Expo-1967 in Montreal: the Struggle for Ukrainian Sovereignty

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the events surrounding the participation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the World Expo–1967 exhibition in Montreal and to identify the features of this process, such as the actions of diaspora organizations to attract the attention of the Canadian government and the international community to the political status of Ukraine within the Soviet Union. The publication proves that the youth movement of the Ukrainian diaspora is able to influence the course of important political events, one of which was the Montreal World Exhibition. It was used by the Kremlin as a component of preparations for the 50th anniversary of the October Bolshevik coup in Petrograd on November 7, 1917. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian diaspora was preparing to celebrate the anniversaries of the Ukrainian settlements in Canada, the Ukrainian National Revolution of 1917–1921, and the creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The author concluded that the Ukrainian Canadian community drew the attention of the Canadian government and the international community to the political status of Ukraine within the Soviet Union and contributed to the consolidation of all Ukrainian world in the fight for human rights in Soviet Ukraine and its proper place in the international political and legal environment. Despite the strong involvement of the Soviet Union’s State Security Committee’s agent network, the activities of Ukrainian youth organizations in Canada in July–August 1967 brought a number of positive gains. In particular, it fostered a sense of patriotism, self–identification, and continuity in the traditions of national liberation struggle. At the same time, the nature of the events was driven by local characteristics, the size of the diaspora and its financial resources. In this context, the activities of Ukrainian youth organizations in Canada during Expo-1967 were a kind of impetus for the further struggle for freedom and independence of the native generations of the state – Ukraine.