Turning the pages back... December 12, 2002 (12/12/04)

Turning the pages back...

December 12, 2002

Precisely two years ago, The Weekly's editorial was headlined "Ukraine in Russia's thrall." The editorial noted a number of "disquieting developments in Ukraine in recent months." Following are excerpts of the editorial dated December 12, 2002.

In March President Leonid Kuchma decreed that in two years Ukraine would commemorate the anniversary of the 1654 Treaty of Pereiaslav, the ill-fated pact between Ukrainian Kozak Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Russian Tsar Aleksei Mykhailovich, as a result of which Ukraine became a protectorate of Muscovy. Many wondered what exactly there was to celebrate.

In June it was reported that a joint committee would be formed to review Ukrainian and Russian school textbooks ... "to objectively present Ukrainian history and Ukrainian-Russian relations in Russian textbooks and the history of Russia and Russian-Ukrainian relations in Ukrainian textbooks and to quicken the development of constructive cooperation."

Next came a new direction in foreign policy unofficially dubbed "To Europe with Russia." As Dr. Taras Kuzio wrote, ... this new policy indicated that "Ukraine was meant to operate only under Russia's wing in the same manner as when it was a 'younger brother' in the Soviet era."

Then, in October, the Russian State Duma began meddling in Ukraine's affairs by passing a resolution that expressed support for Russian as the official language of Crimea.

Now ... Ukraine has made moves toward joining the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union. That, of course, is seen by many as completely incompatible with membership in the European Union. Nonetheless, Mr. Kuchma said: "I cannot see the future of my country without the warmest possible relations with Russia."

... And thus, as the year draws to a close, we can only conclude that the breach between Ukraine and the West has widened further. The scandal-ridden Kuchma administration is choosing to look eastward, where there is a welcoming embrace, not westward, where there is strong, but justified, criticism of its actions. Indeed, it appears to be much more convenient for Ukraine's current leaders to keep Ukraine in the Russian sphere of influence.

Source: "Ukraine in Russia's thrall," editorial, The Ukrainian Weekly, December 15, 2002, Vol. LXX, No. 50.

| Home Page |