CIUS Newsletter 2010

CIUS Newsletter 2010 Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies 4-30 Pembina Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H8 Italian Scholar’s Lecture Represents a Milestone in the Study of the Holodomor The great Ukrainian-Kuban famine of 1932–33—the Holodomor—was one of the determinative events of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, it was largely ignored by scholars until the last few years of the existence of the Soviet Union. One of the scholars who began studying the famine in the late 1980s was Andrea Graziosi, now an internationally recognized specialist on the Soviet state and its policies toward the peasantry and one of the world’s leading authorities on the Holodomor. From 14 to 21 November 2009 he vis- ited Toronto and Edmonton to lecture on “The Holodomor and the Soviet Famines, 1931–33.” The title of the lecture is indica- Monument to victims of the 1932‒33 Holodomor in Ukraine on a hill of the Kyivan Cave Mon- tive of Dr. Graziosi’s comprehensive astery. Photo: Andy Ignatov approach to the study of the Holodo- identified some of its special features peasants from Ukraine and the Kuban mor in Soviet Ukraine and the Kuban and national characteristics. Particu- to leave for other areas of the USSR in within the context of Soviet state policy larly telling, in his view, were Moscow’s search of food. toward the peasantry from 1917 to exclusive policies taken against the Dr. Graziosi also noted other 1933 and, more particularly, the pan- peasantry in Ukraine and the Kuban measures taken against Ukrainians in Soviet famines of 1931–33, including region in the North Caucasus, which this period or immediately afterward. the Kazakhstan famine-cum-epidemics led to an exceptionally large number These included the mass purge of the of 1931–33. In the lecture, he analyzed of deaths there. If the mortality rate in Bolshevik Party in Soviet Ukraine, the the common causes of these famines the countryside in 1926 can be as- persecution and physical destruction and posited that the Ukrainian famine signed the number 100 per 1,000 rural of the republic’s nationally conscious was the culminating act in a great war inhabitants, in 1933 it was almost 400 intelligentsia and middle-level national of the Soviet state and the Communist per 1,000 in Soviet Ukraine, while in cadres, and the reversal of Ukrainiza- Party against the peasantry that began the Russian SFSR it was about 140 per tion policies in Ukraine and their total in 1917. Outlining the policies of the 1,000. Excluding Kazakhstan, then abolition in the Russian SFSR. All these Soviet leaders and their consequences part of Russia, and the North Cauca- factors, as well as other special mea- for the Soviet peasantry as a whole, Dr. sus, where there was a large Ukrainian sures taken against Ukraine’s peasantry Graziosi also took account of specific population, the death rate in the Rus- and its political and cultural elites, have conditions in the non-Russian regions sian republic in 1933 was about 110 prompted scholars and legal experts of the USSR that led the Stalin regime per 1,000 rural inhabitants. An impor- to raise the question of whether the to treat them differently. tant factor in the high death rate was Holodomor is a case of or an integral Focusing on the Holodomor, he the decree forbidding and preventing continued on page 4 CIUS Newsletter 2010 1 From the Director Fulfilling Our Mandate in an Era of Transition and Instability Following a review of my director- the Alberta Society for the Advance- then, and academic research programs ship for the years 2004 to 2010, I was ment of Ukrainian Studies, as another have been shifted to the faculties. reappointed director of CIUS until source of steady unrestricted funding. Most CIUS activities would best be June 2012. For a variety of reasons, Coverage for the rest of the annual def- accommodated in the Faculty of Arts, including health issues, I did not wish icit will have to come from unrestricted although the Ukrainian Language and to be considered for the usual five-year donations that can be spent immedi- Education Centre is more closely con- term. Nevertheless, I still want to steer ately. Obtaining such funds is difficult nected to the Faculty of Education. In CIUS through a challenging transition because major donors usually want the past, CIUS also conducted projects period and pass on to my successor an specific new projects. Asking donors to with the Law Faculty and the Business Institute not only in excellent working give money for salaries, computers, of- School. order but also fulfilling its original mis- fice supplies, mailing and storage costs In preparing for integration with sion and mandate. is a hard sell, to say the least. However, Arts, it would be appropriate to recall The challenges of the next two years the unique mandate of CIUS. The are both financial and organizational. establishment of the Institute was a My first priority will be to stabilize