The Fight for Democratic Values in Ukraine: Confronting Propaganda and Corruption

Please join the Ukrainian Students Society and the Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University for a presentation by Taras Shevchenko and Yulia Marushevska.

After the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko and Euromaidan activists co-founded the Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR), a coalition of reform-oriented NGOs and experts. Shevchenko serves as Board Co-chairman for RPR, which brings together 73 NGOs that develop, promote, and control implementation of reforms. It has proved to be a unique coalition that has advocated more than 100 laws. Shevchenko is also founder and executive director of Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law, an influential Ukrainian think- and act-tank that focuses on rule of law, independent media, anti-corruption, and civil society development. He established this organization in 2005 after the Orange Revolution. Shevchenko has been involved with drafting numerous legislative acts, including the Access to Public Information Law. He has started successful civic initiatives in different areas including good governance, transparency, media self-regulation, anti-tobacco, and road safety. He was elected as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Public Service Broadcasting Company in 2015. Shevchenko holds two master degrees in law and in economics from the Kyiv National University.

Yulia Marushevska is a Ukrainian activist and civil servant. A graduate student in literature and history, she appeared in a short video, entitled “I Am a Ukrainian”, which went viral after being posted in February 2014. In the spring of 2014 she gave talks about the cause of Ukrainian freedom in the United States and Canada and was interviewed by news media from dozens of countries. In June 2015, a 24-year-old Marushevska joined the Odesa regional government team led by Mikheil Saakashvili, a former President of Georgia, who was appointed a Governor of the region. Marushevska was then appointed chief of Odesa Customs in October 2015 and resigned from that post in November 2016 because she felt the government of Volodymyr Groysman halted custom reforms.