‘This is not a partisan issue’

Home Big Grid - Home ‘This is not a partisan issue’
‘This is not a partisan issue’
Emiliya (left) and Tania Smyk protest with their father.
Courtesy | Emiliya Smyk

“Our anthem is ‘Ще не вмерла України,’ which means ‘Ukraine has not yet died.’ If that doesn’t stand to the testimony of our country, then I don’t know what does.”

Despite being born in the United States, sophomore Emiliya Smyk said she has always been passionate about her Ukrainian ancestry. When she started attending Hillsdale, she was nicknamed “Emiliya the Ukrainian” because she always introduced herself with two statements: her name and her Ukrainian heritage.

But Ukrainian culture is no longer of interest to only Ukrainians; the whole world has turned its eyes to the Eastern European country as it fights against Russian invaders.

Hillsdalians with loved ones suffering near the epicenter of the crisis are especially aware of the conflict. Smyk, who has Ukrainian cousins; senior Balázs Turcsán, an exchange student from the border of Hungary; and Assistant Professor of French Anna Navrotskaya, a Russian immigrant, all shared their stories.

“If this situation hasn’t made it evident, Ukrainians cherish being Ukrainian,” Smyk said. “We’re raised with these anthems, we’re raised with parents that forced us to speak Ukrainian in the home and to abide by all these cultural traditions.”

Russian culture has impacted Ukraine in both glaring and subtle ways, Smyk said. 

“My freshman year of high school, we had a capitols of the world test, and I wrote Kyiv. My teacher said, ‘Nope, it’s Kiev,’’ Smyk said. “I went to her and I told her, ‘Listen, that’s the Russian spelling. This is the Ukrainian spelling.’ And that’s something that seems so little, but it’s one of the many things Russia has done.”

For Ukrainian-Americans, the struggle isn’t just a matter of national pride, but cultural preservation, Smyk said. 

“The furthest my family lineage goes back is this tiny little oval picture of my great great grandfather before he was executed because Soviets burn stuff,” Smyk said. “That’s what they were known for: they burned families, they burned their documents, they burned their Bibles.”

Emiliya’s father, aunt, and uncle pose in traditional Ukrainian garb.
Courtesy | Emiliya Smyk

During WWII, her grandparents immigrated to the United States and started a group called the American Association for Youth of Ukrainian Descent. 

“They believed that we need to fight the Soviet Union through literature and through music,” Smyk said. “They came over to America and they continued this organization here. We hold summer camps for kids where we teach them Ukrainian history.”

Numerous people from the Ukrainian diaspora have returned to their home to provide aid, whether through medical or military means. Emiliya’s own sister, Tania, has gone to the Romania-Ukraine border to assist. 

“As soon as I found out she was going to Romania the day before she headed off, I yelled at her, and I was like, ‘Are you kidding? Our grandparents almost died coming over here for freedom. And you’re heading right back over there?’”

Smyk said despite the danger, she remains proud of her sister.

“She feels like this is something she has to do,” Smyk said. “She led the protests in Detroit where we had over 1,000 people marching in the streets. You had people joining the streets that weren’t Ukrainian, that weren’t associated. We even had Russian organizations that were joining us.”

Inspired by her sister, Smyk will hold a concert on March 27 at 6 p.m. in Christ Chapel to raise awareness for the current crisis. 

“The concert will consist of various vocal and instrumental ensembles, narrated Ukrainian poetry, and prayer led by student-religious organizations,” Smyk said.

Emiliya’s grandfather, an immigrant from Ukraine in WWII, holds her and her sister Tania as children
Courtesy | Emiliya Smyk

In response to the war, the United States, alongside other NATO countries, has reinforced sanctions against Russia. 

“The intent is to cut Russia off and weaken them,” Smyk said. “Of course, this will affect other countries, but right now, not many Eastern European countries are really helping Ukraine. They’re fundraising, they’re helping at the borders, they’re bringing refugees, but they’re not sending people over there. That’s why Ukraine wants to join NATO, because it makes them obligated.”

Senior Balázs Turcsán said his hometown in Hungary borders Ukraine and has experienced major inflation due to the sanctions.

“I think my family can manage—my mom is a teacher, and my dad is a small business owner,” Turcsán said.

Despite the massive effect the sanctions are having on Hungary, Turcsán said he still partially supports them.

