COMMENTARY: The inevitable independence (08/24/03)

COMMENTARY

The inevitable independence

by Eugene Melnitchenko and Helena Lysyj Melnitchenko

Mikhail Gorbachev and other Russian leaders were shocked when Ukraine proclaimed independence 12 years ago this month - almost immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister of Great Britain, reacted by saying that the British relationship with Ukraine "can only be the same as those with California or Quebec" and the first President George Bush cautioned Ukraine against "suicidal nationalism."

Even now, with Ukrainian independence in its second decade, their surprise continues to be echoed by the media as if that proclamation was unjustified and that Ukrainian independence may not survive. Unfortunately, we all have been so conditioned by this misguided perception of Ukraine that a brief reminder of its history may be helpful in understanding the forces that led to its independence.

Ukraine is one of the oldest inhabited lands in Europe. Homo Sapiens appeared on this ancient land some 30,000 to 40,000 years ago when it was still covered with ice. Its inhabitants are credited with numerous technological innovations, such as various tools, fishhooks, harpoons and weapons. Much later, the Trypillian culture, one of the earliest agricultural societies in Europe, lasted for more than 2,000 years from 6,000 to the beginning of 3,000 BC. Among its accomplishments was the development of the plow and the drill. The decorations on Trypillian pottery and statuettes, which continue to be excavated into the 21st century, show many rituals and indicate an advanced spiritual life.

Ukraine, the "borderland," lies on the threshold of Asia. Because of its unusually fertile soil and lack of natural borders, the country was a center of nomadic cultures for several centuries before Christ. As horseback riding was mastered during 1,500-1,000 BC, Ukraine was frequently invaded by nomads, among them the Cimmerians and the Scythians. Homer mentions the Cimmerians in his "Odyssey," while the Old Testament portrays the Scythians as ruthless warriors. As seen from the Scythian Gold exhibit that recently toured the world, it appears that Scythians who resided on the territory of present-day Ukraine had a highly developed culture that was well-respected by the Greeks and other Mediterranean civilizations.

The current Slavs invaded Ukraine from the Carpathian Mountains during the sixth century and assimilated the previous invaders and local inhabitants. Some of them settled along the Dnipro River and formed the basis of what became known as Kyivan Rus.' They, in turn, were invaded by Norwegian tribes who accepted the local language and customs and founded Kyiv, the "mother city" of Rus'.

One of the reasons behind Russian leaders' reaction to the declaration of Ukrainian independence is the Russian claim to this part of Ukrainian history. So entrenched is this claim, that The Encyclopedia Americana devotes 11 paragraphs under the heading of Kyivan Rus' to describe Russian history and only one to Ukrainian, despite the fact that Kyivan Rus' was on Ukrainian, not Russian, soil. More recently, the History Channel in its program "The Land of the Tsars" bought into that claim with its portrayal of Prince Volodymyr as a precursor of Russian tsars. Volodymyr (980-1015 AD) united Rus' when he Christianized his realm in 988.

The high point of Kyivan Rus' was reached during the rule of Yaroslav' the Wise (1036-1054). He was married to a Swedish princess and married off his three daughters to the kings of France, Norway and Hungary, and his three sons to the princesses of England and Germany. He was known as "the father-in-law of Europe" and his daughter Anna of Kyiv ruled France as a regent after her husband, Henry I, died. It was she who adapted the symbol of the Golden Gate of Kyiv to serve as the French national symbol - the ubiquitous fleur-de-lis. She is buried in the medieval town of Senlis, a short train ride from Paris.

Yaroslav further strengthened the notion of his territory as a nation by codifying and modifying its customary laws, which became known as Ruska Pravda (Rus' Justice). Under his rule Ukraine became one of the most sophisticated kingdoms in Europe.

The subsequent fragmentation of Ukraine occurred after Prince Volodymyr Monomakh's death in 1132. It came partly from princely competition for the rule of Kyiv and partly from Mongol invasions during the 12th century under Ghenghis Khan and his grandson Batu, who came from the northwestern borders of China in search of pasture land.

