Ukraine: the Tears and Ties that Bind
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the home of my ancestors, on Feb. 24th, I sobbed uncontrollably. The fact that my tears flowed so easily surprised me, but when I examined my past, I understood why. It’s in my DNA. Both my parents had immigrated from that land. The tears and ties that bind me to Ukraine came naturally.
Though I was born in Canada, Ukrainian was my first language. My baba, Lukia Mazurec—who is the protagonist in my biographical fiction series, Lukia’s Family Saga—lived with my mother, father, and me and spoke little English.
Around the kitchen table, I heard the stories of their life in the old country. They taught me about the culture and sent me to Ukrainian school and summer camps at St. Andrew’s College in Winnipeg, where I learned more about the history of Ukraine. Students came from across Canada to learn about the Ukrainian culture.
And I’ve spent the last six years writing historical fiction novels with a connection to that country. The first one in the series, Sunflowers Under Fire, is about how my baba and her children weathered WWI, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the wars that followed. They carried that history with them when they immigrated to Canada. That immigration story is told in books 2 and 3 of the series, Lilacs in the Dust Bowl, and Paper Roses on Stony Mountain.
So I cried when Putin sent his armed forces in. That was over three months ago and the war is escalating. The war crimes have mounted. Not only is he determined to take over Ukraine, he seems bent on destroying it as well. He acts like an abusive and mentally ill parent who can’t abide his child wanting to go out on their own.
Attempts at Killing a Culture
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, I had been following the Canadian news about the discovery of indigenous children in unmarked graves at residential schools. The news underlined the horror of what indigenous children and their families had gone through, and how it affected the generations that followed. The teachers at these schools tried to kill the “Indian” in indigenous children by separating them from their families, wiping out their language, forcing them to adopt English—even changing their names—and cutting off their beautiful hair. Today, First Nations in Canada are working hard to restore and preserve their language, which almost disappeared during that tragic time in the history of Canada. The practices at these schools, supported by church and government, amounted to cultural genocide.
Now I can’t help but see the comparison.
A Genocide
A genocide is what’s happening in Ukraine today. Not only is Putin bombing cities and towns and killing innocent civilians, he’s also trying to bring Ukraine to its knees. Putin wants to control Ukraine and put his stamp on its identity. He has dreams of resurrecting the Soviet Republic, of being the leader of an empire once more. In that way, he can restore the glory and power of Russia in the world. He wants Ukrainians to overlook their history of oppression under Russian rule.
But because of their history, Ukrainians naturally gravitate to the democratic west and not to Russia’s authoritarian regime. Ukrainians have had had enough of dictatorship, whether it was under the rule of a tsar, or under an autocrat like Stalin. Their families remember the Holodomor, when millions perished in the state-produced famine. They remember what it was like to be second-class citizens in a Communist system and want no part of it.
Trip to Ukraine
I became acquainted with more of Ukraine’s history, when my mother took me, my husband, and our two grown daughters on a tour of the country—the Ukrainian Soviet Republic—in 1988 called Unforgettable Ukraine. She wanted us to see Kivertsi, the village she emigrated from. Besides Kivertsi, we also toured Lutsk, Lviv, and Kyiv. Gorbachev was in power then, and the Ukrainian Soviet Republic was undergoing reforms of their political and economic systems. It was a period of Glasnost, meaning more openness.
Our family was shocked at what we found on our visit to my mother’s village. We met distant relatives who still lived the way she and her family had lived before they emigrated to Canada in 1929. The relatives’ toilet was an outhouse with a hole in the ground inside. Their meagre homes were drafty and held wood stoves for cooking.
When my mother’s cousins visited our hotel in Lutsk, 14 km from Kivertsi, they had to hand in their passports at the front desk before coming up to our rooms. And when we sat on the twin beds facing one another, they talked in hushed tones, occasionally pointing to the ceiling or under the bedside table. Fearing there were hidden listening devices in the room, they refused to talk about anything that could be interpreted as against the state. It was only later, on the street, that they could talk openly about their experiences living under Soviet rule.
What struck me as odd, too, was my relatives’ language. Russian words peppered their speech, ones I didn’t understand.
Suppression of the Ukrainian Language
During our time in the Ukrainian Socialist Republic, I had a few experiences that showed me how the suppression of the Ukrainian language was affecting locals.
The first revelation came when our Russian guide arranged for us to see a film about Lysenko, a Ukrainian classical composer. (He composed the song, Great and Only God, that was sung on Saturday Night Live, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine). I watched the movie, but I didn’t understand the dialogue. The actors spoke Russian. I told our guide it wasn’t a Ukrainian film. She wasn’t happy with my remark.
