I want to tell about one sad page from the history of Ukraine. This thread is about the first Ukrainian and the second European museum-prison, about "National museum-memorial of the occupational regimes' victims "The Prison on Lontskyy str." in L'viv. The prison on Lontskyy str. was famous as political prison during three occupations of L'viv region: the Polish in 1919-1939, the Soviet in 1939-1941 and in 1944-1991, the Nazi in 1941-1944. The cruelest pages of this prison are dated in 1941 year, when during 22-28 on June were shot 1681 prisoners by the agents of NKVD. And also very cruel events were in 1941-1944, when the Nazi have begun to arrest the members of OUN and their relatives there. In 1936 the Ukrainian hero Stepan Bandera, a leader of OUN, stayed in the prison on Lontskyy str. after his arrest of 1934. Katheryna Zarytska, the organizer and the chief of Ukrainian Red Cross of UPA, stayed here too from 1935 till 1941. Ivan Klymiv, one of the chieves of OUN in West Ukraine in 1940-1941 and a minister in the Ukrainian government of Yaroslav Stestko, was shot on December, 4 in 1942. Yuriy Shukhevych, the member of OUN and a brother of Roman Shukhevych, the leader of UPA, was shot on June of 1941. Iryna Senyk, Ihor and Iryna Kalynets, Ivan Hel', the famous public figures in the period of the second soviet occupation (1944-1991), were arrested and stayed here for "antisoviet activity". And V'yacheslav Chornovil, the eminent public figure and politician, candidate for president of Ukraine in 1991 and in 1999, stayed in the prison in 1972-1973 for "antisoviet activity" too. (Many people considered him the best pro-Ukrainian candidate in that elections; V. Chornovil died in the autocatastrophe in 1999 under the strange circumstances).
After staying in the jail on Lontskyy str. the prisoners were shot or were sent to the camps for political prisoners. The last arrests for "antisoviet propaganda" were organized in 1989, when the citizens of L'viv went on patriotic demonstration and then some of them were taken here. Nowadays it's only memorable museum, not a prison. The museum was created to know and to remember the real Ukrainian history of that cruel XX-th century. Because who doesn't know the past, that one isn't worth for the future.

Shock. I'm shocking with the last events in Ukraine. I'm shocking with that high price for gas and with growing of the pensioner's age, proposed by the Ukrainian authority, with foolish reforms in the educational branch and with rewritting Ukrainian history in the textbooks, with taking of the frequencies of two independent from the modern authority channels ("the 5-th" and TVI) and with blocking of the participation of the party "Batkivshchyna" in Lviv and Kyiv regions in the elections on October, 31. Just great shock...
How can the Ukrainian men be the pensioners only after their 65 years old when the average life's duration of men is 63 years in Ukraine?
Why can't Ukrainian children have the right to know about the UPA (Ukrainian Revolting Army) and the Ukrainian Sichovi Striltsi, about the young heros of the fighting near the city of Kruty and the Orange revolution of 2004-th?
How can people pay for gas according new price when many of them are unemployed and the state's authority does NOTHING to change this situation? But also why should the Ukrainians pay for Russian gas for such high price when Russia pays for the transit of its gas on the Ukrainian territory for very low price? Then, the agreement about the staying of the Russian navy in the Crimea till 2042 was written providing low price for Russian gas. So? What was it? The empty promises?...
And, You know, I can't believe that the future elections will be without Tymoshenko's party "Batkivshchyna" in Lviv and Kyiv regions, in these two regions, which support the oppositional leader, probably, the most. The reason is the refusal of the ministry of the justice to register the new chieves of Lviv and Kyiv organizations of "Batkivshchyna", elected this summer. And the official election's company will start on September, 11...So that organizations have only 2 days to be registered...
(P.S. Why are the new chieves there? Because the former chieves united to the coalition with power's party).

I'm in the sorrowful spirits from this reality in Ukraine.

The Independence Day of Ukraine on August, 24-th is real holiday for many-many people in Ukraine and abroad. This year the 19-th anniversary of the Ukrainian Independence is celebrating too modestly, like "in the economical variant" - without traditional military parade and big concerts. :) But anyway the citizens of Ukraine are happy to live in their own independent state and the majority of them don't want back in the USSR. Probably, only modern state's power certainly wants to return us there. But, no, I don't want to write some sorrowful thread today. Yes, Ukraine has much problems and not accepted decisions, and we must live in the reality without "closing eyes" on the Ukrainian events, we must change that reality, if it isn't liked for us. I hope we'll do better changes step by step.
And today is the Ukraine's birthday. Ukraine is only 19 years old - like nice young lady. Though it's only its official age - the real age of this lady is bigger, much bigger. :) But she doesn't tell anybody what is her age indeed, because she's a lady. She's trying to be sage always, but sometimes she makes mistakes because of her youth (official :)). Of course, as young person, she has many ideas and plans for amazing future, but doesn't have the experience of the transformation that ideas in the reality in the past. I wish this lady a great healthy to cross quickly all problems, a success to find good friends in that cruel life, a sagacity to see who is a friend and who isn't and a sagacity to declarate right laws for people, and a pride of who she is - the Ukrainian!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdH1d1UMKPE

