"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
An International Newsletter
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"

NOTE: We have received a very large number of requests for a copy
of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's last Independence Day speech,
as President, in English, which Kuchma gave on Monday, August 23,
2004, in Kyiv. Many feel the speech is important to understanding
the President's position regarding his ten years in office, what he is
now fighting to maintain and preserve and what he intends to work for
in the future.

As the President says in his speech, "Some political pygmies are trying
to seize power under the slogan 'Ukraine without Kuchma' . This way
they are exposing themselves, simply because the incumbent president
is not in the running. But I can assure all my compatriots of one thing:
there will never be a Kuchma without Ukraine."

The BBC Monitoring Service has furnished us with the text found below
which, as far as we know, is the most complete text in English that is
available. The Independence Day speech in Ukrainian can be found at:
http://www.president.gov.ua/activity/zayavinterv/279809856.html.
We appreciate the assistance of the BBC Monitoring Service, Kyiv
Unit. (EDITOR)

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 160
The Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA), Huntingdon Valley, PA
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net (ARTUIS)
Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, SUNDAY, September 12, 2004

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

1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT SUMS UP DECADE IN OFFICE
ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
Source: UT1 State TV, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 23 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, August 23, 2004
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.160 ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
=======================================================
1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT SUMS UP DECADE IN OFFICE
ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

Source: UT1 State TV, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 23 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, August 23, 2004

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has delivered his last Independence Day
address ahead of the 31 October election. Speaking at a gala meeting in
Kiev, Kuchma praised the transition from Communism to democracy and a
free market and defended his own contribution to nation-building. He warned
against electing a president from the opposition as something that would set
Ukraine back in its progress.

Kuchma denied that problems with democracy and freedom of speech were
keeping Ukraine out of the European Union, but suggested that the EU itself
was not ready to absorb a country with the economic potential of Ukraine.

He also dismissed Western concerns that the presidential election will not
be free and fair and hinted that he might stay in politics after stepping
down.

The following is an excerpt from Kuchma's hour-long speech delivered at
the Ukrayina Palace in Kiev and broadcast live by Ukrainian state-owned
television UT1 on 23 August:

[Kuchma] Dear attendees of the ceremonial meeting, dear guests of Ukraine,
my dear compatriots!

A holiday - the brightest day in Ukraine's modern history, Independence
Day - has come to our land again. Please receive my sincere greetings on
this occasion. [Applause]

Recently we marked a decade of my presidency. I think it will be appropriate
for me to use the occasion of our main holiday to present to my fellow
countrymen my personal view on the outcome of this decade and of the entire
13 years of independence.

I recall that both in 1994 and in 1999 [when Kuchma was elected president
for the first and second term] the point was not only and not mainly about
the individual elected for the top post in the state, but about the
political course that individual was offering. Sociologists recently asked
Ukrainian citizens to choose from a list of several dozen fundamental human
values. The highest rating was given to freedom. Each person probably puts
their own content into this fundamental value. But for all of us freedom
above all is the freedom of the nation to which by God's will we belong
because an individual cannot be free if their nation is not free.

Fortune has smiled on Ukraine. It gained independence - if I may put it like
this - by freeing itself from communism. Moreover, it did so simultaneously
with Russia. Had it happened in a different way, the way many fighters for
Ukraine's freedom in the 20th and preceding centuries had dreamed or hoped
it would happen, great bloodshed would have been unavoidable. As you
know, as a result of the break-up of the global communist system, 26
countries apart from Ukraine took a new path of development. Each had its
own way of affirming and realizing itself, their own angle of searching
their place under the sun of sovereign nations.

UKRAINE'S DIFFICULT PATH OF REFORM

However, Ukraine faced the most unique historical challenge. Our
transformations resembled a journey in the wilderness. They were being
implemented on four different fronts and four transformation levels at the
same time.

First, it was necessary to elevate this province of a collapsed empire to
the status of a sovereign state. Russians, Bulgarians or Romanians did not
face this task.

Second, a piece of a huge planned and to a large extent militarized economy
had to be turned into a national economy of the civilian market type. Again,
Hungarians or Poles, for example, had their own integral national economy,
developing an existing market rather than creating it from scratch.

