debating history

In Moscow, Russias intelligence agen-cy poured more fuel on the fire, saying itwas declassifying documents that showPoland was partly to blame for its invasionby the Nazis.

Also, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovlashed out against a recent resolution bythe Organization for Security andCoopera t ion in Europe (OSCE)

Parliamentary Assembly equating Nazismand Stalinism. He called the view liesand a rewriting of history.

Even during the Cold War no one evertried to put the Nazi regime and Stalinsdictatorship on the same footing, Mr.Lavrov said. It never occurred to anyoneto equate the Nazi threat, which meant theenslavement and annihilation of entirenations, and the policy of the SovietUnion, which was the only force capableof standing up against the war machine of Hitlers Germany and in the end ensuringits defeat.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedevweighed in on August 30, saying theSoviet Union had ultimately savedEurope in the war.

The Soviet Union bore the brunt of thecasualties in the fight against the Nazis,losing tens of millions of lives. In ever-grander ceremonies marking the wars

NEWS ANALYSIS: Russia and Poland feed controversy over World War II

end, contemporary Russians praise Sovietdictator Joseph Stalin for bringing aboutvictory against Nazi Germany, still seen asone of Russias crowning achievements.

But many in Central and Eastern Europesay Moscow replaced German occupationwith Soviet totalitarianism.

Poles are especially upset about dis-agreements over the Soviet massacre of 21,000 Polish army officers and intellectu-als in the Katyn forest near the Russiancity of Smolensk in 1940. The Sovietsblamed the murders on the Nazis, admit-ting to the killings only in 1990.

Common front

But at a September 1 news conference,Mr. Putin said the Soviet Union andPoland were comrades in arms fighting acommon front. He said Moscow maydeclassify documents relating to the mas-sacre, but only on the basis of reciproci-ty.

Mr. Putin used his speech at the cere-monies to praise the Soviet Unionsachievements and sacrifices, saying half of those who died during the war were Soviet

by Kelvin OFlynn RFE/RL

MOSCOW The word Stalin hasbeen up in the Moscow metro for a fewdays, but it is still drawing glances aspeople walk into the vestibule of theKurskaya circle line.

Bright, clean, and strangely new, peo-ple were looking up and around for onceon Thursday, August 27, rather than trun-dling on with their heads down as is moreusual.

The sparkling space, which was openedthat week after a long restoration, greetsvisitors with a white triumphal arc dedi-cated to World War II where these wordsare inscribed: Stalin brought us up onloyalty to the people. He inspired us tolabor and to heroism!

The words were written by SergeiMikhalkov as part of the Soviet nationalanthem. Nobody knows if he saw hiswords back on display before his deaththis week.

Metro travelers first saw the words at

the start of 1950 when the station opened,one of the grand post-war constructionsthat were built in war-torn Moscow.

The words were removed underKhrushchev during his campaign toremove Stalin statues and other attributesof the cult of personality. This includedchanging the words of the nationalanthem to remove all mention of Stalin.

The return of the lines is seen in manylights: a simple restoration of the originalelements, a sign of the growing rehabili-tation of Stalin in Russia, or for many justwhatever.

I cant comment on that time as Iwasnt there, said Artem Remezov, 20, astudent who was staring up at the wordswith a friend. Only those who lived thencan do that.

It is just a memory from Soviettimes, said a man who had glanced up atthe words himself as he went past. Hewaved his hand as if to say it doesnt mat-ter at all.

Stalins back (in the Moscow metro)


The Polish president warnsabout the danger

of forgettinghistory.

citizens. Think about those frighteningnumbers, he said.

He said that Moscow has acknowledgedits mistakes during the war.

The Russian State Duma, RussiasParliament, has denounced the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Mr. Putin said. Were

right to expect that to happen in othercountries that also made deals with theNazis, and not on the level of declarationsby political leaders, but on the level of political decisions.

Mr. Putin went on to say that Russia hassince helped build a new Europe, sayingMoscow had brought down the BerlinWall.

Critics say the Kremlin is especiallysensitive over its role in the war becauseMr. Putin has used nostalgia for the SovietUnions superpower status to appeal toRussians.

This is a part of not their ideology, buttheir PR campaign to legitimize and justifytheir absolutely corrupt and inefficientregime, said Russian political analystAndrei Piontkovsky.

Mr. Piontkovsky says that, in compari-son to occasional conciliatory statementsmade abroad, at home, Mr. Putin has pre-sented a complete justification of Stalinsregime.

Copyright 2008, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/

Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW,Washington DC 20036; www.rferl.org.(See http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia_Poland_Locked_in_Controversy_Over_WWII_Commemorations/1812124.html.)


4/56


Ukrainian National Information Service

WASHINGTON Following veryimportant foreign trips by President BarackObama to Russia and Vice-President JoeBiden to Ukraine and Georgia, the Centraland East European Coalition (CEEC), anassembly of 18 ethnic organizations repre-senting Americans of Central and EastEuropean descent, had an opportunity tomeet with the principal architects for theObama administrations foreign policyagenda.

In an hour-long meeting at the NationalSecurity Council (NSC) on August 26, theCEEC met with Antony J. Blinken, deputyassistant to the president and national securi-ty advisor to the vice-president and Michael

A. McFaul, special assistant to the presidentand senior director for Russia and Eurasia atthe National Security Council. Also partici-pating in the meeting was Leslie M. Hayden,director for Russia at the NSC.

The coalition members were briefed onthe Russia and Ukraine/Georgia trips, andbroached issues related to the missiledefense shield; the strategic partnerships andcommissions established with Ukraine andGeorgia; energy security; the defense of human rights and liberties in the region; andthe Armenia-Turkey rapprochement.

Members of the CEEC also had anopportunity to meet with representatives of the Office of Public Engagement who willbe responsible for interacting with various

ethnic communities.Commenting on the briefing, Michael

Sawkiw Jr., director of the UkrainianNational Information Service (UNIS), theWashington bureau of the UkrainianCongress Committee of America (a memberof the Central and East European Coalition),stated: We were fortunate to obtain thismeeting with the principals in the NationalSecurity Council. Our goal as a coalition isto gather information and relate our con-cerns to the appropriate government offi-cials. At this time of increased Russian pres-sure on Ukraine, it is vital that the Ukrainiancommunity supports the CEECs efforts andthe efforts of UNIS to raise these topics inWashington.

TORONTO The Commission onHuman and Civil Rights of the UkrainianWorld Congress has appealed to GermanChancellor Angela Merkel regarding thecase of John Demjanjuk, who is to standtrial in Germany on war crimes charges.

In a letter dated July 15, the chairmanof the UWC commission, Jurij Darewych,informed the chancellor about the case andasked that he be treated compassionatelyby German authorities, not be subjected toanother trial, but rather be released fromimprisonment and allowed to live out hisremaining days in peace and freedom.

