Where are our people being led?

Vladimir Zelensky. Photo: UOJ

The state authorities of Ukraine are taking more and more confident steps to implement in our country the liberal ideology that the so-called advanced countries of the West are imposing on us. This is gender ideology, LGBT rights, legalization of marijuana, and much more. But at the same time, those in power actively support the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), make visits to Phanar and pretend that Orthodoxy is very dear to their hearts. So what are the Ukrainian authorities building? Where are they leading our people?

Does the power support Orthodoxy?

In the first year of his rule, President of Ukraine V. Zelensky distanced himself from religious topics and demonstrated his determination to exactly fulfill the provision of the Constitution of Ukraine that the state has no right to interfere in church affairs. But a year after taking office, the President's policy changed 180 degrees. Zelensky's sympathies clearly began to lean towards the OCU. In October 2020, the President personally visited Phanar and invited Patriarch Bartholomew to Kyiv to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the independence of the Ukrainian state.

Hot on the President’s trail, Prime Minister D. Shmygal also paid a visit to Phanar to declare he provides the brainchild of Phanar, the OCU, with full social and economic support. Let us omit the fact that the support of the OCU by the state often consists in illegal re-registration of communities and tacit connivance by the forceful seizure of the UOC churches committed by radicals, We’d better pay attention to one statement by D. Shmygal: “The granting of the Tomos of autocephaly opened up new prospects for a more harmonious development of Christianity in the Ukrainian lands and more complete satisfaction of spiritual needs by believers who belong to the Byzantine spiritual tradition."

One gets the impression that the Ukrainian authorities are imbued with the Byzantine idea of the symphony of the state and the Church and are trying to put it into practice to some extent. It is logical to assume that if the state provides such all-round support to a religious organization calling itself the Orthodox Church, then the entire internal policy of the state will have to be based on the commandments of the Gospel, Orthodox culture and traditional values that need to be cultivated in Ukrainian society.

Yet – this is not at all the case. Let's take a look at what legislative initiatives are currently being discussed in the Verkhovna Rada.

Biarritz partnership

In September 2020, Ukraine received the official status of a participant in the so-called Biarritz Partnership; the full name is Biarritz Partnership for Gender Equality. The President's wife, Elena Zelenskaya, is personally promoting this topic.

The Biarritz Partnership imposes the following on acceding countries:

• ensuring gender parity in national, ministerial and representative delegations;
• supporting NGOs, feminist groups and organizations that are necessary to achieve gender equality;
• providing comprehensive education about sexuality and healthy relationships in and out of school;
• ensuring access to modern contraception and safe abortion services;
• eliminating gender stereotypes and social norms, including ideas of masculinity that are harmful to all genders;
• making parental leave available for same-sex parents.

At the same time, in order to implement the principles of the Biarritz Partnership, the state should allocate money for this from the state budget in the amount of 0.7% of the gross national income. For comparison: according to the head of the Verkhovna Rada Healthcare Committee Mikhail Radutsky, Ukraine spends about 3% of GDP on the entire health care system.

Euthanasia and "assisted suicide"

Legalization of euthanasia and "assisted suicide" is provided for by the Concept of updating the Civil Code of Ukraine, proposed by a group of lawyers led by the Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk.

These innovations are a clear fight against God and a sin against the commandment "Thou shalt not kill", while in the case of "assisted suicide" – a sin that cannot be healed by repentance. The practice of using euthanasia in other countries clearly shows the scenario in which the situation is developing. First, voluntary withdrawal from life is hedged with a whole list of requirements, the main of which are old age, having an incurable disease, suffering an unbearable pain, and a conscious desire to die. However, it ends with the practice of Switzerland, where anyone can quit life for 4000 euros, while euthanasia itself is allowed to be used not only by medical workers. As many as six firms provide "assisted suicide" services, and Switzerland has become a Mecca for suicide tourism.

Legalization of marijuana

Likewise, the legalization of marijuana, according to the authorities, has an extremely good purpose. The idea is to allow only medical cannabis and only for certain medical indications. Moreover, the procedure itself must meet a number of requirements. Facilitating access to marijuana should alleviate the suffering of many patients. However, in reality, everything is quite different.

According to police officers involved in the fight against drug trafficking, one of the main beneficiaries of the legalization of marijuana will be the criminal authorities in the south of Ukraine who control the cultivation of cannabis: “If marijuana is legalized, then the marijuana plantations in the south-west of the Odessa region will become even larger than they are now. Growing hemp is more profitable than growing wheat. And all this will be owned by the one who is growing it now. Criminals are looking forward to the law on legalization." In addition, the deputy head of the Odessa Regional Council, Yuri Dimchoglo, claims that the main users of cannabis will not be sick but drug addicts: "Personally, I am against legalization, because I suppose that most of the ‘medicinal’ marijuana will be sold according to fake prescriptions for drug addicts."

The inevitable implication of the legalization of marijuana will be hence a significant increase in drug addiction in Ukraine. At the same time, many consider marijuana rather a harmless drug, the use of which does not lead to irreversible consequences. In other words, the threshold for the use of this drug has been greatly reduced, which means that many people can be involved in its use, mainly young people or adolescents.

