The Ukrainian Weekly 1982-51

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    Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a f raterna l non-prof i t assoc iat ion!

    c r a i n i a n W e e k l ym r o c^ - - o x - - -0 S O-4 Xo oae-noa. ^ie o mo z mn ow o

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    V o l . L N o . 51 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1982 25 cents ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^KHRYSTO S ROZHD AYETSIA - CHRIST IS BORN ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^Christmas's simple message:love G od and your neighbor1982 Christmas greetings of the Ukrainian Catholic hierarchy in the UnitedStates.Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:Our Lord was bom, on the f irs tChris tmas, as a descendant of theHouse of David, a royal l ine. Thecircumstances of His birth did not bringHim any privilege, power, property orprestige.The Chris tmas s tory is famil iar ,perhaps too familiar, to all of us. Thisfamiliarity has led some of us to a sagenod of recognition coupled with a life ofbusiness-as-usual, unaffected by the-significance of the- Ghristmas message.Chris t entered t ime almost twomillennia ago. But consider where andhow Christ came: not into the seat ofpower in that world, the city of Rome,but into an outlying province of theRoman Empire, Palestine; Christ camenot into the capital city of this unfamiliar province, Jerusalem, but intoan obscure town, Bethlehem; He camenot into the popular dwelling in thissmall town, the inn, but into a shelterfor animals from storms, a stable cave.It seemed that the world did not knowHim, and the world did not want Him,because He did not come as the worldexpected Him to come. It was the firstmeeting of the M essiah with His people.They did not receive Him, because theydid not know that He was coming, andthey could not imagine that He wouldappear where he did.Christ came in poverty and obscurity.In our human terms, they are not signsof power and greatness, b ut in God theyconstitute a sign. A sign that truth andhappiness are not found merely inpower or Wealth, or in fame or publicrecognition. The first Christmas transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary. It can do the same for us. It canchange our melancholy memories ofpresent sadness into hope and confidence for the future.

    The reason of our celebrat ion ofChris tmas is found in the light of faiththat focuses our attention on the won-

    INSIDE:a Dissident profile: Mykola Rudenko- page 2 . Dr. Roman Solchanyk on Sovietnational i t ies pol icy - page 6 .a Ukrainian Christmas tradi tions -page 8. Christmas Panorama - page 9. "

    drous event that took place in Bethlehem. The sense of joy and urgency toexchange gifts, and greetings might beregarded as a spiritual by-product of thebirth of Christ. What God manifested inthe simple surroundings of a cave hasprompted people for centuries to display a spirit of goodwill.In our day-to-day dealings with otherpeople we often forget to show ourgratitude, taking so much of them andall that they do for us for granted. Themessage of Christmas is a message ofsimplicity, which is a characteristic wemust cultivate if Christ is to be revealedto us and, through us, to the world.The-mcssagcof'Christmasrabove'att;is that God loves us and wants us to lovenot only Him, but also every person.We, the bishops of the UkrainianCatholic Church in the United States ofAmerica, wish you all the love of God atChristmas.StephenArchbishop-Metropolitanof Philadelphia

    BasilBishop of StamfordInnocentBishop of St. Nicholasin ChicagoRobertAuxiliary Bishop of thePhiladelphia Metropolitan

    S e n a t e c o m m i t t e e s u p p o r t s n o m i n a t i o n o f D o b r ia n s k y f o r a m b a s s a d o rWA SHIN GTO N - The h i s to r icSenate hearing on the nomination of thefirst Ukrainian as a U.S. ambassadortook place on the afternoon of December 6 in Room 4221 of the DirksenSenate Office Building.Dr. Lev E. Dobriansky, president ofthe Ukrainian Congress Committee ofAmerica, Georgetown University professor, author of the Captive Nations

    Resolution, appeared that day beforethe Senate Foreign Relations Committee as P res ide n t Rona ld R eaga n ' schoice to represent the United S tates inthe Commonwealth of the Bahamas.The committee later voted to supporthis nomination.Joining him at that session were twoother nominees: Samuel FirelanderHart, nominated to be ambassador toEcuador, and Victor Blanco, nominated to the Board of the Inter-American Foundation.

    Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolinawas in the chair; only one other sen atorof the 17-member Foreign RelationsCommittee, Charles McC. Mathias ofMarylan d, was present for the hearing (asituation not unusual for hearings onnominations of envoys to Third Worldcountries). Sen. Helms heads the Subcommittee on Western HemisphereAffairs, and Sen. Mathias chairs theSubcommittee on International Economic Policy. Both are Republicans. -In his opening remarks, Sen. Helmsnoted the importance to the UnitedStates of the Latin American and theCaribbean region, from which thepresident had just returned, and spokeof the need "to prevent victory ofsubversion and oppression from outsidethe region." He then invited the nominees to make any statements theywished.Ambassador-designate Dobriansky

    expressed his gratitude to PresidentReagan for his "faith and confidence" innomina t ing h im ambassador to theBahamas and thanked Secretary ofState George Shultz for his concurrence.He also expressed "gratitude and app reciation to the Foreign Relations Committee for expediting this hearing ," andpromised to cooperate with the comm ittee if his nomination is approved.The committee's action was critical^,because if it had not found time duringits brief and busy post-election sessionto schedule a hearing on Ambassador^!designate Dobriansky's nomination, he: :would have had to be renominated andtconsidered for the post by the new-LCongress sometime in February^1983, or later.Sen. Helms, the courtly Southerngentleman and shrewd parliamentarianwho has been known to hold up ad-

    (Contlnucd oo page 3)

    -- a

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    2 T H E U K R A I N I A N WE E K L Y S U N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 1 9 , 1 9 8 2 N o . 5 1

    Dissident profile.M ykola R udenko:Kiev Helsinki Group chairman

    E x - h u n g e r - s t r i k e r j o i n s h u s b a n d i n W e s t

    JERSEY CITY, N.J. -ToseveralUkrainian human-rights activistswho knew him, poet Mykola Rudenko was an unlikely candidate fordissent. A decorated Red Armyveteran and a former editor ofDnipro, the official journal of theYoung Communist League of theUkrainian SSR, Mr. Rudenko surprised many when he joined AmnestyInternational in 1974 and, tw o yearslater becam e^ founding member ofthe Ukrainian Helsinki Group.

    But, like many other talented andconscientious U krainian intel lectuals, Mr. Rudenko could no longerreconcile the obvious hyprocrisy ofthe Communist system with theharsh reality of Soviet life. Hisdecision to speak out was to co st himhis position at the top of the officialliterary establishment, his place inSoviet society and, ultimately, hisfreedom. ^Mykola .Danylovych Rudenkowas born 62 years ago today in theUkrainian village of Yuriyivka in theVoroshylohrad region. After completing his edu cation, he served in theRed Army during World War II.Severely wounded, he was classifiedas an invalid of the second category.For his service, he was awarded theOrder of the Red Star and othermedals.After the war, Mr. Rudenko became an editor in an official Ukrainian publishing house, The SovietWriter. In addition, from 1947 to1950, he was the managing editor ofDnipro. Also during this period, Mr.Rudenko held the position of deputysecretary and , later, secretary of theparty organization of the Writers'Union of Ukraine.

    A talented p oet, Mr. Rudenko hadnumerous collections of his poetrypublished officially in the USSR.By the early 1970s, however, Mr.Rudenko's work began to change.His verses started to be criticized foridealizing the peasant and the peasant life style.Soon, he was unable to have hisworks published, and he was forcedto get a job as a factory watchman.In 1974, Mr. Rudenko was expelled from the Communist Party.Later that year, he joined AmnestyInternational. Shortly afterwards, hewas arrested in Kiev and detained fortwo days.In June 1975, Mr. Rudenko wasexpelled from the Writers' Union ofUkraine for "behavior incompatiblewith membership."On November 9, 1976, Mr. Rudenko and nine other Ukrainianintellectuals and activists foundedthe Ukrainian Public Group to Promote Implementation of the HelsinkiAccords.In addition to Mr. Rudenko, whobecame the group's chairman, theother activists were Oles Berdnyk, awriter; Petro Grigorenko, a formerRed Army general; Ivan Kandyba, alawyer; Lev Lukianenko, also alawyer; Myroslav Marynovych, anelectrical engineer; Mykola Matu-sevych, a historian; Oksana Meshko;Nina Stroka ta, a microbiologist; andOleksiy Tykhy, a teacher.In its first declaration, the groupcalled for the free exchange of infor-

    Mykola Rudenkomation and ideas among peoples, forUkraine to be represented by its owndelegations at all international conferences and for the accreditation inUkraine of representatives of theforeign press.In a brief notice released two dayslater, on November 11, Mr. Rudenkosaid that on the day following theformation o f the group his apartment was pelted with rocks by unknown assailants. He reported thatMs. Meshko, a 7fcyear-old formerpolitical prisoner and one of thefounders of the group, was injured bya rock. , . -"The pol ice summoned to thescene refused to compile a record,"he wrote.One month after the formation ofthe Ukrainian Helsinki Group, thepolice conducted a series of searchesat the homes of group members.Group documents and manuscriptswere confiscated from Mr. Rudenko's apartment.On February 5, 1977, Mr. Rudenko was arrested along with Mr.Tykhy. The two were charged with"anti-Soviet agitation and propagand a" under Art i c l e 62 of theCriminal Code of the UkrainianSSR.

    The closed trial was held in July1977. M r. Rudenko was sentenced toseven years in a strict-regimen laborcamp to be followed by five years'internal exile. Mr. Tykhy, who wasalso charged w ith "illegal possessionof a firearm ," was sentenced to 10years in a strict-regimen labor campto be followed by five years' internalexile.The court verdict was a lengthydocument which contained some 50individual counts against Mr. Rudenko. Among them were chargesthat he sent copies of such works ashis "Economic M onologues" andsamples of his poetry to the West forpublication, specifically in Svobodaand the Ukrainian-language journal,Suchasnist.Among the allegedly anti-Sovietbooks Mr. Rudenko was accused ofhaving was Ivan Dzyuba's "Internationalism or Russification," a Marxist-Leninist critique of Soviet nationalities policies.During the trial, the court insistedthat the court-appointed lawyer(Continued on page 4)

    WASHINGTON - A Soviet womanwho went on a 32-day hunger strike lastsummer to press her demand to beallowed to join her husband in the Westwas reunited with her family here atNational Airport on December 12,reported the Associated Press.Tatyana Lozansky, 29, and her 11-year-old daughter were greeted at theairport by her husband, physicist Edward Lozansky, thus ending a six-yearstruggle with Soviet authorities.Holding bouquets of flowers, Mr.Lozansky rushed to greet and embracethe two as they stepped from the plane,which had been delayed two hoursbecause of the weather."Thank you very much for my freedom, for my life, for my husband andfor my family," Mrs. Lozansky said inbroken English.As he waited for the plane, Mr.Lozansky told reporters the event"proves that human spirit is muchstronger than Communist, totalitarian,I would say dead, ideology.""It's a great victory for the forces ofgood over the forces of evil," he said.

