Events Happen! The past is prologue. And the past, well, it isn't even past.
And so we paraphrase: from the semi-obscene and trite, to the Bard, to a Nobel honoree in literature.
And in this January issue of The Ukrainian Observer, it is now time to name our Person of the Year for 2004.
We decline.
Events, the times, the past few months, the current tumult, all have overtaken us.
So, for this year only, but for what we believe is good reason, we are not naming a single Person of the Year. Instead, for the Year 2004:
We salute, we honor, The Spirit of Ukraine.
That spirit is symbolically expressed by the young lady that is caricatured on our cover. She, perhaps an Olga, as in the country's historical past, represents, stands for, the people of Ukraine. All of Ukraine.
For more than a millennium, there have been a Ukrainian people. In a time before nations were known to history, they assembled for a great period and were Kyvian Rus. At one time in history they banded as Cossacks. Great and glorious stories and much honor and valor flowed from those periods, both in truth and in legend. But on history's time scale, those are brief periods when contrasted with the longer, more troubled, more tortured and conflicted history of the people.
On the streets of Kyiv, of L'viv, of other cities, including the Donbass region and elsewhere throughout Ukraine in the months of November and December the people have taken
a stand. In colors both orange and blue and white and in the azure blue and yellow of the people's flag they have stood up and spoken.
For a thousand years, though interrupted at times, there have been masters and the masses. There has been the State, in one form or another, whether represented by tsar or commissar, and the masses. And the masses never really counted.
There has always been the "elites", the "authorities", the "rulers". Never, "the people".
The Ukrainian people are passive. They are of a peaceful nature. They will not fight. They... they... other attributes. These things are said. But yes, also, they are said to be hardworking; they are honest (save for the necessities of living and dealing within the "system"); they are kindly, neighborly, taken to religion, self-sufficient, and they have other favorable attributes.
But all that is "they". As in spoken "of them".
If the they, the them, are passive, peaceful, subdued in and by their collective natures, then why? The answer? Perhaps, just maybe, they've collectively, also individually, as family and as self, and personally, physically and in sprit suffered greatly for a long time under their masters. Their masters, meaning here, the system of governance in which and under which they have lived. Systems of government which, when not directly attempting to treat them as serfs, indirectly through other means distinguished them and treated them as such. They, these masses, had no voice. They were not truly passive and subservient by choice. Not to be passive was to be killed, or otherwise removed. And there were ample means of enforcement by those tsars, commissars, elites, authorities and such.
But enough.
This UO issue is dedicated to celebrating the spirit of those people. For the people, in the year 2004 have found their collective voice. They are speaking in the streets and at the polling places. East and west, right bank and left bank, in Ukrainian and in Russian they are speaking to those who have neglected and abused them; and who thought they would always remain passive and servile.
It seemed at one time that they had started anew some 14 years ago. Independence was declared and from a republic contrived under another system, a nation was born. But old habits of governance remained. Places and names in government changed, but the way of doing the business of government remained largely in force. The people, the individual, their voices continued unheard. New elites replaced the old. Those elites, like boyars of old, considered the wealth, the property and assets of the country theirs alone to use. They stole from the people. In this neglect and abuse of the people's properties and wealth they were abetted by, joined by, and in many cases were the same people as those elected to govern. Election to office itself was often purchased. And those purchasing elected office did so to promote their own interests and to protect what they believed to be their own assets. Few represented the people.
Let it be said now. That in the year 2004, late in that year, the people have spoken. They have asserted their right to be heard. That is what those crowds in the streets, those horns blowing, those shouts and cheers are all about.
If change is here, if a revolution is in process, if it continues, it is all because the people of the nation Ukraine have finally found their voices. They have said, "We will not be passive." And, "We will be heard." And "Those of whom we choose to elect, you will serve for us, and you will serve at our privilege."
At least that is what we at the UO believe is happening during these times. And for this we celebrate, salute and honor the people through this Spirit of Ukraine issue.
Editor's Note
Our declining to name a Person of the Year 2004 is not that there are none available worthy of the honor. We hesitate to name names though many in the sports and entertainment fields jump quickly to mind. Think of Vitaliy Klitchko, Andriy Shevchenko, Yana Klochkova, Ruslana (no last name needed now). There are deserving candidates likewise in the fields of fashion and design, in arts, letters and science and business. And, even in politics, there are several who would normally garner consideration (though this presents an, "the jury is still out" problem, at the end of this particular year).
We chose not to directly name the people of Ukraine as the winner of an honor either. We did not want an award as such to them. In a sense, with the people coming forth and asserting their rights to be heard, they have collectively shown tenacity, courage and conviction. Real Spirit! But, in a very large sense, the jury is still out again as to what all their efforts means for the future. So, we have saluted that spirit shown so fervently towards the end of 2004. May it long continue.
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