Following the audatious premiere of the Russian made film Taras Bulba -- in which the legendary character is presented as a glorifier of the early centuries "Mother Russia" -- two distinct commentaries on the subject appeared in the main Russian news site Izvestia. Considering that the jab constituted an attempt to undermine the claim to the ascendancy of Kyivan Rus' by Ukraine, the silent treatment of the controversial event in the main press of Ukraine at home [save for a weak treatment on the news site Den'] and abroad remains puzzling.

The national-communist policies of Ukrainization grew out of the weakness of early Soviet governments in Ukraine following the Revolution of 1917 and the failed Ukrainian struggle for independence. As early as 1920 Mykola Skrypnyk attributed this weakness to national hostility between the Ukrainian peasantry and the Russified workers, which was reflected in the Ukrainophobic policies of the Soviet authorities. The way to legitimize Soviet rule in Ukrainian eyes lay in the gradual de-Russification of the proletariat in Ukraine and its adoption of Ukrainian culture. The Borotbists, led by Oleksander Shumsky, offered a similar analysis.

Kyiv Chamber Choir performs in Kitchener-Waterloo

Leslie Ferenc
Staff Reporter

When Mykola Hobdych arrived in Canada he brought more than his trusted tuning fork and internationally acclaimed Kyiv Chamber Choir.

The dynamic maestro also brought a rare program of Ukrainian sacred and folk music, much of which had been banned during the dark age of Soviet rule in his homeland. For the Ukrainian-born conductor, the music is priceless -- it lifts the spirit and nourishes the soul.

Maryna Irkliyenko

Posters in light-boxes in Lviv praised the SS Galicia, a Ukrainian unit that fought under Nazi Germany, as defenders  of the nation against Soviet aggression. Nationalist politician Oleh Tyahnybok placed the ads.

[...]

The Nazi regiment was created in 1943. By then, the tide had already turned in favor of the Allies after Soviet troops ravaged the Nazi fighting machine in the epic Battle of Stalingrad. The racist Hitler had dropped his insistence on having only German soldiers of the "master race" go to war for him, a sign of his growing desperation.

Discussions over the many conflicts between Ukraine and Russia have focused on the more well known: the status of the Russian language, unpaid energy bills and gas pipelines, withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet, Russia's invasion of Georgia, support for Crimean separatism, and future NATO membership. What is less widely known is the undeclared Ukrainian-Russian cultural war that is as bitter as any other aspect of the poor state of the bilateral relationship between Ukraine and Russia.

President Yushchenko says his country must confront its past. But critics say deeper examination of authoritarianism and the starvation that killed millions could be dangerous.

By James Marson

Kyiv, Ukraine - In 1933, Mykola Bokan travelled across the Chernihiv Region of Ukraine taking photographs of his starving compatriots.

These were the victims of Holodomor, the "death by starvation" unleashed by Stalin that killed millions across Ukraine. The same year, Mr. Bokan was arrested and sent to a prison camp for 10 years. He didn't survive his sentence.

Paul Goble

VIENNA, April 28 -- Twenty-three years ago, the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history occurred at Chernobyl, a disaster that devastated the region, forced Mikhail Gorbachev to launch his glasnost program, and continues to claim pre-mature deaths among those exposed to the massive release of radiation.

And this year, as on every April 26th since that time, the victims, their families and activists of various kinds paused to take part in memorial services and demonstrations in the three countries most affected, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation, and to bemoan the fact that while many people around the world recall the accident, they are forgetting its victims.

Former Russian and CSKA head coach Valery Gazzaev has agreed to become the new Ukrainian national team head coach next year, a source in Ukraine's football federation says.

Current Ukraine head coach Alexey Mikhailichenko will stay at his post until the end of the World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign.

KYIV, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian football clubs Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk have been included in a list of the world's top ten clubs according to the latest ranking of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

Uefa will announce the list of host cities for Euro 2012 next week and everyone wants to keep hold of their slice of the financial pie

A model of new UEFA-standard stadium soon to be completed in the east Ukrainian city Donetsk, one of the expected host cities for Euro 2012. Photograph: Photomig/EPA

These are a big few days for Ukrainian football. On Thursday, they will find out who will be their first representatives in a European final for 23 years, as Shakhtar Donetsk host Dynamo Kyiv in the second leg of their Uefa Cup semi-final, a 1-1 first-leg draw having seemingly handed Shakhtar the initiative, even if they were second best for much of the game.

The Ukrainian Film Club proudly announces the premiere showing of "Maty Machukha" and "Nash Lviv" in Toronto

MATY MATCHUKHA
МАТИ МАЧУХА

(In Ukrainian - no English subtitles)

(a documentary film by Yulia Tymoshenko)

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Visit the exhibition In Full Bloom: The Pysanky of Folk Artist Iryna Bilianska... Using as her prototype the traditional pysanky of her native Sokal region in western Ukraine, characterized by multi-colored floral motifs, Bilianska developed an original style that included certain elements of Sokal embroidery. Her pysanky have predominantly floral motifs that cover the entire surface of the egg, freestyle. In some cases, bands of geometric motifs are intertwined with the florals. She often includes citations from Scripture about Easter and the Resurrection, and adds the Ukrainian national emblem -- the Trident.