Search site
Action Ukraine Report

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary

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

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 96
Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA), Huntingdon Valley, PA
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, FRIDAY, June 11, 2004

-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"

1. GERMANS INVESTING IN WESTERN UKRAINE
By Roman Olearchyk, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Viktoria Braychenko, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

2. UKRAINE PRESIDENT BACKS DISPUTED STEELWORKS SALE
UT1, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 9 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

3. CONTENDERS NAMED IN SALE OF UKRAINE'S LARGEST
STEELWORKS COMPANY KRYVORIZHSTAL
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 9 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

4. UKRAINE CHIEF PROSECUTOR WANTS TO ARREST
OPPOSITION FIGURE YULIYA TYMOSHENKO
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 10 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

5. UKRAINE PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ATTACKS "CLANS"
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 10 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

6. UKRAINE'S OPPOSITION DISMISSES KUCHMA'S
ANNOUNCEMENT HE WON'T SEEK REELECTION AS BLUFF
Aleksandar Vasovic, AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Jun 10, 2004

7. GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Ukraine is a key state for Europe
By Serhiy Solodky, The Day Weekly Digest in English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 8, 2004

8. UKRAINE OFFERS HELP NATIONS IN EFFORTS FOR
A NON-NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA
Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, 10 Jun 04

9. "REAGAN AND UKRAINE"
EDITORIAL, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

10. KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO-CHUMACHENKO:
IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO INFLUENCE MY HUSBAND
"Our Ukraine Press," Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 10, 2004

11. JACK PALANCE REJECTS RUSSIAN AWARD
Declaring "I'm Ukrainian, not Russian", Palance walks out of
Russian Film Festival in Hollywood
By Stephen Bandera, Friday, June 11, 2004, for June 20 English
language supplement of National Tribune (National'na Trybuna, NY)

12. RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN RELATIONS
A discussion meeting with Oleksandr Sushko, Director of the
Center for Peace, Conversion and Foreign Policy of Ukraine
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP)
Washington, D.C., Friday, June 11, 2004

13. TARAS SHEVCHENKO: "REACHING TARAS'S HEIGHTS"
What kind of Ukraine can one see from Chernecha Hill?
By Ihor Siundiukov, The Day Weekly Digest in English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 8, 2004
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
=========================================================
1. GERMANS INVESTING IN WESTERN UKRAINE

By Roman Olearchyk, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Viktoria Braychenko, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

KYIV - An auto parts manufacturer co-owned by two of Germany's largest
companies is hoping to pump up to 40 million euros into a new auto wiring
factory in western Ukraine.

Achim Stepczynski, business development manager of Volkswagen Bordnetze,
a 50-50 joint venture between Volkswagen and Siemens, said he visited the
western Ukrainian region in late May to explore the option of investing
between 20 million and 40 million euros into an auto wiring plant that would
employ up to 4,000 Ukrainians.

The plant's main client will be Volkswagen, which controls almost 20 percent
of the automobile market in Western Europe. "We are in the beginning of a
pilot phase," Stepczynski said. If all goes well, the plant could be
operational by 2006, he added. Stepczynski said that he and his colleagues
visited several oblasts in western Ukraine, including Lviv, Zakarpattya,
Rivne and Volyn.

During the trip, Stepczynski was accompanied by Karin Rau, head of the
German Economic Delegation in Ukraine. Stepczynski and Rau discussed the
investment plans with regional government officials.

One insider said that the planned facility, if built, will likely produce
auto wiring, out of imported wire and harness kits, for Skoda automobiles.
Volkswagen Bordnetze produces auto wiring harnesses for automobile brands
that belong to the Volkswagen group, including Volkswagens, Skodas, Seats
and Audis. The company employs more than 9,000 people at 13 locations.

ASSEMBLY

If Volkswagen Bordnetze does build the facility, it won't be the first auto
wiring plant in Ukraine. Germany's Leoni, a major automotive wiring
supplier, started production last year at a new 40-million euro,
33,000-square-meter auto wiring production facility in Striy, a small town
in Lviv oblast. The German company also launched a smaller facility in
Mukachevo, in Zakarpattya oblast.

Leoni's two new plants represent one of the largest investments by a German
company in Ukraine, and one of the largest single foreign direct investments
the nation has seen since independence. Besides Leoni's production
facilities, Japanese company Yazaki, a major developer of vehicle wiring
systems, recently opened a $35-million plant in Zakarpattya oblast.
Stepczynski said his company's production facility in Ukraine will be
comparable to those operated by Leoni and Yazaki.

More auto part manufacturers are expected to follow, shifting production
facilities from Central Europe to Ukraine and other CIS countries, where
labor and production costs are lower that in EU member countries. A
representative of Germany's Bosch, a major auto part manufacturer, told the
Post that his company had visited western Ukraine in April to explore
cost-cutting production opportunities.

Andry Beyzyk, head of the western Ukrainian Committee of the Kyiv-based
European Business Association, said western Ukraine is potentially
attractive to European manufacturers seeking to cut costs by relocating
labor- and cost-intensive processes.

"Western Ukraine is attractive because of its proximity to EU markets and
cheap labor," said Beyzyk, who is also general manager of Western Ukrainian
Management Consulting, a business consulting firm that advises investors in
the region. "Enlargement of the EU is expected to increase the cost of
manufacturing in Central European countries [such as Poland, Slovakia, the
Czech Republic]."

Rau said her bureau plans to open a permanent office in Lviv with the goal
of promoting German business interests. German companies invested about
$18 million in the region last year. "No region of Ukraine can boast the
same quantity of German investment as Lviv region," the Lviv Regional State
Administration quoted Rau as saying. "After the successful realization of
the Leoni project, German investors got the green light for investment
projects in the region."

Although Volkswagen does not have its own production facilities in Ukraine,
Skodas and Volkswagens are assembled at the Eurocar plant, located in
Ukraine near the Hungarian border. (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
=========================================================
2. UKRAINE PRESIDENT BACKS DISPUTED STEELWORKS SALE

UT1, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 9 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

KIEV - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has indicated his support for the
sale of Ukraine's largest steelworks, Kryvorizhstal. He was speaking at a
regular press conference after a court in Kiev rejected a complaint by the
parliamentary privatization commission chief, Valentyna Semenyuk, who said
the terms of the tender favoured Ukrainian tycoons. Several big
multinationals have submitted their bids.

The following is the text of a report by Ukrainian state-owned television
UT1 on 9 June:

[Presenter] And now to the privatization of the steel giant Kryvorizhstal.
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma is confident that the pros are much
stronger than contras here. The main thing is to give the company an
efficient owner, the president said. He cited the example of the
Dniprodzerzhynsk steelworks, which managed to sort out its pile of debt
only after it was sold to an efficient Ukrainian owner.

[Kuchma] This decision should be made by the government and the State
Property Fund. They made the decision [to put the company up for sale], and
they should make the final decision. Privatization cannot be stopped - I
mean privatization in general, not Kryvorizhstal. But we can see now that
the situation always improves after a company gets an efficient owner. (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
=========================================================
3. CONTENDERS NAMED IN SALE OF UKRAINE'S LARGEST
STEELWORKS COMPANY KRYVORIZHSTAL

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 9 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

KIEV - The State Property Fund of Ukraine has made public the list of
companies which have submitted tender applications in the privatization of
the state-owned stake in the Kryvorizhstal steelworks.