Third, a democratic civil society had to be built from the ruins of a
totalitarian single-party system. This task was not so critical for the
Czechs or Slovaks because they had inherited a regime with rather obvious
liberal values.

Fourth, 50m people, who had been part of the so-called Soviet nation, had
to be raised to the standard of a self-sufficient political nation.
Russians, Estonians, Poles or Eastern Germans did not face this problem,
either.

In addition, it may be fair to say that no other nation in Europe or even in
the world has had to overcome the catastrophic consequences of a
300-year-long lack of statehood. It had been divided between empires for
centuries.

SUCCESSOR MUST NOT CHANGE POLICIES

However, achieving success on all four fronts is a lengthy process. It will
continue for several decades to come. I believe it is very important to
admit and realize this. The point is that the duration of the processes of
Ukrainian transformations objectively demands that we ensure the continuity
of the political course. The next decade should be - and I am convinced it
will be - a continuation rather than change or rejection of the decade that
is coming to an end. I repeat, neither change nor rejection but
continuation. [applause]

Ordinary people want stability. That's precisely what I hear at meetings in
various regions of Ukraine. That's what people repeatedly told me the day
before yesterday in Kharkiv, where I attended celebrations of the city's
350th anniversary.

SOVIET ELITE BECAME NATION BUILDERS

Esteemed participants in the ceremonial meeting, allow me to touch briefly
on the aforementioned aspects of work by the first generation of citizens of
independent Ukraine - on the building of the state. [Passage omitted:
recapping Ukraine's role in the Soviet Union]

I would like to emphasize that the elite was indeed the only successor to
the beheaded imperial regime, as Ukraine had no transitional forces which
were in opposition to that regime. The People's Movement of Ukraine [Rukh]
was too young and lacking in numbers to claim a national role. Our western
neighbours had such organizations. Poland had its Solidarity, Czechoslovakia
had the Civic Forum, Hungary had the Democratic Forum which, during the
transition of power, took over some organizational, managerial and also
morally stabilizing functions. They were kind of live carriers of the newly
born political regimes. But the same democratic yardstick is now being used
to measure both them and us. [Passage omitted: historic references]

We had to start everything from scratch, from the beginning, from nothing,
using the method of trial and error. However, this time we had no right to
make at least those mistakes which had caused Ukraine to lose independence
in the 20th century.

What is there to be said about the start of building statehood in the
present period of time, when the hectic pace of transformations left us no
chance to even comprehend, let alone forecast change? This above all applies
to the ruling elite. As regards the masses, they quickly ended up at the
very bottom of social pessimism after rising to the crest of national
romanticism. Society was deeply shocked by the collapse of the way of life
itself. Initial expectations were submerged by a wave of distrust, anxiety
and despair. In 1994, the sociological barometer pointed to very worrying
symptoms.

Asked if Ukraine really was an independent state, most people said no. In
Lviv, this was the response of exactly the half of those polled, in Donetsk
52 per cent, in Simferopol 56.5. The reason was a lack of confidence in
tomorrow, that is people did not think that Ukraine could exist as a state.
In Donetsk, it was 82, Lviv 66, Simferopol 66, Kiev 62 per cent. Most
of those at the bottom had no faith in Ukraine, most of those at the top had
no idea how to run the country. This was what our start was like. This is
the point we started from.

This is the first time I have said this because today our state maturity is
seen as manna from heaven, as a given. In reality, this young country now
has all the attributes, as if it were 300, not 13, years old because of the
selfless work of the first builders of Ukrainian statehood, many of whom are
present in this hall. Please accept our warmest thanks for your work in the
name of Ukraine [applause].

Today, to honour the centuries-long history of building Ukraine's statehood,
I signed an order establishing the National Flag Day of Ukraine. We will
mark this holiday on 23 August, ahead of Independence Day. It is aimed at
affirming the state symbols and educating citizens to respect the attributes
of our statehood [applause].