It is all too easily forgotten that thepeople of the countries occupied byGermany in WW II [World War II] were,first and foremost, victims of brutal Nazioccupation authorities, especially in EasternEurope. We appeal to you to ensure that theDemjanjuk case does not turn into a showtrial intended to spill blame for theHolocaust on non-Germans, and we appealto you to make a public statement to thiseffect, Mr. Darewych wrote.

A July 29 response to the UWC indicat-ed that the letter had been forwarded to theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, which hasbeen asked to respond on behalf of thefederal government of Germany.

The full text of the UWCs letter fol-lows.

***

Honorable Madame Chancellor:

We are writing to you in the matter of Mr. John Demjanjuk, formerly of

Cleveland, Ohio, who has been stripped of his U.S. citizenship and deported from theUnited States to Germany at the request of German authorities.

As you undoubtedly know, Mr.Demjanjuk was accused in the past of being a guard at Nazi concentration campsduring World War II, including, in particu-lar, of being the notorious guard calledIvan the Terrible in the infamousTreblinka extermination camp. He wasstripped of his U.S. citizenship and extra-dited in 1986 to stand trial in Israel on

these charges. He was convicted in 1988based on faulty eyewitness identificationand sentenced to death for crimes againsthumanity. However, his conviction wasoverturned in 1993 by the Supreme Courtof Israel. He returned to his home in theUnited States, and his U.S. citizenship wasreinstated.

Subsequently, he was again accused of misrepresenting his past when he migratedto the U.S. in 1952 by allegedly conceal-ing his service as a guard at Nazi concen-tration camps during WW II. His U.S. citi-zenship was again revoked and he wasdeported from the U.S. to Germany, wherehe is now accused of complicity in thedeath of some 29,000 persons at the Naziconcentration camp in Sobibor (inGerman-occupied Poland) during the sec-ond world war.

It has been pointed out by many schol-ars and observers that Germany has passedlegislation, which effectively provided anamnesty from prosecution for GermanNazis, including SS concentration campcommanders and their German subordi-nates (see, Jrg Friedrichs Die kalteAmnestie [The Cold Amnesty], ErnstKlees Was sie taten, Was sie wurden[What They Did and What They Became]and John P. Teschkes Hitlers Legacy) 1Only a small fraction of German Nazisaccused of crimes were convicted and of these most received light sentences. 2Furthermore, Germany has laws that pro-hibit extradition of its own nationals tostand trial in foreign jurisdictions 3, andgenerally does not recognize and enforce

foreign convictions of German nationals,including those convicted of war crimes 4.Thus, it is unseemly and hypocritical of Germany to put on trial a non-GermanSlavic Untermensch (to use Nazi termi-nology). Mr. Demjanjuk was, as is known,a Soviet Red Army soldier taken prisonerby the Germans during WW II and pre-sumably pressed into service as aWachmann by the German SS. The hor-rible treatment by the Germans of Sovietprisoners of war is well-documented.

It is all too easily forgotten that the peo-

ple of the countries occupied by Germanyin WW II were, first and foremost, victimsof brutal Nazi occupation authorities, espe-cially in Eastern Europe. We appeal to youto ensure that the Demjanjuk case does notturn into a show trial intended to spillblame for the Holocaust on non-Germans 5,and we appeal to you to make a publicstatement to this effect.

The Supreme Court of Israel acquittedJohn Demjanjuk of charges not only of being Ivan the Terrible of Treblinka, butalso shortly thereafter dismissed petitionsto bring him to trial on charges of war-crimes at Sobibor or any other concentra-tion camp. The Supreme Court ruled thata further trial would infringe the rule of double jeopardy in that Demjanjuk wouldbe standing trial for offenses in respect of which he had already been tried and

acquitted. Decision of Israel SupremeCourt, August 18, 1993 (http://www.jew-ishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Demjanuk1.html).

Given Mr. Demjanjuks advanced ageand his serious medical condition 6, hismany years of law-abiding residency inthe United States and his acquittal of warcrimes by the Supreme Court of Israel,after spending seven years in solitary con-finement in Israeli prison for a crime of which he was acquitted, it would be appro-priate that he would be treated compas-sionately by German authorities, not besubjected to another trial, but rather bereleased from imprisonment and allowedto live out his remaining days in peace andfreedom.

We look forward to receiving yourreply.

Sincerely yours,

Jurij DarewychChair

cc: The Honorable Barack Obama, pres-ident of the United States of America

The Honorable Viktor Yushchenko,president of Ukraine

The Honorable Terry Davis, secretarygeneral, Council of Europe.

Central and East European Coalition meets with national security officials

Ukrainian World Congress appeals for Demjanjuk

1 Under the German legal system a statute of limitations was established so that manslaugh-ter committed during the Third Reich could beprosecuted only until 1960 and murder until

1965. The German Parliament voted in 1965and 1969 to extend the statute of limitations.Albeit, the law was changed in 1979 so thatgenocide and murder can be prosecuted with-out limit. See: Michael Greve, Der justitielleund rechtspolitische Umgang mit den NS-Gewaltverbrechen in den sechziger Jahren(Frankfurt, New York and Vienna: Peter Lang,2001), K. Freudiger, Die juristischeAufarbeitung von NS-Verbrechen. Beitr agezur Rechtsgeschichte des 20 Jahrhunderts(Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002), J. P.Teschke, Hitlers Legacy (New York, PeterLang, 1999/2001).2 Some 106,000 persons were indicted and

investigated for Nazi crimes in Germany from1945 to 1998, of which 6,495 were sentencedand of these 164 were sentenced to life impris-onment. See M. Greve op. cit., J. P. Teschke,

op. cit.; also, C. F. Rter and D. W. De MildtJustiz und NS-Verbrechen, v. 1-28(Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press,1968 -2011).3 Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Article 16.4 A recent case reported in the press (APJune, 2009) is that of nine members of theNazi SS sentenced in absentia in Italy to lifein prison for massacres of over 350 civilians,including women and children, near the townof Fivizzano in August 1944. There are manyother cases stretching over the past 60 years.5 The prominent German magazine Spiegelin an article dated April 14, 2009, states The

Holocaust was a crime ordered and committedby Germans, but without the help of Lithuanians, Latvians, Ukrainians, ethnicGermans living in Eastern Europe (known as

Volksdeutsche) and other Eastern Europeans,the death toll would not have been as high.Historians estimate the number of non-Ger-man killing workers (a term coined byGerman writer Ralph Giordano) at about200,000. (Spiegel Online Englisch vom14.04.2009). It is noteworthy that only somenationalities are identified explicitly, and onlyfrom Eastern Europe. No sources are cited asto which historians come to the figure of 200,000 non-German killing workers norhow they arrive at this number.6 Report by Dr. med. Albrecht Stein of Munich, dated June 17, 2009.

by Michael Davies-Venn

EDMONTON, Alberta It has been

almost 20 years since Ukraine gained itsindependence from the Soviet Union, butthe wounds between Ukrainians andRussians have yet to heal completely. AsUkrainians in Canada observed the 18thanniversary of Ukrainian independenceon Monday, August 24, a researcher at theUniversity of Alberta-based CanadianInstitute of Ukrainian Studies says rela-tions between Ukrainians and Russianswho are living outside of their respectivecountries remain strained.

