Memoirs of Bohdan ROKETSKY and Others about Volodymyr ROKETSKY
ROKETSKYJ BOHDAN DMYTROVYCH
The recording was made by Bohdan Roketsky around March 9, 2000.
Bohdan Roketsky’s memoir was proofread by him on June 19, 2001, in a hospital in Kyiv. Bohdan Roketsky passed away on November 15, 2005 (“Literary Ukraine,” November 24, 2005, No. 46 (5133)).
Listened to and edited by Vasyl Ovsienko on April 11, and April 20-28, 2009.
Note: In Siberia, Bohdan’s surname was recorded as Рокетський without his consent, while Volodymyr, like his ancestors, used the spelling Рокецький.
The poem by Ivan Franko has been verified.
Vasyl Ovsienko: Bohdan Roketsky from Tysmenytsia, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, gathered friends around March 9, 2000, and recorded memoirs about his relative and friend, Volodymyr Roketsky.
Bohdan Roketsky: We, the Roketskyis, trace our lineage to Bohdan Roketsky, who lived in Zavaliv and became the Berezhany Colonel under Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
And with Volodymyr Roketsky, we are not just distant relatives (he is my cousin, something like third-removed in Siberia, they changed one letter in my surname to two without my consent, hence the difference), but we also studied together. First in school, and then we met around December 1969, when I was a student of Ukrainian philology at Lviv University, and he had just become a student in the preparatory department. We talked. We were united not only by our common roots but also by our views. We agreed that something had to be done to somehow repay the debt for being born and living. It was a time of communist dictatorship, a totalitarian regime. We did not support this we wanted to do something good for Ukraine. But, unfortunately, that was not always possible.
In December 1969—I was living in the seventh university dormitory at the time—as a first-year student, I was already known to some. To be honest, I didnt expect to see Volodymyr there. We ran into each other by chance in the dormitory. It turned out that my acquaintance, Vasyl Isaichyk, lived in the same room as Volodymyr. We talked again, and it became clear that we were more than just acquaintances. Ordinary meetings eventually grew into literary discussions, and then we came to the conclusion that we had common goals, so we became closer. We met many times, talked many times, and agreed that something had to be done, because Ukraine was in that communist haze. We wanted to follow a different path.
Gradually, certain directions of work were defined. The academic year passed. I and Vasyl Isaichyk remained students of philology, while Volodymyr Roketsky decided to become a lawyer. But he pursued his legal education at Kyiv University. We parted for a while and met again sometime in September 1970, at the beginning of the new academic year. At that time, I became the student dean of the philology faculty, and Vasyl Isaichyk headed the trade committee. We became people on whom something depended, at least for the students. We took advantage of this position, so we had the opportunity to the best of the best. Vasyl Hanushchak lived in the same room as Vasyl Isaichyk. He was a very decent fellow. And a student from the Sumy region, Hryhoriy Khvostenko, lived with me—at first glance, also a decent fellow he knew a lot, recited poems by heart. We treated him with respect, but, unfortunately, it later turned out that we had aligned ourselves with the wrong person. But that became clear later. At that time, we considered him our friend.
Volodymyr Roketsky often came to visit us we would meet in the dormitory, where people gathered who not only understood literature but also tried their hand at it. These were mostly decent people. In discussions, meetings, it became clear that we had seemingly found the very people with whom we could do something good for Ukraine. At that time, there was no organization as such, but there were people who were ready to work.
Autumn 1971 arrived. It was a very difficult year for me. The fact is, I decided to transfer from the philology faculty to journalism. Unfortunately, the first department checked my documents and found that I was born in the wrong place. And although I had already been dismissed from the third year of the philology faculty, I was not accepted into journalism. I found myself between two faculties. In my third year of philology, I was outside the university—I had not yet become a journalism student, but I had already ceased to be a philology student. My ordeals lasted quite a long time. I had to travel to Kyiv many times, appeal to the Ministry of Education. This went on for a very, very long time. It was only sometime in November 1971, when I went to the Ministry of Education once again, that I was told I could return to the philology faculty.