We have, on the whole, coped with the creation of the state machine. We
have our own army, national security service, law-enforcement and judiciary,
credit and finance system and our own currency. Ukraine is entering the
world community as a full participant of international relations. Much
remains yet to be done to form a new political elite, but the main thing on
which establishment of true sovereignty depends is the irrevocability of
reforms in the political consciousness of the nation, in its culture.

This requires overcoming established stereotypes and qualitative changes
in the entire way we live. Attempts to speed up this complex process
artificially may only do damage, but doing nothing to speed it up would
amount to stopping the entire process. Ukraine's sovereignty is our way
of life. It cannot be protected by decrees, declarations and edicts. It
requires daily hard work.

Only the initial stage of creating a Ukrainian state is completed. Today's
generation lacks an awareness of living in a state that only yesterday did
not exist and that needs to be improved as a state. This awareness, on the
one hand, helps one to be understanding of the shortcomings of the current
government and, on the other, to feel one's participation in the state
development.

DISMISSES ACCUSATIONS OF AUTHORITARIANISM

Esteemed friends, I will recall that almost at once after being elected as
president I was accused of attempts to usurp power. These accusations
reeked of such a passionate, at least subconscious, desire for anarchy that
sometimes seemed impossible to overcome. God keep us from a Russian
revolt, senseless and ruthless.

These are the words of a Pushkin character about the Pugachov era [Russian
peasant uprisings]. Ukraine had its own Pugachov era which lasted for
decades. Just as then, today it seems that our Haydamak and Makhno eras
have transcended the historical and geographical expanses of Ukraine into a
house in today's Kiev: the house of the Supreme Council [parliament]. In
this connection, I will take the liberty of highlighting this achievement of
the Ukrainian leadership, and, in a wider sense, of the Ukrainian people:
the abolition of the power of [Soviet] councils.

Let us be frank. Had the power of councils survived one more term, even
a brief one, in post-Soviet Ukraine, it would have turned into a counter-
revolutionary force. Those councils could have caused a new Socialist
revolution. These were the hotbeds and forces of the red revenge. There
was no shortage of fuel for it because the people were going through genuine
suffering and hardship and were prepared to believe the newly minted red
commissars who said it was worth returning to that heaven of the past and
all would we well again.

It is worthwhile to recall how a constitution of the Ukrainian Soviet
Socialist Republic - nothing less - was put forward [in parliament]. On the
whole, had we not been firm in defending the national interests, a true
crisis of statehood - maybe even a bloody one - would have been unavoidable.

I am sure that their leaders themselves were scared of it. Mr [Oleksandr]
Moroz [leader of the opposition Socialist Party] did a lot on that fateful
constitutional night, but can I help comparing him and his followers at the
time to a weird ambulance service that cripples and rescues at the same
time. Therefore, I have to say to the Ukrainians frankly: be very afraid of
defenders of the nation, those who cry out about the interests of the poor
to the whole world on your behalf. The entire decade of my presidency was
accompanied by this ruckus, and more than once it seemed it would cause
the state to fall.

EUROPE IS NOT READY FOR UKRAINE

In the first years of independence, having received nominal recognition from
the world community, Ukraine found itself in a situation that resembled
diplomatic isolation. Far from everyone in the immediate neighbourhood and
far abroad welcomed the birth of a young and ambitious state in the centre
of Europe. Having agreed to nuclear disarmament, we did, however, rejected
at once a peripheral role in world affairs. A visitor's chair at the
geopolitical table was not enough for us, especially when our, Ukrainian,
affairs were being discussed. It is clear that not everyone was happy with
this behaviour on our part, when we and our Cossack spirit broke through to
the Olympus of modern sovereign nations.

The world had been divided without Ukraine, and the rules by which the
modern world operates had been formed without us. Yesterday's province,
which began by teaching the world the truth that Ukraine is not Russia,
learnt to think geopolitically and to act strategically. We realized that
our steps, without a developed long-term course, were nothing more than
convulsive, unproductive and chaotic motion. Therefore, we substantiated
and began implementing a strategic course which determined the direction
of our development at least for the first 30 years of the 21st century.