Russian-Ukrainian relations areframed by long-standing fraternal rival-ry, imperial and colonial experience, anda complex understanding of identity,which are still at work today, saidresearcher Mykola Soroka.

Russians living abroad during thebreak between the first and second worldwars formed a nostalgic and imperialistview of Ukraine, and the notion of an all-Russian identity, which treated Russians,Ukrainians and Belarusians as threetribes of one nation, Mr. Soroka said.

One of the main factors that deter-mined Russian-Ukrainian relations abroadwas the highly contested issue of nationalidentity. The concept of Ukraine wasclearly a factor that undermined this idyl-lic all-Russian wholeness. It was strength-ened by Ukraines struggle for politicalindependence, which was treated as anact of betrayal, he added.

Mr. Sorokas study examined the rela-tionship between Russian and Ukrainian

emigrants between 1920 and 1939, andfound that Russians had a negative atti-tude toward Ukraines independence. Theresearcher said this changed the relation-ship from a relatively peaceful co-exis-tence, before the revolution in 1917, torestrictive and hostile relations betweenthe two Slavic groups.

The distinctiveness of the Russianand Ukrainian groups was also cementedby their conscious stance of being culturalambassadors whose mission was to pre-serve their national culture and present itto the world, said Mr. Soroka.

But the study, On the Other Side: TheRuss ian-Ukra in ian Encounter inDisplacement, 1920-1939, which is pub-lished in the journal Nationalities Papers

(No. 3, 2009), shows that the Ukrainianswere more than just cultural ambassadors.Mr. Soroka noted that Ukrainians livingabroad had the added task of presentingthemselves as liberators.

Researcher says relations remain strained between Russians, Ukrainians abroad

Mykola Soroka


5/56


T HE U KRAINIAN N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION F ORUM

THE UNA: 115 YEARS OF SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY

PARSIPPANY, N.J. Auditing

Committee Chairperson Slavko Tysiakannounced the release of a recently com-pleted audit of the financial condition,management and operations of theUkrainian National Association (UNA) forthe two calendar years beginning January1, 2007, and ended December 31, 2008.The current enterprise-wide audit of finan-cial and operational data follows an earlierreport, covering the period for the six-months ended December 31, 2005 and forthe 12-months ended December 31, 2006,conducted in February 2007 and issued onMarch 23, 2007.

Prior to the 37th UNA Convention, to beheld in May 2010, the Auditing Committeewill complete and publish an audit of finan-cial and operational data for the 12-month

period ended December 31, 2009. Since the36th UNA Convention in 2006, the AuditingCommittee has also issued reports on inter-nal controls over Soyuzivka fiscal opera-tions and a report on the spending of donorfunds contributed to the Ukrainian NationalFund (UNF).

The audit showed that UNA managementis looking ahead with optimism despite a

lagging national economy. Calendar years

2008 and 2007 saw sales revenues grow,investment income increase and spendingreductions take hold. Management sees abrighter outlook for the UNA with the surgeof annuity sales that has added to cashreserves.

An examination of UNA financial andoperational data shows net income perfor-mance has improved steadily in recentyears, and 2008 showed continued prog-ress in cutting total losses to approximately$677,000 as of December 31, 2008, from$1.2 million for the same period in calen-dar year 2007.

Despite the positive financial perfor-mance, net surplus narrowed to approxi-mately $4.4 million from $6.7 million, theaudit showed. The decline in the transla-

tion of Canadian dollars into U.S. dollarsled to an unrealized foreign currencyexchange capital loss of $1 million after again of $685,000 recorded in the sameperiod of the prior calendar year 2007. Theconversion of Canadian dollars into U.S.dollars is statutorily required for financialreporting purposes, and it must be record-ed at the close of the fiscal year which, in

this case, occurred on December 31, 2008,

when the Canadian dollar was at its lowestpoint against the U.S. dollar.While they noted certain strategic busi-

ness decisions with their expected finan-cial benefits have been slow to material-ize, they nevertheless did note continuedfinancial and operational improvementsthat are important to UNAs commercialbusiness activit ies, the Audit ingCommittee members noted.

The audit identifies four recommenda-tions for UNA Executive Committee mem-bers and management including:

issue the official minutes of the 36thUNA Convention minutes in advance of the37th UNA General Convention in 2010 toallow delegates to familiarize themselves asto activities and conditions at the time of the

prior convention; give greater attention to the conversionplan for insurance policies in Canada priorto the UNAs 37th Convention in 2010;

keep better track of outside visits toUNA newspaper publications online and theexploration of new revenue sources possiblefrom readers across the globe interested inthe information offered regarding Ukraine

and the life of Ukrainians in the diaspora;

obtain a full accounting of all revenuesand expenditures associated with holdingthe annual Ukrainian Cultural Festival atSoyuzivka.

Chairperson Tysiak stated that, while theAuditing Committee relies on UNAs three-person, salaried executive committee mem-bers to run daily business operations, animportant priority of the AuditingCommittee is to provide independent over-sight of business operations to UNAs fullsix-member Executive Committee, which islegally responsible for the UNAs total enter-prise and to protect the interests of UNAmembers.

The audits results and recommendationsare intended to help the UNA ExecutiveCommittee effectively manage and oversee

UNA business affairs and, in meeting theexpectations of the UNA membership, regu-lators and the donors whose contributionssupport numerous beneficiary communityactivities, Mr. Tysiak added.

The UNA Executive Committee general-ly agreed with the audits findings and willwork to implement the recommendations inthe report, Mr. Tysiak noted.

The Auditing Committee, in accordancewith UNA By-Laws, on May 4, 2009, con-ducted an examination of the financial con-dition, management and operations of theUkrainian National Association for the twocalendar years beginning January 1, 2007and ended December 31, 2008.

The previous audit, covering the periodfor the six-months ended December 31,2005 and for the 12-months endedDecember 31, 2006, was conducted inFebruary 2007 and issued on March 23,2007. In the previous enterprise-wide audit,the Auditing Committee focused on the fol-lowing: 1) actions taken by UNAsExecutive Committee towards implementa-tion of resolutions approved by the 36thUNA Convention, 2) the progress made inimplementation of current strategic plansand stated management challenges, 3) theactivity of the Financial and Organizingdepartments, 4) UNA publication sales andproduction efficiencies, 5) business develop-ment and financial condition of the UNAresort Soyuzivka, and 6) the status of insur-ance sales in Canada, and other relevantmatters.

The Auditing Committee files the follow-ing report on the most recently completedenterprise-wide examination.

