"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR"
An International Newsletter
The Latest, Up-To-Date
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 - AUR" - Number 526
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C. and Kyiv, Ukraine, WEDNESDAY, July 20, 2005
------INDEX OF ARTICLES------
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINE WILL GAIN FROM INTEGRATING ITS AGRO-INDUSTRIAL
COMPLEX (AIC) INTO THE GLOBAL TRADE SYSTEM
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY: By Oleksandr Zholud
International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS)
"ICPS Newsletter" Bulletin # 285
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 18, 2005
2. IS THIS THE CANONICAL WAY?
The absence of a Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine is an act of
glaring injustice and a serious violation of the universal Orthodox canon
COMMENTARY: By Klara Gudzyk, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #24
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 19, 2005
3. MYROSLAVA GONGADZE:
THEY WANT TO DISCREDIT MELNYCHENKO
The Day Weekly Digest in English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 19, 2005
4. LESIA GONGADZE: I CAN'T BE BOUGHT
INTERVIEW: With Lesia Gongadze
Interviewed by Iryna Yehorova, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #24
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 19, 2005
5. CAN UKRAINE'S 2006 ELECTIONS BE FAIR?
Some Observations on What Observers Cannot See.
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY: By Stephen Velychenko,
Research Fellow, Chair of Ukr Studies/CREES,University of Toronto
Visiting Professor, Kiev Mohyla Academy University, Kyiv
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 526
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, July 20, 2005
6. CRIMINAL CASES OPENED OVER GAS-TRANSPORTATION SCHEMES
Allegedly deprived Ukrainian treasury of more than $1 billion
ANALYSIS: By Roman Kupchinsky
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Organized Crime and Terrorism Watch, Vol. 5, No. 6
Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday,14 July 2005
7. UKRAINIAN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF SAYS TOP PROSECUTOR NOT
RECRUITED BY US AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE JOHN HERBST
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1028 gmt 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, Jul 19, 2005
8. US INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI SEES
ROMANIA AS REGIONAL STABILITY PROVIDER WHO CAN
INFLUENCE POLITICS IN MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE
Rompres News Agency, Bucharest, Romania, July 19, 2005
9. MOLDOVA'S REBEL LEADER IGOR SMIRNOV REPORTS ON MEETING
WITH UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT VICTOR YUSHCHENKO
Olvia-press website, Tiraspol, in Russian 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service. UK, in English, Tue, Jul 19, 2005
10. ISUZU, AN AFFILIATE OF GENERAL MOTORS, REPORTED READY
TO START PRODUCING TRUCKS IN UKRAINE IN 2006
AFX Europe (Focus), Tokyo, Japan, Wed, Jul 20, 2005
11. NEW ORGANIZATION TO PROMOTE UKRAINE'S EUROINTEGRATION
COURSE CREATED IN KYIV
Including citizens of Ukraine, Poland and the USA
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, July 29, 2005
12. DONETSK MAYOR APOLOGIZES TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT
Yushchenko was depicted in a Nazi uniform on one of the billboards.
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0944 gmt 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, July 19, 2005
13. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT TRANSFORMS TRAFFIC POLICE
INTO ROAD SAFETY SERVICE
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Tue, Jul 19, 2005
14. EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA SAYS RELATIONS
BETWEEN THE EU AND UKRAINE HAVE BECOME CLOSER
One Plus One TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1630 gmt 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, Jul 19, 2005
15. NEW ISSUE OF WELCOME TO UKRAINE MAGAZINE PUBLISHED
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 20, 2005
16. PM TYMOSHENKO CONFIDENT HER DAUGHTER YEVHENIA
WILL STAY IN UKRAINE AFTER WEDDING
Interfax-Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 17, 2005
17. UKRAINIAN CONCERT PROGRAM 'RETURN TO FUTURE' PRESENTED
AT SLAVONIC BAZAAR FESTIVAL OF ARTS IN VITEBSK, BELARUS
Works by modern Ukrainian composers and folks music pieces
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 18, 205
18. KIEV MARKET CATERS TO TASTES FROM MANY HOMELANDS
Store's owner worked in Black Sea shipyards of Kerch, Ukraine
Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington, USA, Mon, July 18, 2005
19. PM TYMOSHENKO TOURS PEOPLE'S SONG FESTIVAL IN KHARKIV
Festival attended by 75,000 people
By Svetlana Ligostayeva, Oleksandr Khorolskiy,
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 18, 2005
20. THE CHERKASY REGION AND ITS GOLDEN "HORSESHOE ROUTE"
Places every nationally conscious Ukrainian should visit
By Viktoria Herasymchuk, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #24
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 19, 2005
=============================================================
1. UKRAINE WILL GAIN FROM INTEGRATING ITS AGRO-INDUSTRIAL
COMPLEX (AIC) INTO THE GLOBAL TRADE SYSTEM
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY: By Oleksandr Zholud
International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS)
"ICPS Newsletter" Bulletin # 285
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 18, 2005
One condition for a successful agricultural policy is to make a strategic
choice in favor of globalization. This means choosing between willingly
preserving the post-soviet approach to managing the farm sector and
actively integrating into the global economy. The former means continuing
disorder and wastage of public funds.
The latter means completely rebuilding the basis of agricultural policy,
clear prospects for the agro-industrial complex, and incentives for
developing in future-including short-term losses for some enterprises
Ukraine's membership in the WTO will secure opportunities for Ukrainian
exports under the most favorable conditions and defend the economic
interests of domestic commodity producers.
In addition, the risk of wild price fluctuations will subside should Ukraine
switch from the position of exporter to the position of importer for certain
types of products. Provided its AIC is restructured, Ukraine stands to
benefit from membership in the WTO.
WHY SUBSIDIZE THE VILLAGE?
The basic arguments of those who support subsidies are the enormous
subsidies granted by the US and EU countries to their farmers. In the past,
sector-based groups of agricultural producers and traders used a powerful
lobby to get laws and regulations adopted that again and again provided
their sector with new kinds of government support. These groups speak in
favor of the position that Ukraine's agriculture will not be able to develop
without substantial government support.
Opponents of such subsidies argue that current state policy to encourage
development in agriculture gets in the way of actually achieving an
important strategic goal: to raise the effectiveness of the sector. The
Government continues to support many inefficient agricultural enterprises by
providing generous subsidies, while some of the most efficient producers
receive practically no government support.
Corrupt schemes for distributing funds, falsification, embezzlement, and
inefficient spending are typical of the Ukrainian system for supporting the
agricultural sector. Quite often, it is necessary to offer a kickback of
about 30-50% of the sum obtained in order to actually receive state support.
Another trick is when numbers for sold livestock are understated in order to
receive supplemental benefits for heavy animals. In other words, a major
part of state money is not working to support agricultural producers at all.
Those who point to the state support provided to farmers in the US and the
EU countries are ignoring the fact that, except for these highly developed
countries, the majority of states around the world are developing countries
that mostly do not use state support instruments. New Zealand and some
Latin American countries have managed to significantly develop their farm
sectors without any assistance from the state.
CAN THE DOMESTIC MARKET TAKE CARE OF ITSELF?
Another popular argument is the need for the state to protect the domestic
market. The key point the supporters of subsidies make is that, after tariff
and non-tariff barriers to imports are lowered, Ukraine will see mass
deliveries of cheap imported food products at dumping prices and that
domestic commodity producers will not be able to match the competition
and will go bankrupt.
Calculations show that expectations of such negative consequences are not
justified. After Ukraine accedes to the WTO, a 20% ceiling on import tariffs
will apply to almost all agricultural and food products. This figure is
lower than current tariffs.
Researchers from the OECD, World Bank and UNDP who analyzed price
differences between global prices and prices of domestic producers came
to the conclusion that customs barriers do not affect the prices of domestic
agricultural commodity producers, which tend to continue to be fairly low,
often lower even than global prices. This can be explained by the fact that
Ukraine is a net exporter of most primary agricultural and food products.
Moreover, with the exception of poultry and pork, price differences are
much lower than the tariff ceilings that will come into force when Ukraine
accedes to the WTO. This means that the impact of reduced tariffs on
domestic prices will be insignificant.
The authors of this study concluded that the low tariff ceilings would not
put additional pressure on producers, while the domestic market will be
sufficiently protected since the main groups of agricultural products will
remain more competitive than imported goods in terms of prices.
There is also no basis for arguments that liberalized relations with the EU
will have a negative impact. According to factor-based and modeling
analysis data, a free trade area with the EU will raise Ukraine's imports of
farm products by 20%, but Ukraine's exports of farm products will grow
30%-a positive result in absolute terms.
HOW TO MINIMIZE LOSSES FROM INTEGRATION?
The key risks in integrating Ukraine's AIC into the global trade system are:
[1] the global situation will have a stronger impact on Ukraine's
economy;
[2] heavily subsidized sectors will be left without any support from
state
programs, their output will likely drop, and unemployment will rise;
[3] lower incomes as a result of lower domestic prices due to
Ukraine's
membership in the WTO; membership in the EU will have the opposite
effect: domestic prices will climb;
[4] the structure of the sector will change and profiles will shift,
leading to losses for certain enterprises;
[5] growing Budget spending on measures to comply with WTO
requirements;
[6] maintaining world quality standards and consumer features in
products could lead to a crisis in the capacities of domestic producers
to adhere to international standards;
[7] lower tax revenues due to reduced farm output and lower revenues
from import duty, licensing and certification as a result of lower customs
tariffs.
To minimize these losses, the Government needs to indicate its policy
priorities with regard to: legislative and administrative guarantees for
property rights, above all for land, access to financial resources,
improving information transfer, transport, trade, technical, and educational
infrastructure. -30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information, contact Oleksandr Zholud by telephone at
(380-44) 272-1050 or via e-mail at ozholud@icps.kiev.ua.
LINK: http://www.icps.kiev.ua/eng/topics/
=============================================================
2. IS THIS THE CANONICAL WAY?
The absence of a Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine is an act of
glaring injustice and a serious violation of the universal Orthodox canon
COMMENTARY: By Klara Gudzyk, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #24
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 19, 2005
In an interview with Associated Press that was published in late June
Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine commented on the
stand taken by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate
(UOC MP).
Among other things, he stated that the UOC-MP is "free and independent
in terms of its administration, in keeping with the patriarchal decree of
October 27, 1990."
This author would like to remind the learned reader that this decree has
long been forgotten in Kyiv and Moscow, most likely because it was
considered a dangerous sin of the feverish "revolutionary times."
Meanwhile, the ecclesiastical life of the UOC-MP is completely
subordinated to the rules and enactments of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Here is a recent example. On June 29 the UOC-MP faithful picketed the
Verkhovna Rada in protest against - guess what? - Ukraine's European
integration plans, condemning them as "attempts to forcefully separate the
UOC from the Moscow Patriarchate."
Picketers chanted "No to Autocephaly!", "No to Autonomy!", "No to the
Uniate Church!", "Alexis II Is Our Patriarch!" They also rallied against the
Constantinople Patriarchate's "interference in UOC affairs" in general and
against any other "interference" in the life of Ukraine under the current
president.
