Speaking at the event – “At the Crossroads of Worlds: Russian Propaganda in the Global South and What to Do About It” – Olexiy Haran, Professor of Political Science at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Scientific Director of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, international historian, political scientist, and political consultant, suggests using Ukraine’s historical experience to establish communication with countries in the so-called Global South.
“We must first explain that today’s Russia is not the Soviet Union. Second, the USSR had a second Soviet republic, the Ukrainian SSR, which supported the fight against colonialism for its own reasons. Few people are aware that this republic, not the USSR, served on the UN Special Committee on Anti-Apartheid, with Hennadii Udovenko serving as vice chairman. When African diplomats met Udovenko at the General Assembly, they hugged and kissed him because Ukraine was associated with many anti-colonial and anti-apartheid resolutions. The Ukrainian SSR, by the way, had a base near Odesa where 300 soldiers were trained for the African National Congress. We should not give all of this to the Russians”
Olexiy Haran, Professor of Political Science at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Scientific Director of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation
