The Biggest Story of 2013 That You Haven't Heard About - Part 2
We return to the dramatic scene in the Maidan in Kiev where the Ukrainian people stand together to demonstrate their disapproval of the actions of the current regime, as we saw in our last post. This remarkably peaceful gathering of people of every age, sex, and religious as well as political persuasion (even those ostensibly supporting the government, as we'll see in a moment), is the biggest story of 2013 that you haven't heard about. Now we'll look at what could be the most striking, compelling and inspiring aspect of this gathering of "the people." But first, to set the scene properly, let's understand the place - the Maidan - where the people now gather.
The full name of the Maidan, or simply Maidan, is, as we previously noted, Maidan Nezelezhnosti, translated as "Independence Square." If you're over 30 years old, and have even the slightest recollection of the historic events surrounding the collapse and break-up of the Communist-ruled Soviet Union, you remember that the "captive nations" as they were known broke off from the Russian-dominated Soviet state and became independent nations. Ukraine was one of these. When this occurred, the square in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, filled up with people gathered in joyous celebration at having been freed (or so they thought and hoped at the time) from Soviet and Russian political domination. Hence the name that square has proudly wore since then.
But to really understand the significance the square holds for today's demonstrators, you have to understand that when the Soviet state collapsed, the influence of Russia over its neighbors also diminished. And, as any student of history knows, this marked a dramatic change from the centuries of domination the rulers of Russia exerted over their neighbors the Russians established their vast Empire in 1721. Indeed, the Soviet Union that succeeded the Russian Empire in 1917 was in many ways an extension of that Empire. While we're not going to delve into the unique role Ukraine played in the building and sustaining of the Russian Empire, we just need to understand that centuries of Russian domination appeared to end with the Soviet state's demise. Alas, it was not so, as Russia eventually rose from its brush with political and economic disaster to begin asserting itself in the region, most dramatically under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, who wants to reconstruct the old Empire by creating an economic union to - it would seem - rival the EU. And many, in fact probably most, Ukrainians aren't interested in rekindling the old ties if Moscow - as seems likely - reasserts it's traditional domineering role. As Americans with a history and tradition of built on the notion of liberty and independence, most of us should be able to understand this.
The regime, unfortunately, has other ideas. It's leader, Viktor Yanukovych, appears to want to draw closer to Russia, despite the wishes of many of the people. Again, we don't have time to get into the details of the history here, but know that the eastern half of Ukraine, while always more sympathetic to Russia than the western half, was literally stocked with ethnic Russians during the Soviet years. It was one of the ways that Stalin, leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet state, instituted to solidify Russian dominance over Ukraine, which was considered a kind of sub-nation or underling of the Russian nation, and essential to its political and economic survival. And so many Ukrainian citizens - typically those living in the eastern half of the country - are really Russians. To complicate matters further, the Soviets for a period demanded that school children learn to speak and write Russian, rather than Ukrainian, as they attempted to suppress if not eliminate the distinctive Ukrainian Slavic culture. They almost succeeded.
Yet, despite this stark division between ethnic Russians and native Ukrainians, exacerbated by the forced "Russification" of all Ukrainians, even many of the Russians and "Russified" Ukrainians have come out in support of the people in the Maidan - remarkable in itself.
But that's not the real compelling and inspiring aspect of this dramatic gathering. To understand that, you simply have to observe the Maidan every hour on the hour, 24 hours a day since the demonstrations began. At the top of the hour, the entire gathering, led by some person or persons from the stage set in the square, sing the Ukrainian national anthem. OK, interesting, but not too surprising, right? But immediately after that, without fail, the crowd unites in prayer, starting with the Our Father, which is sung as it would be during its recitation in the Byzantine Rite Divine Liturgy. And each time you watch this, you will hear the entire gathering join whoever is leading the singing. In addition, there are typically more prayers - brief but again involving the entire crowd.
Why I find this so compelling and inspiring is not only because of the effect of a large gathering of people like this united in prayer, but after seeing and hearing it a few times, it occurred to me that I could not imagine such a thing happening here in our own country or in any of the Western European countries. Remember this is not a religious gathering. It is a gathering of people appealing to the current regime to reconsider the decision to avoid closer contact with the EU. But the people choose to express themselves not in purely political or nationalist terms, but religious terms. And if you watch the crowds, you see that many appear quite serious and sincere in their religious expression. It's not just some kind of show. Besides, why would they bother praying if they weren't serious? It's not like they feel they must appeal to a world soaked in religious belief to gain sympathy. In fact, if anything, such prayer, I suspect, may repel some.
I could be wrong, but this may hold the key to the scant coverage by U.S. media. Could it be that our media simply don't want to report this in any depth or at any length because they would have to inevitably confront the religious belief and spirit that's infused into the demonstrations? I wouldn't be surprised given the extreme secularism that has dominated the west and the U.S. for decades. Religion has been steadily pushed out of the public square. It's become something private that isn't welcome in public anymore. Think about this; maybe you'll agree with that assessment and therefore agree that it could have something to do with the sparse reporting from the Maidan.
In any case, it's Sunday here in the U.S. Time to get to church.
The full name of the Maidan, or simply Maidan, is, as we previously noted, Maidan Nezelezhnosti, translated as "Independence Square." If you're over 30 years old, and have even the slightest recollection of the historic events surrounding the collapse and break-up of the Communist-ruled Soviet Union, you remember that the "captive nations" as they were known broke off from the Russian-dominated Soviet state and became independent nations. Ukraine was one of these. When this occurred, the square in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, filled up with people gathered in joyous celebration at having been freed (or so they thought and hoped at the time) from Soviet and Russian political domination. Hence the name that square has proudly wore since then.
But to really understand the significance the square holds for today's demonstrators, you have to understand that when the Soviet state collapsed, the influence of Russia over its neighbors also diminished. And, as any student of history knows, this marked a dramatic change from the centuries of domination the rulers of Russia exerted over their neighbors the Russians established their vast Empire in 1721. Indeed, the Soviet Union that succeeded the Russian Empire in 1917 was in many ways an extension of that Empire. While we're not going to delve into the unique role Ukraine played in the building and sustaining of the Russian Empire, we just need to understand that centuries of Russian domination appeared to end with the Soviet state's demise. Alas, it was not so, as Russia eventually rose from its brush with political and economic disaster to begin asserting itself in the region, most dramatically under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, who wants to reconstruct the old Empire by creating an economic union to - it would seem - rival the EU. And many, in fact probably most, Ukrainians aren't interested in rekindling the old ties if Moscow - as seems likely - reasserts it's traditional domineering role. As Americans with a history and tradition of built on the notion of liberty and independence, most of us should be able to understand this.
The regime, unfortunately, has other ideas. It's leader, Viktor Yanukovych, appears to want to draw closer to Russia, despite the wishes of many of the people. Again, we don't have time to get into the details of the history here, but know that the eastern half of Ukraine, while always more sympathetic to Russia than the western half, was literally stocked with ethnic Russians during the Soviet years. It was one of the ways that Stalin, leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet state, instituted to solidify Russian dominance over Ukraine, which was considered a kind of sub-nation or underling of the Russian nation, and essential to its political and economic survival. And so many Ukrainian citizens - typically those living in the eastern half of the country - are really Russians. To complicate matters further, the Soviets for a period demanded that school children learn to speak and write Russian, rather than Ukrainian, as they attempted to suppress if not eliminate the distinctive Ukrainian Slavic culture. They almost succeeded.
Yet, despite this stark division between ethnic Russians and native Ukrainians, exacerbated by the forced "Russification" of all Ukrainians, even many of the Russians and "Russified" Ukrainians have come out in support of the people in the Maidan - remarkable in itself.
But that's not the real compelling and inspiring aspect of this dramatic gathering. To understand that, you simply have to observe the Maidan every hour on the hour, 24 hours a day since the demonstrations began. At the top of the hour, the entire gathering, led by some person or persons from the stage set in the square, sing the Ukrainian national anthem. OK, interesting, but not too surprising, right? But immediately after that, without fail, the crowd unites in prayer, starting with the Our Father, which is sung as it would be during its recitation in the Byzantine Rite Divine Liturgy. And each time you watch this, you will hear the entire gathering join whoever is leading the singing. In addition, there are typically more prayers - brief but again involving the entire crowd.
Why I find this so compelling and inspiring is not only because of the effect of a large gathering of people like this united in prayer, but after seeing and hearing it a few times, it occurred to me that I could not imagine such a thing happening here in our own country or in any of the Western European countries. Remember this is not a religious gathering. It is a gathering of people appealing to the current regime to reconsider the decision to avoid closer contact with the EU. But the people choose to express themselves not in purely political or nationalist terms, but religious terms. And if you watch the crowds, you see that many appear quite serious and sincere in their religious expression. It's not just some kind of show. Besides, why would they bother praying if they weren't serious? It's not like they feel they must appeal to a world soaked in religious belief to gain sympathy. In fact, if anything, such prayer, I suspect, may repel some.
I could be wrong, but this may hold the key to the scant coverage by U.S. media. Could it be that our media simply don't want to report this in any depth or at any length because they would have to inevitably confront the religious belief and spirit that's infused into the demonstrations? I wouldn't be surprised given the extreme secularism that has dominated the west and the U.S. for decades. Religion has been steadily pushed out of the public square. It's become something private that isn't welcome in public anymore. Think about this; maybe you'll agree with that assessment and therefore agree that it could have something to do with the sparse reporting from the Maidan.
In any case, it's Sunday here in the U.S. Time to get to church.
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