It was then that I met Volodymyr in Kyiv. I spent the night at his dormitory. It turned out that he also had problems: he had to leave the university, became a worker at some enterprise, and was living in a workers dormitory at the time. He was also trying his hand at literary work, had written a decent novella, and had good poems. We stayed up almost until morning he read excerpts from the novella, his poems. Unfortunately, they could not be published at that time. But they were good works. That was perhaps my last meeting with him in Kyiv. We spent several days together, met some quite famous people, including a visit to the museum of Ivan Honchar. He was in disgrace at the time. His treasury contained sculptures, books, and many things that are still unappreciated. Ivan Honchar was already acquainted with Volodymyr before that. He gave us a tour it was all very impressive. We also met with other people. I think we met with Danylo Kulyniak. There was also a certain Natalka (Probably Okolitenko. Both are writers, a married couple. Since 2008, Danylo Kulyniak has been the editor of the journal of the Society of Political Prisoners and Victims of Repression, Zona. – V.O.). They wore embroidered shirts, spoke pure Ukrainian, which was surprisingly strange for Kyiv, which at that time spoke predominantly Russian.
From that meeting in Kyiv, I returned to Lviv, a student in name, but without a scholarship or a dormitory room. If it werent for my former classmates, who by then had settled in the second dormitory on Pushkin Street, I wouldnt have had a place to spend the night. I stayed with them, so to speak, incognito, but I had already been reinstated on the list of third-year students and began attending lectures. Of course, the demands on me were completely different—I had to know a bit more than everyone else. I tried hard I had no other choice. And to survive, I had to work. Sometimes I would go unload wagons, sometimes I found other work—one way or another, I earned some money, and this allowed me to study.
At the end of December, the boys went home to their parents, and I stayed in the dormitory for a few days all alone. It was then that I was preparing the program for our organization. Volodymyr arrived. Together we finalized both the charter and the program. It was to be an underground nationalist anti-Soviet organization that wanted to achieve Ukraines independence—by armed means. Volodymyr was present when I was finishing the program and the charter some points were finalized with him. He said it was done well. He knew some of the future members of the organization, but I couldnt tell him about the others. I knew one thing: the people who would join this organization had certain reasons for doing so.
We gathered late at night on December 31, 1971, in the workers dormitory of one of the enterprises where my classmate and good friend, Mykhailo Hombkovskyi, lived. Besides him and me, our friend Yaroslav Smalyukh was also there. We formed the organization by reading out the program and charter, and there was a corresponding oath. We saw ourselves as the primary structure that was supposed to pull everything else along. We chose the path our fathers had followed: we wanted to do something through armed struggle. We had some things we were supposed to get more. The organization was to be based on certain groups of a few people each. Each group would have limited contact: only one member of the group would have a link to another cell. This way we would prevent a total collapse. We wanted to follow the old paths of our fathers.
Thus began the existence of the underground organization Kamenyar [The Stonemason]—myself, Mykhailo Hombkovskyi, and Slavko Smalyukh. Subsequently, there were all sorts of ups and downs, but none of us ever sold anyone out. Each of us was responsible for a certain link, and link for link. This organization still lives on, and if necessary, it can still have its say.
Independently of us, another student organization was being formed at the university at that time. Mostly from philologists and historians. (See the interview with Zoryan Popadiuk for more on this. – V.O.) Various people were part of it I didnt know all of them. I was part of that organization, but none of them knew that I was also leading another organization, Kamenyar.
Volodymyrs arrest on January 14, 1972, was unexpected for all of us. We tried to help him somehow, although, in fact, we could do nothing. I know one thing: he was primarily accused of being the author of an anti-Soviet novella and nationalist poems. That was probably the main thing in his case. It was like a thunderclap for us, the students who knew Volodymyr Roketsky. We were not privy to his affairs, so we were left somewhat on the sidelines.
Throughout the following year, from January 1972, we seemingly remained faithful to the generally recognized process, but on the other hand, we wanted to do something of our own, not coordinated with the center, because, practically, at that time the center in Kyiv no longer existed. Arrests had taken place in Kyiv, all the decent people were taken, and we were left on the sidelines. Thanks to Volodymyr Roketsky, who did not sell anyone out, who did not name any names, no one touched us—neither from that broader organization I was part of, where many people knew me, nor from our Kamenyar, which only Volodymyr Roketsky knew about.
In March 1973, an underground nationalist journal was published in Lviv, and at the end of the month, nationalist leaflets were posted. Unfortunately, I had nothing to do with this—neither with the journal nor the leaflets. This was done mainly by historians and some other students who joined them. Hryhoriy Khvostenko was aware of this matter. He sold them all out—not only those he knew, against whom he had some evidence—he named everyone who stood out in any way with their worldview from that general slavish mass. (See the interview with Zoryan Popadiuk about the journal Postup [Progress], the leaflets, and Khvostenko. – V.O.)
