{"id":85079,"date":"2018-02-16T19:46:44","date_gmt":"2018-02-16T19:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=64546"},"modified":"2018-02-20T12:32:11","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T10:32:11","slug":"64546-patriotism-without-nationalism-myroslav-popovych","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/64546-patriotism-without-nationalism-myroslav-popovych","title":{"rendered":"Patriotism without nationalism: Ukraine bids farewell to philosopher Myroslav Popovych"},"content":{"rendered":"
On February 10,\u00a02018,<\/em>\u00a0Ukrainian philosopher Myroslav Popovych passed away at the age of 87. Academician, director of the Ukrainian State Institute of Philosophy, author of the book \u201cThe Red Century\u201d, thinker of a large scale, Myroslav Popovych was at the same time a person of unbelievable modesty.\u00a0<\/em>
\nThere were times when he used to work as a teacher in a village school, now the President came to pay his last respects to this man. Journalists used to call him \u201ca sage with the smile of a child\u201d, while Ukrainian politicians used to seek advice from him. He was called \u201cthe consciousness of the nation\u201d as well as a moral opinion leader. He was frequently seen on Maidan \u2013 Ukraine\u2019s central square, during the Orange Revolution of 2004 and the Revolution of Dignity of 2013-2014. It is now being suggested to rename after him the street on which the philosopher used to live.<\/em>
\nUCMC herewith casts light on who Myroslav Popovych was, what his key ideas are, and what Ukrainians will remember him for.<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\"
\nShort biography.<\/strong>\u00a0Myroslav Popovych was born in Zhytomyr in 1930. In 1948-1953 he studied philosophy at the Kyiv University, later he worked as a village school teacher and a village school director. He received his Ph.D. following the postgraduate studies at the Institute of Philosophy in 1956-1959, at which Popovych worked until his death thereafter. Being a member of the Communist Party he got to chair the first central office of the party \u201cNarodny Rukh Ukrainy\u201d (Ukraine\u2019s People\u2019s Movement) in 1989. He was one of the participants of the \u201cDecember 1\u201d group starting from 2013 (a group of Ukrainian intellectuals established on the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of the referendum of Ukraine\u2019s independence in 2011). Myroslav Popovych was the author of about 400 scientific works including 21 monographs. His most well-known scientific pieces that also became known to the wide public are \u201cHryhoriy Skovoroda\u201d (1984), \u201cThe mindset of ancient Slavs\u201d (1985), \u201cMykola Gogol\u201d (1989), \u201cUkraine and Europe: right and left\u201d (1996), \u201cEssays on the history of the Ukrainian culture\u201d (1998), \u201cThe Red Century\u201d (2005) and \u201cBeing a Human\u201d (2011).<\/p>\n
\n

\u201cThe Red Century\u201d: what the XX century was like<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIts name\u00a0[the name of the book \u201cThe Red Century\u201d \u2013 UCMC]<\/em>\u00a0does not imply that the past century was red; it was colorful and ended up being extremely motley. I was writing this book about the red century as for the majority of us it was mostly so.
\nTo me, as to its author, that century is my life. I remember the biggest part of it, while the life of my father and mother started almost simultaneously with it. There will be authors that will know better than I do what was happening between the beginning and the end of the XX century. However, my advantage will always be that I used to live at that time and took everything to heart.\u201d (An excerpt from the piece serving as a preface to \u201cThe Red Century\u201d, 2005).
\n<\/p>\n

Ukrainians about Popovych.\u00a0<\/strong>Philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko: \u201cThis book (\u2018The Red Century\u2019 \u2013 UCMC) is what they call\u00a0the book<\/em>\u00a0in English: if you have time to read just one book on the history of communism, then \u2018The Red Century\u2019 is your best choice. Such books are wise and detailed but do not require any specialized preparation: these books are open to everyone regardless of reader\u2019s interests or educational background.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe Epoch of Good\u201d: on Ukraine\u2019s contemporaneity\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThere come entire epochs when the good becomes \u2018contagious\u2019. I think we live in such an epoch.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n

\n

On Ukrainian nationalism<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI am not a nationalist, neither do I continue the OUN* course, neither am I a supporter of Bandera nor Melnyk. However, Ukraine is facing the national-liberation task, and people of different orientations have been taking part in this battle, thus one needs to take it into account when assessing the events.\u201d (An excerpt from the interview of 2005).
\n*OUN is the Ukrainian abbreviation for the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists<\/em><\/p>\n

Ukrainians about Popovych.<\/strong>\u00a0Journalist Andriy Kulykov: \u201cMyroslav Popovych was a distinct Ukrainian patriot. However, neither in his manner, nor in the way he was expressing himself, nor in the way he was justifying the need for Ukraine\u2019s independence, there was extremism or anguish that was often scaring those to whom the thought of the independence was new.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

On Maidan and the Revolution of Dignity<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cMaidan did not just overthrow the government like, for example, the Revolution on Granite and the students\u2019 strike of 1990 ended up with just one government being substituted by another, while nothing at the core actually changed. Maidan, on the contrary, changed Ukraine\u2019s political system. And it can never be eradicated. When we came and stood there saying: \u2018I will not walk away until\u2026\u2019, we never thought it might grow into such a large-scale political act, undoubtedly, out of nothing. If we speak about the consequences, about how protracted this movement towards democracy is going to be\u2026 I would be very cautious in saying anything certain.\u201d (2015)
\n<\/p>\n

