I have lived on this Earth long enough to become accustomed to a sense of historical continuity.
Where young people see certain ruptures in Ukraine’s existence, I see only periodic transformations and the transition of society from one phase of development to another. If someone were to film this process in time-lapse, we would see a remarkable picture of the birth, growth and now spectacular rise of modern Ukraine.
The beginning of that film, for me, would date back not even to Kyivan Rus, whose imprint remained with us throughout our history. Nor would it begin with the Cossack era, whose spiritual energy Ukrainian elites scattered into the swamps of Muscovy, seeking military support there but finding instead several centuries of non-existence.
The beginning of my Ukraine was laid by that Poet to whom, by the will of Heaven, the future of his people was revealed:
“And forgotten will be the shame of bygone days,
And revived will be the good glory,
The glory of Ukraine,
And the bright, unsetting light
Will quietly shine...
Embrace one another, my brothers.I beseech you, I implore you!”
His “Kobzar” became the gospel of a suffering people and the tuning fork from whose keynote subsequent generations measured the “tones” of their struggle for liberation. He laid the foundations of the modern paradigm of the Ukrainian people’s existence.
Then the eras changed, but there were always people who affirmed what mattered most: the spirit of the nation. Politically, it was still subdued and undefined, yet Lesya Ukrainka already saw the dawn fires of a new destiny, while Ivan Franko was already looking for the Ukrainian Moses who would lead his people out of slavery. And ever since then, Ukraine has poured – and continues to pour – its soul and heart into Mykola Lysenko’s prayer: “Great and Only God, protect our Ukraine.”
The new historical circumstances of the early 20th century flung open new windows and doors in Ukraine’s destiny. An era of revolutions and armed struggle began, bringing new trials and mistakes. Yes, our renaissance was shot down, but it was nevertheless a renaissance. Yes, attempts to establish an independent state were short-lived, but its outlines were repeatedly engraved in the historical memory of the people as a goal that had not yet been achieved, but could be achieved.
Then God granted the Sixtiers the opportunity to articulate the spiritual and cultural contours of modern Ukraine. It was like the flash of a supernova – as if dying embers and cosmic ash suddenly burst into new light. It was from the Sixtiers that the human rights activists of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group took up the baton, later passing it to the leaders of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union and the first political parties.
Yet the Ukrainian state that emerged in 1991 was only an embryo that still had to fight for its right to exist. The Russian “brake,” which suppressed the Ukrainian spirit and restrained its flourishing, continued to operate, with ever greater force. Suddenly, the Chekist instinct stirred, recalling what KGB investigators in the 1970s knew all too well: the Ukrainian “lawn” had to be periodically weeded of “Bandera weeds.” But for more than 30 years no one had weeded it – and the “lawn” had changed beyond recognition. Putin therefore had no choice but to go all in.
Yet he failed to achieve any of the goals so pompously proclaimed by the Kremlin dictator. Ukraine has become stronger and even more Ukrainian. NATO has encircled Russia more tightly. The Kremlin’s longtime friends are increasingly turning toward other partnerships. And the situation inside Russia confirms my prediction from 2022: “Ukraine is bleeding, Russia is dying.”
So, what is the meaning of this time-lapse film of Ukraine’s historical trials? Is it a heavenly curse hanging over our people, demanding new sacrifices each time? An insurmountable consequence of our fatal neighborhood – or of our national ailments?
All of this has some significance. But the main meaning of our history lies elsewhere. It can easily be derived from a formula once articulated by Yevhen Sverstiuk: “Heroically shed blood does not disappear. It is transformed into a new form of spiritual energy.” By some incomprehensible will of divine providence, Ukraine’s destiny seems to have been sealed with invisible seals – and each time, the new spiritual energy emerging from shed blood enables us to break another seal.
The end of this brutal war is not yet in sight, and no one can claim that Ukraine has drunk its cup of suffering to the bottom. Yet I know this firmly: every new suffering will give Ukraine new spiritual energy – and will weigh ever more heavily on Russia’s karma. Inevitably, a moment will come when God says to the universal evil: “Enough!”
Then the prophecy of the Ukrainian national anthem, which is sometimes met with skepticism, will be fulfilled: “Our enemies will perish, like dew in the sun.” For this prophecy echoes the biblical one: “So shall Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence…” (Rev. 18:21).
Then the supernova of Ukraine will flare at full strength across the geopolitical sky, and even those who today jealously watch Ukraine’s rise will be forced to acknowledge the legitimacy of its new and elevated status.
Ukraine will become one of the pillars of the future architecture of global security. This will bring to an end a long historical cycle that at times became almost unbearable. And this cycle will end with the victory of good, for which suffering souls throughout Ukraine so deeply yearn.
Then the vision of Pope John Paul II, articulated in Kyiv in 2001, will come true:
“The vision which the Apostle Andrew the First-called had does not concern only your past; it is also directed toward the country’s future. It seems to me that, with the eyes of my heart, I truly see a new light spreading across this blessed land of yours; it is the light radiated by a renewed confirmation of the choice made long ago in 988, when Christ was accepted by the Ukrainian people as the ‘Way, the Truth and the Life’ (cf. Jn. 14:6).”
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.