It is difficult to doubt that the Year of Ukraine in Russia and the Year of Russia in Ukraine were organized by the people which had been brought up by the Soviet realities. However, against the background of both "years of friendship" in the Ukrainian-Russian relations the conflicts kept flaring up. And nothing can be done about it: conflicts are a usual thing in the everyday life. They testify: all of us-Ukrainians and Russians-are not to be pushed now by a totalitarian state. Certainly, it would be better, if there were no complicated conflicts, but it is another kettle of fish. The conflict around Tuzla is the complicated conflict. It split our society into two parts: one blamed Russia, another spoke in support of it. Emotions whirled around the Island of Kosa Tuzla obscuring the gist of the problem. In the meantime it consists in active protection of our national interests with simultaneous development of our relations with the big eastern neighbor. Tuzla should teach us a lesson. The Anniversaries of Pereyaslav Rada The parliament failed to review the directions of foreign policy ever since 1993. Thereupon one political scientist accused Verkhovna Rada of the absence of desire to modernize foreign policy strategy, and national deputies of desire to poke in the past while clarifying relations with other states. Naturally, he meant Russia. Undoubtedly, the ten-year-old document is obsolete. But looking at the Ukrainian-Russian relations one cannot forget the common past. It isn't an abstraction, but personal experience of all adult Ukrainians and Russians. Anyway, the Russian party aspires to use 350th Anniversary of Pereyaslav to link the past and present in the mind of citizens of both countries. Unfortunately, the desire of the Russian party to turn back the clock finds sympathizers among Ukrainian citizens. For стр. 86 this reason we should analyze our history again and again, that is "poke in the past". In my articles in the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia Weekly ... Читать далее