Smoloskyp publisher receives Ukraine's Presidential Award (04/06/97)

Smoloskyp publisher receives Ukraine's Presidential Award

by Yaro Bihun

WASHINGTON - Osyp Zinkewych, who founded the Smoloskyp publishing house and human rights organization in Baltimore in the 1960s and moved the operation to Kyiv following Ukraine's independence, received Ukraine's Presidential Award for his educational and charitable activities spanning more than 30 years.

Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko presented the award to Mr. Zinkewych on behalf of President Leonid Kuchma during a ceremony on March 7 at the residence of Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Dr. Yuri Shcherbak.

Mr. Zinkewych, who now spends most of his time in Kyiv, was taking care of domestic affairs in Baltimore when the award was announced. Minister Udovenko was in Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.

Founded by Mr. Zinkewych in 1967, Smoloskyp was a leading publisher of works by persecuted and imprisoned dissident writers in Ukraine, including the writers of the 1960s (Shestydesiatnyky), the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, as well as writers persecuted earlier, during the Stalinist period, like Mykola Khvyliovy.

The scores of books published by Smoloskyp to shine a light on human and national rights abuses in Ukraine later served to fill the many historical and literary "blank spots" that became apparent once Ukraine gained its independence.

Smoloskyp also served as a news service that informed the West and conducted campaigns against human rights violations in Ukraine, as well as an aid organization that helped the persecuted dissidents and their families. In addition, Smoloskyp was known for its efforts in behalf of Ukraine's independent participation in the Olympic Games in 1992, following Ukraine's independence.

Mr. Zinkewych moved Smoloskyp to Kyiv, where he concentrated on helping young writers, poets and activists by sponsoring tours, conferences, seminars and readings, awarding prizes for their best works and publishing them.

Realizing the plight of students in Ukraine in the hard economic times of the 1990s, Mr. Zinkewych broadened Smoloskyp's activities to include a scholarship fund, which now pays a $10 monthly stipend and covers the medical care of some 350 qualified students throughout Ukraine. The scholarship fund, which totaled more than $50,000 last year, as well as Smoloskyp's other activities are funded by individual charitable donations in the United States and Canada.

Accepting the award, Mr. Zinkewych pointed out that when Smoloskyp moved to Kyiv, it did not get involved in the politics of the time, but focused on helping Ukraine's creative young people build a brighter future for their own country. "I accept this award, with a faith in our people, our country, our youth, our president and all who feel the suffering of our people, our Ukraine - all who are concerned about our future," he said.

Mr. Zinkewych also called on the Ukrainian government to get involved in this effort: "I think that the time has come for both government agencies and private citizens from the U.S. and elsewhere to work together in forging our future."

Mr. Zinkewych was born in 1925 in what is now Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Following World War II, in which he participated in the Ukrainian nationalist underground, he fled to Western Europe. He received a degree in chemistry in France, where he worked as a research chemist until 1957, when he moved to the United States.

While working as a chemist until his retirement, Mr. Zinkewych continued his work within the Ukrainian American community, at first publishing Smoloskyp, a students' magazine, and later, through the publishing house.

Last summer, to help mark the fifth anniversary of Ukraine's independence, Smoloskyp organized an exhibit of Ukrainian "samvydav" dissident literature at the Pecherska Lavra (Monastery of the Caves) Book Museum. It contained some of the original manuscripts smuggled to the West to be published, as well as some that didn't make it and ended up in KGB archives.

More information on Smoloskyp's activities may be obtained from: Smoloskyp Inc., 1863 Pioneer Parkway E., No. 210, Springfield, OR 97477.

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