UNIAN learnt from the press service of the State Property Fund of Ukraine
that the following have submitted applications: the Invest Metal Union
(Kiev), Partner Ltd (Chomonyn village, Transcarpathian Region), Severstal
(Cherepovets city, Russia), the Nizhniy Tagil metallurgy plant (Moscow), the
Ispat Coal Consortium (Kiev) and the Industrial Group (Kiev). [Passage
omitted: background to sale]

Ukraine submitted for sale its 93.02 per cent shareholding in the plant on
12 May 2004. The offer price is 3.8bn hryvnyas and the tender will end on 15
June 2004. (END)
[Information about UNIAN, News from Ukraine, http://www.unian.net/eng.]
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
=========================================================
4. UKRAINE CHIEF PROSECUTOR WANTS TO ARREST
OPPOSITION FIGURE YULIYA TYMOSHENKO

TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 10 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

KIEV - Tomorrow [Friday] the [Ukrainian] Prosecutor-General's Office is
going to send to the Supreme Council [parliament] its latest request to
strip [leader of the opposition Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc] Yuliya Tymoshenko
of her immunity as an MP on charges of organizing bribery.

According to Prosecutor-General [Henadiy] Vasylyev, the investigation has
indeed proved three episodes of bribing judges. The goal of these actions of
Tymoshenko is to secure the closure of criminal cases involving the United
Energy Systems of Ukraine [UESU] corporation, which used to be headed by
Tymoshenko, the prosecutor-general said.

The grounds for launching this criminal case are a statement by a Volodymyr
Borovko who called himself Tymoshenko's aide. He said that he acted upon
Tymoshenko's instructions and that he was to give 125,000 dollars to a judge
for the release of [Yuliya Tymoshenko's] father-in-law Henadiy Tymoshenko
and the UESU's former chief accountant [Lidiya Sokolchenko].

The preliminary results of a test of a video recording [presented by
Borovko, alleging that he discussed bribery with Tymoshenko] of the possible
crime show that the recording was not doctored, Vasylyev said.

For her part, Yuliya Tymoshenko has rejected all charges, saying that the
recording was doctored. Yuliya Tymoshenko's husband Oleksandr Tymoshenko
has been put on a wanted list for committing a serious crime. Precisely this
wording can be seen on the official Interior Ministry web site. Along with
Oleksandr Tymoshenko, other UESU corporation employees, Yevhen Shaho
and Lidiya Sokolchenko, are on the wanted list.

[Interfax-Ukraine news agency (Kiev, in Russian 1252 gmt 10 Jun 04) said the
Prosecutor-General's Office was to send the request to parliament today.]
[Please send queries to kiev.bbcm@mon.bbc.co.uk] (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Check Out the News Media for the Latest News From and About Ukraine
Daily News Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/newsgallery.htm
=========================================================
5.UKRAINE PARLIAMENT SPEAKER LYTVYN ATTACKS "CLANS"

Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 10 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

KIEV - Ukrainian parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn has made a scathing
attack on what he described as "clans, oligarchs and total corruption", an
apparent allusion to political and business groups close to President Leonid
Kuchma.

Speaking at the Agrarian Party congress on 9 June, shortly after being
unanimously elected as the party's new leader, he said Ukraine's ruling
elite was lining its pockets and beggaring the country in the process. Parts
of his speech were quoted by the leading opposition web site Ukrayinska
Pravda on 10 June.

"Ukraine is close to becoming a totally corrupt country ruled by oligarchs
and party-clan groupings," Lytvyn said. "The time has already come to raise
the issue of creating an anti-clan front in Ukraine, because only the nation
as a whole can stand up to the small group who are like parasites on the
people.

"In the entire history of Ukraine, never before has there been a ruling
group that would create its riches by pilfering state assets and national
treasures, a group that would solve its problems by merging with the
government, a group that would build nothing but offices and palaces, and
a corrupt state modelled on themselves.

"Stalin had just one overcoat - and the entire country. But these people
have everything now. Furthermore, they control the state, and use this power
to further their own economic interests."

The statement appears to be in line with what many Ukrainian analysts have
been describing as the gradual transformation of Lytvyn, the former chief of
presidential administration, from a loyal supporter of President Kuchma into
an independent figure.

Lytvyn made it clear, however, that his attack was not against Kuchma, who
he said would "go down in history as the statesman who practically built the
structure of modern Ukraine, radically changed its economic system and made
the country a part the international and European community".

Lytvyn was adamant that he did not plan to run for president in the October
election. But he added that in its relations with any presidential
candidate, the Agrarian Party would not be "a subservient pro-government
structure which is only needed when the time comes to support yet another
trumped-up initiative or sign some statements prepared higher up."

Earlier this year Lytvyn made it clear that he would not allow a repeat vote
on the government-backed constitutional reform bill that was defeated in
parliament on 8 April. The bill was heavily criticized by the centre-right
opposition. No further processing of the Ukrayinska Pravda article is
planned. [Please send queries to kiev.bbcm@mon.bbc.co.uk] (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
=========================================================
6. UKRAINE'S OPPOSITION DISMISSES KUCHMA'S
ANNOUNCEMENT HE WON'T SEEK REELECTION AS BLUFF

Aleksandar Vasovic, AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Thur, Jun 10, 2004

KIEV - Opposition politicians in Ukraine on Thursday dismissed President
Leonid Kuchma's clearest statement yet that he won't run for re-election
this fall, calling it a bluff.

Kuchma has said he will not run in the former Soviet republic's Oct. 31
presidential election despite a ruling by the Constitutional Court that he
could seek a third term, instead backing the nomination of Prime Minister
Viktor Yanukovych. He said Wednesday that he, too, wants to see a "Ukraine
without Kuchma" _ an opposition slogan.

Many analysts believe the vote will be a showdown between Yanukovych and
the most popular opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko. But prominent
opposition lawmaker Oleksandr Turchinov said Kuchma may still run.

"We never trusted Kuchma and we never will," said Turchinov, an ally of
another opposition leader, outspoken Kuchma opponent Yulia Tymoshenko.
He said he suspects the unpopular president might use control over media and
local authorities to create the false impression of widespread voter support
and then announce his candidacy.

Yushchenko's spokesman, Irina Herashchenko, described Kuchma's
announcement as an "an attempt at political deception." "Even now it is not
clear whether Kuchma will run," she said.

Kuchma's critics say democracy and media freedoms have declined during
Kuchma's decade in office, which have been marked by corruption scandals
and killings of independent journalists and political figures.

Ihor Zhdanov, an analyst with the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political

Studies, a think tank with opposition ties, said Kuchma's announcement was
aimed at keeping "the situation uncertain." Still, Zhdanov said, even if he
does run, Kuchma stands little chance of winning. "Powerful Ukrainian
political circles and international community do not want Kuchma again," he
said. (av/sbg) (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
=========================================================
7. GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Ukraine is a key state for Europe

By Serhiy Solodky, The Day Weekly Digest in English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 8, 2004

Speaking at a June 2 news conference, retired US general Wesley Clark, an
ex-US presidential contender and the former Commander-in-Chief of NATO
forces in Europe, voiced his hope that Ukraine will be able to join NATO
after implementing its defense reform and reforms to strengthen democracy.
General Clark, who came to Kyiv on an invitation from People's Deputy Viktor
Pinchuk, described his trip as a private visit.