    Last May, Mrs. Lozansky began ahunger strike with a group of Sovietcitizens seeking to join their families inthe W est. The fast marked the finalchapter of a six-year struggle withSoviet officials.In 1976, Mrs. Lozansky, a chemist,

    divorced her 41-year-old husband, aphysicist at the University of Rochester,to enable him to leave the country.Authorities had promised that she andher daughter would be allowed to joinhim later.Her plan backfired, however, when(Cuil- i l l m fW 4)

    Baptist diesin Soviet prisonMUNICH - A Soviet Baptist leaderwho had spent nearly 29 years in prisonsand labor camps for his rel igiousactivities died recently while serving thefinal year of a three-year term, reportedEast/West News.Nikolai Khrapov, 68, reportedly diedfollowing a heart attack in Mangysh-lakskaya Prison. He was due to bereleased on March 3, 1983.Mr. Khrapov was arrested in March1980 and charged with conspiracy tocommit a crime. It was his fifth arrest.Although Mr. Khrapov is the firstSoviet Christian known to have diedwhile in prison this year, several othersare reported to be in poor health andsome are said to be close to death.Mr. Khrapov, whose wife died shortlyafter, his arrest, leaves six children.

    G r o u p to s e n d c a r d s b e h i n d I r o n C u r t a i nCAMARILLO, Calif. - It's not yetChristmas, but one international Ch ristian organization based here has already put a project in m otion which willexpress concern for Christians behindthe Iron Curtain. For the second consecutive year, through UndergroundEvangelism's (UE) project "ChristmasCards of Love" operating as part ofthe Gospel Letter Ministry division -Christians in the West will be sendingChristmas greetings to imprisonedChristians, their families and otherindividuals in Eastern Europe who haveshown an interest in the bible."We want to express our concern forthe Christians behind the Iron Curtainin a practical way," said project directorMaureen Dobson. "We have found thatsending these cards is not only rewarding for those w ho receive them, but alsofor the senders."The project allows interested peoplean opportunity to "share their love" at

    Christmas. Those who wish to participate receive a list of names and areasked to mail a Christmas card to eachperson on the list."We have some people who ask tosend as m any as 100 cards," said Ms.

    Dob son. "But others juit want to sendone or two. Either way, people are ableto encourage someone at Christmastime."Although some cards will not'getthrough to the addressee because ofmail censorship, Ms. Dobson said it is ameans of illustrating to authorities thatthese Christians are not forgotten.The project includes addresses inmost of the Communist-bloc states: theSoviet Union, Rum ania, Poland,Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia. Ms. Dobson said personallyaddressed and signed cards will "encourage and uplift Christians who arenot always permitted to practice theirreligion freely."UE, a division of Evangelism CenterInternational, specializes in sendingbibles and Christian literature to C hristians behind the Iron Curtain. Theinternational organization also pro

    vides spiritual and material assistancethrough several programs which include: mailing of parcels, radio, youthwork, mailing of "gospel letters," aid topastors and sup plying ministry teachingaids.

    U k r a i n i a n W e e lc lFOUNDED 1933

    Ukrainian w eekly new spaper pub lished by the U krainian National Association Inc., a fraternalnon-profit association, at 30 Montgomery St ., Jersey City, N J . 0 73 02(The Ukrainian Weekly - USPS 570-870)Also published by the UNA: Svoboda, a Ukrainian-language daily newspaper.

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    Editor Roma Sochan HadzowyczAssociate editor. George Bohdan ZaryckyAssistant editor M arts K olomayets

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    No. 51 THE UKRA INIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1982 3

    W a l e s a t a k e n i n t o c u s t o d y Canada takes in Pol i sh Ukra in iansWA RSA W - The official Polishpress agency PAP confirmed early onDecem ber 16 that labo r leader LechWalesa was taken into police custodyt h a t m o r n i n g i n h i s h o m e t o w n o fGdansk.

    A i d f o r P o l a n dt o b e s h i p p e dWASHINGTO N - Rep. Ed Der-winski (R-I l l . ) par t icipated as themaster of ceremonies which were heldon the grounds of the U.S. Capitol onDecemb er 13, the first annive rsary ofthe imposition of martial law and theimprisonment of Solidarity leaders inPoland."As a result of a nationwide drive bythe Polish American Congress Charitable Foundat ion, medical suppl ies,food, medicine, clothing and certainfarm products have been assembled tobe transported to Poland," Rep. Der-winski explained. "The InternationalBrotherhood of Teamsters, Sun Carriersand the American Trucking Association^ have provided free transportationof the supplies."The congressman said that containertrucks from 19 states converged in thenation's capital for a religious blessingand send-off ceremonies. The Solidarityconvoy then proceeded to the Port ofBaltimore, where the containers will beloaded ont o a Polish ship. " vSen. Charles Percy, Rep . Dan R o-stenkowski and Rep. John Fary, all ofIllinois, and Rep. Barbara Mikulskispoke at the ceremonies at the C apitol.Also participating were representativesof the'White House, the State Department and other mem bers ,of Congress. ti"

    Solidarity supportersscore martial-law regimeNEW YORK - A group of Polishexiles and American supporters of theoutlawed Solidarity labor union held anews conference on Decem ber 13 andcalled on the United States to imposenew sanctions against Poland.The grou p, the Com mittee in Supportof Solidarity, also made public a list of933 people who it said were serving jailterms of six m onths to 10 years forviolating martial law in Poland.It also charged that between 5,000and 10,000 others rem ained in jail andthat more than 100,000 had been arrested, interned or fined in the year sincemartial law was imposed. At least 35people have been killed by police, thecommittee said.In recent days the Polish governmenthas announced the release of hundredsof people, apparen tly in preparation forlifting martial law and in an attempt tomollify Western governments, whichhave refused to ease sanctions.But there have also been persistentreports that the government has continued to crack down on dissentparticularly in the Catholic Church.Two priests, Tadeusz Kurach and Jan

    Borkowski, were reportedly arrestedrecently, and were beaten with rubbertruncheons. A trial date has been set,although the exact date is not known.In addition, Polish authorities recently arrested two editors of a clandestineCatholic journal which continued topublish after martial law was declaredin December 1981.Janusz Krupski and Uan Andrzejwere taken into police custody in early(Continued on pa|e 4)

    It was not immediately clear if Mr.Walesa, who was to address shipyardworkers that day, had been formallyarrested.According to WNBC news, Mr .Walesa was taken from his apartmentby several plainclothes policemen andput in a car which witnesses said boreWarsaw plates.Mr. Walesa's bodyguard and driver

    said that he was told Mr. Walesa wasbeing taken to the Gdansk prosecutor 'soffice. There were unconfirmed reportsthat he might be charged with disseminating anti-Polish materials or slandering the P olish state. Both carry stiff jailsentences.Earlier, Mr. Walesa had spurned asummons from the prosecutor's' office,complaining in a let ter that i t wasimprope rly drafted and vaguely worded.The summons did not specify whatthe prosecutor wanted to question Mr.Walesa about. There was speculationthat the government wanted to pressurehim to call off his speech, his first sincebeing released f rom detent ion last

    month.In reporting Mr. Walesa's detain-raent, WNBC said that Polish Armyunits had been moved in around theLenin Shipyard where Mr. Walesa wasscheduled to speak, and that Polishpolice were stopping people on thestreets of the port city and checkingidentification pape rs in an effort to headoff any mass gathering.

    TORO NTO - The Canadian Ukrainian Immigrant Aid Society basedhere reported that the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw has approved the entryof one Ukrainian family into Canadabased on CU1AS sponsorship.Another two families are being processed for entry into Canada, whilethree more families have applied forassistance to do so, according to B.A.Mykytiuk, CUIAS president.Mr. Mykytiuk noted that these arefamilies who have been prominent inthe ' Ukrainian community in Polandand in a t t em pt ing to obta in be t t e rtreatment for the Ukrainian minority inthat country.The Canadian Ukrainian Immigration Aid Society expressed gratitude toSen. Paul Yuzyk and h i s ass i s t an t ,Borys Sirskyj, for help in obtaining agovernment go-ahead on these cases.The arrival of the first Ukrainianfamily is expected within a month.The CUIA S reiterated its urgent needfor funds to finance its operation. Mr.Mykytiuk said that the organizationcan legally sponsor all Ukrainian refugees who wish to enter Canada, butthat it is short of the money needed tocontinue the job. The date, some 170Ukrainian refugees have been broughtinto Can ada th roug h the ef for ts ofCUIAS.Mr. Mykyt iuk explained that inmaking sponsorship applications, thesponsoring group becomes liable forsupport costs of the refugees for a one-

    year period.In order to bring a family of four tosix persons from Poland and resettlethem in Canada a minimum of 54,000 isrequired, he add ed.Contributions may be sent to: C anajdian Ukrainian Immigrant Aid Society,120 Runnymede Road, Toronto, Onj-tario, Canada M6S 2Y3.

    UUARC seeks a idfo r needy U krainiansPHILADE LPHIA - The Uni tedUkrainian American Relief Committee(UUARC) has appealed to the Ukrainian community to help fellow Ukrainians around the world by helping tofinance the committee's activities.The committee is working to helpUkrainians in Poland and Latin America, as well as recently arrived immigrants from behind the Iron Curtain. .In addition, the UUARC helps carefor Ukrainian senior ci t izens, and

    provides financial and legal assistanceto U krain ians it 'feels are unju stlyaccused of crimes based on informationsupplied by the Soviet Union.Anyone interested in sending a tax-e x e m p t c o n t r i b u t i o n s h o u l d m a k ec h e c k s p a y a b l e t o t h e U U A R C"Koliada," and send them to the committee at 1321 W. Lindley Ave.,Philadelphia, Pa. 19141.

