No. 53 I 1989: A LOOK BACK ceded by a number of public rallies law proposed by the group of Ukraine:human rights, vox populi decrying apparent manuevers by people's deputies on October 15: local party officials against indepen­ 30,000 in Lviv, several thousands in The human rights movement in cott to protest against "undemo­ dent nominees for candidacy at Chervonohrad, Chernivtsi, Rivne Ukraine transformed into a truly cratic" electoral laws, a call it district caucuses. and Zhytomyr, 500 in Dnipropetrov- popular movement in 1989, reach­ later reversed and actively sought Such pre-elections meetings took ske. In Ivano-Frankivske 30,000 ing across the spectrum of Soviet the defeat of unpopular candidates, place in Lviv, first during four conse­ people demonstrated on October Ukrainian society, and striving for i.e. party functionaries, and support­ cutive days on April 20-23, which 10, while in Kiev an association democracy and national rights. ed the reformers and progressives. drew crowds of up to 25,000 and called Vyborets (Voter) was formed While semi-formal groups, the Stepan Khmara, a UHU activist, also included an hourlong warning on October 11 in support of the greatest of which became the Popu­ was even nominated on January 20 strike at eight local factories and alternative electoral law. lar Movement of Ukraine for Pere- in the western Ukrainian city of institutions, the first labor strike in Following an October 24 vote by budova, or Rukh, achieved the in­ Chervonohrad, but was arrested on Lviv since 1944. the all-union Supreme Soviet, credible task of consolidating a the spot by militia and given a 15- Another pre-elections meeting eliminating special seats for range of official and unofficial refor­ day administrative sentence. drew 30,000 in Lviv on May 3. Communist Party and other official mist elements and attracted wide Large public rallies protesting the Out of a total of 225 deputies organizations in national and local popular support, informal associa­ electoral laws which coincided with representing the Ukrainian republic elections, the Ukrainian SSR tions also played a key role in mo­ Soviet President Mikhail Gorba­ in the new Congress of People's Supreme Soviet passed a concur­ bilizing mass public pressure for chev's visit to Ukraine took place in Deputies, 175 were directly elected rent law "On Elections of People's change. Kiev on February 19-21, many of after four elections. Among these Deputies of the Ukrainian SSR" on which also called for the resignation Throughout the year these infor­ were such popular progressives as October 27. mal associations, often in coopera­ of then Ukrainian Communist Party Lviv writer Rostyslav Bratun, Kiev Several representatives of infor­ tion with the semi-official groups, chief Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, economist Volodymyr Cherniak, mal groups have already declared such as Rukh, Memorial and the called the "mastodon of stagnation" Kiev writer Volodymyr Yavorivsky that they are seeking nominations Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Lan­ by one Ukrainian activist. and Zhytomyr journalist Alia Yaro- for candidacy in the March 4 elec­ guage Society, focused public at­ It took special riot police and shynska. Out of these 175 deputies, tions, including UHU president Lev tention toward important political, militia three attempts before they 63 were chosen on May 26 to the Lukianenko for a seat in Ivano- social, ecological and cultural pro­ finally and violently dispersed a pre­ more powerful USSR Supreme So­ Frankivske, and another UHU leader blems and mobilized public re­ elections meeting in Lviv on March viet to represent Ukraine, and most and journalist Vyacheslav Chor- sponse to government actions. 12, organized by the local Rukh of these were conservatives. novil, who has already been organization, the UHU and the Ma­ This activity most often took the Elections were also a central issue nominated in the Shevchenkivsky rian society Myloserdia (Compas­ form of public meetings, organized this fall, this time, however, to the electoral district in Lviv. by such leading informal groups as sion). Up to 300 individuals were Ukrainian SSR People's Deputies, Public meetings were held the Ukrainian Helsinki Union, the reportedly detained, receiving either slated for March 4, 1990. Angered throughout the year and focused on Ukrainian National Democratic fines or 15-day sentences, while once again by a draft elections law other contemporary issues, as well League, the Ukrainian Association many people were injured. labelled "anti-democratic and in­ as commemorating historical and of Independent Creative Intelli­ For his participation in this meet­ tended to preserve the political cultural events, many "blank spots" gentsia, the Hromada Society, the ing, Bohdan Horyn, head