Book Review: High Praise for Book
on Awards
Ukrainian Military Awards (second,
revised edition), by Jaroslaw Semotiuk, Shevchenko Scientific Society in
Reviewed by Lubomyr Luciuk
As a boy I was thrilled by the tales my
parents told me of the brave resistance Ukrainians offered in defence of their
native land, before, during and after the Second World War.
While some of what I
heard may have well have been apocryphal, I have, in the decades since,
discovered much more about what others did on Ukrainian soil in defence of that
land–of how generations of our people struggled not only for independence, but,
more often than not, against those who came to despoil Ukraine and enslave her
people. Few of us have not heard of the Sitch Rifleman, of the Galicia
Division, of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and of other military formations that
fought for
And so, some years ago, I
was delighted to be presented with an English-language volume, Ukrainian
Military Awards. It has, ever since, been a welcome reference work on my
shelves. That makes it all the more agreeable to note that the first volume,
long since out of print, has been updated and reissued in both languages.
This handsome booklet,
printed in full colour, presents good-quality images and sketches of Ukrainian
military medals at their full size, including 12 medals and crosses listed for
the first time, along with a page of military ribbons.
For anyone interested in
Ukrainian military awards in the modern period, this is an indispensable tool
and, as such, it belongs on the shelves of all serious students of Ukrainian
military and political history. A best-seller the first time around, this
second, revised edition deserves to do equally well. There is simply no other
as readily accessible and comprehensive a volume on the subject.
Lubomyr Luciuk is a
professor of political geography at The