THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION'S FIRST CENTURY

The history of the Ukrainian National Association is documented in a new book by Dr. Myron Kuropas, "Ukrainian Citadel: The First Hundred Years of The Ukrainian National Association," to be published by The University of Toronto Press. In this special 12-page pullout section of The Weekly, prepared on the occasion of our publisher's centennial, we offer excerpts from Dr. Kuropas' pre-publication manuscript, reprinted with permission from the author. (Please note that the Ukrainian National Association (UNA) was known as the Ruskyi Narodnyi Soyuz (RNS) for the first 20 years of its existence.)

The 1970s

The 1970s began with the UNA responding to two tragedies, one in Europe, the result of a natural disaster, the other in the United States, the result of a human disaster. The earthquake in Banja Luka, Yugoslavia, killed hundreds of Ukrainians. The drug epidemic had the potential to kill thousands of Ukrainians, especially young people, responding to the temper of the times.

The completion of a 15-story UNA headquarters in Jersey City, N.J., was a significant milestone in the history of the UNA, but the fraternal continued having problems attracting youth to its ranks. ...

It was during the 1970s that The Ukrainian Weekly really came into its own with reporting and commentary that was second to none in the Ukrainian community. ...

The UNA was also in the forefront of the ethnic revival in America and Canada all through the 1970s. Never before had there been as much UNA visibility in Washington, D.C. and the self-confidence which was generated was intoxicating. The UNA learned that it too could be a major player in political affairs related to Ukraine. ...

Perhaps the greatest disappointment of the 1970s was the Moroz debacle. After more than a decade of lobbying, campaigning and pleading on his behalf, Valentyn Moroz was released from the Soviet gulag to the UNA. Not since Myroslaw Sichynsky arrived in the United States in 1914 did the Ukrainian community respond with such joyous rapture. For the UNA, enthusiasm faded within 11 days. Valentyn Moroz became a tool of the Liberation Front and in the process, bit the hand that fed him. Both Sichynsky and Moroz had the power to unify the community upon their arrival by eschewing partisan politics and maintaining neutrality. Both failed. ...

Illustrations Published:

• 1974: The Ukrainian National Association dedicated its new 15-story headquarters building located at 30 Montgomery St., on February 22, 1974. Dedication ceremonies were followed by a reception on the building's top floor, which boasts a magnificent view of New York Harbor. In the photos on the left (beginning with the top photo) a view of the building's construction site across from Manhattan's World Trade Center; the topping ceremony, during which the American, Canadian and Ukrainian flags were placed atop the structure; and the UNA Plaza as it appears today.
  
  
• 1979: Valentyn Moroz, then the leading spokesperson of the national and human rights movement in Ukraine, was freed from Soviet imprisonment He arrived in the United States and was placed by the U.S. government in the care of the UNA, which had previously stated that it would underwrite all the costs of Mr. Moroz's and his family's resettlement in this country. Above, Mr. Moroz (left) is seen with UNA Supreme Secretary Walter Sochan and Supreme President John O. Flis during their first meeting at the United Nations Plaza Hotel.
  
  
• 1978: The UNA continued its annual Ukrainian Cultural Courses at Soyuzivka. Above, students and instructors pose with the supreme president.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 20, 1994, No. 8, Vol. LXII

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