US-Ukraine Business Council

"UKRAINE REPORT -2004"
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"

"UKRAINE REPORT-2004," Number 1
U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF)
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
Washington, D.C. and Kyiv, Ukraine, morganw@patriot.net
THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2004

HAPPY NEW YEAR, JANUARY 1, 2004
CLICK ON:
http://www.artukraine.com/newyear.htm

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM KYIV:
CLICK ON:
http://www.artukraine.com/newyear2.htm
http://www.artukraine.com/newyear3.htm

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, JANUARY 7, 2004
[Ukrainian Christmas, Julian Calendar]

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM KYIV:
CLICK ON:
Holy Trinity Gate Lavra, Kyiv: http://www.artukraine.com/xmas.htm
St. Michael's Square, Kyiv: http://www.artukraine.com/xmas2.htm
Saint Sophia Square, Kyiv: http://www.artukraine.com/xmas4.htm

UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR
GREETING CARDS 2003-2004
CLICK ON:
http://www.artukraine.com/postcards/xmpost1.htm

MERRY CHRISTMAS POSTCARDS
Postcards Over the Past 100 Years Send Greetings for a
Merry Christmas, for Joyful Holidays and Announce Christ Is Born
CLICK ON:
http://www.artukraine.com/postcards/xmaspost1.htm

INDEX OF TEN ARTICLES:

1. SEASONS GREETINGS FROM AMBASSADOR M. REZNIK
Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Washington, D.C.

2. FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Beyond the Borders of
Ukraine, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA Website
www.UkrainianOrthodoxChurchUSA.org, South Bound Brook, NJ, December, 2003

3. CARDINAL LUBOMYR HUSAR SENDS CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
Religious Information Service of Ukraine (R.I.S.U.)
Lviv, Ukraine, December 29, 2003

4. SIX CHRISTIAN CHURCH LEADERS REFLECT ON STATE OF
MORALITY IN UKRAINE AND ADDRESS FAMINE COMMEMORATION
Religious Information Service of Ukraine (R.I.S.U.)
Lviv, Ukraine, December 31, 2003

5. HOLY SUPPER--TRADITIONAL MEAL LIES AT THE
CENTER OF UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
By T.C. Mitchell, Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, Alaska, Dec 31, 2003

6. IN NEW YEAR ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE
PRESIDENT LEONID KUCHMA URGES STABILITY
UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 31 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 31, 2003

7. NEW MATH ADDS UP TO AN EXTENDED RUN FOR
UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT KUCHMA
By Seth Mydans, The New York Times, NY, NY, January 1, 2004

8. RUSSIAN PATRIARCH'S STATEMENT ON REFUSAL
TO MEET POPE
Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian, 30 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 30, 2003

9.EXPEDITION TO REMEMBER 1932-33 FAMINE ONLY PARTIALLY
COMPLETED, SAYS ORGANIZERS
Religious Information Service of Ukraine (R.I.S.U.)
Lviv, Ukraine, December 29, 2003

10. CHURCH IN MIAMI, FLORIDA REMEMBERS GENOCIDE
By Lourdes Rodriguez-Florido, Staff Writer, Sun-Sentinel.com,
South Florida's Latest News, South Florida, December 31 2003
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 1: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
=========================================================
1. SEASONS GREETINGS FROM AMBASSADOR M. REZNIK

DEAR FRIENDS!

With All My Heart I Wish You
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Let the Put Star of Peace and Joy Light Up the Forthcoming Year.
I wish You a Good Health, Happiness, Joy and Fulfillment of
All Your Dreams

The Embassy Appreciates Your Support, Cooperation, Friendship,
Help and Encouragement During the Past Year 2003, and We Look
Forward to Working
With You in the Upcoming Year 2004.

Mykhailo Reznik
Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States

CLICK ON: http://ukraineinfo.us/embassy/press-releases/Xmas.html
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 1: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
=========================================================
2. FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops
Beyond the Borders of Ukraine
Website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
www.UkrainianOrthodoxChurchUSA.org
South Bound Brook, NJ, December, 2003

Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

To the venerable and Christ-loving clergy, monastics and faithful of the
Holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church for whom "God Eternal is born".

Grace, love and peace descend upon you and strengthen you in your holy
vocation!

"Let all mortal flesh keep silence.."

The early God-inspired sacred writers and contributors to the Liturgy,
composed and set this hymn "Let all mortal flesh keep silent." to be used as
the Entrance Hymn not only of Vesperal Liturgy of Great and Holy Saturday,
but also that of this Great Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, because it
best expresses in human terms the mysteries of transforming Divine Light and
Life emanating from the manger of the Bethlehem cave and the Divine Light -
triumphant and life giving - emanating from the second manger - the stone
slab in the Jerusalem tomb.