They urged the clergy to remember the "social concept of the church,"
whereby if the government "acts contrary to the freedom of conscience, the
church can deny the state its confidence and call to its flock to engage in
peaceful civil resistance." It is important to note that the demonstrators
were referring to the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Indeed, the concept was drawn up and approved in Moscow, and the current
threat of civil disobedience is aimed against the Ukrainian government (I
suspect that the civil disobedience clause was designed in Moscow
especially for the UOC MP).
Asked about the possibility of establishing a Local (Pomisna) Autocephalous
Church in Ukraine, Metropolitan Volodymyr replied that "there is a real
possibility for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to acquire a new canonical
status and take its worthy place in the diptych of Orthodox churches.
In 1993 the Holy Synod of our church addressed a message to the faithful
(07.27.93) declaring that we, too, want the UOC to become a full-fledged
member of the family of Orthodox churches, but that we are following the
canonical road."
After this statement was released a number of Ukrainian Orthodox adherents
would like the Moscow-affiliated metropolitan to mention even one step that
the UOC-MP has made along this "canonical road." All talk and promises
concerning church autonomy back in the early 1990s have long been
forgotten.
Celebrating divine services in Ukrainian is still regarded as heresy;
Ukrainian newsstands are packed with Russian religious publications; in
most churches here people are encouraged to pray for the recently
canonized Russian tsar Nicholas II (such canonizations are effectively
driving Ukrainian believers from their national church and history).
Yet any mention of autocephaly, even by the president, is met by protest
actions engineered by the UOC-MP. No autocephalous terms or conditions
are discussed in church in Ukraine; the very notion is regarded as
nonexistent.
Considering these realities, one may well wonder how fast and for how many
more centuries will the Ukrainian Orthodox Church be following this
"canonical" path in order to become a full-fledged member of the family of
Orthodox churches. I would like to remind readers that the church at issue
is arguably the world's largest Orthodox church and that it is historically
the mother-church of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In his interview Metropolitan Volodymyr spoke about Orthodox unity and that
obtaining the status of a Local Church "depends not so much on us as on all
those who today stand outside church unity with Universal Orthodoxy," i.e.,
apart from the faithful of the Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian
Autocephalous Orthodox Church. They have been told "magnanimously" on
more than one occasion: "Join us, repent, and we will then consider your
autocephaly."
There is, however, a different path. Had the Ukrainian Orthodox Church made
up its mind to withdraw from the Moscow Patriarchate and declared its
independence - as was done by a number of Orthodox churches, including in
Greece, Serbia, Poland, and Georgia, it would have been joined shortly by
the so-called non-canonical churches.
In that case even the Patriarch of Constantinople would have acted in a more
decisive manner and issued an appropriate decree. There are more than
enough historical precedents.
Finally, when asked about the notorious involvement of UOC clergy in the
presidential campaign of 2004-2005, Metropolitan Volodymyr replied very
diplomatically, in the best Byzantine tradition: "The holy fathers of the
church made no official statements on behalf of the church in support of
either candidate, and only official statements can have authority and
meaning for the entire church. As for your examples of 'interference' that
did take place, those did not reflect the church's general stand but the
attitude of certain hierarchs, clerics, and laymen as citizens of this
country."
This is how the head of the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church
defined his religious and civic stand; nothing was clarified, no one was
cautioned, and, I might add, no one was censured. In a word, they acted as
though they were in a foreign country. Metropolitan Volodymyr also refused
to comment on the well known actions of certain UOC MP bishops and
members of the synod, even though they are all under his direct religious
jurisdiction.
Russian president Vladimir Putin recently signed an edict conferring the
Order of Honor on Metropolitan Volodymyr (Slobodan) of Kyiv and All Rus'-
Ukraine "in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the development
of spiritual and cultural traditions and the furthering of Russian-
Ukrainian relations." Does this award mean an acknowledgment of service
rendered in the past or is it a warning for the future? Remember: the next
elections are not far off.
The absence of a Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine is an act of glaring
injustice and a serious violation of the universal Orthodox canon - a church
with a thousand-year history, which even now, when the difficult process of
building a state is taking place, is treated as though the issue concerns
several dozen parishes or some new and completely unknown religious
formation.
It is painful to watch the Ukrainian bishops of the UOC-MP being forced to
keep their mouths shut, not daring to claim their legitimate rights or show
any noble desire to facilitate the historical process of restoring the unity
and independence of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
Are all these Ukrainian bishops so intimidated or generously bribed? Are
they so devoted to the idea of the Third Rome? (Fortunately, not all of
them! We have just learned about a message issued by Archbishop
Sofroniy of Cherkasy and Kaniv). -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.day.kiev.ua/145301
=============================================================
3. MYROSLAVA GONGADZE: THEY WANT TO DISCREDIT MELNYCHENKO
The Day Weekly Digest in English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 19, 2005
There was an attempt to disrupt the meeting between Ukraine's General
Prosecutor Sviatoslav Piskun and former presidential security officer Major
Mykola Melnychenko on American soil. This is the opinion of not only
Melnychenko but also the widow of the slain journalist Heorhiy Gongadze,
Myroslava.
Speaking in a Radio Liberty interview, she said: "I suspect that they in
fact attempted to disrupt the meeting. Judging by all the latest materials
that are aimed against Melnychenko, I get the impression that this is an
attempt to discredit Melnychenko or sideline him, for even though the
General Prosecutor is saying that he wants to meet, I do not see the will in
practice."
As she put it, "After returning to Kyiv, Piskun will say that because
Melnychenko couldn't or wouldn't meet, we are closing this case, as we do
not have sufficient evidence implicating those who ordered the killing and
are therefore referring this case to court."
Myroslava Gongadze said that she did not meet with Piskun during his visit
to the US and does not have "any information about what the investigators
and the General Prosecutor are doing here."
When asked whether she has seen "much progress" in the investigation into
the killing of her husband, about which President Viktor Yushchenko spoke
recently, she said: "How can I evaluate progress if I have never seen the
materials of the case and have never talked to the investigators or the
General Prosecutor?
I am very alarmed by the fact that Viktor Yushchenko is making such
statements, because this is not the president's job to comment on the
investigation. This is the job of the uniformed services alone," she added.
In her view, such statements can be damaging to the investigation of the
Gongadze case because "later, after the case has been referred to court,
any party (both the plaintiff and the defendants) can submit complaints
against the political leadership of Ukraine, claiming that it is a
politically-motivated trial." -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring
Service]
=============================================================
4. LESIA GONGADZE: I CAN'T BE BOUGHT
I know that it's hard to learn the truth in this country,
so I can't really expect to learn the truth.
Here everything is rooted in falsehood. But I'm the mother of
my son and I want to know where he is buried. Let me tell you
again, I'm determined to do this, that's all I want.
INTERVIEW: With Lesia Gongadze
Interviewed by Iryna Yehorova, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #24
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 19, 2005
The mother and the widow of the late journalist are perhaps the most
interested parties in the Gongadze case because they want a full-scale
investigation. In an interview with The Day Lesia Gongadze questions a
number of aspects relating to the case and the rule of law in Ukraine.
She isn't satisfied with and refuses to be misled by any declarations that
the Gongadze case has finally been solved or by any statements about the
"supreme political expedience" of avoiding a straight answer to a straight
question about who ordered the journalist's murder. All she wants is the
truth.
[The Day] Mrs. Gongadze, today (July 8 - Ed.) you have agreed to DNA
testing for the fifth time. Do you still hope to establish the truth?
L.G.: I'm simply a mother who wants to know where her son is buried. I often
hear people describing me as a courageous and strong- willed woman, but
this is only what meets the eye. Deep inside I'm burned out. On one occasion
I found myself surrounded by women who wanted to touch me to share my
energy and willpower. They said they needed this to recharge themselves.
Yes, I want to know the truth, so I'm sticking to hard facts. True, the
remains that were subjected to forensic medical examinations show that the
right upper limb has an old injury that my son sustained in Sukhumi in 1993.
But the foot and the toes don't belong to my Giya. How can a mother mistake
her son's toes for someone else's? My son suffered from foot eczema and the
feet of that body didn't have it.
Although DNA testing can't guarantee 100% identification, I agreed to a DNA
test for the fifth time. An official from the General Prosecutor's Office
arrived, along with a special investigating officer. I'm not sure, but I
noticed that they weren't looking me straight in the eyes. If so, the show
is still going on.
But I agreed to that blood test. Believe me, the procedure isn't pleasant,
although it's a simple one, medically speaking; they finally promised to do
a hair analysis and test the bones in the foot, the heel. This can yield
100% identification.
[The Day] You mean that you still hope to bury your son, and that perhaps
not just the murderers but also those who ordered the killing will be
brought to justice? They're supposedly searching for them.
L.G.: Please understand that no one is hunting anyone; everybody under-
stands the situation. They're just going through the motions of
investigating the case and everybody has their interests to pursue. After
all has been said and done, no one (I mean the government) gives a hoot
about me, and the same is true of Giya.
But if you want power, when you are a slave to that desire, you will resort
to any degree of hypocrisy. Some have left, others have arrived. I was first
used by one opposition and then by the next one. The people, however, make
up an inscrutable force and those who are trying to play games with them are
sure to end up on the losing side.
I've gone through the school of Georgia, I saw Gamsakhurdiya juggling with
his people, and now I'm watching Saakashvili do the same.
After Kravchenko's death, even more people have started thinking that
something is not right in Ukraine. If you're told officially that Kravchenko
committed suicide by putting a gun to his head and firing it twice, what
else can you expect? That's worse than immoral and disrespectful to people.
I know that it's hard to learn the truth in this country, so I can't really
expect to learn the truth.
Here everything is rooted in falsehood. But I'm the mother of my son and I
want to know where he is buried. Let me tell you again, I'm determined to do
this, that's all I want.
[The Day] There are many photos showing you standing next to prominent
politicians. How do you feel about politics?
L.G.: The thing is that my person and my name are being politically
exploited. Messrs. Taras Stetskiv and Taras Chornovil promised to make
me an honorary citizen of Ukraine and Lviv. They did this hoping to use me
as their last trump card in the parliamentary campaign. They also made
lots of other promises - but after getting their seats, they would look the
other way whenever they saw me.
I could cite many other examples. I believe that 30% of our MPs got their
seats by using the name of Gongadze. This is explained by the fact that our
people took my tragedy close to heart; they realized that each of them was
exposed to the same threat. The Gongadze case has become a litmus
paper of sorts. It shows whether you're on the right or wrong side of the
law.
However, after years of false promises our people can hardly expect justice
to be done to the wrongdoers. Likewise they don't expect the next election
campaign to be fair. But I will no longer allow myself to be exploited,
pictured on posters standing with a parliamentary candidate.
Meanwhile, I've never seen him before in my life and never stood next to
him. The people believe this: 'You see, Mrs. Gongadze is standing next to
him; that means something.' The only one I did support was Shkil - not him
personally but his desire to help other fellows who were thrown behind bars
with him.
I wanted him to get a seat in the Verkhovna Rada and help release his fellow
inmates. He couldn't, and they were eventually released from jail, sick and
morally crippled individuals.
[The Day] Are you hoping that the West will help investigate the Gongadze
case?
