Author: Myron B. Kuropas

During the 1950s, my interest in Ukrainian American affairs was nil. I was simply not interested in our community, which I believed was a bit too “European” for me. I was an American after all. I had enough of the interminable concerts, picnics and sundry celebrations that my parents had me attend as I was...

Henry Kissinger is back! Now 99 years of age, Mr. Kissinger recently made a virtual appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He warned the West against defeating Russia. In order to achieve peace, Ukraine should accept Russian domination of the Crimean Peninsula and other territories, if necessary, Mr. Kissinger suggested. Mr. Kissinger...

My wife, Lesia, and I have driven by the Episcopal church many times on Sunday. Up until last week, neither of us had ever been inside the church we passed so often. That changed when The Daily Chronicle, our local newspaper, ran a story under the headline, “Church to host reading of Ukrainian poems to...

It has finally come to this. After centuries of struggling for independence, the Ukrainian people are fighting their last and final battle for freedom. And they’re winning. Ukrainians are fighting a righteous war. There are those in Washington and Europe, however, who are suggesting, even pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to quit while he’s ahead....

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelens­kyy and former U.S. President Ronald Reagan have much in common. Both came from humble beginnings. Both were entertainers. Both became presidents of their countries. Both suffered initially from low expectations. And both surprised their nation and the world. I was among those who believed the election of Mr. Zelenskyy was a...

After weeks of holding the world in suspense, Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-bore invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign and peaceful neighboring state. The brutal attack came from three directions: Russia, the Crimean Peninsula and Belarus. Europe is now at war for the first time in over 80 years. You can watch it all...

I enjoy watching Tucker Carlson, the late-night Fox News commentator who is generally accurate in his reporting, passionate in his delivery and occasionally humorous in style. Recently, however, this Fox icon has begun to annoy and sadden me. He’s beginning to come across as a mouthpiece for Vladimir Putin, a shill as it were. These...

Spanish-born philosopher George Santayana is credited with the aphorism, “He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it.” Nowhere has this been more true than in Russia where history is both consistent and repetitive. The script is usually the same. Russia’s rulers conclude that one of its neighbors is a threat. Solution? Demand that the...

Ukrainian Americans lost a friend when former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole died on December 5. I had the honor and pleasure of being a member of Mr. Dole’s staff in 1977. We met when I was still the special assistant for ethnic affairs to former President Gerald Ford. Mr. Dole was President Ford’s running mate...

The road to khabar. I love it. Reminds me of those old movies starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Remember? Road to Morocco. Road to Rio. Good stuff. Khabar in Ukrainian means bribe or payoff, activities which are very prevalent in Ukraine today. In 2012 Ernst & Young listed Ukraine alongside Colombia and...

I spent the summer of 1943 on a farm owned by my parents in Parkville, Mich. Mother loved movies, so on many a Friday afternoon mom, my sister Vera and I would trek over to highway M60 and wait to wave down the Detroit to Chicago Greyhound bus. It took us to Three Rivers, Mich., which had a movie theater. As soon as the movie ended, we’d walk to a restaurant where the Chicago to Detroit Greyhound passengers were enjoying a rest stop. The driver agreed to take us to the road which led to Parkville, Mich. Mom always found a way to watch a movie.

Once upon a time there was a Yiddish language newspaper in New York called Forverts (in English, The Forward). Founded in 1897 by the Jewish Socialist Press Federation, the newspaper was devoted to Jewish trade unionism and democratic socialism.

Like the Ukrainian gazette Svoboda in its early years, Forverts also offered English lessons to its readers, as well as civic advice regarding life in America. Under the leadership of Abraham Cahan, editor from 1903 to 1951, Forverts attained a readership of some 200,000 by World War I.