Contemplate these two mysteries, brothers and sisters, contemplate them in
prayer inspired silence and you will come to appreciate who and what we, as
Orthodox Ukrainian Christians, are. Contemplate these two mysteries and you
will begin understand the sublime nature of that vocation to which we, along
with our brethren in Ukraine and throughout the world, are called - sealed
by water and the Spirit in Baptism and Chrismation. It is a vocation, which
is the nature of the Church established not as a political entity but for
our sanctification and salvation and that of generations to come.

We have specifically selected this as our theme for this year's observance
of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Only-begotten Son of God, Savior, Redeemer
and Benefactor because of its relevance for any time or any age. As servants
of the Lord and Shepherds whom He has entrusted with the lives of precious
souls, we are convinced that the Good News, which the weary and dismayed
shepherds received and embraced on that silent night more than twenty
centuries ago, can only be embraced and put into practice in these early
years of the twenty-first century by those who, confronted with this
miracles of miracles, "stand in reverential awe and respect" in the presence
of the Lord of lords and King of kings who comes to give Himself totally for
the life of the world and its salvation.

We, the children of a very confused, morally unstable and "what's good for
me" society, be that society here in the USA, Canada, Latin America, Europe,
Australia/New Zealand, Ukraine or any other part of God's world, really need
to act together, in the words of the Entrance Hymn cited and ".stand in
reverential awe and profound respect" before, not our brother Jesus, but
before the King of kings and Lord of lords. By His birth, He emptied
Himself totally for us and we, together with the angelic powers, welcome Him
at the Holy Eucharistic Tables of our parish churches and share his "Good
News" with others by being faithful to the evangelical admonition: "Truly, I
say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to
me" (Matthew 25:40).

It is this concept of sharing and nurturing, which is the real spirit of
Christmas and the motivation behind the Holy Supper on the eve of this
Feast, as practiced by our devout and observant people. It is this concept
of sharing and nurturing that has enabled the survival of our Holy Ukrainian
Orthodox Church in Ukraine and here beyond her borders for 1016 years.

May this year's observance of Christ's Nativity, by us and our brethren in
Ukraine be marked not by "event Orthodox Christians", but by "children of
the light and day", unambiguously dedicated to Christ and faithful to His
Gospel and Church. May God Eternal, Who was born to save all His people,
bestow upon our brethren in Ukraine and upon all of you, whom the Shepherd
of shepherds has committed to our care, every good gift of heaven and earth.
May you, in turn, share these gifts with those who are in need, thus
proclaiming:

"Christ is Born! Glorify Him!"

+ Wasyly, Metropolitan - Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
+ Constantine, Metropolitan - Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and
Diaspora
+ John, Archbishop - Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
+ Antony, Archbishop - Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
+ Vsevolod, Archbishop - Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
+ Ioan, Archbishop - Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Diaspora
+ Yurij, Archbishop - Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
+ Jeremiah, Bishop - Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Latin America Eparchy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.ukrainianorthodoxchurchusa.org/news/Nativity-Eng-03.shtml
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2004, No. 1: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
=========================================================
3. CARDINAL LUBOMYR HUSAR SENDS CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Religious Information Service of Ukraine (R.I.S.U.)
Lviv, Ukraine, December 29, 2003

LVIV.....RISU.org.ua) - Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Ukrainian
Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), released his Christmas message to the
faithful of the UGCC on 24 December 2003. The complete text follows.

Lviv, 24 December 2003

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OF HIS BEATITUDE LUBOMYR TO THE
FAITHFUL OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH

Christ is born!
Beloved in Christ!

With God's help, we have reached the Nativity of Christ. The time for
celebrating this great Christian feast evokes in us the most pleasant and
warm feelings that we have experienced since the earliest years of our
conscious understanding of reality. Every year, again and again,
effortlessly come to our thoughts the best aspects of the Christmas mystery:
the star, angel choirs in heaven, the shepherds' veneration, the gifts of
the wise men. The dark pages of the events of Christmas, like the birth of
Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem or the malice and cruelty of Herod, on the
contrary go off into the background.

It is entirely natural human behavior to focus one's attention exclusively
on the bright elements of the feast of the Nativity of Christ. For, truly,
the coming to earth of God, Who is Goodness, Truth, and Justice, should be
the happiest moment in our lives. However, with such holiness in the
background, our human actions stand out in their dark colors.

Our actions often transform what should be beautiful, elevating, and the
best things in life, into something cruel, cold, and dangerous. The
unwelcoming behavior of the inn-keepers in Bethlehem, who did not
receive the woman about to give birth, or the cruelty of Herod year after
year find their continuation in our sins.

At Christmas time, with hearts lightened, we see this with weak sight. We
try not to recall this. Then the encounter with God in His birth becomes for
us a crisis, a judgment, a source of internal agitation, for one can fool
one's self and other people, but not the Lord God.