Overall condition

Calendar years 2008 and 2007 saw salesrevenues grow, investment income increaseand spending reductions take hold.Management sees a brighter outlook for theUNA with the sale of annuities adding tocash reserves. Net income performance hasimproved steadily in recent years, and 2008showed continued progress in cutting total

losses to approximately $677,000 as of December 31, 2008, from $1.2 million forthe same period in calendar year 2007.

Despite the positive financial perfor-mance, net surplus narrowed to approxi-mately $4.4 million from $6.7 million. Thedecline in the translation of Canadian dollarsinto U.S. dollars led to an unrealized foreigncurrency exchange capital loss of $1 millionafter a gain of $685,000 recorded in thesame period of the prior calendar year 2007.

The conversion of Canadian dollars intoU.S. dollars is statutorily required for finan-cial reporting purposes and it must berecorded at the close of the fiscal yearwhich, in this case, occurred on December31, 2008, when the Canadian dollar was atits lowest point against the U.S. dollar. Wenevertheless noted continued financial andoperational improvements despite a laggingnational economy.

Resolutions of UNAs 36th Convention

Since the last audit, and at the time of ourvisit, no changes have occurred regardingthe implementation of the resolutions of the36th UNA Convention. At the time of ourlast audit, we noted five resolutions fullyimplemented, two resolutions partiallyimplemented (in progress), three resolutionspending the start of preparations for the 37thUNA Convention in 2010, and two resolu-tions awaiting action.

We further noted that the official minutesof the 36th UNA Convention have not beenprepared and issued. The official minutes, of the 36th UNA Convention, should be issuedin advance of the 37th UNA Convention toallow delegates to familiarize themselves asto activities and conditions at the time of theprior convention. The 37th UNA Conventionis scheduled to be held at Soyuzivka on May20-23, 2010.

Financial Department

UNAs unassigned surplus experienced adecline between the two-calendar yearsended December 31, 2008, and 2007.According to UNA financial reports, theunassigned surplus stood at $6,772,509 as of December 31, 2007, and at $4,454,055 as of

December 31, 2008. The net investmentportfolio stood at $4,009,000 for the calen-dar year ended December 31, 2008, in com-parison with $3,474,000 recorded as of December 31, 2007.

The decline in surplus reported for calen-dar year 2008 was attributed primarily tounrealized foreign exchange, which means adecline in the Canadian dollar against theU.S. dollar. Financial reporting rules requirethat UNA investments in Canada must be

reported in U.S. dollars. As of December 31,2008, the decline in UNA surplus due todeclines in the Canadian dollar amounted to$1,043,000. The remaining decline in sur-plus is attributable to continued net lossesfrom operations.

Analysts predict that the Canadian dollarwill recover in 2009 and UNA officialsreport that the net losses from operationscontinue to trend downward. These pres-sures on UNA financial health require con-tinued vigilance and corrective actions tomitigate their continued cumulative impact.

UNA officials with their actuarial firmare exploring how to implement a conver-sion plan in 2009 for Canadian memberswhereby their Canadian policies can beexchanged for U.S. policies. This conver-sion will provide improved insurance poli-cies to Canadian policyholders, mitigate theimpact of fluctuations on UNA financialstatements, and reduce administrative andregulatory expenses associated withCanadian business. The conversion plan hasbeen in discussion for an extended period of time, and to bring closure to the matter, theExecutive Committee needs to give thismatter greater attention prior to the nextUNA convention in 2010.

UNA officials also continue to makeinvestments in people and equipment tobring down operational costs and to findadditional revenue sources. Even with theinflux of funds coming from the continuedgrowth in the sale of annuities, UNAsinvestment performance, which must besustained to meet its obligations to annuitybuyers, is laudable given the turmoil in thefinancial markets for more than a year now.

Organizing Department

For calendar year 2008, the UNA experi-enced a rapid growth in annuity sales, aswell as positive growth in sales of its tradi-tional life insurance products.

Total insurance premium income for2008 was $12.7 million, an increase of 195percent over 2007 premium income of $4.3million. New annuity insurance premiumincome for 2008 totaled $11.2 million incomparison to $2.6 million in 2007, while

new insurance policy business resulted in200 new policies, for $2.5 million face valuewith annual premiums of $147,000. Clearly,the annuity business is now the drivingengine that powers the UNA.

We note that the UNAs sales force con-tinues to expand outside the traditional localbranch secretary structure through a networkof independent agents working with profes-sional agents primarily at the UNAs head-quarters offices.

Soyuzivka

Soyuzivka is still on UNAs official booksof record. The UNA, through its charitablearm, the Ukrainian National Foundation(UNF), continues to support Soyuzivkaoperations as a fraternal benefit.

UNA publications Svoboda and TheUkrainian Weekly

While the UNAs two weekly newspaper

publications together continue to bring inless money than the cost of their combinedoperations, the newspapers are losing farless money than in years past. We furthernote that the publications are now availableat no fee via the Internet.

Overall statistics show a continuingdecline in subscriptions to printed publica-tions but the publications in electronic for-mat are receiving a relatively high numberof outside visits (hits), so this conditionoffers a sales and marketing opportunity thatshould be seized. We recommend bettertracking of outside visits and the explorationof new revenue sources possible from read-ers across the globe interested in the infor-mation offered regarding Ukraine and thelife of Ukrainians in the diaspora.

Other matters

As stated earlier in the report, Soyuzivkais still on the UNAs official books of recordand, therefore, subject to its direct controland domain.

The UNA, through the UkrainianNational Foundation (UNF), providedSoyuzivka with a subsidy of $276,488 for

Results released of audit of UNA financial condition

Report of Ukrainian National Association Auditing Committee



6/56


Last year, on September 8, 2008, Prime Minister YuliaTymoshenko was reminded during a press conference that she saidshe would form a coalition with the Party of Regions of Ukraine(PRU) only if she were abducted by a UFO. Both parties agreed

that pre-term elections following the collapse of the Democratic Forces Coalition would bethe worst outcome.

I am categorically against pre-term elections, which will reignite complete chaos for ayear, absolutely wont allow passage of the 2009 budget, and most importantly, either wontchange the make-up of the political forces in Parliament at all, or will change them not infavor of the democratic coalition, Ms. Tymoshenko said. Pre-term elections are a betrayalof the democratic coalition and Ukraines strategic course.

In commenting on her statement about alien abduction and joining forces with the PRU,Ms. Tymoshenko said: I absolutely stand by these words when they were said and now.And I expect a renewal of the democratic coalition. But, at the same time, if the presidentchases the coalition into a dead end, and if he completely destroys it, then I will gather youall together again and we will decide whether to hold elections and put an end to democraticgovernment as a whole and give the country to you-know-who, or restructure the coalition.

With those comments, Ms. Tymoshenko revealed the possibility of uniting the PRU. Shehas done so on a situational basis before, joining the Communists and the PRU in passingfour bills at the September 2, 2008, parliamentary session that severely reduced the presi-dents authority particularly his influence in Ukraines defense, foreign affairs and securityspheres.

