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Boris Graļuk
Episode · #674

EKUMENA I ETIKA U POSLOVANJU Boris Graljuk

Guest Boris GraļukHosted by Augustin BašićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

Croatia has achieved "the highest standards" for minority rights, both de facto and de jure. That is the opening claim from Boris Graljuk, a Ukrainian human rights activist and archaeologist, when asked to describe the position of minorities in the country. It is a striking assessment, especially from someone who has spent his life advocating for these very rights and who now navigates the complex landscape of identity amid a global conflict. Graljuk offers a rare perspective on what it means to belong, to integrate without assimilating, and to find a voice for one's community in a new land. This conversation explores how deep historical connections and religious identity shape a minority group's place in society, and how even spiritual institutions can become entangled in geopolitical struggles. You will walk away reconsidering what true integration looks like, and the often-unseen ethical dimensions of national and religious identity.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Boris Graljuk, a human rights activist, opens by stating that Croatia has achieved "the highest standards" for minority rights, both de facto and de jure. This assessment challenges common narratives, suggesting that a country's legal and practical approach to minority inclusion can genuinely set a global benchmark.
02
For Ukrainians in Croatia, who have been present for over 120 years, Graljuk draws a clear line between "integration" and the "global process" of assimilation. The long-term challenge for any diaspora isn't just to find a place in a new society, but to consciously preserve its distinct identity against the inevitable pull of the majority culture.
03
The first organized Ukrainian society in Zagreb, "Prosvjeta," was founded in 1922 in the premises of "Braća hrvatskog zmaja," a connection forged from friendships between Croatian and Ukrainian soldiers during World War I. Sometimes, the most enduring community structures emerge from unexpected alliances made during shared hardship.
04
Moscow Patriarch Kirill's vocal support for the Russian aggression is described by Graljuk as "anti-Christian" and part of a "Greater Russian program." When religious leaders use their platform to sanctify violence, they effectively turn spiritual authority into a tool of political expansion.
05
Ukraine's decision to seek autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarchate was a move to break free from "Moscow's tutelage," which Graljuk notes was "self-proclaimed in the late Middle Ages." National sovereignty, for many, isn't complete until it extends to spiritual independence from historical ecclesiastical claims that have become instruments of foreign power.
06
Over 25,000 Ukrainian refugees, predominantly women, quickly found refuge in Croatia, learning Croatian and securing employment across the country. The immediate drive for those displaced by conflict is not merely to find shelter, but to establish financial independence and integrate into the local economy as quickly as possible.
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