EDITORIAL: A date that lives on (01/16/00)

EDITORIAL

A date that lives on

January 22. For decades it was celebrated by Ukrainians around the world as the Independence Day of Ukraine. In the United States, for example, Ukrainian institutions and businesses observed the day as an official holiday akin to the American Fourth of July, closing their offices to demonstrate the importance of this Ukrainian national day. Ukrainian schools gave their students the day off, and Ukrainian Americans flocked to their city halls for special flag-raising ceremonies and proclamation readings marking this significant date. In addition, there were countless community concerts, conferences and other commemorative gatherings devoted to this doubly significant date.

It was on January 22, 1918, that the Ukrainian Central Rada in Kyiv issued an edict declaring an independent Ukrainian National Republic - the realization of an age-old dream of the Ukrainian people. "Henceforth, the Ukrainian National Republic is an independent, free and sovereign state of the Ukrainian people, subject to no one," it proclaimed.

Then, exactly one year later, the Act of Union - proclaimed in St. Sophia Square in Kyiv - consolidated all Ukrainian lands, east and west, into one Ukrainian National Republic. The historic merger, which occurred at a time of great chaos, the collapse of authority, social turmoil and war, came after the Ukrainian National Rada, the representative assembly of the Western Ukrainian National Republic, voted on January 4, 1919, in Stanyslaviv to unite with their compatriots in Kyiv.

Unfortunately, the independence proclaimed in 1918-1919 was short-lived - a victim of external forces and internal factors.

As noted in "Towards an Intellectual History of Ukraine: An Anthology of Ukrainian Thought from 1710 to 1995," edited by Ralph Lindheim and George S.N. Luckyj (University of Toronto Press, 1996), in its immediate historical context, "the Fourth Universal had only a symbolic importance" as, "days after its proclamation, the Bolshevik forces occupied Kiev (Kyiv), and the Ukrainian government fled to the west." Nonetheless, the anthology notes, "the document retained its significance for the future."

Furthermore, As Dr. Orest Subtelny underlines in his "Ukraine: A History" (University of Toronto Press, 1988,1994), the Ukrainian revolution of 1917-1920 spread national consciousness to all segments of Ukrainian society. "... the rise of Ukrainian governments taught peasants to identify themselves as 'Ukrainians.' ... [Thus] the upheaval of 1917-1920 was not only a socioeconomic but also a national revolution."

So, then, the revolution whose key events are dated January 22, must be considered a success. It laid the groundwork for what was to come, albeit decades later, and its memory kept the Ukrainian national idea alive around the globe.

That is why, we firmly believe, Ukrainians worldwide should continue to recall the milestone date of January 22. Let us mark the January 22 anniversaries each year by remembering Ukraine's past - perhaps via something as simple as delving into our history books to renew our knowledge about what was and reinforce our appreciation for what is - as we look toward Ukraine's future.

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