L.G.: My daughter-in-law Myroslava filed a complaint with the European
Court three years ago, and what good did that do? No one has bothered to
investigate the case. The world has its own problems to cope with.
If a nation lacks leaders who are genuinely concerned about its destiny,
who else will care about it? Europe is a complicated conglomerate currently
haunted by its own problems. If a family can't get itself straightened out,
no one on the sidelines can help.
The seats for our MPs have been enlarged by 6 centimeters, but people
who carry such bellies in front of them cannot think along lofty lines.
Figuratively speaking, they're slaves of the gastrointestinal tract. Their
brain doesn't get enough blood. I'm joking, of course, but there's a grain
of truth in every joke.
[The Day] Melnychenko's tapes are largely associated with the Gongadze
case. What do you think about them?
L.G.: I know one thing. Identifying that body as my son's means
acknowledging the truth recorded on these tapes. No one wants this. I once
got a phone call from someone who said he was acting on Melnychenko's
behalf. I was asked to travel abroad and meet with him.
Why? What would he want from me? It was probably an attempt to lure me
out of my home. Then anything could've happened to me on the way,
considering all the loud and sincere statements I'd been making, which is
my one and only privilege; I'm a lonely, unhappy woman, but at the same
time I am free and independent.
I usually wear a hat. I'm an old, thin woman, and my face doesn't look
happy. Children call me Granny Shapoklyak [a negative hero of a popular
Soviet cartoon]. I remember envying older women when I was a young girl,
how they acted so calmly and sure of themselves, wearing nice thin gloves,
makeup, smelling of expensive perfumes, exuding quiet comfort.
Even then I seemed to realize that I would never be like any of them, that
I'd never learn to smile so calmly, that I'd never have such exquisite
gloves.
Life proved me right; like thousands of other women I couldn't meet old age
feeling secure. After all, every age group has its advantages.
People advanced in years have wisdom and feel liberated from many
limitations that affect the younger generation. Somehow, everything has gone
topsy-turvy. Now you can't count on working hard to secure your old age; you
can't feel happy watching the sunset after a hard working day. You have to
toil to earn something for your children and help them solve their problems.
[The Day] You're quite popular with journalists; they appreciate your
straightforward approach; you don't conceal any personal problems or other
people's.
L.G.: I spoke with Halyna Tereshchuk yesterday; this woman has been
forced to hide from the authorities for several days. This Radio Liberty
correspondent is also too outspokenly independent. That is a dangerous
thing in our society. By the way, Halyna was the one who arranged for my
private telephone line. Later, we'd often talk and every time I'd beg her,
"Halyna, please watch out."
I used to say the same thing to my son: "Giya, be careful, bad things are
happening around you." He'd reply, "Mom, don't worry, I know. I'll be OK."
Some people can't live contrary to their convictions and calling. My son was
one of them.
You want to learn more about my problems? Our meters were stolen in 2000
and we were sued. I filed an injustice-and-humiliation complaint with a
court of law. I returned from Kyiv exhausted. I hadn't been home for two
years. Why should I pay for 75 kWh a month?
The Shevchenko District Court upheld my complaint, but the district energy
distribution company appealed. In the end I was ordered to pay the
electricity bills even though I never used any during the period. And then
they cut off my electricity.
I'm officially registered as a tenant on Khvylovy Street. There is a city
dump 30 feet from my house that burns day and night, and day and night
the stench fills my apartment. I've been trying to solve this problem by
complaining to three governors and two mayors, to no avail. I can't live
there, so I'm staying at my brother's.
[THE DAY] Has your pension been increased?
L.G.: I'm used to living modestly, which means I have absolutely no way to
buy trinkets. Our family always lived on the verge of poverty. I remember
the man who lived next door tossing chunks of sausage to his dog when we
had nothing to eat. My mother would say, "Let him throw his sausage; we
can't afford it. I won't send your father to steal it, and I won't do it
myself." I never forgot this.
I was offered a presidential stipend and a higher retirement allowance. All
those social protection ministers kept calling, asking me to accept this
allowance. I told them that I'd have it only after the rest of the people
have it, and that I didn't need it as a personal favor.
Myroslava was offered 100,000 euros to waive all her grievances against
Ukraine. It was meant as a bribe, so that she would keep silent. If it were
a court ruling rather than Premier Tymoshenko's offer, she would consider
the possibility. As it is, it is a matter of principle and she can't lose
her clout. All these five years of expectations and sufferings can't be
measured in terms of money, and no one knows the outcome.
[The Day] We've heard that Myroslava has a good job in the States.
L.G.: Only people poor in spirit can think that. I have spent 24 years in a
strange country, I have lived in a paradise on earth made for me, but I
dreamed of my homeland every day. Being in a strange land is like sharing
your sweetheart's home, which is nice, but it's not your own. One must live
and die in one's native land.
[THE DAY] You aren't a Ukrainian citizen?
L.G.: No, I'm not. Why should I apply for your citizenship? I go to the same
church where my great-grandfather was wed; there is a civil registrar's
record showing that my ancestors, by the name of Korchak, lived here
hundreds of years ago. So why should I ask any of those in power, who have
helped to destroy Ukraine, for citizenship? Deep down I'm Ukrainian anyway.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.day.kiev.ua/145293
=============================================================
5. CAN UKRAINE'S 2006 ELECTIONS BE FAIR?
Some Observations on What Observers Cannot See
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY: By Stephen Velychenko,
Research Fellow, Chair of Ukr Studies/CREES,University of Toronto
Visiting Professor, Kiev Mohyla Academy University, Kyiv
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 526
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, July 20, 2005
How much genuine support did the Ianukovych group really have, who
supported him, and why? Mykola Riabchuk with his usual perspicacity
reminded us during the elections that it was not ethnicity and language
that divides Ukraine or determined support for Ianukovych or Iushchenko.
The key variables underlying support for, or rejection of, neo-Soviet
Russophile groups and practices are age, education, and access to
uncensored information.
Older less educated Ukrainians and Russians, Ukrainian and Russian
speaking,who watched censored government channels were more likely
to support the Ianukovych/Kuchma/Putin option, than the younger and
better educated who watched uncensored channels.
Another variable that generated votes for the Ianukovych group and which
political analysts should both research in more detail and publicize
widely is the neo-Soviet state-financed cradle to grave
enterprise-paternalism that is still today stronger in eastern than western
Ukraine -- which became part of the USSR only in 1945.
The regions with the highest support for Ianukovych were those with the
highest state subsidies -- miners make up to 800 hryvnia a month -- and a
key point of Ianukovych's campaign propaganda was that a Iushchenko
victory would end those subsidies.
The importance of this neo-feudal paternalism in determining the attitudes
of its dependents cannot be underestimated. Enterprises in Ukraine still
supply not only wages and finished products. In a society where private
entrepreneurs must charge high prices to stay in business, only enterprises
can supply services that everyone can afford. Cutting their government
subsidies and credits, would not only mean lost jobs.
Workers would also lose: affordable housing, health-care, child-care, food,
consumer goods, holiday-camps, and funeral services. Housing-construction,
transportation, and even park-maintenance would also suffer as some
factories supplant municipal authorities and are responsible also for those
services.
Services, in turn, require administrators, and accordingly, besides their
thousands of workers, enterprises also provide thousands of jobs totally
unrelated to what they actually produce -- these range from holiday-camp
and housing-allocation secretaries to green-house operators and butchers.
Thus, when an owner like the notorious ukrainophobe Mr. Bohuslaev in
Zaporizhzhia said he supported Mr. Ianukovych, he was not simply making
public a private political opinion, but a statement that all those who
worked for him knew how to interpret if they wanted to keep their jobs and
everything than went with that job.
The nearest equivalents to this kind of "voting machine" existed in
eighteenth-century Britain with its "Rotten Bouroughs" and in
mid-nineteenth-century France and America.
Ukraine's neo-feudalism must be watched closely in 2006. If the Iushchenko
government ends enterprise subsidies while simultaneously replacing
appointed with elected officials, the creation of more favourable
conditions for small private entrepreneurs, and redirection of subsidies
into municipal budgets could lower living standards and levels of services
temporarily.
In the interim, however, the influence, power and prestige of enterprise
owners and top provincial officials, would wither and the social base of
neo-Soviet paternalism would disappear, and with it, the foundation of
whatever real support the Ianukovych-group. People could then vote
according to their conscience without fear of material retribution from
their employers.
Given that this neo-feudal system will still most likely be in place next
year, however, it is particularly important to know how successful
Iushchenko's government has been in prosecuting the hundreds if not
thousands of government employees involved in criminal activity.
Obviously this would rid Ukrainian society of the people who kept the
political network of the Soviet system functioning for fourteen years after
the collapse of the USSR and counterbalance somewhat the pressures
to keep Ukraine Russian and Soviet that is exerted by the oligarchs of
the neo-feudal enterprise system.
As a conciliatory gesture, some wisely suggested that the lowest-level
officials should be amnestied after admission of guilt, as more often than
not, they behaved as they did out of fear of losing their jobs. What has
happened since then is encouraging but the long-term result is, as yet,
far from certain.
The possibility is very real that many of the people who ran the covert
networks that underlay the pre-election intimidation and blackmail will
still be here in 2006 and do exactly the same thing they did in 2004 in
league with Russo-phile neo soviet enterprise owners.
As of this summer, only 103 middle level officials and a handful of top
officials have been charged and are in jail awaiting trial. Some higher
level officials have either fled to Russia or died in mysterious
circumstances. The majority of the 18,000 dismissed officials, meanwhile,
appear to be mainly lower-level personnel and most of these appear to be
from central and western Ukraine.
In other words, the majority of corrupt neo-soviet government officials in
eastern Ukraine and many in central Kievan ministries are still at their
desks. None of the district-heads in Kiev, for instance, where election
rigging was rampant in all but three districts, have been removed
(Samovriaduvannia Kieva [June 2005]) . The discredited governor of
Crimea, A. Matvienko, remains in office together will all his lackeys. So
does governor Luganov of Luhansk province .
The permanent administrative secretary of Kiev province A. Petrenko is
also still in office despite the fact that he physically assaulted
Iushchenko supporters and, as revealed in leaked stenographic reports,
organized government bureaucrats not only to agitate for Ianukovych and
"ensure his victory", but to determine who did and who did not vote for him.
(Narodna Hazeta, Mar 10, Apr 28, May 25, June 1, June 9)
What explains the erratic nature of post-election prosecutions? Anyone
who bothers to trace the networks, lines and connections will see they
always lead to the top. To take a trivial example, it is illegal to set-up
tables and sell goods in the hundreds of underground passages in Kiev.
Yet, everyday, thousands of sellers are there forcing tens of thousands of
commuters to shuffle through single-file during rush hours. The passages
remain obstructed because Kiev's corrupt mayor, like the pre-revolutionary
French kings, "sold" public space to one of his cronies.
The favoured Mr. Pozhivanov, accordingly, through his various contacts,
rents out marked spaces in the passages to sellers for specified periods
of time. By sheer chance, Mr. Pozhivanov became a parliamentary deputy
and now enjoys immunity. The police, meanwhile, do nothing to clear the
passages, while critics accuse Mr. Lutsenko, the Minister of Interior, of
being more interested in writing newspaper articles for the beau-monde than
in appointing young recent law-graduates to his ministry to enforce the law.
