Another Day in the Kyiv Metro System

The Lenin relief sculpture at the Theater subway stop (Teatralna) received a pentagram engraving on it's forehead courtesy of Ukrainian nationalists purportedly acting on the Presidential order that all symbology of the era of occupation be removed from Ukraine. Pictures and Ukrainian language article here.

Swan Song for the Orange Revolution

A swan song is being sung in Ukraine for the Orange Revolution. Of the team that once stood together on the stage on Maidan Nezalezhnosti even Yuriy Lutsenko is now breaking from supporting President Yushchenko. The OR has received a great deal of retrospective heat since those cold days on Maidan in 2004. It seems the predominate opinion is that the political capital established by President Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko has been recklessly squandered replaced instead by in-fighting and indecisiveness. The teenager on T.V. yesterday asks: "When are politicians going to stop worrying so much about politics and start worrying about Ukraine and its economy?"

As much as I too would have loved to see the days on Maidan followed up with mass indictments of corrupt government bureaucrats, the OR will always hold a special place in my heart due to the simple fact that Ukrainians rose up together, stood their ground , and demanded their voice be heard. It was an incredible, festive, peaceful time of working together as a people.

Nowhere have I seen this captured better on film than in the "Orange Chronicles" by Damyan Kolodiy. (cf. Orange Chronicles Website)

Damyan has been faithfully conducting viewings and participating in film festivals with his documentary. Most recently he has shown his film in London, and at the EU in Brussels. See his interview with BBC here: BBC Interview

Bandura Evening

In the U.S. for the holidays, we were nonetheless treated to a fascinating piece of Ukrainian culture at a friend's holiday party. Two of the top Bandurists from Ukraine, Taras Lazurkevych and Oleh Sozansky performed a few Christmas carols to raise funds for their project described on a leaflet as:

"...the renaissance and development of the Kharkiv (Poltavska) bandura which has been almost forgotten in Ukraine. With the help of you kind koliada donation, it will be possible to complete a much needed bandura workshop in Lviv, Ukraine."

The brief performance was organized by Oleh Mahlay, artistic director and conductor, of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus (www.bandura.org). From his introductory words I learned that the bandura is an instrument unique to Ukraine. I was also interested to learn about a little-known Kobzar (Bandurist player) convention in 1934 where Kobzars assembled from all over Ukraine only to be arrested and murdered. The facts are only starting to surface about this horrible tragedy. Wikipedia mentions the event:

"In recent years significant evidence has come to light that an ethnographic conference for bandurists, specifically for blind kobzars and lirnyks, was organised in Kharkiv in December of 1934 which was attended by approximately 300 blind musicians who were subsequently arrested and murdered."

If anyone has any leads regarding this conference I'd like to explore it further. If anyone would like to help build the bandura workship in Lviv, please contact Oleh Mahlay at (www.bandura.org).

"Orange Chronicles" (Screening in New York)

The "Orange Circle" will be screening Damian Kolodiy and Peter Zielyk's documentary film "Orange Chronicles: A personal journey through Ukraine's Orange Revolution" on Tuesday, December 12th, in New York at the Anthology of Film Archives (32 2nd Ave at 2nd St.) at 7pm. Tickets are $10 (no advance tickets). From the flyer:

"Damian Kolodiy arrived in Kyiv on November 16th, 2004 and remained in Ukraine for all of the nation's historic Orange Revolution. From Kyiv to Donetsk to Odesa to Lviv, Kolodiy's documentary 'The Orange Chronicles' examines the watershed event through the poignant observations and personal interaction with Ukrainians on all sides of the debate."

For more information email: OrangeDoc@gmail.com or visit www.orangechronicles.com

Holodomor: An Act of Genocide

Yesterday, 28.11.06, the Verkhovna Rada historically passed a law declaring the Holodomor as an act of genocide. This is a remarkable step for Ukraine and significant win for President Yushchenko who went out on a limb by "demanding", not "requesting" that the VR vote as such.

Along the same lines, below is my reply to the email from Peter Dickinson, What's On magazine. I am indebted greatly to Marko R., Sev O., Dr. Jurij B. for quickly and concisely educating me about the Holodomor. In the end, I have come away with an abundant understanding of how little I know about the Holodomor and Ukrainian History in general. I look forward to expanding that knowledge. Several books about Holodomor, Stalin, etc. have been recommended to me. I plan to explore these and welcome any historical reading suggestions. Thank you.

Dear Mr. Dickinson,

Thank you for your reply and the clarification of your position.

Regarding your response, I believe that your characterization of the issue as a dichotomy “At core the issue is whether these people were murdered because they were Ukrainians, or because they were peasants” only confuses the issue. The people were targeted because they were Ukrainian and they were peasants.

Although the communist authorities decided that famine was not a practical tool for repression of Ukrainian nationalism in urban areas, repression in cities was well underway in the form of discrimination, repression of Ukrainian language schools, books, Ukrainian churches, mass imprisonment, executions, and deportation to Gulags (cf. released NKVD/KGB archives). Is being tortured to death in the city, for political reasons, somehow less horrifying than being starved to death in the countryside?

