On 10 February, 11 Bandera readings were held in Kyiv. This year, the event, organized by the non-governmental analytical centre “Ukrainian Studies of Strategic Studies”, dedicated to the topic “Liquidation of the Russian Empire”, took place in a new format in several stages.
Traditionally, before the main event, an essay contest for young people “The World without Russia: New Challenges and Prospects” was held. The prize fund was formed by fighters of the 5th separate assault brigade of Kyiv. 104 academics, students, combatants and political scientists from all over Ukraine submitted works to the competition. The best 7 works were published in the book “Liquidation of the Russian Empire”. The winners of the competition were Ivan Yaniuk (1st place), Olga Rybak (2nd place) and Mykhailo Aleksandrov (3rd place).
On 9 February, the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity hosted an expert panel discussion and celebration of the winners of the competition.
During the speeches and discussion “World without Russia”, the general state of Russia was considered through an assessment of its fragility and scenarios of working with the post-Russian space. At the same time, they analyzed the issue of the general crisis of the empire, the system of oppression of the nations enslaved by Moscow and their struggle for freedom in the past and present.
The main topics for consideration were:
“The collapse of the Russian empire is the key to Ukrainian victory”, “Why is only the collapse of Russia into dozens of small states the key to Ukrainian victory and lasting peace in Europe?”
The scientific editor of the book “Liquidation of the Russian Empire”, candidate of political sciences Yuriy Oliynyk, and the manager of the USSD National Center Tetiana Boyko led the discussion.
Yuriy Syrotyuk congratulated the winners of the competition and announced a new research project on the “disassembly into molecules” of Russia.
Executive director of the Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations, candidate of historical sciences Oleg Vitvitskyi, candidate of historical sciences, teacher of NaUKMA Mykhailo Kubliy, correspondent of the Information Agency of the Military Educational Institution “ArmiyaInform”, researcher of the Bashkir movement Yevhen Buket and Volodymyr Tylishchak, acting head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance.
The winners of the competition received prizes and gifts from the OUN (b) and the Bookstore of Banderivtsi.
The publication “Liquidation of the Russian Empire” was also presented, the authors of which were researchers of the imperial space and nations enslaved by Moscow, political scientists and military personnel. The book was published in Ukrainian and English for the first time in mass circulation.
The authors of the book – participants of the Bandera readings – believe that the collapse of Russia is inevitable, and therefore analyze the crisis of the empire through the prism of the destruction of the state and the formation of a failed state, problems with demography, and economic troubles. The prospects for the liberation of enslaved nations and the global consequences of the collapse of Russia for the world are also considered. The authors conclude that only the destruction of the empire is the key to Ukrainian victory.
A separate section of the book includes excerpts from the works of Ukrainian thinkers of the early 20th century, Dmytro Dontsov, Yuri Lypa, Yevhen Malanyuk, Stepan Bandera, and Yaroslav Stetsko, devoted to the topic of Russia and the struggle of enslaved nations.
In his article “The collapse of Russia is inevitable”, the organizer of the Bandera readings, junior sergeant, grenade launcher of the 5th separate Kyiv assault brigade, Yuriy Syrotyuk noted: “The irreversible liquidation of Russia has been launched. Any attempts to stop this process, especially from the outside, will only prolong the agony and increase the severity of the process. Russia is isolated, driven into a geopolitical impasse and doomed. It is surprising that an unnatural form of political organization and government, which declares its imperial encroachments and is an unacceptable political entity for the world geopolitical landscape, was able to survive for so long. Colonial empires are doomed to death… Logic and the laws of the historical process say: that this state is unnatural and unsustainable. There is no chance to fix it. Only a military defeat, with the simultaneous declaration of the indigenous people’s right to independence and the speedy realization of this right, is the only way to correct this historical mistake.”
The organizers of the event plan to present the book to the general public, an expert panel discussion on the topic of Russia’s collapse with the participation of foreign diplomats, and presentations of the English-language edition in European capitals. The goal of the project is to create in the information space the idea of the finiteness and fragility of Russia and to stimulate active processes of the destruction of the empire due to the strengthening of anti-Moscow sentiments among nations enslaved by Russia.
The central event of the Bandera readings traditionally took place in the capital of warring Ukraine, Kyiv, in an updated format with a video broadcast on the website of the USSD National Center and on Channel 5.
The participants of the discussion were influential researchers of the Russian space and Finno-Hungarian identities: Rostyslav Martyniuk, Yuriy Syrotyuk, Yuriy Oliynyk, international political scientist, candidate of political sciences, Oleksandr Chupak, financial analyst.
The highlight of this year’s event was participation in the Bandera readings by Janusz Bugajski, a senior researcher at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, head of the Southern and Central European Studies Program at the Diplomatic Service Institute of the US State Department, author of the bestseller “The Failing State. Instructions for dismantling Russia”.
“The size of Russia, gained by centuries of imperial conquests and colonization, is a fundamental structural weakness. Instead of building a stable, legal and productive state, all Russian regimes focused on expanding the borders of Muscovy and enslaving various regions and nationalities within the borders of the empire,” emphasizes Janusz Bugajski.
He is also convinced that Russia cannot win a war against Ukraine: “I believe that the regime will exhaust its power, keeping the country from collapsing. Internal pressure will increase. We will see a struggle between the Kremlin and its opponents in the army and the special services. Between rival nationalist and imperial factions. Between Moscow and several dissatisfied republics, even regions populated by “Russians”. We already saw this during Prigozhin’s rebellion last summer. And also on the examples of deaths of oligarchs and high-ranking officials, frequent army purges, reshuffles and open disputes in military structures.”
Among the discussed problems of the debate: How to convince the civilized world that the space, which is now called Russia, can be reformatted differently? That is, to finally allow the collapse of the evil empire and to promote the creation of new national states in the post-Soviet areas. Which countries should show more active interest in the fragmentation of Russia and what is their benefit in doing so? Will certain national republics of Russia (and in the future – states) succeed in obtaining the patronage of large influential countries such as Turkey, Japan, and Iran? And will Kyiv be able to form new axes of influence between post-Russia and the civilized world?
Bandera readings became a popular event. Hundreds of Ukrainians contributed financially and organizationally to make the event happen.
The partners of the project were: the Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations, the grenade launcher platoon of the fire support company of the 5th separate assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, “Channel 5”, the Ukrainian Publishing House, the Museum of the National Liberation Struggle of Ternopil region, “Army Inform”, the military project “Boys from the Forest”, conceptual clothing brand “Gwear”, the text and design craft workshop “Textura”, Sonyachna photo/video.
In 2024, the National Center for Strategic Studies of Ukraine will conduct several research projects on the collapse of Russia and Ukraine’s national interests in the world.
The topic of the liquidation of the Russian Empire has been launched. It is obvious that the Ukrainian army will put an end to this story. But the goal is defined.
Press service of National Center “USSD”