This course is the European choice. The name of this state strategy itself
proves that there were other options, but Europeanization has become the
national idea. One hears speculation alleging that European integration is
not consolidating enough, that this idea sows discord and is perceived
differently at different poles of Ukraine. However, I would like to point to
sociological dimensions of a somewhat different nature and take them as a
basis. Most proponents of the European integration idea, regardless of the
region, are among scientists and students, among the humanities
intelligentsia, engineers, workers and, particularly, among young people.

The lowest [number of them] is among the unemployed and retired people.
This means that this is the guiding idea for the elite and the future of the
nation.

As for the pseudo-discussions and pledges of loyalty to the European course
which our Europeans among the opposition are so fond of, the picture looks
like this. The more we pledge loyalty to a European course in words, the
more convincingly we demonstrate our lack of confidence in its realization.

It is he who does not believe in himself who beats his breast hardest. And
one more thing on this, the thesis is bandied about that Ukraine is not
ready to join European institutions due to lack of democracy and freedom of
speech, and so on. A doubtful thesis - I would even call it a smokescreen.

What is really the case? In fact, there is a single indisputable fact, and
that is that if Ukraine were to join the EU, it would not be at the bottom
of the league table. And the higher up you are on the table, the more
crowded it is. So if there really is a lack of readiness, then you will have
to agree that it is on both sides. The old Europeans will have to get used
to the idea that a country that for a long time was part of the European
world is returning to Europe, and that it will not be the last player.
[Passage omitted: Ukraine has had links to Europe since the Middle Ages]

In these 13 years, each of us has had a chance to see that full integration
into the European and world community cannot be achieved overnight. In this
time, we have only managed to form a basis, but it is reliable. Today, our
country is one of the most important participants in UN peacekeeping
operations. For the whole decade Ukraine has been actively engaged in
peacekeeping within NATO frameworks and in the Balkans.

Ukrainian manufacturers' presence on the world markets and the reliability
of our booster rockets and aircraft are growing. Thanks to the high quality
of Ukrainian industrial output and the skilled services provided by our
specialists, the world increasingly more often sees the words "made in
Ukraine" as a guarantee of high quality.

We should be idealists and pragmatists at the same time. This means putting
forward new ideas and initiatives, actively seeking new allies and fighting
for new markets. The main measure for new beginnings should remain the
ability to be useful to our country and its citizens.

The main priority in Ukraine's foreign economic relations should be its
ultimate establishment in the global economic system. I mean, above all,
completing Ukraine's accession to the World Trade Organization. The status
of a geographic neighbour of a united Europe, which is being forced upon us
by some Europeans, also contradicts our strategic interests. I am deeply
convinced that the development of our relations in the form of association
will meet the interests of both the EU and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, we have to raise living standards, build up socioeconomic
muscles and develop mutually beneficial relations with our neighbours. In
this context, stable relations with our strategic partner, Russia, should be
based on friendship and partnership. This is not a minus but a big plus in
our relations with Europe, the true importance of which - I am sure -
politicians not only in Kiev, but in Brussels and Washington will realize
very soon. [Applause]

UKRAINE'S "ECONOMIC WONDER"

Esteemed friends. Let me dwell on the essence of thorough transformation
of the economy. We often and rightfully describe the historic moment that
occurred 13 year ago as the end of the third world war - the cold war. But
I would like to think that this expression should be taken not only as a
metaphorical expression. In terms of upheaval and destruction, the first
post-Soviet years were really a post-war period. The situation looked just
like this. Statehood was achieved amid economic ruins. Ukraine's GDP fell by
half. Only wars had led to such radical and rapid consequences before. It
was a paradoxical situation. Ukraine was created following the collapse of
the USSR. But the collapse, in terms of its socioeconomic consequences,
could destroy Ukraine itself.

Soon after becoming president, I gave an interview to the German newspaper
Die Welt, where I said plainly: Ukraine will not rise from the abyss of the
post-Soviet economy by itself and there is a threat that the state could
collapse. This time I won't cite the figures which show how deep all the
indicators fell. Stagnation and depression was close to world records of the
20th century.