Mr. Clark said that the "key task" facing Ukraine today is to hold
transparent and fair presidential elections. At a meeting with General
Clark, President Kuchma promised he would do his very best to see that this
happens. Last week Clark also met with Defense Minister Yevhen Marchuk and
Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko. The retired general, who last
visited Kyiv four years ago, emphasized the changes that have taken place in
Ukraine and pointed out "major advances" in the economy. In his view, given
the size of its territory and industrial output, Ukraine is one of the most
powerful countries in Europe.

Focusing more on military issues, he noted that he was pleased to learn
about Leonid Kuchma's bold decision two years ago, which inspired Ukraine to
search for ways to join NATO. He also spoke highly of Ukraine's contribution
to the US-led coalition forces in Iraq. General Clark's statement was
noteworthy owing to the fact that he is a member of the opposition
Democratic Party. He was nominated a Democratic presidential contender, but
soon withdrew from the race, even though many political analysts predicted
that he would be elected president.

Wesley Clark's statements in Kyiv did not reflect the Democrats' widely
publicized criticism of White House policies, which should be a reminder for
those Ukrainian politicians who can't distinguish between party interests
and national ones. On the contrary, he emphasized that regardless of how
some may feel about how the war in Iraq began, today there is a need to
defuse the crisis that has flared up in the Middle East. He did say,
however, that his methods of combating terrorism are different from those
being applied by the American president, adding "I don't think that an
accelerated withdrawal of troops from Iraq will be the best solution,
regardless of how we feel about the original decision to bring a military
force to that country."

When asked what Ukraine could do specifically to become a full NATO
member, the retired general offered four recommendations. First, Ukraine
must implement its defense reform, which envisions further personnel cuts, a

transition to voluntary military service, and reductions of the military
infrastructure, along with efforts to increase its flexibility. Second,
Ukraine must keep its promise to hold transparent presidential elections.
General Clark's third recommendation was for the secret services of Ukraine
and the West to cooperate more closely and effectively and exchange
information of a "delicate nature."

His fourth recommendation was for Ukraine to continue economic
transformations: "Further steps must be taken in the economy (particularly
in the sphere of privatization) which would ensure Ukraine's greater
compliance with Western standards." He noted that Ukraine is progressing in
all of these directions, and so "there is no reason to doubt that one day it
will become possible for Ukraine to join both NATO and the EU."

Asked whether Ukraine's membership in the Single Economic Space will
jeopardize its plans to join NATO, Mr. Clark answered quite diplomatically.
He pointed out that the SES was "initiated by Russia," adding that if the
economic development of SES members is in line with Western standards, this
will not cancel out Ukraine's aspirations for a closer relationship with the
West.

The visit by Wesley Clark is one of a number of visits to Kyiv by such
eminent American politicians and financiers as philanthropist George Soros,
former National Security Advisor to President Carter Zbigniew Brzezinski,
and former US President George H. W. Bush. Among other things, General
Clark paid considerable attention to Ukraine's Euro- Atlantic prospects.

During a luncheon organized by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Hryshchenko,
Clark delivered a speech entitled "Ukraine and NATO" to an audience of
journalists, experts, government officials, and lawmakers.

Despite the skepticism that usually accompanies visits by American guests,
such visits are extremely important. The more highly placed and well known
representatives of foreign political or financial elites come to see Ukraine
with its hardships and accomplishments, the easier it will be for Kyiv and
the West to reach mutual understanding. (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
=========================================================
8. UKRAINE OFFERS HELP NATIONS IN EFFORTS FOR
A NON-NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA

Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, 10 Jun 04

TOKYO - Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear arsenal in the 1990s, on
Thursday [10 June] offered to help countries concerned urge North Korea
to do likewise during foreign ministerial talks with Japan, a Japanese
official said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko was quoted as telling
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi he is concerned about the
situation regarding the Korean Peninsula. The Ukrainian minister also voiced
hope that relevant countries would learn from the approach Ukraine took in
abolishing its nuclear weapons, according to the official.

When the former Soviet Union collapsed, about 1,800 nuclear warheads were
left in Ukraine, which made the country the third largest possessor of
nuclear weapons following the United States and Russia. But Ukraine declared
in 1996 that it had moved the warheads out of its soil.

Kawaguchi and Hryshchenko also agreed to join forces in helping reconstruct
Iraq by sharing local information, the official said. Ukraine has its
military in the central Iraqi city of Kut to keep order there, while Japan
has dispatched Self-Defence Forces troops to the southern city of Samawah to
provide humanitarian and reconstruction aid. (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
=========================================================
9. "REAGAN AND UKRAINE"

EDITORIAL, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

Say what you want about former U.S. president and consummate Cold Warrior
Ronald Reagan, who died last weekend at 93, he was admired by a lot of
Eastern Europe's most admirable people.

Vaclav Havel: "I was deeply hit by the news about the death of Ronald
Reagan. He was a man of firm principles who was indisputably instrumental in
the fall of communism."

Lech Walesa: "When he saw injustice, he wanted to do away with it. He saw
communism, and he wanted to put an end to it."

Yelena Bonner, widow of Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei
Sakharov: "I consider Ronald Reagan one of the greatest U.S. presidents
since World War II because of his staunch resistance to communism and his
efforts to defend human rights. Reagan's policy was consistent and precise."

Vladimir Bukovsky, 61, former Soviet dissident: "His phrase 'evil empire'
became a household word in Russia. Russians like a straightforward person,
be he enemy or friend. They despise a wishy-washy person."

Dissident Natan Sharansky movingly praised Reagan for inspiring himself and
the fellow dissidents with whom he rotted in Siberian jails, and even
Mikhail Gorbachev got into the act: "[Reagan was] a statesman who, despite
all disagreements that existed between our countries at the time, displayed
foresight and determination to meet our proposals halfway and change our
relations for the better."

Given testimonials from such people, praising Reagan here would be as
unnecessary as pointing out the weak points of his legacy would be
irrelevant and churlish. Historians can argue all they want over whether the
Soviet Union would have fallen apart without Reagan's arms build-up, or over
what his political opponents used to call his "provocations"; but if the
single good thing Reagan ever did was encourage a dissident wasting away in
jail, his would be an admirable legacy, exceeding those of the vast majority
of politicians.

Still, a word about Reagan's role in Ukraine's history. Undeniably, Reagan's
aggressive hatred for the Soviet regime played an oblique but important role
in the birth of an independent Ukraine. His refusal to accept that the
Soviet Union was permanent; his at the time delusional-sounding confidence
that the USSR was doomed; his willingness to fight the Soviet leadership by
supporting Solidarity and the Afghan resistance, and to intimidate it by
pointing new arrays of missiles in their faces; all these things gave
dissident Ukrainians confidence that Soviet communism could be not only
defied, but brought down.

