Ukraine — Poland: Without Stereotypes

Little over a month has passed since the publication in Ukrainian and Polish of the third book of The Day’s Library Series, Viyny i Myr [Wars and Peace], under the general editorship of Larysa Ivshyna. This book was first launched at the 11th Publishers Forum in Lviv, where it received the first prize, Forum President Oleksandra Koval’s Personal Diploma. Every copy brought from Kyiv sold like hot cakes.

Our editorial offices continue to receive letters and phone calls commenting on our latest publication. From these messages we have learned that many of our colleagues at Polish and Ukrainian universities own copies of Wars and Peace and that copies have also been sent to Ukrainian diplomatic missions, researchers, writers, and college professors. The Day published a collection of commentaries in a recent issue (No.29, November 1). This time around we offer more in-depth commentaries. We hope that this second round of comments, even though they are somewhat less emotionally charged, will point to the innovative nature and topicality of The Day’s project, and help to explain how this third book in The Day’s Library Series differs from the two earlier volumes. Suffice it to say that whereas Dvi Rusi reflected what may be described as the eastern vector in Ukrainian history- i.e., the Russian one — Wars and Peace represents the western one, aimed at Europe, specifically via relations between Ukraine and Poland, its closest neighbor and EU member.

Marek ZIOLKOWSKI, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Polish Republic to Ukraine:

I believe that the new publication, Wars and Peace, and the two previous books Ukraine Incognita and Dvi Rusi, provide a retrospective view on Ukraine. Every book has its discourse. Dvi Rusi deals with the cultures of Rus’ and Russia (which is not one and the same thing) and their place in Ukrainian culture; the so-called genesis of Kyivan Rus’-its place as the starting point.

Wars and Peace offers a dialogue about two concepts of freedom, rather about the ways that people have struggledfor this freedom, and about the attendant conceptual controversies. Without a doubt this European discourse came to Ukraine through Poland, and this is precisely the subject dealt with in The Day’s third book.

I thank you for dedicating it to Jacek Kuron, who passed away in June of this year. He was one of the most spectacular politicians and public figures of the last thirty to forty years. And he was a devoted friend of Ukraine. He was better aware of the meaning of human rights and liberties than any other Polish politician. I remember him saying that when politicians begin discussing pensions or salaries, they think only of taking away some of these human liberties. Jacek Kuron understood human tragedies and the dramas of daily life, which is why he organized a number of charitable projects. He was also keenly aware of the mechanism of social development and political action, and found ways to unite them to serve the Polish cause.

Last year we first tried to publicize the truth about the Volyn tragedy. Earlier publications on this topic were not very general ones. We have achieved much, because in dealing with what happened in Volyn in 1943, we focused primarily on moral and ethical approaches to this issue. Poles and Ukrainians were among the victims. One could discuss crimes and criminals, but we lack a sufficiently motivated approach to the matter, I mean paying tribute to the Volyn victims for the first time since WW II. We succeeded in demonstrating to Poles and Ukrainians that they share the burden of that tragedy and can equally honor the victims’ memory.

As for elucidating Ukrainian-Polish relations in an unbiased manner, this project leaves many questions open until such time as we study a number of documents from the SBU and other archives.

I think that The Day’s new book Wars and Peace shows that neighboring countries can have a deep-reaching dialog, not necessarily one that deals with economics and trade. The current impression is that this is the most important aspect of intergovernmental relationships, yet conflicts between various countries have not been caused by economics alone. And this is actually what The Day’s book is about. There are other reasons that reach even deeper. In understanding our common history and interrelations, we must adopt not only economic categories, but sociological and cultural ones as well. Wars and Peace is further proof that history can be the subject not only of debate but also philosophical and cultural studies that address the mutual effects stemming from culture and mentality. We have experienced periods when Poland lived in peace with Ukraine, and such periods were favorable for both countries. I am sure that we will succeed in working out a political and economic situation in which the Polish-Ukrainian partnership will become an important strategic factor in Europe.

Wieslaw OSUCHOWSKI, Polish Consul General in Lviv and minister-adviser:

First of all, I would like to thank the publishers and authors of the book Wars and Peace for this bilingual project. The fact that it is printed in Ukrainian is understandable, but I regard its Polish version as a sign that Ukraine is prepared to start a dialog with Poland, and as a new conception of our common history that was often dramatic, even tragic; a new understanding of all those historical lessons for the future of Ukrainian-Polish relations. For the Poles, this new book is a good opportunity to learn more about their neighbor. It is true that we often see Ukraine through the eyes of Western or Polish researchers. A number of books dealing with such issues have appeared in print in Poland in the last couple of years. Until now we have had to rely on such domestic scholarly sources that lack a Ukrainian viewpoint.