In the ministry of defence, someone in league with Moscow's mayor Luzhkov,
continues to provide thousands of Ukrainian passports to Russian army
pensioners each year and settling them in the Crimea. With their passports
these Russians not only get their pensions paid by Kiev, but the right to
vote. Need anyone guess who they will vote for in 2006? ( Narodna Hazeta,
June 9, 2005).
The former pro-Ianukovych governor of Sumy province Volodymyr Shcherban
managed to flee the country to Miami before he was arrested, but, thanks to
modern communications, he could direct over 100 million hryvnia into his own
pockets and still controls through his local managers the dozens of
factories in the province which he still legally owns (Samovriadovannia
Kieva [June, 2005]; Narodne slovo (14-20 July, 2005).
In light of what we know happened during the presidential elections will
workers in these enterprises be able to vote without fear of redundancy or
intimidation in 2006 even though the ex-governor and some of former
political clients are no longer there?
On the more serious matter of illegal election-time behaviour by public -
officials the lines lead elsewhere. Obliged to Petro Poroshenko for funding
and use of his TV channel, Iushchenko made him minister of national
security. Poroshenko, however, is neither Iushchenko's client nor
interested in making Ukraine European. By all accounts he is one of the
Russophile elite who, like Omelchenko, is interested in keeping Ukraine
soviet and merely decided in time to change sides to survive politically.
Poroshenko, in turn, placed his client V. Shokin, as deputy prosecutor with
instructions to pass on to him for approval all the criminal cases prepared
by State Prosecutor Piskun against those accused of election-time fraud,
malfeasance and black-ops (Svoboda [Kiev] 20 June 2005).
What therefore appears to have happened is that the Ianukovych group after
the election resigned themselves to the fact they had to cut their losses,
and decided to let some of their rank and file face the courts. Poroshenko,
presumably in consultation with his like-minded comrades, then decides who
stays and does the necessary paper-work.
Thus, he permitted Volodymyr Satsiuk, the man who poisoned Iushchenko, to
flee the country before returning his file to Shokin. To complete circle, it
might be added that since governor Shcherban's abrupt departure, those of
his former clients who still remain in office are looking for a new patron
and odds are that patron will be Poroshenko. -30-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMENTARY by Stephen Velychenko (velychen@chass.utoronto.ca)
=============================================================
6. CRIMINAL CASES OPENED OVER GAS-TRANSPORTATION SCHEMES
Allegedly deprived Ukrainian treasury of more than $1 billion
ANALYSIS: By Roman Kupchinsky
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Organized Crime and Terrorism Watch, Vol. 5, No. 6
Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday,14 July 2005
PRAGUE - In a dramatic announcement that could have far-reaching
consequences, Oleksander Turchinov, the head of the Ukrainian security
service (SBU), stated on 18 June that criminal cases have been opened
concerning the activities of two offshore companies involved in
gas-transportation schemes from Turkmenistan to Ukraine, schemes that
allegedly deprived the Ukrainian treasury of more than $1 billion.
In an interview with the newspaper "Zerkalo Tyzhnya" published on 18 June,
Turchinov said the SBU has been investigating the activities of two
companies -- Eural Trans Gas and its successor, RosUkrEnergo -- which
acted as the "operators" of Turkmen gas to Ukraine. Investigators are also
probing any role that might have been played in their operations by the
management of Naftohaz Ukrayiny, the Ukrainian state-owned energy
monopoly.
Russia's Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrayiny are closely linked to the activities
of the two offshore companies under investigation. Turchinov charged that
former high-level officials in Ukraine, together with Russia's current
leaders, knew of and approved these illicit schemes, Interfax reported.
Also on 18 June, Ukrainian Gas Bank head Vadym Lyashko was arrested
as he allegedly was preparing to flee the country, Ukraine's Channel 5
television reported. The Ukrainian Gas Bank was recently investigated for
allegedly laundering $59 million for the Ukrainian Transportation Ministry
during the administration of former President Leonid Kuchma. The bank is
closely linked to Naftohaz Ukrayiny.
Lyashko's arrest and Turchinov's announcement were a long-awaited steps
in the realization of President Viktor Yushchenko's and Prime Minister
Yuliya Tymoshenko's promise to close down highly suspect schemes in the
gas-transportation business that are alleged to be have drained the
Ukrainian state treasury of $1.2 billion since 2003. Thus far there has been
no reaction from Gazprom to Tuchinov's allegations.
On 30 July 2004, Russian and Ukrainian media announced that the top
management of Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftohaz Ukrayiny had
jointly created a new offshore company to be the "operator" for Turkmen gas
to Ukraine. The new company, RosUkrEnergo (RUE), would replace Eural
Trans Gas, a Hungarian-based company that had been the center of
considerable controversy in the media.
Eural Trans Gas, according to the registration document filed with the
Budapest business court, was of curious origin. It listed its place of
business as the small village of Csabadi, outside of Budapest, and named
three previously unknown Romanians as its principals.
Eural, according to a 2003 interview with Eural Director Andreas Knopp in
"The Kyiv Post," was closely linked to Dmytro Firtash, a Ukrainian
businessman with interests in Moldova and Turkmenistan and the owner of a
number of companies in Ukraine. According to court documents provided by
the Itera International group of companies, Firtash's Israeli-registered
company, Highrock Properties Ltd., is being sued by Itera, which accuses
him of owing them $28 million.
Hermitage Capital Management, an investment fund in Russia that campaigns
for minority shareholder rights, published its report on Eural Trans Gas and
Gazprom in 2003. This forced Gazprom and Naftohaz to take steps to distance
themselves from Eural, a company they helped create. Eural was sold in 2004
to a group of investors and came to be headed by Cedric Brown, the former
head of British Gas.
Another prominent player in Eural became Robert Shetler Jones, although his
exact role was not clear. He was described in "The Kyiv Post" on 16 June as
a consultant to another investor in Eural, the British publicly traded firm
JKX Oil and Gas, a company with substantial oil-drilling assets in Ukraine's
Poltava region.
Despite these changes of ownership, Eural Trans Gas was finally replaced
by RUE, which began operations on 1 January 2005.
According to Gazprom and Naftohaz spokesmen, RUE was registered in
Zug, Switzerland, on 22 July 2004, and seemingly consisted of two
partners --ARosgas Holding AG, a subsidiary of Gazprombank formed in
2004 that holds 50 percent of RUE, and Raiffeisen Investment AG holding
the other 50 percent.
Robert Shetler Jones became a member of the RUE advisory board, while
the former head of the Eural Trans Gas office in Moscow, Oleg Palchykov,
became one of RUE's managing directors. ARosgas AG shared the same
mailing address in Vienna, Austria, as its partner in RUE, Raiffeisen
Investment.
Raiffeisen Investment AG, an Austrian company registered in 1993, was
described by Gazprom spokesmen as their partner in RUE that looked after
the interests of Naftohaz Ukrayiny.
Despite Gazprom's explanations, there was considerable speculation in the
press as to the role of Raiffeisen Investment and its exact relationship, if
any, to Raiffeisen Bank. Gazprom spokesmen never clarified the relationship,
merely repeating that RUE is a "fully transparent" structure.
On 6 August 2004 Interfax reported: "In late July 2004, 100-percent
subsidiaries of Russia's Gazprombank and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank created
the RosUkrEnergoprom company for the supply of Turkmen gas to the
Ukrainian market. The company, shared by the parties 50-50, will be
registered in Switzerland.
RosUkrEnergoprom will purchase Turkmen gas for the Ukrainian market and
act as operator of the gas purchased and investor in the development of the
gas-transport infrastructure required for securing the transit. The company
will be run by a coordination committee including representatives of the
leading officials of Gazprom, Naftohaz Ukrayiny, Gazprombank, and
Raiffeisen Bank."
Research has shown that Raiffeisen Investments has no direct management
connection to Raiffeisen Bank, although both companies are owned by the
Austrian RZB Group.
Furthermore, Raiffeisen Investment is not ARosgas AG's partner in RUE.
According to an interview with "The Kyiv Post" on 16 June, Raiffeisen
Investment spokesman Wolfgang Putschek stated that the company only
manages the portfolio for "a group of Ukrainian businessmen who have
worked in the gas industry" and is paid a commission for managing that
portfolio. When asked to name the "Ukrainian businessmen," the spokesman
declined to do so, citing confidentiality agreements.
Apparently, the "Ukrainian businessmen" whose portfolio's were being
managed by Raiffeisen Investment were acting as private individuals, while
ARosgas was clearly connected to the Russian state and collected nearly
$478 million annually for Gazprom, according to Hermitage Capital
Management, a Moscow-based investment company.
The total fee paid to RUE by the Ukrainian state for transporting gas from
Turkmenistan, in Gazprom's pipeline, to Ukraine is reputed to be close to $1
billion per year, paid to RUE in the form of 13 billion cubic meters of gas,
which it then sells in the West through a variety of agents. This is the
same fee that Ukraine paid Eural Trans Gas, according to a contract signed
in Moscow in December 2002 that has been made available to RFE/RL.
Asked by Ukrainian journalists at a press conference earlier this year if
Naftohaz Ukrayiny is a principal in RUE, Naftohaz Ukrayiny head Oleksiy
Ivchenko replied that it is not and that Naftohaz was seeking to buy into
RUE so as to have some say in its management and to receive the $478
million the unnamed businessmen are reputed to collect yearly.
Apparently the former management of Naftohaz, headed by Kuchma loyalist
Yuriy Boyko, renounced its right to be a principal in RUE and reclaim the
$478 million that Ukraine paid RUE for its services, giving its consent
instead to a group of unnamed private "Ukrainian businessmen" to collect
this money. Boyko, however, rejects any allegations of wrongdoing.
Prime Minister Tymoshenko has stated that as a consequence of the Eural
Trans Gas and RUE, schemes, Ukraine lost more than $1 billion, Interfax
reported on 15 June.
Gazprom has not come under any official scrutiny in Moscow for its role in
the RUE or Eural Trans Gas gas schemes. The lone critical voice was that of
Hermitage Capital Management, whose spokesman told "The Moscow Times"
on 16 June that Gazprom is losing out on $478 million in annual revenues
from the RosUkrEnergo deal and that this money is going to unknown
beneficiaries participating in RosUkrEnergo via Raiffeisen Investment. -30-
=============================================================
7. UKRAINIAN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF SAYS TOP PROSECUTOR NOT
RECRUITED BY US AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE JOHN HERBST
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1028 gmt 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, Jul 19, 2005
KIEV - The Security Service of Ukraine [SBU] didn't find any evidence of
attempts to recruit Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun by US
Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, SBU head Oleksandr Turchynov has
said in an exclusive interview to UNIAN.
