Digital Literacy: Exploring Russian and Ukrainian History in Canada

1 December 1991 Ukraine Votes for Independence In a national referendum with 84 per cent turnout, 90 per cent of Ukrainian voters cast a ballot for Ukraine to declare independence from the USSR. The Soviet Union split into 15 independent countries following its formal dissolution on 31 December 1991. Canada was the first Western country to recognize Ukraine’s independence. In 1994, Ukraine surrendered its nuclear weapons to Russia in exchange for a guarantee that its border would always be respected. By the end of the century, economic hardships had led to 23,000 people leaving Ukraine for Canada. After 2001, roughly 2,500 immigrated per year.

25 November 2005 In 2005, Parliament passed the Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act to acknowledge and atone for its treatment of Ukrainian Canadians during the First World War. In 2008, the government established the $10 million Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund to finance projects to educate Canadians on the subject. Federal Government Atones for Internment

1953

Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté Settles in Winnipeg Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté was a Russian-born artistic luminary who left an important mark on Canadian culture and society. After leaving Russia and living in several European countries, she came to Winnipeg in 1953 with her husband. She created the Manitoba Symphony and the Symphony-Concerto for Piano and Orchestra to mark the respective centennials of Manitoba and Canada.

1973

1957 RCMP Removes Children from the Sons of Freedom Movement The Sons of Freedom were an extreme sect of the Doukhobors. They refused any involvement with the state whatsoever, including registering births and deaths. They also resisted sending any of their children to school. In the mid 1950s, British Columbia took children away from the movement. Authorities sent them to a residential school. Children were harshly treated and prohibited from speaking Russian, the only language they knew. Years later, these children sought compensation for their treatment by the government.

Old Believers Sect Immigrates to Alberta

The Old Believers are a sect of the Russian Orthodox community. They follow the ancient traditions and beliefs introduced to Rus (medieval Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) by the Greeks of Byzantium. Like the Doukhobors who came before them, the Old Believers sought refuge in Canada, fleeing persecution for their religious beliefs. They established small agricultural communities in Northern Alberta in the mid-1970s.