On that historic day, I was standing against the wall in the large auditorium located in parliament’s basement, listening to Soviet Ukraine’s Communist leaders argue whether they should declare independence from the Soviet Union. Most were still reeling from the coup in Moscow several days before and were mulling over Ukraine’s choices. The debate was long and spurious, until a man, who I believe was a police chief from Poltava, boldly said:
“Tovaryshi, I have always been for the Soviet Union and for a strong Soviet Union. But the union now being proposed to us is one in which Ukraine will enter with its head bowed down. Therefore, tovaryshi, we must vote for independence!”
The auditorium burst into wild applause and it was at that moment that my pen, a Soviet-made product purchased in a Kyiv store, gave out. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turned to find someone handing me a black Pentel pen. The man was a high-ranking Communist official whose name escapes me now.
After months of scribbling notes with instruments that were too thin and constantly needed to be replaced, I was struck both by the fact that the Pentel was a medium point and was a solidly-made product. I wondered where the Communist had gotten it and figured it could only be from somewhere in Europe.
“Our time is over,” the Communist said. “You may as well keep it.”
It is strange what stays in one’s mind when historic events take place. On Aug. 24, 1991, I witnessed how Leonid Kravchuk, who would become Ukraine’s first post-Communist president, masterfully put to a vote the issue of Ukrainian independence.
I watched as Ukrainian politicians, some who had spent time in Siberian labor camps for their nationalist views, brought into parliament the longest Ukrainian flag I had ever seen.
I remember discussions from the early days about how these same lawmakers hoped that the people of Ukraine would support the nation’s independence referendum, scheduled for Dec. 1, 1991.
“We’ll be glad if we get over 60 percent,” parliamentarian Ivan Zayets told me one sunny day several months before the referendum as we walked along Bankova Street, which now houses the Ukrainian president’s administration.
Indeed, even the staunchest nationalists were heartened and surprised when the referendum passed with more than 90 percent support.
I also remember those early days when parliamentarians were unsure what to do with now-independent Ukraine’s massive nuclear arsenal – yes, they even seriously discussed the pros and cons with foreign reporters, sometimes asking for advice. There were issues of language and money and how to build a democratic state.
Ukraine has had more than its fair share of disappointments over the last 20 years. But in my mind, a black Pentel pen will forever be linked with Ukraine and those first days of independence. It holds the promise of what still can be written.
Kyiv Post staff writer Natalia A. Feduschak can be reached at [email protected]