The Soviet Union would have died anyway, without Reagan's kicking it along
to the grave. But had it fallen apart in 1993 or 1999 or 2002, Ukraine would
probably now be a southern province of the Russian Federation, and Kyiv
would be Russia's most pleasant city. Ukrainian statehood significantly owes
its existence to the speed and triumphal circumstances under which the USSR
fell apart: Had the empire dissolved in a way over which the Kremlin and the
Communists could have exercised foresight and control, and not in a wave of
nationalist liberation, it would have been unthinkable that the Russians -
or the Soviet Ukrainian elite - would have let Ukraine slip Moscow's grasp.

As the platitudes swirl after Reagan's death, we ought to consider that
Ukraine's existence was something he not only supported in principle, but
aggressively fought for. Whether or not you agree with many of his policies
or otherwise admire his legacy, that counts for a lot. (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
=========================================================
10. KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO-CHUMACHENKO:
IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO INFLUENCE MY HUSBAND

"Our Ukraine Press," Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 10, 2004

KYIV - "It is very difficult to influence my husband, because he is very
confident in his own views and opinions. He does not turn to many people,
let alone me, for advice on important political or economic issues," said
Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko in an interview with the independent
e-edition RUKH-PRESS.

Kateryna Mykhaylivna also told about her family, "My father was born in
Donbass in 1917, and my mother in Litky, a village outside of Kyiv. They
lived through the revolution, NEP, famine, repressions, war, forced labor,
illness, exile."

"My father fought against the Germans, was captured and sent to a prison
camp, and was then sent to Germany. There he met his fate - my mother". The
mother of Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko was sent to work in Germany
at the age of 14.

"My parents, like many others in the diaspora, constantly talked about the
day they would return to Ukraine. They never felt completely at home. It
was just never clear how and when that day of return would ever come,"
Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko recalled hard times abroad.

Nowadays the wife of Victor Yushchenko brings up her children Sophia (aged
5), Chrystina (aged 3) and two-month-old Taras. "I see my role as providing
my husband with a comfortable home, a happy family, a refuge to return to at
the end of a very difficult, long day. I also see it in raising our children
not only to be good citizens of Ukraine, but also of the world". (END)
LINK: Our Ukraine website: http://www.razom.org.ua.
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
=========================================================
11. "JACK PALANCE REJECTS RUSSIAN AWARD"
Declaring "I'm Ukrainian, not Russian", Palance walks out of
Russian Film Festival in Hollywood

By Stephen Bandera, Friday, June 11, 2004, for June 20 English
language supplement of National Tribune (National'na Trybuna, NY)

(NT) - A week of "Russian Nights" in Los Angeles culminated with an awards
ceremony on April 22 at the prestigious Pacific Design Center in West
Hollywood. The gala event was held at the end of a weeklong "festival that
celebrates Russian contributions to the world of art." The program of
cinema, theater and music visual arts was sponsored in part by the Russian
Ministry of Culture and enjoyed the support of Russian president Vladimir
Putin.

Scheduled to receive "narodney artyst" awards (cleverly translated as "the
Russian People's Choice Award") were two Oscar winning actors: Dustin
Hoffman and Jack Palance - both of whom trace their roots to Ukraine.

In accepting his award, Dustin Hoffman noted that his grandparents came
from "Kiev, Russia" and expressed gratitude to the "Russian people" for
helping defeat Germany. He thanked them for saving his grandmother who
otherwise "may have ended up as a bar of soap."

Next in line for the Russian government's highest artistic award was Jack
Palance. Born Walter Palahniuk in Pennsylvania in 1918, Palance won the
Academy Award in 1992 for his memorable portrayal of Curly in "City
Slickers". Palance, proud as a Kozak of his Ukrainian heritage, is
chairman of the Hollywood Trident Foundation.

After being introduced, Palance said "I feel like I walked into the wrong
room by mistake. I think that Russian film is interesting, but I have
nothing to do with Russia or Russian film. My parents were born in
Ukraine: I'm Ukrainian. I'm not Russian. So, excuse me, but I don't
belong here. It's best if we leave."

Palance and his entourage proceeded to get up and go. He was accompanied
by four other guests that included his wife Elaine, and the Hollywood
Trident Foundation's president, Peter Borisow. Palance refused to accept
the award, even in private, or to view "72 Meters", the movie being
screened as the festival finale.

Speaking from Los Angeles, Borisow commented on Hoffman's statements:
"I don't think it's necessarily Hoffman's fault. I think it's tragic that he
doesn't even know his own family history. His ignorance of the basic facts
is shocking. That Hoffman lends himself, hopefully unwittingly, to
denigration of Ukrainians (and thus of himself), as he did by endorsing a
festival that featured the highly offensive and racist movie '72 Meters'
is very disappointing."

Borisow is referring to Vladmir Khotinenko's 2003 film "Syemdesyat-dva
metra." A drama surrounding events on the submarine "Slavianka", the film
portrays Ukrainians as bumbling fools and repeatedly refers to Ukrainians
with the racist pejorative "kh" word. As part of the film's plot
development, the Ukrainian submarine's Russian officers refuse allegiance
to newly independent Ukraine, steal the ship and sail it to Russia.

"This is a continuation of a centuries old effort to invent a history and
culture for Russia by hijacking first the Ukrainian church, then Ukrainian
history and finally Ukrainian culture," Borisow said. Borisow considered
the festival to be part of a "coordinated, worldwide campaign to promote
Russia and Russian culture and, in so doing, to make Ukraine seem part and
parcel of Russia. "I'm certain that in Russia, Jack's acceptance of the
mislabeled award would have been sold as his accepting being a 'National
Artist' of Russia," according to Borisow. "Jack is very proud to be
Ukrainian and will not let anyone hijack his name or persona," he said.

In total, twenty films were screened at the Pacific Design Center's
Silver Screen Theatre including Ukrainian filmmaker Oleksander
Dovzhenko's "Aerograd" (1935). The festival program did not mention
that Dovzhenko was Ukrainian, and instead described him as "the son
of illiterate peasants" who "incorporates elements of peasant lore and
pastoral tradition."

"This latest incident is just another part of a long history of genocide
that killed 10 million Ukrainians in 1933 and continues in more subtle
form to this day - all of it still actively promoted and financed by
Russia," Borisow said. Putin knows there can be no Russian Empire
without Ukraine, so he is pushing the assault from all angles: military,
industrial, energy, economic, religious and cultural.

In addition to Russia's Ministry of Culture, other sponsors of "Russian
Nights" included East-West Foundation for Culture and Education, LA
Weekly, Panorama Media, 7 Arts, Adelphia, Rodnik Vodka, Samuel
Adams Beer, Movieline's Hollywood Life, IN! Magazine and the
National Bartenders School. The festival was organized by the Stas
Namin Centre.