The Tymoshenko Bloc also sided with the PRU several days later in asking the foreignaffairs and defense ministers to explain why U.S. warships were allowed to dock in Crimeanports on the way to their delivery of aid to Georgia. The next day, the Tymoshenko Blocasked the PRU to drop the request after bloc leader First Vice Prime Minister OleksanderTurchynov approved the ships to dock even before the war between Russia and Georgia.

During the September 8, 2008, press conference, Ms. Tymoshenko said that creating acoalition between the Party of Regions and her bloc would allow the Parliament to work,allow the government to continue its work and offer the possibility of a constitutional major-ity to change the Ukrainian Constitution and initiate in Ukraine a normal, stable and consti-tutional model.

Source: Two scenarios emerge in Kyiv as coalitions collapse is expected, by Zenon Zawada, The Ukrainian Weekly, September 14, 2008.

Sept.

82008

Turning the pages back...

August 23 was the 70th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the 1939 non-aggression treaty between two totalitarian powers, Hitlers Germany and StalinsSoviet Union, signed by Foreign Ministers Joachim von Ribbentrop and VyacheslavMolotov. The pact also contained a secret protocol that divided Eastern Europe intospheres of influence between Nazi Germany and the USSR, and permitted the Sovietsto expand westward by annexing neighboring lands.

According to the Encyclopedia of Ukraine (University of Toronto Press, 1993),The Ukrainian question was an important factor behind the Molotov-RibbentropPact. Stalin was concerned about a possible alliance between Germany and westernUkrainian nationalists, who wanted to liberate Ukraine from Soviet rule. Stalinaimed to bring all Ukrainians under his rule in order to control them.

Nine days after the pact was concluded, on September 1, 1939, Nazi forces invadedwestern Poland. On September 17, 1939, the Soviets invaded eastern Poland andoccupied territory assigned to it by the secret protocol, including western Ukrainianlands then under Polish rule.

Soon afterwards, there were rigged elections and western Ukraine petitioned tobe incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR, which was realized on November 1, 1939.Residents of the Ukrainian region of Bukovyna also came under Soviet rule when theUSSR forced Romania to cede Bessarabia and Bukovyna. In this way, notes historianOrest Subtelny (Ukraine: A History, 1994), over 7 million inhabitants of westernUkraine were added to the Soviet Ukrainian republic. The Baltic states, meanwhile,were forced to sign mutual assistance pacts with the Soviet Union. That, of course, ledto their occupation in 1940 and similar applications to join the USSR. Finland, also,was consigned to the Soviet sphere.

Once the Nazis turned against their erstwhile allies and attacked the USSR,Ukrainian lands were hard hit as the largest part of the invading forces was assigned toUkraine. Four months after launching their invasion, Dr. Subtelny notes, the Germanshad occupied almost all of Ukraine. The retreating Soviets killed thousands of politicalprisoners held in jails in recently annexed western Ukraine, and their scorched-earthpolicy destroyed anything that could have been of value to the enemy. Thus, Kyiv suf-fered more damage from the retreating Soviets than from the advancing Nazis. Then,in 1943, when the Soviets counterattacked the Nazis, Ukraine again was in the thick of the fighting. And, once again, it was subjected to scorched earth policies, this time asthe Germans retreated.

It must be underscored that among the millions of Soviet soldiers cited as dying forthe cause of defeating Hitler, were Ukrainian soldiers. And, then there were theUkrainians fighting against the Soviet forces, as well as those who fought both occu-pying regimes in their quest for an independent Ukraine. Indeed, the war was espe-cially costly for Ukraine and its people. Dr. Subtelny writes that about 5.3 million, orone in six inhabitants of Ukraine, perished during the war; 2.3 million were shipped asslave laborers to Germany; over 10 million were left homeless as over 700 cities and28,000 villages were annihilated or partially destroyed.

Those sad statistics and the decades-long Soviet control of Eastern Europeannations are the legacy of the odious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that continues to bedebated even today by Russia and states once subjected to Soviet domination.

Between Nazism and Communism

THEUKRAINIANWEEKLYCOMMENTARY

by Roman Solchanyk

Some five years ago I wrote an article onthese pages titled Who are these people?The piece (and its title) was meant to beprovocative, calling peoples attention to aproblem that I felt needed greater recogni-tion namely, the relatively low, so Ithought, level of support for Ukraines inde-pendence among its citizenry.

At the time, according to the RazumkovCenter, one of Ukraines top polling agen-cies, a bare majority of 53.1 percent saidthat they would vote for Ukraines indepen-dence in a hypothetical referendum. In 2003the corresponding figure had been 46.5 per-cent, and in 2002 it was 48.8 percent.Comparable data was cited from other noless respectable survey research organiza-tions in Ukraine.

As far as I can tell, with one exception,no one was sufficiently exercised to com-ment on or otherwise react to my provoca-tion. So, the fact that today we are almostexactly where we were five years ago onthe independence issue should not, presum-ably, cause much consternation.

Last week the Razumkov Center releasedthe results of its July poll, which shows thatthe level of support for Ukraines indepen-dence stands at 52.2 percent. That is theproportion of the population that wouldvote for independence in a hypothetical ref-erendum; 25.1 percent would vote against.

Significantly, large majorities (over 60percent) feel that all manner of things theeconomic situation, standard of living,social safety net, crime, corruption, morali-ty, culture have gotten worse since inde-pendence. Public opinion is split on onlyone issue the degree of democracy in thecountry: 39 percent say it has gotten bettersince 1991, 37.5 maintain that it has gottenworse, and about 14 percent think it hasremained the same. One wonders howmany people think that things have gottenworse because of (and not just after) inde-pendence.

An indication of the answer to that ques-tion is suggested by the fact that nearly half

of the population maintains that they andtheir families have lost more than they havegained because of independence; only 21.8percent feel the opposite; and the remainderdont know. Nearly 54 percent do notbelieve that Ukraine is genuinely indepen-dent.

The breakdown by regions is what onewould expect. Nearly 86 percent in thewestern part of the country support inde-pendence, 51.2 percent in the central part,36 percent in the south, and 41.1 percent inthe east.

But what really should make us sit upand take notice is the degree of support (orlack thereof) for independence amongyoung people. Conventional wisdom tellsus that, for the most part, young people arenot inclined to share the views of their par-ents and grandparents, that they are moreprogressive in their outlook, less burdenedby the past (along the lines of that is soyesterday), inclined to look forward, etc.In other words, once the generations of Communist Party and Komsomol elites thatcurrently run the country leave the politicalscene and the young people who were noteven born in 1991 or were children at thetime take over, everything will be different.

Surprise! In Ukraine that trend may notbe as strong as one would expect.