On the night of March 28, well after midnight, I woke up to find strangers around me. Strange hands woke me up, showed me an arrest warrant. The arrest warrant was for some reason from Kyiv. (I had previously written a short novella, Ephemerida, and sent it to the journal Dnipro, where they approved it for publication, and then, out of the blue, it disappeared somewhere. Ephemerida is a science fiction novella. I portrayed the KGB agents a little differently there... Of course, not under that abbreviation they were called the cosmic security force. They were not heroes there, and that was probably held against me.)
I was arrested then. They found nothing on me, except for a few of my short stories and novellas. They took me to the biggest house in Lviv, from which you could see Siberia. That was the regional KGB administration. It wasnt easy at first. The fact is that Hryhoriy Khvostenko, who knew practically everyone, told them everything. I dont know how guilty anyone was, but thanks to Hryhoriy Khvostenko, and then a few other people who agreed to cooperate with the KGB, a large nationalist organization was uncovered in Lviv. The state security organs conducted a major roundup then, found us all. I wasnt even 22 years old yet.
When they interrogated me, they said, Youre sitting here being quiet, while one of your friends is already talking, naming names, including yours. And youre here being quiet and dont know what awaits you. The KGB agents applied psychological pressure. I had to experience who they really were several times. I remember one time I was being taken for interrogation. I see my classmate, Mykhailo Hombkovskyi, also a member of the organization, being led toward me. He had a bloodied nose. The KGB agents shouted, Look, this is just for now, later well show you... Look: if you want to live, you must cooperate with us.
There was more than one conversation where they offered cooperation, promising all sorts of benefits. But fortunately, that didnt suit me I did not agree to cooperate.
Since Hryhoriy Khvostenko knew not only me but also Mykhailo Hombkovskyi, my classmate, he tried to portray all of us as people who were doing something. Unfortunately—and Im truly sorry about this—I had no connection to either the underground journal or the leaflets that were printed and posted. I myself only said that I was acquainted with those boys. But Khvostenko called us accomplices.
A kind of transitional link between the historians and their friends and the philologists was Vasyl Hanushchak. He knew many people, although I doubt he participated in producing the journal and leaflets, but he knew them, in particular, he knew Zoryan Popadiuk, and played some role there. He knew literature we attended literary discussions together. Once, the three of us met: Khvostenko, Hanushchak, and I. And I had the carelessness to express the idea that if we want to convey something to someone, to do something big, we should seize the television tower on the High Castle. And this could be done with the use of weapons. To go on air and proclaim that we want good for Ukraine, to say no to communism, no to the totalitarian regime. To say that there are people ready to fight against those non-Ukrainian forces, so that a real, independent, unified Ukraine would emerge.
It was an idée fixe: to seize the TV tower and say something. I said this both before the first and before the second arrest. We could count on a maximum of 5-7 minutes before they cut the power. And thats where it all would have ended, because the KGB could have brought in troops and captured us right there on that TV tower.
One way or another, in March 1973, many students were taken away. The prison cells in Lviv were overflowing—both in the newer building and on the former Myru Street, where the KGBs investigative isolator was. They even brought in KGB investigators from neighboring regions to help in Lviv.
The events of March 1973 resulted in just a big scare for some, but for others, years of captivity. For example, Zoryan Popadiuk received 7 years of imprisonment plus 5 years of exile and went through all the tortures that the Soviet government promised to the defiant. I know that Hryhoriy Khvostenko somewhat overdid it in his depiction of the March events, because not everyone he pointed to was guilty. Many were released. But he sold out many he testified as a witness at Zoryan Popadiuks trial.
As far as I know, sometime in September 1973, Volodymyr Roketsky was brought to Lviv for Hryhoriy Khvostenko to clarify some points regarding our organization. Because Hryhoriy Khvostenko had said so many things that even he couldnt confirm, so they arranged confrontations.
Back then, in September 1973, I didnt even meet Volodymyr. Volodymyr received 5 years, which he served in Mordovia. (See the memoirs of Vasyl Lisovyi. – V.O.). For having some connection to the Lviv organization. Three years of his sentence were changed to imprisonment in Volodymyr Prison. I know that he was there with Levko Lukianenko, with Volodymyr Bukovsky. He served his term normally, returned a little ill. We met many years later, when I had also served my term. We met as friends, as comrades, as relatives, and it was pleasant that we were still around. Although he was ill for a long time.
