Ukrainian-Slovak relations: a close look

THE GEOPOLITICAL BELT OF THE STATE MUST ALWAYS BE STRONG!

A big strategic and political mistake was made – to remove Ukraine’s presence on the borderlands by eliminating diplomatic missions there!

When a treacherous enemy from the east comes with war, there must always be a strong diplomatic rear in the west!

I wrote about this on the example of Slovakia, where Russian propaganda has always flourished, and has intensified even more after 2014!

OLGA BENCH

 

 

UKRAINIAN-SLOVAK RELATIONS: A CLOSE LOOK

Why did the Consulate General of Ukraine in Prešov seem unnecessary for “big” Kyiv in “small” Slovakia?

In this article, I examine Ukrainian-Slovak relations through the prism of political, economic, and humanitarian support provided by neighboring Slovakia to our country.
I also highlight the role of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov, analyze the problems that have arisen in the lives of Ukrainians in Slovakia in connection with the liquidation of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov.

For centuries, Slovaks and Ukrainians have been close neighbors, united by a common history in the pursuit of a happy life, freedom and independence, and mutual support for each other along the way. Both nations have given the world outstanding representatives who have helped peoples to get to know each other and defend their rights and freedoms. The solid foundations for mutual enrichment of the two peoples in the mid-nineteenth century were laid by prominent figures of the Slovak national movement – P. J. Šafárik, B. Nosak-Nezábudov, Jan Kollar, L. Stur, S. Halupka, and the Ukrainian H. Skovoroda, T. Shevchenko, O. Bodiansky, M. Kostomarov, M. Markevych, M. Maksymovych.

As a sign of respect and gratitude to the genius of the Slovak people, who fought for the right to their native language, culture and history for the Slavic peoples, Taras Shevchenko dedicated his poem “Heretic” to P.J. Šafárik, in which he wrote “May all Slavs become Good brothers and sons of the sun of truth… Glory to you, Shafaryk, forever and ever, for bringing the Slavic rivers into one sea!” These words of Shevchenko’s must now be actualized in the present and return to our two peoples a solid foundation in the preservation and mutual understanding of their own history and culture. The achievements of Ukrainian writers in Slovakia in the field of their national life greatly enrich the treasury of Slovak culture and thus simultaneously strengthen Slovak-Ukrainian relations.

Today, relations between Ukraine and Slovakia are developing on a friendly, good-neighborly basis and mutually beneficial cooperation.
In terms of historical time, Ukraine and Slovakia are relatively young independent states.
At the same time, on January 1, 1993, Ukrainian-Slovak diplomatic relations were established.

Currently, Slovakia has an Embassy in Kyiv and a Consulate General in Uzhhorod, while Ukraine has only the Embassy of Ukraine in Bratislava (the Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov was liquidated in November 2014).
The two countries are united by geographical proximity, religious (Christian) and ethnic (Slavic) affiliation, as well as by the European integration component.
There are no territorial or historical claims between the two countries, and there are no problematic issues.
Slovakia has consistently supported Ukraine, and this support has political, economic, and humanitarian components.
The political support of the Slovak Republic has the following components:

– Slovakia’s support is tangible in the issue of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence;

– Slovakia adheres to the EU’s consolidated position on downgrading relations with Russia and condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine;

– Slovakia has consistently supported Ukraine’s European integration course, in particular, it actively promoted the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (signed in June 2014) and was one of the first countries to ratify the Agreement (in September 2014).

– The Government of the Slovak Republic supported the introduction of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU on January 1, 2016. During its presidency of the EU Council, Slovakia supported Ukraine in the issue of visa-free travel for Ukrainian citizens, namely by proposing a mechanism for suspension, which was approved by the EU institutions, and by facilitating the finalization of the Association Agreement.
Slovakia also supports the further expansion of the free trade area between Ukraine and the EU by expanding access to the EU market for key Ukrainian exports.

Slovakia also provides economic support to Ukraine, which is tangible in the following ways:

– Within the framework of the Visegrad Group, Slovakia has committed itself to promoting energy security and energy efficiency in Ukraine;

– The Slovak government promotes energy efficiency in Ukraine by conducting trainings and seminars for local authorities, as well as the implementation of European legislation in this area in Ukraine;

– Slovakia is assisting in reforming Ukraine’s electricity market.