In July, the proportion of those in the agegroup 18-29 who would vote for indepen-dence was an underwhelming 56.8 percent.That is a mere 4.6 percent more than thecountry as a whole. Actually, a slightly larg-er proportion (58 percent) of the 30-39 agegroup supports independence. Admittedly,the younger crowd is somewhat less pessi-

mistic about the country than their elders,but not by much.Data for 2008 from the Institute of

Sociology in Kyiv show that 51 percent of people in the age group up to 30 favorUkraine joining in an unspecified union withRussia and Belarus; 28 percent are against.Countrywide, slightly over 60 percent favorthe unification scenario. The proportion inthe under-30 cohort who want Ukraine to

join the European Union was 48.4 percent;countrywide the figure was slightly over 44percent. As for joining NATO, 55.2 percent

Ukraines future?

Roman Solchanyk, formerly a seniorresearch analyst at the RAND Corp.,lives in Santa Monica, Calif.

The real voicesof a generationDear Editor:

Many people will say that those whowere at Woodstock were the voice of freedom for a generation and in light of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, I thinkit may be a good idea to examine whoreally was the voice of freedom for a gen-eration.

People will make a big deal because theanti-war, anti-establishment, turn on-tunein-drop out, hippie and pro-communistmovement had its 15 minutes of fame atWoodstock in 1969. The movement trotsout these relics that continue to spout theirnonsense about a peoples utopia.

Whether they realized it or not at thetime, they supported Soviet despotism thatcrushed real individuality and creativity.

Who should they have really been sup-porting? Perhaps the Shestydesiatnyky(literally, those who lived in the sixties) the group of literati, artists and scholars of Ukraine of the 1960s.

As is noted on the website www.wumag.kiev.ua, the Shestydesiatnyky, having

realized the criminal nature of the SovietCommunist system and rejecting dogmas of socialist realism in the early 1960s, triedto stir national awareness through theirworks and public activities, struggled forthe preservation of the Ukrainian languageand culture, thus contributing to the democ-ratization of social and political life inUkraine. Extreme pressure was put onthem by the Soviet authorities and theywere denied opportunities to make theirworks public. From the middle of the 1960s[the] Shestydesiatnyky began formingopposition to the Communist regime andsoon became active participants of the dis-sident movement in Ukraine.

The Shestydesiatnyky exhibited incredi-ble strength in the face of unspeakable hor-ror (never ever experienced by those takingdrugs and playing childish games in themud at Yasgurs farm). Horska, Kostenko,Stus, Ivasiuk, Symonenko, et al. the Shestydesiatnyky these are the realvoices of freedom for a generation!

Perhaps, given the focus on the 1960s,you might include some articles in TheUkrainian Weekly about these true heroes.

Andrew DmytrijukAlexandria, Va.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR



7/56


Two American newsmen died lastmonth. Both influenced my life the firstin 1977 when I was a special assistant forethnic affairs to President Gerald R.Ford, the other in 1994, when I wasteaching at Northern Illinois University.

Robert Novak was a nationally syndi-cated, Washington-based Chicago Sun-Times journalist who co-wrote a columnwith Rowland Evans. Proud of the moni-ker Prince of Darkness, he spared nopolitician in his commentaries.

Mr. Novak impacted me directly whenhe exposed the so-called SonnenfeldtDoctrine early in 1976. At the time, Iwas newly arrived in the White House. I

was trying to mollify Americans of Eastern European descent who believedMr. Ford, a strong Captive Nations sup-porter while in Congress, was now overlychummy with the Soviets. The percep-tion was not without some merit.Secretary of State Henry Kissinger hadalready convinced President Ford toforgo a meeting with Soviet dissidentAlexander Solzhenitsyn. The HelsinkiFinal Act of 1975 which recognized thepost-war European borders as permanentand inviolate was another problem.President Ford had signed the act, lead-ing some Eastern European Americans tobelieve he had sold out to the Soviets.

Americas Captive Nations leaderswere an angry bunch in January of 1976.

My job was to ameliorate. Despite grum-blings from National Security chair BrentScowcroft, I was able to bring EasternEuropean leaders into the White Houseto voice their concerns with PresidentFord. Hoping to counter the Solzhenitsynsnub, I put together a special one-on-onepresidential meeting with Cardinal Josyf Slipyj in the Oval Office. I also explainedthat the Helsinki Accords were not a totalbust because they included sections pro-tecting freedom of conscience, freedomof speech and national self-determina-tion. The Soviets signed it and wouldultimately be held accountable.

Just about the time I thought I wasmaking headway, Secretary Kissingerstruck again. His protege, HelmutSonnenfeldt, told a group of Americanambassadors in Europe that Soviet domi-nation of Eastern Europe provided peaceand stability in the region. The UnitedStates, he explained, was now reconciledto a divided Europe for the long term.Messrs. Evans and Novak mentioned allof this in a column t i t led TheSonnenfeldt Doctrine, undoing, withone stroke, all that I had accomplished inthe preceding months.

Ronald Reagan, running againstPresident Ford in the primaries, declaredthat the Sonnefeldt Doctrine meant thatslaves should accept their fate. Myphone rang off the hook as ethnic leadersexpressed their outrage.

As I was picking up the pieces,President Ford met with Jimmy Carterfor their second debate. Trying to undothe Sonnenfeldt debacle, the presidenttwice insisted that Poland was not underSoviet domination. There is no Sovietdomination of Eastern Europe and therenever will be under a Ford administra-tion, declared Mr. Ford. For manyAmericans this remark was confirmationthat the president didnt understandSoviet imperialism. I quickly organized aWhite House meeting with Polish andother Eastern European leaders. PresidentFord clarified his misstatement, but itwas too late. Dr. Kissinger, praised by

the media for his realpolitik magic,helped sink the Ford presidency.After President Ford left office,

Helsinki rights groups emerged inMoscow and Kyiv, began chipping awayat Soviet hypocrisy regarding humanrights, and contributed, in time, to theSoviet collapse.

While Ukrainians have long forgottenDr. Kissingers machinations, they mightrecall the prevaricating Don Hewitt, CBSproducer of the highly acclaimed news-magazine, 60 Minutes. The formula forsuccess was simple, Mr. Hewitt wrote inhis 2001 memoir, and its reduced tofour words every kid in the world knows:Tell me a story...

The story Mr. Hewitt and his team toldon October 23, 1994, titled The UglyFace of Freedom was a hit-piece featur-ing the recently discredited fabulist, thelate Simon Wiesenthal. I subsequentlyauthored Scourging of a Nation: CBSand the Defamation of Ukraine (KashtanPress, 1995), a publication documentingthe linguistic and historical distortionsperpetrated by 60 Minutes commenta-tor Morley Safer. Mr. Safer describedUkraine as hardly a unified entity. Hethen interviewed a small group of dis-gruntled, unemployed individuals stand-ing on a Lviv street corner, one of whomdeclared, Ukraine is for Ukrainians, towhich Mr. Safer responded ominously:Ukraine for Ukrainians can have afrightening ring, especially in a nationthat barely acknowledges its part inHitlers final solution. I get the impres-sion from people that the actions of theUkrainians, if anything, were worse thanthe Germans, Mr. Safer intoned. Laterwe saw a group of uniformed menmarching and shouting Slava Natsiyi, aphrase that was never translated but isclose enough to Nazi to confirm therequired perception. Mr. Wiesenthalsmournful concluding statement, theyhavent changed, completed the CBSportrait of Ukraine.

