Viktor Yelensky
Віктор Єленський
Born (1957-09-26) September 26, 1957
Chadan, (USSR)
NationalityUkrainian
Alma materFaculty of History, Kyiv University
Years active1980–present
Known forscientist, religious scholar, publicist, teacher
AwardsOrder of Merit

Viktor Yevgenovych Yelensky (Ukrainian: Віктор Євгенович Єленський; born March 26, 1957, Chadan) is a Ukrainian scholar and public figure, expert in religious studies,[1] Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor. The member of Ukrainian Parliament (the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine) of the 8th convocation.

Biography

Viktor Yelensky was born on March 26, 1957, in Chadan, Tuva Region. The same year, the family returned to their native city of Kyiv. In this city, Viktor graduated from high school No. 85. In 1974, he became a student at the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University (Faculty of History).[2]

During 1975–1977, Viktor Yelensky served in the Soviet Army. In 1986, as a reserve officer, Viktor was involved in the emergency response to the Chernobyl disaster, where, in the ranks of the 731st Special Protection Battalion, he worked in a particularly dangerous zone.[3][4]

In 2018, he was awarded the Order of Merit of Grade III (State Award of Ukraine).[5]

Education

In 1982, Viktor Yelensky graduated with honors from the Department of History of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.[6]

In 1989, he defended his PhD thesis in philosophy for the scientific degree of the candidate of science with the research topic Protestantism in the process of social adaptation to the conditions of Soviet society. In 2003 he successfully protected at Institute of Philosophy of National Academy of Science the thesis for a Doctor's degree in Philosophy on the subject Religious and social changes in the process of post-communist transformation: Ukraine in the Central-Eastern European context and the degree of the Doctor of Science was appropriated to him.[7][8]

He has interned at Columbia University (New York, USA, 1998) and Nijmengen University (Netherlands, 2003).[9]

Viktor Yelensky was a member of the Fulbright Scholar Program 2003–2004.[10] Within 2004 he worked at Brigham Young University (Utah, USA),[11] where he read a training course and studied the problems of religious freedom and national identity.[9][3]

Professional activities

After graduating from the university, since 1982 Yelensky has worked as an inspector of the Council on Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR. During 1987–1990 he headed the department of worldview culture of the Republican Center for Spiritual Culture.[12]

From 1991 to 1992 he worked as a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine. During 1992–2010, this researcher was a leading contributor to the Gregory Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.[6][9]

In 1996 Viktor Yelensky became a member of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion, and since 2001 he is the President of the Ukrainian Association of Religious Freedom.[2]

Viktor Yelensky headed the Ukrainian journal for religious studies "Lyudina i Svit" ("Human Being and the World", 1995–2004) and lead the Kyiv Bureau of Radio Liberty (2005–2008). Also on the radio he was the host of the program "Freedom of Conscience".[13][14]

Prof. Yelensky taught at the Ukrainian Catholic University (Professor, 2010–2014, Head of Department of Theology).[15] and at the Diplomatic Academy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (Professor, since 2005). Since 2011 he has been served as Director of the Center for the Study of Religion at the Drahomanov National Pedagogical University (Professor, since 2011).[3][16][17]

He is married, has a daughter, a son, grandchildren.[18]

Political activities

From March to October 2014, Yelensky worked as an adviser to Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk. In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, he was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament (VIII convocation) on the lists of the political party People's Front. He did not pass the (next) 2019 parliamentary elections, when he ran for political party "Ukrainian Strategy of Groysman".[19]

In 2019 Yelensky was a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.[20] That year, in June, he headed another Ukrainian delegation that took part in the work of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in Georgia. He supported Georgian protesters, who demanded deputies of the State Duma to leave the building of the Parliament of Georgia. He also condemned Russia's occupation of the territories of other Orthodox countries (Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) and said that it undermined inter-Orthodox solidarity. Mr Yelensky was then attacked by members of the Russian delegation.[21]

