Shevchenko Scientific Society lecture focuses on "Kravchuk doctrine" (05/19/02)

Shevchenko Scientific Society lecture focuses on "Kravchuk doctrine"

by Dr. Orest Popovych

NEW YORK - The Shevchenko Scientific Society of America (NTSh) on April 6 hosted a program at its New York City headquarters dealing with some of the challenges that confront Ukraine in the 21st century - in particular those of globalization and the information revolution, which are compounded by the overriding need to form a modern political Ukrainian nation.

The featured speaker was Dr. Osyp Moroz, an economist, futurologist and former adviser to the Parliament and the Cabinet of Ukraine, who is a member of NTSh, the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in the U.S. as well as the Intellect of the Nation Society in Ukraine, and the author of the book "The Modern Nation: A Ukrainian in Time and Space."

Dr. Moroz summarized some of the ideas that have been discussed in detail in the book "The Kravchuk Doctrine," which he co-authored with Vitaliy Vrublevskyi and Yuriy Sayenko. The book was published in Kyiv in 2001 by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Intellect of the Nation Society, whose president is Leonid Kravchuk, the ex-president of Ukraine.

Participating in the program as commentators were Dr. Taras Hunczak, professor of history and political science at Rutgers University and chairman of the history and philosophy section of NTSh, who also ran the proceedings, and Dr. Anatoliy Rusnachenko, professor of history at the International Institute of Linguistics and Law in Kyiv and presently a Fulbright Scholar at the Harriman Institute of Columbia University.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Hunczak took mild exception to the term "doctrine," because he said he feels that a vision of a successful modern Ukraine calls for intellectual discourse rather than dogmatic pronouncements.

In his talk, Dr. Moroz touched upon several of Ukraine's priorities that require analysis and action. However, he focused on what - the imperative of our time he considered the mobilization of Ukraine's intellectual elite towards the solution of the country's most urgent problems. As Mr. Kravchuk articulated in his "doctrine," "intellect is the power and hope of the nation." Indeed, the development of a national intellectual elite in Ukraine is the prime objective of the Intellect of the Nation Society headed by Mr. Kravchuk.

As a practical matter, continued Dr. Moroz, it would seem hopeless for Ukraine to try to catch up with developed countries. A more realistic approach would be to leapfrog ahead of them in selected areas through the focused application of Ukraine's intellectual power. The rapid growth of the high-tech industry in the Silicon Valley, as well as the success of the free economic zones in India could serve as models for Ukraine, he noted.

With his intimate knowledge of Kyivan politics, Dr. Rusnachenko offerred a spirited critique of the pronouncements contained in the book "The Kravchuk Doctrine," generally agreeing with their principles, but expressing doubts about some of the details and personalities that might be involved in their implementation.

The program was preceded by an exposition of photographs by Tania D'Avignon titled "Ukraine and Politicians."

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