There is also culture to be considered; it always makes rapprochement, reconciliation, and understanding much easier. I am a historian by training and I was happy to read the chapter entitled “Cultural Space” by Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Yevhen Malaniuk, Bohdan Lepky, and Panteleymon Kulish.

Another important aspect is that this project is manifestly optimistic.

Marek ZINKAR, Polish Radio journalist, research fellow with the Bridges to the East Institute:

I was moved to learn about The Day’s publishing initiative. It is especially important that now, when Ukrainians are faced with a choice that will determine their future, they are also becoming interested in Ukrainian-Polish history, as evidenced by your book Wars and Peace. This work traces the ancient European roots of the Ukrainian nation. We Poles regard Ukraine as a European polity. The question is whether the Ukrainians regard themselves the same way.

The Bridges to the East Institute, of which I am a research fellow, invites journalists to join our workshop seminars practically every month (at first, we sent such invitations to journalists in Lviv oblast and have since extended invitations to colleagues in other Ukrainian regions). Our institute is a nonprofit, sponsor-financed organization aimed at establishing and promoting contacts with Ukrainian journalists by inviting them to Poland to show them how the world, the European community of nations, and Poland itself are evolving; we offer them evidence of how much our countries have in common in terms of national history. There have been three divisions of Poland and Ukraine into left- and right-bank territories; Poland was part of Austria-Hungary, then the Russian empire. We had a more or less equal start in the early 1990s. Poland is now a member of the European Union and Ukraine is in the process of making its choice.

Adam Michnik in his foreword to Wars and Peace writes that Ukraine faces a number of problems that are being closely monitored by Poland, with much concern and empathy. He said something like ‘we are keeping our fingers crossed for our Ukrainian brothers.’

Prof. Larysa SKORYK, D.S. (Architecture), corresponding member of the Ukrainian Academy of Art, chairperson of the All- Ukraine Association for Interethnic Understanding:

I must point out that this third book in The Day’s Library Series is an excellent and important publication, equal to the previous two, Ukraine Incognita and Dvi Rusi. Wars and Peace is a fascinating work that provides much food for thought. It would appear that Ukraine, thanks to The Day’s group of intellectuals, has succeeded in publishing a book that is crucially needed in order to fully comprehend the tragic meaning of discord and animosity between the Polish and Ukrainian peoples.

I must say that Ukrainian politicians in the days of Cossack rule, and especially during the period of the unjust and unequal union with the Russian empire- what we know as the drama of the Treaty of Pereyaslav-and even later sought to return Ukraine to the European choice, especially by reconciling with the Poles (recall Ivan Vyhovsky, Pylyp Orlyk, and all those who were involved with the post- Khmelnytsky period). Regrettably, their attempts failed, largely because Ukraine and Poland were caught between two ambitious empires. Ukraine suffered the period of the Ruin, and Poland, despite its long-standing statehood, also found itself ruined as a polity, because our animosity had adverse effects on both countries. Taras Shevchenko wrote that there was little glory in having toppled Poland, because Poland’s fall had a devastating effect on Ukraine.

There is always hope. At present, the Polish government, political elite, and researchers, including Jan Tornau and Richard Torzecki, as well as the Ukrainian elite, appear to be increasingly aware that Ukrainian-Polish partnership is crucially important at this stage (as evidenced by the book Wars and Peace).

I am grateful to Editor-in-Chief Larysa Ivshyna, as well as to the compilers and authors for their dedicated efforts in producing this fundamental, well researched work that offers such substantially documented evidence. In this book, in addition to rationality, one finds a noticeably humane attitude to the Ukrainian and Poles who were once on opposite sides of the barricade.

Mariya MATIOS, writer:

Unfortunately, mankind appears programmed to remain in a constant state of war and peace. Surprisingly, the balance between war and peace largely depends on the emphasis placed by historians and chroniclers.

I believe that historians are wrong in several instances. Referring to the caveman period, they made mistakes owing to the absence of what could be described as technical means — I mean lack of hard facts and eyewitness accounts. In subsequent periods, mistakes made by historians were aggravated mainly by the conscious choice of falsified historical accounts.

Falsified history poisons the mentality of generations and nations. What is even more harmful is probably the decline in social and moral standards. This leads morally sound individuals to seek the truth by struggling through a maze of myths and pseudo-scholarly falsehoods, or omitted facts, “packaged” in nice wrappings. Then projects like The Day Library Series appear, which include books, such as Ukraine Incognita, Dvi Rusi, and Wars and Peace.

