Donetsk students make progress with their initiative

Vasyl Stus is extremely important for Ukraine, above all, because of his poetic genius. We should understand him and study his works. Unfortunately, there are not so many people in Ukraine who understand the power of this poet.

Secondly, Vasyl Stus is an incredible personality: an integral, strong man with firm convictions, who was incompatible with the evil in which he found himself. He protested against this evil and was persistent in his protests. He is a man of great spirit, moral strength, and skill in handling of the Ukrainian word. Stus’ poems have extremely rich imagery. All this makes Vasyl Stus a giant of spirit and word. Any educational establishment could be proud of being named after Stus.

Now I would like to speak about another aspect, one that pleases me personally. Donetsk, as we can now see, has many nationally conscious people. All the talk about Ukraine’s division into irreconcilable East and West are rebutted by the mere fact that both Donetsk and Lutsk youth appreciate Vasyl Stus equally highly. They appreciate primarily his Ukrainian language and soul.

This proves that intelligent youths everywhere support the ideas of Ukraine’s unity, independence, and efficiency. Apparently, one should welcome the students’ initiative, respect their opinion, and understand that the older generation is much indebted to them, whereas they, the present-day youth, are blazing new trails.

If the rector and administration of the Donetsk National University are yet unready to grasp why the position of their students concerning giving Vasyl Stus’ name to their university is the right one, they must improve themselves. It is both sad and ridiculous that the rector and teachers — the people who should lead the way for the youth — are instead following their lead. In this case, the young people have adopted a more consistent, correct, and critically-minded position.

However, this problem is not restricted exclusively to Donetsk. Here, in Volyn, young people often think better than the older and much more experienced generation does. This is the essence of education. Each succeeding generation should be better than the preceding one in all respects. Otherwise, where is the progress? Today we see that attempts to ruin the historical memory of the Ukrainian nation failed. I am sure that the nature of Ukrainians, although it varies from one region to another, is essentially one.

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Dr. Anatolii Svidzynsky is a theoretical physicist, author of numerous articles, monographs, and specialized textbooks. He holds a Doctor’s Degree in Physics and Mathematics and is a professor at and the head of the Department of Theoretical and Mathematical Physics at the Lesia Ukrainka Volyn National University. He is also a full member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, Doctor Honoris Causa of the Bogoliubov Institute for Theoretical Physics (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine). Dr. Svidzynsky initiated the establishment of the Lesia Ukrainka Volyn University and was its first rector.