Parliamentary activities

In the Verkhovna Rada of the 8th convocation Viktor Yelensky was the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Spirituality of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (12/04/2014 – 08/28/2019), Chairman of the Subcommittee on State Policy on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations (10/12/2014 – 08/28/2019).[22][23] He participated in 96% of the meetings of the committee.[24]

He is the author or co-author of laws aimed at the development of cultural industries, the preservation of cultural heritage, and the implementation of constitutional guarantees of freedom of conscience. Among them were the following acts: "On Amendments to Some Laws of Ukraine on Volunteer Activity",[25] "On State Support for Cinematography in Ukraine",[26] "On Amendments to Some Laws of Ukraine (Establishing Educational Institutions by Religious Organizations)",[27] "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine 'On Protection of Cultural Heritage' (on granting the status of the Marine Memorial underwater cultural heritage objects)",[28] "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine (Concerning the Jurisdiction of Religious Organizations and the Procedure for State Registration of Religious Organizations with Legal Entity Status)".[29]

The latter Law was severely criticized by the Head of Moscow Patriarchate personally while Russian Orthodox religious dissident protodeacon Andrei Kuraev called it "beautiful".[30][31]

On November 1, 2018, the Government of the Russian Federation included Viktor Yelensky in the list of sanctioned persons.[32]

According to Voxukraine's iMoRe Index, which characterizes the government's efforts to implement reforms, Viktor Yelensky ranks 21st in support of reform bills among 415 MPs of the 8th convocation.[33]

Yelensky took part in the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election with the party Ukrainian Strategy of Groysman.[34] But he was not elected to parliament as the party did not win any seats (it won 2.41% of the national vote).[35]

Academic activities

Viktor Yelensky is the author of books, academic works and publications published outside Ukraine. Among these countries are: Belgium, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, USA. Research interests: Church-State Relations, Religion and Globalization, Religion and Conflict, Sociology and Political Science of Religion.[36][37]

He represents Ukraine in the international project REVACERN (Religions and values: Central and Eastern European research network).[36][38]

Academic works

Monographs
  • В. Єленський. Велике повернення: релігія у глобальній політиці та міжнародних відносинах кінця ХХ – початку ХХІ століття [The Great Return: Religion in Global Politics and International Relations of the late XX – early XXI Centuries]. — Львів: Видавництво УКУ, 2013. — 504 с. — ISBN 978-966-2778-01-4 (in Ukrainian)
  • В. Єленський. Релігія після комунізму. Релігійно-соціальні зміни в процесі трансформації центрально- і східноєвропейських суспільств: фокус на Україні [Religion after Communism. Religious and Social Changes in the Process of Transformation of Central and Eastern European Societies: Focus on Ukraine]. — К. : НПУ ім. М. П. Драгоманова, 2002. — 420 с. — ISBN 966-660-087-0 (in Ukrainian)
Other books
  • В. Єленський, В. Перебенесюк. Релігія. Церква. Молодь [Religion. Church. Youth]. — К. : А.Л.Д., 1996. — 160 с. — ISBN 5-7707-9790-8 (in Ukrainian)
  • В. Єленський, О. Саган. Саєнтологія в Україні: віровчення і практика релігійної організації "Церква Саєнтології" та відповідність форм і методів її діяльності чинному в Україні законодавству [Scientology in Ukraine: the doctrine and practice of the religious organization "Church of Scientology" and conformity of the forms and methods of its activity with the legislation in force in Ukraine]. — К. : Швидкий Рух, 2004. — 80 с. — ISBN 966-8453-00-3 (in Ukrainian)