    Senate committee...(Continued rompage 1)ministration appointments for weeksand mon ths if they were not to . hisideological liking, was full of compli

    ments for Am bassador-designate Do -briansky.The nominee, he said, was wel l -known to "friends of freedom" andadded what he called "a personal note,"telling Dr. Dobriansky, "You are agreat Am erican ," qualified to representthe Uni t ed S t a t es anywhere i n t heworld. He then asked the ambassador-designate to state some of the majorissues in U.S.-Bahamian relations.Dr. Dobriansky listed the Bahamas'geographic proximi ty and s t r a t eg i caspects that derive from it, stated thatthe United States is "in a cooperativeeffort to meet the challenges facing thepresent leaders" in the region, andnamed three problems in bilateralrelations: trans-shipment of drugs andnarcotics through the Bahamas intoFlorida, entry of illegal immigrants viathe islands, and unregulated movementof money between the United States andthe Bahamas.He also said he though t the Baham asshould be viewed as part of the Caribbean, although at this stage it would notbenefit from the Reagan administration's proposed Caribbean Basin Initiative to promote development.There were possibilities for U.S .pr ivate investment in the Bahamas,particularly in such areas as aluminumprocessing and nuclear-power generation, the ambassador-designate told thecommittee, but before that the Bahamian ba nks would have to comply withU.S. banking and in t ernal r evenueregulations on disclosure.If confi rmed as amb assa dor , headded, he would look into all thesepossibilities, as w ell as into U.S. agricultural assistance for the Bahamas andinto the feasibility of bringing U.S.Peace Corps volunteers to the islands.Sen. Helms asked Dr. Dobrianskyabout possible Cuban designs on theBahamas.

    The ambassador-designate repl iedthat there was no evidence of any keeninterest on the part of Cuba in theBah ama s, and that the Bahamian governme nt was not t oo concerned ab outCu ba '.', ,, v-V - '.' :..'- -. Sen. Mathias, looking at what heexplained were notes prepared by hisstaff, observed that Dr. Dobrianskyspeaks four foreign languages: French,Ukrainian, German and Russian, andbegan to compliment the ambassador-designate for his multi-lingual facility.The ambassador -des ignat e i n t er rupted the senator, pointing out thatalthough he has studied all these languages he was not fluent in them, butcould read them slowly, with the help ofa dictionary. He added with a smile thathe had "lost Ukrainian through Russifi-cation."Next Sen. Mathias noted that Dr.Do br i a nsk y was a mem ber of t heNational Commission for the Observance of World Population Year, andasked him whether he would promotepopulation control programs in his newpost.Based on the success of such programs in India and other places, repliedDr. Dobriansky, he would be in favor ofthem in the Bahamas. But he added thatat this time he did not know the religious and social aspects of populationcon trol in the Baham as. "I will look intoit," he assured the senator.Oth er ques t ions posed by Sen.Mathias concerned Dr. Dobriansky'smembership on the Board of Expertsfor NBC and his involvement with theEthnic Studies Institute at GeorgetownUniversity (the senator wanted to knowif the institute included black studies,since the majority of Bahamians areblack).The Ambassador -des ignat e confirmed that he had been invited to beone of NBC's experts, but was nevercalled on to share his expertise, and thenow-defunct i ns t i t u t e , he sa id , wasconcerned only with the East Europeanarea.Sen. M athias's parting comment was:"Well, I take great comfort in your

    interest in population."There were no tough questions for theambassador-designate from the ForeignRelations Committee; no request foradd i t ion al wri t ten responses, , whichwould have slowed down.the confirmation process. There were also no questions about the two bodies with whichDr. Dobrians ky is closely associated -the Ukrainian Congress Committee ofAmer i ca and the Nat ional Capt iveNations Committee. But then they havelittle relevance to U.S. relations with theCommonw ealth of the Bahamas, whosemain industry tourism Americanshelp to support.Shortly after the hearing, the committee voted to support Dr. Dobriansky's nomination.The next step in the process is a voteon the floor of the Senate to confirm thenomination, followed by a swearing-inceremony, which usually takes place atthe State Dep artment diplomatic reception rooms.The Ukrainian American leader andlong-time Rep ublican Party activist willbecome amb assad or only af ter hepresents his letter of credence to thegoverno r-general, as the head of state ofthe Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

    D r . Lev E. Dobriansky

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    THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY. DECEMBER 19 , 19821 | No. 51

    Knysh's work on Rus' chroniclecited in university bulletinWINN IPEG - Perhaps the mostseminal manuscript in the study ofancient Kievan history is the llth-12th century chronicle "Povistvremennykh lit." For Prof. GeorgeKnysh of the University of Manitoba,who has spent years studying thechronicle, its proper interpretation is

    a means of safeguarding Ukrainianhistory from the political manipulations of Soviet historiography.Prof. Knysh's work was the subjectof a recent article by Paul Vogt in theUniversity of Manitoba Bulletin.In reality, the chronicle is notreally one work. It is a collection ofstories, sermons and historicalaccounts of Kievan Rus' compiledover some 80 years, probably by asuccession of monks. Among thematerials is a detailed description ofthe acceptance of Christianity inUkraine in 988.Over the years, many differentversions of the chronicle have beenproduced, and historians have metwith a great deal of confusion tryingto evaluate the authenticity andsignificance of the various modifications.While most scholars have interpreted the work from a historicalperspective. Prof. Knysh has approached it from a political view. Inhis interpretation, changes in writingstyle, which were usually assumed tosignal a change of writers, mayactually on ly denote literary changesgiven the ideological consistency ofmany of the passages, v' .f';v; -Prof. Knysh told the Bulletin thathe has tried to read through the

    ancient texts by "placing myself inthe context of a person working in acertain time period, with specificnotions of who should be supported,and which political assumptionsshould be made central."But it is more modern politicalconsiderations which trouble Prof.Knysh - particularly Soviet distortions of the chronicle and Soviet

    theories about its origins and meaning.Soviet academicians, especiallyRussian scholar A.A. Shakhmatov,have tended'to dismiss the Scandinavian influences on early, Rus' because, in their view, such a notionundermines the "state-forming"capacities of the indigenous " Russianpeoples."What's more. Prof. Knysh b elievesthat the Soviet approach is coloredby the "determination of Russianintellectuals to appropriate for themselves all the glory associated with anempire that was dominated by theancestors of today's Ukrainians."Yet another example of the political manipulation of early Ukrainianhistory is the recent declaration ofthe 1,500th anniversary of the founding of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.The date is not supported by anything found in the chronicle, butconveniently coincides with the 60thanniversary of the founding of theUSS R. The event was used by Sovietofficials to reinforce their assertionconcerning the historical solidarityof the Ukrainian and Russian peoples.

    Prof. Knysh was.prompted toundertake his study after findinginaccuracies in a Soviet translationof the chronicle which appeared lastyear. The Soviet author of one suchtranslation, Viktor Blyznets, committed suicide this year after avociferous protest from Ukrainianscholars concerning the scholarlinessof his work. - V C ' ' - -!' '" In thtCBulletih^riicle,"Praf. Knyshsaid that Ukrainians must "makeroom" for.their own history bychallenging Russian historiography.Toward this end, Prof. Knysh recently presented his paper on the chronicle at the Harva rd Ukra inianResearch Institute.

    "Much work remains to be done,"he said, and a variety of approachescan be used to extract all the information that is contained in thechronicles.

    Obituary

    P r i t s a k : c r e a t e S o v i e t r e s e a r c h b o d yCAM BRIDG E, Mass. - In a recentarticle in the Harvard InternationalReview, Omeljan Pritsak, head of the

    Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute,called for the establishment of a standing presidential commission on researchdealing with the USSR.Disturbed by what he sees as a lack ofcohesion in U.S. policy vis-a-vis theUSSR, Prof. Pritsak wrote that thecommission should be an independentand bipartisan body that would workclosely with America's West Europeanallies.The commission "would consist ofthe best specialists from the scholarlycommu nity, as well as from the militaryand political spheres," he said.Calling the Soviet Union a "pre-secular, multinational, patrimonial

    empire with uniyersalistic aspirations,"Prof. Pritsak noted that frequent vagaries in U.S. foreign policy indicate thatAmerican officials continue to view theUSSR as a modern state in the Westernsense.In Prof. Pritsak's view, this basicmisconception precludes an understanding of Soviet thinking and diplomatic strategies."This became very evident in theaftermath of the Helsinki conventions

    which , unsup ported by armies orarmored veh icles, could be regarded bythe Soviet side merely as scraps ofpaper, not binding in terms of realcommitment," wrote Prof. Pritsak."President (Jimmy) Carter believed thatit would secure theright o dissent in theUSSR; instead a complete pogrom ofdissent there followed."

    Creating a presidential commissionto research the USSR would, in Prof.Pritsak's estimation, lead to "the emancipation of U.S. policy from merereaction to Soviet initiatives."The commission would define weaknesses in the Soviet system and suggestways these weaknesses could be bestexploited, wrote Prof. Pritsak, addingthat the commission would also workout possible options to counteract

    Soviet actions. '4"The vital prerequisite for the commission's effectiveness is that both thepresident and the secretary of statenever act in matter of Soviet.policywithout consult ing i t ," wrote Prof.Pritsak. "Only by this means canAmerican foreign policy toward theUSSR gain the steadiness, professionalism and cohesion that characterizeSoviet policy toward the U.S."