Asked "How did you reply to MP Volodymyr Sivkovych, who sent you a
parliamentary enquiry saying that Piskun's contacts with the US embassy
were evidence of his "possible recruitment" by US Ambassador to Ukraine
John Herbst?", Turchynov said:
"We did not find any evidence that the prosecutor-general was recruited by
the US ambassador. Also, US Ambassador Mr Herbst is not involved in the
recruitment business." [Passage omitted: background] -30-
=============================================================
8. US INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI SEES
ROMANIA AS REGIONAL STABILITY PROVIDER WHO CAN
INFLUENCE POLITICS IN MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE
Rompres News Agency, Bucharest, Romania, July 19, 2005
BUCHAREST - Romania is a regional stability provider and she can
influence politics in Moldova and Ukraine, famous international affairs
analyst Zbigniew Brzezinski told daily Cotidianul in an interview carried
on Tuesday 19 July.
Brzezinski said that some countries are important to the US for security
reasons. Stability, territorial security, NATO membership and future EU
membership, he said, are cumulated assets for Romania that draw a major
interest from the US.
He mentioned that it is hard to say whether a certain state is essential to
the US security, and that the existing interdependence between NATO and
the European Union is of interest to the US.
In connection with the switch in Romania's foreign policy from a
pro-European stance in December 2004 to a current pro-American stance,
after current President [Traian] Basescu replaced the Berlin-London axis
with a Washington-London axis, Brzezinski pointed out that Romania is an
important country playing a significant part in the Balkans.
He said Romania's option should not be seen as an ostentatious choice, as
the US and the EU are compatible. The EU, said the analyst, could carry out
an intelligent policy through which it might influence the US using the
relation with Romania. Romania, he added, can influence the Balkans.
Asked to comment on the criticism voiced by the EU against Romania's
pro-American stance, Brzezinski pointed out that Romania is not criticized
by the European Union, but by France, which, he added, is not surprising
because each EU member state should have the right to its own stance.
A national security adviser to American President Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew
Brzezinski is currently a professor of American foreign policy at Johns
Hopkins SAIS, a scholar at the Centre for Strategic and International
Studies [CSIS], and a member of various boards and councils. -30-
=============================================================
9. MOLDOVA'S REBEL LEADER IGOR SMIRNOV REPORTS ON MEETING
WITH UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT VICTOR YUSHCHENKO
Olvia-press website, Tiraspol, in Russian 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service. UK, in English, Tue, Jul 19, 2005
TIRASPOL, Dniester Region - Reinforcing Ukraine's peacekeeping mission
to the Dniester river topped the agenda of Dniester region president [Igor
Smirnov's] recent official visit to Kiev. Igor Smirnov and Viktor Yushchenko
discussed the alarming situation in the security zone.
Smirnov said that for the last 10 months the Moldovan authorities have been
blocking the work of the Joint Control Commission and had undertaken a
series of acts of provocation at the Moldovan-Dniester border. Among them
were incidents near the village of Dorotcaia (when Moldovan policemen
entered the territory of the Dniester region customs checkpoint) and the
recent blockading of the highway leading to the Dniester region village of
Cremenciug.
At today's news conference, Igor Smirnov said that he discussed with Viktor
Yuschenko the possibility of deploying Ukrainian peacekeeping forces in the
region. Today only a small group of Ukrainian military observers is working
in the Dniester region. According to Odessa agreements of 1998, a
full-fledged Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent could be stationed in the
conflict zone.
Igor Smirnov does not rule out that the Ukrainian leadership will decide to
bring its peacekeeping forces into the Dniester region. Given any
organizational complications, the contingent could be temporarily stationed
in the Ukrainian border District of Velyka Mykhailivka.
Igor Smirnov said today that he agreed with Viktor Yuschenko the steps for
the reinforcement of Ukrainian representatives' work within the key
peacekeeping body - the Joint Control Commission. -30-
=============================================================
10. ISUZU, AN AFFILIATE OF GENERAL MOTORS, REPORTED READY
TO START PRODUCING TRUCKS IN UKRAINE IN 2006
AFX Europe (Focus), Tokyo, Japan, Wed, Jul 20, 2005
TOKYO - Isuzu Motors Ltd, an affiliate of General Motors Corp, plans to
begin manufacturing trucks in Ukraine around 2006, the Nihon Keizai
Shimbun reported without citing sources.
It will set up a joint venture there with Holding Bogdan, a local bus maker
based in Kiev, to assemble auto parts exported from Japan, the business
daily reported.
Bogdan will likely take a 50 pct stake in the joint venture, while Isuzu
will acquire 20 pct interest and the rest by Japanese trading firm Sojitz.
Isuzu has been supplying 1,000 to 1,500 units' worth of microbus parts
annually to Bogdan since 1999. But the joint venture will be the first
production base to be created by a Japanese automaker in the former
Soviet bloc, the paper said.
Starting with an annual output of several thousand units, the joint venture
is slated to export some of the trucks to Russia and other neighboring
countries. (nozomi.toyama@xfn.com) -30-
=============================================================
11. NEW ORGANIZATION TO PROMOTE UKRAINE'S EUROINTEGRATION
COURSE CREATED IN KYIV
Including citizens of Ukraine, Poland and the USA
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, July 29, 2005
KYIV - Citizens of Ukraine, Poland and the USA created a new organization,
which will become an assignee of the Polish-American-Ukrainian Cooperation
Initiative (PAUCI).
Among its founders are President of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy Viacheslav
Briukhovetsky, Advisor of Prime Minister on matters of foreign policies and
European Integration Hryhoriy Nemyria, Coordinator of Charles Mott
Foundation N. Deichakiwvski (USA) and Director of the Institute for Eastern
Studies Yerzy Reit (Poland).
The organization will be functioning in Poland and Ukraine and will be
headed by the joint Board and a Supervisory Council. Its activities will be
concentrated on projects, which will promote Euro-Atlantic integration of
Ukraine and will be based primarily on using the Polish experience of
reformation.
As the PAUCI press center told Ukrinform, in the near future all foundation
documents will be submitted to the Justice Ministry. -30-
=============================================================
12. DONETSK MAYOR APOLOGIZES TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT
Yushchenko was depicted in a Nazi uniform on one of the billboards.
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0944 gmt 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, July 19, 2005
DONETSK - Donetsk Mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko publicly apologized
to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko at a news conference today. "As
city mayor, I believe that I am responsible for what is going on in the
city, and I would like to once again publicly apologize to the Ukrainian
president for the events which took place in Donetsk in 2003," Lukyanchenko
said.
"Donetsk workers, local inhabitants and local power bodies have always
been hostile to manifestations of an abusive attitude to people,"
Lukyanchenko said. He added that he understands "how much moral
damage the propaganda placards did to Mr Yushchenko".
"As a human being and a citizen, I fully understand the extent of moral
damage caused to Mr Yushchenko by the propaganda placards disbanded
on the billboards of the Plazma advertising agency," Lukyanchenko said.
He said that neither the local authorities nor he personally had anything to
do with the placards. "I want to state once again that neither the local
authorities, nor the city executive committee nor I personally had anything
to do with the topics [of the placards], let alone organizational assistance
to the agency in placing the placards," Lukyanchenko said.
As UNIAN reported, on 31 October 2003 a congress of [Yushchenko's] the
Our Ukraine bloc was disrupted in Donetsk. Mass rallies against Yushchenko
and Our Ukraine were held in the city, and placards depicting Yushchenko
were posted across Donetsk. Yushchenko was depicted in a Nazi uniform
on one of the billboards.
[Visiting Donetsk on 15 July 2005, Yushchenko ordered the Security Service
of Ukraine to find who was behind the placards and said that Lukyanchenko
failed to apologize to him for the October 2003 events.] -30-
=============================================================
13. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT TRANSFORMS TRAFFIC POLICE
INTO ROAD SAFETY SERVICE
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Tue, Jul 19, 2005
KIEV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has signed a decree on
abolishing the state traffic police [DAI] of the Interior Ministry of
Ukraine.
Under the decree, the department of the state traffic police of the Interior
Ministry and its structural detachments in Ukraine's regions are being
transformed into the state service for road and traffic safety (traffic
safety police) and the patrol service of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine.
[The decree was signed following the president's harsh criticism of the
traffic police for wide-spread corruption and inability to improve their
performance over the last six months.] -30-
=============================================================
14. EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA SAYS RELATIONS
BETWEEN THE EU AND UKRAINE HAVE BECOME CLOSER
One Plus One TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1630 gmt 19 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, Jul 19, 2005
KIEV - Progress is being made in talks with the EU on WTO membership,
market economy status and liberalization of travel rules, a popular
Ukrainian TV channel has said, commenting on a visit to Kiev today by EU
foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
The EU is also backing the Dniester settlement plan proposed by President
Viktor Yushchenko, and relations between the two are very friendly, the TV
said, showing a beaming Solana holding hands with the Ukrainian leader. It
noted, however, that no statements had been made on prospects for Ukraine's
EU membership.
The following is the text of report by Ukrainian One Plus One TV on 19 July:
[Presenter] A friend has come to visit a friend - this is how the EU foreign
policy chief, Javier Solana, described his second visit to Kiev this year.
He radiated pure optimism during his meetings with top Ukrainian officials
today. Relations between Ukraine and the EU have become closer, the country
is making progress economically and politically, and the [Ukraine-EU] action
plan is being implemented well, [he said]. He is also confident that Ukraine
will obtain WTO membership, market economy status and more liberal travel
regulations with the EU. He was prudently silent though about the prospects
of Ukraine's EU membership. Artem Shevchenko reports.
[Correspondent] Javier Solana described this latest visit to Kiev as a Day
of Friendship, saying that before going on summer vacation, true friends
should honestly analyse their relations. Implementation of the EU-Ukraine
action plan, liberalization of travel for some groups of Ukrainian citizens
and Dniester settlement were the key items on the agenda during Solana's
meeting with the Ukrainian president and the prime minister.
[Solana, at a press conference, overlaid with Ukrainian translation] The
Ukrainian president sent us a letter asking whether the EU could help with
equipping the Ukrainian-Moldovan border, especially the Dniester section
of it. Our answer was a clear Yes. In addition to the border, we would also
like to help politically with the Dniester settlement, and we support the
settlement plan proposed by President Yushchenko.
[Correspondent] The next Ukraine-EU summit is scheduled for October.
The UK now holds the EU presidency. Today's visit by Javier Solana was
in preparation for a more detailed conversation on subjects like granting
Ukraine market economy status.
[Solana, overlaid with Ukrainian translation] I cannot guarantee a specific
date when Ukraine will receive market economy status, but believe me, this
day is close. It think that we will be able to liberalize, though not fully,
the visa regime for Ukrainian citizens.
[Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk, speaking at a press conference] We have
noted that finally there has been some progress on this issue on the part of
the European Union. We are expecting that negotiations on this issue will
begin in early autumn.
[Correspondent] WTO membership will have both positive and negative
consequences for Ukraine, but the positives will outweigh the negatives,
Javier Solana believes. He says that not everything done by the new
Ukrainian government domestically over the past six months has been
perfect, but Ukraine is making the kind of progress the EU expected it
to make. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
15. NEW ISSUE OF WELCOME TO UKRAINE MAGAZINE PUBLISHED
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 20, 2005
KYIV - The second issue of the "Welcome To Ukraine" magazine for
year 2005 has just been published. This world class magazine in color,
published four times a year in Kyiv, is truly outstanding and one of the
best magazines about Ukraine published in the English language.
