“There must appear leaders who will grow up with declassified KGB archives”

Even though with a signi­fi­cant delay, but Ukraine final­ly officially started the pro­cess of de-commu­ni­za­tion. Last Thurs­day, the parlia­ment adopted four draft laws: on          the condemnation of the Soviet and Na­zi            totalitarian regimes in Uk­­raine and prohibition of pro­pa­ganda of their symbols; on the legal status and ho­noring the memory of fighters for Ukraine’s independence in the 20th century (OUN and UPA are also mentioned among the orga­ni­zations); on the perpetuation of the victory over Nazism in the WWII of 1939-45 (a new holiday is estab­lished: Remembrance and Re­conci­lia­tion Day on May 8, and May 9 still remains Victory Day); and on access to archives of repressive bodies of the communist totalitarian regime of 1917-91.

The decision is right, but as we see, it took 23 years to make it. While in the Baltic States, for example, this was done in the early 1990s. The decision of the Verkhovna Rada virtually became a legalization of public sentiment, since especially after Euromaidan, spontaneous tearing down of Soviet monuments has been taking place all over the country. Why was the path to correct decisions so long? And most importantly, how can the spirit of the Soviet system be uprooted from contemporary Ukrainians’ life? The Day asked son of the UPA commander-in-chief Roman Shukhevych, one of the authors of the mentioned draft laws, and MP of the Radical Party faction Yurii SHUKHEVYCH.

“First of all, I would like to point out the law on recognition of individuals who participated in the struggle for liberation and statehood of Ukraine as fighters for freedom and independence of Ukraine. I would not limit the list to OUN and UPA only, since all fighters from the break of the century to August 24, 1991 were recognized as such. In general, this process of recognition on the official level started during Yushchen­ko’s presidency, and in 2010, Decree No. 75 was adopted, which honors these people and gives them due respect. Natalia Vitrenko tried to appeal against it during Yanukovych’s rule, but the court did not recognize her claim and the Decree remained in force. And finally the time to dot the i’s has come: the Verkhovna Rada passed the bill. I consider this step to be very important, even though it had to be made 24 years ago. And it is worth noting that it was made on Holy Thursday, which shows that we are cleansing ourselves from the Soviet past.

“The law on de-communization is equally important. Perhaps, it is somewhat ‘raw’ and it should have been refined and edited, but it is ne­cessary for the purification. The prohibition of totalitarian symbols and propaganda of totalitarian regime features, Hitler’s as well as Bolshevik’s, should be pointed out. The same will apply to toponyms, because our geographical map is polluted with Soviet names: Ordzhokinidze, Komsomolske, Krasnoarmiiske, Ki­rovske, etc. This also includes streets, squares, parks, and theaters named after the bolshevism leaders. Renaming is a long process, but our map will finally be cleansed from the Soviet past.

“And now April 9 became the day of freeing from the historical and, to some extent, ideological dependence, because we are getting rid of the ‘spiritual legacy’ of bolshevism.

“Declassification of archives is utterly important as well. A similar attempt has been made in Yushchenko’s times. And the SBU under Valentyn Nalyvaichenko has done much to declassify the archives of the former NKVD, KGB, GPU, various tribunals, etc., from 1917 to 1991. But there was no physical ability and time to declassify everything. So, when Yanukovych came to power, he classified the archives again. Now they are being opened again, but this is now backed by the law and will not depend on the will of some or other SBU head or any other structure.

“Similar laws have been passed by the Baltic States long ago, while we, unfortunately, are late. But we have finally taken this step, and it is a crucial one, since Ukraine is the second largest republic of the former USSR. I would say that now the veil of lies and distortions is being removed, which has been covering the true history of Ukraine.”

You mentioned the times of Yushchenko’s presidency and his contribution to de-communization, but earlier stages should be mentioned too. For example, that during the early 1990s the first head of the SBU Yevhen Marchuk did a lot for the declassification of archives, and in 1999 he supported recognition of the UPA as a party in the World War II. So, why have we lost such an opportunity and wasted so much time?

“In my opinion, there was a possibi­lity for this, as well as for many other things. For example, the first president Leonid Kravchuk published a ‘Decree on removal of symbols of the totalitarian regime,’ but it was not implemented. Since, besides statements and decrees, political will is needed. In 1991 I supported Yevhen Marchuk and hoped he would complete this undertaking. I thought that Marchuk was capable of this and that is why I supported him. I am sure that my views were not in vain, since he proved it with his speeches and demonstrated that he firmly supports the Ukrainian stand. Internally, I still support him.”

The social and economic compounds are also of great importance in the issues of de-communization. How will the passed laws be implemented, especially in terms of films, books, and TV shows? For example, our news­paper has been engaged in this activity for many years.

“Undoubtedly, it must be implemented. For example, I consider Vasyl Shkliar’s book Chorny Voron to be very important. And I am pleased to hear that an organization ‘Kholodny Yar’ was created to commemorate the Kholodny Yar events and the anniversary of one of the otamans, Chuchupaka.

“But most importantly, the declassification of archives will take place and the opportunity to reveal all the crimes of bolshevism will appear. When people see this truth, truthful films, books, newspapers will appear. Ukrainians’ consciousness will start cleansing.

“I am familiar with Den’s Library and I am very grateful to your editorial staff for creating the publication in such area. This is a serious newspaper that shows Ukrainian history as it is. Today this is rare, even though there are plenty of newspapers. Sometimes your stand brings you under criticism. But if revealing the historical truth is equal to nationalism, I am very happy that there are brave people in Ukraine who can do it.

“The orientation of the state policy in the revelation of historical truth must be changed. There must be no blank spaces. On the other hand, life itself will force people to change. This is a long-lasting process. Maidan showed how it happens. The same applied to the situation with Tuzla, which also sped up all these processes once. The rise of national spirits, revival of patriotism took place then, the awareness appeared that we are a unified state that has its interests, understands them clearly, and is ready to defend them. Marchuk demonstrated his stand back then. Slowly, but changes did take place at that time. Now the necessary laws are passed, and the right to declassify archives will speed up the revelation of the historical justice.

“There must appear leaders who will grow up with open KGB archives, Heavenly Hundred, declassified information, truthful Ukrainian history, and information about the crimes of the Soviet system.”

In your opinion, how should de-communization take place?

“Some are wrong in thinking that de-communization is a fight against the ideology. It cannot be banned. The de-communization of the national spirit, Ukrainians’ lifestyle, which had been imposed on them for 70 years, must take place. We have to return to the European way of live, because we are Europeans. In the 16th-17th centuries a lot of Ukrainians studied in Europe, and moreover, they taught at universities there. Then our nation ended up under Russia’s oppression and Russian upbringing, adjustment to Russian perception of the world was imposed on it. How can it be changed? Truthful history should be studied, people should travel abroad, where we should take the best and cultivate historical justice. We should understand that we have our Ukrainian world that we build in accordance with our perception. This happened thanks to the awakening of genetic memory. Russians are not capable of that. Once, during Soviet times, features of a nation were named to us: sharing the same territory, language, and psychological unity. The first two compounds were discussed a lot. But the third one was not. We understood what being Ukrainians means on Mai­dan, where a lot of people were moved by a single impulse of their souls.”