    K i s t i a k o w s k y , i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y k n o w n c h e m i s tCAMB RIDGE, Mass. - Dr. GeorgeB. Kistiakowsky, who helped pioneerthe first atom ic bom b and later becamean advocate of banning nuclear weapons, died here on December 7 at theage of 2, reported the AssociatedPress. ' i.Dr. Kistiakowsky, the Abbott andJames Lawrence Professor of Chemistry

    at Harvard U niversity, had been ill withcancer, but no cause of death wasannounced. ' - < lDr. Kistiakowsky was born November 18, 1900, in Kiev, the capital ofUkraine, the son of Bohdan and Marie(nee Berenstam) Kistiakowsky. Hisfather was a law professor.After educa tion in private schools, hefought against the Communists duringthe Bolshevik Revolution. After fleeingthe Soviet Union, he studied at theUniversity o f B erlin, earning a P h.D . inphysics before coming to the UnitedStates in 1926.That same year, he married his firstwife, Hildegard Moebius, whom hedivorced in 1942. He remarried in 1945,taking Irrna E. Shuler as his wife. Hebecame a U.S. citizen in 1933.The author of hundreds of articles onchemical kinetics, gas phase reactions,and shock and detonation waves. Dr.Kistiakowsky designed the arrangement of conventional explosives neededto detonate the atom bomb.He served as science advisor toPresident Dwight D. Eisenhower fromJuly 1959 to the end of the president'sterm in 1961. He served on the advisoryboard to the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from

    1961 to 1969, but quit as foreign-policyadvisor in 1967 in a dispute with theadministration of President Lyndon B.Johnson over the Vietnam War.Dr. Kistiakowsky was chairman ofthe Council for a Livable World, aWashington" and Boston-based groupseeking to reduce the danger of nuclearwar through arms control.He was sharply critical of PresidentRonald Reagan's foreign policy, particularly regarding the Soviet Union.Dr. Kistiakowsky joined Harvard in1930 after four years at PrincetonUniversity, and became professor ofchemistry in 1938. He was chairman ofthe department from 1947 to 1950, andbecame a professor emeritus in 1971.He became a division chief in theNational Defense Research Committeeduring World War II. James B. Constant, a president of Harvard who wasalso a chemist, persuaded him to become chief of the explosives division atLos Alamo s, N .M., during the development of the atom bomb in 1944-46.Dr. Kistiakowsky witnessed the firstnuclear bomb explosio n at Alamagordo,N .M, on July 16, 1945. He was quotedas saying: "I am sure that at the end ofthe world in the last millisecond ofthe Earth's existence - the last humanwill see what we saw."Dr. Kistiakowsky is survived by histhird wife, Elaine, (nee Mahuney)whom he married in 1962, and a daughter, Vera, from hisfirstmarriage. Sh e isa physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Funeral services were private,according to the AP.

    Solidarity...(Continued from page 3)November. Their journal, Spotkania,was founded in 1977.It is not clear if those recently arrestedwill have charges dropped and bereleased as part of Gen. Woijech Jaru-zelski's recently announced plan torelease m ost internees.Polish officials have maintained that10,000 people w ere interned at one timeor another but that only 317 remainedin custody. The government said 3,616others have been arrested for violatingmartial law and that 15 people werekilled in demonstrations.But Eric Chenow etch, director of theCommittee in Support of Solidarity,which was formed last December toorganize support for the Polish union inthe United States, said that the government's arrest figures were far too low,adding that .his group probably underestimated the total number of people

    arrested, jailed, interned or killed.The list was made public at a newsconference in the basement of the stateheadquarters of the AFL-CIO on ParkAvenue South.

    Ex-hunger-striker...(Cont inued from ptf t I )officials barred her exit on the groundsthat Mr. Lozansky was no longer herhusband. Meanwhile , her husbandmarried her by p roxy in Washington ina ceremony which coincided with thestart of her hunger strike.Mr. Lozansky, who is Jewish, qualified for emigration, but not with hiswife, who is Russian. But perhaps Mrs.Lozansky's biggest obstacle had beenher father's staunch opposition to herleaving. Her father, Ivan Yershov, was afour-star general in the Soviet Army.When he resigned his post in S eptember, the way was clear for Mrs. Lozansky's emigration.

    Mylcola Rudenlco.. .(Continued front page 2)conduct the defense, even thoughboth de fendants objec ted. Theattorney defied the defendant's ownviews by acknowledging them asguilty, conducted only a formaldefense and pleaded only for mitigation of the sentence.'Mi-. Rudenko is currently in thefifth year of his sentence in a laborcamp' Ideated in the Perm oblast ofthe Russian SFSR. Other Helsinkimonitors in the same camp areMessrs. Kandyba, Lukianenko andTykhy, as well as Vitaliy Kalyny-chehkb, Vasy'l Ovsienko arid VasylStus.But the Soviet persecution of Mr.

    Rudenko did not stop with his arrestand imprisonment. On April 14,1981, Soviet officials arrested RaisaRudenk o, the po et's wife and tirelessco-worker. On September 11 of thatyear, a Sov iet court sentenced the 43-year-old laboratory assistant to JOyear's imprisonment -f iv e years in alabor camp and five years' exile.She was sent \o a labor camp ;nMordovia, not far from where h,erhusband was initially imprisoned.But, in a cynical act of inhumanity,Soviet officials transferred Mr. Rudenko to Perm even though, as.aprisoner, he.would not have beenable to visit his wife. ,,Mr. R udenko is due to be releasedin 98 9, his wife in 1986. th e Ru-denkos have two sons.

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    N o . 5 1 THE UKR AIN IAN WEEKLY SUNDAY , DECEMBER 19, 1982 5

    U N A d i s t r i c t c o m m i t t e e s m e e tToronto

    TORONTO - The Toronto UNADistrict held its fall organizing meetinghere on October 30 at the Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church hall.The meeting reviewed the year's membership drive.The meeting was opened by WasylSharan, distr ict chairman. Amongthose in attendance were Ulana Dia-chuk , UN A supreme treasurer, andWasyl Didiuk, supreme advisor. YakivBury took the minutes.Mr. Sharan said that the d istrict's 23branches had enrolled 54 new membersas of the end of October. He noted thatBranch 43 2 (Bohda n Zo rych, secretary)had brought in 17 new members; Branch407 (Mr. Sharan ) , 11; Branch 401(Stefan Cherniev), seven; 'Branch 441(Dmytro Zanevych), five; and Branch442 (Semen Levytsky), five.The London branch, with RomanHornych a s secretary, enrolled four newmembers, while four other branchesbrought in one member each, Mr.Sharan reported. Eleven other branchesdid not enroll any new members.During a discussion which followedMr. Sharan's report, participants citedseveral reasons for the poor organizingperformance, among them high inflation and unemployment, the recession,inadequate planning, and the lack ofenthusiasm among branch members.In her remarks, Ms. Diachuk notedthat high inflation and other economicfactors have forced many women intothe work force, thereby changing thetraditional family insurance needs. In1981, 70 percent of all insurance soldwas term insurance, she said.Ms. Diachuk also discussed suchmatters as convention expenses, theincrease in loans taken by memb ers, thedrop in over-all m embership, the rise incash surrenders and the financial stateof the UNA.She also urged members to publicizethe UNA 's offer to dou ble life insurancepolicies without a medical examination.During a discussion following the'supreme treasurer's remarks, memberstalked about insurance matters and theneed to popularize the UNA in Canada.In his remarks, Mr. Didiuk said thatthe UNA must modernize its approach,and that efforts should be made toensure a stable climate within theUkrainian community.Other matters discussed at the meeting were the 90th anniversary of Svo-boda in 1983, courses for organizers andsecretaries, modifications in radio ads,the hiring of a district organizer and thepossibility of buying TV advertisingtime.

    MontrealMONTREAL - The UNA Montreal District held its annual fall organizing meeting here at the local Piastheadquarters on October 23. Takingpart were representatives from fourbranches in Montreal, as well as from

    Lachine and LaSalle.The meeting was chaired by TeklaMoroz, head of the district, and OsypDiachyshy n acted as secretary.Among those in attendance wasUlana Diachuk, UNA supreme treasurer, who praised the work of thedistrict and its leadership.Participants discussed an agenda ofUNA matters, and the plans of thedistrict.In her remarks. Ms. Diachuk spoke

    about the various insurance policiesoffered by the UN A, its aid to the Ukrainian community and its current financialand organizing situation.She said that the UNA must changeits insurance policies to better fitchanging life styles, and should raisebenefits to keep pace with inflation. Thetreasurer also noted the UNA's donations to community causes over the lasteight years, and she took the opportunity to present the Montreal Plastbranch with a check for S2S0 for sportsactivities.Speaking about the UNA in general,Ms. Diachuk said that it faces a decl ining membership and mountingexpenses, but added that its assets are atan all-time high. Ms. Diachuk said thatthe organization should work to enroll1,000 new members by the,end of theyear, SO in the Montreal District.She also urged district membersunder age 65 to take the opportunity todouble their life insurance without amedical examination before the end ofthe year.Following the report, participantsobserved a moment of silence forcommunity activist and Plast executiveAndrij Dolnytsky, w ho died on July 24.A discussion period followed, givingparticipants a chance to voice theiropinions about a broad range of topics,including organizing difficulties inQuebec, high unemployment and itseffect on membership, and the exodusof Ukrainian families from the Frenchprovince.

    U N A e n r o lls 2 4 0 m e m b e rs in N o v e m b e rJERSE Y CITY, N.J. - TheUNA's Organizing Department hasreleased the final tally of the resultsof the November membership campaign. Jn all, 240 new members havebeen insured for over 5650,000.The Organizing Department alsoreported that the following UNA'ersenrolled three or more new membersduring November, Daria Capar(secretary, Branch 34 7), 11 members;Supreme A dvisor W illiam Pastuszek(president, Branch 231) and DetroitDistrict Chairman Roman Tatarsky(secretary, Branch 94), nine memberseach; Christine Fuga Gerbehy (secretary, Branch 269), seven members;Adam Cizdyn (secretary, Branch 55 ),John Chopko (secretary, Branch271), John Hawryluk (secretary,Branch 360) and Andriy Maryniuk(secretary, Branch 368), six memberseach; Volodymyr Yaniw (secretary.Branch 32), Taras Slevinsky (secre

    tary, Branch 59) and John Petruncio(secretary, Branch 78 ),fivememberseach; Melanie Lawrence (secretary,Branch 155), Dr. Atanas Slusarczuk(secretary, Branch 174) and To rontoDistrict Chairman Wasyl Sharan(secretary, Branch 407), four members each; Maria Steciuk (secretary,Branch 25 ), Olha O seredczuk (secretary, Branch 37), Dmytro Holowaty(secretary. Branch 5 3), Alex Blahitka(convention delegate, Branch 170),Edwin Blidy (secretary. Branch 220 ),Michael Mayer (secretary, Branch247), Mykola Linynsky, (member,Branch 274) and Peter Diakiw (secretary, Branch 427), three memberseach.The goal of the Ukrainian National Association's fall organizingcampaign is 1,000 new members. Ifthe goal is to be met, 550 more newmembers are needed in December,the Organizing Department said.

