Browsing: The Year in Review

Reactions to ongoing Russian invasions in eastern Ukraine continued to strongly echo across the content of Ukrainians working in film, music, art and theater during 2018. At the same time, today’s war ignited interest in similar defining moments in the past, sparking a desire to learn and preserve the truths about their history. Ukrainians in their homeland and the diaspora coordinated efforts to transmit this information to the world.

Kurt Volker was in the headlines at the beginning, middle and end of 2018 as the United States’ designated special representative for Ukraine negotiations. Speaking in Brussels on January 22, Ambassador Volker made it clear that the two Minsk accords (of September 2014 and February 2015) had not been implemented because Moscow had not shown “willingness to implement them.” The next day Mr. Volker met with President Petro Poroshenko to discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine, which at that point was responsible for more than 10,300 deaths.

The bilateral relationship between Canada and Ukraine was further strengthened at the top of the year when the Queen’s representative in Canada, former Canadian astronaut Julie Payette, visited Ukraine in mid-January and met with President Petro Poroshenko. 

By far the biggest news in Ukraine last year was the formation of a canonical self-governing Ukrainian Orthodox Church that saw 39-year-old Metropolitan Epifaniy (Serhiy Dumenko) elected as its primate on December 15. A presidential policy goal, the seismic shift further divorced Ukraine from Moscow and ended over 300 years of the hostile neighbor’s spiritual sway over the country. Consequently, the Church’s establishment reverberated throughout the Christian world and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine – the name of the newly unified Church – awaited the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s official granting of a Tomos bestowing autocephaly on January 6, 2019. 

This year for churches was filled with centennial celebrations for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada, as well as for several individual parishes in the U.S. However, the majority of 2018 news on Churches focused on major events in the process of Ukraine’s Orthodox gaining independence from Russian influence and establishing a unified Church recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Quinquennial. How often do you see that word? Well, the quinquennial Ukrainian World Congress took place on November 24-27, with 248 delegates representing 26 countries participating in its deliberations, as well as events marking the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor. The congress focused on the theme of strengthening Ukrainian statehood in the wake of the threat posed by the actions of the Russian Federation for Ukraine and the entire world. 

There was much for Ukrainians to enjoy and experience in the realm of culture and the arts. Here we will try to recap the major happenings of 2017 in literature, film, art, music and theater, as well as developments at Ukrainian museums.

It started with the National Hockey League’s introduction of its 100 greatest players in honoring 100 years of NHL hockey in 2017. Six Ukrainian hockey stars were included among these top 100 players: Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Johnny Bucyk, Terry Sawchuk, Johnny Bower and Turk Broda – all prominently featured on the pages of The Ukrainian Weekly. (Interesting to note that three of the six are goaltenders.)

The calendar in 2017 was filled with conferences on the Holodomor and scholarly events on Ukraine, its history and the current situation, and how the diaspora can help. Also significant in 2017 was the release of the groundbreaking book by Anne Applebaum “Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine.”

This section features the noteworthy events and people of 2017 that defy easy classification (or could fit under more than…...

During 2017 our community mourned the passing of many of its prominent members: artists, church leaders, soldiers and community activists. Among them were the following, listed in order of their passing.

Wow. Another year has flown by. So, what did 2017 mean to us here at The Weekly? Well, for starters,…...