Legalization of weapons

The Verkhovna Rada is considering several bills at once, providing for the legalization of short-barreled firearms. The last of them, bill No. 4335, was introduced in November 2020. The main argument of supporters of the legalization of weapons is that the "bad guys" already own weapons, albeit illegally (the number of unregistered "guns" in Ukraine, according to various estimates, reaches up to 5 million), but respectable citizens do not have weapons and therefore cannot defend themselves. In theory, it is believed that if the perpetrator does not know whether his victim is armed or not, then he will not dare to commit a crime. In practice, however, things are quite different. Numerous studies in the field of psychology and criminology show the following.

First, weapon possession and the ability to use it make a big difference. If a person does not know how to use a weapon, if he has not undergone appropriate training, then this weapon will be a completely useless item for him.

Secondly, a significant part of people, even those who know how to handle weapons, cannot cross the psychological barrier and shoot a person.

Thirdly, the victim's potential possession of a weapon does not scare off the perpetrator, but rather pushes him/her into more aggressive behavior. The setting is triggered: "Shoot first before you are shot." As a result, the ramifications of a conflict situation appear more difficult than those “weapon-free”.

Fourthly, not even the strictest system of issuing permits for the possession of weapons can exclude them from falling into the hands of people suffering from alcoholism, drug addicts, mentally ill or unbalanced people.

Fifth, if weapons are legalized, the number of cases of their use in domestic quarrels will increase manifold, especially if they are accompanied by drinking alcoholic beverages. In other words, the situation "got drunk – started fighting" turns into a situation "got drunk – started shooting".
    
News feeds are abundant with reports about the use of illegal weapons in domestic showdowns and when sorting things out, and if the number of weapons in the population increases many times, then the number of such cases will increase accordingly. The weapon will become a common tool for putting an end to an argument.

Moreover, if weapons are legalized along with the legalization of marijuana, then Ukraine may plunge into an abyss of lawlessness, at the backdrop of which the "dashing 90s" will seem only a baby talk.

LGBT rights

Back in 2015, the “National Strategy of Ukraine in the Sphere of Human Rights until 2020” was adopted, which provided for the legalization of “a registered civil partnership for opposite-sex and same-sex unions”. To date, this point has not yet been implemented; however, with the coordination of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, a draft law on civil partnerships is being developed. One of its authors, Sviatoslav Sheremet, claims that lawmakers are already close to legalizing same-sex partnerships. Moreover, he draws attention to the fact that the current Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Status of Missing Persons" recognizes same-sex partners as persons having procedural rights in relation to missing persons.

In November 2020, a lesbian couple registered a partnership agreement in a notary order, which extends the right of joint ownership to all acquired property. LGBT supporters call this event the first same-sex marriage in Ukraine. And in the summer of 2020, the media reported that a gay couple from Ukraine filed a lawsuit against their country with the European Court of Justice, demanding to allow the registration of gay marriages, as well as pay them considerable compensation for violation of their rights. The experience of many countries shows that the legislative consolidation of gay unions is carried out precisely according to this scheme: a lawsuit in the European Court – a positive decision obliging the country to legalize same-sex union – the adoption of a respective law by parliament.

The fact that the authorities really intend to legalize same-sex partnership and expand the rights of LGBT people is evidenced by a wide propaganda campaign that covers not only the media, but also a number of other channels shaping public opinion. On February 1, 2021, the State Institution "Center for Public Health" of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine announced a tender for the procurement of services in the field of surveys for conducting biobehavioral research among homosexual men. It is planned to allocate more than UAH 10 million for these purposes. 

Back in 2015, the “National Strategy of Ukraine in the Sphere of Human Rights until 2020” was adopted, which provided for the legalization of “a registered civil partnership for opposite-sex and same-sex couples”. To date, this point has not yet been implemented, however, with the coordination of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, a draft law on civil partnerships is being developed. One of its authors, Svyatoslav Sheremet, claims that lawmakers are already close to legalizing same-sex partnerships. Moreover, he draws attention to the fact that the current Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Status of Missing Persons" recognizes same-sex partners as persons having procedural rights in relation to missing persons.

And in November 2020, a lesbian couple registered a partnership agreement in a notary order, which extends the right of joint ownership to all acquired property. LGBT supporters call this event the first same-sex marriage in Ukraine. And in the summer of 2020, the media reported that a gay couple from Ukraine filed a lawsuit against their country with the European Court of Justice, demanding to allow the registration of gay marriages, as well as pay them considerable compensation for violation of their rights. The experience of many countries shows that the legislative consolidation of gay marriages is carried out precisely according to this scheme: a lawsuit in the European Court is a positive decision obliging the country to legalize same-sex marriage - the adoption of a corresponding law by parliament.

The fact that the authorities really intend to legalize same-sex marriage and expand the rights of LGBT people is evidenced by a wide propaganda campaign that covers not only the media, but also a number of other channels of influence on public opinion. On February 1, 2021, the State Institution "Center for Public Health" of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine announced a tender for the procurement of services in the field of surveys for conducting biobehavioral research among homosexual men. It is planned to allocate more than UAH 10 million for these purposes.