Also, can a human being whose soul has been stained with greater or smaller
sins be comforted by the Nativity of Christ? Yes, he or she can! Christ came
to earth precisely for this: to free us from sin. So, each human being is
able fully to feel the importance and happiness of Christmas, but only on
condition that he or she sends bad thoughts, words, and actions out from his
or her heart, on condition that he or she sincerely and truly acknowledges
his or her sins and repents of them. A cleansed heart will be the greatest
gift for the Infant Jesus, Who was born in a stable and slept on the hay to
give us the gift of all-forgiving love.

Beloved in Christ! I greet you on this great feast of divine self-sacrifice
and love for human beings. Let this holy day be for each of us full of joy,
hope and peace, the source of which is the newborn Savior.
Christ is born!

+ LUBOMYR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: www.ugcc.org.ua
========================================================
WELCOME TO UKRAINE MAGAZINE IN ENGLISH
Issue Number Four for Year 2003 Just Issued. Best Magazine in English
http://www.artukraine.com/travel/wumagazine.htm
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2003, No. 119: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
=========================================================
4. SIX CHRISTIAN CHURCH LEADERS REFLECT ON STATE OF
MORALITY IN UKRAINE AND ADDRESS FAMINE COMMEMORATION

Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU)
Lviv, Ukraine, December 31, 2003

LVIV....(RISU.org.ua) - During a press conference on 29 December 2003,
leaders of six main Christian churches in Ukraine signed two joint
statements, reflecting on the state of morality in Ukraine and addressing
the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet-imposed famine.

Among those present at the press conference were Patriarch Filaret, head of
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP); Cardinal Lubomyr
Husar, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC); Bishop Markian
Trofimjak, vicar general of Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops in Ukraine;
Mykhailo Panochko, head of the All-Ukraine Union of Churches of the
Evangelical Christian Faith-Pentecostals; Oleksii Melnychuk, head of the
Brotherhood of Independent Churches and Missions of Evangelical Christian
Baptists; and Leonid Padun, head of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian
Christian Evangelical Church.

In their first statement, the six church leaders evaluated the state of
morality in Ukraine. "Society is developing a system of morals in which
material and personal values are above spiritual or social ones," reads the
statement. "Every year, over one million innocent babies are killed.

To gain power, which is treated as a means to become rich, rather than a
way to serve and add to the common good, some are trying to divide Ukraine
into eastern and western, opposing the right bank of the Dnipro River
against the left one, Russian speaking people against those who speak
Ukrainian, Orthodox faithful against Catholics. All these mistakes need to
be corrected."

The church leaders called upon everyone, regardless of their denominations
and political positions, to commemorate the victims of the genocide against
the Ukrainian people.

A second joint statement by the above mentioned leaders of Christian
churches of Ukraine states, "The famine is a fact of genocide against the
Ukrainian people, orchestrated by the Soviet regime, and a crime before
humanity."

In addition, the hierarchs addressed Ukrainian citizens, asking to create a
national memorial to the famine victims. "Addressing the whole Ukrainian
nation, the hierarchs actualized their request that a proper national
memorial complex be built in Ukraine," said Fr. Oleksa Petriv, advisor for
the UGCC on relations with administrative bodies.

"This request also entails erecting numerous monuments in order to preserve
the memory and introducing lessons in school curricula dedicated to the
famine," he stressed. Fr. Petriv expressed his hope that this standpoint of
the churches will be reflected in corresponding state decrees.

Finally, the church leaders emphasized that "for all humanity, last year was
a year of serious reflections and searching for ways to future development.
We have encountered the challenge of globalization, which may bring on a
spirit of excessive consumerism and craving for pleasure. Self-isolation
within one religion or ideology, connected with violence, and fanatical
unwillingness to perceive viewpoints and thoughts of others, is another
extreme.

"The opposition between supporters of these two extremes can lead
to the escalation of violence and injustice in the world, or even to the
physical destruction of humanity," reads the statement. (END)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources: www.voanews.com/ukrainian, www.unian.net, http://mignews.com.ua
and the "Word of Life online" information service. [RISU Story edited by the
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)]
http://www.risu.org.ua/article.php?sid=1122&l=en
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 1: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
=========================================================
5. HOLY SUPPER--TRADITIONAL MEAL LIES AT THE
CENTER OF UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

By T.C. Mitchell, Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, Alaska, Dec 31, 2003

PALMER, Alaska........Putting a lighted candle in a window is one
of the many traditions the Tokar family observes during their Ukrainian
Christmas. The candle welcomes "strangers or lost souls" who might
pass by during the night of the Holy Supper.

Those who enter for a warm meal should greet their benefactors
with "Khrystos Rodyvsya." If that doesn't roll off the tongue,
try "Christ is born."

The family will respond with "Slavim Yoho," or "Let us glorify him."

A single candle, a brief exchange, a meal of simple foods exemplify
the quiet Christmas Eve celebrated Jan. 6 in the Orthodox community.

"It's a very solemn dinner. It's a very solemn time," said Gloria
Tokar, who is the matriarch of a small Ukrainian family that moved to
the Valley three years ago after spending nearly 40 years in
Anchorage.