In what condition did I see Ukraine in 1994 as a newly elected president?
The share of people with middle incomes had shrunk by half on 1990. While
at the beginning 60 per cent of citizens were satisfied with their financial
standing, in 1994 the same number of people found themselves below the
poverty line. The nation's intellect was eroded. In that same year of 1994 a
record number of doctors of sciences - over 600 - quit research
institutions. Many of them left Ukraine.

The social body of the state was not just degrading but was decomposing and
dying before everyone's eyes. Our people apparently had a high threshold of
resilience, as scientists say, below which the state of discomfort
transforms into irrational behaviour and mass agitation. [Passage omitted:
historic references]

We were forced to perceive the unprecedented crisis [hyperinflation in 1994]
as a favourable opportunity to testing our strength, to measure our own
unperceived potential, to work outside the limits of the possible. It is
probably here that the phenomenon of the Ukrainian economic wonder lies.

Yes, indeed, the economic wonder that Ukraine has been demonstrating over
the past years by becoming the absolute economic leader in Europe. Our
growth is taking place only at the expense of our own forces, as the new EU
members and our western neighbours have been growing, albeit much slower,
by attracting three to six times more foreign investment than Ukraine, while
our closest neighbour, Poland - nine times more. I won't even mention all
kinds of anti-dumping investigations and economic sanctions on the one hand
and exorbitant and unbelievable, in economic terms, economic practices,
taxes, duties and levies - our achievement this time - on the other.

Of course, the market, that is economic reform based on economic freedom,
helped us to survive and rise [to our feet]. In the command-and-control
economy of the Soviet Union there were no market grounds or institutions for
sweeping systemic transformations. These transformations were much more
difficult for Ukraine than for post-Socialist countries in the Central and
Eastern Europe. They had spent a comparatively short time under total state
control and managed to preserve market-economy principles. We had inherited
worn-out and outdated capital assets from the Soviet Union. There was not
enough advanced technology and promising scientific projects. There was a
shortage of goods. It is no surprise that the economy, which had for decades
been aimed at meeting production and military objectives rather than serving
social needs, started stagnating as soon as it was set free.

The times when production more than halved cannot be erased from history
either. Warehouses were full of old low-quality products. Hyperinflation
topped 10,000 per cent. Barter, non-payment of bills and budget deficit were
prevalent. People's wages were low and were not paid on time, or were not
paid at all. Therefore we realized that there would be no breakthrough in
strengthening the state and improving its people's wellbeing without a
structural recovery in the economy, without a sharp turn away from the
economy which produced goods to be stored at warehouses towards a
consumer-oriented economy. That a free market economy makes it possible
to demonstrate the best of human traits - those of a creator, benefactor,
businessman and master - needs no proof. Only private ownership brings out
these traits.

During those years, the fundamental idea of a socially-oriented economy was
implemented in Ukraine. People's real incomes, above all wages, have been
growing faster than GDP. This year alone, earnings grew by 15 per cent and
real wages by 26. The average monthly wage currently totals over 600
hryvnyas [about 110 dollars] compared with 181 hryvnyas in 2000. This is 50
per cent more than the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons. In 2000,
the average monthly pension was 66 hryvnyas, now it is over 220.

Dear friends, thanks to the systematic decade-long reformation work, GDP,
as a manifestation of the people's energy and highly efficient management by
the government, is continuing to grow. This year, it has already topped even
the most optimistic of forecasts - 13.5 [per cent]. Industrial output grew
by 14.7, agricultural output grew by 26.5. A respected US politician, who is
watching the Chinese economic miracle, said very aptly that you are about
the only country in the world whose indicators are higher than those in
China [applause].

In a report on competitiveness, which is compiled under the auspices of the
World Economic Forum, Ukraine improved its macroeconomic stability
indicator by 14 points in 2003 alone. This is the highest rise registered by
this respectable rating. Ukraine is ahead of 10 EU countries in terms of
this indicator. It is known that we have approved the strategy of Ukraine's
socioeconomic development for 2004-15. The past decade accumulated
energy for growth in the coming decade. We have every reason to set the
task of at least doubling our economic potential over the next decade. The
strategy envisages growth at almost 150 per cent. It is clear that this
achievement of our working people needs an adequate economic policy
from the government.