of the Lviv power of the bureaucracy," people in Ukrainian history- Here is a list of Ukrainian Youth Association SUM, UHU branch, was sentenced on in cities throughout Ukraine took to these often cathartic gatherings in Plast, the Association of Indepen­ March 15 to 15 days' administrative the streets in unprecedented num­ 1989. dent Ukrainian Youth, the Lev So­ arrest. bers in rallies organized by local • Lviv and Kiev marked Ukrai­ ciety, and others throughout cities This brutal disruption and the unofficial organizations. nian Independence Day on January in Ukraine. As the year progressed arrests by local security forces In an open letter in the August 15 22 each for the first time in decades. such public activity spread from Lviv angered the population and the issue of Leninska Molod, 38 pro­ Thousands gathered for an unau­ and Kiev to other localities and leaders of the local informal groups, gressive people's deputies from thorized moleben, celebrated by gained support of local semi-official particularly since unsanctioned pre­ Ukraine called for democratization priests of the Ukrainian Catholic organizations in rallying around elections meetings were permitted of the republic's proposed elections Church, in front of St. George's specific issues. under a decree of the Presidium of law, which reserved special seats for Cathedral in Lviv. Some 60 activists, the USSR Supreme Soviet issued in By far the main issue that domi­ the Communist Party and other who could not obtain permission for February. nated public life in Ukraine last official organizations. They offered a public meeting, gathered in a Kiev winter and spring was the elections In the March 26 elections, a num­ an "alternative" law guaranteeing apartment to commemorate the to the new 2,250-member USSR ber of seats were left vacant because direct proportional elections to the historic event. Qongress of People's Deputies, no candidate won a majority, even in 450-member Ukrainian SSR People's slated for March 26. The "informals" single-candidate races where se­ Deputies "one man — one vote." • Crowds estimated at between strongly criticized the federal law on veral party officials suffered hu­ On September 2, tens of thou­ 20,000 and 30,000 people partici­ elections, which gave one-third of miliating defeats. These included sands in cities around Ukraine pated in an unsanctioned ecumeni­ the new Soviet parliament's seats to Yakiv Pohrebniak, first secretary of gathered to protest against the draft cal requiem service on February 26 the Communist Party and all-union the Lviv Oblast Party Committee, electoral law: 50,000 in Lviv, 40,000 in Lviv marking the 128th anniver­ organizations and institutions, and then Kiev party chief Konstantyn in Kiev, 10,000 in Zhytomyr, 5,000 sary of Taras Shevchenko's death. established restrictive nomination Masyk and Valentyn Zgursky, head each in Dniprodzerzhynske and Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian procedures for candidates for the of the Kiev party executive commit­ Chervonohrad, and 2,000 in Khar- Orthodox clergy concelebrated the other two-thirds of the seats, creat­ tee. kiv. service. ing many single-candidate races. Bye-elections were held on April • Some 20,000 people prayed for The Coordinating Council of the 9, May 14 and May 21 to fill these Once again record numbers the victims of the Chornobyl nuclear Ukrainian Helsinki Union began the vacant seats to the Congress of turned out for public meetings to disaster at a memorial moleben year by calling for an all-out boy­ People's Deputies, but were pre­ support the "alternative" elections concelebrated by Ukrainian Catho- The scene at an April pre-elections m ;ng at the Druzhba stadium in Lviv. 1989: A LOOK BACK lie clergy on April 16 in front of the UHU drew nearly 10,000 people to a 6 in Chernivtsi and sentenced to 15 • Stepan Sapeliak, head of SUM Cathedral of the Assumption of the commemoration of International days and 10 days in jail, respective­ and the UHU branch in Kharkiv, was Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv. Another Human Rights Day on December 10 ly, on administrative charges; threatened in August with a three- 15,000 in Lviv held a mass public in Lviv. • Mr. Gel head of the Citizens' month term of Chornobyl clean-up rally to commemorate Chornobyl on • A very special public gathering Committee in Defense of the Ukrai­ work for his activities, but was let off its anniversary, April 26. took place on November 19 in Kiev nian Catholic Church, served a 15- with a fine and a warning. • For the second year in a row, this year when thousands of day jail sentence in late April, also 1989 was also the year a coordi­ the informal associations in Kiev, mourners joined family, friends and on administrative charges; nating center, called Democracy colleagues in the