The Government of the Slovak Republic provided 3 million euros in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
euros of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Slovakia regularly provides medical rehabilitation for soldiers from the ATO zone and rehabilitation for children from Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov, its role and importance

Eastern Slovakia borders Ukraine, but anyone who visits Slovakia for the first time will immediately notice the cool attitude toward Ukrainians and Ukraine.
This is certainly striking, because every ordinary citizen in Slovakia will hear the word “Ukrainian” and think of the “Ukrainian mafia,” “Ukrainian corruption,” “Ukrainian smuggling,” “Ukrainian illegal immigrants,” and nothing else.
And in order to change this long-standing vector in the minds of Slovaks about Ukrainians and Ukraine, we need a huge, consistent and targeted information campaign, the widest possible promotion of Ukraine and the widest possible presence of Ukraine here in Slovakia.
After all, the population, especially the younger generation, has no information about our modern state, nor do they have any information about our deep historical ties, education, and culture.
Most local government leaders, judicial, prosecutorial, and police officials, heads of penitentiary institutions, university rectors and vice-rectors, deans, school principals, and teachers have never seen Ukraine.
They associate Ukraine only with the city of Uzhhorod.
And everything beyond that is Russia.
Unfortunately, this is the true reality!
The central Slovak media either do not talk about us at all or say negative, and this has become a trend.
This information gap had to be addressed.

Therefore, information and propaganda work aimed at spreading knowledge about Ukraine in recent years has been the first and foremost priority of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov.
It was necessary to actualize the past historical Ukrainian-Slovak relations as a model of our long-standing good neighborliness and project them into our present.
And the Consulate General began to persistently expand this work into the Slovak reality in the following areas:

– weekly thematic TV programs on the Region studio and on the regional branch of the Slovak television RTVS in Košice, which are dedicated to Ukrainian history, education, culture, and Ukrainian scientists and figures;

– interviews for the Slovak print media and interviews for the Ukrainian edition of the Slovak Radio on topical issues of Ukrainian life and history were provided on a regular basis;

– Lectures for students of the University of Presov, P. J. Šafárik University of Košice, the Catholic University of Ružomberg and its Faculty of Education in Levoca, the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, etc. played an important role in promoting knowledge about Ukraine;

– open lessons on the topic “Discovering Ukraine” for students of Slovak and Ukrainian-teaching schools gave children the opportunity to learn about the nature and history of Ukraine;

– speeches at scientific conferences, roundtables, and seminars in various regions of Slovakia enriched the image of Ukraine in the eyes of representatives of higher education institutions;

– scientific publications in the journals of the University of Presov on Ukrainian topics enriched the university community with knowledge about prominent representatives of the Ukrainian world;

– Particularly important were the trips organized by the Consulate General for representatives of Slovak local authorities, prosecutors and judicial bodies to Ukraine, in particular to the cities of Uzhhorod, Mukachevo, Lviv, Kyiv, and Poltava;

– presentations of Ukrainian professional artistic groups, professional performers, and artists in various towns and villages in Eastern Slovakia yielded positive results in promoting the Ukrainian national product; this area of work was important given the Russian presence in Eastern Slovakia, which can only be displaced by a high-quality Ukrainian cultural product.

The second priority of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Prešov was to work on the implementation of Ukraine’s course towards European integration.
In this area, the emphasis was placed on trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, as well as on the actualization of European standards in the field of higher education.
For the first time, the Consulate General launched a presentation of the cities of Central Ukraine as powerful economic and industrial centers of Ukraine (Kremenchuk, Poltava, Kherson), as well as a presentation of the tourist and health resort potential of Western Ukraine.
Institutes of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two countries, the National Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Businesses of Slovakia, the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO), the Regional Branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Uzhhorod, the Slovak Foreign Policy Association, and the Center for European Policy were involved in the cooperation.

The Consulate General of Ukraine in Prešov also intensified its work in the field of higher education: in particular, it assisted in signing cooperation agreements between Ukrainian and Eastern Slovak universities: P.J. Šafárik University of Košice, University of Presov with Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University and Kremenchuk National University; University of Presov with Ternopil National Economic University; Technical University of Košice with Lviv Polytechnic University and Sumy State University, etc.

The third priority of the Consulate General’s work was the constant and consistent support of the activities of the Ukrainian national minority in Slovakia at all levels of government.
In Eastern Slovakia, Ukrainians live in 250 settlements of the Presov region. The center of social and cultural life of Ukrainians in Slovakia is the city of Presov, where all Ukrainian organizations operate: Union of Rusyns-Ukrainians of the Slovak Republic, Association of Ukrainianists of the Slovak Republic, Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society, Union of Ukrainian Writers of Slovakia, Union of Ukrainian-Rusyn Youth of Slovakia “Plast”, Ukrainian amateur choir “Karpaty” in Košice.

