KYIV. May 15 (Interfax) - Ceremonies commemorating the 80th
anniversary of the death of Symon Petlyura are to be held in Ukraine at
the end of May, Ukrainian Culture and Tourism Minister Ihor Likhovyy
told reporters in Kyiv on Monday.
"Regrettably, Petlyura's personality is yet to find its proper
place, which would match his contribution to the building of the
Ukrainian nation and statehood. A political decision has been made at
the highest level in an attempt to reverse the widespread custom of
scaring little children with Symon Petlyura," the minister said "We must
break this stereotype," he added.
An organizing committee, to be headed by Likhovyy, has been set up
and an action plan has been worked out in cooperation with the Academy
of Sciences to immortalize the memory of outstanding Ukrainian figures,
Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Olha Shokalo-Bench said.
The anniversary ceremonies will include a film about Petlyura, a
photo exhibition called "The Knight of the Ukrainian Revolution" at the
National History Museum, a roundtable on the theme "Symon Petlyura - A
Public, Political and Military Figure of Ukraine" and a memorial plaque
at a site where a monument to Petlyura is to be unveiled on December 1,
2006.
A number of books devoted to his life and work will also be
released.
The city of Poltava will host a series of events dedicated to
Petlyura.
Petlyura, a Ukrainian Central Rada deputy, chief military commander
of the Ukrainian People's Republic in 1917-1918 and head of the
Ukrainian People's Republic Directorate in 1919-1920, led the Ukrainian
government in exile after emigrating in November 1920. In 1923 he moved
to Austria, and then to Hungary and Switzerland. In 1924, he settled in
Paris where he was assassinated two years later by a Ukrainian-born
Jewish anarchist Sholom Schwartzbard. Petlyura is buried at the
Montparnasse cemetery in Paris.