On February 21, 2021, it was honoured the bright memory of the public figure, poet and ardent patriot Olena Teliga, as well as her husband Mykhailo Teliga,
a Ukrainian public figure and bandura player who did not leave his wife during the arrest and was murdered with her from Nazi executioners. Traditionally,
the day of Olena Teliga’s death is the day of the memory of members of the Ukrainian liberation movement - underground patriots,
members of OUN marching groups, who died for the freedom of Ukraine in the fight against Nazi invaders and were buried in Babyn Yar.
To honour the poetess and all fighters for Ukrainian statehood, who rest in peace in Babyn Yar, to the monument to Olena Teliga and the Memorial Cross erected in her honour and memory of the executed Ukrainian patriots
at the National Historical and Memorial Reserve "Babyn Yar" during the day, many Kyivans and interested citizens. People brought flowers and bowed gratefully to the symbolic graves of the Heroes.
Bishop Volodymyr (Cherpak), Vicar Bishop of Vyshhorod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and Pastor Igor (Onyshkevych) along with clerics held an ecumenical memorial service for the victims in Babyn Yar.
After the memorial service representatives of public authorities, public and political organizations, scientists, pupils of the information and creative agency "UN-PRESS" of the Kyiv Palace of Children and Youth and others spoke. Poems by Olena Teliga were recited, music was played and songs based on poems by the poetess performed by the music group Druzhe Muzyko and singer-musician Lesya Roy were played.
The public association "Creative Patriotic Association" Music Battalion "presented to the participants of the commemorative event an album and a song" Unconquered ProRock. Olena Teliga ”, based on the poems of the original poetess, whose name became a symbol of sacrificial struggle and true femininity. According to the members of the union, Olena Teliga's word is resounding, sharp and surprisingly calm and balanced - exactly the word we need today.
A copy of the album with a CD was kindly donated to the National Historical and Memorial Reserve "Babyn Yar".
People's Artist of Ukraine, Honored Artist of Ukraine, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine Anatoliy V. Haidamaka addressed the public about the urgent need to build a monument to the Ukrainian Righteous. During the war, thousands of Ukrainians saved the lives of Jews from the Nazis. The construction of the monument, the project which he developed, was approved by the Organizing Committee for the Preparation and Holding of Events to the 75th Anniversary of the Tragedy of Babyn Yar. According to the artist, the project was not funded due to the opposition of anti-Ukrainian forces to highlight and honour the memory of those Ukrainians who risked their lives saving Jews during the Holocaust, in order to the world does not remember why they were awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations. Anatoliy Haydamaka addressed the participants of the event with a proposal to initiate fundraising among concerned citizens if the construction of the monument to the Ukrainian Righteous is not financed by the state.
Andriy Tkachuk, Deputy Director-General of the National Historical and Memorial Reserve "Babyn Yar" for Scientific Work, Honored Worker of Ukraine Culture, spoke about Olena Teliga and her associates.
The participants of the Chamber-Requiem approved an appeal to the state leadership to prevent the transfer of the building of the future Memorial Museum in memory of the victims of Babyn Yar, for the restoration of which 34 million 700 thousand state hryvnias have been spent and the readiness of which is more than 50 per cent to The Babin Yar Holocaust Memorial Charitable Foundation, funded by Russian oligarchs, M. Friedman and P. Fuchs, G. Khanom. The Ukrainian authorities must prevent the privatization of the national memory of Ukrainians by the aggressor state and allocate funds to complete the museum.
Volodymyr Korneliuk, Mykhailo Gutor, Ihor Lytvyn, David Chubinashvili and Serhiy Zolotoverkhy, employees of the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve, also took part in the commemoration of the 79th anniversary of Olena Teliga's death.
Photo report by Volodymyr Korneliuk
