Ukraine
The first line of the national anthem sums up the life and attitude of the people of Ukraine: “Ukraine is not yet dead.” This line embodies both the attitude that suffering is prevalent as well as the enduring perseverance and strong spirit that dominates this country. The lands that now make up Ukraine existed, for much of its history, as a group of disjointed lands containing peoples of Ukrainian ethnicity. It survived a series of rulers including Mongols, Turks, and later Nazi, Austrian and Russian forces. The lands that make up Ukraine were finally unified under the Soviet Union after World War II. The country then became an independent nation in 1991.
The Ukrainian people as well as the Slavic culture and traditions suffered severely under the centuries of foreign domination. The country fared badly under soviet rule—approximately 7 million people died in a state-orchestrated famine and countless more were arrested and executed—that many people turned to the Nazis as welcome liberators. Unfortunately, life under Nazi rule proved just as detrimental. The Nazi Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing units, were responsible for millions of deaths among Ukrainians, many of whom were Jews. Back under soviet control, Ukraine experienced the world’s worst nuclear disaster in Chernobyl in 1986.
Freedom has been a long, hard road for Ukraine. The fall of the Soviet Union had drastic repercussions. The quality of life, which had fallen drastially shortly after independence, is only just beginning to recover. Poverty, low standards of living, organized crime, disease, unemployment and decreased life expectancy are all aspects of life in post-communist Ukraine. Attitudes in post-communist life have been likewise affected as spirits of disillusionment, depression, and hopelessness have taken root in the hearts of many.
A temporary hope was recently restored to the country in the form of the Orange Revolution. This revolution was a series of protests against a fraudulent outcome to the latest presidential elections in the country. The revolution was successful and politics of the country are being turned around; people are expressing a sense of freedom that they feel independence alone could not provide them. Unfortunately, this temporal hope and freedom alone is not enough to bring ultimate fulfillment to their lives. Many people have already come to realize this, and the number of true believers is growing daily. They are receiving a hope that cannot come from a protest rally or a governmental shift. Unfortunately, the majority of the people remain in a spiritual darkness, placing their trust in things that cannot satisfy. Unless they place that trust in Christ and allow him to shift their hearts, they will never know the true hope and freedom that comes from knowing Christ.
You can be a part of telling the Ukrainian people about true hope and freedom found only in Christ. To find our how to do this, write us at hope4cee@pobox.com.