The festival's website includes letters of greeting from actors Leonardo
DiCaprio, Liv Tyler and producer-director Francis Ford
Coppola. Previously held once in Germany in 2003, "Russian Nights" are
scheduled to descend upon New York between October 23 and 30 later
this year. (NT) (END)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is published as written and edited by
Stephen Bandera with his permission.
==========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Your financial support for The Action Ukraine Report is needed.
==========================================================
12. RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN RELATIONS
A discussion meeting with Oleksandr Sushko, Director of the
Center for Peace, Conversion and Foreign Policy of Ukraine

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP)
Washington, D.C., Friday, June 11, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On May 24, 2004, the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace hosted a meeting on Ukraine's relations with Russia in
the European and Euro-Atlantic context. The speaker, Oleksandr Sushko,
is considered to be one of Ukraine's top foreign policy experts. Dr. Dmitry
Trenin, Deputy Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center and Co-Chair of
the Moscow Center's Foreign and Security Policy Program, served as the
discussant. Anatol Lieven, a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment,
chaired the session.

Mr. Sushko began by observing that the content of the relationship between
Ukraine and Russia is determined not just by the domestic agenda in either
country, but also by the agenda of European and Euro-Atlantic institutions.
He would thus attempt to present an analysis of the real motivations and
intentions that underlie the relationship between the two neighbors.
The framework of the relationship between Kiev and Moscow is determined
by three factors: the transformation of the neighborhood, Russia's
multi-instrumental approach to its neighborhood, and Ukrainian domestic
politics. With the recent expansion of the European Union and NATO to
include many former East-bloc-and even former Soviet-states, a new situation
has arisen in Eastern Europe. This change has introduced a new agenda into
the relations between countries that have become outsiders to this process.
It is no secret that, over the past several years, Ukraine has expressed the
desire to join both the EU and NATO. These aspirations, however, have not
met with much success. This factor is important for Russian-Ukrainian
relations.
Russia has been trying to create a common space for the "confused and
refused" countries that have no immediate prospects of joining either the EU
or NATO. In this regard, Russian policy has been determined by a
post-imperial syndrome. The process of EU and NATO enlargement is complete
for a certain time to come, and a new border has arisen between insiders and
outsiders to the process. This border is quite stable in the medium run. The
stability of the border provides an impetus to Russia to secure a strong
regional leadership role. Russia does not see any prospects of a renewed
global role for itself, but does see opportunities for serious regional
influence.
The second factor affecting Russo-Ukrainian relations is demonstrated by
President Vladimir Putin's recent pragmatic approach to NATO enlargement.
It is hard to define this factor, but it comes down to Russia's use of a
variety of instruments in its relations with former Soviet republics. There
is a range of structures, including Russian business and media, through
which Russia maintains a presence in the region, and by which it seeks to
influence it and become a regional leader.
The third factor, as mentioned above, is the Ukrainian domestic political
agenda. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has real political competition, and the
result of the next presidential election is unpredictable. This situation
encourages politicians to seek foreign support, and some find this support
in Russia. A special relationship has thus developed between Ukrainian and
Russian elites. Moscow's help does not come without conditions attached,
however.
Russia has several factors going for it that make it attractive to Ukrainian
elites as a regional leader. Moscow has no sentiments on democracy and the
rule of law, which are a big component of Kiev-Brussels and Kiev-Washington
relations. This makes Ukrainian leaders more comfortable dealing with
Russians.
In the economic sphere, Russia enjoys better relations with the WTO, EU and
other Western economic institutions than Ukraine does. Russia obtained
Western recognition of market-economy status last year, while Ukraine, which
has a similar economic structure, still has not. Russia has accomplished
more results in its WTO accession process than Ukraine has. Thus, Ukrainians
are becoming in interested in Moscow's suggestions to take a common stance
on economic issues in order to obtain greater international economic
leverage.
Russia can also offer Ukraine trade preferences in oil and gas. Ukraine is
clearly dependent on Russia for its energy imports. This makes the Ukrainian
economy vulnerable to pressure from Moscow. The Ukrainian government
wants more favorable conditions for oil and gas imports, and this makes
Russia an attractive partner. Cheap oil and gas can be of dubious benefit,
because they would put Ukraine in the situation of Belarus vis-à-vis Russia,
and would make it very difficult to have political disagreements with
Russia. However, the elites seem to have no awareness of this potential
problem.
Some Ukrainian politicians also receive Russian political support. This
sometimes takes the form of public support from Mr. Putin, but is sometimes
less public but still efficient. Putin enjoys a confidence level of 44
percent in Ukraine, which is higher than the rating of any Ukrainian
politician. Therefore, if he appears on television and tells viewers he
likes a particular Ukrainian politician, the latter can expect a popularity
boost.
Russian friendship comes as part of a package, and so does the friendship of
the EU. What Ukraine has to decide is which of the two packages is more
attractive. Since there is no clear answer, Ukrainian elites have been
trying to develop a way to benefit from both packages at the same time.
There are some limitations to this approach. Clearly, no country can join
two customs unions at once. However, semi-integrational deals are possible.
For instance, Ukraine could arrange free-trade agreements with both Russia
and the EU. The Ukrainian elite is uncertain about the value of the Western
club, but, at the same time, wants to be part of it. However, it does not
want to pay the price of belong to the West. It is thus trying to find a
comfortable medium-run formula that would give it good relations with both
Russia and the EU, Mr. Sushko concluded.
Commenting on Mr. Sushko's presentation, Dr. Trenin noted that, to
understand where Russia is coming from, one should take President Putin at
his word. Russia wants to be a regional great power. It wants "to be, rather
than to belong." Unlike some other countries, which may be "confused and
refused," Russia knows where it is going. It wants integration with the
West, not into it. Moscow has taken a big step towards WTO accession,
which, in itself, would be a major milestone on the way to Russia's global
integration. For Mr. Putin, nothing is more important in the coming two
years than hosting a G-8 summit in Moscow in 2006.
It is true that Russia has lately been concentrating more on former Soviet
republics. However, it has been doing so not out of nostalgia, but rather
out of economic and security considerations. Moscow believes it has a
comparative advantage in the region. Russians have internalized Ukraine's
independence, and they now see Ukraine as a separate state, although they
still have difficulty thinking of it as a foreign country. Ukraine is
increasingly seen as an opportunity for Russian business. Indeed, Russian
companies, with interests ranging from natural gas to cell phone networks,
have entered the Ukrainian market. The Single Economic Space (SES) does
not have much of a chance to succeed. It may have a future, but not as a
top-down process. Rather, it can only be built with the support of economic
actors.
Ukraine is seen by some as a potential friction point between Russia on the
one hand, and the EU and United States on the other. Russians and others
talk about East-West competition in Ukraine. In Dr. Trenin's view, however,
such competition will not be the dominant theme of the coming decades.
Unlike Washington observers, Russians do not see the coming Ukrainian
presidential election as historic, and certainly not as one of the defining
moments of Ukrainian history. Most Russian observers see Ukraine continuing
on its present course, conducting further reforms, and trying to reach out
to both Russia and the West. Indeed, this is a "normal policy" for Ukraine
to follow.
Russia does support Vyktor Yanukovych for the Ukrainian presidency. Moscow
does not have any illusions about him, however. It does not regard him as
particularly pro-Russian. If Vyktor Yushchenko wins instead, we can be sure
that Mr. Putin will extend his hand of friendship to him, just as he did
earlier to the new Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili. Russians do not
