The Ukrainian Weekly, 2017
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INSIDE: l Farewell to Ukraine’s consul general in New York – page 4 l Anne Applebaum’s new book, “Red Famine” – page 7 l Eighth annual Ukrainian Festival at UACCNJ – page 11 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXV No. 43 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2017 $2.00 Protesters in Kyiv see Ukrainian Museum and Library of Stamford marks 80th anniversary a victory in bill on ending by Anisa Mycak STAMFORD – More than 100 people from lawmakers’ immunity the tri-state area and beyond celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Ukrainian Museum by Christopher Miller and Library of Stamford, (Conn.), the oldest RFE/RL cultural institution of its kind in the United States. At a cocktail hour and festive ban- KYIV – Protesters calling for quet at the Stamford Sheraton Hotel on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko October 7, members, friends and donors to enact anti-corruption reforms or gathered to pay tribute to the institution’s step down notched a small victory on founders, acknowledge the achievements of October 19 as the Verkhovna Rada past decades and look ahead to its future. sent a bill on lifting lawmakers’ immu- The celebrants heard a keynote address nity from prosecution to the by Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak, OSBM, Constitutional Court for review. archbishop of Winnipeg and a talk by guest Hundreds of demonstrators aligned speaker Jurij Dobczansky of the Library of with opposition parties cheered the Congress. A special guest – David Martin, news when it was announced in front the mayor of Stamford, made an appear- Anisa Mycak of the legislature, where they have ance and also offered remarks. At the 80th anniversary celebration of the Ukrainian Museum and Library of Performing in a musical interlude during Stamford, Conn. (from left) are: Bishop Paul Chomnycky, museum curator Lubow been camping out in tents since Wolynetz, Stamford Mayor David Martin, library director Msgr. John Terlecky and the banquet was violinist Innesa Tymochko- October 17 to ratchet up pressure on Bishop Emeritus Basil Losten. Mr. Poroshenko to clamp down on Dekajlo. Mistress of ceremonies for the what they see as rampant corruption event was Sonya Hlutkowsky Soutus, a pub- for the preservation of Ukrainian identity gious art, and a fine arts collection of 3,000 in government. lic relations executive. and the Ukrainian community in the U.S. paintings and sculptures. Mustafa Nayyem, a reformist depu- The Ukrainian Museum and Library of Today the museum and library contin- Nearby, the large, well-regarded library ty and Poroshenko critic, called it “a Stamford was founded by Bishop ues to fulfill this mission as a non-profit housed in the former St. Basil’s Prep School small victory” for the opposition that Constantine Bohachevsky, the metropolitan organization registered in the state of at 39 Clovelly Road, holds over 70,000 vol- is likely to appease the protesters for of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the U.S., Connecticut. umes, as well as extensive archives, includ- the time being. and officially opened in September 1937. Its Occupying a gracious late 19th century ing a collection of rare maps. founder envisioned it not only as a reposito- Thousands of demonstrators have mansion dubbed “The Chateau,” at 161 With its rotating exhibitions and special ry of both religious and secular art, but as Glenbrook Road, the museum now holds gathered outside the Verkhovna Rada an important cultural resource and vehicle 7,000 objects of folk art, 1,000 items of reli- in recent days in a mainly peaceful (Continued on page 14) protest, though minor clashes with police have been reported. INTERVIEW In addition to setting up more than half a dozen tents in front of Parliament, they have also managed to Prof. Alexander Motyl on Ukraine’s struggle with survival bring metal shields into the security by Mark Racziewycz condensed for clarity and space. It is being area, echoing measures taken by activ- published in two parts, with the conclusion ists in the massive Euro-Maidan pro- KYIV – Rutgers University-Newark politi- to appear next week. tests that pushed Russia-friendly cal science professor Alexander Motyl is President Viktor Yanukovych from known for swimming against the tide when Starting with the education law and power in February 2014. it comes to speaking about post-Maidan the reaction to it by Ukraine’s neighbors. Firebrand politician Mikheil Ukraine. All is not lost and not everything is Since you’re an educator in a sense, Saakashvili and other opposition lead- “doom and gloom,” his writings and observa- what’s behind the complaints by ers are seeking the abolition of parlia- tions often say. Unlike many of his Ukrainian Hungary and Romania? I realize that mentary immunity from prosecution and Western contemporaries, Prof. Motyl Hungary