The second time we were confronted by a language concern, was when we were in Lviv. My husband and I went into a deli to grab some lunch and while we were in line, I chatted up a young man, who turned out to be a medical student. He told me he was going to a demonstration later that evening in Ivan Franko Park. He and other intelligentsia were going to speak out against a movement by the authorities to replace the Ukrainian language with the Russian language in official government documents.
And the last instance was in a jewellery store in Lutsk. An elderly man overhead me speaking to my mother in Ukrainian and asked me where I’d learned the language. He knew I was from another country because of my Western dress. I told him I had learned the language from my baba (grandmother). He wept. He told me he was overjoyed the Ukrainian language, in its pure form, was being spoken elsewhere.
The suppression of the Ukrainian language actually began in 1804 during a tsarist regime. Afterwards, there were brief periods when the language was allowed, but just as quickly banned again.
Restoring the Ukrainian Language
It bothers Putin and the Russian separatists in the east (supported by Putin) that Ukraine has taken steps to make the Ukrainian language the dominant one in the country. The government of Ukraine is trying to undo the damage done to the language over centuries of Russian rule.
The Ukrainian language is one of the most melodic of languages. It ranks up high with Italian. It’s the language of Ukrainian poets, like Taras Shevchenko, who wrote political and revolutionary poems, and Lesya Ukrainka, who wrote poems about nature and hope.
Survival
Ukrainians have struggled for centuries to gain independence. With their new president Zelensky, it looked like they had turned a corner. But then Russia invaded. Now when I watch the television coverage of the war in Ukraine, I can only weep and pray that the country will survive along with its identity and language. “Ukraine Hasn’t Perished Yet” is the first line of Ukraine’s national anthem.
Comments
I am so thankful for all the support Ukraine is getting from the world. I’m thankful to all those in Poland, Canada, America, and other countries who’ve taken Ukrainian refugees into their homes. I hope for everyone’s sake, this war is over soon. Praying for Peace.
If you feel inclined, please leave a comment. I’m happy to hear from readers. And if you haven’t already, do sign up for my newsletter. In my next letter, I’ll be announcing the launch date of my new novel, Paper Roses on Stony Mountain and more.
Thank you for this insightful piece. I am a first generation Ukrainian Canadian whose parents came to Canada after WW2 as “displaced persons”. I went to Ukrainian school and am still able to speak and write in Ukrainian. I have cousins in Lviv and surrounding area. I visited Ukraine in 1994 and was also surprised at the standard of living there at the time. I am interested in reading your books….where can I order them?
Irene, thank you for your comment. Aren’t we blessed to know the language of our ancestors? I am so thankful my parents had the love of their culture and the wisdom to encourage me to learn the language, just like your parents obviously encouraged you. My books are available at all major booksellers online, like Amazon and others. Independent bookstores can also order it in through Book Manager or Ingram Spark. If you have any trouble, please email me at info@dianastevan.com
Thank you for sharing what it was like when you visited Ukraine and your family background. It gives me a better understanding of what is going on in Ukraine today and why it is happening. Lukia’s saga brings it to life with real people and are so timely today. It is good that your family wanted to pass on the language and culture to you.
Jo, I’m glad that you gained a better understanding of what’s at stake for Ukrainians in this senseless and unprovoked war. I wanted to add more in my blog post about the Russian propaganda that continues to swirl and mislead many, but I left that alone. It serves Putin’s goals as justification for the invasion so I don’t expect those lies to stop any time soon. And yes, I’m so thankful my parents passed on so much of their culture to me. I don’t think I realized what a gift that was until I was so much older.
Thanks for this Diana! I am very immersed in the history of Ukraine and how the timelines repeat. I had my knowledge from history, then first-hand from Sunflowers Under Fire, and now from daily news. It is almost impossible to imagine what the people of this country have suffered and continue to suffer. They became my people through your books, and I too suffer with the tragedy unfolding.
I don’t really have much in the way of comment. I just wanted to say that as I looked at the family picture above her indomitable strength is right there in her face.
Bob, thank you for taking the time to comment. I so appreciate your support. I can’t imagine what people in Ukraine are going through either. Before Russia invaded, they were carrying on with their dreams, their families, their work and now everthing has been turned upside down. Families separated. Men, many scared, have stayed to fight. It’s incredible. My heart breaks for those trapped in this nightmare.
Got choked up reading this. I am also the son of Displaced Persons. I never in my life thought I would see a repeat of the stories my Mama and Tato would talk about in the evenings. We have a letter from my Grandfather who wrote to my mother in a slave labor camp. “Nina don’t come home. The land is covered with blood. Now in 2022 I am seeing a repeat. It is so blatant with the intentional destruction of schools, churches, libraries, sport centers and cultural centers. It is the destruction of Ukrainian culture. No different than Peter I or Stalin or the long list of tsars that made Ukrainian illegal. The theft of grain brings back stories of the Holodomor that my mother survived as an 7 year old and was witness to people going into the fields to die. I am ashamed to say, this had taught me never to look upon a death because of war as a statistic. It is painful to see suffering, sorrow of survivors of a loss of a soldier, child or parent. These last months have been a strike at the heart. Prayers have never been so fervent.
