EDITORIAL: "The Ukrainian Weekly 2000" (06/10/01)

EDITORIAL

"The Ukrainian Weekly 2000"

When we released the first volume of "The Ukrainian Weekly 2000" just over a year ago, we referred to our newspaper as a chronicler of the times, a mirror of our society, a purveyor of information and a leader of public opinion. Indeed, those roles were reflected in the selection of articles that appear in that book, covering events from 1933 through the 1960s. Now we are happy to report that the much-awaited Volume II, which spans the 1970s through the 1990s, will soon be mailed to the homes of our subscribers.

Together the two volumes of "The Ukrainian Weekly 2000" are meant to convey to readers a sense of the major events that affected the Ukrainian community and Ukraine from the 1930s through the 1990s, as the articles chosen for the two books - each nearly 300 pages in length - provide a sampling of the major events covered by The Ukrainian Weekly since its founding in 1933. (To be sure, not all the major events of that period appear in this book - that would take much more than a pair of volumes.) Together the two volumes are certain to become a resource for researchers, as well as a keepsake for readers.

Each decade of selections is preceded by introductions written by former and current staffers of The Ukrainian Weekly. Titled "The 1970s: Soviet repressions and response," "The 1980s: Of divisions, struggle and remembrance" and "The 1990s: The dream, and the reality," they are meant to help set the stage for the news reports and commentaries that follow by placing them in a broader context that allows readers to better understand the events and concerns of each period. The articles reprinted in this second book reflect the work of The Weekly's editors, reporters, correspondents and columnists.

The three decades covered in Volume II are full of historic events and noteworthy developments; they are distinguished by both the illustrious and the infamous.

Thus, in one volume we have articles about the introduction of the Canadian policy of multiculturalism and the arrests of human and national rights activists Vyacheslav Chornovil, Ivan Svitlychny and Ivan Dzyuba; the release of Valentyn Moroz and the hostage ordeal of Michael Metrinko in Iran. There are stories about protest actions at the Olympics in the 1980s and about independent Ukraine's debut at the Olympic Games in the 1990s. The disparate cases of John Demjanjuk, Walter Polovchak and Myroslav Medvid all figure on the pages of this volume, as do events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Great Famine of 1932-1933 and the Millennium of Christianity in Rus'-Ukraine. Not forgotten are such significant developments as the founding of the Rukh movement in Ukraine and President George Bush's 1991 visit to Ukraine, which was followed in short order by Ukraine's independence and the overwhelming affirmation of that independence by a nationwide referendum. The volume also explains the reason for the changing spelling of Kiev-Kyyiv-Kyiv, and the disappearance of the "the" before "Ukraine." Quite appropriately, the last entry for the 20th century is an article called "Millennium reflections."

It is our sincere hope that, in some small way, the publication of both volumes of "The Ukrainian Weekly 2000" serves as both a tribute and a thank-you to all our devoted editors and contributors, each of whom enriched our paper and whose team effort made the paper what it is today. In addition, we see "The Ukrainian Weekly 2000" as a tangible thank-you to all who supported our work during the 20th century.

We sincerely hope that you, Dear Readers, will welcome "The Ukrainian Weekly 2000" Volume II into your homes, and that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed working on it.

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