Levko Lukianenko | |
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Левко Лук'яненко | |
.jpg) Lukianenko in 2016 | |
| 1stAmbassador of Ukraine to Canada | |
| In office 14 May 1992 – 15 October 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Victor Batiuk |
| People's Deputy of Ukraine | |
| In office 14 May 2002 – 15 June 2007 | |
| Constituency |
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| In office 15 May 1990 – 12 May 1998 | |
| Constituency |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | (1928-08-24)24 August 1928 Khrypivka, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) |
| Died | 7 July 2018(2018-07-07) (aged 89) Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Party | URP |
| Other political affiliations | CPSU (1953-1961) |
| Spouse | Nadiia Buhaievska |
| Alma mater | Moscow State University |
| Occupation | jurist, politician, writer |
| Awards |
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Levko Hryhorovych Lukianenko[a] (Ukrainian:Левко́ Григо́рович Лук'я́ненко; 24 August 1928 – 7 July 2018) was a UkrainianSoviet dissident and politician. He was one of the founders of theUkrainian Helsinki Group in 1976 and was elected a leader of the Ukrainian Helsinki Association in 1988.
Lukianenko is the author of theDeclaration of Independence of Ukraine.
Lukianenko was born on 24 August 1928 in theKhrypivka village ofHorodnia Raion, Soviet Union.[5] DuringWorld War II in 1944, he was recruited in the SovietRed Army aged 15, as he lied that he had been born in 1927[6]) and served inAustria and then in the Caucasus region (citiesOrdzhonikidze andNakhichevan). In Austria, he observed the arrival of Ukrainian wheat inBaden bei Wien, which reminded him of the removal of grain from Ukraine when he almost starved in the 1930s during theHolodomor.[6] That event made Lukianenko to "followSeveryn Nalyvaiko's path – I would fight for an independent Ukraine."[6]
In 1953, Lukianenko enrolled in the Law Department ofMoscow State University and joined theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). (Lukianenko later claimed that he had joined the CPSU only "to do the highest for Ukraine."[6]) In university, Lukianenko later claimed, he was nicknamedkhokhol, an ethnic slur against Ukrainians.[6] Soon after he graduated in 1958, Lukianenko was directed as a propagandist toRadekhiv Raion Communist Party committee. Lukianenko claimed that after the 195620th Congress, "I stopped pretending I was a party member."[7]
In 1959, during theKhrushchev Thaw, he organized a dissident movement inHlyniany, the Ukrainian Workers and Peasants Union, along withIvan Kandyba and others.[6] Lukianenko defended the right of secession of Ukraine from the rest of Soviet Union, a right that was theoretically granted by the1936 Soviet Constitution (Articles 17 and 125).[8] In May 1961, he was expelled from the party, arrested, tried, and sentenced by theLviv Oblast Court to death for separatism, "undermining the credibility of the CPSU, and defaming the theory ofMarxism-Leninism." After 72 days, his sentence was later commuted to 15 years in a prison camp. Lukianenko served his sentence at first inMordovia (Dubravlag, OLP #10, inSosnovka,Zubovo-Polyansky District) and then inVladimir, at theVladimir Central Prison (infamous for its brutality). Soon after his release in 1976, he moved toChernihiv and became a founding member of theUkrainian Helsinki Group.[5][6] In 1977, he was arrested again and was sentenced byChernihiv Oblast Court to 10 years in a camp and 5 years of internal exile for "Anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda."
In 1988, Lukianenko was released in the wave ofMikhail Gorbachev'sperestroika. He refused to emigrate as a condition for his release, but he was released anyway in November 1988.[9] In total, he had spent 27 years in prison.[6]
Lukianenko was elected a member of theVerkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) inMarch 1990 and became the head of the newUkrainian Republican Party the following month.[6] He was the co-author ofDeclaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine and the author ofDeclaration of Independence of Ukraine, adopted in 1991.[5][6] In the1991 Ukrainian presidential election, Lukianenko finished third with 4.5% of the vote.[9][6]
From May 1992 to November 1993, Lukianenko was the firstUkrainian ambassador to Canada.[9] In protest of government policies, he resigned.[9]
From 1994 to 1998, Lukianenko was aPeople's Deputy of Ukraine from the 68th electoral district, representing the city ofNovovolynsk.[4][10]
During the1998 Ukrainian parliamentary election, his Ukrainian Republican Party was part (together with theCongress of Ukrainian Nationalists and theUkrainian Conservative Republican Party[11]) of the Election Bloc "National Front" and he headed the electoral list of the alliance.[10] Since it did not overcome the 4% election barrier, however, he was not elected to the Verkhovna Rada.[10]
Lukianenko was awarded the titleHero of Ukraine by PresidentViktor Yushchenko on 19 April 2005.[12]
In 2006, Lukianenko was again elected as a member of the Verkhovna Rada. He was elected with theBloc of Yulia Tymoshenko.[10] He was again re-elected for the bloc in the2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but on 15 June 2007, he resigned his mandate at his own request.[10]
In 2006 and, after an interval, again in 2010, Lukianenko was elected leader of theUkrainian Republican Party.[13][14]
Lukianenko was awarded theOrder of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (V degree) in 2007.[10]
In 2016, Lukianenko was awarded theShevchenko National Prize.[15]
In 2005, Lukianenko participated in a conference entitled "Zionism as the Biggest Threat to Modern Civilization," which was controversial for its antisemitic tone and his invitation of the formerKu Klux KlanGrand WizardDavid Duke.[16] Lukianenko sat next to Duke and gave him astanding ovation.[17] Presenting his own paper, Lukianenko argued that theHolodomor had been carried out by aSatanic government controlled by the Jews. According to Lukianenko, 95% of Soviet people's commissars most military and judicial commissars, and Lenin and Stalin were Jewish and "thus... of the most important administrative positions... 80% were Jews."[17]
Lukianenko disputed the existence ofantisemitism in Ukraine, claiming he had "not met a single Ukrainian who is opposed to all Semitic people."[17][18] According to Lukianenko, Ukrainians base their attitudes of other ethnic groups upon "their attitudes towards us."[17][18]
In a 2008 article forPersonal-Plus magazine Lukianenko argued that Ukrainians, as "a white race," should not mix with other races. He suggested that a Ukrainian who wants to marry a person of a different race should leave Ukraine and renounceUkrainian citizenship.[7]
Lukianenko died in aKyiv hospital on 7 July 2018 fromleukemia.[5][10] He was buried in Kyiv'sBaikove Cemetery on 10 July 2018.[19][20] Ukrainian PresidentPetro Poroshenko attended his funeral in Kyiv'sSaint Volodymyr's Cathedral, and the funeral service was led by the head of theUkrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate,Patriarch Filaret.[15][20]
On 27 October 2022 theKyiv City Council renamed the (Soviet)Marshala Tymoshenko Street in itsObolonskyi District to Levko Lukianenko Street.[21]
On 22 February 2023 the city council ofDnipro renamed theVasily Zhukovsky street on Dnipro'sSobornyi District to Levko Lukianenko street.[22]
On 20 May 2024 thePoltava city council renamed a street in its city in honour of Lukianenko.[23]
Lukianenko was married to Nadiia Buhaievska (born in 1943[10]); the couple had no children.[6]
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