Friends!

On this day in 1905 was born Ulas Samchuk - Ukrainian writer and journalist, a member of the UNR government in exile. He was a true Ukrainian philosopher, a man of strong opinions, in Soviet times, his works and general mention of him were banned.

He was born in the village Derman in a family of wealthy farmers, that have always worked hard. Ulas never forgot his origin, so the subject of peasantry always was presented in his works. Fortunately, the village where he was born still had Ukrainian culture, among which the future writer grew. Modernization of the village was a main thing, in which Ulas saw the future of Ukraine. More than a hundred years has passed since his birth, but this topic still is not implemented.

Secondary education writer got at the Kremenets Ukrainian private school. There he first became acquainted with the phenomenon of Bolshevik propaganda. And his young mind first gave in! Samchuk even wanted to become a Soviet writer. But it did not happen. Later he analyzed that time as the biggest mistake. He told about Bolsheviks: "They do not see the purpose of life at all, they brought it down to junk, five-year plans, flats. If they are despair – they can get a bullet in the head. Terror replaces them faith, for without terror they believe that their ideals are sufficient to win. Who and how long wants to believe in terror? ". We can build an appropriate with parallel nowadays.

Samchuk’s fate was not so easy. At first, he was in the Polish Army, he fled it and settled in Germany. There he began to study philosophy, especially enjoyed reading Immanuel Kant. Later he studied in Czechoslovakia, where he met with Ukrainian immigrants. Their discussions helped Samchuk to grasp the idea of ​​Ukrainian nationalism and believe in it. He was not indicative of a patriot, as was popular in those days. Samchuk dreamed about independent Ukraine, built not on the traditions, but in modern role, when in the short times, Ukraine will be able to overcome backwardness compared to European countries and become their competitor.

One of the basic ideas of Samchuk was that "the struggle is a true phenomenon of life." In the trilogy "Volyn" he eloquently reflects this idea. The author showed the image of the Ukrainian young man of late 1920's - early 1930 pp., who were seeking to find a place in the world Ukraine and ways of its national culture and state formation. Through this work in 32 years’ author became a popular writer.

During the German occupation of 1941-1944. Samchuk returned to Ukraine to legally promote the idea of ​​Ukrainian nationalism into masses. He published the newspaper "Volyn", performed in different cities lectures. Ulas was able to carry a fire, the idea of ​​an independent Ukraine. For which he was arrested by the German authorities and thrown in jail. Samchuk could even been shoot. But everything turned out differently. After the Second World War in Germany Ulas was sent to camps for displaced persons. There he founded "Art Ukrainian movement", promoted Ukrainian cultural life. Later he emigrated to Canada. He tried to continue writing there, but separated from the motherland, felt weak. Unfortunately, in Toronto writer died, without returning home.

Friends, sometimes it seems that the challenges we face are unique. In fact, history has repeatedly showed that often we repeat the same mistakes. But we are just people, and even the smartest philosophers like Ulas Samchuk could be wrong. The main thing is to bring this knowledge to use it for the benefits of ourselves and our country.