In order to better understand the enormity of this Genocide, consider that in the 1926 Soviet census there were 31 million Ukrainians in the USSR. The 1937 census only recently revealed, shows only 26 million. Thus a 5 million decrease over 11 years. The other populations in the USSR grew by 17% over that period of time. Were Ukrainians permitted to grow as much, there should have been 36 million in 1937, a discrepancy of 10 million which includes unborn children of the victims, thus 7-10 million is a reasonable estimate. Russians in that period increased by 23%. To better understand the heinousness of this Soviet crime, consider that the number of victims included some 3 million children. The Convention on Genocide followed the...

It is not easy to write an opinion piece on Ukraine’s current politics. Much is in flux prior to the European Union-Ukraine Summit on Dec. 19. The day, according to Ukraine’s Julian calendar, also marks the feast of St. Nicholas; time to dispense gifts to the deserving. What gifts might the players expect to receive at the summit? Certainly, President Viktor Yanukovych would like to get greater integration with Europe. However, he’s been quite naughty this year. The EU has warned him repeatedly about negative consequences for failing to release leading political opposition members, primarily Yulia Tymoshenko. Her imprisonment is widely seen as...

Regime change in countries where democracy is largely tokenism doesn't necessarily respect the electoral calendar. The protests in Russia this week put the government on notice that the rebellious mood on display in Sunday's parliament elections could well go viral, a message that clearly has the Kremlin nervous. It responded with riot police, mass arrests and dial-a-mob pro-Putin supporters. In most democracies, hemorrhaging nearly a quarter of one's parliamentary seats would signal a major crisis for the ruling party and a significant boost to...

As tensions rise with Ukraine, as Russia seeks to establish a Eurasian Union, and as Vladimir Putin stands unopposed for the Russian presidency, one has to ask whether the European Union has written off the concept of one Europe and is now helping to build a new psychological wall in the East, says Viktor Tkachuk, head of "People First.” Viktor Tkachuk is the director-general of the Ukrainian Foundation for Democracy "People First". He has over 20 years of experience working in governmental bodies at the highest levels including the administrations of three presidents since Ukraine's independence. "When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, a huge sigh of relief was heard echoing through the hallowed halls of European power. The ‘Evil Empire’, as Ronald Reagan described it, was gone and there was a chance of a new beginning; a united Europe under the flags of universal suffrage, democracy and...

Imagine lighting between seven and 10 million candles at night. The light would be brilliant and bright. Now imagine extinguishing those candles, and how much darkness there would be. That's how survivor Leonid Korownyk described the impact of the Holomodor, the villainous Ukrainian famine genocide of the 1930s, to elementary school students. "This is exactly what happened in Ukraine. Between seven million and 10 million people died in the artificial famine, and what a terrible disaster it was for the whole country," said Korownyk. He was the guest speaker at St. Martin School, when the bilingual Ukrainian elementary school commemorated the Holodomor Memorial Day Nov. 25. Edmonton Catholic Schools have been educating students about the Ukrainian famine genocide. All 87 Catholic schools in Edmonton were encouraged to hold a moment of silence in recognition of the millions of Ukrainians who died as a result of the tragedy about 78 years ago. Students at St. Martin School heard songs, were read a children's story about the Holodomor and saw images of a memorial in...

On Sunday November 20, 2011 at the Ukrainian Seniors Centre in Sudbury, Ontario, a Holodomor Remembrance program was held. The program was prepared by MC Halia Kushpeta-Buba which included 2 poems:- one in English from “Tryptych” read by Helena Moroz and the other in Ukrainian “Vy Vmyraly” read by Marika Babiak. A symbolic “Candle of Remembrance” was lit to honour the memory of the victims of the Holodomor followed by a minute of silence. MCTV reporter Tamara Ischenko was present to cover the program and conduct an interview which was shown on both the 6:00 pm and 11:30 pm. local news. An 80 min. award –winning documentary film “Eternal Memory-The Great Terror” narrated by Meryl Streep was also part of the Remembrance program to commemorate the 78th Anniversary of the Holodomor/Genocide in Ukraine. A light luncheon...

“The president of Ukraine must be told that it is not just Tymoshenko he has put on trial, but democracy itself,” Edmonton East Member of Parliament Peter Goldring said in the House of Commons today during Question Period. Mr. Goldring is vice-chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Group and member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. He was the only Canadian Member of Parliament in Ukraine for the entire Orange Revolution. “Twenty years ago today the people of Ukraine held a referendum, overwhelmingly choosing democracy and independence” he said. “Their choice was affirmed during the 2004 Orange Revolution, where from Independence Square came a wonderful message of a nation’s people peacefully demanding and getting democratic reform. But that democratic light is now fading, as the newly elected regime slips backward towards totalitarianism, abusing the very courts and laws intended to protect citizens’ democratic and civil rights...

As the December 19th summit between the European Union and Ukraine approaches, the petulant President Viktor Yanukovych seems determined to thumb his schoolboyish nose at EU concerns about rule of law in general and the illegal imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko in particular. In turn, the EU isn’t quite sure what to do. Should it initial the association agreement with Ukraine and thereby seemingly signal its indifference to Yanukovych’s tin-pot authoritarianism? Should it cancel the summit? (If so, to what end?) Should it protest? (If so, how?) Here’s a simple rule of thumb for the...

In 1918, following the proclamation of Polish independence, Marshal Jozef Pilsudski declared: "Poland has been created - now we need to create the Poles." This phrase is an apparent paradox, because in order to create an independent state there is a foremost need to mobilize the people, and then transform them into a nation. On the other hand, the nation state is a prerequisite in the formation of the nation. Modern Ukraine is the best example which proves that nation-building does not end with the gain of independence. Despite the prevailing 20 years, we cannot say that there exists a fully-formed Ukrainian national community. After all, except for a small handful of enthusiasts, no one has set out to establish the Ukrainian collective persona...

Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, who seems set to become president in March. Photograph: Reuters As prime minister for the past four years, Vladimir Putin never really went away. But his looming reincarnation as the all-powerful, executive president of Russia – the country's "paramount leader" in Chinese parlance – poses a stark challenge for which the US, Britain and other beleaguered western powers seem ill-prepared. As president, potentially until 2024, Putin has one overriding objective: the creation of a third, post-tsarist, post-Soviet Russian empire. Putin famously described the collapse of the Soviet Union, the "evil empire" of Ronald Reagan's imagining, as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century". His aim, once this weekend's heavily managed parliamentary elections and...