OBITUARY: John Kolasky, former Communist and writer (11/23/97)

OBITUARY: John Kolasky, former Communist and writer

by Bohdan Klid

EDMONTON - John Kolasky (Ivan Koliaska), a writer and educator who worked tirelessly for Ukraine's rebirth and independence, died in Kyiv on October 20. He was buried near Kyiv in the village of Khotiv, Kyiv-Sviatoshyn raion, on October 22.

Mr. Kolasky had a remarkable, productive and distinguished life and career. He was born on October 5, 1915, in Cobalt, a mining town in northern Ontario. Like many other young men searching for work, John Kolasky rode freight trains during the Great Depression. Like many of his generation, this experience radicalized him: he became a Marxist and joined the Communist Party of Canada.

In the post-war period, Mr. Kolasky studied at the universities of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as at the University of Toronto, where he received an M.A. in history in 1950. He subsequently taught high school in Manitoba and Ontario.

In 1963, the pro-Communist Association of United Ukrainian Canadians sent him to Ukraine to attend the Higher School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Here, Mr. Kolasky's illusions about the Soviet Union were shattered. He soon realized that it was not a workers' state, and also recognized the harmful effects of Russification on the Ukrainian language and culture.

It is not common for a middle-aged man to break with strongly held convictions, as well as to have the courage and honesty to state openly and unequivocally that he was mistaken. Yet that is exactly what Mr. Kolasky did. While still in Ukraine, he became aware of the growing movement of dissent against Soviet policies, and soon befriended activists of the young Ukrainian intelligentsia (Shestydesiatnyky). He also began to gather information on Russification policies and practices in Ukraine. When it was discovered by the authorities that he was sending this information abroad, Mr. Kolasky was arrested, imprisoned, interrogated for several weeks and then expelled from Ukraine in 1965.

Back in Canada, Mr. Kolasky used these materials to write his first two books. The first, "Education in Soviet Ukraine: A Study in Discrimination and Russification" (Toronto, 1968), made a strong impression on the Canadian and international public, including the academic community. The second, "Two Years in Soviet Ukraine: A Canadian's Personal Account of Russian Oppression and the Growing Opposition" (Toronto, 1970), is valuable as a memoir of the Khrushchev thaw in Ukraine and of the activities of the Shestydesiatnyky.

Following the appearance of his first study, John Kolasky wrote, compiled, translated or edited eight books. His first book was published after he had reached the age of 50.

In the above works, Mr. Kolasky made important contributions to the understanding of the Soviet system, especially as it related to the suppression of the Ukrainian language and culture. He also added to our knowledge of the history of Ukrainians in Canada with his books "The Shattered Illusion: The History of Ukrainian Pro-Communist Organizations in Canada" (Toronto, 1979), and "Prophets and Proletarians: Documents on the Rise and Decline of Ukrainian Communism in Canada" (Edmonton, 1990). The latter was published by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS).

John Kolasky was an individual who lived by his convictions and worked hard to support causes in which he believed. He lectured widely over the years, exposing the tyrannical policies of the Soviet state to wide audiences. He was also active in Ukrainian church and community organizations, such as the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League. Especially notable was his recent work in support of Ukraine.

In 1990, along with two other Ukrainian Canadians from British Columbia, he established the Ukraine Exchange Endowment Fund at the CIUS. Money from this fund finances research visits of professionals and academics from Ukraine in Canada. Mr. Kolasky, though already an elderly and frail man in the early 1990s, was indefatigable in his efforts to collect monies for that purpose, and it is primarily because of his efforts that the fund has grown to be one of the most substantial at the CIUS.

Most recently, Mr. Kolasky's efforts were focused on supporting Ukraine's fledgling Republican Party, specifically on funding the purchase of desktop publishing equipment for the party's regional centers in Ukraine. Mr. Kolasky had spent months at a time in Ukraine in the past several years in his efforts to aid the Ukrainian Republican Party, and decided to spend his remaining days there working on its behalf.

He had been living most recently with the Lukianenko family in the village of Khotiv near Kyiv. Levko Lukianenko is well-known as a former dissident, first leader of the Ukrainian Republican Party, and Ukraine's first ambassador to Canada (1992-1994).

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