1st time in history: Sweden agrees to provide Ukraine with original Pylyp Orlyk Constitution
Photo: OP
For the first time in 311 years, the original Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk will arrive in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced this on Facebook, Rubryka reports.
According to him, the original Constitution in an independent state is another step in restoring our historical longevity from the times of Rus, the Cossack state, the Ukrainian People's Republic, and to this day.
Kuleba noted that the Foreign Ministry had asked Sweden to lend the original Latin version of Pylyp Orlyk's Constitution (1710) for its temporary display in Ukraine as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Independence on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
"It was an extremely difficult negotiation, we were offered a copy, but we only wanted the original, which has never been in Ukraine. And so I'm especially grateful to Sweden for showing real solidarity with Ukraine and mutual willingness to further develop millennial ties between our peoples.
And now some deserved thanks:) I'm sincerely grateful to the National Archives of Sweden Riksarkivet and personally to its director Mrs. Karin Ostrem Iko for the opportunity to present to Ukrainians and many foreign guests this extremely important relic for the history of Ukrainian statehood.
I'd also like to thank my colleague Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde for supporting this project.
On the Ukrainian side, this historic result is a joint achievement of the Embassy of Ukraine in Sweden, Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, and the National Reserve "Sophia of Kyiv." We have a lot of work ahead of us, but together we will cope," Kuleba wrote.
He also noted that the Linkoping City Library also agreed to provide the Hetman's Mace for temporary display in Ukraine, which, according to legend, after Hetman Ivan Mazepa belonged to Hetman Pylyp Orlyk.
"I'm also grateful to the library for this decision," the Foreign Minister concluded.
"Pylyp Orlyk's Constitution will be in Ukraine. The document, strongly connected with the history of Sweden and our history during the Cossacks, will return to our country for the first time. But strong, original, and independent of others. This is an extremely important international gesture for Ukraine. History is a part of our identity and culture. The opportunity to see such a unique exhibit is invaluable," Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said in his Telegram.
