Ukraine has spent too much time on debates about the past and rewriting old stories. It's time to create fresh legends to strengthen the national spirit. For example, about the military miracle of 2014, writes on the NW portal British magazine publisher Business Ukraine and Lviv Today, Peter Dickinson.
One of the main blockbusters this summer - Dunkirk - tells of the drama of World War II that happened on the shores of northern France in 1940, when the allies were surrounded by the armored forces of Hitler. Speech on the successful evacuation of more than 300 thousand. Soldier with an army of merchants and pleasure craft volunteers who dared to cross the English Channel. This legend is a source of British patriotic pride.
The myth of Dunkirk helped to outshine a somewhat uncomfortable reality: in fact it was a desperate retreat as a result of an unprecedented military catastrophe. The event is among the largest defeats in British military history, but is remembered as the best episode of it. And it's not just propaganda. Dunkirk awakens emotions, for it sings the usual British who went to the jaws of the Nazi war beast, knowing that many will not return. It was the victory of ordinary people.
Since Ukraine seeks to strengthen a post-Maiden identity, she could learn a lot from the British respect for the history of Dunkirk. The events of 2014 are capable of raising the Ukrainian national spirit.
In the spring of 2014, the country faced, it seemed, with the irresistible superiority of Russia. The air was filled with a sense of inevitability as the city outside the city surrendered to the hybrid Russian forces.
But then something unimaginable happened: ordinary Ukrainians took up arms and gave battle. Volunteer battalions became the most diverse military force. For the most part untrained citizens were in the forefront of the troops, which by the end of the spring-summer of 2014 were liberating cities. Behind them was a whole nation of volunteers who fed and funded the defenders of the country in the most desperate times. This military miracle is much more dramatic than any Hollywood blockbuster, and it saved Ukraine.
Like Dunkirk, the military miracle of Ukraine in 2014 was not a glorious victory. The war is not over. However, the spirit of those fateful months collected all elements of the national epic. He could play a central role in trying to build a new Ukrainian nation by uniting Ukrainians of all political views in reverence for those who did not allow Putin's war to spread across the country. In this sense, this is a ready antidote to the tactics of the division of society used by populists. In an uncertain Ukrainian future, no one will ask what language you speak. Former officers of the Golden Eagle and the protestors of the Maidan stood shoulder to shoulder. Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Orthodox and atheists came out together, forgetting about minor peace disputes. In extreme conditions, they found that they are all Ukrainians.
Ukraine has not forgotten the heroism of 2014, but has not yet justified the scale of this national achievement. We constantly hear about shortages on the front and corruption in the General Staff, but relatively little - about the volunteers who even today provide much of the necessary to the front.
Someone will say: if the conflict continues, it is still too early to call the 2014 events a military miracle. But Ukraine can not wait forever to start moving forward. It is very important to define a narrative that will help to broaden the understanding of the conflict on the scale of Ukrainian history.
The country should talk about ordinary people - from frontline fighters to online fundraisers. The names of bank managers, programmers, veterans of the war in Afghanistan, students and medical trainees should be known to all. Concentrate on the potential of modern heroes is more useful than glorifying the contradictory figures of the past.
And much more to do in the liberated cities of Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian state has done too little to emphasize the peaceful nature of life in places like Kramatorsk and Mariupol, when in fact they provide an excellent opportunity to oppose the advantages of Ukrainian rule to the horrors of Putin's hybrid war. It is worth recalling that the most notorious propaganda falsification of the Kremlin - the story of a crucified three-year-old boy - became a desperate reaction to the general reception of Ukrainian troops after the liberation of Slavyansk in July 2014.
Ukraine could draw international attention to Russia's information aggression if it had held conferences on the hybrid war in Slavyansk on the anniversary of this notorious fake.
Every country needs a healthy share of national legends, but Ukraine has spent most of the last 25 years on disputes about the past. Rewriting old episodes, correcting propaganda stories of previous eras do not solve the problem. Looking for new topics. And, perhaps, the greatest miracle was how the Russian threat united and mobilized Ukrainians. This is characteristic of all great nations and will be able to inspire many more generations of Ukrainians.