The worship of victory is the road to the next war

"The worship of victory is the road to the next war".

SPIEGEL reported that the director of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Yevhen Holovakha gave it an interview.

Comparing the recent past with the present, the sociologist noted that before 2014 «Victory Day» was celebrated in Ukraine on a broad scale. This testified to a connection with the Soviet past, with Russia. But after the annexation of Crimea and the de facto occupation of Donbas in 2014 this changed fundamentally. Everything connected with Russia, the Soviet Union or even the Russian language is perceived negatively by the majority of Ukrainians.

Answering a series of further questions, Ye. Holovakha stressed: «Unlike Russia, where 9 May is artificially and totally propagated by the regime, in Ukraine the date of Germany’s surrender in 1945 is regarded not as a celebration of victory but as a day of remembrance. We are not creating this sacralisation of war».

The fact that only 13% of Ukrainians consider 9 May an important holiday and only two or three per cent are against Ukraine’s European integration was called by the scholar an indicator of a transformation of the value system: «Ukrainians are no longer fatalists or nihilists, as they were until recently; they have recognised that they can influence the state, they believe in themselves and in victory over Russia, which is four times larger than Ukraine. Ukraine will never return to the post-Soviet course. We are no longer «homo post-sovieticus» but «homo europaeus». I regard this as a breakthrough».

To the German outlet’s final question Ye. Holovakha replied: «What is victory for us? Presumably, the return of our territories. But it must be a day of remembrance and respect for all those who fought for Ukraine, for all the victims. It must never become a state holiday with military parades. The worship of victory – that is the road to the next war (this phrase of Yevhen Holovakha’s was used by SPIEGEL as its headline).