Ukraine's government recalls historic Sovereignty Day of 1990

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Although not formally recognized as a national holiday, Ukraine's government leadership nonetheless commemorated the anniversary of the proclamation of Ukraine's sovereignty on July 16 with a small ceremony at the Taras Shevchenko Monument in Kyiv.

This year marked the 10th anniversary since the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR, declared Ukraine's state sovereignty and the primary on Ukrainian territory of Ukrainian laws over those of the USSR.

Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ivan Pliusch, First Vice Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov and Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko laid flowers at the foot of the large statue of the Ukrainian bard in Shevchenko Park in honor of those people who took the first steps and paved the way for Ukrainian independence.

President Kuchma, speaking after the ceremony, said the affect of the declaration on the future events that would unfold in Ukraine cannot be underestimated.

"If there had been no declaration, there would not have been the other steps taken toward independence and the consolidation of Ukrainian statehood," said Mr. Kuchma.

The Declaration on State Sovereignty in 1990 was carried by a Supreme Soviet controlled by national democratic forces who had gained confidence in their ability to guide the national fate of Ukraine away from Moscow and the rule of the all-powerful Communist Party. Although the party accepted the 1990 declaration rather timidly, it attempted to manipulate its interpretation, at times explaining that the issue was of economic or even ecological sovereignty.

The declaration added to a growing national mood of self-assurance that independence was inevitable, which was realized just over a year later when the Soviet Union collapsed after a failed putsch in Moscow.

Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko, who was not in Kyiv for the commemoration of Sovereignty Day, celebrated the anniversary by climbing the highest mountain peak in Ukraine, Mount Hoverlia, which is located in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine.

Mr. Yuschenko stopped in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine on his way back from a visit to Poland. The prime minister, who once was a mountaineering instructor, climbs Hoverlia every year, according to Natalia Zarudna, his press secretary. This year he decided to have the climb coincide with the anniversary date.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 23, 2000, No. 30, Vol. LXVIII

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