THE VASYL STUS ALL-UKRAINIAN “MEMORIAL” SOCIETY

THE VASYL STUS ALL-UKRAINIAN “MEMORIAL” SOCIETY is a mass public organization formed during the wave of perestroika in the spring of 1988 (the founding meeting took place in March 1989). At that time, about 360,000 people joined the Society, including the repressed, their descendants, and their family members. In April 1991, “Memorial” adopted the name of Vasyl STUS. The founders included creative unions, magazine editorial boards, the Institute of Literature of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, artists, scholars, university students, and democratic movement activists. Its main objectives are the public investigation of mass repressions, facilitating the investigation of violations of the law, commemorating the victims of repression, and promoting the moral healing of society. Despite persecution, intimidation, and moral pressure from the official press, “Memorial” organized rallies and demonstrations and campaigned for democratic candidates in the first democratic elections. Thanks to the persistence of “Memorial” members and the deputies it helped elect, on April 17, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR adopted the Law “On the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression in Ukraine.”

In 1992, “Memorial” initiated the creation of the Anti-Communist Anti-Imperial Front, held hearings with other organizations on the topic “Communism—A Dead End for Civilization,” and established the Ukrainian National Committee for the organization of an International Tribunal over the CPSU–CPU (“Nuremberg-2”). On its initiative, a parliamentary group called “Nuremberg-2” was formed, the international symposium “Holodomor-1933” was organized, and conferences on human rights and public psychiatric protection actions were held.

“Memorial” organized documentary exhibitions of repressed artists such as Alla HORSKA, Viktor Zaretsky, Opanas ZALYVAKHA, Fedosiy Humenyuk, Veniamin Kushnir, Halyna Sevruk, Lyudmyla Semykina, and others. It held evenings in memory of repressed figures in culture, literature, and science, and organized speeches in schools and institutes, participating in radio and television programs.

With the support of “Memorial,” several films and television programs were produced, including Holod-33 (“Famine-33,” dir. O. Yanchuk), 33-i, svidchennia ochevydtsiv (“‘33, Eyewitness Testimonies,” dir. M. Laktionov-Stetsko), Oy, hore, hore... (“Oh, Woe, Woe...”) and Ya yest narod... (“I Am the People...”) by P. Farynyuk, Kryk (“The Scream”) by O. Kryvarchuk, Dolya poeta (“The Fate of a Poet”) about Ivan SVITLYCHNY, Batalyony NKVS (“NKVD Battalions”) and Lyubit’ (“Love”) (a film about Bykivnia) by L. Bukin, a series of films about the Solovki Islands, Zona (“The Zone,” dir. M. Mashchenko), a film by R. and B. Korohodsky about Ukrainian dissidents, a series of 12 television films by director Inna Strashko about repressed writers and about the UPA, a film about V. STUS titled Prosvitloyi dorohy svichka chorna (“Black Candle of a Bright Road,” dir. S. Chernylevsky), and others.

Since May 1989, “Memorial” has held commemorations in the Bykivnia Forest near Kyiv for the hundreds of thousands of NKVD victims buried there. The Kyiv branch of “Memorial” (chaired by Roman Krucyk) developed the exhibition “Not to Be Forgotten: A Chronicle of the Communist Inquisition in Ukraine, 1917–1991,” including an electronic version in several languages. Since 2005, “Memorial” has been involved in the creation of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance.

“Memorial” creates youth programs like “Memorial for Education,” a video and photo archive on the internet, and organizes youth camps for Ukrainian youth called “On the Paths of Heroes” at sites related to the OUN-UPA. It also leads expeditions to the Sandarmokh tract and the Solovki Islands for the Days of Remembrance for Victims of Repression. Since 1993, “Memorial” has been headed by Les TANYUK.