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The First Lady of Ukraine awarded the 2008 Truman – Reagan Medal of Freedom for her contribution into promulgating the truth about the Ukrainian famine-genocide and other crimes committed by communism

On November 20, 2008, the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States of America co-hosted the Truman – Reagan Medal of Freedom Award ceremony together with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. This year one of the laureates of the award was the First Lady of Ukraine Mrs. Kateryna Yuschenko Ambassador of Ukraine Dr. Oleh Shamshur accepted the award on her behalf from the Foundation Chairman Dr. Lee Edwards.

Presenting the award recipient, Dr. Edwards highlighted the long-standing contribution of Mrs. Yuschenko to promoting the truth about crimes committed by the communist regime, in particular about the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-33.

A greeting letter from the First Lady of the United States Mrs. Laura Bush noted that “Mrs. Yuschenko’s commitment to advancing freedom in Ukraine is an inspiration to countries around the world. Seventy five years after Soviet communist leaders forced millions of Ukrainians into starvation, they are now free and sovereign people. Today Ukraine is a model of democratic transformation, a reputation that has been strengthened by Mrs. Yuschenko’s contributions”.

In return, Ambassador of Ukraine read out an address from Mrs. Kateryna Yuschenko to the Foundation Chairman expressing her gratitude for this high award that used to be granted in the past to Pope John Paul II and Vaclav Havel. “My country, Ukraine, is fighting to overcome the Soviet legacy… we are reforming an economic system ruined by inefficient socialism”, writes the spouse of the Ukrainian President, “This year we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor, the Soviet-engineered artificial famine that took the lives of approximately 10 million Ukrainians”.

Oleh Shamshur drew attention of the Embassy guests to the exhibition “Executed by Hunger: the Unknown Genocide of Ukrainians” put on display at the ceremonial hall. The exhibits were conceptualized by the Ukraine-3000 International Charitable Foundation.

Other recipients of the 2008 Truman – Reagan Medal of Freedom Award were Under-Secretary of State Ms. Paula Dobriansky and a popular American journalist Midge Decter.

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established by an Act of Congress to build a memorial in Washington, DC to commemorate the more than 100 million victims of communism; to honor those who successfully resisted communist tyranny. The Foundation had been raising funds for the memorial for over 10 years. Among the biggest donators were communities of east-European countries’ natives in America. The memorial was unveiled June 12, 2007. The next organization’s step will be creating the Global Museum on Communism.

The Truman – Reagan Medal of Freedom is awarded by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation on the annual basis to outstanding fighters against the tyranny of Communism.