For the next few centuries Ukraine was dominated by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and by the rapidly rising kingdom of Moscow. However, Ukraine's quest for independence continued in numerous regional uprisings against their stronger conquerors, despite the frequent raids into the country and the plundering of its population by the Tatars. The fight for independence was particularly severe in western Ukraine (Halychyna and Volyn) against the Poles.

Ukraine was again united under Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky and the Kozaks during the 17th century. This was before the modern concept of national sovereignty had evolved after the French Revolution of 1789. Khmelnytsky's early victories against the Poles, first on the Right Bank and then the Left, encouraged numerous regional leaders to join him in his fight against the "szlachta," or the landed gentry, which infringed on the Kozaks' and the peasants' rights.

Through several wars and many bloody battles that exhausted both sides, Khmelnytsky, in effect, achieved Ukrainian autonomy. The famous Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz describes this part of Ukrainian-Polish history in his "With Fire and Sword" (1884) with a grudging admiration for the colorful hetman.

Khmelnytsky signed the Pereiaslav agreement with Moscow in 1654, which the Russians unfairly took as carte blanche for ruling Ukraine. A period of extreme unrest and anarchy followed. In 1659 Tsar Aleksei sent a huge army to Konotop, in northeastern Ukraine, where the Kozak-Tatar-Polish army defeated the Russians on July 8.

Unfortunately, the power struggle among Khmelnytsky's successors again fragmented Ukraine into two parts, the Right Bank ruled by Poland and the Left by Moscow. Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1687-1709) once more tried to wrest Ukraine from Moscow, but was defeated at the Battle of Poltava in June 1709.

Under the long Russian imperial rule, Ukrainians came to be known as "Malorosy" (Little Russians). But the several major bloody regional uprisings that followed and the secret societies seeking independence indicate that the quest for sovereignty remained alive in Ukraine.

That quest was strengthened and reinforced by the Ukrainian intelligentsia during the 19th century. Influenced by western Romanticism and the rise of nationalism, they sought to revive its ethnic history, language, folklore and literature, and paved the way for Ukrainian national identity. The burning need for sovereignty came to a climax in the powerful poetry of Taras Shevchenko.

Ukrainians once more tried to regain their independence during the Communist revolution under the leadership of Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Symon Petliura, Yevhen Konovalets and others. The poorly trained and ill-quipped Ukrainian armies could not withstand the onslaught of Bolshevik forces. Western Ukraine formed its own Ukrainian Galician Army, but was defeated by the Poles.

Stalin tried to destroy the independent Ukrainian spirit with the artificially created famine of 1932-1933, but his efforts backfired and only strengthened the Ukrainian quest for sovereignty. Ukraine also tried to gain independence during World War II, by fighting both the Nazis during the German occupation and the Soviets.

At the Kyiv headquarters of the Vasyl Stus Memorial Society there is an exhibition titled "Not to be Forgotten" that documents the brutal exploitation of Ukrainians during the 70 years of Communist rule under the Soviet Union. It shows - via archival documents, arrest orders, photographs of excavated mass graves and lists of the executed - that Ukrainian independence was won through the martyrdom of millions of Ukrainians who were tortured, starved and executed.

Over the centuries, Ukraine has developed a unique history, its own culture, folklore, art and literature. Its history is painted with blood in its quest for freedom and independence. During the Kyivan Rus' period, it had a highly developed society and culture. Many of its churches and some of its art date back to that period. The country's customs, traditions, music and literature are rich and inspiring to this day.

During its domination by Poland and Russia, Ukraine produced numerous great artists, musicians and writers, most of whom were claimed by the occupiers. Among them are the painter Ilya Repin, the composer Dmytro Bortniansky and the writer Nikolai Gogol (Mykola Hohol), to name just a few.

Throughout centuries, Ukrainian history and sense of continuity kept alive the hope that the country's occupation was temporary. And, when the chance arrived after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine reached for freedom without firing a shot. Over 90 percent of its population voted for independence.

Through its long and determined struggle, Ukraine has earned the right to be independent. Of course, the road to complete freedom is bumpy, slow and full of detours. However, given a chance to recover from its long oppression, Ukraine can move in the proper direction.

The world should accept the fact that Ukraine's independence is based on solid historical grounds and that it is real.

Eugene Melnitchenko and Helena Lysyj Melnitchenko are freelance writers and community activists from Owings, Md.

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