Volodymyr Viatrovych discussed how Ukraine’s future as an independent country and democratic society rests on the proposition that restoring the nation’s historical memory is a critically important precondition to overcome Ukraine’s Soviet past and to bring about national reconciliation. Viatrovych is a historian who studies Ukraine’s twentieth century liberation movements. As the former director of the Security Services of Ukraine Special State Archive Department, he led the process of declassification of the Soviet-era secret KGB archives and facilitation of their public access.