see a reformed, democratic Ukraine as a threat. Indeed, a reformed Ukraine
would be a valuable opportunity for Russian business. Russian companies
themselves are emerging from a dark age dominated by mafia-style groups.
They would now be better served by a pro-reform Ukrainian government.
Many observers have cast the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
as a new stage for the 19th-century Great Game. This is not a very good
reflection of today's world. If it is true that Russia's primary interests
in Ukraine are economic, then Russian competition with the West over
Ukraine-such as it is-is a healthy phenomenon. Fortunately, Russia does not
have any security concerns in Ukraine. However, in the parts of the CIS
where Russian policy does have a security focus, Russian interests coincide
with those of the West more than they clash with them.
In the question and answer session, Mr. Sushko noted that, while 44 percent
of Ukrainians trust Mr. Putin, about 20 percent distrust him. Putin's great
popularity in Ukraine is not easy to explain. Part of the reason is that his
personality matches popular expectations of what a leader should be like.
Ukrainians want a leader who is strong, but not too strong. While Putin has
been a strong leader, he has been rather weak in dealing with problems such
as Chechnya and the sinking of the Kursk submarine. However, his strength in
other areas contrasts favorably with the weakness of the Ukrainian
president, Leonid Kuchma. Thus, the root of Mr. Putin's popularity in
Ukraine is that he is more attractive as a leader than Mr. Kuchma is. Boris
Yeltsin was not regarded any better than Kuchma. It must also be noted that
Putin's popularity in Ukraine is not anywhere as high as it is in Russia.
The Iraq campaign is very unpopular in Ukraine, as is Ukraine's
participation in it, which undermines the public trust. As much as 80
percent of the population supports the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from
Iraq. This is not a unique sentiment, but is shared across Europe. President
George W. Bush is quite unpopular in Ukraine.
Responding to a question on the fact that the signing of the SES agreement
was followed a week later by a spat between Russia and Ukraine over Tuzla
Isle in the Sea of Azov, Dr. Trenin remarked that the whole incident was
baffling. Russian officials have been quite opaque about it, which has
fueled speculation. According to one theory, the Tuzla dispute, which broke
out in October 2003, had to do with the State Duma elections in Russia,
which were to be held the following December. A section of the Kremlin was
trying to whip up nationalist fervor in Russia to aid the prospects of the
Rodina bloc, which had been created by the Kremlin earlier. As a result,
Rodina tapped a reservoir of nationalism and did even better than the
Kremlin expected it to.
According to another theory, the incident was staged by Russia to support
the Ukrainian regime, by showing it as capable of standing up to Russia. Dr.
Trenin emphasized that both the above theories were based purely on
speculation.
It was a good sign that the incident disappeared from the public discourse
after the Kremlin "switched it off." However, the spat did demonstrate the
existence of a latent Russian nationalism that may cause major problems if
aided. However, left alone, this nationalism is not likely to create great
disturbances.
Taking a different view, Mr. Sushko observed that the SES and the Tuzla
dispute were both part of the same package, and were an example of Russia's
use of multiple instruments to pressure its neighbors. The incident was also
a test of the West, and of Ukraine. Further, by creating the dispute, Russia
was pushing the process of re-delineating its sea borders with Ukraine. The
current Kerch Strait border, which dates back to 1973, is the result of a
treaty between the Russian and Ukrainian Soviet republics. This treaty put
the shipping channel in the Ukrainian sector of the strait. Russia, on the
other hands, wants joint responsibility over the shipping channel, and has
officially withdrawn recognition of the 1973 border.
Dr. Trenin replied that Russia's main political objective in the dispute was
to render the Sea of Azov inaccessible to third-country ships without
Russian approval. Some in Russia feared the potential for NATO ships to
approach the Russian coast by entering the Sea of Azov through the Kerch
Strait. Now that this issue has been resolved to Russia's satisfaction, the
shipping channel as such is likely to fade from people's memories.
Regarding Ukraine's EU membership prospects, Mr. Sushko observed that
there is currently an unfavorable situation in Brussels for Ukraine. There
is no willingness to offer Ukraine membership at this time. However, if the
new
neighborhood policy toward Ukraine is seen to work well over the next three
to five years, Ukraine's membership prospects may improve, which has been
the case with the Balkan countries. Despite recent statements to the
contrary, the EU has made no ultimate decisions regarding Ukraine's
membership chances. However, as things currently stand, Brussels wants to
keep Ukraine out, while Moscow wants to keep it in. There is no doubt that
this situation makes Russia more attractive in the eyes of Ukrainian elites.
However, the story is not complete, because the EU is waiting for Ukraine to
change for the better.
Dr. Trenin noted that Russian strategy has influenced Ukrainian domestic
politics, but not massively. For example, the Russian government was
recently criticized for paying an extra $700 to $800 million to Ukraine as
part of a free trade agreement. A Ukraine in NATO would be a big problem for
Russia, which Moscow would try to forestall. However, Russia has shown a
capacity to adapt to unfavorable changes over the last 13 years, and could
do so again. NATO is less of a bogeyman now than it used to be. Russians no
longer consider a military conflict in Europe possible. The United States is
viewed differently by Moscow, however. Russia sees the U.S. as a power that
is still potentially capable of attacking Russia or putting Moscow under
military pressure, the way it forced Belgrade to withdraw from Kosovo.
There is no prospect of Russia itself joining NATO in the near term. The
current Russian administration and-if Putin does not make significant
mistakes-the following ones are not likely to put Russia in the position of
a demandeur, begging to be admitted into the alliance. This is a
psychological barrier that Russian elites are unlikely to cross. Unlike all
former Warsaw Pact countries and some former Soviet republics, Russia has
no "yearning to belong." While these countries see NATO as a symbol of the
West, Russians still regard it as a military alliance. There is, however, a
feeling in Russia that NATO would not come to Russia's aid militarily if
needed. There is only one NATO member that might do so, "but that is a
different story."
Asked about the political tussle over the Odesa-Brody pipeline, Mr. Sushko
noted that Ukraine took a clear position regarding the issue in January
2004. The cabinet has decided to direct the oil flow in the pipeline from
the Black Sea to Brody, rather than the other way round, which Russia had
urged. Although President Kuchma is critical of the cabinet's decision, it
has full legal force. While there may be a political dimension to the
dispute, the rhetoric surrounding it has been economic. The proponents of a
reversal of the pipeline have argued that there is not much Caspian oil to
transport to Poland, and that there are no contracts so far to transport the
oil in that direction.
Dr. Trenin observed that to think that Ukraine will go whichever way the oil
flows in one pipeline is simplistic. Russia has invested a great deal in
Ukraine and, according to a Kiev business consultant, most people interested
in investing in Ukraine are Russians. The priority given by Moscow to
economics demonstrates the growing maturity of Russian foreign policy.
Mr. Sushko retorted that, while there may be a great deal of Russian
investment in Ukraine, most of it comes from questionable sources. According
to official statistics, the United States is the largest foreign investor in
Ukraine, while Russia is the sixth-largest, accounting for only 7 percent of
foreign investment in Ukraine.
While Cyprus [where a great deal of Russian money resides] is the
third-largest investor, some of the money flow from Cyprus is not Russian in
origin, but rather represents the repatriation of Ukrainian capital.
Nevertheless, Russia does invest in Ukraine through third countries, such as
Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands. While Russian investment as such is
welcome, it would be desirable to bring it out into the open, in order to
combat money laundering, Mr. Sushko concluded. (END)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary prepared by Rashed Chowdhury, Junior Fellow with the Russian and
Eurasian program at the Carnegie Endowment.
==========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 96: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
Your financial support for The Action Ukraine Report is needed.
==========================================================
13. TARAS SHEVCHENKO: "REACHING TARAS'S HEIGHTS"
What kind of Ukraine can one see from Chernecha Hill?