"It's more family-oriented," said Jerry Tokar, the patriarch of the
three-generation clan. "There are certain procedures you go through
to rejoice as a family."

The doctrines of their religion can be difficult to follow, both
said, because the Ukrainian community is tiny, and foodstuffs for the
Holy Supper, for example, are hard to come by.

That wasn't the case when the two were high school sweethearts in
Chicago, where their culture thrived in large neighborhoods.

"It was easier to hold on to the traditional customs there," said
Jerry, who was born in Sumy, Ukraine, in 1939 and survived, with his
mother, Stalin's forced labor camps -- the "Gulag Archipelago" --
that claimed the lives of millions.

"In Chicago there were large congregations. You had like religious
beliefs; you shared a community."

Out Palmer way, the Ukrainian community that meets every Sunday in
the small, older Sacred Heart church on Bogard Road consists of 30 to
50 congregants, or "about 15 to 18 families," Jerry said. Included in
that "Byzantine outreach" are the Tokars' four daughters and their
growing families.

Gloria said she has coloring books for her grandchildren that relate
to the Tokars' deep belief in their religion and its roots.

"It's harder and harder with all the changes," she said, referring
to "the modernization" of today's working world that can inflict
distance between generations.

"We just call them and tell them, 'After work, you're coming over for
this dinner,' " Gloria said as she gently pressed her hand over one
of the linen heirlooms from the old country.

One of the linens she displayed is an embroidered tablecloth rich in
colors and designs that convey the intricate craftsmanship common
among Ukrainians.

Tablecloths have an important role in the Holy Supper. Tradition has
it that two tablecloths are needed: One for the ancestors of the
family, the second for the living members. And, as in the Tokar home,
a little hay is placed under the tablecloths as a reminder that
Christ was born in a manger.

Another tradition calls for an extra place-setting for the deceased
family members, whose souls, according to belief, come on Christmas
Eve and partake of the food. This year, the Tokars must set a place
for a daughter's deceased mother-in-law.

The centerpiece, the kolach, on the table is always the same: one
long candle through three rings of bread that symbolize the Trinity;
the ring shape alludes to eternity.

Traditionally there are 12 courses in the Holy Supper, dedicated to
each of Christ's apostles. The courses are meatless because there is
a 40-day fast prior to Christmas Day.

Wheat is an important part of the Ukrainian fete. It represents the
ancestors of the family, and it's believed their spirits reside in it
during the holidays. With that in mind, a didukh -- a sheaf of wheat
stalks -- is placed under the icons in the house. With that
accomplished, as tradition has it, the head of the household begins
the meal by placing a bowl of kutya at the table.

Gloria Tokar's version of kutya begins with sorting through the wheat
and washing it under running water, then soaking it in warm water
overnight. Salt lightly. In the same water, bring wheat to a boil,
then cover and simmer until tender -- 2 to 6 hours.

While the wheat simmers, boil 1/2 cup of poppy seeds and then drain
them. Cover the poppy seeds in lukewarm water and soak for about 30
minutes. Drain well and grind finely.

Now boil 1 part of honey to 2 parts of water to make a syrup. Cool
and combine with wheat to make a medium thin mixture. Stir in the
ground poppy seeds.

Serve in a sherbet glass or fruit dish and garnish with chopped nuts.

To properly end the 40-day fast, each member of the family must
partake of the kutya.

Gloria said the Holy Supper traditionally includes pickled mushrooms,
beets and herring. The Tokars, though, usually save one salmon from
the summer fishing trips to serve for this meal. Cookies and fruit
compote with chopped nuts are served as dessert.

But the highlight of the meal, at least for the Tokars, is Gloria's
famous borscht with potatoes.

"She makes very good borscht," said Jerry. "No matter how big a pot
she makes, there's never enough."

Gloria says her borscht expertise comes from many sources, including
her now-deceased mother-in-law, recipes from the old country and
conversations with women aboard the giant Russian oil skimmer
Vydaghubsky that arrived here to help during the Exxon Valdez spill.
Jerry, an interpreter of several languages, was on board to help with
communications.

Borscht With Potatoes

The ingredients may vary according to individual taste, Gloria says.

. 2 medium beets cut into thin strips
. 1 medium carrot cut into thin strips
. 3 to 4 cups water
. 3 cups vegetable stock
. 1 medium potato, diced
. 2 medium potatoes, quartered
. 1/2 cup sour cream
. 1 small onion, chopped
. 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
. 1/2 tomatoes
. 1 cup shredded cabbage
. salt and pepper
. 1/2 teaspoon sugar
. chopped dill

» Cover the beets and carrot with water and vegetable stock. Cook
until partially done. Add potatoes and continue cooking. When
potatoes are tender, remove them and mash. Combine mashed potatoes
with sour cream and set aside.

» Cook the onion in butter until clear. Add the tomatoes and simmer
for a few minutes. Add the cabbage and cook until tender. Add this
mixture to the borscht.

» Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the sugar. Simmer to
blend the flavors a few minutes. Add the potato mixture and chopped
dill. (END) (ARTUIS)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Photographs: The Tokars of Palmer celebrate Christmas on the Julian calendar
with a meal called the Holy Supper, which includes nuts, sweets, pickled
herring, kutya, assorted dried fruits, borscht, dill potatoes, pickled
beets, bread (the symbol of the Trinity) and fish (not shown). (Photo by Bob
Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News)
LINK: http://www.adn.com/life/story/4568512p-4540721c.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS MENU

Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage, Alaska, Dec 31, 2003

On Christmas Eve, to commemorate Christ's birth, a ritual meal is prepared
with 12 meatless dishes representing the 12 apostles. The menus differ among
the regions of Ukraine, but this is a sample:

1. Kutya: A porridge of wheat, poppy seeds, honey and nuts.
2. Borscht: A soup of beets, potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage and
tomatoes.
3. Baked/fried fish: Any variety of fish baked or fried, but if fried,
only vegetable/olive/hemp oil are used in keeping with the meatless nature
of the meal.
4. Oseledsi: Pickled fish.
5. Holubtsi: Cabbage rolls filled with grain.
6 and 7. Varenyky: Pirogies (pastry turnovers) filled with potato and
sauerkraut.
8. Cooked beans
9. Kapusta: Cabbage and peas.
10. Beets with mushrooms
11. Fruit compote
12. Pampushky: Deep-fried dumplings filled with poppy seeds, apricots or
prunes. -- from www.radioua.com
LINK: http://www.adn.com/life/story/4568511p-4540734c.html
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 1: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
=========================================================
6. IN NEW YEAR ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE
PRESIDENT LEONID KUCHMA URGES STABILITY

UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 31 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 31, 2003

December

My dear compatriots! The year that is drawing to a close will be remembered
differently by each of us. But at such a time, it is the best that should be
remembered: how children grew up; how dreams were fulfilled; what was
achieved. So the first thing that I would like to wish for all of you is
that your most cherished dreams should always be fulfilled.

Like everyone, I also have a dream. I do everything in order for it to
become reality every day. I dream of seeing a Ukraine that is flourishing
and developed. I dream of a Ukraine that will become a regional leader, that
will feed the world with its black earth as it did formerly; of a Ukraine we
will be proud of. And this definitely will come to be.

Of course, I agree with those who say that very little has been done. I do
not absolve myself or the executive power of responsibility for the
difficult social condition of the country. But the social and economic
results, especially in the last three years, indicate convincingly that the
foundations of a fully-fledged social state are being laid in Ukraine. The
improvement in the economic situation allows the authorities to direct their
main efforts at resolving social problems. The key problem is overcoming the
polarization of society according to level of income.

Observing what is happening in our near and distant neighbours, I dream of
and work towards preserving in Ukraine the stability that is so important
and valuable. Is there not a lesson for us in the experience of other
countries to which we are not indifferent, when they become toys in the
hands of powerful third forces? Do we not see how the speculation of
politicians on the notorious stereotypes of the past returns to life
complexes that appeared to have been forever consigned to history? And are
we really not going to draw our own Ukrainian lessons from these processes
going on around us?

My dear compatriots! This is the most important lesson. For stable,
evolutionary growth, Ukraine needs social and political stability like it
needs air. Ukraine needs a self-sufficient social and political compromise,
where politicians step back from their ambitions, and as a result the
Ukrainian people win.

This compromise is of vital significance for Ukraine, since we are so
varied. But we are united in the Ukrainian nation. We are Kiev and
Dnipropetrovsk, Halychyna and Donbas, Bukovyna and Polissya, Crimea and
Podillya. We have been scattered by fate around the world. And my New Year
greeting goes out also for those Ukrainians who are at this moment recalling
their homeland in a foreign land.

And because 12 years ago we took the decision to create an independent state
for our united Ukrainian people, people of different nationalities for whom
the Ukrainian land and Ukrainian sky are native, we bear our own
responsibility for our own fate.

I know that many of you do not like politics. I understand this reaction. It
is impossible to regard without a smile how this or that politician changes
his position five times a month, avoids saying something definite ten times
a month, or says anything at all in order for everyone to like him and to
say nothing definite.

But there is a positive aspect to this. More and more of us understand that
our personal life depends on our personal activity. And politics will not be
the essence of our life. My life turned out in such a way that I am involved
in politics. And observing how our economy is gradually emerging from deep
systemic crisis, I dream of only one thing. That no cataclysms should occur
that could interfere in this. I am sure that you also want this.

I am sure that next year these positive evolutionary changes will continue
and accelerate. But there will not be a cataclysm. There will not be a
revolution of the sort from which Ukraine has suffered more than enough.

As the outcome of the political reform that we are completing at last, the
system of power will become more responsible, democratic, more European and,
at the same time, more effective. By our joint efforts we will ensure that
the well-being of everyone will grow.