Articles found in the latest issue, 2 (32) 2005, include:
(1) Ruslana the pop singer: born to be wild; (2) Kyiv's Gold Vibrations;
(3) Scythian treasures, gold decorations and amazing discoveries;
(4) Interview with Kateryna Yushchenko; (5) President Yushchenko visits
Chicago; (6) Interview with John.E.Herbst, Ambassador of the United
States; (7) President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus: "Ukraine is a European
country"; (8) PORA - It is high time!; (9) A tent camp for Eurovision Song
Contest fans; (10) Lviv - the city of many architectural styles, coffee
houses and ancient spirits; (11) Pope John-Paul II - In Memoriam; (12)
Ukrainian Insurrection Army: myth, truth and reconciliation; (13) Passionate
and freedom-loving Hutsuls; (14) Church festivals in the Land of
Hutsulshchyna; (15) President Yushchenko speaks about Ukrainian
traditional values; (16) Oasis of Ukrainian culture - Ivan Honchar Museum;
(17) Trypillya-an enigmatic civilization; (18) Youth Festival that
celebrates the golden era of an ancient culture; (19) GreenJolly and their
hit song on Maydan and at the Eurovision Song Contest; (20) Kyrylo
Stetsenko: "It is high time Europe discovered the Ukrainian soul."
Additional articles include: (21) Myron Bloshchychak, master of ancient
instruments and exotic sounds; (22) Revolutionary Channel 5 TV station -
the channel of "honest news"; (23) Top-Line construction company on the
Ukrainian market; (24) Leader of electrical welding in Ukraine - Kakhovka
Plant of electric welding equipment (25) Cossacks in a computer game
conquer Europe; (26) Around the world with BYTSKO tourist company;
(27) Krasotel Company's European approach to hotel management;
(28) UITT-2005, International Tourism Exhibition; (29) Calendars of artistic
and cultural events in Ukraine to be held in 2005; (30) Yuri Bilonoh, an
ambitious shot-putter who sets his sights high; (31) Zolote Pero - Gold Pen
2005 awards; (32) Ukrainian fashions are in vogue; (33) Ivan the Dragon
Slayer. A fairy tale; (34) Dishes of Hutsul cuisine - cook them and enjoy
them; and (35) Ukrainian Horilka - more than just an alcoholic beverage.
For complete information on how to obtain the latest copy of the
"Welcome to Ukraine" magazine or how to subscribe for one to three
years send an e-mail to ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net. -30-
=============================================================
16. PM TYMOSHENKO CONFIDENT HER DAUGHTER YEVHENIA
WILL STAY IN UKRAINE AFTER WEDDING
Interfax-Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 17, 2005
KHARKIV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said she has
absolutely no doubts that her daughter Yevhenia and Yevhenia's future
husband, British citizen Sean Carr, will live in Ukraine after they get
married this autumn.
"We even did not have any arguments. Sean has brought his belongings,
his dog - all this is now in our house together with Sean. They will
certainly live in Ukraine," Tymoshenko told a Kharkiv television station
on Saturday evening.
Her future son-in-law knows Ukraine's politics better than Great Britain's,
the prime minister said. Tymoshenko said she has got to know him quite
well. "He has a buoyant appearance because he is a musician. He is a
singer. He has a certain style that requires such a life style.
But I know him as a kind, educated and inspired person who loves my
daughter very much, which is the most important thing," she said.
Tymoshenko said she has not yet met with Carr's mother, sister and
daughter who live in England.
Asked who pays for her constantly changing wardrobe, Tymoshenko said
her husband is a businessman. "I am not a businesswoman and will not
do business any more," the prime minister said. -30-
=============================================================
17. UKRAINIAN CONCERT PROGRAM 'RETURN TO FUTURE' PRESENTED
AT SLAVONIC BAZAAR FESTIVAL OF ARTS IN VITEBSK, BELARUS
Works by modern Ukrainian composers and folks music pieces
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 18, 205
KYIV - On Monday, July 18 Ukrainian Minister for culture and tourism
Oksana Bolozir presented a new concert program, dubbed Return to the
Future, within the framework of the Day of Ukraine events at the Slavonic
Bazaar international festival of arts, currently underway in the Belarussian
town of Vitebsk.
The program was composed of works by modern Ukrainian composers
and folks music pieces. In the festival's song contest Ukraine is
represented by Natalya Valevskaya (Khmelnytsky) and Anastasiya
Timofeyeva (Kerch, Crimea).
Myshko Oleniuk (Ivano-Frankivsk), Vadim Pankratov (Kharkiv) represent
Ukraine at the juvenile song contest. The Slavonic Bazaar 2005 has drawn
participants from 30 nations. -30-
=============================================================
18. KIEV MARKET CATERS TO TASTES FROM MANY HOMELANDS
Store's owner worked in Black Sea shipyards of Kerch, Ukraine
Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington, USA, Mon, July 18, 2005
SPOKANE - In the checkout line of Kiev Market, a bicep is flexed, and the
Eastern European women lean over their grocery carts and laugh like
lunch-bucket matrons who have tasted the salt of their own sweat. Olga
Filenko, the store's owner, was a crane operator in the Black Sea shipyards
of Kerch, Ukraine, an enamelware plant worker in her younger years.
Valentina Korovina, who stands in line with a 10-pound box of mushrooms
and enough raw ingredients to feed 10 relatives, was a Russian boilermaker.
Korovina is a caretaker now for an elderly woman and mother for a household
of six. "We did men's work," says Yelena Ustimenko, the cashier who rings up
Korovina's purchases. Ustimenko made bolts in a Russian factory.
Their English is broken. Sometimes their nouns and verbs align like the
zipper of an old coat, but their pride comes through clearly. To build a
republic, even one you were forced to flee, is an accomplishment that stays
in your hands forever.
The aisles of Kiev Market in Spokane Valley are full of human doings that
are done or abruptly reassigned. No matter their vocation in the former
Soviet Union, these immigrants show no lingering trace of occupational
one-upmanship among them -- the old communist regime didn't tolerate
feelings of class superiority. And America has been just as blunt in its
leveling of this immigrant society.
Here, pharmacists become newspaper carriers, shipbuilders become tree
nursery workers, and boilermakers like Korovina become caretakers for the
elderly. "Our dentists and doctors are janitors here because they cannot
speak the English language," Korovina says.
So, in the market's aisles, they greet one another like alums at a 20-year
class reunion -- instead of a 10 -- just relieved to recognize someone from
the old block. And they fill their carts with the ingredients of their
homelands.
"Most of them are just happy to be here and to have jobs," said Stepan
Filenko, the market owner's son. He stocks cream- and raspberry-filled
cookies in a candy aisle three times the size of any treat display in an
American supermarket. There are hard candies for the old Russian men,
thumb-sized pieces of filled chocolate for the young. Anything a customer
requests, the Filenkos try to order.
The cooler contains 17 kinds of smoked fish; garlic-rich, darkly smoked beef
kielbasa for the Serbians who will not eat pork; and chicken paste for the
Kyrgyzstan immigrants who, Stepan Filenko says, buy little of anything else.
As the carts line up at the front counter, they are loaded down with
50-pound sacks of flour for baking, 10-pound boxes of mushrooms for
marinara, half-gallon jars of whole plum tomatoes for almost everything and
bundles of plate-sized sugary wafers for making candy-sweet cakes.
No old-fashioned Eastern European woman worth her salt is ever without the
raw ingredients required for feeding three generations of family on short
notice or producing a lunch-sized snack for unexpected company.
The Kiev Market's policy is to open its doors beyond its Monday through
Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. only for emergencies. "Emergencies," as
defined by the market owners, include being caught with an empty pantry by
unexpected Sunday visitors. In the baskets are the ingredients for family,
for friendship, for what remains. -30-
=============================================================
19. PM TYMOSHENKO TOURS PEOPLE'S SONG FESTIVAL IN KHARKIV
Festival attended by 75,000 people
By Svetlana Ligostayeva, Oleksandr Khorolskiy,
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 18, 2005
KHARKIV, Ukraine - A press conference of Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko,
who was on a working trip to Kharkiv, was staged there on Saturday. The
Prime Minister focused on Govt activity-related matters and Kharkiv region
problems.
The press conference particularly touched upon the matter of falsified
medicines, which flooded Ukraine. In this connection, Yuliya Tymoshenko
stressed the need to establish a network of special labs for medicine
testing.
Answering a question by Ukrinform's correspondent on settlement of social
issues by the Govt, Yuliya Tymoshenko emphasized that there are no such
problems, which cannot be solved by local power officials. To this end, she
said, the Govt is to do what it didn't do for 13 years, that is to increase
the population's profits and to boost incomings to the Pension Fund.
After the press conference Yuliya Tymoshenko attended the festival of
people's song, which was organized by people's deputy Stepan Havrysh.
The festival gathered some 75,000 people. -30-
=============================================================
20. THE CHERKASY REGION AND ITS GOLDEN "HORSESHOE ROUTE"
Places every nationally conscious Ukrainian should visit
By Viktoria Herasymchuk, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #24
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 19, 2005
There are certain places that every nationally conscious Ukrainian should
visit, among them Chyhyryn, Subotiv, Moryntsi, and Kaniv. The Day has
always devoted considerable attention to our national history and these
localities, which are its inseparable components.
In the opening article of the first book in The Day's Library Series Ukraina
Incognita, authors Larysa Ivshyna and Olha Herasymiuk write that every
Ukrainian should visit Chyhyryn at least once. The Day was the first to
carry a report of the "Small Town History" series, from Taras Shevchenko's
native village of Moryntsi.
It may be no coincidence that Chyhyryn and Moryntsi, as well as many other
sites of special importance to the Ukrainian national heritage, are found in
Cherkasy oblast. On a map produced by the regional administration these
places produce a horseshoe-like pattern. The administration has just
launched a tourism project called the "Golden Horseshoe of the Cherkasy
Region."
But before this tourism route gets fully underway, much remains to be done.
It has all the necessary prerequisites: scenic environs, exciting history -
one visit to Bohdan Khmelnytsky's haunts of Subotiv and Chyhyryn is worth a
dozen books, and spirituality, which cannot be created by any amount of
investments or bureaucratic decisions, but which exists by itself.
Without a doubt, everyone who visits these places will be emotionally
touched and bathed in impressions from the wonderful sights. Below are
my own impressions of a visit organized by the Tourist Administration of
Cherkasy Oblast.
FROM THE HETMAN'S RESIDENCE TO THE PRESIDENT'S ----------
The first leg of our long tour takes us to Chyhyryn. Under the Soviets this
administrative district (raion) was considered lacking in prospects, so the
locality was spared industrialization; no factories and railroads were built
and the road we were riding on was built only a decade ago. So we could
fully enjoy the scenic environs. A large road sign reads "Cherkashchyna"
rather than the formal "Chyhyryn Raion."
Incidentally, the Ukrainian president's summer retreat will soon be built in
Chyhyryn. The idea was suggested by Deputy Premier for Humanitarian
Questions, Mykola Tomenko, and the presidential quarters will be located
on the premises of Bohdan Khmelnytsky's residence.
