A Free Life

A Free Life

A free life feels even more free after a life of prohibitions and control. The Soviet Union is a former country that existed from 1922 to 1991 and consisted of many Soviet republics. The Soviet Union had totalitarian rule, which meant that the authorities controlled every aspect of citizens' lives. A few years after the end of World War I, the Bolsheviks seized Ukraine and incorporated it into the Soviet Union. However, Ukraine decided to secede from the Soviet Union, so on August 24, 1991, Ukraine declared its independence. Independence Day of Ukraine is a very important day for the country. It is the day when Ukraine decided to become a free country and started governing its own country. The Declaration led to a huge change in my family worldview, lifestyle, and work.

The Independence of Ukraine brought changes in education. The changes helped my mother and other students see the world through different eyes. Before the declaration, my mom was learning only  Russian literature because world literature was forbidden, so she didn’t know anything about literature in different countries. For example, she studied the works of Pushkin or Tovstoy, but had no idea about the works of Shakespeare or Voltaire because it was forbidden. Therefore, after Independence she could see the world differently because she was able to learn about different works of different writers. In addition, after the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, the history changed from propaganda history to true history. Before changes my mother was learning a pro- Soviet story full of propaganda and lies. For example, she was learning  how poor and miserable the peasants lived and how the Soviet government came and made their lives better, which was actually a huge exaggeration of the truth. The peasants actually began to suffer from hunger and repression when the Soviet Union invaded. After the declaration, the government of Ukraine stopped teaching propaganda history and let schools teach true history. Because of that, my mom found out and learned about the real Ukrainian history and about the real truth of the Soviet Union. 

          In addition, people were finally no longer afraid of their religious beliefs or traditions. My mom was Catholic, but she didn’t talk about it much because it was dangerous. During the Soviet Union, the government closed churches, killed priests and killed religious people or sent them to labor hard. Moreover, many Ukrainian traditions were banned, so my mom wasn’t able to celebrate many Ukrainian traditional holidays. Therefore, my grandparents and my mom felt a great relief when Ukraine took power. They no longer needed to hide their religious beliefs and go to the church underground. My mom and other kids finally felt the true spirit of  holidays. After Independence day, they could go to churches, sing carols or Christmas songs on Christmas and decorate homes and trees without fear they could get into trouble. 

         Although the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine had positive effects, it also had a negative effect on the economy of Ukraine.  After a few years, a crisis and inflation began in Ukraine. My father had to leave the country because he wanted to make more money. The money he was making in Ukraine was not enough to his  family support, so he left Ukraine. Therefore my mom stayed with the newborn child, my oldest sister by herself. At that time, my mother worked as a saleswoman in a store. She didn't earn a lot of money, but at least some. It was a difficult situation for her the need to combine parenthood, work, and housekeeping was a really difficult task. However, fortunately my grandparents were helping my mom a lot, so she was able to work and raise my older sister at the same time while my father was making money for our family too. 

       The Declaration of Independence of Ukraine changed the lives of many Ukrainians, including my family. It brought them the opportunity to learn the truth about Ukraine, not be afraid of their faith, and fearlessly celebrate holidays openly. The declaration also brought a crisis that caused separation in many families. Moreover, after living under totalitarian rule in Ukraine, Ukrainians seemed to have taken a sip of clean water during their intense thirst after independence. However, underground churches, violations of prohibitions, secret celebrations of holidays and honoring religions, proved to be on the right side of religion. No superpower can break a strong nation.