In society predominate those who share the immemorial values of a great
European people, which is what we Ukrainians are. For our true European
choice is the freedom that is in our character. And it cannot exist in
poverty.

I am sure that we will achieve all this. The authorities will be severe and
consistent in order not to allow the Ukrainian boat to be rocked, or for it
to be turned into a playing card for alien forces.

A free and affluent Ukrainian society in its own state will occupy a worthy
place in the world family of peoples.

At this moment, I am thinking of our lads, our young soldiers in Iraq and
other hot spots of our planet that is so far from being peaceful. I send
them my New Year greetings. Thank you for your service.

It is not easy for them. Each of them, of course, would like to see in the
New Year at home with their families, but they are carrying out their
peacekeeping service, which is so necessary to people, of their own free
will. And this will is good. They are protecting peace and order, and
helping to establish a peaceful, free and quiet life.

I understand the concern of those who consider that Ukrainians should not
work in hot spots, who fear the retribution of terrorists from which Ukraine
may suffer. It is pleasant to think that it is possible to sit things out in
one's house on the edge. But we should not forget that in a fire it is the
furthest house that is burred first. It is not possible to live in the world
community and to be apart from it.

Dear friends! In a few seconds, the New Year will begin. Wishing you a happy
New Year and a merry Christmas, let's remember the best that made the
departing year memorable for us and let's wish our kin happiness. Let's be
concerned about our country in the way we are concerned about our families.

Let's take the same attitude to our country as we take to our families.

Lifting this festive glass for the health of each of you and for my own
family - presidents are people too -, I ask you to remember of which parents
we are children. We are the descendants of Volodymyr the Great, Yaroslav the
Wise, Borden Khmelnytskyy, Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Hrushevskyy, Taras
Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrayinka. We should be proud that we live in the time of
an independent state, which was dreamed of and fought for and which is now
being rebuilt by the current generation of Ukrainians.

Happy New Year! Happy Christmas!
[Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma]
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 1: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
=========================================================
7. NEW MATH ADDS UP TO AN EXTENDED RUN FOR
UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT KUCHMA

By Seth Mydans, The New York Times
New York, New York, January 1, 2004

MOSCOW, Dec. 31 - He may not be the most popular man in the land, but
when it comes to mathematics, President Leonid D. Kuchma of Ukraine comes
out quite well.

On Tuesday, the country's Supreme Court ruled that although he was
completing his second five-year term this year, he was exempt from the
Constitution's two-term limit because the Constitution itself had only been
in place for eight years.

"Limits envisaged by the Constitution are relevant to a person who occupied
the presidential post for two terms and was given the powers in line with
the existing Constitution," one of the judges, Volodymyr Voznyuk, told
reporters.

In other words, Mr. Kuchma's first election, in 1994, does not count. His
re-election in 1999 was in fact, under the Constitution, his first election.

Mr. Kuchma benefits from infighting among the country's fragmented
opposition parties, but they joined in condemning Tuesday's ruling.

"The Constitutional Court has simply turned into an instrument to serve the
authorities," said Ihor Ostash, a parliamentary deputy from the Our Ukraine
faction, according to Reuters. "The court decision is a cause for grave
concern. It shows once again what is the level of democracy in Ukraine."

Some opposition members said they might hold mass rallies next month,
inspired by a popular uprising last month in Georgia, another former Soviet
republic, that forced President Eduard A. Shevardnadze from power.

"Georgia's precedent must be a lesson and a warning for the Ukrainian
authorities," said one opposition faction, headed by Yulia Tymoshenko, in a
statement. Mr. Kuchma does not think much of that notion.

"First of all, I'd like to say that Ukrainians are not Georgians," he told a
news conference this month. "I am positive this situation cannot repeat
itself in Ukraine."

He added: "Does someone want to split Ukraine into two parts? Do not rock
the boat that is already rocking on the waves battering Ukraine today."

Opposition forces, which range from Communists to reformist liberals, have
come together over the past three years in mass street rallies that have
failed to shake the president's hold on power. They accuse him of human
rights abuses, corruption, vote rigging and arms dealing. The most emotional
issue has been the widespread belief that he has been involved in the
killing of journalists, particularly Georgy Gongadze, who campaigned against
corruption and was killed in 2000.

In early 2001, a presidential security guard released secretly taped
conversations that appeared to implicate him in the abduction and killing of
Mr. Gongadze. Last year, more secret tape recordings seemed to link him to
proposals to smuggle arms to Iraq and other nations, leading to strong
condemnation from Washington.
Opposition groups say that in a fair vote he would not be re-elected, but
they say he has a habit of rigging elections.

At his recent news conference, Mr. Kuchma, a former missile factory
director, repeated his assertion that he would not stand again for
president. But he jokingly warned his opponents not to urge him too strongly
to run "because I'll go ahead and agree."

