CENTURY AGO: MAESTRO KOSHETZ LED UKRAINIAN NATIONAL CHOIR’S SENSATIONAL TRIUMPH IN WINNIPEG

«…I was overwhelmed by the thought that I had the honor of showing to the world the soul of our people...» – Alexander Koshetz

The Ukrainian folk song, masterfully performed by the Ukrainian Republican Capelle under the direction of Alexander Koshetz, became a powerful weapon in the struggle for independence of his ancestral land on the international arena. Established in 1919 on the initiative of Symon Petliura, Head of the Directory of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, with the intent to promote in European countries international recognition of Ukraine’s independence, and «...to showcase the soul and musical creativity of the Ukrainian people to Europe». As a state institution, the choir possessed its own state seal, official letterhead, and all choristers and the administrative staff of the organization received certificates of civil servants.  

                           

An official Letterhead with the name of the Ukrainian Republican Capelle in Ukrainian, French, and German

Archival documents, including an official letterhead, from the Central State Archive of the Highest Bodies of Power and Administration of Ukraine (ЦДАВО України) related to the Capelle are available for access through this link: ПУБЛІКАЦІЯ АРХІВНИХ ДОКУМЕНТІВ. УТВОРЕННЯ ТА ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ РЕСПУБЛІКАНСЬКОЇ КАПЕЛИ (1919–1921 рр.) В АРХІВНИХ ДОКУМЕНТАХ: https://doc-0c-08-apps-viewer.googleusercontent.com/viewer/ secure/pdf/

Those documents highlight the Capelle’s history, its performances abroad, and characterize the work of Alexander Koshetz as a composer, conductor and leader of the choir.

Holodomor: EU Parliament recognises Soviet starvation of Ukrainians as genocide

Holodomor: Parliament recognises Soviet starvation of Ukrainians as genocide

Press Releases

 

PLENARY SESSION 

 

AFET 

 

15-12-2022 - 12:44 

• Current Russian crimes in Ukraine reminiscent of the past
• Call on all countries and organisations to also recognise the Holodomor as genocide
• Russian regime manipulates historical memory for the purpose of its own survival

MEPs deplore that 90 years after the Holodomor, Russia is again committing horrific crimes in Ukraine.

 In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament recognises the famine inflicted by the Soviet regime on Ukraine in 1932-1933 - known as the Holodomor - as genocide. MEPs strongly condemn these acts, which resulted in the deaths of millions of Ukrainians, and call on all countries and organisations that have not yet done so to follow suit and recognise it as genocide.

Ukraine in the XX century inter World War period. A History Lesson by Askold S. Lozynskyj

A HISTORY LESSON

The territory of today's Ukraine in the XX century inter World War period was split essentially between a repressive Polish dictatorship and a savage and genocidal Soviet Russian regime. Small portions were under Czechoslovakian and Romanian control. In the case of the Soviets, some 7-10 million Ukrainians were starved to death in the 1932-33 years alone. The Molotov Ribbentrop Pact between Berlin and Moscow of September 1939 changed the political map but did not mitigate the dire conditions governing the indigenous Ukrainian population. When Poland was ousted, its repression was replaced by Soviet savagery.

 

In 1939 the Soviets brought their genocidal policies into Western Ukraine, populated primarily by Ukrainians in the villages and Poles and Jews in the cities. The Ukrainians and Poles were fiercely persecuted. Jews in great numbers served their new masters. When the Germans reneged on their Soviet pact in June 1941, the Soviets chose to retreat employing a scorched earth policy. Many Ukrainians and Poles were simply slaughtered.