By Ihor Siundiukov, The Day Weekly Digest in English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 8, 2004

Shevchenko's work is the acme of the universal human and Ukrainian spirit.
This is our national ideal of a person, which was realized within the limits
of one tragically brief life. Figures of this magnitude prove that there is
and always will be a certain moral, ethical, and social standard - the
standard of a free and unrestrained conscience without which the existence
of any nation becomes totally meaningless and reduced to brutish sensations.

The tokens of sincere respect that Ukrainians show to Taras Shevchenko every
May 22, the day that his body was finally laid to eternal rest on the Dnipro
's steep banks, according to the poet's Testament, are as crucial to us as
air or food. As Academicians Ivan Dziuba and Mykola Zhulynsky noted
recently, the road to Shevchenko is an eternal road, the road to oneself.
What can help us penetrate the soul of our genius and understand why he
wished to be buried in this precise spot? One reason was the dazzling beauty
of the landscapes in the Bard's native Cherkasy region, where one can feel
the vastness of an enormous "divine world," so vividly described by
Shevchenko - the boundless steppe and the mysterious, ancient forests that
have stood resolutely for centuries on end.

The Day's "task force" (editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna; our respected
longtime contributors and friends, Professors Volodymyr Panchenko, Viktor
Horobets and his son Ostap, and this writer) set out to attend the
Shevchenko celebrations primarily to take a look at the people who feel the
need "to reach Taras's heights," to climb sacred Chernecha (Monk's) Hill
(all sorts of people - whether or not they are successful in life - are
bound to do the same thing: make a strenuous effort to climb hundreds of
steep steps) not only to make the physical ascent but also to rise above
themselves and the humdrum daily routine that too often blinds us and makes
us slaves of our own egotism, narrow-mindedness, and malice.

We were all inclined to believe that thousands or even tens of thousands of
people from various nooks and corners of Ukraine had come here not because
"it is a must," not because of somebody's coercion, but because they have an
urgent need to be purified. As Volodymyr Panchenko rightly observed, the
past few decades have created such excessively fine filters, both political
and ideological, for those who are not indifferent to Shevchenko's name and
heritage that only those who have made a really well considered choice have
survived.

Chernecha Hill and the foot of the Bard's monument is the very spot from
where you can "see Ukraine and the entire hetman's state all around." It is
here that Nikolai Gogol (Mykola Hohol) could and, by all accounts did, write
the famous phrase "a rare bird will ever fly as far as the middle of the
Dnipro." There are very few places as beautiful as this in all of Ukraine.
Shevchenko may have been thinking of these Kaniv landscapes, when ten
days before his death he wrote,

"Let's look at this world...
Let's look, my destiny...
See how wide,
High and cheerful,
Clear and deep this world is..."

This strip of land above the Dnipro's steep cliffs attracted the poet, who
dreamed of buying a house and settling here. In June 1860 Shevchenko wrote
to Varfolomei, his cousin twice removed, "There is a small woodland on the
outskirts of Monastyryshche, upstream along the Dnipro from the place you
chose yourself, on the right bank between Kaniv and Pekari, on a high hill;
well away from the town, in the middle of that woodland, there is a glade
and a few fishermen's huts down below...A garden can be put in. And my old
friend the Dnipro will seem to be flowing right beneath my feet." It was
here that Shevchenko dreamed of setting up a "quiet paradise." But this
dream was destined to remain unfulfilled.

The Russian satirist and political journalist Vasiliy Kurochkin brilliantly
summed up Shevchenko's destiny during the poet's funeral: "He was not
destined to enjoy domestic bliss. A different, posthumous, bliss - glory -
awaits him." The finest representatives of the Ukrainian intelligentsia
(among them Mykhailo Maksymovych, Hryhoriy Chestakhivsky, Panteleimon
Kulish, Mykola Kostomarov, Viktor Zabila, Fedir Chernenko, Ivan Soshenko,
young Mykhailo Drahomanov, and Volodymyr Antonovych) considered it their
sacred duty and a matter of honor to help fulfill Taras's will - to bury him
"in the midst of a wide steppe," in his "beloved Ukraine," in a place from
where he could see "the boundless wheat fields, the Dnipro, and the cliffs."

That the prophet of Ukraine found eternal rest precisely here, in Kaniv, is
an act of ultimate, divine justice, for he passionately loved these places,
this sun-drenched and tender-blue Cherkasy region, his homeland.

What was the attitude of the "common" people to Shevchenko back in 1861?
This is what artist Hryhory Chestakhivsky wrote to the Bard's friend Fedir
Chernenko, "All the serfs of Ukraine know Taras. They know that he, their
father and defender, was laid to rest near Kaniv. Country people keep coming
over to bow down at his grave. I often see ordinary peasants by his grave:
they stand bareheaded with their little bundles on their backs, leaning on
their walking sticks, and looking at the grave. I have never seen such
heartfelt, quiet, and tender human glances in my entire life, as though
their last hope for a better lot in life were lying in this grave" (June 20,
1861).

There is no better way to express this. And what does the figure of
Shevchenko and the cause that he served mean to an "ordinary" Ukrainian
today, in the uncommonly cold days of May 2004? (But while we were there
a delicate sun finally broke through the clouds and warmed the air a bit).
Are many of our compatriots able to instantly perceive, as the Bard did,
"the sudden light of truth?"

What attracted our attention most of all were the transcendent expressions
on the faces of the people climbing the steps to Taras's peak. Such a great
variety of people, all united by Shevchenko. Our divided and disoriented
society badly needs (and is going to need for many more years) a powerful
factor for national and human consolidation, and it is only Shevchenko who
can perform this unique role. But this raises the fundamental question:
consolidation on what basis? To answer it, one must perhaps recall the
quintessence of Shevchenko's oeuvre - his disgust with all forms of slavery,
and acute feeling of national and human dignity.

This is no theory but a God-given feeling of many generations of Ukrainians,
as unfettered and subliminal as a thirst for spring water or fresh air (not
to be "slaves with a badge on their cap" who are "naked in their heart"). It
is this that may serve as a powerful unifying force for Ukrainian citizens,
no matter whether they are Ukrainians, Russians, Poles, Jews, Tatars,
easterners or westerners. For this human feeling is the most worthy of a
human being. Yet it requires an effort because it is an act of upward
progression.

It is highly significant that a mere hundred or so meters away from
Shevchenko's grave, on the very summit of Chernecha Hill, stands a modest
and unremarkable cross with the inscription, "Here in January 1978 Ukrainian
patriot Oleksa Hirnyk burned himself to death in protest against the
Russification of Ukraine." This fact alone convincingly refutes speculations
that Ukraine gained its independence without a struggle, "for free," almost
like getting manna from heaven.