    R o c h e s t e r to h o s t U N A b o w l i n g t o u r n e y

    Wilkes-BarreWILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre UNA District held its annualorganizing m eeting here in the Ss. Peterand Paul Ukrainian "Catholic Churchhall on October 31.The meeting was opened by RomanDiakiw, chairman of the district. WasylStefuryn acted as 'secretary.Also in attend ance was StefanHawrysz, UNA supreme organizer.During the discussion s, branch secretaries indicated that the district is doingall it can to meet its quota of newmembers. The district has already wonan organizing plaque on five occasions.In his remarks, Mr. Hawrysz stressedthe importance of the organizing cam

    paign. He also discussed the 30th UNAConvention, noting the expenses nowtotal over S350,000.Of the 397 convention delegates, 215have enrolled 920 new members, saidMr. Hawrysz, adding that 183 failed toenroll any.During the discussion period following Mr. Hawrysz's talk, participantsdiscussed a variety of UNA matters,including the increase in subscriptionrates for Svoboda. Participants alsoraised the issue of the many correctionsSvoboda is forced to print, includingcorrections of corrections.Most participants also voiced approval for the proposed merger of theUNA and the Ukrainian Fraternal

    Association.Also m entioned during the discussionperiod was the UNA's annual dividendpayment plan and other UNA-relatedmatters.Mr. Diakiw told participants that thedistrict will fulfill its m embership quotaby 100 percent. After the meeting wasadjourned, participants continued totalk about UNA topics over refreshments prepared by Kateryna Lukach,secretary of Branch 282.

    Rochester's UNA bowling committee: (first row,from eft): John Kuchmy, BeverlyDaszczyszak, Frank Kubarich (chairman), Walter Choptiony and Ed Brown;(second row) Helen Pasnak, Joe Wasylyshyn, Bob Hussar and Irene Wolke.ROCH ESTER, N.Y. - The 17thNational UNA Bowling Tournament isscheduled to be held here on May 28-29,1983, and organizers promise thathigher prize money and Rochesterhospitality will help make it one of thebest ever.Fifty rooms have already been reserved for bowlers and guests at the

    Genesee Plaza Holiday Inn. The tournament itself will be held at the B.I.C.Bowl, Rochester's newest lanes. Theowner of the 24-lane alley is Gary Pluta,whose father was very active in Ukrainian youth organizations.A hospitality night with food, openbar and dancing has been slated forSaturday, May 28, following the day'smatches. The exact time and locationwill be announced later, organizers said.

    This year's prize money will alsomake the competition the richest in theannual tournament's history. First-place winners in the men's team divisionwill split S900, while the women'swinners will divvy up S500.Additional details about the tournament will be published in forthcoming

    issues of The Weekly.The tournament is being coordinatedby a nine-member committee consistingof Frank Kubarich, chairman; WalterC hi p t i ony , v i c e c ha i r m an; JohnKuchmy, men's secretary; BeverlyDaszczyszak, women's secretary; EdBrown, treasurer; Joe Wasylyshyn,banquet chairman; Bob Hussar, entertainment; and Irene Wolke and HelenPasnak, hospitality.

    A n d r u s i w m e m o r i a l s l a t e dRIVERHE AD, N.Y. - A pana-khyd a for the late artist Peter

    Andrusiw will be held on Sunday,January 2, here at St. John theBaptist Ukrainian Catholic Churchat 4 p.m.Following the memorial service,two photo-reproductions from theartist's monumental work "Millen-.nium of Christianity in Ukraine"anda memorial plaque will be unveiledby Mr. Andrusiw's widow, Natalie.The photo reproductions and

    plaque were prepared and donatedby UNA Branch 256 of Riverhead forcontinuous display in remembranceof the many contributions made byMr. Andrusiw to the branch and tothe entire Ukrainian community.

    After the presentation, dinner,also sponsored by UNA Branch 25 6,will be served.For further information contactWilliam Nedoszytko, branch president, at (516) 298-8063.

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    THE UKRAIN IAN WEEKLY SUNDAY , DECEMBER 19 , 198 2 No. 51

    r a i n i a n W e e l c l yChristm as sp irit

    The Christmas season is often a surreal time. With splashy adsshowing Santa Claus hawking everything from Playboy to perfume,Christmas trees going for S40, and merchants luring overextendedshoppers with holiday bargains displayed in gaudy Yuletide glitz, acynic might say that the Christmas greeting should be - "Christ isborn, retailers rejoice!"But mixed in with all this holiday hoop la are the inescapable feelingsof genuine warmth and p romise so gloriously ma nifested in the birth ofthe Christ-Child. For Ch ristians around the world wh o celebrate thismagnificent feast in a variety of customs, the birth of the Savior is atime of reverence and hope.

    We, Ukrainians, are no different. Observing our customs, some ofwhich date back to pre-Christian times, we pay hom age to Christ, wepray for our families and friends, and our brothers and sisters inUkraine.But of all our traditions the 12-course Christmas Eve supper, thecarols, the special holiday dishes none is more important, orcaptures the true meaning of Christmas better than the practice ofextendin g our love and hospitality to those amo ng us who are lessfortunate, alone or in despair.From earliest times, it has been a Ukrainian custom to invite singlepeople, the poor, the homeless and the loners for Christmas Evedinner. It is a practice that best exemplifies the meaning of Christ'sbirth and death and, more importantly, the meaning of His life onearth. For by extending our love in this way, we are living by Hisexample, which is all that He really asked of His followers.Virtual ly al l of us know someon e who needs a helping hand. Th ewidow who lives all alone, the pensioner on fixed income, the orphan,the cripple confined to his home, the quiet man who's always byhimself in church. Then there are those confined in hospitals, inprisons, without family. For these, Christmas is perhaps the mostdifficult time of the year. The festive atmosph ere, the joy and w armthwe all feel, only se^ye.. J.o. underscore their loneliness, their despair,their pain.'u , l ^ :':- ' f \ii.',.U ; ' . 4 \ " U 8 v '- ,'-' ;Al l the mater ial symbols and t rappings of Chr i s tmas mean:absolutely nothing without the humility nob ility o f spirit that'inspires man to reach out to others, to those in need. To parap hrase a19th century clergyman , there really is not much practical Christianityin someo ne w ho is on better terms with angels, seraphs and saints, than -with his family and, in a broader sense, the family of man.When we set the table for Christmas Eve supper, we leave a place-setting in memory of family members no longer with us. It is abeautiful tradition . Bu t it is equa lly beautiful and m ore rewarding to seta place for a real person, for som eon e wh o might have no other place togo. By thus sharing our love, our company and our food, we providetangible meaning to the joyo us words "Khrystos Rozhd ayets ia Slavite Yoho."

    "Adorat ion o f (he Shepherds" (detail) by El Greco.

    A gl impse of Soviet rea l i ty"Merging" of nations conceptdebated in USSR pressThe article below was originallypublished in Soviet Analyst, a fort-nightly commentary.

    by Dr. Roman SolchanykThe assumption of power by the lateLeonid Brezhnev and his colleaguesalmost 20 years ago was accompaniedby a re-evaluation of the assimilationistpolicies characteristic of the latter yearsof the Khrushchev period. It is arguedby Western observers that the conceptof the merging (sliyanie) of nations,which was fashionable in the late 1950sarid early 1960s, was quietly shelved bythe new leadership.Confirmation of this view may alsobe gleaned from the specialized literature on the na tional question publishedin the Soviet Union. Mikhail Kuli-chenko, head of the Sector of theTheory of Nations and National i ty

    Relations of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism, has written:"It is no secret that in the beginning ofthe 1960s the literature exaggerated theresults that had been achieved in thedrawing together (sblizhenie) of nations;individual scholars manifested nihilismin their interpretation of the nationalfactor of the life of the peoples and evenbegan to search for ways to bring aboutthe merging (sliyanie) of nations in theforeseeable' future."1Henrikas Ziman as, chief editor of theLithuanian Party journal Komunistas,argued in a similar, vein during a round-table discussion on the concept of theSoviet people organized ' "journalIstoria SS SR and the Scientific Councilon N ationality Problems, in'December1979, emphasizing that the question ofthe merging of nations is not posed inany documen t of the Com munist Party'sCentral Committee.2Waiting for world communism

    It should be noted, however, that theconcept of merging nations did notdisappear from the theoretical arsenalof Soviet nationalities policy with thepassing of Khrushchev from the political scene; it was never discredited orrefuted. On the contrary, it continued tobe discussed by nationality experts inthe specialized literature.The consensus of opinion has beenthat the merging of nations is a phenomenon that will occur in the undetermined future when communism isestablished on a universal scale. Characteristic in this respect is the view ofIvan Tsamerian, senior scientific associate of the Institute of Philosophy ofthe USSR Academy of Sciences:"The merger of nations, in the senseof the disappearance of all nationaldistinctions between people, can onlyoccur after the victory and consolidation of communism in the entire world,as a wo rldwide process, not a local one.One cannot conceive of the merging ofnations w ithin the. framework of onecountry (regardless of its size) or even

    within the framework of large zones."3Merging downplayed

    The degree to which merging wasdownplayed during the Brezhnev periodis reflected in the argument put forth byPeter Fedoseev, vice-president of theUSSR Academy of Sciences and chairman of its Social Sciences Section, thatLenin never viewed this process in termsof the elimination of national distinctions, but rather as a closer unity of

    socialist nations.4One wonders how Soviet theory onthe national question will be affected bythe recently published editorial inKommunist titled ''We are the Sovietpeople" (My - sovetskiy narod). Theeditors of this authoritative mou thpieceof the Central Committee, referring toBrezhnev's statement at the last Communist Party congress that a classlesssociety will take shape in the USSRwithin "the historical framework ofmature socialism," draw the followingconclusion:"This important, scientifically basedprop osition of creative Marxism-Leninism convinces us that in the nearfuture a new vista (perspektiva) will beunfolding before the Soviet people,specifically with regard to a questionthat is so natural for it as the forthcoming merging of nations. This is notthe place to exam ine this question in allof its complexity. Let us only note thatno one is about to accelerate artificiallythis indisputably progressive process,which has nothing to do with theassimilation of some nations by others,and which benefits all the peoples of thecountry. Time will tell what this envisioned new fusion of peoples ofdifferent nationalities and races will belike; it is perfectly clear, however, that itwill be a human association on anunprecedented level, for it is emergingon the eve of the total realization of thegreat humanistic ideals of communism."5K^OV\J^y^^\\h

