Ukrainian historian and political scientist Stanislav Fedorchuck is the representative of intellectual resistance to Russia aggression. Being sure that words a loud than guns, he considers that the main problem of Ukrainian mass-media is the using of language of hate, imposed by enemy. Stanislav told to Informator.lg.ua about relevance of slogan «Edyna Kraina-Edinaya strana» (verbatim — One country — One country, but first part of slogan is on Ukrainian, the second is on Russian — ed.) and future of Ukrainian political nation.

• Stanislav, not so long ago you were the guest of a program “Direct speech”, which was dedicated to Donbas. Next day presenter of the program Ostap Drozdov posted into Facebook sharp thesis “F…ck off Donbass” after the broadcasting. Also, there is the opinion that media is also guilty in a war. So, what is the role of Ukrainian media in inciting hate as to the eastern region and the migrants?
•  When scientists began to explore genocide 1994 in Rwanda they used unordinary enough approach. The case is in fact that the only radio station “RTLM” broadcast in the country actively called to exterminate Tutsis.
• First time there was the discussion, that it was only propaganda, which was not connected with destroying minimum half of a million people. However plans to justify warmongers weren’t justified.
• Explorer David Yanagidzava-Drot put on map of spreading of radio-waves on geographic map of crimes against nationality Tutsis, made in Rwanda. It was found that places, where receive was on maximum, had the most big number of crimes, it predominated in doze times.
• The main problem of Ukrainian media is the using of language of hate and thoughtless repeat, created by terrorist mass-media. Since Ukrainian TV-channels can’t get the straight event review from occupied territories, they often look for sensations or scandal materials to fill their own broadcasts. It’s obviously that using such a material they strengthen propaganda effect on terrorist mass-media on Ukrainian society. Media has a great role in the creating of negative image of IDPs. Last year I made the monitoring of news on channel “ZIK”, which is present in the biggest part of cable networks of Ukraine. The main message of them is that Internally Displaced Persons are ungrateful, socially dangerous persons, which are represent not only a threat to the local community, but they also carriers of separatist ideas. Ideal IDP is the person who agrees on very lowly living conditions and all days thanks to locals for this. Not only irritation by the fact of the presence of civil and human rights among the displaced persons is demonstrated, but also frank language of hate is seen too.
• It’s hard to find the image of successful migrant. Moreover it is hard to get the information that IDPs could be useful to their new small motherland, i.e. about persons, who are valuable for the society: writers, artists, actors, scientists, successful representatives of small and medium business.

From the other side, negative experience of migrants in time of trying to integrate in everyday life out of home also must be counted. It’s a       big strategic mistake that biggest part from them stayed without proper attention from the side of a state. The absence of organ to work             with internally displaced persons on the level of the government is the perfect demonstration of such treatment to people.

• Before a war you said that it is very difficult to be Ukrainian on Donbass. Does it difficult to be Ukrainian from Donetsk… in Ukraine itself? Do you personally face with discrimination from the side of locals?
• Frankly saying, the cases of discrimination are more in social media than in real life. But you can hear in some phrases of officials or even ordinary citizens that it is need to physically exterminate all population that stayed in occupation and leave there empty prairie. Such points of view are meet enough the expectations of separatists, who considers fomenting intra-national hatred among Ukrainians the same task as the victory under Ukrainian army. By the way, I don’t remember any of stories when my friends Ukrainian activists from Donetsk became the victims of physical violence. One of comrades was rudely beaten by unknown people in Dnepropetrovsk when they knew where he is from. Police did not disclose the matter.