Mr. Hewitt adopted mistranslations,historical half-truths and misleadinginterviews to paint a picture of the newlyindependent Ukraine. Zhyd, the tradi-

tional word for Jew used by Ukrainians,Poles and Czechs, was translated askike. Ukrainians fighting the Soviets inthe Galicia Division were described asfighting for Hitler. And, predictably, nomention was made of MetropolitanAndrey Sheptytskys public condemna-tion of Nazi war crimes in Ukraine northe fact that he saved dozens of Jewishchildren from German extermination.

Mr. Safer interviewed Kyiv RabbiYaakov Dov Bleich, but as the rabbi him-

Socialism! Death Panels! The endof democracy!

Listening to the hysterical rants by SarahPalin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh andother hysterics that have demonizedPresident Barack Obama in his push forhealth care reform, Americans might thinktheir friends in Canada and Britain are lan-guishing in a Stalinist gulag with hospitalsresembling Temples of Doom and healthservices administered by Dr. Mengele.

If the panik-machers on the right couldrestrain their frenzy, they might consider areasonable question: If universal coverageis such a monstrously bad idea, why is itthat our neighbors to the north enjoy a sys-

tem that has achieved lower infant mortali-ty, longer lifespans, substantially lower cost,few if any hospitalization-induced bank-ruptcies, and access to preventive care thatwould be the envy of millions of Americans?

After allowing the insurance industryand HMOs to drive up health costs to astro-nomical levels, with relatively poor healthoutcomes to show for it, Republican leadershave decided they do not need to developany alternatives. Instead, histrionics andfear-mongering will be their weapons of first and last resort.

Having worked for 15 years with chil-drens hospitals in Ukraine, I am the lastperson to wish for a Soviet-style health caremodel. However, there is a world of differ-

ence between the once-decrepit hospitalswe worked to modernize in Chernihiv,Rivne and Dnipropetrovsk and the healthservices offered by hospitals in Toronto,London and Paris. The notion that our onlychoice is between our current system andSoviet-style dysfunction is really an insultto our intelligence and to our Americaningenuity. Despite recent evidence to thecontrary, we have to believe that mostAmericans can still engage in rational dis-course on national health care policy.

Some Ukrainian Americans have arguedthat President Obama need not overhaul aninsurance system that leaves only 16 per-cent of the American public without healthcoverage. For perspective, this percentagetranslates into 46 million lives approxi-mately the population of Ukraine.Essentially, we have an entire nation withina nation bereft of protection in the event of serious illness.

By now most of us realize that compas-sionate conservatism was just a cynicalcatch phrase invented by speechwriterPeggy Noonan to hoodwink moderates intobelieving that the Bush crowd might actual-ly care about the poor and unemployed.

Even so, leaving 46 million of our fel-low citizens to fend for themselves with-out pediatric care or cancer screeningsseems awfully callous. This is the resultof a dogma that preaches aversion to allthings governmental and worships theprofit motive as the only way to organizesociety.

None of the reforms proposed byPresident Obama are as alarming as thelaissez-faire fanatics whose devotion to theChicago Schools cult of Milton Friedmanhas blinded them to a broader view of histo-ry or social ethics. It is worth rememberingthat, according to a radically different SocialTheorist one to whom we give reverence

on Sundays decent nations have an obli-gation to address the needs of the poor andthe sick (leprosy and other pre-existing con-ditions notwithstanding).

To carry the Friedman argument to a vul-gar extreme (and the Limbaugh crew cer-tainly has), any form of governmentinvolvement in regulating the economy or protecting the public from the greed andcollusion of economic elites is a form of socialism. To quote one of their favoritelibertarian sayings, government should besmall enough to drown in a bathtub.

There was a time when America andDickensian Europe actually lived by thisdraconian economic model. Prior to theNew Deal, even child labor laws were con-sidered a violation of the sacred right of contract by which employers hired desti-tute children to work in mines and factoriesfor a pittance. According to this bizarre pre-cursor to Friedmans dogma, children couldnot be deprived of their right to contractfor their services. In such a warped utopiadevoid of government restraints, employersblissfully exploited their workers and resist-ed every movement for fair wages, fordecent working conditions and other quaintdemands for social justice.

Franklin D. Roosevelt finally curbed thisnonsense by instituting a series of sweepingreforms that provided essential protectionslike Social Security, unemployment insur-ance, workmens compensation and collec-tive bargaining rights. At a recent town-hallmeeting, Mr. Obama reminded us that FDRalso faced vitriolic attacks from reactionar-ies who claimed that Social Securityamounted to socialism. Somehow,America survived and the success of theNew Deal did not sound the death knell of free enterprise as predicted.

Today the re-energized radical right isout to destroy Mr. Obama and bury anyhope for health care reform in a swarm of half-truths, myths and distortion. Even oncerespected moderates like Sen. ChuckGrassley are shamelessly repeating Ms.Palins dark fantasy about death panelsfor political advantage.

Democracy is a messy process, but

faces and placesby myron b. kurpoasFaces and Places

by Myron B. Kuropas

Remembering Novak and HewittCan reform survive the age of hysteria?

On second thought by Alex Kuzma


Opinions in The Ukrainian Weekly

Opinions expressed by columnists, commen-tators and letter-writers are their own and donot necessarily reflect the opinions of either

The Weekly editorial staff or its publisher, theUkrainian National Association.


I N T R O D U C I N G O U R N E W COLUMNIST: Alex Kuzma is a former

public interest attorney and communityorganizer who worked for a variety of non-

profit organizations in South Carolina, Massachusetts and Connecticut on issuesrelated to environmental quality, utilityreform and civil rights. For 15 years heworked full-time on the Children of Chornobyl relief effort. He currently works

for an international development group promoting economic growth, market access and fair trade for artisan enterprisesaround the world. He is active in sever-al Ukrainian community and church orga-nizations in Connecticut.

The views expressed in this column arestrictly his own and do not necessarily rep-resent the views of any group he may beaffiliated with.


8/56


by Alexander J. Motyl

Nazi Germanys greatest war crime isthe Holocaust, of course, but the genocidesagainst Ukrainians and Belarusians consti-tute a close second. And yet, while theHolocaust is common knowledge, few

know much about the extermination of Ukrainians and Belarusians and Germansmay know about this least of all.

The tragedy of these peoples sufferingin the war has been compounded by theworlds almost complete ignorance andindifference.