    Is the merging of the multinationalpopulation of the Soviet Union on theagenda once again? What .exactly is this"new vista" that will manifest itself "inthe near future"?A partial answer to these questions isprovided by Mr. Tsamerian. In anarticle that was published not long afterthe Communist Party congress, helinked Brezhnev's "scientific prognosis"to tw o processes: the transformation ofthe Soviet socialist nations into theirCommunist variant and the attainmentof "the complete unity of nations" in theUSSR. This, in turn, would result in"the appearance of visible preconditionsand elements of the atrophying ofnational distinctions.' ^Slow process

    Mr. Tsamerian's article is carefullyworded and abounds with caveats. Henotes that the concept of comp lete unityof nations has been interpreted invarious ways in the existing literature.The actual effacement of distinctionsbetween nations, says Mr. Tsamerian, isa slow process that will be completed inthe distant future "under the conditionsof the consolidated mature worldwideCommunist society."The editors of Kommunist appear tohave served notice that the merging,ofnations in the USSR is now one step

    closer to reality.1. M. I. Kulichenko, "Natsionalnie otno-shenia v SSSR tendentsiyi ikh razvitia,"Moscow, 1972, P. 404.2. Istoria SSSR , 1980, N o. 6; p. 6Z3. "Natsiyi natsionalnie otnoshenia vrazvitom sotsialisticheskorn obshchestve,"Moscow, 1979, p. 182.4. Vestnik Akademiyi Nauk SSSR, 1979,No. 12, p. 35.5. Kommunist, 1982, No. 12, p. 11.6. N auchny kommunism, 1981, N o. 4,July-August, p. 62.

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    No. 51 T H E UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1982 7CommentaryOpening U.S. Consulate in Kievwould ease Ukraine's isolation

    The following commentary was published in the November-December issueof Freedom at Issue, a ma gazine publishedbimonthly by Freedom House, a national organization dedicated to streng-thening democratic institutions. (Reprinted with permission.)

    by Alexander J. Motyl^ After Richard N ixon and LeonidBrezhnev agreed in 1974 to open consulates in Kiev and New York City, U.S.policy toward the U SSR appeared to beacquiring some of the subtlety that hadcharacterized Am erican attitudes towardEastern Europe since the 1960s. Clearly,"bridge-building," "peaceful engagemen t ," and the encouragement of"different roads of socialism" haveproven far m ore beneficial to the UnitedStates than a policy of treating the"satellites" as little more than appendages of the Soviet monolith.

    But when, on January 9,1980, JimmyCarter ordered the withdrawal of sevenUnited States consular officers fromKiev, in reprisal against the Sovietinvasion of Afghanistan in December1979, he unwittingly dealt a far moreserious blow to American than to Sovietinterests. The advantages of encouraging a "Ukrainian road to socialism" byextending even such minimal diplomatic

    recognition to the Ukrainian SovietSocialist Republic (UkSSR), regardlessof its questionable sovereignty andindependence, would surely have outweighed whatever disadvantages mayhave accrued from recognizing theSoviet status quo.It goes without say ing, of course, thatthe Ukrainian SSR's foreign relations("foreign policy" is clearly to o strong aterm) are very much a function of thoseof the Soviet Union. That this is!so,however, is hardly a reason for thinkingsuch a state of affairs to be desirable,inevitable or immutable.The Ukrainian and other Sovietrepublics acquired the capacity toengage in foreign relations on February1, 1944, when the USSR SupremeSoviet amended the Soviet Constitutionto that effect. The February amendment opened the door to the proposalmade by Andrei Gromyko on August 28at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference,that all 16 Soviet republics be admittedto the future United N ations organization. The West initially protested, butfinally agreed to a compromise: only theUkrainian SSR and the ByelorussianSSR were to be granted U .N . status.Both countries participated in the SanFrancisco Conference in May 1945 andthereby became founding members ofthe United N ations.

    In the years that follow ed, theUkSSR's enhanced diplomatic statusallowed it to nego tiate directly with theUnited N ations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, participate at theParis Peace Conference in 1946, signpeace treaties with Bulgaria, Hungary,Rumania, Italy and Finland in 1947,and play a not insignificant role at theDanube Conference in 1948.Ukraine's current foreign relationsare confined to participation in theUnited N ations and other internationalorganizations and to ties with the EastEuropean and a number of Third Worldcountries. It occupies a permanent seatin the U.N . General A ssembly, and, atvarious times, was a member of theSecurity Council and the Econom ic andSocial Council. Ukraine also belongs tothe U.N . Special Committee AgainstApartheid and to the Committee on theImplementation of the InalienableRights of-the Palestinian People; since1954, it has been a member of UNESCO.As of 1980, the Ukrainian SSR wassignatory to over 120 internationalagreements, treaties and conventions,and was a member of 15 internationalorganizations and their 55 permanentand temporary bodies most important of which are the InternationalLabor Organization (which it joined in1954) and -the International AtomicEnergy Agency (1957).Although Article 74 of the UkSSRConstitution grants it the right to "enterinto relations with other states, conclude treaties with them, exchangediplomatic and consular representativesand take part in the work of interna

    tional organizations," Ukraine has not,as Soviet specialist Roman Szporlukhas put it, "taken advantage of itsconstitutional prerogative... and foreignconsuls in Kiev are there througharrangement with the USSR government." At present, Kiev is host to theconsulates general only of the EastEuropean countries Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary,Poland, Rumania and Yugoslavia,while the port city of Odessa seats aBulgarian, Cuban, Indian and, untilrecently, an Egyptian consulate.Missing from the list are, of course,Western consulates. Why? Because theUkSSR is not a sovereign state? Butshould not the West try to encourageUkrainian sovereignty?By establishing an American consulate in the capital of the Ukrainian SS R,the United States would help reduceUkraine's international isolation, underline the distinctly Ukrainian characterof the Ukrainian Commun ist Party andstate, and, as a result, increase centrifugaltendencies within the Soviet Union. Itwould certainly provide a much-neededboost to those Ukrainian Communistsopposed to Moscow's encroachment ontheir bailiwick. At the very least, anAmerican consulate in Kiev wouldimprove international media access toUkraine and thereby serve as an important source of support for the Ukrainian dissident movement.After all, with or without an American consulate, Ukraine will continue tosupport So viet interests in internationalforums. So why not at least try to makeUkraine work, however, slightly, in theU.S. interest?

    News and v iewsAHRU: a group dedicated tothe defense of human rights

    by Ibor OlshaniwskyIn 1979, an organization called American s for Human Rights in Ukraine(AHR U) was founded by former members of the New Jersey Committee forthe Defense of Valentyn Moroz. It is anincorporated, non-political, non-profit,charitable organization with tax-exemptstatus approved by the Internal RevenueService.Membership is open to anyone concerned with violations of human rightsin Ukraine. These human rights, ac

    cording to the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights and United N ationspolitical covenants, cover the wholespectrum of rights, including national,religious and cultural.Currently AHRU has four branches:N ewark, N .J. (main branch), Rochester,N .Y., Troy-Albany, N .Y.; and SanFrancisco, plus individual membershipthroughout the United States numbering over 600.In the three short years of its existence, AHRU has provided the Ukrainian comm unity with substantialsuccesses. Extensive contacts have beenmade with the members of U.S. Congress, the executive branch of thegovernment (including the Departmentof State), various national and international human-rights organizations,councils of Churches and various religious, secular and professional societies.As a result of these efforts, extensivework was accomplished in defense ofUkrainian political prisoners - including all members of the UkrainianHelsinki Group (letter to Brezhnevsigned by 105 representatives andsenators), Raisa and Mykola Rudenko(letter to Brezhnev signed by 56 repre

    sentatives and senators), Ivan Svitly-chny (letter to Brezhnev signed by 106representatives and senators) inaddition to many other activities indefense of numerous incarcerated U-krainians. For example. Amnesty International's worldwide appeal in defense of Yuriy Shukhevych was initiatedthrough the efforts of the CaliforniaAHRU branch.Two major resolutions passed by theU.S. Congress through AHR U's initiative have left their mark in matters ofAmerican foreign policy, namely:1). House Concurrent Resolution 391asking the president of the UnitedStates to direct the U.S. delegation tothe Madrid Conference to review theHelsinki A ccords to "raise in a firm,forthright and specif ic ma nner violations of human rights in othersignatory countries, especially thoseac t ions taken agains t members ofprivate monitoring groups..."2). House Concurrent Resolution 205asking the president to proclaim N ovember 9, 1982, as a day honoring theUkrainian Helsinki Group, to worktoward a release of its members, andthrough diplomatic channels; to influence the Soviet Union "to cease thepersecution and imprisonment of thosecitizens in Ukraine asking for theinstitution of national, civil and individual rights." ;^Relating to H. Con. Res. 205, thousands of petitions and letters were sentto the president by Americans forHuman Rights in Ukraine and fromindividuals and organizations cooperating with AHRU such as: the IdahoYoung Republicans Federation, Ukrainian American Veterans, Ukrainian(Continued on pap 14)

    v --;-v", -W-M s -: ' v ' ; - . - i j fe i i

    Book review

    N e w b i b l i o g r a p h y : a p a n o r a m i c v i e wo f U k r a i n i a n l i f e i n N o r t h A m e r i c a"Ukrainians in Canada and the United States: A Guide to Information Sources."Edited by Alexander Sokolyszyn and Vladimir Wertsman. Detroit: Gale ResearchCo., 1981. pp. xv, 236. (Volume 7 in the Ethnic Studies Information GuideLibrary).

    by Paul ZaplitnyIt is all here: a panoramic view ofUkrainian life in Canada and theUnited States in bibliographic form. Itis as complete, thorough and comprehensive a representation that we couldhope to find anywhere. Ostensibly, theannotated bibl iography cites some

