THE UKRAINIAN DIASPORA IN THE USA AND CANADA: THE STRUGGLE FOR THE RELEASE OF DISSIDENT VALENTYN MOROZ (BASED ON KGB DOCUMENTS OF THE UKRAINIAN SSR)

DOI 10.17721/2521-1706.2026.21.8

Oleh Mashevskyi

Dr. habil. (History), Professor, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5251-2089
 

Abstract. Today the international community witnesses the destruction of the world order based on values and international law. This is caused by Russia’s aggression, the crimes of dictatorial regimes, and the expansionist ambitions of President D. Trump. In contrast, Canada and its society represent a model of leadership in the free democratic world, with traditions that date back to the period of the Cold War. At that time, dissidents played a crucial role in the confrontation between Ukrainians and the Soviet regime in Moscow during the struggle for the revival of the Ukrainian state, enjoying the support of the diaspora in Western countries, primarily in Canada and the United States. A prominent figure among Ukrainian human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience was the well-known intellectual Valentyn Moroz, for whose release the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada launched a mass and successful campaign. The study of this experience is important for engaging the international community in supporting Ukraine today, in the context of Russia’s full-scale aggression. Therefore, the article aims to highlight the efforts of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada to secure the release of dissident Valentyn Moroz and the counteractions undertaken by the KGB (Committee for State Security of the USSR).

The scholarly novelty of the article lies in the fact that, for the first time in the context of the researched problem, declassified archival documents of the KGB have been introduced into academic circulation. This made it possible, in particular, to shed light on the struggle of the Soviet special services against both the dissident movement and the Ukrainian diaspora that actively supported it.

The methodological basis consists of the methods of historical archival studies, as well as problem-chronological and analytical methods of working with primary sources.

Conclusions. The research and the publication (in the appendices) of archival documents from the Sectoral State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine prove that the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada made considerable efforts to secure the release of Valentyn Moroz from Soviet labor camps. It sought to exert influence through a series of mass actions, both directly on the Kremlin regime and by lobbying this issue in the government and parliament with the aim of appealing to Moscow with corresponding demands. The KGB, employing a wide range of measures, attempted to discredit V. Moroz and Ukrainian diaspora organizations and to set various currents of the Ukrainian nationalist movement against one another, both before the release of this prominent dissident and after he arrived in the United States, Canada, and Western European countries.

Key words: Canada, USA, Valentyn Moroz, Ukrainian diaspora, Cold War, foreign policy, international relations.

Submitted: 15.01.2026

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