Dear Editor:
Many Ukrainian Americans don’t remember when American academics and policymakers did not conceal their negative stance to the idea of Ukraine’s independence. Ukrainians tended to ignore that antipathy, buoyed instead by declarations of support from politicians, and thus were shocked when in 1991, after Ukraine declared its independence and held a referendum that overwhelmingly endorsed independence, the U.S. balked at extending recognition. Only Mikhail Gorbachev’s dismantlement of Soviet state organs made recognition inevitable.
There was a lesson to be learned, which unfortunately was lost on many Ukrainian Americans. We prefer to focus on what is encouraging, pushing aside things that complicate the picture, however portentous they may be.