The problem is that nothing is left of the original structure and no one is
sure about the exact location and design. The government decided to rebuild
Khmelnytsky's residence and its officials left the hospitable Cherkasy
region. But the local authorities have not forgotten about this decision and
are expecting the required funds - UAH 67-68 million - to be included in the
next budget.
Chyhyryn is the home of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Museum. Among its exhibits
are ordinary items and luxurious objects dating from the Cossack period,
including Khmelnytsky's table, chair, and hetman's standard. The original
flag is in a Stockholm museum and MP Bohdan Hubsky occasionally brings
it to Ukraine, along with other insignia.
This author saw the flag on one such occasion and I can assure you that the
copy is exactly the same as the original. Coins, jewelry, pots, razors,
Cossack smoking pipes (mostly made of clay, ornamented, amazingly small
and without a tube, signed by their owners; a battle-ax on the handle of
which I counted 31 notches, each signifying a kill.
In addition to an ax, each Cossack had firearms, a saber, a spear, and 6 or
7 knives serving various purposes. People who have an interest in weapons
will find this an interesting exposition. There is a huge saber of Damascus
steel with which Cossacks made their deadly upward thrusts. The portraits
deserve separate mention. There are portraits of the hetman and his parents.
His father wears an earring and a hat, the same kind that will become an
inalienable component of his son's outward appearance; portraits of
beautiful women, the hetman's wives, among them Hanna Zolotarenko, a
oung woman who was noted for her strong character; Matrona Czaplinska,
a stunning beauty whom Bohdan's eldest son had executed for her
excessive spending during his father's absence.
The hetman's third wife is older, a solid built woman with a plain face, but
she is said to have finally given Khmelnytsky the peace and quiet that he
needed.
SUBOTIV ---------
From Chyhyryn we drove to Subotiv. Taras Shevchenko's stress on the
second syllable of the town's name is actually incorrect. The town is
located on the banks of the river Suba, from which the town derives its
name. According to another legend, Bohdan Khmelnytsky's first wife,
Hanna Zolotarenko, came from Pereyaslav, which was a large city for
the times.
When Bohdan brought her to Subotiv she was disappointed by what she
saw and said, "Well, it's subota (Saturday), the last day of the week..."
However, the residents of Subotiv prefer the river version and so they
stress the first syllable.
Subotiv is located in the vicinity of Kholodny Yar (Cold Ravine) and the
place name is explained by the special temperature of the locality. They say
that in Subotiv it's always colder by 8 O C than in Chyhyryn. But it's hard
to tell, considering the constant changes in our weather these days.
And so, "In the village of Subotiv, / Upon a lofty hill..." The hill isn't
all that big. It's more of a hillock, although it may have been bigger in
Shevchenko's day. It is also true that with his poem about Subotiv the poet
saved the local church. Together with other prominent intellectuals he
defended the structure that was slated to be torn down for reasons of age
and the risk of a cave-in.
The church has a long and fascinating history. Its official name is the
Church of St. Elijah the Prophet in Subotiv, popularly known as St. Elijah's
Church [Illia]. Bohdan Khmelnytsky funded the construction in 1663. Its
architectural style is Cossack Baroque with a hint of Renaissance, as
described by Subotiv History Museum director Viktor Huhlia.
The church, like all the others in the vicinity, served as a house of God in
peacetime and as a fortress in time of war. This explains the thickness of
its walls and the height of its windows, along with four loopholes.
The church, which is pictured on Ukraine's five-hryvnia banknote, is modest
but impressive. It is white with green domes. It was empty except for an old
woman, who wasn't pleased by the invasion of media people with cameras and
mikes. Near the temple are Cossack graves with large stone crosses bearing
roughly carved names and dates of birth and burial. Bohdan Khmelnytsky was
interred in the church in 1657.
"The coffin with the hetman's embalmed body stood here," Viktor Huhlia said
with a theatrical gesture, and we had the feeling that he must have seen the
casket many times. In place of the coffin is a memorial plaque. The body
vanished from the church in 1664 and no one knows how or what happened to
it.
There are many legends. Polish troops attacked Subotiv in 1664, but the
Polish chronicles make no mention of destruction of the remains of Hetman
Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the Polish kingdom's deadliest enemy. People in
Subotiv believe that the body was buried elsewhere, but no one knows for
sure.
Under the Soviets the church was first converted into a village club, then a
mineral fertilizer warehouse, and later into a bomb shelter. When the
Germans came, they didn't destroy the church but made it a functioning house
of God. Later they wanted to demolish it and placed explosive charges.
The church was saved by a 17-year-old boy, who threw hand grenades at the
sappers. He was killed by a grenade fragment, but the church remained
intact. The Soviet authorities closed St. Elijah's Church after the war and
its religious life was revived only in the 1990s.
"They often ask me if it's the same church," says Viktor Huhlia, "and I tell
them it is. Why wasn't it demolished? They tried to but failed. Let me say
again that anything can happen in Kholodny Yar." He is convinced that the
locality has a very special, if not magic, aura. From Subotiv we set off to
an extraordinary site in the vicinity of Kholodny Yar: a 1,100-year-old oak
tree.
SIX HEIFERS AND A COUPLE OF SACKS OF SUGAR --------
To say that this oak is huge is an understatement. It took seven journalists
linking their hands to get around the trunk. The huge tree is fenced off.
Surprisingly, it doesn't look sinister. On the contrary, there is a serene
and pleasant touch to it. The tree is a favorite with local residents.
Legend has it that if you make a wish, and then walk round the oak three
times, it will come true. Another ritual calls for placing your hand on the
bark and praying to God. "If you bend your ear to the tree, you can hear
things moving inside," our guide Liudmyla Lemeshko told us. I tried this,
but I didn't hear any voices, probably because there was too much noise
outside.
However, the main thing wasn't the result but the process. If people feel
like touching this tree or running around it three times, if they want to
offer up a prayer in the shade of its huge branches, the way they do in
church, and think of something good that they want for themselves, then
these people and this tree may well benefit.
There used to be another oak next to this one, its son. Those who don't know
much about botany should know that oaks multiply by acorns, so if an oak
strikes root not far the original one, it's safe to assume that this is its
offspring. The other oak withered away several years ago at the age of 700.
Its surviving parent has sustained several critical moments: it was struck
by lightning 7 times, and began to wither away in 1970, but was revived by
Soviet experts. In 2000 the tree seemed to have finally made up its mind to
depart this world. It was saved again and in a very interesting manner.
A large pit was dug in front of it and then 6 slaughtered heifers, 2 cows,
God knows how many other head of cattle, and several sacks of sugar were
dumped there. This organic approach yielded the desired effect. You can see
that the oak is very much alive. It is named after Maksym Zalizniak. It is
believed that Haidamak leaders held their most important councils beneath
this oak tree.
The last stop on our route that day was a lake near which Peter Tchaikovsky
is believed to have composed his libretto of the "Dance of the Little Swans"
followed by the famous ballet Swan Lake. True, there were no swans in the
lake, only frogs - a lot of them - and they offered up a gorgeous polyphonic
performance. For those who are skeptical about the beauty of frog singing,
my advice is to visit the Cherkasy region.
We were brought there to be initiated as Cossacks. The most fascinating
event on the Kholodny Yar route is watching hordes of people swearing
allegiance to Ukraine, whereupon each and everyone takes the pledge. Those
who want to would approach the osavul cavalry captain and he would ask in a
ringing voice, "Do you believe in God? Do you drink horilka [whiskey]?"
Everyone replied in the affirmative, with varying degrees of confidence.
Then each person was offered a small glass of samohon moonshine balanced
on a saber blade, a procedure that took some acrobatic skill and athletic
background. At the end of the ritual the mustachioed osavul and the novice
would kiss each other on the cheeks three times.
A CABIN AT THE VILLAGE'S END ---------
After our visit to historic Cossack sites we were taken to places with
famous literary associations. Taras Shevchenko was born in Moryntsi, a
village in what is now Cherkasy oblast. The original village house, a cabin,
where this historic event took place, is no longer there. An exact replica
was erected on the site toward the end of the last century, along with
Taras's grandfather's cabin.
Between these two structures stands a statue of young Taras facing a primary
school. The poet's home is an ordinary Ukrainian khata, its interior
fragrant with marigolds and other plants, with small windows and doors
through which you cannot pass without bending your head. The yard is more
interesting because whereas the cabin is a replica, the earth is the age-old
soil. I took off my shoes and walked around barefoot.
Young pupils from a grade school in Obukhiv were being escorted on a guided
tour. They were enchanted by what they saw. Why did they like the place so
much? "Because here everything reminds us of Taras Shevchenko," explained
Olena Danylenko. Apparently the younger generation is taking an interest in
our classics.
We left Moryntsi for Kerelivka, where young Shevchenko spent his youth. The
village was later named Shevchenkove. On the site of his parental home is a
museum and behind it a footpath leading to his mother's grave. Kateryna
Boiko wanted to be buried next to her house, not in a cemetery, "So my
children won't forget the way to my grave, so they can visit it and mourn
their orphan's lot." Her last will was honored.
Her children did visit her grave, as Shevchenko's poetry makes clear. The
grave is marked by a Ukrainian Orthodox cross with rounded ends, and there
is a guelder rose bush that was planted when Kateryna was interred. The
place is very quiet, except for birdsong. The grave stands at the edge of a
ravine, beyond which is the pond glorified by the poet.
This plot of land once belonged to the Shevchenko family. Don't be surprised
that a serf could own so much land. The explanation is simple: it wasn't
listed as farmland, meaning it had no real value. The serf Hryhoriy
Shevchenko had very little arable land.
We left the grave and headed for the museum. The exposition was traditional,
featuring household utensils, clothing, photos, drawings, a bench and a
table from Shevchenko's home - and of course, portraits of the women he
loved, along with a great many photos of his descendants, the children of
his brothers and sisters.
Some 300 of his descendants live in Shevchenkove alone. On display is
Shevchenko's father's gravestone with an inscription carved by Taras,
together with a portrait of the great poet done in flat stitch embroidery.
It is a spectacular likeness: some of the visiting journalists said the
poet's eyes were following them around like Mona Lisa.
Hryhoriy Shevchenko's cabin is at the end of the village, a short walk from
the house of the sexton, to whom young Taras would bring fresh water and
where he obtained some of his elementary education by listening in on the
lessons being taught inside. The cabin is still there, but no visitors are
admitted. It is covered by a special structure with big windows through
which visitors can see the thatch-roofed khata; it is white and small, with
tiny windows and doors.
Taras Shevchenko's last milestone of his youth was working as a kozachok
running errands for Herr Engelhardt, the landlord. The latter's estate has
survived the ravages of time, along with a mill where the 13-year-old Taras
herded lambs, and the oak tree in which he hid his earliest drawings.
KILL THE ENEMY AND WIN GLORY! ----------
Our next stop was Korsun-Shevchenkivsky. First we were taken to the local
history museum, where we saw a variety of exhibits ranging from mammoth
bones to Orange Revolution paraphernalia. We saw an ancient grand piano,
portraits of heroes of "socialist labor," and a picture frame made from WWI
cartridges - this is the most original item I've ever seen.
