Thefts at the Lviv Archives: researchers comment = (12/11/05)

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Thefts at the Lviv Archives: researchers = comment

by Oksana Zakydalsky

TORONTO - Since the summer of 2004, when news of massive thefts from = the Lviv=20 Archives hit the press, the issue has energized an ever-growing circle = of=20 concerned scholars, researchers, archivists, intellectuals and = politicians in=20 Ukraine. (See The Weekly, November 6, 2005.) But the investigation, = which began=20 late and has been going on for a year, still has not identified either = the=20 perpetrators or the instigators of the crimes.

The chairman of the State Committee on Archives, Hennadii Boriak, and = Lviv=20 Archives Director Diana Pelz have been accused of stonewalling and of = harassing=20 the two workers of the Lviv Archives - Ivan and Halyna Svarnyk - who = were the=20 first to bring the thefts to wide public attention. Scholars and = researchers=20 from outside Ukraine, who are familiar with the archives, have also = expressed=20 their concern about the situation.

Victor Ostapchuk, associate professor, department of Near and = Middle=20 Eastern civilizations, University of Toronto:

The thefts in the Lviv and, for that matter, other archives in = Ukraine, are a=20 tragedy with many manifestations. Aside from the losses, most of which = are=20 probably irretrievable, for the shorter run (which can mean several = years)=20 scholars are barred from using the Lviv Archives, which are indeed one = of the=20 greatest archives in the world, since they are closed indefinitely for=20 inventory. This affects not only Ukrainians, such as those pursuing a=20 candidate's or doctoral degree, who cannot do their research if their = topic=20 requires access to the Lviv Archives. They have either to change their = topic or=20 delay their program.

Historians from other countries are in a similar situation. The main = and=20 indispensible source for the dissertation of one of my Ph.D. students = here at=20 the University of Toronto, whose topic concerns trade between the = Ottoman=20 Empire, Poland and Ukraine in the 16th century, is a large body of = unique=20 records relating to Armenians, which hopefully are still intact in the = Lviv=20 Archives. Without access to this material, his dissertation topic will = have to=20 be changed.

I suspect the Ukrainian archival authorities initially did not know = what they=20 were up against, namely, well-organized international thievery groups = intent on=20 reaping healthy profits from a relatively easily and risk-free = undertaking.=20 Incidentally, there is a similar but longer standing situation with = Ukrainian=20 antiquities - especially those still on archeological sites. Since = independence,=20 the sites have been systematically plundered and, thus far, the = Ukrainian=20 authorities have not had sufficient will, or perhaps the interest, to = act=20 seriously in preventing such activities.

Iroida Wynnyckyj, archivist, Ukrainian Canadian Research and = Documentation=20 Center, Toronto:

My trip to Lviv this year was marred by the scandalous thefts at the = Lviv=20 Archives. Since 1992, I have visited the Lviv Archives every year and = have=20 searched for materials related to the 1946-1947 famine, the history of = Plast, as=20 well as various personal files. Last year I came upon an interesting = letter=20 written by Atanas Figol to Volodymyr Kubijovyc dealing with Ukrainian = Central=20 Committee matters. A copy of it has become a part of the UCRDC's file on = Atanas=20 Figol. This year, I was looking forward to doing more research at the = Lviv=20 Archives. What a disappointment when I found them closed.

I was not the only one who was baffled. A group of researchers from = the=20 genealogical society of Alberta were frustrated when they faced the = closed doors=20 of the archives, with no explanation of why or indication of when they = would be=20 reopened.

But, in my opinion, it is the Ukrainian researchers who are the = biggest=20 victims. A friend of mine at Lviv University is researching the Prosvita = movement in Halychyna for her candidate's degree. Her work is greatly = dependent=20 on the documentation housed at the Lviv Archives. At the present time, = she is in=20 a bind. If the archives do not reopen in the near future, her only = choice will=20 be to abandon her work and pursue a different topic. My friend is one of = many=20 scholars and researchers caught in an archival crisis about which the = powers=20 that be seem to care little.

