(en) ASR I Information newspaper "Nedіlya» № 28 (396) on 15-21 July 2011 posted an interview with Paul Robert Magochi, historian, professor of the University of Toronto and Chairman Emeritus of the World Council of Ruthenians, under the intriguing headline: "Do Ruthenians need a Congress?". The article was presented against the background of a bust in bronze, ready for installation in the home country of the Hero. Interviewer, for some reason, traditionally was (about us without us) a little-known journalist with clearly non-Ruthenian surname - Lilya Zalevskaya.The much respected professor to the fundamental and logical question, - What are the main functions and objectives of Ruthenian Congresses? - responded at length, muzzily, wordy, and very scantily. If we try to follow the thoughts of the professor in terms of content, (to evaporate the liquid and scrape off the dry residue), we will find in his response following objectives of the Congress:...

1. Congresses provide to the Ruthenians an opportunity to share and spread information. 

2. The main objective is to bring together representatives of the Ruthenian organizations to:
a) get to know each other in person and determine "who is who" 

b) share their experiences, knowledge and achievements.

Finally, the main goal is "recognition of the Ruthenians as a separate ethnic GROUP (Sic!) in their home countries (naturally, only in the cultural context)... If we ignore the historical excursus of the professor on the establishment and objectives of Ruthenian Congresses, where he is clearly disingenuous in claiming that from the beginning an objective of Ruthenian Congresses was purely "cultural", and the main achievements over 20 years of the Congress are the establishment "of the Congress of the Ruthenian language" and the "International Forum of Ruthenian youth", in this interview we arrive at the conclusive answer of the distinguished professor to the question, - "Do Ruthenians need a Congress?"
According to P. Magochi, - no, they certainly do not. For the Congress "has successfully accomplished the mission, assigned to it twenty years ago" (c). However, the professor did not specify what mission the Ruthenian Congresses were to accomplish, and who assigned such a mission to them. Professor did not miss to mention practical recommendations to the Ruthenians in the various countries of their residence. It turns out that Congress in general should not interfere with the policies of local regimes regarding Ruthenians in each particular country, as "sometimes local Ruthenian organizations can solve them more quickly and efficiently" (c) and, he says, "Congress will have nothing in common with politics"(c) In other words, in the professor’s rhetoric were more holes than cheese.
The only thing we concur with the distinguished professor is that the (cultural) corset is too tight for a forum with such a pretentious title as the "World Congress of Ruthenians." Is not it easier to set up for "dancing and singing", say, "The World Ruthenian Festival Red Rose"? Every nation, including Ruthenians, has the ultimate goal, the historical aspirations - to create their independent state on their land for all Ruthenians scattered around the world.
Obviously, such an objective is unattainable without politics. And instead of holding "World Ruthenian Congresses" in order to present Ruthenians as absolutely unable to solve their historical goals, and tar Ruthenian gate with "Ukrainian delegations," is it not better to hold the genuine 12th World Congress of Ruthenians under the leadership of true patriots, who, recognizing the importance of "cultural and historical values of the Ruthenian people," are able to bring back World Congress of Ruthenians and its Council back on track, which was defined for this organization in the early 90-s, - protection of national interests of all Ruthenians in their home countries? Their first and foremost objective is obviously the coordinated action to solve the basic problem of the Ruthenian people, - establishment of the parent independent state Subcarpathian Ruthenia for all Ruthenians in the world...