The Chronicles Of Grant County

Ukraine - New Mexico

Ukraine is fighting for its continued independence. (The photograph was provided courtesy of jorono through Pixabay, 2017.)

Grant County and New Mexico are worlds apart from Ukraine. Yet the American values in this area are similar to the values Ukrainians are fighting for in the streets of Kyiv, Odessa, and scores of other communities.

At the time this news column is being prepared, Ukraine is still fighting for its survival as an independent nation. It is not the first time that leaders from Russia (and elsewhere) have attempted to subjugate the Ukrainian people.

The people of Ukraine have known heartache before.

The history of Russia and Ukraine are intertwined, but are also distinct. For centuries, people living in the lands of today's Ukraine were part of empires controlled by Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia as well as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Three of the leaders of the USSR had roots in Ukraine.

In the early 20th century, Ukraine was re-born as an independent nation in war. On November 19, 1917, the Albuquerque Morning Journal reported on its front page that "The Ukraine assembly has declared the independence of the Ukraine."

About one month later, on December 11, 1917, this same newspaper included a news article with the headline of "Cossack Revolt Against Bolsheviki Government Is Spreading Rapidly." The news article noted that a military leader of the Cossacks was "…moving towards the borders of the Ukraine, which already has declared its independence and hostility to the Bolsheviki elements, and at the same time is forming a menace to Moscow, where the Bolsheviki are in control." The Santa Fe New Mexican included a news article on the 20th of the same month noting that "Relations between the Ukraine and the Bolsheviki government have not been cordial."

On January 28, 1918, the Albuquerque Morning Journal included a news article dated from the day before with the headline of "Ukrainians Declare Absolute Independence." The news article included references to the proclamation that "…the Ukraine wishes to live on terms of concord and friendship with Rumania [Romania], Turkey, and the other neighboring powers."

An editorial by The Albuquerque Morning Journal on March 16, 1918, noted that "Within a short time such important parts as Finland, Siberia, Polish Russia, and the Ukraine have split off, and it is doubtful whether Russia can ever regain them save by a war…" That same editorial also indicated that the newspaper did not think that Lenine [Vladimir Lenin] would last long.

Unfortunately for many, Lenin survived as the new leader of the Russian Soviet Republic. He and others waged war against independent-minded Ukrainians. Ukraine as a separate, distinct country ceased to exist as both Poland and what would become the USSR took control of its lands. Lenin continued his leadership and became the founding leader of the USSR in 1922.

Genocide through famine was utilized by the leadership in Moscow during the 1930s. Activities by both Germany and the USSR during World War II devastated large sections of Ukraine. Some Ukrainians stood with the USSR during the Second World War, while some supported the Nazis. Many people – including a large portion of the Jewish population of Ukraine – were murdered by the Nazis and those who supported them. After World War II, the leadership in Moscow took aim at many of its own citizens within Ukraine that were considered to have been disloyal or were considered threats to the USSR. Using similar methods as the USSR did in previous years, some of these people were killed, while others were deported internally to prisons (Gulags) in other sections of the USSR.

Through the years, the boundaries of Ukraine were altered by the USSR. While much of Ukraine today includes ground that has largely been populated by Ukrainians for generations, the country also includes territory that previously was part of other nations. Portions of Romania and Poland were added to Ukraine as the USSR took lands from those two nations in World War II. After World War II, a portion of what was then Czechoslovakia was added to Ukraine by the USSR. In 1954, the leadership in Moscow transferred control of Crimea to Ukraine.

Since 1991, with the dissolution of the USSR, Ukraine once again became an independent nation. The borders set by the USSR became the borders of the new country. Democratic institutions have evolved since that time. Some of those structures have developed strong roots. But not everyone has welcomed the blossoming of freedom.

President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation has stated on a number of occasions that Ukraine and Russia are one and the same country. He has spoken of the kinship between families on two sides of what he has seen as an artificial border. Under his leadership, the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in 2014, and within days, Russia annexed Crimea. Though he has denied until very recently any support for the further dismemberment of Ukraine, President Putin has encouraged a war between Ukrainians and rebels in the eastern part of Ukraine. Of course, according to President Putin, "no Russians" have been involved in the war that has been ongoing for eight years in Ukraine.

In February of 2022, President Putin removed any pretense about what he has been doing to destabilize and potentially destroy Ukraine. He has now publicly taken the military steps to implement his view that Ukraine must not be allowed to exist as an independent nation.

The people of Ukraine do not share the sentiments of the Dear Leader of Moscow.

The national anthem of Ukraine is "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina."

Translated into the English language: "Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished."

You can listen to the anthem in Ukrainian by clicking here or in English by clicking here.

"The Uspensky Sobor (Dormition Cathedral) at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Kyiv Monastery of the Caves) complex," according to a statement from the Central Intelligence Agency. "Originally constructed between 1073 and 1078, it was further enlarged over the subsequent centuries. Destroyed by the Soviet Army in 1941, the cathedral was rebuilt between 1998 and 2000. (The photograph was provided courtesy of the Central Intelligence Agency.)

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© 2022 Richard McDonough