His spokeswoman, Oksana Kosareva, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that
his position had not changed "yet." Mr. Kuchma was in Germany recovering
from abdominal surgery last month and was not available for comment. (END)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2003, No. 119: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
=========================================================
8. RUSSIAN PATRIARCH'S STATEMENT ON REFUSAL
TO MEET POPE

Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian, 30 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 30, 2003

Moscow, 30 December: Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Aleksiy II has
stated he categorically refuses to meet the Pope until the Vatican makes
real steps toward improving relations with the Russian Orthodox church.

" Unfortunately, apart from a declaration about the wish to improve
relations, meet the head of the Russian church and visit Russia, we don't
see anything specific being done to improve relations between our churches",
Aleksiy told journalists on Tuesday [30 December] in Moscow.

Aleksiy said that 10 or more Catholic orders were openly conducting
missionary work throughout Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus - above
all in children's homes, where they are rebaptising children already
baptised to the Orthodox faith and bringing them up in the Catholic
tradition.
Aleksiy said all this makes it impossible for him to meet the Pope in
person.

"I can only justify such a step to my congregation if concrete steps are
taken by the Roman Catholic church to improve our relations. I categorically
refuse to meet `in front of the cameras'", he said.

He also said he regretted the fact that the Vatican and the Moscow
Patriarchate had different approaches to the issue of a possible meeting.

"The Vatican wants the meeting to take place in front of TV cameras to show
that we have no problems. But, unfortunately, problems do exist", Aleksiy
said.

"If this meeting takes place, we want it to result in specific improvements
in relations between our churches," he said.

Aleksiy does not welcome the possibility of the "Ukrainian option" for the
Pope to visit Russia. He recalled that the Pope had in the past visited
Ukraine against the wishes of the entire episcopate of the country's
canonical Orthodox church, which told the Pope that his visit would not be
appropriate at the time and would not lead to peace, but would on the
contrary intensify the dispute between the two confessions.

"Unfortunately the Pope did not heed this call", Aleksiy said. (END)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITOR'S NOTE: Unfortunately the absolutely essential and very
important democratic principles of freedom of religion and separation of
church and state have not yet reached Aleksiy II.
=========================================================
FOLK ART MAGAZINE: NARODNE MYSTETSTVO
http://www.artukraine.com/primitive/artmagazine.htm
A Great Magazine in Ukrainian....Excellent Ukrainian Magazine
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 1: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
=========================================================
9. EXPEDITION TO REMEMBER 1932-33 FAMINE ONLY PARTIALLY
COMPLETED, SAYS ORGANIZERS

Religious Information Service of Ukraine (R.I.S.U.)
Lviv, Ukraine, December 29, 2003

LVIV....(RISU.org.ua) - During a press conference on 25 December 2003, the
organizers of an academic and memorial expedition "In the Footsteps of the
Famine of 1933" summarized their work and stressed that it was only
partially completed. Participants of the expedition noted that
Greek-Catholic and Orthodox priests and bishops cooperated closely with
them.

Among the goals of the expedition were the arrangement of burial places of
the famine victims, conducting memorial services, and studying the
consequences of the famine, in particular, its impact on social and
political processes in the affected regions.

The organizers stated that they did not manage to fulfill all the tasks and
covered only six regions out of 16 as they initially planned. These include
the southern Ukrainian Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions and the central
Ukrainian Cherkasy, Zhytomyr and Kyivan regions.

Participants of the expedition said that they cooperated closely with
priests and bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous
Orthodox Church. They also pointed out that the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which has the most communities in the
affected regions, did not officially cooperate with the expedition. However,
they admitted that in many cities priests of the UOC-MP supported the
expedition and served memorial services for the famine victims. Some of
these priests suffered for their civic courage. Fr. Serhii Chorba of the
UOC-MP was persecuted by his church and had to transfer to the UOC-KP.
Another priest from southern Ukraine's Kherson, Fr. Vasyl Semeriak, was
beaten by unknown people and his house was repeatedly set on fire.

The organizers complained that despite promises from the Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine to support the expedition, the authorities did very
little and failed to allocate the necessary funds. Nevertheless, they
expressed their gratitude to the Odesa and Kyiv regional administration for
their assistance.

According to participants, the regional administration in eastern Ukraine's
Luhansk region denied that the famine took place at all. The organizers of
the expedition believe that the reason for such an attitude is a change of
the state policy over the last decade. According to them, while during the
commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the famine, monuments to the
victims were erected by the state, today mostly local communities and
churches do it.

Because the government did not allocate the money, the organizers did not
conduct a planned conference, to be entitled "Physical and Spiritual
Genocide of the Ukrainian People: Methods, Problems and Consequences."
Instead, on 28 November 2003, an international scholarly conference entitled
"The Man-made Famine of 1932 and 1933 in Ukraine: Main Protagonists and
Mechanisms of Realization," was held in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, in the
Interregional Academy of Personnel Management.

