On November 21, 2024, on the Day of Dignity and Freedom, a solemn commemoration of the Hero of Ukraine Roman Huryk and all the fallen Defenders of Ukraine was held in the Memorial Square of Ivano-Frankivsk. Leading specialist of the Institute of History, Ethnology and Archaeology of the Carpathians Bohdan Paska was awarded the Mayor’s award named after the Hero of the Heavenly Hundred Roman Huryk “Change the World for the Better”. The award recognized the merits of the young scientist in the study of the Ukrainian national liberation movement in the 20th century, the improvement of school historical education and the popularization of history.
Bohdan Paska is a candidate of historical sciences, associate professor of the Department of History of Ukraine and Methods of Teaching History, leading specialist of the Institute of History, Ethnology and Archaeology of the Carpathians. Author of the monograph “Valentyn Moroz: the Flag of Ukrainian Dissidence” (2018), which is dedicated to the figure of a prominent Ukrainian dissident, one of the leaders of the national liberation movement in the 1960s – 1980s, a symbol of the Ukrainian movement on the international arena in the 1970s. Editor of the popular science publication “The Trial of Valentin Moroz: Declassified Materials” (2021), which publishes previously classified materials from the KGB archives regarding the Soviet regime’s massacre of dissident Valentin Moroz. The publication project won the All-Ukrainian competition of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence (2021). Author of 45 professional scientific articles (2 of them in publications indexed in the Web of Science scientometric database), 19 conference abstracts and other publications; participant in several dozen international and all-Ukrainian scientific conferences. The young scientist’s articles are devoted to the study of the Ukrainian dissident movement of the 1950s – 1980s, as well as the repressions of the then Soviet regime and the KGB against the fighters for the national independence of Ukraine.
In 2017–2021, he was an active participant in a large-scale scientific project to write and organize the 4-volume edition “Western Ukrainian People’s Republic: Encyclopedia”. Author of 305 encyclopedic articles, compiler of the list of sources and literature used in this edition. Compiler of the educational and methodological work “Olympiad Tasks in History” (2014), reviewer of the books “Let’s Humanize History Together: Materials of the Regional Action of 2017” (2019), scientific editor of Roman Klochko’s popular science publication “The Invisible Battle. How Dissidents Fought for the Independence of Ukraine” (2023).
The results of Bohdan Paska’s scientific research are used in writing modern school curricula, textbooks, and other educational and methodological literature. In addition, the young scientist takes a direct part in the improvement and improvement of modern school education, because during 2022–2024 he was a member of the subject expert group on history of the Institute for Modernization of Educational Content. The scientist wrote 10 expert opinions on model curricula, textbooks, and teaching aids on the history of Ukraine and world history for grades 6–11.
Since 2018, Bohdan Paska has been a member of the National Union of Local History Scholars of Ukraine (NUHL). In April 2021, on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the birth of Valentyn Moroz, he initiated the installation of a memorial plaque to the fighter for the independence of Ukraine in the premises of Dormitory No. 2 of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University (141 Ye. Konovalets St.). In July 2024, he participated in the International Literary Festival “Frontera” in Lutsk.
Bohdan Paska’s comprehensive scientific research into the Ukrainian national liberation movement in the 20th century contributes to the formation of the national memory of the Ukrainian people at the present stage, raises the level of national consciousness and patriotism in our society, and changes our Ukraine for the better. The study of the crimes of the Soviet regime against Ukrainian dissidents, in particular, the use of secret agents and KGB informants, methods of covert surveillance, psychological and moral pressure, psychiatric repression, illegal imprisonment and abuse of intellectuals in prisons, Mordovian colonies, and in exile in the 1950s–1980s, allows us to successfully debunk the myths of modern racist propaganda regarding the so-called “fraternal peoples,” the “bright Soviet past,” and to combat the remnants of the “Soviet” worldview in Ukrainian society. Awareness of the fact that the modern Putin regime is the heir to the Soviet totalitarian regime with all its anti-Ukrainian and anti-human practices contributes to the national consolidation of our society in confronting Russian aggression.