Anna Golubowska

Anna Golubowska, Anna.Golubovska-Onisimova@kyiv-2003.ln.ua 

CH-341


Kyiv,  17 juni 2003 15:57

Dear Hugo,

how are you? Somehow, after your letter “from Poltava” I’ve started to look around for information links about Karl XII, Ukrainian prospective and interpretation of Poltava Battle history. I’ve met in one of newspapers an interesting article about visit of Nikita Khrushchev, USSR leader (he was born and developed in Ukraine), to Sweden in 1964, were this link is reflected in certain composition. I will write about it to the loop which you established by your letter “Poltava”.

Meanwhile, I would like to ask you, please, whether you would permit that the Kyiv-2003 newsletter (I wrote about it in my previous letter, if you are interested, the last issue could be viewed at  http://alter-eco.org.ua/kyiv2003/eng/publications.htm ) will publish your Conference Speech on the Future of the EfE? If you have no objectons, may I ask you, please, to send your photo by e-mail to me? If this is not easy (need more time), maybe photo from Kyiv Secretariat could be used (Andriy’s) – we could try with your permission to cut it (see attached).

looking forward to hear from you,
Anna.


Kyiv, 28 juni 2003

Dear Hugo, Andriy, dear friends!

Today is the Constitution’s Day of Ukraine (28.06.2003)

As I said already to Hugo, due to his experience on Poltava visit, shared with us, lately I’ve started to notice different information related to the Poltava Battle, Karl XII, Ukrainian history interpretations, etc. Yesterday, the TV-show on the 1st National channel also discussed this issue: the Poltava battle and its interpretations. Discussing the issue whether or not such distant in time personalities as Karl XII could be handled with emotional perception, invited experts said “yes”, and one of them confirmed Karl XII to be his favorite historical figure! Following Andriy’s remarks, I could also confirm, that self-identification process of Ukrainians and independent Ukraine is going on, and the Poltava battle is really considered by more and more people inside and outside the country as very important milestone.

Meanwhile, I would like to tell you another story written recently in the “Moscow Komsomolmember” newspapers. It is called “How Khrushchev lost to Karl XII”. On summer 1964, Head of Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev made a visit to Scandinavian countries. The mission was in a center of world mass-media. The publications were mainly glorifying Mr. Khrushchev – an Ambassodor of peace and social equality. At the same time, Scandinavian media informed about parallel anti-soviet actions and appeals for kommunists dethronement. After Soviet delegation arrival to Sweden, anticommunists actions and media coverage of it became especially strong and annoying for Khrushchev.  And, he was not able any more to keep ignoring this protest. He made the following statements at the official breakfast in the Goteborg Municipality (in the article, the quotations from original minutes were used):

“…We don’t have any reason for disputes or discords, we don’t have and we couldn’t have any territorial claims to each other: However, being in your country, I was slightly perplexed with one circumstance happened during the days of my visit… The vexatious occurrence has happened once in the history of our nations. I wouldn’t like to remind about it, but I was forced to do so. Karl XII, in my opinion, King of Sweden (laugh), suddenly decided to taste Ukrainian galushkas – this is national Ukrainian dish, – and he appeared on the territory of our country as ally of Mazeppa, the Hetman of Ukraine of that time, and started the war against Russia. You know the end. It was finished with disaster either for Swedes or for us, because many soldiers perished to repulse invasion. You, probably, know exact details, but, on my opinion, Karl XII together with Mazepa escaped from near Poltava to Sweden via Turkey.

..Yesterday and today your Swedish mass-media informed, that a men Stechko placed a wreath on Karl XII monument to express the gratitude from Ukrainian people. Then I am sitting and thinking: what does it mean? …Then I am asking direct question – Mister Prime-Minister, do you want to wage war against Soviet Union?:” (etc.) The scandal was so powerful that by some opinions, become one of the major reasons of Khrushchev resignation from his post of USSR Head in 1964, later on the same year.

“Stechko” was wrongly spelled name of Yaroslav Stets’ko, brother-in-arms of Stepan Bandera, leader of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), which tried under the umbrella of German occupation forces to establish independent Ukrainian Government in Lviv in 1941. He was called in Scandinavian mass-media during that period  “Last Prime-Minister of free Ukraine”. During Khrushchev’s visit to Sweden in 1964, he, his not less famous wife (Head of Congress of Ukrainian Nationalist that time, recently dead in Ukraine being the member of Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada)and his colleagues, other Ukrainian political emigrants, with support of some political elite (like Head of Danish Parliament), democratic activists, students and even schoolboys, prepared and conducted the anti-soviet action and mass-media campaign, which especially due to political incontinence of Khrushchev, reached very high public resonance.

If you would like to refresh your memory about Khrushchev, please, read 1-page memo attachment of his short biography.

I hope, you had some fun – see you on-line next time!
Anna.