First volume of Hrushevsky translation handed over to CIUS Press (01/05/97)

First volume of Hrushevsky translation handed over to CIUS Press

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - The monumental project of translating Mykhailo Hrushevsky's 10-volume "Istoria Ukrainy-Rusy" (The History of Ukraine-Rus') from Ukrainian into English reached a major milestone on December 3.

That day, Dr. Frank Sysyn, director of the effort, and director of the Petro Jacyk Center for Historical Research at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, whose major undertaking it is, at long last handed over a completed and edited manuscript translation of Volume 1, to Prof. Maxim Tarnavsky, director of the CIUS Press, for publication.

The foot-thick 1,400-page stack of paper was the result of years of painstaking labor on the part of New York-based translator Marta Skorupsky, a team of editors that includes Dr. Sysyn, Dr. Andrzej Poppé of Warsaw University (who also compiled a bibliography), managing editor Ulana Pasichnyk-Tarnavsky of Toronto, and an international array of scholarly advisors.

Dr. Sysyn noted that this achievement was also the third milestone of the Petro Jacyk Center's publication effort. He explained that the first was, ironically, the translation into Ukrainian of Alberta-based historian Ivan Lysiak-Rudnytsky's works. Dr. Sysyn said this translation has already had a measurable impact on historians in Ukraine.

The second milestone, in the Jacyk Center director's view, was the recent appearance in print of "Ukraine Between East and West," a collection of Harvard historian Ihor Sevcenko's essays on cultural history up to the early 18th century.

Reading from the "General Introduction" he prepared for the first volume, and thus, the entire series, Dr. Sysyn pointed out that Hrushevsky originally intended to write a popular work, but changed purpose in mid-stream and charted "a far more important, strictly scholarly course, although he sought to make it as accessible as possible."

Dr. Sysyn explained that Hrushevsky consciously embarked on a project to fill a great void - "We do not yet possess a history of the Rus' people in its entirety," the historian and future statesman noted before creating just that. The project director quoted Hrushevsky's contention that "a society that believes in itself must face the unvarnished truth."

The Hrushevsky project director noted that the translation of the first volume will be published a neat 99 years after it first appeared in print in Ukrainian in Lviv in 1898.

Dr. Sysyn extended his thanks to the individuals and institutions that made the preparation of the first volume possible, including Mr. Jacyk, the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies (CFUS) and the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities.

With champagne brought out for the occasion, the Harvard-educated historian toasted patron Petro Stelmach, in attendance that day, who together with his wife, Ivanna, donated $100,000 (Canadian) to become sponsors of the first volume's translation, editing, proofing and supplementary annotation.

Mr. Stelmach said he preferred to make such a donation than to support the construction of physical monuments. "People merely pass such things by," he said, "but scholarship and knowledge endure."

Prof. Tarnavsky solemnly assumed responsibility for the prompt publication of the volume, projecting that it should appear in print in July 1997.

The CIUS Press director said the Hrushevsky project "is entirely in concert with our primary function and goal. We are assured that it will play an important role in bringing Ukrainian scholarship to the English language reader - the reader of what is currently the primary language of scholarship in the world."

Prof. Tarnavsky said publishing the first volume "is both an extraordinary responsibility and an opportunity to show our capabilities and resources as an academic community."

The Harvard-trained literary scholar noted that, taking up from the point reached thanks to Mr. Stelmach's sponsorship, the CFUS will be covering the production costs of typesetting, printing and binding of the long-awaited volume.

Also in attendance was Dr. Marko Stech, executive director of the Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation, which provides the financial underpinnings for the historical research center's activities.

Dr. Stech also thanked Mr. Stelmach, and outlined the success of the Jacyk Foundation's most recent fund-raising drive. Begun on June 17 and concluded on October 30, the foundation raised $250,000 (Canadian).

Together with the $200,000 previously gathered, Dr. Stech said, it was now possible to pay the salaries of two full-time researchers at the Jacyk Center's Edmonton offices, Dushan Bednarsky and Marta Horban, shore up the strength of its endowments, and plan confidently for future publishing ventures, including the next volumes of Hrushevsky translations.

During the course of the most recent drive, Dr. Stech pointed out, Hanna Mazurenko of Toronto and Sofia Wojtyna of Hamilton had contributed $100,000 each to the Jacyk Foundation. Two anonymous Toronto donors gave $100,000 and $25,000, respectively. Katherine Labiuk of Canora, Saskatchewan, donated $10,000; while Alexandra Demianchuk of Toronto gave $5,000, as did Stefanie Wychowanec of Willowdale, Ontario.

Dr. Stech also extended the heartfelt gratitude to all other sponsors of the Peter Jacyk Educational Foundation's projects.

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