• Don’t you think that phrase «Edyna Kraina-Edinaya strana» is sly, considering prejudice against people from the east from other Ukrainians?
• This slogan is the example for saying one thing and doing another. It’s necessary to recognize absence of second-class or unnecessary citizens or territories for this country to establish itself. Now there is the illusion creates that by giving to terrorists territories, we ostensibly pay with lives of “extra citizens” and moreover with lands.
• Looking back for your public activity on Donbass, could this territory be Ukrainized? Why power didn’t pay attention on cultural initiatives from below in Yuschenko and Yanukovich times, really this “Ukrainian Donbass” had existed?
• Ukrainian Donbas was a little underwater iceberg to which we tried to connect most Ukrainian initiatives and organizations on our own. We understood main things in time. Nobody needed Ukrainian Donbas and we must be self-reliant and don’t wait for help neither from Lviv, nor from Kyiv. Educational and cultural policy has never been priority for any power. The Party of Regions with satellites held scot-free anti-Ukrainian policy in this spheres and grew up enemies of Ukrainian state and society. Almost all Ukrainian staff, who are from academic or public environ, drew important conclusions instead of everything, but not thanking to assistance from official institutions. This contributed to maximal rallying of forces and didn’t give the opportunity to relax in the conditions of neutral or hostile surrounding.
• How do you think why patriotically oriented political projects (“Svoboda”, “Batkivschyna”) didn’t have success in eastern regions?
• The territory of Donbass wasn’t the priority for the political competition for the central offices of this parties. No good staff, no necessary resources were directed here. I can’t remember any of situations when representatives of this political forces tried to visit villages or small towns of Donbas, to open permanent working receptions and to establish any kind of communication with the local population. There was the imitation of a work and covert agreement, that local electorate is the property of Party of Regions and there was no need to quarrel with local oligarchs.
• You noticed in one of your publications that Middle Ages come on Donbas. But there is always revival after the dark times. When Ukrainian Renaissance will become?
• It is necessary to mark its future parameters for hope on Renaissance. Now authority demonstrates the absence of a plan or even scheme of regulatory future for the liberated, free and occupied territories of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
• I’m proposing “the way in thousand steps” to have a possibility to estimate      effectiveness and rationality of every point of changes. Also there must be the implementation of daily and gradual reform of the system of education and culture (all heads of schools and cultural institutions must be fired and adequate personnel must be invited on their places). The reform of municipal media is going to be too. Now they are repeaters of ideas of Party of Regions and local criminal authorities. We need root reform of Departments of MIA and SSU, which are full of hostile agents, corruptionists and henchmen of criminal groups. There is a lot of work ahead, which will need resources and system approach.

   

• Migrants often are blamed in insufficient patriotism in spite of this citizens chose Ukraine and hadn’t betrayed their country. Who do you think has the interest to foment hostility between Ukrainians?
• IDPs are very different, so some generalizations are not appropriate. You can choose Ukraine, being in the occupation, helping to AFU and staying near ill relatives and parents. It’s very important to remember about it. Every accurate shot of Ukrainian artillery on positions of Russian army or terrorists is the price of life of our local correctors of fire, who are risking their life, close Ukraine to victory. The trouble is in fact that loyal Ukrainians of Donbas couldn’t find themselves on a free territory and came back home. As for me, it is a criminal. It’s better to spend resources on migrants, than find the ways to struggle with terrorists, who are hiding behind a shield of human beings, locating tanks and artillery in village gardens or in the centre of city micro districts.
• First of all a foreign enemy has the interest in hostility. The destroying of National Unity is the key to success. We can only look at the results of sixth wave of mobilization to understand that military service by conscription is frankly sabotaged in the biggest part of regions of The Western Ukraine.
• You live in Lviv with your family. What unites so different Halychyna and Donbas? What can become the fundament for Ukrainian political nation?
• First of all, we’re united by the wish to live in normal country, where is equal treatment to all law-abiding citizens. Of course, it is the wish of victory under external aggression and local collaborators. Not only privileged position of Ukrainian culture around the communicative space must lay in the base of Ukrainian political nation, but also the principle of economic freedom, which could allow us not to become a nation, waiting for social benefits from the state’s side, but self-sufficient citizens able to support themselves and their families.
• And at last. Your personal forecast according the future of Ukraine and Donbas. Can modern elites keep the country in its modern circumstance?
• The existence of modern elites is the result of compromise between society and power, as for me elites are over their life. Absolutely technocratic demands are assigned to them now. They must to hold the country from economic crisis, make the reforms of system of trial and justice, reforms in the sphere of decentralization and also make the reform of Armed Forces of Ukraine. But disappointment in slowly tempo of changes and corruption scandals seriously undermine trust to power.
• Not very simple decade is waiting for Ukraine. I hope that it will the decade of growing not decline. What depends on Donbas, my forecast, unfortunately, is disappointing. It looks like that conflict early or late will be frozen and occupied territories will become “the grey zone” lika Abkhazia or South Ossetia.
• Prepared and translated from Ukrainian by Mikita Pidgora for Informator.lg.ua