MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Ukrainian Mountaineers Association and the Ukrainian Community of Morgantown, in collaboration with the Vovk Foundation, will host ” The Future Political Landscape in Ukraine by Oleh Medunytsya on Thursday, April 18, from 5 to 7p.m. in the Mountaineer Room in the Mountainlair.
Khrystyna Pelchar, born and raised in Ukraine and a Ph.D. Political Science student at West Virginia University, said Oleh Medunytsya, who has held different positions in national Ukrainian organizations and movements but was a Deputy Commander during the EuroMaidan/Revolution of Dignity protests, will facilitate the conversation.
“Oleh Medunytsya is not only the president and leader of multiple Ukrainian nationalist movements, but he is also a former member of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada,” Pelchar said.
Pelchar hopes to generate support for Ukraine, spread Ukrainian culture, and raise hopes for its bright future without Russian threat.
“We are the Ukrainian nation, and we want the world to differentiate us from Russia because Russian people are very different,” Pelchar said.
The groups wants the next generation of Ukrainian leaders to promote freedom, individual human rights, and transparency. Medunytsya participated in the Maidan protests that resulted in the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych and about four years of anti-corruption efforts.
“For the rest of the western world, some people say the cold war has never ended, based on what we see now and the rhetoric from Russian government officials about the western threat,” Pelchar said.
The Kremlin has maintained a presence in some form in the countries of Georgia and Moldova, creating challenges for economic and political progress.
“The political affairs are quite strained,” Pelchar said. “Not only Ukraine and other countries like Georgia and Moldova, but Russia has been trying to control domestic policy and suppress nationalism.”