100,000 buried at Bykivnia recalled at Day of Remembrance (05/28/06)

100,000 buried at Bykivnia recalled at Day of Remembrance

by Zenon Zawada
Kyiv Press Bureau

BYKIVNIA, Ukraine - Western Ukrainians have long been aware of the vicious brutality wrought by Soviet communism, but only in recent years have Ukrainians from the central region of the country begun to grasp their hidden past.

In a step toward uncovering Ukraine's dark history, President Viktor Yushchenko became the first Ukrainian president to take part in the annual Day of Remembrance ceremony to honor the estimated 100,000 people buried in the mass grave on the outskirts of Kyiv.

"We must know the truth," Mr. Yushchenko said May 21, standing alongside his wife, Kateryna. "Why did our nation lose more than 10 million people without a war?"

From the early 1920s through Joseph Stalin's murderous purges, the Soviet government hauled the bodies of tortured and slaughtered political prisoners to the pine forests outside the village of Bykivnia and buried them in a grave that spanned 161,500 square feet.

Local residents in nearby villages knew of the gravesite, but decades of Soviet propaganda instilled in them the notion that it was the Nazis who had buried their victims there.

In fact, when arriving in Kyiv, the Nazis uncovered the already filled graves when they investigated Soviet atrocities, according to historical sources.

Speaking to 2,000 mourners, Mr. Yushchenko called upon his countrymen to end their fears of discussing Ukrainian history and to record it to reflect the truth.

"Today, we're not only talking about Bykivnia, but also the graves in Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, Sumy and Lviv," Mr. Yushchenko said.

The memorial at Bykivnia consists of a black metal cross atop a pedestal that reads, "May Their Memory be Eternal" (Vichnaya Pamiat).

Mr. Yushchenko is the first Ukrainian president to take part in the annual ceremony organized by the Vasyl Stus Memorial Association of Kyiv, a 500-member organization that researches Soviet atrocities and educates the public about them.

"Some of the members have family who suffered and are buried there," said Tatiana Skrypnyk, a Memorial member. "But we are all people who honor Ukraine's independence and defend our fatherland."

Leaders from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church led a panakhyda, or requiem service, at the event.

Memorial doesn't invite clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate leaders to the annual ceremony, Ms. Skrypnyk said.

Before becoming president, Mr. Yushchenko had taken part in leading the Day of Remembrance for Political Repressions of the Communist Terror.

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