Our next stop was at the museum dedicated to the Battle of Korsun-
Shevchenkivsky, a major WWII battle. Located on the premises of a palace
built in 1787-1789 and completed by Prince Lopukhin in the 1830s-1840s,
the result is a cross between the Russian romantic and neo-gothic styles.
Our guide explained that they tried to portray Soviet and enemy soldiers as
best as they could. "They look so lifelike," a fellow journalist from
Poltava marveled, gazing at the photos of German officers. They did look
lifelike, and some were handsome.
Next are photos of Soviet officers and men, as well as some personal
effects, like those belonging to the partisan O. Mishchenko: a neatly folded
ragged gray T-shirt stained with blood, indicating that he was tortured; he
managed to send the shirt to his mother the day before being executed.
There is also a fragment of a letter that starts with the words, "My Dear
Mom..." and next to it a regular Killed in Action notice that the soldier's
mother may have received together with her son's letter.
There is also a spoon and fork set. Joined by a single screw, both utensils
are too big and clumsy to handle. Among the other items are an embroidered
blouse belonging to a girl who baked bread for a Soviet army division; a
travel chess set, with a board that rolls up into a tube; and a complete
sets of gears for Soviet troops and Wehrmacht soldiers.
Getting back to spoons, there is a large metal one with the names of places
visited by the owner, engraved in a tiny and graceful font. "This spoon has
been in the western oblasts of Ukraine, Finland, Bessarabia, Ternopil,
Proskuriv, Zhytomyr..." plus a dozen other populated areas. Another
interesting item is an amber smoking pipe shaped like a chicken leg.
Next we were shown into a large hall where princes once danced. Its walls
are covered with Soviet and German propaganda posters reading, "Fire Your
Gun, Every Shell Means a Destroyed Enemy Tank!", "Kill the Enemy and Win
Glory!", "Napoleon Lost His Battle Here, So Will Hitler!" (with a cartoon
underneath portraying Hitler in Napoleon's shadow, bent over from Soviet
blows). Surrounding the palace museum is a beautiful, large park with lilacs
that blossom in the springtime. It is extremely pleasant in the summer, too.
ON TARAS'S HILL ----------
We were in Kaniv, on top of Chernecha Hora Hill. In his last years Taras
Shevchenko dreamed of settling down in Kaniv. The last words he spoke
before dying were, "Get me to Kaniv!" After bureaucratic and other delays
his body was brought here. The poet found his last repose on top of
Chernecha Hora.
The route to the hill passes by the grave of Ivan Yadlovsky, the man who
tended the poet's grave since the burial date-from 1884 until his death in
1933. Yadlovsky's grave is on a crossroads, with one path leading to
Tarasova Hornytsia, the first Shevchenko museum set up by local residents,
which features contributions sent by various distinguished individuals.
Ivan Repin, for example, painted a portrait of Shevchenko specially for the
museum, which resembles an ordinary 18th-century village home, with walls
decorated with wreaths made of flowers picked from Shevchenko's grave at
different periods. There is a guest book dating back to 1893. Today this
book runs to many volumes. The earliest entry belongs to the prominent
Ukrainian composer, Mykola Lysenko. The fragrance of marigold is also
present here.
We climbed to the top of the hill to pay homage to Taras Shevchenko's grave.
From there we could see "the fields, the boundless steppes, / The Dnieper's
plunging shore..." There were many people and many wreaths.
THE MAMMOTH HUNTERS ----------
Mykhailo Ishchenko, a local history buff, told us several interesting
stories. The first one was about mammoths. A primordial mammoth hunters'
settlement was excavated not far from Kaniv. These hunters must have been
intelligent and hard-working, as 44 mammoth skulls were found on the sites
of their five houses.
In fact, their homes were built of mammoth skulls: four skulls per house,
with the walls and ceilings reinforced with mammoth tusks, and an extra
skull serving as an entry to the "guestroom." In a word, it's the kind of
architecture you have to see for yourself, for it defies description.
The first of these houses was transferred to Kyiv's Museum of Paleontology
and copies of it are on display in museums in Paris and New York. The idea
was suggested to create an open-air museum on the original site, where all
five of the primordial hunters' homes and other finds would be put on
display under the open skies.
In fact, certain budget appropriations were made. But the idea was conceived
during the perestroika campaign and it died while the Soviet Union still
existed. It was considered again after Ukraine became independent, and
efforts are being made to breathe new life into this project.
On the top of the hill Mykhailo Ishchenko told us the dramatic tale of
Oleksa Hyrnyk, who killed himself out of love for Ukraine and hatred of its
oppressors. On the night of January 21, 1978, he climbed to the top of
Chernecha Hill and tossed heaps of leaflets as a sign of protest and in
honor of the anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian National Republic.
In the leaflets he described Ukraine's tragic predicament. Then he doused
himself with four liters of gasoline, put a lighter to his heart, and
flicked the little wheel (Mr. Ishchenko has the lighter and he shows it to
anyone who wants to see it). When his body caught fire he walked in a
semicircle, probably wishing to take a last look at the Dnipro, and then
fell and died. His son is a parliamentarian at the Verkhovna Rada. Mykhailo
Ishchenko has written a book about Oleksa Hyrnyk.
These are just some of the marvelous sites that comprise the historical and
cultural attractions of the Cherkasy region. The Golden Horseshoe tourism
route is expected to include Sofiyivka in Uman and several other locales.
The Golden Horseshoe wants to be recognized at the highest official level.
"We believe that this project has a great future in terms of spirituality
and business opportunities," says Mykola Lysuk, first deputy chairman of the
regional state administration. "We know, of course, that at this stage we
are faced with two problems: lack of information and an underdeveloped
infrastructure. Yes, we have hotels and tourist accommodations, but they are
inadequate.
Our scenic environs can't get us the kind of tourist business we want. We're
negotiating deals with Ukrainian and foreign investors. We've made several
serious arrangements, but they'll work only when this program is accepted on
the national level."
Funds will be spent on developing a tourist infrastructure and "condensing"
the attractions of Cherkasy attractions - in other words, reviving the folk
crafts and folkways of past centuries, and establishing a few more museums.
There are many projects in the offing.
Today, the Cherkasy region is ill-equipped to cope with a tourist influx.
But you can visit the area and stay in some of the towns or rent a room from
a rural resident. You can order a guided tour or view the sights by
yourself. Either way, the wonderful local environs, spared the horrors of
Soviet industrialization, are well worth visiting. -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.day.kiev.ua/145306
==============================================================
UKRAINE INFORMATION WEBSITE: http://www.ArtUkraine.com
==============================================================
SigmaBleyzer/SigmaBleyzer Foundation Economic Reports
The SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group offers a comprehensive
collection of documents, reports and presentations presented by its business
units and organizations. All downloads are grouped by categories:
Marketing; Economic Country Reports; Presentations; Ukrainian Equity Guide;
Monthly Macroeconomic Situation Reports (Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine).
LINK: http://www.sigmableyzer.com/index.php?action=downloads
UKRAINE WILL SUCCEED
==============================================================
"WELCOME TO UKRAINE" & "NARODNE MYSTETSTVO" MAGAZINES
UKRAINIAN MAGAZINES: For information on how to subscribe to the
"Welcome to Ukraine" magazine in English, published four times a year
and/or to the Ukrainian Folk Art magazine "Narodne Mystetstvo" in
Ukrainian, published two times a year, please send an e-mail to:
ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net.
==============================================================
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR"
An Agent Of Change
A Free, Non-Profit, Public Service Newsletter
ARTICLES ARE FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
Articles are Distributed For Information, Research, Education
Discussion and Personal Purposes Only
==============================================================
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT- AUR" - SPONSORS
"Working to Secure & Enhance Ukraine's Democratic Future"
1. THE BLEYZER FOUNDATION, Dr. Edilberto Segura, Chairman;
Victor Gekker, Executive Director, Kyiv, Ukraine; Washington, D.C.,
http://www.bleyzerfoundation.com.
2. KIEV-ATLANTIC GROUP, David and Tamara Sweere, Daniel
Sweere, Kyiv and Myronivka, Ukraine, 380 44 298 7275 in Kyiv,
kau@ukrnet.net
3. ESTRON CORPORATION, Grain Export Terminal Facility &
Oilseed Crushing Plant, Ilvichevsk, Ukraine
4. Law firm UKRAINIAN LEGAL GROUP, Irina Paliashvili,
President; Kiev and Washington, general@rulg.com, www.rulg.com.
5. BAHRIANY FOUNDATION, INC., Dr. Anatol Lysyj, Chairman,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
6. VOLIA SOFTWARE, Software to Fit Your Business, Source your
IT work in Ukraine. Contact: Yuriy Sivitsky, Vice President, Marketing,
Kyiv, Ukraine, yuriy.sivitsky@softline.kiev.ua; Volia Software website:
http://www.volia-software.com/ or Bill Hunter, CEO Volia Software,
Houston, TX 77024; bill.hunter@volia-software.com.
7. ODUM- Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent,
Minnesota Chapter, Natalia Yarr, Chairperson
8. UKRAINIAN FEDERATION OF AMERICA (UFA),
Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson; Vera M. Andryczyk, President;
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania
9. UKRAINE-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL, Washington, D.C.,
Chairman, Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, E. Morgan
Williams, SigmaBleyzer; Secretary/Treasurer, John Stephens, Cape
Point Capital
10. UKRAINIAN AMERICAN COORDINATING COUNCIL,
(UACC), Ihor Gawdiak, President, Washington, D.C., New York, NY
11. U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF), Nadia Komarnyckyj
McConnell, President; John Kun, Vice President/COO, Washington,
D.C.; Markian Bilynskyj, VP/Director of Field Operations; Kyiv,
Ukraine. Web: http://www.USUkraine.org
===============================================================
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" is an in-depth, private, non-
profit news and analysis international newsletter, produced as a free
public service by the non-profit www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service
(ARTUIS) and The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service The
report is distributed in the public's interesting around the world FREE
of charge using the e-mail address: ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net.
Additional readers are always welcome.
The text and spelling found in the articles is that which was distributed by
the various news services. The AUR does not change the wording, the
English or the spelling found in the original articles and none of the
translations are by the AUR unless specifically marked as such. The
AUR does change the format of some of the articles to fit the format used
in this publication, cuts very long paragraphs into two to four paragraphs
to allow much easier and quicker reading and changes the headlines we
find that are not clear and accurate, which is quite often.
If you would like to read "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT- AUR"
please send your name, country of residence, and e-mail contact
information to morganw@patriot.net. Additional names are welcome. If
you do not wish to read "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" around five
times per week, let us know by e-mail to morganw@patriot.net. If you
are receiving more than one copy please contact us and again please
contact us immediately if you do not wish to receive this Report.
===============================================================
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR - AUR
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs
Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group
P.O. Box 2607, Washington, D.C. 20013, Tel: 202 437 4707
mwilliams@SigmaBleyzer.com; www.SigmaBleyzer.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Director, Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA)
Coordinator, Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC)
Senior Advisor, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF)
Chairman, Executive Committee, Ukraine-U.S. Business Council
Publisher, Ukraine Information Website, www.ArtUkraine.com
& www.ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS)
===============================================================
Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
===============================================================