Ukraine: 33 Years of Independence
The August day that united the nation
Today Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day, the third Independence Day during the war. Thirty-three years ago, on August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) proclaimed the independence of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic within the USSR. This was made possible after the defeat of the GKChP military coup in Moscow on August 19–21 and the victory of democracy over radical communist bosses seeking to establish a military dictatorship.
It seemed then that Ukraine had a beautiful future. The intelligentsia and the nascent Ukrainian middle class were enthusiastic. Residents of the big cities, anticipating future deindustrialization and fearing job loss, were more skeptical and demanded the preservation of social guarantees. The peasantry was silent (as it always is at crucial moments in the history of Eastern Europe), but generally positive.
My grandparents, then living in a small town in northern Ukraine, were witnesses to these historic changes. They kept the traditions of their peasant ancestors that helped them survive in the most difficult historical circumstances. Their neighbors often said, “Zaporizhian Cossacks were the smartest people on earth. We are hard-working, once we gain independence we will continue their traditions and build a beautiful and…
