The essays and other materials in this collection (with the exception of Radygin’s account of the treatment of Moroz in prison in Appendix VI) circulate clandestinely in Ukraine and the USSR and have reached the West at various times and through various channels. Moroz’ communications, the materials in the appendices (except Appendix VI), and the excerpts from his essay, Moses and Dathan, were included in issues of The Ukrainian Herald (Ukrayinsky Visnyk), the underground journal which circulates in typescript or holographic copies. Six issues appeared between January, 1970, and March, 1972. All but the fifth issue have reached the West. In the case of some of his essays, more than one version has been received. Moroz wrote under conditions of tension, insecurity and close police surveillance. His writings display intense feeling and compelling urgency. Often, he repeats his principal points for emphasis. His texts are studded with idioms and allusions to local customs and events which may he unfamiliar to Western readers, and which often made the translator’s task more difficult.
To assist the readers, a map of Ukraine is provided at the front of the book, showing the places in Ukraine to which Moroz refers. Biographical notes on persons mentioned in the text follow the appendices. The translator wishes to acknowledge the kind cooperation of the Committee for the Defense of Valentyn Moroz.