We have an appropriate policy at the moment. If it is lost, the period of
expected high growth could turn out to be short-lived, as it happened in the
majority of Eastern European and Baltic states.

We need to fight an unpleasant remnant of the Soviet era. Soviet mentality
was paternalistic. Generations of Ukrainians were brought up in the system
where the state was responsible for everything, primarily for the personal
well-being of every member of society. We have changed the system but the
mentality remained the same. Is it not at the heart of many problems we face
today?

Dear friends, we should preserve the foundation and principles of our
national economic policy, the orientation at high-tech sectors. Thank God,
we were smart enough not only to preserve them but to increase their
potential as well. We did not allow ourselves to be relegated to the camp of
third-world countries whose role in the global division of labour is that of
a source of natural resources and cheap labour.

We have enough professional expertise and national ambitions. The aggregate
parameter, according to which we define our ambitions is the fact that
Ukraine is one of the five out of 200 countries in the world which are
capable of launching a spaceship on their own. We have all the five
components of a space country. We can design a rocket, build a prototype,
carry out tests, begin production and launch it into space. I would like to
repeat the thought I expressed recently at the anniversary of my home plant
[Pivdennyy machine-building plant] - a nation that has the Pivdennyy plant
differs from the nations that don't. This is a dimension of civilization
which shows that a nation capable of making the world's best rockets will
definitely cope with all other earthly tasks and problems. [Applause]

PROMISES FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS

Esteemed friends, let us think about the next foundation, which is called a
democratic society. It seems that we all came out of Stalin's trenchcoat,
from Vladivostok to Ljubljana. However, in the entire post-Soviet space
Ukraine belonged to a reservation where the totalitarian regime had a double
strength, where the social and class despotism of the party was coupled with
ruthless ethnic oppression. That which was accepted and allowed in Moscow
or Leningrad as innocent liberal thinking, in Kiev or Lviv was given the
Criminal Code treatment as anti-Soviet activity and was eradicated with
every available method of the gulag. Compared to the heavyhanded
gendarmerie of the Kiev sort, Moscow's pseudoliberal salons of Gorbachev's
late socialism era looked like an unattainable democratic ideal. I am saying
this in order to remind you of the benchmark from which we are measuring
our distance to the democratic ideal. It is not difficult to ascertain
whether there is more democracy or less, although political science has not
yet established an accurate measure.

In this respect, I shall start with the most painful issue, the presidential
election campaign which is in full swing. Only the lazy among our friends in
the immediate neighbourhood and abroad have failed to give us
recommendations, advice, demands and even orders to conduct them in a free
and fair manner. [Applause] It seems the entire progressive world community
has forgotten about its global matters and started dealing with the problem
of vital global importance - Ukrainian elections. At least this is the hype
which the opposition and the very, very independent press loyal to it are
trying to create. The forecasts of the endless cohort of foreign
connoisseurs of our reality about political earthquakes in Ukraine turned
out to be, to put it mildly, exaggerated. However, this powerful campaign to
advertise our election could lead to the number of observers exceeding the
number of voters. The election campaign is nearing its climax, but nothing
special is happening or will happen in Ukraine. Everything will be just as
the Ukrainian people decide. [Applause]

As for the incumbent government bodies whose task it is to safeguard the
election's legitimacy, I can assure our energetic mentors that we will never
allow tanks to fire at the parliament, as happened very recently very close
to us [reference to the storming of the Russian parliament by troops in
1993], and we will not allow votes to be counted for over a month as it
also happened recently, though not so close [reference to the disputed US
presidential election of 2000].

Ukraine is holding presidential elections for the fourth time. As each time
before, it will again demonstrate its ability to conduct this important and
high-level democratic procedure in accordance with the letter of the law.

But in the broader context, this year's election campaign carries a colossal
opportunity to enhance the level of democracy in Ukraine. Today I see a
great problem in the fact that in the current balance of power, a powerful,
moderate and united political force that could perform the role of a
peacekeeper both in politics and in society has not yet emerged. It is this
force that could become the centre of gravity in deciding the future
development of the state. This position must be based on three universal
values: human dignity, national unity and civic patriotism. To create such a
nation-forming political force is one of priority tasks for the future.

