Yurii V. Matushchak (Viter)

Yuriy was born on February 15, 1987, in Donetsk. Since childhood, he became interested in Ukrainian history and culture. In 2004, he enrolled in the history department of Donetsk National University, and from the first days of his studies, he stood out among students for his activity, enthusiasm, inspiration, and organizational skills. On October 31, 2006, third-year student Yurko Matushchak, along with like-minded individuals, founded the Donetsk Regional Youth Public Organization "Push," aimed at promoting Ukrainian national revival in Donetsk. Yuriy was elected chairman of the "Push" board, which united patriotically minded young people from Donetsk, mostly students. The organization's members promoted the Ukrainian language and culture, contributed to the study of "white spots" in history, published their own newspaper, and held various events and actions, including literary evenings, Christmas festival performances, commemorations of the Holodomor victims and Stalinist repressions, and even weddings in the Ukrainian style. In conditions where local authorities did not support the activities of such patriotic organizations, the active work of "Push" and Yuriy personally was especially valuable. Yuriy was a member of the Public Council under the regional state administration. After graduating, in 2011-2012, Yuriy interned in the Polish city of Lublin, participated in a project to restore the memory of the 1943 Volhynia tragedy, and collected testimonies from eyewitnesses of those events. In addition, he became involved in the life of the local Ukrainian community by joining the Lublin Ukrainian Society. After returning to Ukraine, he worked as a history teacher at a school, dreaming of studying in graduate school. With the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity, Yuriy became one of the active participants and organizers of the Donetsk Euromaidan, also traveling to the capital and participating in the creation of self-defense in Donetsk for the safety of participants in pro-Ukrainian actions. When he submitted his resignation because he decided to be on the barricades permanently, his high school students, from whom he did not hide his beliefs, decided that their beloved teacher was being persecuted and, together with their parents, went to the school principal and the district education department with a request "not to expel the historian." Yuriy continued to defend his views even when the infamous events of the "Russian Spring" began in Donetsk, but soon it became clear that the time for political debates and peaceful protests had passed — pro-Russian separatists resorted to threats and violence against opponents. And when armed militants began to openly take control of the huge city, Yuriy had to escape. His girlfriend Francesca Leonardi, an Italian citizen who had been volunteering in Donetsk since 2013, teaching Italian, left with him. For the girl, who had come to love Ukraine and found love there, it was a real shock to see the metamorphosis in the consciousness of Donetsk residents, as it became dangerous not only to attend pro-Ukrainian rallies but also, for example, to wear a vyshyvanka (even this provoked aggression). In June 2014, Yuriy and Francesca, who found refuge in Chernivtsi, told one of the TV channels about the criminal chaos that engulfed Donetsk with the arrival of the "Russian world," about torn Ukrainian flags, and the terror unleashed by the leaders of the self-proclaimed DPR against supporters of Ukraine's unity. Soon, Yuriy decided that he had no right, as a refugee, to simply observe the large-scale historical tragedy unfolding in his homeland. He went to Dnipropetrovsk, where, along with a few friends, he enlisted in the "Dnipro-1" battalion. In the memory of his comrades, he, a fighter with the call sign Wind, remained an optimistic, bright, and intelligent person who always seemed to radiate positive energy. Then came the hell of the Ilovaisk cauldron and the explosion of an enemy shell that took his life on August 29 in the "corridor of death." On May 29, 2015, at the Krasnopil Cemetery in Dnipropetrovsk, on one of the gravestones, instead of a plaque with a number and the inscription "Temporarily Unidentified Defender of Ukraine," another plaque appeared — with the surname, name, and patronymic of police private Yuriy Matushchak. A memorial service was held at his grave, attended by relatives, friends, and comrades of the fallen hero. Jacek Szafranski: "This is terrible news. I met Yuriy in 2013 in Lublin during the presentation of the book 'Connection through Difficult Memory.' He was one of the participants in the project, and we talked a bit after the discussion part of the meeting. I was captivated by his erudition and ability to view history from different perspectives. I was very impressed and delighted that there was a person who was genuinely reconciling our peoples and could be a bridge between Poles and Ukrainians on this issue. Without a doubt, Yuriy was a gem in the Ukrainian generation of Columbuses. This is an irreparable loss. Glory to the Hero. Czesc Jego Pamieci!" Sergey Shvets: "When I joined 'Dnipro-1,' I had a friend Yurko… A month and a half later, he was killed in the war, but he had a dream… He dreamed that his Donetsk University would be named after his favorite Ukrainian writer. And he, Yuriy Matushchak, fought for this for a long time… And now a lot of time has passed. Yurko has long been at the Krasnopil Cemetery in Dnipro… But his dream has come true, thanks to him and his followers. Now Donetsk University bears the name of Vasyl Stus. Your dream has come true, Yurichka. Rest in peace, friend… Glory to the Hero!"