On 21 July, training for the second set of students of the University of Free Nations — a unique educational project created at the initiative of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Banderivtsi) to train leaders of national liberation movements of enslaved nations — ended. This year, representatives of Chechnya, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Karelia and other enslaved nations became graduates of the University.
Education at the University of the Free Nations took place in an online format with the involvement of the best Ukrainian teachers in the fields of geopolitics, international law and the law of nations, political science, the history of the Ukrainian liberation movement, economic theory, conducting informational and psychological special operations, managing social networks and digital security, social communication and the basics of counterintelligence activities. During three months, the trainees mastered theoretical knowledge and acquired practical skills in the specified disciplines, the results of which they demonstrated in their graduation projects, which received favorable marks from the examination board.
The head of the University of the Free Nations, Leontiy Shypilov, singled out the high level of graduates and noted that one of the University’s goals is the training of state elites of the peoples enslaved by Moscow. After all, the very experience of the creation and existence of Ukrainian statehood in 1917-1921, the geopolitical fluctuations of Ukrainian elites from 1991 and before the Revolution of Dignity demonstrated that without its own modern elite, aimed at building a strong national state, the experience of state-building may prove to be unstable. “And that’s why,” noted Leontii Shypilov, “leaders of national liberation movements should remember and act according to the famous words of Rudyard Kipling:
“Nations pass, and there is no trace of them, and history gives us the naked reason for this, the solution in all cases: nations fell because they were not prepared. Nothing in the world – neither brotherhood, nor fame, nor talents – will replace the one thing that is the law above all laws – “be prepared”. This is the only science that flows from all times and all countries, one unchanging truth among all the values of the world – for children, and for women, and for nations, and for whole races: be prepared, be prepared, and I say again – be prepared!”
The head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Banderivtsi) and the President of the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations Oleh Medunytsya congratulated the graduates of the University on the successful completion of their studies, stressing that the experience of organizing an educational course for representatives of enslaved nations is extremely successful and deserves further development and support. “We have not only restored the OUN tradition of cooperation with enslaved nations,” said Oleh Medunytsya. – but they found an effective and practical case that helps implement the idea of systematic training and training of the future leaders of those states that will emerge after the collapse of the Moscow empire.”
“At the University of the Free Nations, we train high-quality personnel for the national liberation movements of enslaved nations,” noted the vice-president and executive director of the ABN Oleh Vitvitskyi. – At the same time, we understand that already in the near future, they will have every chance to become real leaders of their liberated states: Presidents, Prime Ministers, parliamentarians and government officials of various levels. The knowledge gained during their studies will become the basis for their activities as public figures.”
The communication between the representatives of the national liberation movements of the enslaved nations and the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations must be maintained even after completing the training. Individual graduates of the University are involved in the activities of ABN and take an active part in actions organized in support of Ukraine.
In the near future, the teaching staff of the University of the Free Nations expects a significant increase: recognized experts from abroad will be added to the Ukrainian specialists. In the updated composition, the UVN team will prepare for the start of the next cohort of trainees, which they plan to announce in 2024.
