Sister of Vasyl Stus, Maria Stus, admitted that her grandchildren can speak Russian, but she is not entirely pleased about this fact. She noted that she tries to communicate with them in Ukrainian, but cannot force them to switch to Ukrainian. This conversation took place in an interview with Emma Antoniuk for Glavkom.
Maria Stus says that she generally has a neutral attitude towards Kyiv residents speaking Russian, but gets angry when her grandchildren do so. 'Well, if a person doesn't want to switch to Ukrainian, what can I do? I worry about my grandchildren. My grandchildren talk to me in Russian, I communicate with them in Ukrainian. I get angry. I can't change them,' she said.
It should also be noted that the conversation was about Maria Stus's cousins. Vasyl Stus himself has a son, Dmytro, who has children from two wives: sons Yaroslav and Stefany, as well as daughters Yvha and Oryna.
Ambiguous memories of life in the USSR
Also, in this same interview, son of Vasyl Stus, Dmytro, shared his mixed memories of life in the former USSR. He highlighted positive aspects regarding his personal fate in the past. When asked about his attitude toward Soviet times, Dmytro Stus replied, 'I believe that life consists of more than just black and white. I received medical assistance, I got an education, I enjoyed life, was passionate about speleology. I had interesting hobbies and friends from different parts of the world.'
Moreover, Dmytro Stus shared a story about the first difficult months after Vasyl Stus returned to Kyiv in 1979 when Vasyl was becoming a teenager. He also called for restraint in condemning Medvedchuk regarding the case concerning his father.
The result: In the interview with the family of Vasyl Stus, they shared their observations regarding the use of the Russian language and recalled bright and ambiguous moments from the past, related to the times of the Soviet state. Being connected to such an outstanding Ukrainian poet, the family has its unique perspective on events.