Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is into its second year, the latest in a centuries-long assault on Ukrainians’ very right to exist. Taras Shevchenko wrote about it nearly 200 years ago, a sad legacy he had learned from his grandfather, who heard it from even older Kozak ancestors. Now with the euphoria of Euro-Maidan fading, we have to yet again accept that, despite progress in the last 25 years, the struggle for Ukraine has been and remains long-term, a reality that defined much of my childhood and has consumed me as an adult, as it has so many others.
Looking to the current U.S. political landscape, no one has supported Ukraine longer at a higher level than Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. I was a young staffer with Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar when Rep. Kaptur was elected in 1982 from Toledo, 90 miles west of the Cleveland district my boss represented. Our offices worked together on issues affecting Ohio, but also more. 1983 was the 50th anniversary of the man-made Famine in Ukraine and the usual, largely disregarded, congressional resolutions were offered, until activist Ihor Olshaniwsky came up with the idea for a congressional commission on the Famine that would conduct research and publish its findings. With that, the Holodomor entered into real politics, challenging Ukrainian Americans to demonstrate their clout to get it passed.
With my personal background and working for a representative with a large Ukrainian American constituency, I became closely engaged in the battle. Inexplicably, the administration was opposed. Testifying at a hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the State Department argued that such a costly commission ($100,000) would complicate America’s dealings with the Soviet Union, raised doubts about the historic veracity of the Famine, etc. That’s when first-term Congresswoman Kaptur came forward to rebut. She knew full well that the Holodomor had happened and how horrific it was, she testified, because she had relatives who had endured the catastrophe.
Ms. Kaptur’s roots, it turns out, go back generations in the Khmelnytsky Oblast, where her ancestors were Roman Catholic Poles in the village of Burtyn. She relates how she first visited her ancestral village in the early 1970s and saw the conditions under Soviet rule. That set her on a course to support human rights in Ukraine and its people’s aspirations for independence. With her push and others’, the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine was approved and funded. Under the leadership of Dr. James Mace, it gathered facts and provided documentation so that today no one, besides the Russian government, doubts the Holodomor’s historical reality.
Soon afterwards, Rep. Kaptur tapped into the network of House members with Ukrainian constituencies and other ties to organize the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, which coordinated action on issues like the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, Chornobyl, recognizing Ukraine’s independence, support for the newly independent state, etc. Personally, Rep. Kaptur has been engaged in Ukraine from the macro level to the village, visiting the country more than a dozen times. She’s been a critic as well as a cheerleader. When corrupt officials stole money for agro-business development, she used her clout to make them pay it back to the American firm they cheated. For decades, every Ukrainian president, ambassador, farmer, poet, athlete, patriarch has asked to meet with her.
A month ago, Rep. Kaptur was honored at the Chicago Ukrainian Congress Committee of America commemoration of the January 22, 1919, Unity Day. The event drew 350 people, including Rep. Danny K. Davis who represents Ukrainian Village, Rep. Mike Quigley, Sen. Dick Durbin, Consul General of Ukraine Andriy Pravydyk, several honorary consuls, clergy and others, including my wife and me. Unlike countless other events I’ve attended, none of the politicians ducked out discretely after they’d delivered an obligatory message. They stayed – Democrats and Republicans – to honor their colleague. Given the floor, each one expressed support for Ukraine and acknowledged Rep. Kaptur’s leadership, work ethic and political courage. The Chicago UCCA noted her 33-year advocacy for Ukraine and cited her most recent sponsorship of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act to provide political, economic and military assistance to Ukraine. The bill passed unanimously and is now law.
While in Chicago, Rep. Kaptur also convened a meeting for Ukrainian American leaders with the senator and congressmen to discuss where to go next and to solicit support for a Senate Ukraine Caucus, which took shape two weeks later. Democratic Sen. Durbin along with Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman are co-chairs. Ohio’s other senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown, is vice-chair. Never waste a moment – that’s Rep. Kaptur. Network to friends and allies – that’s also her. Get things done.
So why do elections matter? For the 2012 congressional election, Ohio lost two congressional seats, and Cleveland and Toledo were merged, pitting Rep. Kaptur against popular congressman and former Cleveland mayor and presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich. Choosing between the two was not that difficult for many Ukrainian voters. For 40 years, Mr. Kucinich attended countless Ukrainian events, always bringing a proclamation and warm words. His legislative record, on the other hand, was very meager, whereas Rep. Kaptur had consistently delivered – not only on Ukraine but also for her district. So, along with many other Cleveland-area Ukrainians, I supported Rep. Kaptur. She won easily.
As for Mr. Kucinich today? No longer in Congress, he’s still outspoken on many issues, including Ukraine. Among several interviews this one posted on April 9, 2014, on RIA Novosti (now SputnikNews) stands out. Consider: “anyone who is familiar with the history of World War II knows that Russia lost 30 million people [and] everyone knows the junta in Kiev [sic] was installed by a coup and that you have nationalists, neo-Nazis… Russians did not give their lives so that 70 years later neo-Nazis could come to power who were trained by NATO to attempt to camp out on the Russian border in Ukraine.” The interview goes on ad nauseam. “Neo-Nazi” comes up nine times. Also, tapping into President Vladimir Putin’s lexicon, “coup,” “junta,” etc. I wonder what happened to Mr. Kucinich. Did he just pretend to be a friend of Ukraine for all those years or is there more to it?
But anyway, so much for Mr. Kucinich. Instead, thank you so much to Rep. Kaptur. She’s proof that, in the long-term struggle for Ukraine, elections do matter – very much indeed.