29.1.2008
Laying of flowers to Vasyl STUS memorial on the occasion of the Memory Day of Kruty heroes
The Donetsk RSA chairman assistant, Oleksandr TRETYAK took part in laying of flowers to Vasyl STUS memorial on the occasion of the Memory Day of Kruty heroes.
Mariya OLIJNYK, representative of the Donetsk educational society “Prosvita”; Serhiy NESVIT, the Donetsk national university worker, told about the history of that Day and its connection with a life and creative work of Vasyl STUS. In a solemn rally also took part representatives of the Donetsk RSA, social region organizations, pupils and students.
For references: On the 27th of January 1918, a Student Kuren went towards Bolshevist troops that attacked Ukraine. Kuren included students from Volodymyr the Saint University (today is the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko university), newly created Ukrainian People’s university, and also from Kyiv gymnasiums that have no military training.
Vanguard of Muravjov troops went against them amounting 6 thousands of soldiers, supported by the artillery fire from armoured trains. Kruty defenders had the only one cannon.
The battle happened on the 16th (29th) of January 1918 on the railway station near Kruty village in 130 kilometers north-eastward Kyiv: with Mykhajlo Muravjov Bolshevist troops faced 300 nationally-conscious Kyiv students, who defended ways to Kyiv. During military actions, battle was not of a crucial importance, but in Ukrainian consciousness it plays a great role due to valour of the Ukrainian youth that died in unequal battle near Kruty. During the funeral ceremony in Kyiv near Askold’s grave, the president Mykhajlo Grushevs’kyj named youths that died in unequal battle, heroes, and poet Pavlo Tychyna devoted verse to that heroic deed. Decades of years, the battle history was either concealed, or told as a myth or lie as abroad, so in the native historiography. Only later on, in 2006 there was put a monument on the battle place. And in 80th anniversary of the battle, mint produced a memory hryvnja.
