Shake it, baby!
Today, the UPA — the Ukrainian Insurgent Army that fought both Hitler and Stalin — marks its 66th anniversary.
Last year, I went to a UPA rally. This year, I went to a commie counter-rally. My improved memory capacity allowed me to capture some of the high moments of that event.
As expected, I found myself in the Jurassic Park of communism, progressive socialism, pan-Slavism, Russian monarchism, imperialism, Eurasianism and whatnot.
The diehard formulas:
Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians = Russians
UPA = SS Galizien = Nazis/fascists
Yushchenko, Oranges = Nazis/fascists
The event gathered a few hundred people. Aside from attempts to break the police cordon and "reach across the the aisle," the event went without much incident.
Enjoy!
"Let's stop fascism!"
Nataliya Vitrenko, queen of the PSPU
"Let's protect Ukraine from the UPA!"
"The bandits of the OUN-UPA are Nazi scum."
Oops, looks like somebody forgot to put a T in there! The correct Russian word is нацистская, not нациская, as written on the above sign.
"OUN + UPA = 卐. Get out of Ukraine!"
Debates: anti-UPA vs. pro-UPA
"No to the descendants of collaborators and Banderites! Heil NATO!"
UPA supporters gather on the other side of Maidan
Conversation peace
Back to the U.S.S.R.
Dugin-Jugend
A view from the UPA side of Maidan
Riot police
E pluribus unum — Ukrainian style
Gilead russo: a cruzada contra os drags queen
6 hours ago
14 comments:
Nello Taras:
Very colorful post!
I guess that when you say: "My improved memory capacity"... you are referring to your camera, aren't you? LOL!
Regards from Peru.
Gracias, Gabriela!
Yes, that was a reference to my memory card:) Red was the dominant color, but you can also see some diversity on the scene.
All the best from Ukraine!
They don't look very happy or enthusiastic.
And it looks like they are living in the past.
That's why, Elmer, Taras felt as visiting Jurassic Park...
Thanks for answerting Taras! I'll put a link to Ukrainiana on my blogroll.
"Within Russia the Eurasian Youth Union has allied itself with Russian extreme right organizations like, the National Bolshevik Party, the DPNI and other groups of that type. It organizes and takes part in the annual Russian Marches in Russia and other countries of Eastern Europe. Very often these marches are accompanied by violence, especially in Ukraine." ... wiki
Thankfully this looks peaceful though any news regarding if anyone was charged from ESM with trashing Mt. Hoverla? And any explanation for the symbology of their flag? - notable for its lack of using the red or the Russian flag. Was it a flip of the colors of the PORA flag? Just wondering.
IIU
Elmer,
Due to low living standards and unfair wealth distribution, Ukrainians score low on happiness. Ironically, it was the legacy of communism that incubated crony capitalism.
Grabitization would have been impossible without the slave mentality of communism, without the old-boy networks of communist party bosses like Kravchuk and Kuchma, without the fake opposition of communist leader Symonenko.
Today, Kravchuk stars in talk shows, offering his “we have what we have” musings. Kuchma’s offspring became the proud owners of $8.8B worth of communist slave labor. Symonenko wears a $10,000 watch.
The red folks who gathered at Maidan didn’t seem to realize what had happened. Most of them had voted for Kuchma, the pro-Russian candidate, in the 1994 presidential election. In the 1999 election, Symonenko had played Zyuganov in a Yeltsin-96-style reelection of Kuchma.
Anyway, as Elton John, a guest performer at Kuchma’s 70th anniversary, put it in his “Circle of Life”:
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with the scars
Gabriela,
Gracias! I’m adding you, too!
Good to see you again, IIU!
All I know is that police arrested some local ESM activists.
According to this article, the ESM flag resembles a compass rose and symbolizes expansion.
The article also describes the ESM flag as “the star of Genghis Khan on the black sky of Eurasia.”
Dugin-Jugend --- LOL!!!
Couldn't find a better term! Thank you for commenting, Gabe!
Really impressive. Certainly, a beautiful Jurassic Park. I just can say "Hospody pomiluy!"
As you can imagine, people in Poland (and myself) pay attention to the complicated issue of UPA. I think that this is the best moment, when Poles and Ukrainians mantain good relations, to sit down and calmly speak about this question. Of course, the most difficult theme will be Wolyn, and then the II Republic of Poland.
Probably never will appear a unique version of the History, but I think that always is better speaking than hiding things under the carpet, specially in this case, which was a taboo during the communism.
Taras:
I deleted my previous message due to an awful mistake. The link you have to see is here.
Sorry, please!
Gracias, Higinio!
Yes, Poles and Ukrainians fought each other — for centuries.
After WW I, Ukrainians ended up split between Poland and the USSR, without a state of their own. Polonization policies in Western Ukraine created indignation among Ukrainians, which contributed to a violent backlash during WW II. After WW II, there was Operation Wisla.
Now that Poles and Ukrainians can talk freely, they can air their grievances and honor each other’s losses. As we compare both sides of the past, we should build a future free from enmity, disrespect, and Schengen Curtains.
Gracias, Gabriela!
You’re doing a great job spreading the word about Ukraine at Global Voices! I wish I could write and speak Spanish better. I only studied it for a few semesters in college and then I had no opportunity to practice.
When I was 11-14, I watched quite a few Mexican telenovelas: Ricos también lloran, Rosa salvaje, Simplemente Maria.
Along with Santa Barbara, those soap operas enjoyed immense popularity during the breakup of the USSR and during Ukraine’s early independence years:)
It's me who has to thank GVO for the opportunity. As a volunteer translator, this past year I've been knowing people all over the world.
About the soap operas, I wrote a post about my favorite ones. You can read it here my post. I hope it will help you practicing some Spanish.
¡Buen fin de semana!
In other words, you work for GVO and GVO works for you, right?:)
It turns out we share a lot of soap opera-watching experiences!
Escrava Isaura and Los ricos también lloran were my favorite ones:)
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