\n

On President Poroshenko<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cBack then I used to support Poroshenko as a candidate. I was writing up appeals so that people vote to have the victory in the first round of elections already. I do not regret\u00a0it. But I am now concerned if he copes with this burden. As the danger of the burden of power is that it crushes a person from the inside\u2026\u201d (2015)<\/p>\n

Ukrainians about Popovych.\u00a0<\/strong>The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko: \u201cTo me today it\u2019s not just a loss of a big Ukrainian and an outstanding state actor. I can say that to some extent Myroslav was my teacher.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

On Russia, the empire, and Russian friends<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIf Ukraine heads to Europe, those former republics should be crossed out as well, as they will follow us. And Russia understands that. As Nicholas I\u00a0[of Russia \u2013 UCMC]<\/em>\u00a0used to say: I could let Poland go, but I would never let Malorossiya leave. \u2018Malorossiya leaving\u2019 from under the empire\u2019s wing would mean the end of the empire. And this issue is not just topical, it is exactly at the heart of Putin\u2019s entire politics.\u201d
\n\u201cThe Russians with whom we used to drink tea in the kitchen in the 1970s are still my friends today. It is quite possible they do not realize what sense independence makes, or they now possibly\u00a0do\u00a0because they have seen Putin. However, the majority of Russians are far from understanding their tragic positioning. They can be only sympathized with, same as Germans could have been, by the way. When the fascists\u00a0[the author means National Socialists here, it is a typical tongue-slip in Ukrainian \u2013 UCMC]<\/em>\u00a0acceded to power, only a third of the population voted for Hitler. Well, it turned out that if one-third supports a chauvinistic doctrine, it is enough.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n

\n

What the war in Donbas is fought for<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cToday we tend to sometimes forget that the actual war is a war of principles. We do know \u2013 and it is true, that the war is on between Russia and Ukraine. It is an undeclared war, but we all know what it is about. All the controversies we have ever had led to this, and this is the dangerous part: it is not about the language or even independence \u2013 it is not what\u2019s at stake,\u00a0instead,\u00a0we need to build a society with a human face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

On decommunization in Ukraine<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cImplementation of the decommunization laws needs to have a delicate pace. It should not be a show \u2013 like those acts of toppling. Dancing on a toppled monument is not that far from dancing on the dead bodies. It should not be done like that. It is a barbarian way to destroy the barbarian way of thinking and the barbarian mindset.\u201d
\n\u201cIn the end, there was the state, and we used to be the citizens loyal to that state. Labeling any cooperation with this state being collaborationism \u2013 what some of those interpreting this series of the laws on decommunization tend to do, and having us all declared collaborationists means having us all sent to jail.\u201d
\n\u201cI used to be a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (KPRS), but in the\u00a0end,\u00a0the dictatorship of the criminal-political communist gang was to a large extent overthrown with the efforts of such KPRS members as me. This means that new trenches should not be dug here.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPhoto:\u00a0Svitlana Levchenko \/ The Ukrainians<\/a><\/p>\n

Ukrainians about Popovych.\u00a0<\/strong>Sociologist Iryna Bekeshkina: \u201cThese days the former Soviet Union is often being portrayed in one grey color \u2013 there was nothing positive back then, and people were absolute \u2018soviets\u2019. Why then the USSR collapsed so easily? Yes, there were people who were openly fighting the Soviet system, but they were very quickly isolated from the society, they were put in jail and their voice was heard louder abroad than in Soviet Ukraine. At the same time, there were people who were not openly opposing the system, but day after day, by the mere fact of their existence and with the impact they had upon their environment, they kept undermining the rigid, dogmatic and pathetic Soviet system.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

An excerpt<\/strong>\u00a0from the last text by Myroslav Popovych dated February 2018<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cEvery day and every hour we are facing the unsolved problems that threaten to bring our state to a collapse. Trying to suppress the evil, we create new evil. We are witnessing self-destruction of the state. This statement is topical today, it was\u00a0topical\u00a0a month ago and, unfortunately, quite likely will be topical a month from now. (\u2026) The main reason behind the threat that is casting a\u00a0shadow\u00a0over Ukraine is the lack of trust in the national consolidation.
\nIt is important that everyone formulates their position and does not hide behind the back of their colleagues. As Martin Luther said: \u2018Here I stand, I can do no other\u2019. Life is given to a person for a reason. The truth wins anyway. What seems to be said to the wind, will find a way to grow from a seed \u2013 in an absolutely unimaginable manner, through some action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\t\"\"\t\t\n\t\t\tView Gallery<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t9 images\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On February 10,\u00a02018,\u00a0Ukrainian philosopher Myroslav Popovych passed away at the age of 87. Academician, director of the Ukrainian State Institute of Philosophy, author of the book \u201cThe Red Century\u201d, thinker of a large scale, Myroslav Popovych was at the same time a person of unbelievable modesty.\u00a0 There were times when he used to work as […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":85080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[705,748],"tags":[],"section":[743],"form":[],"yoast_head":"\nPatriotism without nationalism: Ukraine bids farewell to philosopher Myroslav Popovych | UACRISIS.ORG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On February 10,\u00a02018,\u00a0Ukrainian philosopher Myroslav Popovych passed away at the age of 87. 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