Dear Oleh, I am so sorry for your pain as well. We share it. It’s madness on all fronts, in Ukraine, and in the hearts and minds of those who choose to believe in the terrible propaganda war that Russia is also waging on Ukraine. And yes, prayers have never been so fervent. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. 🌻💙💛
My story is so similar to yours, living with baba, hearing the stories, visiting Ukraine in 1994, speaking Ukrainian when everyone was speaking Russian, and the new found respect for Ukrainian language when spoken from someone from the U.S. I don’t understand Russsian and when shopping they finally spoke to me in Ukrainian, but reluctantly.
Orysia, thank you for leaving your comment. We are so blessed to have been exposed to this beautiful culture through our babas and families. This wonderful culture that Putin and his forces are trying to stamp out but he won’t be able to do that. It’s survived so many onslaughts in the past and will survive this one, too. The tragedy is that too many will lose their lives in the process. 🌻💙💛
Thank you so much for putting to paper your insights and struggles with this despicable war. My grandparents (maternal and paternal) came to this country over one hundred years ago but I too wept when I heard that the war had started. My Canadian born parents, myself and my sister, and our children and their children still speak Ukrainian. I pray that Ukraine will be victorious and can continue to share its beautiful culture to the world.
Nice to hear from you, Lydia. Also comforting to know that I’m not alone in my grief. How lovely that your family kept up the language. I married a second generation Ukrainian Canadian whose mother had experienced so much prejudice that she did not encourage the use of the language in her home. She actually pretended she didn’t know it. I don’t blame her. Discrimination hurts and she wanted to fit in. As a result, I didn’t teach our girls Ukrainan either even though I am so proud of our heritage. My granddaughter is intereseted thought and I’ve shared my love of the Ukrainian tongue with her. I pray too that Ukraine will be victorious. I worry about how many young and old lives will be lost in this crazy battle.
So many stories are similar. My mother was a young 13 and an only child, taken by Germans to Austria as forced labour during WW2. Met and married a fellow Ukrainian and with a 1 and 2 yr. old came to Australia as Displaced Persons, having been warned not to return to Ukraine. It was many years later before they were able to find out whether any family members were still alive. We spoke Ukrainian at home and in our little country town other Uki families arrived as DP’s and slowly formed their own little community. Their old traditions were maintained, songs and dances learnt by us children, our language spoken at home and despite our small number we participated in local events etc. Years later our hometown has erected plaques, in gratitude to the Ukrainian families who contributed to the education and growth of the town by their hard work and continuance of their traditions. All our parents would be heartbroken and devastated to know their beloved Ukraine is facing such horrors. I thank God they are no longer here to see the destruction. Slava Ukraini!
Olya, our parents’ and grandparents’ stories have been etched in our souls. How wonderful that they were able to maintain their culture and traditions so far from Ukraine. Like you say, they would be heartbroken to know what’s happening in the old country. Ukraine is so rich in resources, it’s no wonder there is always some country wanting to grab a piece of it. Slava Ukraini!
I feel for you because my dad told me stories of what that had to go with what is happening in Ukraine can you tell me where I can get your books I would really love to read them
Thank you, Orysia for your comment and understanding. My books are availabe through Amazon and other major booksellers online. Independent bookstores can also order it in for you if your give them the title and author name. My books are listed on the page: https://www.dianastevan.com/books/
I, am devastated that selfish ma destroys other peoples heritage in order to return to the Old Soviet; no one wants to go backwards . My Gido was from Eastern Polandand Baba from western Ukraine met and married in Matloc Manitoba in the early 1900. Baba spoke no English, all their children did. The language was lost as the sibblings married other kind loving folk of different nationalities. We did learn a lot though for which to this day i am grateful for . I do my best to learn many special celebrations and celebrate the culture of both Gido and Baba and cook many a hertiage meal . I pray the destruction in Ukraine ends very soon ,my heart soul is hurting . 💔 Peeace to a nation of kind people . “Ukraine”
Thank you for your comment Darlyn. I’ve been to Matloc, a wonderful community. My baba didn’t speak English either. As you say, Darlyn, much is lost with each succeeding generation, but it’s wonderful that you’re doing your best to celebrate the culture. And yes, Slava Ukraini.
I’ve read Sunflowers on fire. Every step Lukya and family took I was right there. So powerful,. On your Lilacs n the dust bowl. I was born and grew up in the north end. Then you mention Father Sawchuk, my heart soars. Father Sawchuk was my brother’s father in law. What a fantastic human being. Very proud you mention him. I will tell my sister about it. Waiting for your third book. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your comment, Val. I’m so glad you enjoyed my novels.