has national elections next and an overhaul of Ukraine’s electoral insists that Ukraine is historically in the best year… what’s this all about? law, as well as the creation of anti-cor- position since the 17th century to forge a Well, in the case of Hungary, it’s purely ruption courts. stronger state entity, one that can consoli- straightforward. Yes, they’ll have elections, They are also demanding legisla- date democracy in five years, to become eco- but it’s the Viktor Orban government. And tion on impeachment procedures that nomically and socially prosperous, and Poland has also been hysterical in its reac- would put pressure on the president Westernize in the coming years. tions. Let’s call them somewhat anti-demo- and hold him accountable. On October 13, the professor, novelist and cratic and somewhat chauvinistic, to be kind. Mr. Saakashvili, the former poet spoke with The Ukrainian Weekly via an And they simply overreacted. Imagine if Georgian president and governor of online messenger service, sharing his views Prof. Alexander Motyl right-wing Svoboda party leader Oleh Ukraine’s Odesa region who has been on Ukraine’s new law on education, the situa- Tyahnybok, heaven forbid, be prime minister stripped of both his Georgian and tion in the Donbas and Ukraine’s options in Klid, the editor of “The Holodomor Reader: A of Ukraine. He would be probably respond- Ukrainian citizenship, called for the the ongoing war being waged by Russia. Sourcebook on the Famine of 1932-1933 in ing in a similar fashion to whatever the Poles demonstration last month after he After earning his Ph.D. at Columbia Ukraine.” An avid fiction writer and poet as or Hungarians do. I explain it in those terms. returned to Ukraine in defiance of the University in 1984, Prof. Motyl embarked on well, Prof. Motyl has authored several novels, The bottom line is: Are they right or Poroshenko administration. an academic and teaching career. The perhaps the best known of which is “The Jew wrong? From what I’ve seen… Ukraine has That call was backed by most of Ukrainian American has earned a reputa- Who Was Ukrainian” (2011). His most adopted a very even-handed law that is Ukraine’s opposition parties, which tion for having expertise on “Ukraine, Russia recent book is “Ukraine vs. Russia: similar to the kinds of educational practice and the USSR,” according to the World Revolution, Democracy, and War” (2017). (Continued on page 14) Affairs Journal. He is, together with Bohdan The following interview was edited and (Continued on page 3) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2017 No. 43 ANALYSIS Russia raising taxes to fund projects 75th anniversary of UPA is marked War II and fought against both the Nazis and the Soviet Red Army. When the war Thousands of Ukrainian nationalists ended, many UPA fighters continued to marched through Kyiv on October 14 to in Crimea, Kaliningrad and Far East fight a guerrilla campaign against the mark the 75th anniversary of the creation versal tax is being presented as a tax on Soviet authorities into the early 1950s. by Vladislav Inozemtsev of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Eurasia Daily Monitor sectoral transactions affecting only those (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, Ukrinform) who use specific kinds of services. March organizers said as many as 20,000 The Russian government recently Third, the government is sending a clear people participated in the march. Some Four soldiers killed, four wounded announced a hike in excise duties on gaso- signal to the public that Russians should not 5,000 police were on hand to keep order. President Petro Poroshenko appealed to Ukraine’s military says that two of its line. The overall retail price will increase by expect to rely anymore on underpriced soldiers were killed and four were wound- more than a ruble per liter (6.5 cents per goods and services on the domestic market. the Ukrainian people on the occasion of the 75th anniversary. “Today, on October 14, on ed amid multiple ceasefire violations by gallon), or by around 2.5 percent of its cur- Today, the gasoline price in Russia hovers Russia-backed forces in eastern Ukraine on rent market price, by the end of the next around $2.70 per gallon, while one can pur- Ukraine Defender Day and the holiday of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin, we cel- October 17. Enemy forces violated the year (Ekho Moskvy, September 18). Legally chase a package that includes 20 hours of ceasefire 44 times in the previous 24 hours speaking, the current Tax Code authorizes calls and unlimited cellular data for only ebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation in the Donetsk region, and Ukrainian forces only a 30-kopek (about 1 cent ) tax $16 per month (Moskva.beeline.ru, of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, an army returned fire 38 times, the military said in a increase on gasoline retail sales per six- accessed October 4).