And then came the revival we wanted to do something, some things we succeeded in, some we did not, but we tried. Unfortunately, not everything succeeded. We recalled those years, remembered friends it was pleasant to remember, and also remembered those who sold us out—to each, as they say, their own destiny was decreed.
Volodymyr was a very decent person—he proved this with his life, his life position. He did a lot for the Ukrainian revival, for Ukraine to become truly independent and unified, as we wanted. Many people put a lot of effort into this. Unfortunately, as often happens, no one remembers those who sacrificed something yesterday. As a rule, it is forgotten.
So it happened with us, and with Volodymyr. On January 14, 1999, Volodymyr passed away—a great, decent man was gone. It is a great pity that he is gone, and even more of a pity that neither his novellas nor his poems were ever published. And that could have been at least one large book. Whether he didnt want to publish it, or it wasnt preserved, or his relatives, his family didnt preserve it—I dont know, I wont say. But he had a good family, he has two sons—good, fine sons. And his wife was lovely. I was at his funeral there were very many people there. Unfortunately, Volodymyr Roketsky is gone, and so is what he worked on. I think that if we found his manuscripts in the KGB archives and published them—it would be wonderful. It would be a memento. It would be the greatest monument to Volodymyr Roketsky.
In this brief word about Volodymyr Roketsky, there isnt even a hundredth part of his biography, of what he was preparing. Because to speak about him, one would probably have to record not for an hour, not for two, and not even for a day. I know one thing, that he was a very decent person. First for him was the image of Ukraine and, as with each of us, there was a beloved girl somewhere. He often liked to quote from Ivan Frankos Withered Leaves. (This poem is not from I. Frankos collections. – V.O.)
Хоч ти не будеш цвіткою цвісти,
Левкоєю пахучо-золотою,
Хоч ти пішла серед юрби плисти
У океан щоденщини й застою,
То все ж для мене ясна, чиста ти,
Не перестанеш буть мені святою,
Як цвіт, що стужі не зазнав ні спеки,
Як ідеал все ясний — бо далекий.
Я понесу тебе в душі на дні
Облиту чаром свіжості й любові,
Твою красу я переллю в пісні,
Огонь очей в дзвінкії хвилі мови,
Коралі уст у ритми голосні…
Мов золотая мушка, в бурштиновий
Хрусталь залита, в нім віки триває,
Цвістимеш ти,— покіль мій спів лунає.
That is the great Ivan Franko. Volodymyr Roketsky was a great and decent man. For now, we can only remember him, but the time will come when we will pay him due honor, so that Ukraine will remember him. There were many decent people who gave their lives for Ukraine, and we have forgotten them. I think it wont always be so we will pay tribute to those who deserve it. And among those names will be Volodymyr Roketsky—my friend, comrade, and distant relative.
And we are of the same root, from Bohdan Roketsky of Zavaliv, who became the Berezhany Colonel under Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of Ukraine—they built an independent Ukraine together. And in our time, we tried to do what they did not succeed in—and we also did not succeed. But still, Ukraine exists now, Ukraine will be! And Volodymyr Roketsky and I contributed at least a small part to this.
V. Ovsienko: That was Bohdan Roketsky speaking about himself and the late Volodymyr Roketsky. March, approximately March 9, 2000, the town of Tysmenytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. (Bohdan Roketsky passed away on November 15, 2005 (“Literary Ukraine,” November 24, 2005, No. 46 (5133)))
(Next – from the cassette “Volodymyr Roketsky”)
B. Roketsky: His friend and comrade Vasyl Osadchyi, with whom they studied together, wants to share memories of Volodymyr Roketsky.
Vasyl Osadchyi: I met Volodia Roketsky in December 1969. We studied together in the preparatory department at Lviv University in the same group. Later, he studied in the law department, and I in the philology department.
For the first month, he lived in a room where everyone was Russian. There was a guy named Petrov, whose father was the head of the KGB in the Ternopil oblast. Volodia couldnt live with them they terrorized him. By the way, this Petrov—he knew the situation—said that here, in the West, especially in Lviv, everyone is prejudiced against Russians. Thats why he prepared to take not Russian literature, he attended preparatory courses in the Ukrainian department and took the Ukrainian literature exam, so they wouldnt fail him. They constantly had some arguments there on political and national grounds. In January, the students left, and later he and I lived in the same room until the end of the preparatory course.
