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Conference “Ukraine: Thinking together” started in Kyiv

17.05.2014, 11:22
Answering a RISU correspondent's question about the role of the Ukrainian churches in the current events, Snyder stressed the ecumenical character and patriotism of the Ukrainian religious institutions.

“What is happening in Ukraine I regard as one of the primary moments in the history of the 21st century for many reasons. Ukraine, Kyiv, Maidan are among the primary sites of the most fundamental struggles in the world today, which is the struggle for democracy and pluralism. We follow your struggle offering support. We share your values. We are inspired by what you are doing to win,” said Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic during the press-conference in the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center in Kyiv on May 16.

“Ukrainians did something that we hadn’t done before. Events in Ukraine are the chance of renewal of not only Ukrainian life, but European and trans-Atlantic intellectual life since we are trying to see common intellectual, cultural, political predicaments to establish some other relationships that would be helpful in the years to come, whether it is Kyiv, Berlin or Washington,” historian Timothy Snyder noted.

Answering a RISU correspondent's question about the role of the Ukrainian churches in the current events, Snyder stressed the ecumenical character and patriotism of the Ukrainian religious institutions.

"...what has impressed me has been the ecumenical character of the religious response, that is that Ukrainian churchmen from all varieties of Christianity as well as Islam and Judaism have had no trouble standing together on a stage or speaking together. That is not seen in every society.... you may take it for granted, but it is not so easy to arrange things like that, even in [the United States]....

"The other thing which has been very striking has been the way in which different religious traditions, in their own different ways - with very few exceptions - have made it very clear that they feel comfortable working within the Ukrainian State, that they are patriots, in the constrained, precise sense that they support the Ukrainian State...."

Ukraine: Thinking Together

At an international conference in Kyiv, taking place between May 16 and 19, European, American and Russian intellectuals are meeting their Ukrainian counterparts to discuss the meaning of Ukrainian pluralism for the future of Europe, Russia and the world.

Under the heading Ukraine: Thinking Together an international group of intellectuals gather in Kyiv to demonstrate solidarity, meet their Ukrainian counterparts, and carry out a broad public discussion about the meaning of Ukrainian pluralism for the future of Europe, Russia, and the world. The discussions, taking place from May 16 to 19, will feature some of Europe’s, America’s, Russia’s and Ukraine’s most interesting opinion makers and intellectuals, including Bernard-Henri Lévy, Slavenka Drakulić, Sergei Lukashevsky, Timothy Snyder, Mustafa Nayem, Serhii Leshchenko, Agnieszka Holland, Adam Michnik, Serhii Zhadan, Ivan Krastev, Wolf Biermann, Timothy Garton Ash, Karl Schlögel and Bernard Kouchner.

Program of the conference http://www.eurozine.com/timetotalk/assets/Programme_Public_EN.pdf