NEW PRESIDENT MUST HAVE FEWER POWERS

A great opportunity for economic growth is, in my view, the political reform
[to turn Ukraine from a presidential to a parliamentary republic]. It
envisages a system of government that would make it impossible ever again to
concentrate power in one person's hands. The new content of political
existence has come into sharp conflict with the old form of government which
needs to be changed. This is the main conflict today in Ukraine's historical
development, the main obstacle in the path of its progress. To put it
simply, if the reform is not implemented before election, no president would
bother implementing it after. It is worth pointing out that the
front-runners in the presidential race have a genuine impact to make on the
course of the constitutional process in parliament. The [passage of] reform
is their first round of voting. Too much is at stake to be light-hearted
about it again.

As regards the sincere recommendations from abroad about our reform, I
would like to ask: why do our well-wishers seek to preserve this
[presidential] form of government in Ukraine, when there is no such form of
government in a single European country, I repeat, a single European
country? As the [Ukrainian] saying goes, they are letting us have their
cast-offs. [Ukr: Na tobi, bozhe, shcho meni nehozhe]

This opens our eyes regarding the not quite correct advice given by European
officials, who repeat the mythological tropes of our short-sighted and
hypocritical opposition. Let us recall that after the 2000 referendum [which
proposed extending the president's authority] were accused of strengthening
the presidency. The strengthening only lay in giving the president the right
to dissolve parliament in certain cases. This is a norm for every European
country. I stress, every European country. Now, as the reform has been
launched, they accuse us of the opposite - of weakening the presidency.
Either thing sounds bad [to them]. Maybe, the problem lies in something
other than an objective approach to developments in Ukraine.

In general, our country is often seen as an immature form of a Western
democracy. Our democratic elder brothers and sisters keep berating us for
this immaturity. As if we were little brothers, they demand that we cover in
a few years the civilization path that it took them centuries to cover.

It is simply amazing that, with dogged dogmatism, almost the same demands
are made of those who have already crossed the finish line and those who
have only just approached the starting line are almost the same. We are
grateful that this sort of maximalism regarding problems of our development
is expressed because of good intentions, when respectable democracies are
simply pulling the post-communist world by its hair to the kingdom of
liberal freedom. In this regard, I would like [them] to take account of
Thomas Jefferson, who is highly respected in Ukraine and who warned: do
not try to do people more good than they are able to stand.

LACK OF PATRIOTISM

And finally, nation-building is a basis for establishing a state as well as
for its existence. Not a single edifice has so far been constructed without
a foundation. The nation is the foundation of the success of a state
project. Is there a modern monolithic political nation in Ukraine? Any of
its citizens cannot imagine existence without it. Without the huge resource
of the multitude, they do not see any prospects for their own
self-realization. After receiving a passport issued by the new state, were
all of us aware that this was their rebirth as a citizen? Or did many of us
remain in the old world which had disappeared, picturing themselves in the
same place where we had spent a large part of our lives? Answers to these
questions should be unequivocal. In the history of mankind, states whose
residents are not patriots never achieved social or economic success.

Patriotism in the newest sense is also an economic notion in our pragmatic
age. The elite should be particularly dedicated to their nation. In our
bitter history, the aristocracy often sold out its native people for power
and property to Turks or Tatars, Russians or Poles. Is history's only lesson
that it has no lessons to give?

This applies to our recently formed bourgeoisie, which sometimes thinks that
its own well-being can be surrounded by a thick oligarchic shell and that
the only protection from any trouble is their foreign accounts of dubious
origin. The pitiful experience of our own prisoners in exile [former Prime
Minister Pavlo Lazarenko convicted in the USA of embezzlement and money
laundering] and billionaires from neighbouring countries in convict clothes
teaches that a person is worth nothing if he cannot count on the support of
the nation he served.

At the current turning point in our history, Ukraine has given priority to
the statehood programme of independence with a clear national emphasis.
The national-state idea turned out to be stronger than the ethnic idea with
its tribal origin and an inclination to tear Ukrainian territory into
pieces.