response to a deeply felt need in the the financial position of CIUS. The Ukrainian community to preserve and losses sustained by endowment funds, develop its historical legacy and cultur- on which the Institute had come to al values in an academic environment. depend for its great expansion of In essence, the community sought full programs and activities over the last integration into a multicultural Canada twenty years, and cutbacks in the oper- through the formation of an academic ating budget provided by the university institute that could meet its needs and have resulted in a massive reduction in at the same time direct academia’s CIUS annual income for the 2009‒10 attention to Ukrainian and Ukrainian- budget year. As endowment income re- Canadian topics. Soviet suppression mains flat and the University continues of the Ukrainian language and culture to grapple with a financial crisis, this meant that, unlike other groups, the massive reduction in income threatens Ukrainian community could not turn to become a permanent feature. to its ancestral homeland for cultural How do we overcome this pre- and intellectual support. The com- dicament? One avenue is to obtain Zenon Kohut munity was also alarmed by the loss of long-term commitments from various without a properly functioning infra- Ukrainian language proficiency among foundations to support specific ongo- structure it is difficult to deliver the second- and third-generation members ing projects. In this regard, we are many excellent programs, projects, and and responded to this situation by lob- particularly encouraged by the com- publications that have earned CIUS its bying the governments of the Prairie mitment of the Alberta Ukrainian Her- reputation for excellence. provinces to establish bilingual schools. itage Foundation to fund Ukrainian- The second area of focus of my The government of Alberta was Canadian studies and by the steadfast directorship will be the integration of prepared to meet these community support of the Canadian Foundation CIUS into the Faculty of Arts. At its in- needs by giving a mandate to CIUS. In of Ukrainian Studies for the Internet ception in 1976, CIUS was subordinate the spring of 1976 the General Facul- Encyclopedia. We are actively seeking to the Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies ties Council and, in July 1976, the such sponsorship for other programs, and subsequently to the Vice-President Board of Governors of the University such as the Journal of Ukrainian Stud- (Research). When I first assumed of Alberta approved the establishment ies. Individual donors are encouraged the directorship in 1994, the office of of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian to sponsor books or even encyclopedia the Vice-President (Research) was in Studies, which was to be financed out entries. We are looking to the recently charge of five interdisciplinary units. of public (government) funds, with a established CIUS support organization, University structure has changed since minimal annual budget of $350,000. 2 CIUS Newsletter 2010 From the Director The initial mandate listed the following Ukrainian-Canadian studies, Ukrai- I look forward to helping my succes- six objectives: nian studies, and bilingual education; sor fulfill the mandate of CIUS and 1. To encourage program develop- and that the Institute continue to focus preserve and develop the many excel- ment in Ukrainian studies at the on research, with a secondary and lent Institute programs. I know that the undergraduate and graduate levels supportive rather than primary role in many friends of CIUS in the academic in Canadian universities. teaching at the university level. With world and the Ukrainian community 2. To encourage research on Ukrai- the implementation of these recom- will assist in this mission. nian-Canadian and Ukrainian mendations, CIUS was fully incorpo- subjects by means of undergradu- rated into the University of Alberta. ate scholarships, graduate thesis Much has changed since the found- fellowships, and research grants ing of CIUS. The Soviet Union has to university academic staff and to collapsed, and Ukraine has gained its proven scholars under contract. independence. Yet the fundamental mission of CIUS has only grown more 3. To publish research on Ukrainian- important. Ukraine now looks to the Canadian Institute of Canadian and Ukrainian subjects Institute for guidance and assistance in Ukrainian Studies and reprints of out-of-print books. rebuilding Ukrainian studies. For- 4-30 Pembina Hall 4. To serve as a national inter-univer- merly indifferent Western academic University of Alberta sity clearing house for Ukrainian and political elites have become eager Edmonton, AB studies in Canada by coordinating consumers of Institute publications T6G 2H8 program development and avoid- and co-operative partners in a variety Telephone: (780) 492–2972 ing duplication in research and of academic endeavours.

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