Yes, Shevchenko's flame burned in the hearts of Oleksa Hirnyk, Vasyl Stus,
Valery Marchenko, Petro Hryhorenko, and in James Mace's heart too. But let
us ask ourselves: how many Ukrainians have heard anything about Oleksa
Hirnyk? The Czech youth Jan Palach, who did the same thing in 1968, when
Soviet tanks were rumbling down the streets of Prague, was declared a hero
in his native country. This is what they call pride and Europeanness.

Shevchenko's own biography shows what a truly free individual is capable of.
The people that we spoke with that day on Chernecha Hill (among them a
well-respected historian and public figure, Academician and Hero of Ukraine
Petro Tronko; the Bard's great-grandson once removed, Mykola Lysenko;
longtime political prisoner Heorhy Fastovets; and the well-known diplomat
and deputy of the first Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Stepan Volkovetsky)
shared this opinion: Shevchenko is as inexhaustible as life itself. He
accompanies an individual throughout his/her lifetime, from cradle to death.

One of our most indelible impressions was when we visited Shevchenko's
memorial svitlytsia, the house that contains a collection of such treasured
items as books published during Shevchenko's lifetime and exhibits
illustrating the public's attitude to the poet. Among other artifacts, the
museum has a towel embroidered by Lesia Ukrayinka. The museum's curator
Ms. Zinayida Tarkhan-Bereza, who is a talented researcher and a magnificent
example of a true, self-denying Ukrainian intellectual, literally
enthralled us with her modesty and boundless love for Shevchenko's legacy.

The sky alone is the limit for this extraordinary woman, who recited from
memory lengthy fragments from Haidamaky to us. Ms. Tarkhan-Bereza's book
Sacred Place, which this true devotee wrote about the history of Kaniv's
Shevchenko Memorial, deserves to be in every Ukrainian's home library.

Naturally, we would like to separate the undying soul of Shevchenko - the
soul of Ukraine - from the political vicissitudes of today. So we will only
note here that a large number of our compatriots who came that day to visit
our foremost poet and prophet are likely to belong to what is known as the
"protest-minded" (or oppositional) electorate. In any case, as this writer
observed, most of the placards brought by political parties, movements, and
civic organizations to Chernecha Hill bore the symbols of Our Ukraine whose
leader was, incidentally, very warmly received. Nor did the government (the
legislative branch, to be more precise) shun the celebrations: representing
it was Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, who laid a wreath at the
Bard's monument.

Inscribed on this monument are straightforward and eternal words that were
so typical of Shevchenko:

"Love your Ukraine,
Love it...
Pray to God for it
In a time of trouble,
In the last painful minute."

Some people may think that these words have nothing to do with them. Still,
democracy, reforms, and all our sweeping plans will only come to fruition if
there are as many people of this kind as possible. (END)
==========================================================
ARTICLES ARE FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
==========================================================
INFORMATION ABOUT "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-04
"Raising the Level of Awareness, Visibility and Information
About Ukraine and Ukrainian Issues-----Around the World"
A Reader Financially Supported Publication

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-04, is an in-depth news and analysis
newsletter, produced by the www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
The report is distributed worldwide free of charge using the e-mail address:
ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net. Please make sure this e-mail address is
cleared for your SPAM filter. Each of our incoming and outgoing e-mails are
scanned for viruses. Our e-mail addresses and subscriber information is not
shared with or sold to anyone. Suggestions and "Letters-to-the-editor" are
always welcome. LINK: http://www.artukraine.com/aur/aur1.htm.

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" is financed through The Action
Ukraine Program Fund. You can become a financial sponsor of The Action
Ukraine Program Fund. Individuals, corporations, non-profit organizations
and other groups can provide support for the expanding Action Ukraine
Program by sending in contributions.

The program includes THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT, the Action
Ukraine Information Service (AUIS), the www.ArtUkraine.com website,
and the Ukrainian information and briefing program, in Washington, D.C.
for the U.S. Congress,Administration, international business and
other organizations, which supports the building of an independent,
democratic and financially strong Ukraine operating under the rule of law.

Checks should be made out to the Ukrainian Federation of America,
(UFA), a private, not-for-profit, voluntary organization. The funds should
be designated for the Action Ukraine Program Fund (AUPF), and
mailed to Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson, Ukrainian Federation of
America (UAF), 930 Henrietta Avenue, Huntingdon Valley, PA
19006-8502. For individuals a contribution of $45-$100 is suggested.

Your support to help build The Action Ukraine Program to support
Ukraine and her future is very much appreciated.

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-04 SPONSORS:
.1. ACTION UKRAINE COALITION (AUC): Washington, D.C.,
http://www.artukraine.com/auc/index.htm; MEMBERS:
A. UKRAINIAN AMERICAN COORDINATING COUNCIL,
(UACC), Ihor Gawdiak, President, Washington, D.C., New York, NY
B. UKRAINIAN FEDERATION OF AMERICA (UFA),
Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson, Vera M. Andryczyk, President,
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. http://www.artukraine.com/ufa/index.htm
C. U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF), Nadia Komarnyckyj
McConnell, President; John A. Kun, VP/COO; Markian Bilynskyj, VP,
Dir. of Field Operations; Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C., website:
http://www.usukraine.org .
2. UKRAINE-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL, Kempton Jenkins,
President, Washington, D.C.
3. KIEV-ATLANTIC GROUP, David and Tamara Sweere, Daniel
Sweere, Kyiv and Myronivka, Ukraine, 380 44 295 7275 in Kyiv.
4. POTENTIAL, the launching of a new business journal for Ukraine.
http://www.usukraine.org/potential.shtml
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyiv vs. Kiev-----SPELLING POLICY--Chornobyl vs.Chernobyl
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" uses the spelling KYIV (Ukrainian)
rather than KIEV (Russian), whenever the spelling decision is under our
control. We do not change the way journalists, authors, reporters, the news
media spell these words or the other words they use in their stories.
TO SUBSCRIBE (FREE)
If you know of one or more persons you think would like to be added to
the distribution list for "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-04 please
send us their names, country of residence, and e-mail contact information.
We welcome additional names. To subscribe please send a subscription
request e-mail to Morgan Williams, morganw@patriot.net. Past issues of
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-03 (125 reports) and UR-04 will
be sent upon request. Let us know if you want the Report sent to a different
e-mail address. Please let us know if you are receiving more than one copy
of the Report. LINK: http://www.artukraine.com/aur/aur1.htm
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
UNSUBSCRIBE: If you do not wish to receive future editions of
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-04, up to five times per week,
please be sure and notify us by return e-mail to morganw@patriot.net.
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Coordinator, Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC)
Publisher and Editor: "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-04,
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS), and the
http://www.ArtUkraine.com Ukrainian News and Information Website.
Senior Advisor, Government Relations, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF);
Advisor, Ukraine-U.S. Business Council, Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: P.O. Box 2607, Washington, D.C. 20013,
Tel: 202 437 4707, morganw@patriot.net
=====================================================