So, gentlemen, we should strengthen the ideals of a civil state. A nation's
existence is based on the conscious will of its members. That is why the
nation is a group of people who want to be a state or are a state. That is
why some Western languages use the word "nation" as a synonym to the
word "state". A fully fledged nation is one that has the will to live as a
state.

In previous centuries only the upper layers of society had this will. If it
disappeared, the nation also disappeared as a political entity. Contemporary
nations have become more full-blooded thanks to the extension of their
social base. It includes all the citizens, all the people. The Ukrainian
political nation fully corresponds to this trend. [Passage omitted:
congratulates Olympic athletes on their successes]

WARNS AGAINST POLICY CHANGE, HINTS AT STAYING IN POLITICS

Esteemed audience! The next anniversary of independence will be marked
after the presidential election. It will be the people's choice, but I'd
like this choice to be a happy one, one that carries a minimum of risks for
Ukraine. The possible options boil down to the following alternatives.

The first model of solving inevitable historical problems is a radical
change of the ruling elite, taking power away from some and giving it to
others. It is very likely that this scenario will eventually upset the
sociopolical balance won with gargantuan efforts and will cause a chaotic
demise of the economic renaissance, as it often happens when social energy
is absorbed by futile political struggle.

Model two is continuity of the political course, deepening the numerous
reforms mentioned above which will take at least several decades to complete
even in the interim, increasing the record pace of socioeconomic growth and
speeding up on this basis the nation's living standards. This requires a
comprehensive dialogue, a modern form of social relations, bringing
professional government managers and social integrators onto the political
scene.

Our task is to do our utmost to protect Ukraine from the first scenario,
which would be damaging and full of risks and social upheaval. I urge all
political forces, I repeat, all political forces, to adopt a joint programme
of actions for the sake of our young state which is speedily gaining
momentum to the world's amazement.

By my original profession, I have taken the most complex creations of the
human genius into space. [Reference to his work at the Pivdennyy
manufacturer of space and military technology.] But fate has decreed for me
the greatest happiness, the biggest prize ever awarded to a human being: to
take one's own country into the orbit of modern civilization, when by
calling GAP the immortal genes of the great predecessors awakened in the
Russified heart of a soldier's son from Chernihiv.

Today I am no longer indifferent to what history will make of the decade of
my presidency. I am confident that an unbiased and grateful descendant
passing under the domes of St Michael's, St Volodymyr's or the Khersones
shrines which we resurrected from the ashes of the revolutionary dark ages,
will give credit to our modest effort in Ukraine's name. [Applause]

We raised the cathedrals of our souls from the ruin, the spiritual symbols
by which Ukrainians were known throughout the ages both on earth and in
space. We raised our state from the ruin, we raised our nation from its
knees. It was hard, painstaking work, but it elevated us as the first
creators of the Ukrainian state.

Some political pygmies are trying to seize power under the slogan "Ukraine
without Kuchma". This way they are exposing themselves, simply because
the incumbent president is not in the running. But I can assure all my
compatriots of one thing: there will never be a Kuchma without Ukraine.
[Applause]

Too much has been invested in the past 10 years, my people have managed
to overcome too many incredible challenges, for any of us who has been part
of this historical breakthrough to allow ourselves to take the immoral view
of "apre moi, le deluge".

Love for one's motherland knows no demobilization. Statesmen by calling
do not resign even after their term ends. Posts may change, but the post of
serving Ukraine, where you are forever on duty, remains unchanged.
[Applause]

Today, I was to deliver a political testament to those who in the election
race seek from the people of Ukraine the sceptre of head of one of the
biggest European states. To millions of my dearest compatriots, together
with whom we climbed out of the wilderness of statelessness, poverty and
captivity, I will repeat the words of a great Ukrainian, [poet] Volodymyr
Sosyura, which will ring through the ages: Love Ukraine like sunshine, love
it like the wind and the grass and the water, love it at moments of
happiness and joy, and love it in the hour of trouble. Love it in labour, in
love and in war, as a morning song, love Ukraine with all your heart, and
we shall be eternal with it. Glory to Ukraine! (END)
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