Bohdan Hawrylishyn's contacts with the Soviet Union

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate that part of Bohdan Gavrylyshyn’s life, which is connected with his contacts with the USSR. His trips to the Soviet Union are discussed in detail with interesting facts and events. The main milestones of his biography are briefly presented. His contacts in Geneva, a well-known center of international life, with Ukrainians who worked as representatives of the Soviet Union, in particular with Oleg Belarus, who worked at the UN Commission on Economic Affairs of Europe, are considered. His cooperation with the USSR as the director of the Management Training Center in Geneva is analyzed. The factors influencing his vision of the need for contacts with the Soviet Union are described. Bohdan Gavrylyshyn’s contacts with Jermen Gvishiani, who worked in the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on Science and Technology, are described. The arrival of interns from the USSR to study at the National Academy of Sciences is shown. His forecast of various options for the future of the USSR and the possibility of its reform were considered. His first three visits to the Soviet Union are analyzed, in particular his stay in Moscow, Kyiv, Lviv and his native village. The meetings of Bohdan Gavrylyshyn with famous figures of science and technology of the USSR have been revealed. His friendly contacts in Ukraine, the institutions founded by him (the International Institute of Management in Kyiv, the International Renaissance Foundation, the International Center for Prospective Studies), their influence and significance for Ukrainian society are shown. The creation of the Advisory Council under the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is described. His vision of the ineffectiveness of the Soviet Union, which he proved based on his experience in the USSR, is highlighted. The lack of motivation of some trainees who arrived in Geneva from the Soviet Union was noted. Bohdan Havrylyshyn is one of the extraordinary figures of the Ukrainian diaspora. It was found that by the will of fate and personal interest, he mostly established working contacts with the State Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR. Thanks to this, he visited the Soviet Union several times, even meeting his relatives in his native village. The experience gained helped him to form clearer ideas about the Land of the Soviets, becoming even more convinced of its inefficiency and future disintegration. During the visit in 1988, he began to establish deeper contacts in Ukraine, firmly intending to devote his further life to its development. As a result, Bohdan Havrylyshyn gradually gained authority in his homeland, became an adviser to Leonid Kravchuk, created a number of institutions that contributed to the development of democracy and civil society in Ukraine. He managed to integrate incredibly well into Ukrainian society, becoming a bridge between Ukraine and the Western world. Interestingly, during his lifetime he saw with his own eyes the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, predicted by him back in 1979.