During my stay in Ukraine, the Russian-Ukrainian Conference of = Archives=20 Directors took place in Lviv (September 24). A group of concerned = citizens=20 demonstrated in front of the conference building, carrying banners: = "Archival=20 losses - Boriak's shame," "Stop the persecution of Ukrainian scholars," = "Away=20 with the archival mafia." They demanded a statement from Mr. Boriak as = to what=20 the government was doing to solve the archival crisis in Lviv. Mr. = Boriak chose=20 to neither respond nor meet the press. Such a lack of regard on the part = of=20 officials is very disturbing.

Frank Sysyn, director, Peter Jacyk Center for Ukrainian Historical = Research at CIUS, University of Alberta:

The archival thefts in Lviv are the cause of great concern to = scholars=20 throughout the world. In general, the record of independent Ukraine in = dealing=20 with its archival treasures has been mixed. On the positive side, there = has been=20 increased access. On the negative, there has been drastic underfunding. =

The Lviv collections at the State Historical Archive and the Stefanyk = Library=20 are the most important in Ukraine. They also have an international = dimension in=20 that Poland and Polish institutions have claimed parts of these = collections,=20 especially those of the former Ossolineum. Only the dedicated work of = Lviv=20 archivists and intellectuals prevented some of these collections from = being sent=20 to Poland by the Soviet authorities. The moral right of Lviv and Ukraine = to=20 retain these materials is placed in question if they are not protected = and=20 preserved properly.

The archival controversy is somewhat reminiscent of the painful = break-up of=20 the Orange Revolution coalition. Both sides in the controversy have been = known=20 internationally for their positive and effective work in representing = Ukraine=20 and its archival and scholarly work. Hennadii Boriak has worked = effectively with=20 numerous international organizations and assisted many scholars in = carrying on=20 research. Iaroslav Dashkevych, a leading scholar and former dissident, = and his=20 colleagues Ivan and Halyna Svarnyk, have worked with great dedication to = preserve and catalogue Ukraine's archival legacy (e.g., the materials in = the=20 Polish National Library) and are known for their professionalism and = expertise.=20

The allegations that each side raises against the other are = profoundly=20 troubling to all who know them. Many of us are reading the various = statements=20 and observing the authorities' actions carefully.

* * *

Since 1989 Evhen Misilo, director of the Ukrainian Archives in = Warsaw, has=20 been researching and cataloguing archives of the Ukrainian Shevchenko = Scientific=20 Society found in Warsaw that were removed in 1944 by the retreating = Nazis from=20 Lviv to Silesia and later brought to Warsaw. Assisting Mr. Misilo, on a=20 part-time basis, has been Halyna Svarnyk of the Lviv Archives. Mr. = Misilo=20 emphasized that Ms. Svarnyk was a dedicated and professional archivist = whose=20 work on the collection of documents in Warsaw was invaluable. As a = result of her=20 work, a 350-page catalogue, "Archives and Manuscripts of the Shevchenko=20 Scientific Society in the Holdings of the National Library of Warsaw," = was=20 recently published (Warsaw-Lviv-New York 2005). This catalogue will = provide a=20 unique documentary source for the political, social and cultural history = of=20 Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century.

Mr. Misilo, who was in Toronto recently, said that, despite his = numerous=20 appeals, Ukrainian government officials continuously refused to get = involved in=20 helping him retrieve the portion of the plundered Lviv archives that = have=20 remained in Silesia.

He also mentioned that, in the period of time that he has worked on = the Lviv=20 archives in Warsaw, Mr. Boriak had not shown any interest in them or = come to=20 Warsaw to look at them. Recently, however, Mr. Boriak appeared in Warsaw = with=20 Lviv Director Pelz trying to find some compromising evidence on Ms. = Svarnyk,=20 asking around whether there had been any complaints by anyone against = Ms.=20 Svarnyk.

Correction

In Oksana Zakydalsky's previous article about the Lviv Archives = (November 6)=20 the author incorrectly spelled the surname of Ivan and Halyna = Svarnyk.