The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute of Books purchased 1,240 copies of the book Princess + Princess: Happily Ever After. Purchase price – 666,000 UAH. This is a book for children up to 5 years old, where two princesses "get married" and live together "happily ever after", its symbolism just hurts the eyes.

Comics on LGBT relationships were sent to children's and school libraries throughout Ukraine.

What is the agenda of the main state channel of Ukraine?

The attitude of the state towards spiritual and moral values can be very clearly seen in the content being promoted on state television, first and foremost – in relation to children.

The UOJ editorial office recently monitored the main state TV channel, UA: Pershy. Monitoring is quite small, time coverage is a week.

Here are some of the most striking programs:

• Live with a transgender person on the topic “How to Accept the Identity of a Transgender Child”;
• Live broadcast with a sex education teacher on the topic "How to correctly tell a child about homosexuality";
• A story about the fight against sexism (how to deal with gender stereotypes);
• A plot about the legalization of weapons;
• Air about the development of surrogacy in Ukraine.

Meanwhile these materials are presented in the form of a discussion. But the very fact of bringing up such topics on the state channel already speaks volumes. We all know the operating principles of the Overton windows technology, when topics that were previously unacceptable and tabooed get deliberately into the focus to make them acceptable and reasonable at first and ultimately to turn into the current norm. We all know that in the state structures the topics of broadcasts are not a personal initiative of journalists; these topics are dictated “from above”. And the fact that “UA: Pershy” tells the audience not about Christian morality, but about educating children in terms of their “correct” attitude to homosexuality and transgenderism is not at all an accident. This is the current policy of the state.

Here is a shot from a program about transgender people. On the screen you can see Anastasia-Eva Domani, a Ukrainian transgender who was born a man, got married, became the father of his daughter, and then "turned" into a woman. In an interview, Anastasia-Eva Domani expressed an interesting wish that she wants to “undergo a baptism ceremony with her new name as a woman,” but so far she cannot find a priest who would arrange it.

Rights and interests of Muslims

Paradoxically, the Ukrainian authorities, alongside the interests of LGBT people, are developing the topic of Muslims' rights. In May 2020, V. Zelensky held a meeting with representatives of the Crimean Tatar people, at which he announced the following:

• signing of a decree on granting Kurban-Bayram and Ramazan-Bayram the status of state religious holidays;
• introduction of the representation of the Crimean Tatars in the diplomatic corps, in other words, quotas;
• creation of a working group in the Office of the President, which will include the Crimean Tatars;
• construction of a new large mosque in Kyiv and other support measures.

We can say that there is nothing wrong with this, and Muslims of Ukraine should also receive support from the state. However, one can object to this that, firstly, all these measures will contribute to the Islamization of the Ukrainian society with all the ensuing consequences that we can observe in European countries. Secondly, it is impossible to imagine that a meeting with the leadership of the UOC on the issue of solving administrative, property and other problems facing the largest confession of Ukraine would take place in the Office of the President. Why is the Ukrainian government facing the Muslims and turning its back on the UOC despite the fact that the number of believers in the UOC is incomparably greater than that of Muslims.

Conclusions

First, it is easy to see that LGBT people, euthanasia, cannabis, and weapons will not contribute to an increase in the population of Ukraine, but, on the contrary, will decrease it. Children are not born in same-sex marriages, and the use of marijuana also does not contribute to the creation of strong family relationships and the birth of children. But what it can lead to is an increase in the number of congenital pathologies, which euthanasia is designed to reduce. This is all exactly what the West and, above all, the United States demands of us. As soon as he took office as President of the United States, Joe Biden announced that his administration would promote LGBT rights around the world.

Ukraine, in fact, fulfills the requirements of the West in its own degeneration. One cannot help but recall the phrase attributed to one of the architects of US foreign policy, Zbigniew Bzezhinsky, that only 17 million people should be left in Ukraine. Add to this the collapse of the health care system as a result of the well-known "reforms" and here we are – this is what our people are being lead to.

Secondly, state support for the OCU does not mean that the authorities are committed to Christian values, which means that all these visits to Phanar and Patriarch Bartholomew's assurances of loyalty are nothing more than political games. The state does not need a Church that will denounce immoral legislative initiatives and testify to the Gospel. The state needs an obedient “pillar” of statehood, which will be silent while the regulations that contradict evangelical morality are adopted. By the way, an example of such silencing is none other than Patriarch Bartholomew, who, after the conversion of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople into a mosque, was silent for almost a month and only then timidly expressed his concern. If everything goes along such lines, perhaps the dream of transgender Anastasia-Eva Domani about "baptism" can come true.

Thirdly, the authorities support the OCU, support LGBT people, support Muslims, and so on. And at the same time, they infringe on the rights of the UOC, the largest denomination in Ukraine. Why? The answer is “no-brainer”: because the UOC is a true Church, which can raise its loud and authoritative voice to denounce the authorities for deviating from the covenants of Christ, to say “no” where everyone says “yes” or tacitly agrees, and to exhort the people not to follow the path of the powers that be.

Therefore, we will remain faithful to Christ and His Church in spite of any temptations.

“Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).

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