The Union of Ruthenians-Ukrainians of the Slovak Republic (SRU SR) is the largest public association that brings together people of different ages, professions, and religions and is a carrier of social and national life and cultural traditions of the Ukrainian population of Slovakia.
Its activities are primarily cultural and educational in nature.
This activity is manifested in the organization of competitions, reviews, festivals, literary and musical evenings, art exhibitions, seminars and scientific conferences, etc.

With the support of the Consulate General, the most important cultural events of the Union of Rusyns-Ukrainians are: the O.Dukhnovych in Medzilabirci and Prešov; the Festival of Folklore of Rusyns-Ukrainians in Slovakia in the village of Kamyonka (Stara Lubovnya district); the central festival of culture of Rusyns-Ukrainians in Slovakia in Svidník; the contest of artistic reading “Strings of the Heart” dedicated to the Ukrainian writer Iryna Nevytska; the festival of spiritual songs in Snina; the festival “Makovitska Struna” in Bardiyevo and Prešov, etc.

In Prešov and Prešov region, was also concentrated:

– schools where subjects were studied and are studied in Ukrainian;

– is the only Ukrainian language and literature department in Slovakia at the University of Presov;

– is the only Center for Ukrainian Culture in Slovakia;

– is the only monument to the Holodomor victims in Slovakia;

– The only Museum of Ukrainian Culture in Slovakia in Svidník; ;

– Prominent Ukrainian writers, educators and cultural figures are buried in the Przyszów cemetery, and flowers from the consular office have always been laid on their graves.

At the initiative of the Consulate General of Ukraine , a plaque in honor of two geniuses of Ukrainian and Slovak literature – Taras Shevchenko and P.J. Šafárik – was unveiled for the first time in Slovakia. The plaque was installed at the P.J. Šafárik University in Košice on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko’s birth. Now Ukrainians in Eastern Slovakia have the opportunity to lay flowers to Kobzar and his Slovak counterpart every year during the Shevchenko Days.

The Consulate General of Ukraine in Prešov constantly cooperated with the Union of Rusyns-Ukrainians of the Slovak Republic, The Union of Ukrainian Writers of Slovakia, the editorial board of the Ukrainian-language newspaper Nove Zhyttia, the literary, artistic and journalistic magazine Dukla, and the children’s magazine Veselka, among others. Every day, representatives of the consular office had the opportunity to meet and promptly resolve topical issues of concern to the Ukrainian national minority in Slovakia. Also, the Consulate General of Ukraine in Prešov, together with the Slovak Republican Union of Ruthenians, constantly analyzed the situation with Ukrainian schools, made visits to rural schools, and provided ongoing assistance to schools; a special place in the work of the Consulate General was occupied by ongoing cooperation with the Taras Shevchenko United School-Gymnasium, where more than 300 students annually studied the Ukrainian language and literature. The Union of Rusyns-Ukrainians of Slovakia, with the assistance of the Consulate General, annually organized a number of cultural events of national scale in Eastern Slovakia.

The Consulate General of Ukraine in Prešov regularly provided the necessary assistance and support to the Union of Rusyns-Ukrainians of the Slovak Republic in organizing exhibitions of members of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine and the National Union of Photographers of Ukraine, which were held in the premises of the Center of Ukrainian Culture in Prešov.
The Consulate General of Ukraine in Prešov regularly provided various kinds of assistance to the Museum of Ukrainian Culture in Svidník, which is located not far from Prešov; every year the consular office participated in the work of international conferences organized by the Museum.

The presence of the Ukrainian consular office in Presov was also important for the Presov and Košice self-governing regions, as the office practically helped to implement the provisions of the Agreements between the Transcarpathian region and the Presov and Košice self-governing regions.

Consular issues are the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian citizens and legal entities in the territory of the Slovak Republic, which were one of the priority areas of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov.
There have always been five consular officers in Slovakia: three in Presov and two in Bratislava.
The consular officers in Presov had the opportunity to travel to the border town of Michalovce to serve Ukrainian citizens (twice a month, and later once a month).
This was an extremely significant convenience for our citizens, who could solve a number of consular issues on the spot – migration and visa, passport work, citizenship, notary, etc.

The presence of the consular office in the border area helped significantly in resolving, for example, such complex issues as the deaths of Ukrainian citizens.

The Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov was located 100 kilometers away from the Ukrainian-Slovak border (to Bratislava – 600 km), this made it possible to constantly monitor issues related to the border, that is, to monitor the border.
In order to control the situation on the Ukrainian-Slovak border, meetings were held regularly with the heads of Ukrainian and Slovak customs and border guard units at checkpoints.
Constant attention was also paid to monitoring the situation at the Ukrainian-Slovak border crossing points, especially Uzhhorod-Vysne Nemecke and Maly Berezny-Ubl’a.
In the event of excessive queues or complaints from Ukrainian citizens regarding illegal actions by Slovak customs or border guard authorities, prompt meetings were held with the relevant officials to resolve the situation.

The Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov also actively cooperated with the Consulate General of Slovakia in Uzhhorod.
The consular offices of Ukraine and Slovakia worked on the basis of parity, jointly and consistently resolved issues of cross-border cooperation, issues related to small border traffic, cooperated in all areas of Ukrainian-Slovak relations and solved a number of difficult tasks, including issues related to the rehabilitation of our soldiers.

In terms of ensuring the educational rights of the Ukrainian minority in Slovakia, the Consulate General actively cooperated with the State Representative of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic in the Presov region, heads of regions and cities, village elders and school principals.

Regarding the functioning of the Ukrainian Basic School in Humenne, the Consulate General constantly maintained working contacts with the mayor of Humenne – Yana Valova, a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and constantly addressed the issues of the school’s functioning.
The main boarding school in Humennoye was the second city school that taught Ukrainian language and literature as a subject, designed to for 135 children. As of 2014 It was attended by 71 children, 23 of whom lived in the boarding school, mostly children from the surrounding villages of Ruska Poruba and Nyzhnia Yablunka.

An important role was played by the Methodological and Pedagogical Center (MPC), which operated in Presov for teachers of Ukrainian language and literature.
Through the Methodological and Pedagogical Center, the Consulate General had the opportunity to closely cooperate and contact with teachers of the Ukrainian language and literature and monitored all problematic issues of schools, especially in rural areas.
The main goal of the Center was to provide methodological assistance to teachers of Ukrainian language and literature.
Professor Maria Chyzhmarova, director of the Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Presov, was the main methodologist of the IEC.
All teachers of the Center were constantly involved in compiling textbooks on the Ukrainian language and literature, preparing curricula, syllabi, and state standards for the Ukrainian language and literature.

So, why did “big” Kyiv in “small” Slovakia need a Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov?

In the end In 2014, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine decided to liquidate the diplomatic mission in the city of Prešov, in the center of Ukrainians.
No one in Kyiv responded to letters from the Consulate General, and no one took into account letters from the Ukrainian community in Slovakia.
It is also interesting that representatives of the Slovak authorities fought to save Ukraine’s presence in the center of Ukrainians, but no one took their appeals into account either.
Our attempts to meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine were unsuccessful.
Internally, I was just ashamed of the country, because in Slovakia you have no problem getting to any high-ranking official, including the President of the country.
But we failed to get to the Ukrainian Minister and explain the political fallacy of such a step.
And the problems associated with the absence of a Ukrainian diplomatic mission in eastern Slovakia did not add to Ukraine’s image, but rather opened the way for active Russian propaganda, which is already plentiful here. The only diplomatic mission in Slovakia, the Embassy of Ukraine, is located 500 km from Presov and 600 km
This distance creates certain problems for Ukrainian citizens, most of whom are elderly.

The head of the Košice region, a professional lawyer, Zdenko Trebulja, could not understand how the Consulate General of Ukraine could be liquidated at a time when Slovakia was extending its hand to Ukraine.
And there were many such questions from the Slovak side.
The situation related to the closure of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov was actively discussed in the Slovak media, where it received a negative response from the Slovak public and representatives of the Ukrainian national minority in Slovakia.
For example, on October 31, 2014, the leading Slovak TV channel TA3 aired a story “Ukraine to close the Consulate in Prešov”, which stated that Ukraine was closing the only consulate in Slovakia The story also mentioned the position of members of the Slovak parliament who also opposed the closure of the Consulate General in Prešov.
They pointed out that in recent years, the General Mission has made a lot of efforts to develop Ukrainian-Slovak cooperation and helped develop Ukraine’s dialogue with the Schengen countries.
In particular, Member of Parliament (at that time Deputy Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic) Jan Figel said that will directly send a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine with a request to reconsider the decision to close the Consulate General in Presov.
Citizens of Ukraine who still live in Eastern Slovakia expressed their great dissatisfaction with the closure of the Consulate General in Presov, as they wrote in their letters to the consular office: “We cannot imagine that elderly people will be forced to travel to Bratislava for a distance of more than 500 km in one direction. The consulate is the last hope for the protection of our rights and who gave the right to deprive Ukrainians of protection in Presov? “. Letters in support of the presence and activities of the UWC in Presov were also written by Ukrainian community organizations in Slovakia.
The leaders of the leading organization of Ukrainians abroad in Slovakia, the Union of Rusyns-Ukrainians of the Slovak Republic, which has more than 4,000 members, sent a clear message about the extremely negative attitude of the Ukrainian community in Slovakia to the termination of the Ukrainian consular post in Presov, where the majority of Ukrainians abroad in Slovakia live: “The issue of opening a consular post of Ukraine in Presov was initiated with the participation of the large Ukrainian community in Slovakia, the majority of whose representatives live in Presov and the Presov and Košice regions. In 1997, the Consular Section was opened in Presov, in 1999 – the Consular Agency, and in 2003 – the Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov. The presence of Ukraine’s diplomatic presence in Prešov is a key issue for Ukrainians abroad in Slovakia and an important factor in their support from the Ukrainian state.” Union of Ukrainians-Rusyns of the Slovak Republic in his letters also noted that “: In Presov, the Consulate General’s activities are supported by Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Metropolitan Jan Babyak of the Greek Catholic Church, who expressed great concern over the closure of the Consulate General. diplomatic missions in Presov, which is doing a lot of work in developing contacts between the Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches of Ukraine and Slovakia.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine finally liquidated the Consulate General of Ukraine in Prešov at the end of 2014