Finally, the organizers of the expedition believe that this campaign needs
to be continued and all actions to commemorate the famine victims have to be
prolonged for another two years. They emphasized that the government must
control the allocation of budget money and its use according to designated
purposes in various areas.

[RISU Note: The academic and memorial expedition "In the Footsteps of the
Famine of 1933" started on 15 May 2003 with the participation of an
interregional civic union "The Organization of Patriots of Ukraine" and
Christian denominations of Ukraine. On 5 August 2003, the Cabinet of
Ministers
of Ukraine included it in the list of governmental projects. On 18 August
2003,
participants of the expedition reported on their work at the World Congress
of Ukrainians.] Source: www.ugcc.org.ua (END) (ARTUIS)
http://www.risu.org.ua/article.php?sid=1117&offsets=&l=en
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 1: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
=========================================================
10.. CHURCH IN MIAMI, FLORIDA REMEMBERS GENOCIDE

By Lourdes Rodriguez-Florido, Staff Writer
Sun-Sentinel.com, South Florida's Latest News
South Florida, December 31 2003

Seventy years have passed since the horror, but the tears still flow with
the memories.

For Hollywood resident Anna Snihatsch, 78, they are memories of a hunger so
great that she was forced to eat grass and the parts of wheat that are
usually fed to pigs.

For Alexandra Medwit, 83, of Pompano Beach, they are memories of watching
her mother and brother starve to death.

For Antonina Husak, 80, of Davie, they are memories that include a neighbor
gone mad with starvation who tried to eat his own child.

All three women were children during the forced famine that killed from 6
million to 10 million people in Ukraine in 1932-33. They shared their
stories recently during a 70th anniversary commemoration of the famine at
the Dormition-Assumption of the Theotokos Ukrainian Catholic Church in
Miami.

The event included a prayer service, "fasting" lunch, candlelight
procession, narrative dance and eyewitness accounts of this little known
horror of the 20th century.

The famine came about as a result of Communist leader Joseph Stalin's drive
to industrialize the Soviet Union, according to accounts in a film,
documents and such books as Execution by Hunger: The Hidden Holocaust, by
Miron Dolot.

A 1988 U.S. Congressional Commission on the Status of the Ukraine Famine
concluded that "Stalin and those around him committed genocide against
Ukrainians in 1932-1933."

Still, many people to this day do not know about the horror, mainly because
it was hidden from the public at the time. Stalin had sealed the Ukrainian
borders and the media at the time failed to report on the situation.

"We decided this anniversary had to be observed because hardly anyone knows
about it," said Pompano Beach resident Daniel Krysa, a member of the
coordinating committee of the South Florida Ukrainian Community, which
organized the commemoration.

The group promotes cultural, educational and philanthropic activities, and
draws participation from the approximately 400 Ukrainian-American families
in South Florida's tri-county area.

About 150 people were present at the commemoration event. Many cried when
the survivors spoke.

"I think that touched me the most," said Karyn Maksymowich Wilk of Weston.
"It's one thing when you read about it, but to actually hear it from a
survivor's point of view is powerful."

The famine started when Stalin, looking to finance his industrialization of
the Soviet Union, enforced a collectivization of agriculture and enacted
crippling grain quotas on peasant farmers to force them to join the
collective farms.

Resisters were arrested and executed, and crops and grains were confiscated,
leaving villagers with little or no food. While people starved, grain was
sold to Western markets to help finance the industrialization.

"It was awful, awful, " recalled Snihatsch, her eyes filling with tears.
"How can anyone do this to people? ... There was nothing, nothing. No bread.
Nothing."

Medwit recalled how her brother turned into a living skeleton before he
died; her mother, grandfather, cousins and uncle died. Only she and her
father survived.

"My daughter is 53 now," she said. "My mom died at 33. She was a young
woman. She didn't want to die."

Husak recalls the bodies of the dead being loaded in carts in her village.
Sometimes the nearly dead were just loaded on top of the already dead, she
said.

For years now, Ukrainians around the globe have spoken about the famine and
genocide, and unsuccessfully lobbied to get the Pulitzer Prize board to
strip the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for correspondence from the late Walter
Duranty, a reporter for The New York Times who at the time covered the
Soviet Union.

Critics claim that Duranty failed to report the truth about the famine. Many
think that Duranty, who had been granted a rare interview with Stalin,
wanted to retain his favored access to the Soviet government.

On Nov. 21, the Associated Press reported that the Pulitzer Prize board
decided against rescinding Pulitzer because "there was not clear and
convincing evidence of a deliberate deception" by Duranty, and because he
was not alive to present his side of the story.

"[The decision] was very, very disappointing to me and to the whole
community," said Oksana Piaseckyj, a Sunny Isles resident who is a member of
the Ukrainian coordinating committee. (END) (ARTUIS)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-pp31ukrainedec31,0,682417
5.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
==========================================================
"UKRAINE REPORT-2004," No. 1: THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2004

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