Historians can argue whether or not the primary aim of the Holodomor was political repression of Ukrainians, clearly there were other elements and objectives in play as in any war, genocide, or jihad. However, the fact that other elements were in play does not negate the genocidal component of a specific nationality being destroyed.

If applying your suggestion of a dichotomy to WWII would you argue that there was no genocide against Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, etc.. because WWII was motivated by other objectives (economic for one)? WWII happened for many reasons but these factors do not negate the fact that Jews and others were specifically targeted because of who they were.

Stalin’s targeting of nationalistic peasants in Ukraine more severely than nationalistic city-dwellers doesn’t lessen the fact that they were targeted for their nationalism. The fact that this nationalism coincided with a revolt against communists and collectivization doesn’t lessen the genocidal aspects of the man-made famine.

Israel Charny “Century of Genocide” has said that it is easier to prove doubt and win than it is to prove what really took place. Those that exclude the Ukrainian Holodomor from discussion limit the discourse on genocide and risk succumbing to a “selective perception of evil”. The VR in its historic decision yesterday decided not to be among the deniers, minimizers and obfuscators of genocide that assault survivors one more time. By legally declaring the famine a genocide they have truly taken a pro-Ukraine step. My congratulations.

Best regards,

Petro

Answer from Editor of What's On Regarding Holodomor

The following is an answer to my letter to the editor (see earlier post).

Dear [Petro],

Thank you for writing in and sharing your thoughts on last week's editorial. As you may have ascertained I try to use the weekly editorial spot to encourage discussion of issues which I consider to be of importance to today's Ukraine, and judging from the response I have received in the past few days that has certainly been the case this week. As a long-time writer on Ukrainian issues and qualified historian I am well aware of your arguments, much as I am familiar with the tactics employed by the Yanukovich administration when dealing with such core issues, but neither suggests that my position on the Holodomor is not the correct middle ground.

I agree with your statement that Stalin clearly targeted Ukrainian villages, much as the regime targeted villages in Russia, the Caucasian region and elsewhere during the collectivization period. That is accepted historical fact. However, the debate here is essentially one of semantics. If, as you seem to believe, it was a racial genocide specifically targeted against ethnic Ukrainians, this begs the question of why ethnic Ukrainians in the cities did not suffer widespread starvation and why the famine was limited to the rural population. At core the issue is whether these people were murdered because they were Ukrainians, or because they were peasants. It is an admittedly ghastly question, but one which the nature of these genocide declarations forces us to address. The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that they died because they were part of a peasantry which the Bolsheviks had earmarked for destruction. In my opinion this also constitutes an act of genocide but given the body of evidence which has now come to light it is intellectually dishonest to argue that this genocide was racial in nature or targeted the Ukrainian people as a whole.

I appreciate that this is an extremely emotive issue and would not seek to offend anyone's sensibilities or sense of grief and desire for historical justice, but do believe that the best way to achieve closure and build a better Ukraine is through an honest and open appraisal of the facts. Please feel free to share this response with your email circle. I would welcome further comment on the Holodomor issue and may even consider publishing a selection on the subject.

Best regards,

Peter Dickinson

This puts me in research mode. Since, essentially I'm a business guy selling widgets, I've delved off into uncharted waters. I clearly need to answer the following issues for myself if not for anyone else.

"...this begs the question of why ethnic Ukrainians in the cities did not suffer widespread starvation and why the famine was limited to the rural population. At core the issue is whether these people were murdered because they were Ukrainians, or because they were peasants..."

Letter to the Editor of What's On

I chose to mark the 73rd anniversary of Holodomor by ranting against What's On's editorial. Is What's On owned by Russians or something?

Dear Mr. Dickinson,

I am a little surprised by your position regarding the Holodomor as stated in "From the Editor" in the 24-30 Nov 2006 edition of "What's On" magazine. Your suggestion that "Calling it genocide simply gives an ethnic slant to this man-made monstrosity that is both historically dubious and socially divisive." leaves a lot to be desired for anyone even remotely familiar with Ukrainian history and Holodomor.

There is ample evidence that Stalin specifically targeted Ukrainian villages during the famine. Multiple countries have passed resolutions identifying the famine as genocide. Regarding "divisiveness" if one surveys world history, it's clear that memory of suffering unites a nation. By the Verkhovna Rada naming the famine "genocide" they would be making a statement that Ukraine is a nation. Is that not unifying?

It is clear that Yanukovych and his cronies are playing their trumped up "socially divisive" card every time an issue of national identity arises. It is also clear that he is pushing his agenda in the media through increasingly overt means. I was hoping What's On would retain some objectivity in the face of Yanukovych's administration. I guess I was wrong. What's On is clearly pursuing an "ethnic slant" of its own, and it's not Ukrainian.