| Wassily I | |
|---|---|
| Hetman of Ukraine | |
| {{{image}}} | |
| Ukrainian | Василь І Мирославович Скоропадський |
| Russian | Василий Мирославович Скоропадский |
| Born | May 30, 1979 |
| Residence |  Kiev, Ukraine |
| Father | Miroslav I |
| Mother | ??? ??? of Schaumburg-Lippe |
| Religious beliefs | Ukrainian Orthodox |
Vassyly I Miroslavovych Skoropadskiy (Ukrainian: Василь І Мирославович Скоропадський, Vasylʹ I Myroslavovych Skoropadsʹkyy; born May 30, 1979) also Vassily I Miroslavovich Skoropadskiy (Russian: Василий Мирославович Скоропадский, Vasiliy Miroslavovich Skoropadskiy) or Wassily I of Ukraine; is a businessman, philanthropist and former military leader who is the current Hetman or King of Ukraine.
He succeeded his father Miroslav I in 2001, after the latter was assassinated by Ukrainian ultranationalists, western-backed Russophobic militants who wished to distance Ukraine from Russia, seeing the House of Skoropadsky as a Russian agents. He also received notoriety for directly fighting with the Royal Ukrainian Forces as a regular soldier, in spite of admonitions from his family members, delaying his coronation as King or Hetman.
Three times, he too, underwent assassination attempts. Wassily I is the first monarch in modern Ukrainian history, to have exercised civil power, as Ukraine is a constitutional monarchy. The assassination of his father allowed the Rada to use the Royal National Emergency Clause of the Ukrainian Constitution, allowing the Hetman to lead politics if necessary.
This led Wassily I to rule Ukraine as an absolute monarch for three years, until 2004 when he felt that the "western threat" had subsided, however in those three years, he still had prime ministers and other democratically-elected officials allowed to operate autonomously to vest his trust in democracy.
Biography[]
Wassily was the eldest of Miroslav I, Hetman of Ukraine and his consort, ??? ??? of Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg, Germany. He lived his childhood in Germany, and attended an overseas Ukrainian school. At the age of 10, he officially moved to Ukraine, and often-not summered in Russia, particularly Crimea - home to a Ukrainian-speaking community, but also frequented other parts of Russia at the time, having been able to visit Moscow and Saint Petersburg. He therefore ended up speaking four languages, apart from Ukrainian and Russian - also German and English, his German-born mother also spoke to him in German.
After Ukraine became independent, and the Hetman of Ukraine declared the Head of State (although in a more figurative fashion), he received the title Crown Prince of all Ukraine and was next in line to the throne of secession. The Skoropadskiys stayed in Ukraine instead of being refugees in Russia, since Ukraine as harboring strong anti-monarchist environments, seeing the Skoropadskiys as Russian agents.
As part of Miroslav I's dedication to the Ukrainian state, he had Crown Prince Wassily I follow the tradition of actually serving in the Royal Ukrainian Forces as a regular soldier, a lesson adopted by many Russian nobles during the Interwar Period.
After the assassination of Hetman Miroslav I[]
After the assassination of his father in 2001 by Ukrainian ultranationalists, he ascended the throne, however surprised observers by choosing to serve again as an actual combat soldier in the Royal Ukrainian Forces' Special Tactical Corps, as a response against western ultranationalists. He therefore skipped his coronation ceremony, but gave a lengthy military speech.
"In the wake of such a vicious terrorist attack, I refused to sit idle and sit in a palace, it's not only my family but the entire Ukrainian state is under threat from those attempting to provoke terrorist attacks in the name of nationalism."
Although not many details were given on his military service, but with the Special Tactical Corps, it was claimed by Ukrainian military analysts that he killed 35 high-profile UNA-UNSO officers.
Three-year absolute rule[]
In November 2001, with both Russoskeptic and pro-Europeanist parties supporting the government crackdowns in the West (similar to the Patriot Acts after the September 11 attacks in the United States), the Rada approved for invoking the Emergency Clause of the Ukrainian Constitution, which allowed the Hetman to exercise political power in the wake of national emergencies - similar to Maria I of Russia during the Tumultuous 1990s.
His actual service with the Royal Ukrainian Forces had gained enough trust from the population.
He told interviewers, "This has nothing to do with Russia, or being a Russian agent, although I do love Russia and see them as a friend and ally, I am not taking any orders from Moscow, I am doing my duty as a Ukrainian citizen, and as the leader of Ukraine to help purge this great country from terrorists. People know me and people trust me due to me actually having trained, held a gun and fought enemies as a regular soldier within our armed forces, nothing is given. I am just simply sick and tired of these militants starting random provocations in the name of ultranationalist politics. There are many in my side and my circle who are not fans of Russia, but we stand together as Ukrainians to fight a common evil."
Until 2004, Wassily I placed western Ukraine under martial law, and ordered curfews, also installing government-friendly leaders as the local leaders of the raions, oblasts and localities. In addition, national travel advisories were issued against traveling to western Ukraine, and many tourist agencies stopped selling packages to the western parts of the country. It isn't until late 2003 that these travel bans were lifted.
In 2007 through 2010, Yulia Tymoshenko - a Russoskeptic became Prime Minister, and started to enact policies to blunt Russian influence in the country. This included stripping Russian from its official status in Ukraine, a move which received huge outcry even amongst the majority of non-Russians. There were requests from Russian-speaking groups to have Wassily I take power again via the National Emergency Clause, however Wassily I stated that he opposed what Yulia was doing - he would let it play out to respect democracy, but did encouraged Ukrainians to speak out and oppose it.
"I have the power to oust Yulia Tymoshenko, but the people of Ukraine must now stand up and act if they oppose it, I must allow things to play out per my role as the Head of State of a democratic nation, I too think it is very stupid, and do encourage the people of Ukraine to stand up according to their will, and nobody else's. If the majority opposes the stripping of Russian, then stand up. If the majority supports it, then stand up."
After three years of civil disobedience, the law was struck down, and Russian was again, designated as a government-recognized languages of business, media, tourism and education but still recognized Ukrainian as the national language of heritage.
Personal life[]
Wassily I of Ukraine keeps his personal undisclosed for the most part, especially after the assassination of his father.
He speaks four languages: Ukrainian, Russian, German and English.
Philanthropy[]
Wassily is a proponent of philanthropy, and is the current head of the Royal Skoropadskiy Foundation's global outreach program, UkZaKor (lit. "Ukraine Abroad"), to encourage the Overseas Ukrainian community throughout the world to preserve their culture and their roots. He visited the Ukrainian-American and Russian-American community in New York City in June of 2001 and visited the World Trade Center in his famed "Prince at the Top of the World" visit.
He and his father were also active in providing support for victims of the September 11 attacks, especially the Ukrainians who died in the attacks.