Video by Max DiLello
Article written by Charlotte Smith
Ricky Leinwand, a popular business owner and elected official in Elizabethtown, sat down with Max DiLello with BladenOnline for an interview about the Leinwand family emigration from Ukraine and the country’s current invasion by Russia. In the 19th century, Jewish immigrants from Germany to the Russian Empire settled in America. The Leinwand family was one of the Jewish families that migrated.
“My grandfather was born and raised in Ukraine,” Ricky Leinwand, owner of Leinwand’s in Elizabethtown, stated, “He immigrated here to the United States in 1908, and back then, it was not Ukraine, but it is still the same place.”
Ricky explained the Leinwand family lived about 35 kilometers from Lviv, in the Galicia region of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, but his grandfather was from Lviv.
According to Britannica, Lviv is on the Roztochchya Upland in western Ukraine. Russia occupied the area in 1914–15. The government of the short-lived Western Ukrainian National Republic arose in Lviv in 1918, but the Poles drove Ukrainian troops out of the city and regained control. Lviv was seized by the Soviet Union in 1939 and, after the German occupation, annexed by the Soviets in 1945.
Isaac Leinwand, Ricky’s grandfather, emigrated from the Ukraine area to South Carolina at 22 years old. Ricky gave some history on the country where his family migrated from in Ukraine.
“It was the biggest country in Europe at that time,” Ricky said, “It was about as big as Russia.” Today, Lviv is the hotspot for media outlets to broadcast about the Ukraine invasion.
Ricky spoke about the history of Ukraine and it being controlled by Poland, Russia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) and how the World Wars changed the political landscape.
Watch the full interview with Mr. Ricky Leinwand in our YouTube video linked below:
When discussing where his family was rooted, Ricky noted the country took on the name Ukraine back in 1991, after the destruction of the Berlin Wall.
“It’s been Ukraine since 1991, which is 31 years,” Ricky calculated.
“Of course now, Russia has picked off some of these little countries like Georgia, Latvia, Estonia,” Ricky stated. “Now Russia is going after Ukraine.”
“Ukraine is fighting really hard,” Ricky continued, “You know, it just kinda brings back memories of these towns that my grandfather used to mention. Most of the family got out of there in the early 1900s.”
The Leinwand family members moved away from the area, but the country is not forgotten. Ricky said, “When I saw Ukraine, I said, this brings back a lot of memories.”
When asked about his opinion on the future of Ukraine, Ricky was positive, saying, “The Ukrainian people are fighting. They are tough people. Their president is incredible.”
According to Britannica, Volodymyr Zelensky, a 44-year-old actor and comedian, was elected the President of Ukraine in 2019. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded its neighboring country, Ukraine, making it the most significant military assault on a European state since World War II.
Ricky noted the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, may not know what he is talking about regarding the politics of Ukraine. He said, “He (President Putin) claims that Ukraine is a Nazi regime. Well, there are about 200,000 Jews that live in Ukraine, there are 30 million people, and the president (President Zelensky) happens to be Jewish. So I don’t think it’s a Nazi regime.”
Next, Ricky gave his opinion on the current invasion in Ukraine. “I don’t think the United States needs to have boots on the ground or anything like that, but these people do need some support, somehow or another. It would be nice if there was a cease-fire because they are destroying the country and killing civilians. ”
“Ukraine had a nuclear bomb, but they gave it up for peace,” Ricky pointed out. “Russia has a nuclear bomb, which is concerning and makes the invasion extremely dangerous.”
The issue is complicated but affects the whole world in Ricky’s eyes. The increase in gas prices and other supplies is not as concerning as the lethal potential. Ricky said, “Nuclear weapons are destroyers.”
Ukraine was where Ricky’s grandfather was born and raised, but Ricky said he was grateful his grandfather came to America in 1908.
In the 1920s, Isaac Leinwand opened a store in Branchville, S.C., but the Depression caused Isaac to move to southeastern North Carolina to be closer to his brother. In 1935, Isaac opened Leinwand’s in Elizabethtown, where the famous retail store continues to thrive as a small, family-owned business.
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