National Anthem of Ukraine. )))

I can't view my profile in the blog because of error "bX-ypcj3". Can anybody say me what is it and how may change it? Thanks for answers.
But...what a morning. This night I dreamed Lenin's portrait and my living in the Soviet Union, just as back in the USSR. I'm scare! :) Such bad dream, one of the worst in my life. Maybe I should read less political news. )))
Have a nice Wednesday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRYvuS9OxdA&feature=av2n

Drohobych

The oldest wooden temple in Ukraine, built in 1657 - St. Yuriy Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

                      St. Yuriy icon in St. Yuriy Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

                 Wonderful iconostasis of St. Yuriy Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

                    The interior of St. Yuriy Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Former NKVS prison in 1941 and memorable table about that period on the building, nowadays it's one of the scientific-researching institutes of Drohobych Pedagogical University.

                   Basilian monastery's complex of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Monument to famous scientist Yuriy Drohobych (Kotermak), which some time was a rector in Bologne university on the beginning of the XVth century.

   Monument to Ukrainian famous writer Ivan Franko, who lived11 years in Drohobych.

          Memorable table to Ivan Franko on the facade of the gimnasium, where he studied.

Monument to Vyacheslav Chornovil, famous Ukrainian politician and Ukraine's patriot in 1960-1990 years.

Monument to eminent Ukrainian writer and public figure Markiyan Shashkevych.

Monument to the fighters for Ukraine's freedom.

Monument to all victims of Holodomor (huge famine, created by Soviet state power) in 1932-1933.

A belfry of St. Bartolomeo Catholic Cathedral of Drohobych, built in the XIVth century.

                                                   Entry to St. Bartolomeo Catholic Cathedral

Monument to Pope John Paul II near St. Bartolomeo Catholic Cathedral.

Memorable table to Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest Vasyl Shevchuk, killed in 1943 in Ryashiv (nowaday Polish city Rzeszow).

Big poster to Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian politician and the chief of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Drohobych Pedagogical University.

St. Trinity Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Architectural examples of the XIXth century.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (wooden temple)

Antique painting on the facade of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Drohobych Painting Gallery

Drohobych Art Palace

The interior of the Museum of Bruno Schulz, famous painter, who was born in Drohobych and was killed here by the Nazi in 1942.

                                 Salterns plant's buildings, constructed in the XVIIth century.

                                       Monument to dead soldiers in the War of 1941-1945.

Drohobych People's House

Drohobych City Council's tower and Ukrainian flag on the top.

Drohobych in Lviv region. I like to go there when I want to "escape" and to think well about life, systematizing my thoughts. Don't know why, but exactly this city gives me a kind force of the positive mood in the future. And it's also strange for my character - to travel into the same place several times, because I usually go in the different cities and don't enjoy come back again and again to one place, besides my native Lviv, of course. But Drohobych is special. :)

Wake up, Ukraine! :)

I think these words every day in the morning, dreaming about the better future in my state. And some better changes have already happened - the Ukrainian society woke up from its sleeping. Good signals of this awaking are the public protests of different public organizations against the new project of "Law about peace actions and meetings", organized last week in Kyiv, Lviv, Donetsk, Cherkasy, Kharkiv (p. s. this project of law decreases much the possibilities of the meeting's organization). And nowadays the Ukrainian citizens very actively discuss and protest against the new Tax Codex, which maybe will be accept with the Parliament. This tax codex will almost completely destroy the businesses in Ukraine because of its high taxes or because of its "free" tax controls and then an unemployment will grow more and more... So it's not time "to sleep".

The song of "Mandry" - "Don't sleep, my native land, wake up, my Ukraine".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLkzxVS9VyE

Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The great politician, chief and creator one of the first ukrainian TV-channel in the 1990-th years, journalist and just the great ukrainian was buried today in Kyiv, on the Baykove cemetery. He died in the age of 53 on 9 June, 2010 at the hospital, because was ill with a blood cancer last 10 years. But he was always the fighter in everything, even in his illness, because the doctors said him about one year of the life with such diagnose, but he lived whole ten years, fighting with the cancer! The real fighter and the main ideologist of the Orange revolution in Ukraine in 2004. The man of the principles, who wasn't afraid of saying the truth and the objective information in the politics. The man with nice smile, big optimism and many ideas in the different branches.
I cried from this information of Zinchenko's death.
It's a really pity, when die someone, who does anything good for another people, not only for him, or when die someone, who has the real human values, but not money as the principal value. And mr. Oleksandr was such one, but... has already gone in the better world.

Lviv's medieval festival on May 29th, 2010 in Shevchenkivskyy Hay (photos).