    1,000 books', dissertations and periodical articles derived from U krainian andEnglish sources. It actually containsmuch more, since periodical articles,encyclopedias, almanacs, directories,indices and guides in themselves generate numerous additional sources.Both editors are eminently qualified.Alexander Sokolyszyn, a retired seniorlibrarian, is an integral member of theUkrainian American community whohas made a considerable contribution toit in his own right as chronicler, bibliographer, researcher and activist. Oneneed only consult the author index tocorroborate this . Mr. Sokolyszyn'sinvolvement has given him wide accessto many and varied institutions and

    individuals, which is evident from evena cursory examination of the "Acknowledgements" and its roll of literallyscores of nam es. The fruit of this labor isa collection that has drawn from diversesources in the United States and Canada. If not for these two editors, manyitems here would have either remainedunkno wn to researchers, or obtained bythem only after tortuous and laboriousexertion.Mr. Wertsman is also a professional . ' ' " - ';1iWeVrt-V"." - '" .Vi-fciV.: -

    librarian and researcher. Althoughknowledgeable about the Ukrainiancommunity and Ukrainian problems,he brings a wider perspective to thisguide. This is Mr. Wertsman's secondbook on Ukrainians. His first book,"The Ukrainians in Am erica: 1608-1975," appears in standard bibliographies. H e has a lso prepared titles onother ethnic groups in the UnitedStates, such as the Armenians, theRumanians and the Russians. Hiscompetence and expertise is indicatedby the fact that he was invited to be aconsultant to the Harvard Encyclopediaof American Ethnic Groups.

    This guide is divided into six sections:general reference works on Ukrainiantopics; Ukrainian immigration, settlement and contributions in Canada andthe United States; Ukrainian cultureand heritage preservation and development in Canada and the United States;Ukrainian organized group life, education, social interaction and politics inCanada and the United States; bibliographic addenda; guide to Ukrainianorganizations, churches, periodicals,publishing houses and bookstores inCanada and the United States.

    This last section is actually a usefuldirectory containing the names andaddresses of some 175 national organizations, more than 550 churches, 100periodical articles -(active as well asretrospective), and 90 publishing housesand bookstores in Canada, the UnitedStates and other countries.(Continued on pap 12)

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    THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19 , 1982 , No . 51

    Ukrainian Christmas traditions: blend of old and newb y Orys ia Paszczak T racz

    Every na tion has its customs and traditions wh ich havedeveloped dur ing the course of many cen tur ies. Thecustoms of a people are those attributes by which a nationcan be recognized not only in the present, but in itshistorical past as wel l . Folk traditions encom pass all areasof social , family and comm unity l i fe , and they, a long withl a n g u a g e , a r e t h e s t r o n g e s t e l e m e n ts w h i c h u n i t eseparate persons into one nation.Long before the coming of Christianity, the tribes ofRus'-Ukraine had their holidays - certain time s of theyear devoted to the worshiping and honor ing of th is orthat god. The religious calendar was closely tied to naturea n d a g r i c u l t u r e . A n c i e n t U k r a i n i a n h o l i d a y s w e r eagr icultural celebrations which took place dependingupon the w eather , the phase of agr icultural activi ty andthe phase of the sun. Only with the coming of Christianitywere the celebrations f ixed to cer tain days.

    Al l hol idays had the same purpose: to honor the sunand the sun gods and to mark the conf l ic t of summ erandwinter , warmth and cold so basic to agr iculture.The pre-Christian religious calendar in all nationsbegan with the winter sols tice, when the days begin tolengthen and the "n ewly born " rays warmed the ear th forthe rebir th of nature. This was the bir thday of the sun,celebrated at the end of December and the beginning ofJanuary - the welcoming of the new sun year.This hol iday in R us'-Ukraine, cal led K ol iada, or feastofK o r o c h u n , was the greatest and most important EastEuropean fam ily and rel ig ious feast of the w inter cyc le.Th i s f e a s t , l i k e t h e e n t i r e p r e - C h r i s t i a n f a i t h , w assaturated w ith animism - the belief that everything innature, animate and inanimate, possesses a soul , and that

    man, by cer tain m agical words and actions,can inf luencenatural and supernatural powers. This feast of Kol iada -completely agr icultural - gave man hope and faith in agood harvest, and an increase in catt le, heal th, wealth andhappiness for him and his household.W ith the com ing of Chr is tianity , Chr is tmas replaced thefeast of Kol iada Ko rochun, but the Church could not rooto u t t h e a n c i e n t b e l ie f s a n d c u s to m s . Th e se h a v e

    remained, though somewhat al tered , and are inter twinedwith Christianity. This dual belief v/as the necessary resultof every instance of acceptance of a new fai th, becausethe old tha t was acquired through the ages could not beimmediately forgotten.Although from the customs g iven below only mem oriesand token mot ions rem ain , these t rad i t ions a re anintegral par t of a l l Ukrainians. They are also mostinteresting f rom a cultural and e thnological p oint of view.Long before Christmas preparations are made for thehol idays. The "hospo dar" (head of the family , the master)has kept a sheaf of wheat ("didukh") f rom the harvest. Tothe wheat were added blades of other grain along with th eb e s t g r a z in g g r a s s e s . W o o d , w a x a n d h o n e y w e r ep r e p a r e d ; the farm animals taken care of; the whole

    farm was tid ied for the winter feast The woman of thehouse bought new utensi ls for the k i tchen, preparedclothing for the family and new embroidery for the house,whitewashed the house and decorated i t .T w e l v e d i s h e s p r e p a r e d

    Twelve lenten dishes are prepared for the Chr is tmasEve dinner ("Sviata Vecheria"): kutia, uzvar, kapusniak,peas, borshch with mushrooms, sauteed or baked f ish,also f ish in aspic , varenyky f il led w ith f ruit or saue rkraut,mlynts i (pancakes), kasha, pyrohy (baked), holubts i. Insome localities 17 dishes were served. Also, dishes variedby area. The reason for the number 12 is because themoon c irc les the ear th 12 t imes a year; in Christian timesthis changed to represent the 12 apostles.

    For this evening, dishes m ust be prepared f rom al l thefruits and vegetables of the farm in order to welcome thegod of harvest and the holy souls of the ancestors. These,tasting the food offered, w i l l g ive an even better ha rvest inthe new year. T he dishes m ust be meatless and withoutmilk because it mu st be a bloodless sacrifice to th e god ofthe harvest. Also, on this evening, the god of the animalscomes down to see his beings, and for this reason noanimal should suffer the s l ightest wrong, much less beslaughtered." K u t i a " (cooked wheat grains w ith poppy seeds andhoney) is the food of the god of harvest, and "u zvar" or"var" (compote of cooked dried fruits) is his beverage.The word "kutia" is ancient, f rom the Greek "koukkia"(grains) - of fer ing for the^dead. "K utia" and "uzvar" atthis t ime have a r i tual character . T hey are ancient dishes,and the noted Ukrainian anthropologist Khvedir Vovkstated that " grains of wheat or bar ley cooked in water withhoney, and dr ied f ruit cooked in water date back to theneo li th ic ." K nishes are baked for the spir i ts , and they arethe bread of the souls of the ancestors.

    " D i d u k h " r i tu a lOn Christmas Eve the m aster and h is son walk into thebarn where the " did uk h" (sheaf of wheat) is kept. Theyremove. Ihe ir hats , J JOW4 O the -d idukh , " and c rossthemselves.The father , bowing his head, prays: "M erc ifu l God, an dyou, r ighteous Sun, I br ing greetings at Chr is tmas! Lastyear you gave us a harvest, gave us wealth and health...Beeven better to us in the new year! " We see how the old an dnew faiths are inter twined in this prayer .The " d idu kh " is then ca r r ied in to the house w i th g rea tceremony, and the master announces that the hol idayshave arrived ("Sviatky idut" ).. l t is p laced in the place ofhonor in the house (the "pokuttia"), and the masterspeaks to i t: "You have made us ful l , given us dr ink , fed

    us, warmed us and our animals , guarded our f ie lds -give us even better in the new year."The "d idu kh" (o r "sneep" ) was believed to be the homeof the souls o f the ancestors who were the guardians ofthe home. These souls were good holy souls who spent the

    Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner as depicted by Yaroslava Surmach Mills.

    summer in the f ie lds guarding the crops f rom al l naturalevi ls and ensur ing a good ha rvest These souls were alsothe middlemen between the god of the sun and thepeople.For the winter, the souls of the ancestors came into thehome with the " did uk h" ; others sett led in the forests andmeadows unti l they were cal led by the sun god in thespr ing. It was for the god of the sun, th e god of the animalsand the souls of the ancestors that the "S viata Vech er ia"was celebrated in pre-Christian times. And because thegods and souls are present, before anyone s its down tothe d inner , the person blows upon or brushes the chair ,thus removing the soul .

    The -master spreads a thin layer of straw on the tablewhile his w ife places special h erbs ( in later t ime s, c lovesof garlic) in the four corners of the table. She recites: "Evilpower , dark power , go into the swamps, caverns, c l i f fs ,deep waters , where the voice of the chicken cannot beheard , where the sun does not shine..." W ith this shebelieved that a l l evi l was chased from the farm . The layerof straw was covered with one tablecloth for the souls, thenwith another for the members of the family .Two extra place settings were set, one for the souls andanother for absent family members. This custom hasremained to the pre sent with the empty place setting alsorepresenting the fallen Ukrainian freedom-fighters of thiscoun t ry .The master sticks a beeswax candle into a specialb r e a d ( " p a l a n y t s i a " ) a n d l i g h t i n g it s a y s : " S h i n e ,r ighteous Sun, for the holy souls and for us l iving. W armfor us Mother Earth, our f ie lds , our animals ." T his candleburns all night.Each m ember of the fam ily shakes s traw onto the f loor ,and the chi ldren run and play in i t , making farm animalsounds - to ensure an increase in number of farmanimals, because it was believed the souls of the animalslive in the straw.D ur ing the day, the m aster feeds the animals , us ing hay(not the usual straw) to line their stalls, because theanimal god will visit them this night. It is believed theanimals speak the human language dur ing this night.