“I would say that some or most of the sanctions are necessary because Russia is obviously an aggressor here,” Turcsán said. “I would be much more in favor of trying to deescalate the situation, and I think, in certain cases, sanctions just escalate things to be more serious.”

Besides sanctions, neighboring countries such Hungary and Romania have also accepted refugees and given aid. According to Turcsán, the European Union has adopted the Temporary Protection Directive to help Ukrainians seeking refuge.

“It means that, while they don’t get to choose, the refugees can go to Germany or Bulgaria for three years, and European countries will provide housing, healthcare, I think food and maybe education,” Turcsán said. 

Assistant Professor of French Anna Navrotskaya said the sanctions have affected some of her loved ones back in Russia.

“My friend can afford one meal a day for the past four or five years,” Navrotskaya said. “I cannot send her money because Russia is cut off. For her, that’s a death sentence.” 

Navrotskaya said many others live with constant hunger and lack of resources.

“I have to face the reality of the impossibility to help, and I’ll just watch her die,” she said. “As for the elites, they’re the ones that are causing the problem, and they’ll find a way. They’ll transfer their money somehow, somewhere.”

Having grown up in Russia, Navrotskaya said her personal experience was marked by censorship.

“They’re saying that you can get 15 years in prison for saying something ‘untruthful,’” Navrotskaya said. “For example, it’s forbidden to say ‘war,’ you have to say ‘special operations.’”

Navrotskaya said her upbringing protected her from believing in Soviet propaganda.

“I grew up in a very anti-communist family, thanks to my mom,” Navrotskaya said. “She wouldn’t even send my sister and I to the store because there was a statue of Lenin there.”

Navrotskaya said she considers herself one of the lucky ones.

“Why does the population buy it? It takes some facts but incorporates them into a narrative that as a whole is a fiction,” she said. “But when you try to argue against it, the propaganda machine can point to some facts in that narrative and say, ‘Well, that is true,’ and then you cannot say that it isn’t.”

Navrotskaya said she believes it will be a long time before a majority of Russians recognize they’re under the influence of propaganda.

“You have millions of those who have never traveled anywhere and have only been fed this propaganda for years,” Navrotskaya said. “That’s one side. But you do have millions of people who are very, very different from Western, democracy-oriented people.”

As the war continues, Navrotskaya said she has been mystified by how little Americans know about Russian politics and culture. 

“There was one comment, for example, ‘Why don’t they vote him out?’” Navrotskaya said. “Because there’s no functioning voting system that will allow you to do that. It’s probably not a full-fledged totalitarian regime yet, but that’s where it’s directing. It’s very scary.”

News outlets like the Russian BBC have covered the arrests of Russian citizens, one of whom was of an elderly woman.

“In St. Petersburg, they arrested a maybe 80 year old woman who was holding a sign objecting to the war,” Navrotskata said. “What damage can she do? Judging by her age, she probably lived through the second world war. She’s had enough.”

Navrotskaya, like Smyk, has relatives in Kyev. 

“My own cousin told me, ‘A good Russian is a dead Russian,’” Navrotskaya said. “Well, I am Russian. Do you want me dead? What can I do? It’s a horrible feeling.”

The situation has left many feeling guilty, almost with a feeling of helplessness. 

“For millions of us, it has destroyed what Russia is or what we saw in it, the way we saw ourselves in the world,” Navrotskaya said. “It will take a long time before, when somebody says Russian, people will think about Tchaikovsky or Pushkin.”

For Navrotskaya, the bleakness of Russian society is all she’s ever known. 

“I left Russia in 1995, so I grew up in that,” Navrotskaya said. “That’s my culture, that’s my language. If that’s what we have become, I don’t know how to live with it.”

Educating people is the best way to prepare them to fight against unjust governments, Navrotskaya said.

“The more people are educated, the more difficult it becomes to influence their minds,” Navrotskaya said. “If we stand on the shoulders of giants, we are well prepared, very equipped. If we start from scratch? We can be manipulated into almost anything, and it’s terrifying.”

Sonia, Emiliya’s mother, wrote this letter to Jimmy Carter during his presidency.
Courtesy | Emiliya Smyk

Smyk said people can best help the crisis by advocating for Ukrainians to their local politicians.

“I think money right now is a very helpful option because they do need to be able to supply military grade weapons and whatnot,” Smyk said. “I would also encourage people to contact their representatives. Don’t speak out as Republicans, or Democrats, or liberals, or conservatives. This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of democracy.”