Kyiv's memory politics and church diplomacy in early November 2018

What did Ukraine's leadership signal in the first days of November 2018, as seen from 9 November 2018? Two decisions, one from parliament and one from the presidency, point to a focus on historical remembrance and relations with the Ecumenical Patriarch.

On 8 November 2018, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution on marking at state level the 75th anniversary of the start of the deportation of Ukrainians from Poland, which took place in 1944–1951. The measure places that episode among events commemorated officially by the state.

A few days earlier, on 3 November 2018, President Petro Poroshenko signed an agreement on cooperation with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The agreement was signed by the head of state himself, which gave it the weight of a presidential act.

Taken together, the two decisions show state institutions engaging with questions of history and of religious partnership within the same week. Parliament acted through a formal resolution; the president acted through a bilateral agreement. Both were public, formal steps, and both were on record by 9 November 2018.