    F i r s t s t a r ' s a p p e a r a n c eAt dusk the son is sent outside to see if the first star hasappeared.,He returns^ announ cing: "God's s tar shines."W ith this mom ent "S viata Vecher ia" begins. The mastermixes the kutia, then carr ies i t around the farm , a l l thewhile rec it ing magical words, or , af ter the advent ofChristianity, special prayers.Upon his return, the family kneels , fac ing the "d idu kh "and the holy icons, and prays. The master then takes the" k u t i a , " his wife takes the cand le, and they s tand in thedoorway. They invite the sun, the moon, the s tars , therains and the ancestors to dinner. Then the lady of thehouse cal ls the f rosts , winds, droughts , s torms and al lnatural evi ls for dinner. Not receiving an answer , shesays: " I 'm cal l ing you. I f you do not come now, don' t comeat a l l , ever. May we never see you or hear you ." Thehusband and wife return to the table. A spoon ful of everydish is saved for the animals.The master sits down first, then the others. His wife isthe only one who may get up f rom the table dur ing thismeal. It was believed that anyone else leaving the tablewould not l ive to see the next "Sviata Vecher ia."The eldest member of the family, after saying magicalwords, throws a spoonful of "ku tia" to the cei l ing. Thenumber of grains and seeds stick ing indicates the numberof bee swarms, increase of cattle and of eggs in the newyear.The family then proceeds to eat dinner eagerly, for it is"the custom not to eat a l l day "u nti l the s tar shines." Sinceearliest times it was the custom to invite single persons,the poor, homeless and loners for "Sviata Vecheria."

    S i n g i n g o f " k o l i a d y "After the dinner , the family s ings "kol iady" (carols),many with pre-Chr is tian, agr icultural themes. They then

    go to church for the midnight services. The lights shine inthe house al l n ight, because l ight is a symbol of l ife. This isa holy night dur ing which al l gods and souls and spir i tswander a bout inspecting homes and farms. I t is a lsobelieved that bur ied treasure glows on this nightThere are innumerable other legends and bel iefsconnected with the holy night, depending upon theregion. Children carry dinner to their grandparents andgodparents af ter "Sviata Vecher ia." T his is m ore than acourtesy cal l , and indicates respect for e lders and thebelief that inn ocen t you ngsters were the messengers of

    (Continued on page 14)

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    N o . 51 THE UKRAIN IAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19 , 19 82 9 ^ ^^

    IIIb y H e l e n P e r o z a k S m i n d a k V t

    w^i j i t t t^wwwa^MHwwwHB^^P a n o r a m a o f U k r a i n i a n c u l tu r e in t h e B ig A p p l e

    A Big Apple ChristmasWith the Gregorian Christmas lesstha n a week away and the Jul ianChristma s arriving just 13 days later,the Big Apple abounds with twinkling

    Christmas trees, Yuletide carols, TVspecials, ice skating show s, art exhibitsand musical performances.The city's Parks Department hasannounced that all 43 Christmas trees inthe five boroughs will remain lightedthrough Janu ary 19, the 12th day ofChr i s tmas by the Ju l i an ca lendar .Herbert Rickman, Mayor Ed Koch'sspecial assistant, confirmed this in atelephone conversation last Tuesday,assuring me that the practice will becontinued each year.From the Mayor's Ethnic Councilcomes word that alternate-side-of-the-street parking will be suspended onJanuary 7.Christmas trees decorated with hand made ornaments are on display at TheUkrainian Museum, 203 Second Ave.,and at the New York Botanical Garden'sEn id A . Haup t Conserva to ry . Themuseum's "yalynka" is adorned withtraditional Ukrainian ornaments madeof straw, paper, foil, nuts, nulticoloredbeads, and paper and wire shaped intoanimals, mobiles, stars and cradles.The Ukrainian Christmas tree at theNew York Botanical Garden, one ofseven distinctive holiday trees featuredin the Internat ional Holiday Showthrough January 9, is trimmed withlarge white spider webs and snowflakescrocheted and tat ted by volunteersunder the direction of crafts coordinator No ra Fields. The 10-foot tree, set offby a bank of red and white poinsettias,is the first one that visitors see as theyenter the conservatory.The show's planne rs are searching forUkrainian dance and choral ensemblesfor the ethnic entertainment schedulethat is part of the program of traditionalAmerican carols provided by area highschool, church and comm unity groups.Located near Fordham University inthe Bronx, the conservatory is openTuesday to S unday from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. (closed Christmas and New Year'sDay).This weekend, pre-Christmas cheerand warmth reach a peak with theseactivities:

    " A show and sale of Christmas-themed ceramics and graphics by SlavaGerulak was to open on F riday, December17 , a t the Mayana Ga l le ry , 21 E .Seventh St. Continuing until January15, the show will be open daily, exceptMon day, from 1 to 6 p.m., and byappointment (telephone: 477-2714)." A Chris tmas tree-l ighting ceremony, followed by caroling indoors,was scheduled for Friday evening by theNew York Regional Council of the U-rainian National Women's League ofAmerica at UNWLA quarters , 108Second Ave. On Saturday, December 18, St.Nicholas was to dis tr ibute gif ts toyoungsters at the Plast Center, 140Second Ave., and at the School ofUkrainian Studies run by the Organization for the Defense of Four Freedomsfor Ukraine, at 136 Second Ave. TheWomen's Association of the ODFFUsponsored a tree-lighting ceremony andcarol s inging outside the building 'sfront door at dusk. WQXR Radio'sTexaco-Metropolitan Opera broadcastwas to feature Verdi's "Macbeth," withbass Paul Plishka in the cast (theprevious Saturday's" broadcast aired a

    triple bill of captivating French music,with Andriy Dobriansky in Poulenc's"Les Mamelles de Tiresias"). At theUkrainian Institute of America, theNew York branch of the UkrainianEngineer's Society was to hold itsannual "Yalynka" party in the evening,with entertainment by Lev Maistrenko.and vocalists Chrystia Ivaniw and OlesKuzyszyn. NBC-TV was scheduled toshow the "Ballet" episode of its "Love,Sidney" series at 9:30 p.m., with littleNina Bachinska in a guest role." Today's schedule of events calls fora bazaar at the Plast Center, from 10a.m. to 3 p.m. The Ukrainian Museumwill hold its final Christmas-ornamentworkshop for this season, while themuseum gift shop has braced itself fora rush of business from all those metro politan-area residents who were snowbound by last Sunday's blizzard. AtMadison Square Garden, the brother-sister team of Mark and Janet Homi-nuke will be showing its prowessthis afternoon in the. pairs competitionat the International Professional Ice' Skating C hampionships. Topping offthe day at 4 p.m., the first concert in this

    season's Uk rainian Com posers Series atthe Ukrainian Institute offers the American premiere of Hryhoriy Skovoroda'sChristmas carol "O, Shepherd Mine"and repeat performances of the traditional Vertep and Lysenko's popularoperetta "Nocturne."" And coming up on December 24,the Ukrainian Students Association ofM. Michnowsky has planned a carolsongfest on the Fifth Avenue steps of St.Patrick's Cathedral. Mykola Hrycko-wian, a student at St. John's Universityin Queens, is in charge of proceedings,which will begin at 2 p.m. True tocaroling custom , the students will carrya large star on a pole.Christmas liturgies

    Three Ukrainian parishes in NewYork will hold their Christmas liturgieson Decem ber 25 . The Very Rev .Lubomyr Mudry of St. Mary Protectress Ukrainian Catholic Church, 97-0687th St. Ozone Park, Queens hasinformed me that his parishioners willattend a liturgy at midnight on December 24 and a chanted liturgy at 9a.m . on

    A favor i te ornament fo r a Uk ra in ian Chr i s tmas t ree i s a sp ider perched onh i s w e b . T h i s g o o d l u c k s y m b o l o r i g i n a t e d f r o m a l e g e n d o f a p o o r o l dw o m a n w h o h a d n o t re e o r n a m e n t s . S h e a w o k e o n C h r is t m a s m o r n i n g t of in d t h a t a s p i d e r h a d w o v e n a w e b w h i c h t u r n e d t o s i lv e r when the f i rs t l igh to f the sun s t ruck the t ree . T he U k ra in ian Chr i s tmas t ree is one of severa lho l i day t rees f rom a l l over the wor l d on exh ib i t dur ing . the New YorkB o t a n ic a l G a r d e n 's " I n t e r n a t io n a l H o l id a y S h o w " a t t h e En id A . H a u p tC o n s e r v a t o ry , D e c e m b e r 11 t h r o u g h J a n u a r y 9 . Fo r m o r e in f o r m a t i o n c a l l220-8700.

    December 25. The Ukrainian CatholicChurch of the Annunciation of theBlessed Virgin Mary, 48-26 171 St., inFresh Meadows, Queens, will hold amidnight liturgy on December 24 and a10 a.m. liturgy on December 25, celebrated by the pastor, Msgr. Emil Ma na-stersky. In Brooklyn, the Rt. Rev.Januarius Izzo will conduct Christmasservices on December 25 at St. NicholasUkrainian Catholic Church, 261 19thSt., with the assistance of deaconBohdan Karas.Ukrainian lullaby

    Holding her 6-month-old daughterRomanka wrapped in a blanket in herarms, Ivanka Kuziw-Zajac lulled her tosleep on a recent occasion by crooning apopular Ukrainian lullaby, "Maty doniu(syna) kolekhala." No mean feat, whenyou consider that Mrs. Zajac wassinging to her child in a room at NewYork University's Main Building beforea gathering of persons l is tening tosamples of New York City lullabies,both live and recorded. Presiding overthe session was Julia Lebentritt, director of a project dedicated to collecting lullabies of various ethnic groups,who plans to produce a tape cassette oflullabies. Mrs. Zajac, a former memberof the Zhayvoronky Girls' Chorus andthe Verkhovyntsi Ukrainian Dancers,has been heard on tape on WNYC's"Special Editions" program, singingand humming Ukrainian lullabies. Sheand Romanka will appear in personnext Ju ne 15 du ring a session onlul labies at the New York PublicLibrary on Leroy Street in lower Manhattan.Paintings on view

    e The exhibit of four decades of art byJacques Hnizdovsky continues at theUkrainian Institute through January15. Hours: 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday throughSunday. On display through December30 in a group show at