Oleh Matsekh, a “one-man band”

By all accounts, 2014 focused a spotlight on the multifaceted personality of the public activist Oleh Matsekh. Back in 2005 he initiated the establishment of Lviv’s Civic Forum which brought together the leaders of various movements. As time went by, the activities of a professional doctor, entrepreneur, and public figure gained strength. Matsekh took part in the first Maidan in 2004 and actively supported the Euromaidan. Moreover, it is he who initiated “Revolutionary Piano,” one of the best cultural protest actions. Incidentally, this project was first launched in Lviv well before the revolutionary events to make the city more melodious. But the street piano sounded particularly good during the Euromaidan in Kyiv, when it first came up in front of the police that cordoned off the Presidential Administration. Matsekh wrote then in his Facebook page: “This is the way our family responds to aggression,” for his son Markian was the first to play the piano. This action received strong support – from then on, the piano sounded at Euromaidans in more than ten regional centers and small towns.

Matsekh was also admitted to the Reanimation Package of Reforms, an expert body that drew up proposals for systemic reforms in this country. He also offered recently to tackle one of the most pressing and chronic problems – stray animals – in Lviv (at first?). Again, he drew up, together with animal protectors, a clear-cut plan of actions.

What does the “one-man band” Oleh Matsekh think about the past year? Read his answers to Den’s questions on New Year’s Eve.

 Oleh MATSEKH, public activist; coordinator, Civic Forum of Lviv:

“It was a difficult but, undoubtedly, important year in the history of Ukraine. I don’t agree to those who call this year unsuccessful. In my opinion, the year was successful because it saw several crucial events in the history of Ukraine. In particular, Soviet-style mentality really began to shrink (I mean the downfall of Lenin statues). Yet it is, of course, too early to say that this mentality has been overcome.

“Secondly, we managed to bring down the regime. This was done at the cost of bloodshed, so we are deeply indebted to those who gave their lives. We know that almost all the states were born in wars and confrontations. This means that statehood can only be achieved through suffering – nobody will fetch it on a silver platter. And I hope very much that Ukrainians will learn the true price of statehood after these sacrifices.

“Besides, the following thing is also important. While after the first Maidan the rebels hoped that somebody else would do the job (some laid the responsibility at Yushchenko’s and others on Tymoshenko’s door), the current situation is radically different – people are pinning no hopes on politicians, knowing that it is their own responsibility. This is the sign of a nascent civil society.

“This year is also significant for me because Yanukovych woke up a sleeping country and Putin began to unite it. A war is like an illness – either you overcome it or it overcomes you. A third is not given. In other words, either we remain or we vanish. It is important that Russia has at last shown itself as aggressor. More than 50 percent of the Russians harbor imperial feelings about Ukraine – I think this mood prevails among the Russian lumpens because Putin alone could not possibly manipulate so easily a sound-minded society.

“We have at last made the final choice of a vector – we know now who our enemies are and who our partners are. This is the first time it happened in the history of Ukraine, not only in the years of independence.

“If Ukraine holds out, the entire world will be learning from it – our country is today on the fault line of civilizations, so the future of Ukraine and, accordingly, the East-West relations will depend on how the civilizations will solve their problems.

“As for the performance of Den in the past year, I can express it in a few words: unbiased, topical, and famous. In more profound terms… I just bow low to Den’s team, especially to the editor-in-chief, Ms. Larysa Ivshyna, who in fact manages Ukraine’s only intellectual newspaper which does not stoop to primitivism to attract readership. Den has always had a high intellectual bar, and this bar reached an incredible height during the Maidan. I cannot in fact imagine journalism without the newspaper Den.

“My world consisted of pianos in front of the riot police… In other words, I am convinced: if we opt for aggression in response to aggression, we will win no victory. We must squeeze aggression out of our heart and mind. Yes! We must give a worthy rebuff, but we must not be manipulated by another country through aggression. In my view, spreading the aggression to the entire Ukraine will result in its collapse.

“I saw the Maidan and all those events… And I was surrounded by the people who were guided by love, not by aggression.

“For me, this world is one of love and sympathy. I have always tried, in all my actions, to follow this path. In my opinion, it is a world of victory for Ukraine and all of us.”