After finishing the preparatory course, Volodymyr went to Lviv, submitted an application, and transferred to Kyiv. We saw each other almost every two weeks he would come to Lviv. He was a very energetic, decent person, and above all, a patriot. He loved literature, was interested in history. He told many stories about Kyiv. We could sit and talk for entire evenings. In Kyiv, he lived somewhere in an apartment, later with Ivan Honchar—the sculptor. He told me about his exhibition, that he has his own museum. And that they had become interested in him, Roketsky, from Kyiv. They were watching him here in Lviv, too. But he wasnt cautious. He knew they were watching him, but he didnt take precautions, openly said things that were disliked. The KGB used this during the investigation.
Volodia came on March 9th, it was Oksanas [unintelligible] birthday. We were a little late. A group of all lawyers was sitting there. There were first-year students and older ones. Volodia was also late. He stood up and said: “First of all—may Oksana forgive me—I propose a toast to the birthday of our poet, Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko.” We both stood up, and all the lawyers just stared at us.
Very quickly, the KGB knew about this incident and were asking: why? how? what? We believed that all the law students were in the service of the KGB. I think Im not mistaken—they knew right away what we said there. We werent there for long, though. The group immediately started to disperse—because a nationalist had arrived, and they didnt want to be with us.
As is known, Volodymyr read a great deal, knew many interesting stories, and knew his native language. He knew literature perfectly. And so after all these events, we found out that Volodia Roketsky was already under investigation.
I didnt see him after prison. It seems Volodia didnt come home. Whether he was in Lviv right away, I dont know. The opinion of him was always good its always a pity for such people.
I was acquainted with him. I was already married in 1973. He still came and visited us at home. They knew him and treated him well. A well-mannered fellow, he could hold a conversation, he had something to say. What else can be said about him? Only good things. We lack such people now, patriots dedicated to Ukraine.
One can be critical of oneself—with age, all that faded a bit, families appeared, worries, especially now. We only express our indignation at our leadership, our government, our state, that we have the richest land, but the poorest people. We live the same way we lived under Soviet rule. Only then there was propaganda that we had millionaire collective farms, while people lived in almost Shevchenko-era huts. Now the situation is completely different, more complicated…
B. Roketsky: A few more words about Volodia.
V. Osadchyi: He was a good person, a fine person. We miss him. An intellectual, literate, well-read, he knew his business, a patriot, dedicated. I dont know if he remained the same after serving his sentence.
B. Roketsky: He did.
V. Osadchyi: They destroyed the man.
Yaroslav Smalyukh: We met Volodymyr in the early seventies when he came to Lviv from Kyiv, where he was studying at the law faculty. We got to know him as a cultured, intelligent man, literate, a patriot of Ukraine.
On December 1st, in our factory dormitory, where his brother Bohdan also lived, a small organization was created. It was called “Kamenyar.” Volodia said then that he wanted to find an artist who could paint Shevchenko striding over an abyss, over darkness. Since there was no such specialist in our organization, his dream remained unfulfilled.
When Volodia was arrested, and then Bohdan Roketsky and my kinsman Mykhailo Hombkovskyi, I was interrogated at the factory. They were students, and I worked at the factory. But no one sold Volodka out, except for one—there was this Khvostenko, a provocateur.
My case was handled by a KGB agent named Pylypenko. He was very interested in why I, a worker, had ended up in a student environment. I joked, saying it was because I was financially secure, and they were literate people.
We united into a cell. After that, Volodia went to Kyiv, and we never saw him again.
But back then, Volodia made a positive impression on me: a literate, intelligent, well-read person. And he could lead people. Its a great pity that Volodia did not live to see these days of ours, when we fought for an independent Ukraine and our dream came true.
B. Roketsky: Mykhailo Hombkovskyi—a member of the underground organization “Kamenyar,” a good acquaintance of Volodymyr, my friend, comrade, and kinsman—shares his memories of Volodymyr Roketsky.
Mykhailo Hombkovskyi: Ive known Volodymyr Roketsky for a long time, since school. True, he was in the senior classes, and I was still in the junior ones. And later we met in Lviv. It was sometime in the spring of 1971, I cant say the exact date. He was finishing the preparatory department then. I had stopped by the dormitory to see my friend and classmate, Bohdan Roketsky. And we met him there in his room. Bohdan introduced him to me like this: “My countryman—Roketsky, from my village. Maybe you remember him.” I remembered. True, he had changed a bit. We then, frankly speaking, found a common language. He was a very sincere person. Even very trusting. This played a not-so-good role in his later biography.
