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What did Ukraine's week of memory and mourning show?
Summary
Three reported events from early November 2018 touched on historical memory, church diplomacy and the fight against corruption.
What did Ukraine's public agenda look like on 9 November 2018? Reports from the preceding days point to three separate threads: remembrance of a wartime deportation, an agreement with the Ecumenical Patriarch, and the death of an anti-corruption activist.
On 8 November 2018, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution on marking at state level the 75th anniversary of the start of the deportation of Ukrainians from Poland, which took place in 1944–1951. The measure placed that history on the official calendar.
On 3 November 2018, President Petro Poroshenko signed an agreement on cooperation with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
On 4 November 2018, Kateryna Handziuk, an anti-corruption activist, died of injuries from an acid attack in Kherson on 31 July. Her death was reported under the heading of corruption in Ukraine.
Three threads, one week
The three events were different in kind: a parliamentary vote, a presidential signature and a death after a violent attack. Taken together, they show the range of matters before Ukrainian public life in those days, from how the state treats a painful past to how it treats those who campaign against corruption.