References

  1. ↑ L.Maydanevych (22 September 2014). "Релігієзнавча експертиза як феномен релігійно-правової свідомості" [Religious studies at Kyiv University: Institutional and personal measurements] (PDF). Релігієзнавство в Київському університеті: Інституційний та персональний вимір (in Ukrainian). Kyiv: KNU. p. 91. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Віктор Єленський" [Viktor Yelensky]. my.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Віктор Єленський" [Viktor Yelensky]. People's Front (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Зірка полин. 22-гі роковини Чорнобильської трагедії" [Star of Artemisia. 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl tragedy]. idelreal.org (in Ukrainian). 25 April 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Указ Президента України №241/2018" [Presidential Decree No. 241/2018]. Official website of the President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Еленский Виктор Евгеньевич" [Yelensky Viktor Yevgenovych]. LB.ua (in Russian). 5 December 2014. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "Єленський Віктор Євгенович" [Yelensky Viktor Yevgenovych]. Local church (in Ukrainian). 5 December 2010. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "The works of V. Yelensky in the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine catalog" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 V. Yelensky (25 May 2015). "Наукова біографія доктора філософських наук В.Є. Єленського" [Scientific biography of V. Yelensky, of Doctor of Philosophical Sciences] (PDF). Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "The 25th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Ukraine: An Essay Collection" (PDF). Kyiv: АДЕФ-Україна. 2017. p. 76. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Nikita Sofiysky (22 May 2019). "Лобіювання інтересів новітніх релігійних організацій у колах експертів-науковців" [Lobbying the interests of the newest religious organizations in the circles of expert scientists]. Free word (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  12. ↑ V. Bondarenko (2009). "Єленський Віктор Євгенович" [Yelensky Viktor Yevgenovych]. Encyclopedia of modern Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "Довідка: Єленський Віктор Євгенович" [Information: Yelensky Viktor Yevgenovych]. Online Directory "Official Ukraine Today" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  14. ↑ O.Laschenko (23 September 2018). "У Московського патріархату немає власності в Україні — Єленський" [Moscow Patriarchate has no property in Ukraine — Yelensky]. ua.krymr.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "Кафедра богослов'я" [Department of Theology]. Philosophical and Theological faculty (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  16. ↑ Viktor Yelensky. "Declarations: Yelenskyi Viktor Yevhenovych from the NACP". Electronic declarations of officials and deputies. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  17. ↑ "International scientific conference on the topic "The Influence of Religion on Ukrainian Independence, Politics and Society" (21 February 2020)". Institute of international relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Retrieved 10 April 2020. Prof. Viktor Yelenskyi Director of the Center for Study of Religion at Dragomanov National Pedagogical University
  18. ↑ Ihor Lubianov, Olga Bohachevska (6 December 2012). "Ця влада зупиняється тільки тоді, коли зустрічає опір. Слабкість жертви її збуджує" [This power is stopped only when it meets resistance. The weakness of the victim excites her.]. RISU (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  19. ↑ "Єленський Віктор Євгенович" [Yelensky Viktor Yevgenovych]. chesno.org (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "PACE Member File: Viktor Ielenskyi". PACE. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  21. ↑ Iryna Shtohrin (21 June 2019). "Все про протести у Тбілісі: як російський депутат спровокував кризу у Грузії" [All about Tbilisi protests: how Russian MP provoked crisis in Georgia]. Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  22. ↑ "Єленський Віктор Євгенович — Посади протягом скликання" [Yelensky Viktor Yevgenovych — Posts during the convocation]. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  23. ↑ "Народний депутат України VIII скликання Єленський Віктор Євгенович" [Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the 8th convocation Yelensky Viktor Yevgenovych]. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  24. ↑ "Єленський Віктор Євгенович — Рада" [Yelensky Viktor Yevgenovych — Rada]. Civic Network "Opora" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  25. ↑ "Проект Закону про внесення змін до деяких законів України (щодо волонтерської діяльності)" [Draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine (on Volunteer Activity)]. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  26. ↑ "Проект Постанови про прийняття за основу проекту Закону України про державну підтримку кінематографії в Україні" [Draft Resolution on the adoption of the Bill on State Support for Cinematography in Ukraine as the Basis]. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  27. ↑ "Проект Закону про внесення змін до деяких законів України (щодо заснування релігійними організаціями навчальних закладів)" [Draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine (Relating to the Establishment of Educational Institutions by Religious Organizations)]. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  28. ↑ "Проект Закону про внесення змін до Закону України "Про охорону культурної спадщини" (щодо надання об'єктам підводної культурної спадщини статусу Морського меморіалу)" [Draft Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Cultural Heritage" (on granting the status of the Marine Memorial underwater cultural heritage objects)]. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  29. ↑ "Проект Закону про внесення змін до деяких законів України (щодо підлеглості релігійних організацій та процедури державної реєстрації релігійних організацій зі статусом юридичної особи)" [Draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine (Concerning Jurisdiction of Religious Organizations and Procedure for State Registration of Religious Organizations with Legal Entity Status)]. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  30. ↑ "His Holiness Patriarch Kirill sends letters to heads of Normandy Four states, Primates of Local Orthodox Churches, Pope Francis, UN Secretary-General and WCC General Secretary concerning anti-church bills due to be adopted by Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine". The Russian Orthodox Church (Department for External Church Relations). 16 May 2017. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  31. ↑ Andrey Kuraev (17 May 2017). "Прекрасный украинский закон" [Beautiful Ukrainian law] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020. А ведь это реальный путь к возрождению церковной жизни. По сути это понуждение к составлению списка прихожан. А когда будут такие списки — можно проводить нефиктивные выборы в приходской совет или делегатов на соборы разных уровней, вплоть до Поместного. [But this is a real way to the revival of church life. In essence, this is a compulsion to make a list of parishioners. And when there are such lists, it is possible to hold non-fictitious elections to the parish council or delegates to cathedrals of different levels, right up to the Local.]
  32. ↑ "Постановление правительства России "О мерах по реализации Указа Президента Российской Федерации от 22 октября 2018 г. № 592"" [Decree of the Government of Russia "On measures to implement the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 22, 2018 No. 592"] (PDF). Russian Government (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  33. ↑ "Рейтинг депутатов iMoРe" [Rating of deputies iMoРe] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  34. ↑ Groysman presents his party team to run for parliament. Photos, Ukrinform (7 June 2019)
  35. ↑ CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, Ukrinform (26 July 2019)
    (in Russian) Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019, Ukrayinska Pravda (21 July 2019)
  36. 1 2 L.Phylypovych (22 September 2014). "Українське релігієзнавство в контексті світової науки про релігію" [Ukrainian Religious Studies in the Context of World Religion Science] (PDF). Релігієзнавство в Київському університеті: Інституційний та персональний вимір (in Ukrainian). Kyiv: KNU. pp. 117–118. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  37. ↑ See: Yelensky, Viktor (2019). N. Leustean, Lucian (ed.). "Orthodox Churches, Nation-Building and Forced Migration in Ukraine". Forced Migration and Human Security in the Eastern Orthodox World. Routledge: 25–65. doi:10.4324/9781351185233-2. ISBN 978-0-8153-9470-9. S2CID 211413886. Retrieved 10 April 2020.; Wanner, Catherine; Yelensky, Viktor (2019). Myshlovska, Oksana; Schmid, Ulrich (eds.). "Religion and the Cultural Geography of Ukraine". Regionalism Without Regions (Reconceptualizing Ukraine's Heterogeneity). Budapest; New York: Central European University Press: 247–296. ISBN 9789637326639. JSTOR 10.7829/j.ctvs1g8jn.; Viktor, Jelensky (2015). Boeckh, Katrin; Turij, Oleh (eds.). "Religionspluralismus, Religionsfreiheit und Entsäkularisierung: der Fall Ukraine" [Religious pluralism, freedom of religion and secularization: the Ukraine case]. Religiöse Pluralität Als Faktor des Politischen in der Ukraine (in German). München; Berlin; Leipzig; Washington (D.C.): Biblion Media. 3: 213–231. ISBN 978-3-86688-505-9. Retrieved 10 April 2020.; Yelensky, Viktor (2015). Ziebertz, Hans-Georg; Črpić, Gordan (eds.). "Religion and Human Rights: The Case of Ukraine" (PDF). Religion and Human Rights. Springer International Publishing Switzerland: Springer International Publishing Switzerland: 195–206. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-09731-2_16. ISBN 978-3-319-09730-5. Retrieved 10 April 2020.; Yelensky, Viktor (2014). Warchala, Michał (ed.). "Religion and Nation-Building in the Epoch.of Desecularization: The Case of Ukraine" (PDF). Studia Sociologica VI. Kraków: Institute of Philosophy and Sociology Pedagogical University of Cracow. 1: 126–143. Retrieved 10 April 2020.; Elenskii, Viktor (2014). "Ukrainian Orthodoxy and the Ukrainian Project". Russian Politics and Law. NY: Armonk. 52 (4): 7–33. doi:10.2753/RUP1061-1940520401. ISSN 1061-1940. S2CID 219294500. Retrieved 10 April 2020.; Yelensky, Viktor (2012). Wanner, Catherine (ed.). The Revival before the Revival: Popular and Institutionalized Religion in Ukraine on the Eve of the Collapse of Communism (PDF). Washington, D.C.; New York: Woodrow Wilson Center Press; Oxford University Press. pp. 302–330. ISBN 978-0-19-993761-5. Retrieved 10 April 2020. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help); Yelensky, Viktor (2010). "Religiosity in Ukraine according to Sociological Surveys". Religion, State and Society. 38 (3): 213–227. doi:10.1080/09637494.2010.499280. ISSN 0963-7494. S2CID 145595275.; Yelensky, Victor (2008). "Religious Freedom: The case of Ukraine". The Review of Faith & International Affairs. Institute for Global Engagement; Taylor & Francis. 6 (2): 67–71. doi:10.1080/15570274.2008.9523341. ISSN 1557-0274. S2CID 144213040.; Yelensky, Victor (2006). Roudometof, Victor; Agadjanian, Alexander; Rankhurst, Jerry (eds.). "Globalization, Nationalism, and Orthodoxy: The Case of Ukrainian Nation Building" (PDF). Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age: Tradition Faces the 21st Century. AltaMira Press: 144–175. ISBN 978-0-7591-0537-9. Retrieved 10 April 2020.; Yelensky, Viktor (2003). Sutton, Jonathan; Bercken, William Peter van den (eds.). "Orthodoxy and Post-Communist Changes: the Case of Ukraine". Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Europe: Selected Papers of the International Conference Held at the University of Leeds, England, in June 2001. Leuven: 567. ISBN 9042912669. Retrieved 5 March 2020.; Victor Yelensky (2003). Religion in Ukraine: Changes, immutabilities and generational gap. Religion and Generations. Turin: ISSR/SISR. Retrieved 5 March 2020.; "Zehn Stimmen zur Frage "Wie beurteilen Sie die Situation Europas angesichts der Säkularisierung?"" [Ten votes on the question "How do you assess the situation in Europe in the face of secularization?"]. OST-WEST. Europäische Perspektiven (in German). Retrieved 5 March 2020.; Yelensky, Victor (2003). I. Borowik (ed.). ""Late" Protestants in Post-Communist Ukraine". Religions, Churches and the Scientific Studies of Religion: Poland and Ukraine. Warszawa: NOMOS: 71–88. ISBN 83-88508-41-5. Retrieved 5 March 2020.; Yelensky, Victor (2002). "Religion, Church, and State in the Post-Communist Era: The Case of Ukraine (with Special References to Orthodoxy and Human Rights Issues)". Brigham Young University Law Review (1): 453–488. Retrieved 5 March 2020.; Jelenski, Viktor; Stricker, Gerd (2004). Stricker, Gerd (ed.). "Juden in der Ukraine" [Jews in Ukraine]. Glaube in der 2. Welt (in German). Zürich (7–8): 26–30. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  38. ↑ Benavides, Gustavo; Stuckrad, Kocku von; Sullivan, Winnifred Fallers, eds. (2011). Religion and Society. Vol. 51. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-022813-7. ISSN 1437-5370. Retrieved 5 March 2020. Expert advisers: Dénes Kiss (Cluj-Napoca), Viktor Yelensky (Kiev)
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