The place where the national idea has worked

Ploske is one of the many villages in Rivne oblast. At first glance, it is an ordinary village without any special attributes. It is located far from transportation routes: about ten kilometers from the railroad and the same distance from the Rivne-Ostroh highway. Still, Ploske is booming. It is well known not only in Ostroh raion but beyond.

Ploske (or Ploska) is a very old village that was first mentioned in 1568. It is anyone’s guess how long it existed before that. In other words, Ploske residents have centuries of history behind them.

The village was owned by such well-known aristocratic families as the Koreckis, Ostrozkis, Malachowskis, Czetwertynskis, and others. There was a large manorial palace that was burned to the ground in 1943. The village was repeatedly mentioned in various acts and in connection with various events.

Although the village was predominantly owned by landlords who were not Ukrainian or did not consider themselves part of this nationality, the level of the peasants’ national identity was quite high.

The period between the two world wars saw unprecedented activity of the Prosvita Society, which was closed by the Soviet “liberators” in 1939. During the nightmarish war an OUN cell was established in Ploske. Eyewitness accounts say the cell existed from 1941, its members disguised as the local fire brigade. Young people were taught Ukrainian history and received military training here. Then someone betrayed the underground fighters, and many of them were shot by the Germans. The repressions failed to stop the inhabitants of Ploske. Many of them took an active part in the UPA-led national-liberation movement and fought against both the German and Bolshevik occupiers. Many peasants died in a fierce battle between UPA soldiers and NKVD troops near the village of Hurby in 1944. During the Soviet era the residents of Ploske saw better times and succeeded in taking advantage of their good luck. A branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline ran through the village. An oil pumping station, Novyny, was built and commissioned on April 24, 1971. For a long time — 1981 through 1995 — the station was managed by Y. M. Chumak, who also chaired the local village council in the first years of independence. During this period he accomplished much. In 1992, when the former USSR’s single energy system was disintegrating, this official managed to channel a share of the funds that belonged to this power monster back into his own village. The funds helped build a modern meat-packing factory furnished with state-of-the-art foreign equipment. The factory began operating in December 1993.

Now the Ploske Meat-Packing Plant of Ukrtransnafta (sounds fanciful, doesn’t it?) may be justly considered one of Ukraine’s top businesses. The office of current manager Y. F. Rudenko, is filled with 50 diplomas, 30 cup trophies, and medals that the enterprise has won at numerous exhibitions and tasting competitions, including the 2003 and 2004 Best Trademark of Ukraine awards.

Although Ploske’s meat- packing plant does not produce many products (about a ton of meat and sausage products per day), it is renowned for its high quality products that are supplied to the neighboring cities of Ostroh, Netishyn and Rivne as well as to Lviv and Kyiv.

Today the oil-pumping station and meat-packing plant, which stand side by side and seem to form one conglomerate, employ more than 80 people. Ukrtransnafta funded the construction of a number of modern houses that outwardly resemble the cottages of “crooked businessmen.” There are plans to build more houses of this kind.

In general, there is a sort of building boom going in the village: a fruit cannery and a shopping center are in the final stages of construction. The village has well-developed public utilities, such as gas and water supply. The village boasts a community center and an infirmary. Compared to other cities and villages in Rivne oblast, Ploske allots much more funding per capita for urgent medical care. The village also has a kindergarten and a large school.

Naturally, there are some inevitable problems. But the residents of Ploske are full of hope and optimism. Ample proof of this is the fact that the birth rate exceeds the mortality rate in the village, while the situation everywhere else in Ukraine is completely different.

There is more than one explanation for this mini-wonder. In my opinion, a key role is the fact that the villagers were brought up in the spirit of Ukrainian traditions and genuine (not sham) love for their native land, and they are bringing up their children the same way. The local people do not confine their aspirations to one day alone. This may be the key to genuine national identity.

Since the Prosvita Society and the OUN were once active in the village, it is little wonder that most of the villagers backed Ukraine’s independence effort during perestroika. In 1990 the Popular Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) established a cell in the village, and a yellow-blue flag was raised in July 1991. When the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) came into being in 1992, the local Orthodox parish of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin opted for this denomination without much hesitation. During the Orange Revolution, the Ploske village council headed by Chumak officially supported Viktor Yushchenko as early as Nov. 23. The councilors declared that they considered him the lawfully elected president. The Ploske council was in fact one of the first village councils, if not the first, to pass this kind of decision. About 50 villagers, including their council chairman, went to Kyiv’s Independence Square.

By far the greatest wonder in Ploske is the monument that was built at the local council’s expense and unveiled on Independence Day in 2004. This black basalt obelisk crowned with a modest cross bears a sincere and humane inscription free of any ideological mumbo jumbo: “Eternal memory to the heroes, our fellow countrymen, who fell in the fight for Ukraine’s freedom and to the victims of World War II. Remember those who will never come back. Guard our memory for the sake of your children, for the sake of immortal Ukraine.” Inscribed on the monument is an alphabetical list of the names of Ploske villagers who died in WWII, either as UPA or Red Army combatants. Is this not an example of true reconciliation between the “blue-and-yellow” and “red” soldiers? Some people say that this is impossible.

The same applies to the claim that the national idea has not worked in Ukraine. The small village of Ploske testifies to the contrary. Instead of being embezzled, funds are being wisely invested in production. Despite all kinds of difficulties, the villagers are achieving good results. More people are being born here than are departing this life. This fact alone inspires hope.