Moscow Tightens Screws against Ukrainians in Russia

Moscow has been persecuting ethnic Ukrainians who are citizens of Russia and reside in Russia for years. What is their crime? Have they been subverting Russia? Have they been threatening the lives of Russian leaders such as Vladimir Putin?

Actually, no. What they’ve been doing is nothing more or less than what ethnic Ukrainians, Poles, Italians, Jews and others in the United States have been doing since 1776. Ethnic Ukrainians in Russia have been fostering their culture and heritage by speaking the Ukrainian language, organizing libraries and reading rooms, forming civic groups, and praying to God in the language and faith of their ancestors. However, Moscow regards this behavior, especially on the part of Ukrainians, to be hostile to Russia. It has been said that the Ukrainian language is the most potent weapon against Russia.

Stories about these violations of human rights have been surfacing for years and even courageous Russian human rights groups have said Russia is replete with examples of active discrimination against ethnic Ukrainians.

Leading Russian human rights groups, including Memorial, Crimea SOS, the SOVA center and the Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) had reported that violations of human rights in the Russian Federation and in the occupied territories. In a joint statement, the rights groups pointed to “forced disappearances, illegal deprivation of freedom…, limits on the use and study of native languages and on religious and cultural practices,” as well as “the application of torture even to children.” And they noted Russian officials have repeatedly failed to keep promises to the groups and to international bodies like the UN.

The latest iteration of Moscow’s persecution of ethnic Ukrainians in Russia pertains to a lawyer by the name of Sergii Vynnyk. In an open letter disseminated to American officials, noted Ukrainian American civic leader and retired attorney Askold S. Lozynskyj compared Vynnyk’s case to that of Sergei Magnitsky, the late famous Russian whistleblower who was arrested in 2008, imprisoned, tortured and ultimately died after eleven months in police custody. Magnitsky’s case attracted global attention and the egregious abuse of human rights compelled the United States to pass two statutes in his name, one for activity by the Russian government within its borders and the other for its activity globally. 

Lozynskyj recounted that for 20 years until 2018 Vynnyk had chaired a Ukrainian ethnic non-profit cultural organization in the city of Omsk, located some 1,700 miles east of Moscow. Since November 2018 Vynnyk has represented the Ukrainian ethnic community in Russia and Western Asia within the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), the global coordinating organization of Ukrainian culture and education with membership in some 60 countries of the world including the United States.

Lozynskyj is former president of the Ukrainian World Congress, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, and the Ukrainian Youth Association of America and highly regarded for his civic and pro-Ukrainian activism.

On July 11, 2019, the UWC was declared by the Russian Procurator General and the Ministry of Justice as an unwelcome organization on Russian territory. The UWC filed a petition with the Russian court in Moscow to rescind that ruling. Vynnyk, as an attorney, agreed to represent the UWC in the judicial proceeding which was formally filed on October 15, 2019, in Moscow.

“Not coincidentally on the very next day a criminal proceeding was filed by the Russian government against Mr. Vynnyk for alleged personal financial improprieties fabricated by Russian security services,” Lozynskyj wrote in his letter addressed to President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ).

“Criminal proceedings against Mr. Vynnyk have followed in tandem with the UWC proceedings. In addition, numerous actions by the Russian government served to interfere with Mr. Vynnyk’s representation of the UWC in the Moscow court, including such egregious interference as preventing his leaving the City of Omsk where he resides to travel to Moscow. On at least two occasions Mr. Vynnyk was stopped by the local police at the airport. To prevent default Mr. Vynnyk had to avail himself of video participation in the court proceedings,” Lozynskyj wrote.

The Moscow appellate court ruled on July 22, 2020, against the UWC and in August 2020 the Russian government brought a court proceeding to dissolve the Omsk Ukrainian Cultural Organization citing inactivity. “Naturally, the court ruling was dissolution,” Lozynskyj observed. Then an administrative criminal proceeding was brought against Vynnyk for acting as the attorney for the UWC. “Criminal charges against an attorney for representation in a judicial proceeding is a total travesty of the rule of law. Nonetheless the court imposed a criminal fine against Mr. Vynnyk for his representation,” Lozynskyj wrote.

“The Russian government is not done. It continues to pursue the criminal prosecution against Mr. Vynnyk for security services fabricated financial impropriety and at this time the case remains pending. Clearly, this is a political case violating basic human rights that merits international attention,” he said.

Believing that Vynnyk’s case is identical to that of Magnitsky, Lozynskyj asked the addressees for their intervention at the level of Putin with threats of additional sanctions against Russia and its leadership.

“I am not exaggerating when I compare this matter to Magnitsky and stress that Sergii Vynnyk may become a similar victim of Russian gross abuse of human and minority rights.  Let us deal with this expeditiously to prevent further abuse and right these egregious wrongs before more serious harm is done,” Lozynskyj concluded.

Indeed, I encourage you to send similar letters to your elected officials in Washington, DC, requesting their intervention before another tragedy befalls an innocent Ukrainian. Violations of human rights continue in Russia while globally Moscow pursues an active policy of destabilization, subversion and military aggression. Moscow must be held accountable for these crimes.