He was a good friend. One more thing comes to mind. We talked on various topics, political ones. He was quite erudite, knew the situation at the time, and understood the circumstances. But I want to emphasize once again that he was too trusting, and that, perhaps, is what ruined him. When he liked a person, he could say anything, even if it was a provocateur. That probably played a fatal role in his future fate.
After finishing the law faculty, he transferred to the Kyiv Institute of International Relations (To the law faculty of KSU. – Ed.). He would come to Lviv, visit me. I remember once he came to see me I was living in a dormitory at the time because I was a correspondence student and worked at a factory. What surprised me then was that he came from Kyiv dressed in Hutsul attire, with a small axe in his hand. That was strange even for Lviv at the time, let alone Kyiv. It emphasized his love for his native region, for its customs, and for Ukraine in general.
We talked on various topics, mainly political ones. We talked about how to reform the system to have more freedom. Independence was still far away then. But one had to start somewhere.
One more thing I want to remember. He remembered and loved people. For example, when I was getting married—it was in October 1971—a congratulatory telegram arrives from Kyiv. I read: “Volodymyr Roketsky sincerely congratulates you on your marriage!” He didnt forget his friends he remembered them.
He was arrested earlier, in 1972, while our organization, almost everyone, was arrested in March 1973. Volodymyr Roketskys name figured in the KGB interrogations. They had everything recorded, all our meetings: when he arrived, when he left, whom he met with. It was Khvostenko who reported it.
B. Roketsky: Khvostenko. What do you know about him?
M. Hombkovskyi: He was the one who told everything to the relevant authorities. He effectively turned everyone over to the authorities, including Volodymyr Roketsky. They brought him from Mordovia to Lviv for investigation, for confrontations, to add something more to his case. Although he was not involved in our organization. He said nothing about us. But there was information from others about where he was, what he did, what we talked about, where he went, and so on. He was a true Ukrainian, a patriot who could not sell out his like-minded people under any circumstances.
After he served a long term of imprisonment, I met him once, by chance. I met him when I was traveling to the village. We met on the bus. This was after his imprisonment. We could only exchange a few phrases because he had arrived on that bus, and I was just getting on it. It was three or four minutes, just: “Hello!” – “Hello!” – “Hows life? Hows your health?”
Last year he passed away. Ukraine lost a person who was devoted to it to the end. There is an injustice in this, that the best people leave this life. For some reason, fate decreed it so. But he will always be among us. We will remember him as a good person, a faithful Ukrainian, a sincere patriot of our Motherland.
B. Roketsky: Vasyl Hanushchak remembers Volodymyr Roketsky. They communicated. Hanushchak came to me later, when Volodymyr had already transferred to study at Kyiv University. But we often met, talked, were friends and comrades.
Vasyl Hanushchak: Vasyl Hanushchak, a former “enemy of the people,” now—a writer, a well-known literary figure in the Precarpathian region. (Vasyl Dmytrovych Hanushchak, born Jan. 25, 1949, in the village of Mykytyntsi, Kosiv raion, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. Graduated from Rohatyn Veterinary and Zootechnical College, studied at Lviv State University, graduated from the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute. Author of the poetry collection Vidrukh [Reaction], publications of critical articles and translations from Belarusian, Russian, Polish, Slovak, and German languages. – Wikipedia). Although Volodymyr Roketsky was from the Ternopil Podillia, from Galician Podillia, he is most remembered by me as a Hutsul *lehin* [young man] with a *bartka* [small axe] in his hand and in such a bright Hutsul attire, in an almost Dovbush-like image. And one should not be surprised by this. It was the end of the Thaw of the sixties. We have forgotten much from that time… It was a time when the regime was transitioning to new methods of suppressing everything national, everything that, in its opinion, threatened the formation of the so-called single Soviet people. But even at that time, there were people who challenged that regime. It was a challenge—to deliberately speak only Ukrainian in Kyiv or elsewhere. And he also demonstrated from afar: here I am, perceive me just so. Im saying, my dear kinsman, we forget many things. And that was a time when many intelligent people sought out such bright old Hutsul clothing to demonstrate their Ukrainianness from afar. For some, it was just fashion. But we know what a powerful force that fashion is. Beautiful Lviv girls walked down Khreshchatyk in such clothes, in Hutsul *postoly* [moccasins], and set the fashion tone. This was already a certain phenomenon. Not everyone guessed that there was a political subtext to this phenomenon. But people like Volodymyr did it consciously and, I want to emphasize again, in defiance of that regime, that system. They knew they were being watched, but that didnt stop them.