That lamentable condition may be aboutto change, if only among professional his-torians. In a ground-breaking article that

was published in the July 16 issue of TheNew York Review of Books, YaleUniversity historian Timothy Snyderdescribes in excruciating detail just howNazi policy was directed at exterminatingfirst the Jews and then the Slavs. SinceBelarus and Ukraine were occupied foralmost four years, they suffered enormouspopulation losses.

According to Dr. Snyder, Half of thepopulation of Soviet Belarus was eitherkilled or forcibly displaced during WorldWar II: nothing of the kind can be said of any other European country. The peo-ples of Ukraine and Belarus, Jews aboveall but not only, suffered the most, sincethese lands were both part of the SovietUnion during the terrible 1930s and sub-

ject to the worst of the German repressionsin the 1940s. If Europe was, as MarkMazower put it, a dark continent, Ukraineand Belarus were the heart of darkness.

The devastation that affected both coun-tries is even greater when one considers

COMMENTARY: The heart of Hitlers darknesstheir experiences in the Stalinist 1930s andin World War I. Ukraine lost at least 3 mil-lion people in the genocidal Famine of 1933. Both countries also served as themain killing fields of the Eastern Frontduring World War I (1914-1918), the CivilWar in Russia (1918-1921) and the Polish-

Russian War (1919-1921).According to a recent study of theMoscow-based Institute of Demography,Ukraine suffered close to 15 millionexcess deaths between 1914 and 1948:

1.3 million during World War I; 2.3 million during the Civil War, the

Polish-Soviet War, and the famine of theearly 1920s;

4 million during the genocidal Famineof 1933 (the Holodomor);

300,000 during the Great Terror andthe repressions in Western Ukraine

6.5 million during World War II; and 400,000 during the post-war famine

and the destruction of the Ukrainiannationalist movement.

Ukraine and Belarus experienced nearly40 consecutive years of relentless deathand destruction, starting in 1914 and end-ing with Stalins death in 1953. AlthoughSoviet Russia bears a great deal of respon-sibility for the killing, the lions share fallson Germany.

And yet Germany, which so assiduouslyremembers its crimes during the Holocaust,has still to build one monument to the mil-lions of Belarusians and Ukrainians itsarmies killed in the 20th century.

How can this blindness be explained?Partly, its a function of ignorance. The

German media devote almost no coverageto Belarus and Ukraine. It is also partlybecause Germans just dont see thesecountries.

Nobel Prize winner Heinrich Bolls1949 novel The Train Was Punctual pro-

vides a good example of this culturalmindset. The novel describes a youngGerman soldiers return to the front insouthern Ukraine. As he travels eastwardfrom his furlough, he traces his route on amap and visits various cities, towns andvillages in Ukraine. He speaks of Poles

and Jews and Russians in great detail, buthe doesnt mention Ukrainians once, eventhough they formed the vast majority of the country and were the people whosefarms he and his comrades probably plun-dered on a daily basis. Imagine a tripthrough the American South without a sin-gle reference to the black population.

But why dont Germans see peoplewho are so manifestly there? To somedegree its because the Untermenschenhave remained Untermenschen eco-nomically underdeveloped peoples withsilly cultural practices who either cant gettheir political act together (Ukraine) or areproud to be Europes only dictatorship(Belarus).

The more important explanation is thatGerman elites have traditionally viewedtheir neighbors to its east through theprism of great-power politics. Russia is bigand strong and therefore demands respect.Its ruler may be a dictator, and its policiesmay be neo-imperialist, but these mattersare easily overlooked.

Former German Chancellor GerardSchrder still managed to describe formerPresident Vladimir Putin as a true demo-crat at precisely the time that Mr. Putin wasdoing all he could to crush Ukraines OrangeRevolution. Poland may be prone to polnis-che Wirtschaft (the derisive term for Polesinability to do things efficiently), but theyreright next door and have to be dealt with.

But Belarus and Ukraine? Theyre justplaces with pipelines that carry Russiangas to German homes and factories.

A spellbinding true account part history,part biography, part love story focuses on

the lives of two young refugees caughtbetween Stalin and Hitler, their escape, sur-vival in DP camps, journey to freedom and

their emotional return to post-SovietUkraine half a century later.

Available in hard or soft cover through:Surma Books, New York 212-477-0729KootaOoma Books, Toronto 416-762-2112Ukrainian Bookstore, Edmonton 780-422-4255Online www.yevshan.com 800-265-9858

For excerpts, please visit www.andrewmelnyk.comFor additional information please call 905-895-9414

Alexander J. Motyl is professor of political science at Rutgers University- Newark in New Jersey. This article origi-nally appeared in The Moscow Times. It is reprinted here with the authors per-mission.


9/56


by Taras Hunczak

PART II

Since the assault on the Ukrainianresistance movement, known as the OUNand the UPA, was launched with an attack

against Shukhevych and his service in theNachtigall Battalion, I propose to exam-ine the origins of this issue. RomanShukhevych, the focus of these Moscow-engineered attacks and actions by certainirresponsible individuals, was from hisyouth dedicated to the cause of Ukrainianindependence. When he was eighteenyears old, Shukhevych joined theUkrainian Military Organization (UVO),where he was known for his dedicationand organizational skills. 1 Later he joinedthe ranks of the Organization of UkrainianNationalists, which was founded inVienna in 1929. As a member of theOUN, Shukhevych not only performedthe numerous duties that were expectedof him, but also dedicated his entire life

to gaining freedom for the Ukrainiannation. His first military service indefense of the Ukrainian cause took placeduring the struggle for the independenceof Carpathian Ukraine in 1939. After abrief battle against units of the Hungarianarmy, Shukhevych left for Cracow, wherehe carried out liaison duties for the OUN. 2 The political situation in 1939 was astormy period in European history, but areal doomsday arrived when Stalin andHitler signed the Molotov-RibbentropPact on August 23, 1939, dividing Easternand Central Europe into spheres of domi-nation and influence. As a result of thePact, Eastern Poland, which was inhabit-ed pr imar i ly by Ukra in ians andBelarusians, as well as Latvia, Lithuania,

Estonia, and, after a short but bloody war,part of Finland came under Soviet con-trol. 3 It must be kept in mind that, withStalin on his side, Hitler knew he wouldnot have to fight on two fronts, as was thecase during World War I. Therefore, with-out delaying his plans, Hitler launchedhis invasion of Poland one week after thepact was signed. On September 17 Stalin

joined Hitler and sent the Red Armyagainst Poland, thereby implementing thefirst stage of the Pacts Secret Protocols,which entailed the partition of Poland. 4 After annihilating the Polish army, thecommanders of the German and Sovietarmies met in the Belarusian cities of Grodno and Brest to celebrate their victo-ry.

Date post:	30-May-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	the-ukrainian-weekly
View:	219 times
Download:	0 times

The Ukrainian Weekly 2009-36

Documents