Interview with Vasyl Romanyuk, October 25, 2022

Interview Summary

Vasyl Romanyuk, Peace Corps Host Country National, Peace Corps Staff (Regional Manager), 2003-2007 When Vasyl joined the Peace Corps Ukraine program in 2003, he was already familiar with the program for about ten years from his academic years and in his previous careers working with scholars with the Civics Education Program. He was hired as Regional Manager and was charged with looking after 30-40 volunteers in Eastern Ukraine in Dnipropetrovska, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions. He explains that the position provided him the opportunity to meet even more Peace Corps volunteers whom he already grew to admire, but also gave him the rare opportunity to explore more of his own country and communities for the first time in such depth. In his interview, he reflects on how eastern Ukraine changed so much today, largely due to the Russian invasion and also due to the changed mindset of communities which, in 2003, were largely shaped by certain external forces including Russian propaganda. His observations of the volunteers’ experiences and challenges were based on their own varied personalities and communities each one was assigned to. Since he left Peace Corps, Vasyl remained in Ukraine and pursued a career in human rights through the UN and the Embassy of Sweden.

Interview Keyword

Ukraine Peace Corps regional manager oblasts (administrative territorial bodies) Kharkiv Luhansk Dnipropetrovsk Donetsk volunteers interviewed Soviet Union western Ukraine university linguistics English and German languages Kyiv development projects Soros Network Civic Education Project: Ukraine Moldova Belarus scholars academia American universities visiting lecturers European universities international relations doctors Soviet military surgeon humanities and languages political science university of Edinburgh Scotland, UK Masters in Science (MSc) dissertation/theses NATO expansion Ukraine membership into NATO European Union technical assistance program Peace Corps program international office internet postcards Lock Haven University Lock Haven, PA Ukraine independence gas supply economy electricity outages food supply post Soviet challenges cultural shock reverse cultural shock communities schools resistance movement orphan army draft baptism Illinois country director terra incognita stereotypes interviewing host families Orange Revolution propaganda Supreme Court of Ukraine fraudulent elections potential evacuation American local communities challenges PTSD war trauma fight for freedom and independence return to normalcy needed full scale war critical thinking youth development aggressor state rebuilding the country

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