It was a turning point from the so-called Thaw to a new offensive. This phenomenon existed, but I have not come across anything about it in memoirs or other sources. Little remains in memory, but the image of Volodymyr remains—such a handsome young man in Hutsul attire, with a small axe, in a *krysan* [Hutsul hat].
[The next 10 minutes of the recording are completely unintelligible].
At that time, the critical situation was, first and foremost, of course, with the Ukrainian language. This concerned us the most, more than, say, some abstract human rights or anti-communist views. First and foremost were national feelings and the preservation of our nation, the restoration of its statehood—that was the main thing. To us, who communicated with Volodymyr, it seemed that he not only knew what to do but also knew people who were already doing something. It was very important that he knew them not only in Lviv, in Galicia, where the sentiments were understandable, but also in the capital, and throughout Ukraine. And this added great authority to Volodymyr in our eyes. He made such an impression.
I have not met other such people. I can only draw one analogy. When I later entered the Moscow Literary Institute, everyone there knew and respected Yaroslav Pavlyak. Just as in Moscow, especially among the group of non-Russian students, but also among the Russians, literally everyone knew and respected Yaroslav Pavlyak, so at Lviv University—this is my impression—everyone knew and respected, and the girls were so charmed and bewitched, I would say, that they were dying for Volodymyr Roketsky. In any case, he had colossal respect among the students, and everyone remembered him. Even when he was in Kyiv, everyone remembered him. This, in my opinion, is a very rare phenomenon for a person to have such authority, such an aura among their peers and contemporaries. And indeed, Volodymyr, as I later became convinced, had channels in Kyiv that led to human rights organizations.
I cannot fail to mention what I was entrusted with. Few on the faculty knew this, but it was Volodymyr who entrusted me with delivering a commemorative address from the Lviv student body to the sculptor Ivan Honchar for his anniversary. I carried this out. He gave me the address, explained how to get there, how to arrive, how to behave there. And I am happy that I fulfilled this mission because it was my first time in Ivan Honchars workshop. And Volodia brought us, if you remember, such pins made by Ivan Honchar, which depicted national heroes of Ukraine—Ivan Bohun, and others. We wore those pins on the lapels of our jackets. By the way, I still have a few of them. That was the fashion then. Remember, we would wear either Shevchenko or Franko. Well, I wore Franko more. I just thought that in Lviv one should wear what is closer, because the figure of this man is still not properly appreciated here. He was truly the man who, had he lived to see the decisive events that occurred after the First World War, when empires were collapsing… We sorely lacked people like Franko. [Remark: “His nephews took part.”] Yes, and his sons too. Both were in the Sich Riflemen—both Taras and Petro. But thats a separate topic.
I want to emphasize again that Volodia was respected and loved, known in the student community. An extremely large number of people! Its not easy to win such authority among young people and maintain it. Lets assume we can understand the girls who could fall in love with such a handsome young man, but this also applied to the boys and the lecturers.
B. Roketsky: He had no enemies, at least no overt ones.
Vasyl Hanushchak: He had enemies, but not among good people. Those enemies were there, they were watching him, thats obvious.
But we had the impression that he could tell us what exactly needed to be done. Because to do nothing—that was the worst thing at that time. We understood that something had to be done, and we wanted to do it. But what and how to do it intelligently, so that there would be some effect—that was a big question. And then, and still today, there is the phenomenon of Lviv University itself, which had a reputation as a breeding ground for nationalism.
B. Roketsky: And it obligated one to that.
Vasyl Hanushchak: And it obligated one to that. These are known things. This university never fell out of the sight of the special services, nor from the influx of corresponding cadres. Because when I, for example, was entering Lviv University, the then-dean Hontar asked me why I didnt go to Chernivtsi, since it was closer for me.
As I already mentioned, in Lviv there was Volodymyr Roketsky, and in Chernivtsi at that time there was that Pavlyak, who later appeared in Moscow. They organized people. Everyone was very sorry, and on the other hand, also happy that Volodia had moved to Kyiv. But he came to Lviv often. I by no means always knew when he was coming. And even you didnt always know, although you were his relative.