It would make everyone happy if historians did not go on the warpath against history, if this terra incognita diminished in size. But if this process is impossible to avoid, I would have to say, despite my dislike of verbal pomp, that The Day’s creative staff deserves praise for their stamina in establishing and publicizing truths that refute all those stagnant stereotypes or outwardly innocent innuendos that eventually turn into dramas for whole generations. There is no secret that entire generations are mentally, intellectually, and in terms of world perception, dependent on data fed to them by historical scholarship.

Yuri LOGUSH, CEO, Kraft Foods Ukraine, co-founder of the Coronation of the Word Competition:

From what I know, not many books on Ukrainian-Polish relations have been published in Ukraine. Wars and Peace appears to be an all-embracing project, an encyclopedia of sorts dealing with history and the arts. This publication fills in the gaps that are rarely broached and have long been taboo. This book and its predecessor, Dvi Rusi, shed light on all those polarized views and dilemmas in our political and public life, which also exist between the West and East, between Poland and Russia.

Wars and Peace is a good opportunity to develop a new concept of Ukrainian-Polish relations and their current exemplar. No one can give an unequivocal answer to the question of who needs this and for whose purpose, Polish or Ukrainian. We know that we need it badly. What about our Western neighbor? The Ukrainian-Polish partnership may indeed become a very important European factor.

I wish this project a great future, big print runs, and new editions. I think it will reach many hearts and minds. Historical facts filtered through individual researchers’ minds and life experiences offer more striking evidence than an enumeration of dry facts, names, and events. We find eloquent proof of this in the foreword written by Larysa Ivshyna, Editor-in-Chief of The Day, to whom we also owe all those roundtables that form a singular emotional background, adding credence to historical facts. This book seems very much alive.

Prof. Volodymyr ZDOROVEHA, Faculty of Journalism, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv:

The third volume of The Day’s trilogy, Wars and Peace, along with its predecessors, marks a new phenomenon in the current system of mass communications, since this particular publication emerged largely as a result of newspaper articles published over the last couple of years. Much has been said and written about Ukraine Incognita and Dvi Rusi. What makes this third publication so important? I belong to the generation that still remembers Poland and the enmity and discord that was present in every populated area, which frequently resulted in acts of physical violence. At the same time, I remember that the Ukrainians and Poles had so much in common. What makes this book especially important is that, first of all, it offers the best possible unbiased portrayal of relations between these two peoples. Second, emphasis is placed on the positive aspects of historical and cultural exchanges. It is gratifying to realize that both the Ukrainian and Polish authors treat these aspects in a new manner, emphasizing certain opportunities that could have been exploited and those that lie in the future. We shouldn’t concentrate on which country lost opportunities. We must make it clear that the lessons of history should be learned by both polities, for the sake of a happier future.

Last year, I agreed to contribute to this newspaper’s project on the Volyn tragedy. I believe that The Day’s publications on this subject have been markedly balanced and considered, what with the experts who were involved in the discussions. This, however, does not mean that the topic has been exhausted. Our younger generation lacks all the older generations’ sentiments of loss and nostalgia. The same is true of the younger Polish generation, yet we must not play the game of forgetfulness. The Wars and Peace project will help us learn our history from a more balanced, sensitive, and understanding point of view. We are very close to Poland ethnically, culturally, let alone economically; here we find every reason for very close cooperation. Our further relations with Poland will bring Ukraine closer to Europe, a subject we have discussed so often.

The point is not whether Ukrainians are European, because we are an old European nation. The point is that our economy and living standard are far from conforming to European ones.

I am convinced that this book will help Europeanize even those Ukrainians who still lack this awareness.

Prof. Stanislav KULCHYTSKY, D.S. (Philosophy), Deputy Director, Ukrainian History Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine:

I would say that Wars and Peace is a book that was created with one inspired effort. Last year marked the Year of Ukraine in Poland and the poignant anniversary of the Volyn tragedy. All this sharply focused Ukrainian and Polish societies on each other’s country. This acute awareness is actually reflected in the third book of The Day’s Library Series. Its articles are extremely diverse and deal with various historical periods. The authors, however, stress that Poland is Ukraine’s strategic partner, despite all those periods when our relations were very tense and marked by bloodshed. Ukraine is placing many hopes on Poland as a member of the European Union and Ukraine’s closest neighbor that can help Ukraine build a bridge and cross over it to Europe.

It was an excellent idea to publish a bilingual, Ukrainian and Polish edition of Wars and Peace, for this means that copies will be available in both Kyiv and Warsaw. I am sure that the Polish side will be interested in this project and that Poles will be able to learn more about Ukraine, their eastern neighbor, through the prism of historical data. They will learn about how much there has been in common between Ukrainian and Polish history, about our lost national statehood opportunities, our age-old national aspirations, and how we could have achieved our national independence thirty years ago. This book offers answers to many questions posed by life itself.