The liquidation of the Consulate General has become the biggest problem for the elderly and senior citizens who have to travel a long distance to Bratislava (500 km) and spend a lot of money on the road. In addition, the Embassy now has one consul for the whole of Slovakia (!), and there used to be five of them! These are very tangible changes, which, despite the best efforts, do not allow for effective resolution of issues due to the long distances between Presov and Bratislava. The issue of constant monitoring of the border, which is 600 kilometers away from Bratislava, and the issue of queues at the border and the issue of small border traffic – all these issues always require prompt response.

The absence of the Consulate General of Ukraine in the center of Ukrainians, in the city of Prešov, has also affected the educational sphere.
The dynamics are not encouraging: in the Presov region until 1993 There were about 700 Ukrainian schools and colleges, as of 2011 there were seven Ukrainian schools, and in 2017 there are only two left! Over the last period The Ukrainian elementary school in Humenne and Ukrainian schools in the villages of Ruska Poruba, Gabura, Ublia, Nyzhnia Polianka, Khmeliova, and Udoli were liquidated.
The Methodological Pedagogical Center for Teachers of the Ukrainian Language in Prešov also ceased its activities.

Thus, with one signature in Kyiv SOMEONE decided that the Consulate General of Ukraine is unnecessary in “small” Slovakia!

We consider this step by Kyiv to be a major political mistake, given the powerful information activities that the Russian side is carrying out in Eastern Slovakia, using a number of pro-Russian politicians, some local media and pro-Russian NGOs.

Literature:

1.Michal Molnar.
Slováci a ukrajinci.
– Slovenske pedagogické nakladatelstvo v Bratislave.
– Bratislava, 1965.
– 399 s.

2.T.Shevchenko. Kobzar. Jubilee edition to the 200th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko’s birth – Kyiv, 2014: Publishing house “Shkola”. – С. 151.

3. S Ukrajonom nás spaja veľa, minulosť, no aj veľmi zaujimavá buducnosť.- Presovský Večernik, 9 septembra 2011, čislo 5280. -str.6-7

4. Nová generálna konzulka vyzvala na spoznanie Ukrajiny.- KORZAR, Preošv, 12 jan. 2011

5. Generic conzulka of Ukraine on the Terase.
– Košice Zapad, March 19, 2013

6. Odhalili pamätnú tabuľu Ševčenkovi a Šafárikovi.- Košický Korzár, 29.05.2014

7. Jediná stredná škola s vyučovacím jazykom ukrajinským je v Prešove.
– School Service, January 2, 2014

8. Správa a odporúcenia z konferencie pre slovenské a ukrajinské inštitucie.
– Karpatska Nadacia, January 30, 2014

9. At the end of the school year, the schoolchildren were zatvorili ďalšie dve ukrajinské školy.- Podvihorlatské noviny, roč. LV, no. 36, 2.12.2014, p. 2

10. Ukraine is now a generic conglomerate in Prešov.
– Aktuality.Sk, 22.10.2014

11. Archive of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Presov.
– 2014

12. .In Humennom at 40 years old Ukrainian school. – Humenský Korzár, 09.04.2015

13. Loginov Jakub.
Russian propaganda in Slovakia: Ukraine is losing ground.
– Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Ukraine” No. 5, February 13, 2015.

14. Vorotnyuk M. Audit of foreign policy: Ukraine-Slovakia – Discussion Paper: Kyiv. – 38 p.