B. Roketsky: Each one knew what he was supposed to know.
Vasyl Hanushchak: Yes. [Recording breaks off] When I was entering Lviv University, I lived on a not-so-cozy lane where trams all night long wouldnt let me sleep and interfered with preparing for the entrance exams. But I was lucky to live in the same room with interesting people. Among them was the poet of the Sixties, Dmytro Hretsky. He is practically unknown to anyone today, but in vain, because he is a very interesting and original poet. He came from Kyiv, and perhaps thats what prevented him from entering Lviv University. Dmytro and I often walked in the evenings in Franko Park (formerly Kosciuszko Park) in front of the university. He would read his poems. I would even quote some lines: “Oh, days! Oh, vanity! Oh, circles of slavery! Oh, circles of hell, the slavery of paradise!” And the rhetorical question: “With what will Ukraine come to the celebration?”—this was the question that troubled the educated youth of that time, or those who were about to get an education. Lviv University, to put it in Tatar terms, did not bear its label in vain. This was palpable from the first days. Dmytro Hretsky and I did not break our ties. And when Volodia came from Kyiv and started saying that we needed to find people for work, I decided to introduce him to Hretsky. He now lives somewhere in the Raiduzhnyi massif, on the left bank. We must definitely take his memoirs. Because Volodia even published an article about him in a Kyiv newspaper, they communicated there, he can tell us things we dont know.
I will return once more to the impression Ivan Honchar and his museum made on me. On Volodymyrs instruction, I presented him with the commemorative address. When I introduced myself to Ivan Honchar himself, he asked: “Who are you? Who recommended you to come to me?” Because, of course, there were many provocations. I gave Roketskys name—and he immediately started treating me completely differently. This shows that Honchar trusted him, that they were in close relations.
Later, when the tragic events of 1972-1973 occurred, when Volodia ended up behind bars, and we were still at large, this emanation of his restlessness, his activity—it shone for a long time at Lviv University. In any case, as long as we were there, almost this entire period passed under the light of his star.
I am now interested in how to portray his life. What did he live for later? How did he behave after his imprisonment? One could also mention Zoryan Popadiuk and many others. But I will talk about what I know. I met him several times. It seems to me that we traveled together to Kyiv in the same compartment. But today I am not sure if I wasnt dreaming it. And if I was dreaming, then this again testifies to the high authority of his personality, that he was an extraordinary personality.
He impressed with his erudition, his understanding of many problems, his familiarity with the patriotic and human rights movement of the time, with the publications that were coming out. Chornovil in Lviv, Chubai was doing something, something was being done in Kyiv. [Remark: “Samvydav”]. Yes, samvydav [self-published literature]. And Dziuba, and Moroz… We knew about this in fragments. And Volodia hinted at this more than he spoke directly. And I understand this, so I cannot say more than I have said now. I plan to concentrate and write memoirs, to put it down on paper. But before a dictaphone, I can only say that in my memory he remained a proud Hutsul *lehin*, in a magnificent *baibarak* [outercoat] with a small axe, in a Hutsul hat, who said: “I need nothing, Vasyl, I could walk behind a plow, if only our Ukraine were among the normal European states, and we wouldnt be ashamed of our nation.”
I regret that I did not talk with him, as with Zoryan Popadiuk, by the way, after August 24, 1991, or December 1 of the same year, when we already had an independent Ukrainian state. What thoughts tormented him, did he know what to do at that time, as he knew then, when we were entering Lviv University?
His reputation in the camps was not tarnished. His beloved girl, whose name I will not mention (I did not know her personally, but I know her name), was condemned by everyone in Lviv. Literally everyone condemned her: “How could she? How could she?” Alright, lets consider it a female version of events. But we dare not forget about the life and activity of such people. And the fact that a sound album dedicated to his memory is planned, I welcome it very much and think that a book of memoirs should also be made.
B. Roketsky: I know that Levko Lukianenko and Mykhailo Horyn held him in high esteem. I am also ready to emphasize that Volodymyr Roketsky was a very decent person, a patriot who wanted independence for Ukraine. Its a pity that he is no longer among us.
V. Hanushchak: He was a person who left a good mark, at the very least, at Lviv University. I say this without fear of exaggeration.
Kharkiv Human Rights Group.
Photo by V. Ovsienko: Bohdan Roketsky.