CHELM CELEBRATED THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PROCLAMATION OF UKRAINE’S INDEPENDENCE

Mikhail Hrushevsky, the first president of the UPR was born in the Chelm. It is reported by Upmp.news with reference to Polish Radio.

In Chelm Ukrainians celebrated the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence, which took place at the end of the First World War. On January 22, 1918, the Fourth Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada gave birth to the short-lived existence of the Ukrainian People’s Republic as an independent state.

The first president of the UPR was Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, a supporter of a democratic system and a defender of minority rights, who was born in Chelm.

The head of the Ukrainian society, Gzhegh Kuprianovich, emphasized that Chelm occupies an important place in the history of Ukraine: “This is not only the figure of Mikhail Hrushevsky. The hill was the capital of the Galician-Volyn principality, the capital of Prince Danylo Halytsky, for centuries here was the site of the Holmes Orthodox diocese. The hill was an important center for the intellectual, political and cultural life of the Ukrainian community.”

At the symbolic cross dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Hrushevsky, wreaths were laid and prayer read. Also, the participants of the event paid tribute to the memory of the burial in Chelms of the Prime Minister of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, Pilip Pylypchuk and other politicians of that time – Antin Vasinchuk, deputy of the Sejm II of the Commonwealth, a supporter of the understanding with the Polish authorities, and his brother Paul – the representative of the emigration Government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in the Chelms, which secured his connection with the Polish underground during the Second World War.

“The anniversaries of Poland and Ukraine’s independence, which coincides bring our peoples closer to understanding,” said the Advisor of Ukrainian Embassy in the Republic of Poland Mykola Yarmolyuk: “We must remember and honor the victims, heroes, but we also need to look forward. Here, in my opinion, our young people must say their word, because for this we are building our common future.”

The event ended with the performance of the male choir “Zhuravli”, which is a visit-card of Ukrainian community in Poland.