"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
An International Newsletter
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS IS BUSINESS
Creating and Maintaining Jobs, More Jobs and More Jobs
Democracy Must be Supported by a Strong, Growing Economy
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" - Number 446
E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C. and Kyiv, Ukraine, TUESDAY, March 22, 2005
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. YUSHCHENKO WILL START PROCESS OF REVERSING THE
FLOW OF OIL IN ODESA-BRODY PIPELINE
Ukrayinska Pravda, Kyiv, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, March 22, 2005
2. SURGE OF INTEREST IN ODESSA-BRODY OIL PIPELINE
By Vladimir Socor, Eurasia Daily Monitor
The Jamestown Foundation
Washington, D.C., Thursday, March 17, 2005
3. EU TO HELP UKRAINE WITH ODESSA-BRODY-PLOCK AGAIN
By Kostis Geropoulos, Senior Staff Writer
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, March 21, 2005
4. SEEKING PARTNERS FOR ODESSA-BRODY PIPELINE EXTENSION
German, Ukrainian, and Polish leaders discuss possible pipeline changes
By Vladimir Socor, Eurasia Daily Monitor,
The Jamestown Foundation, Volume 2, Issue 56
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, March 22, 2005
5. FIRST VICE PRIME MINISTER & US AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE
DISCUSS TOPICAL MATTERS OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thur, March 17, 2005
6. EXPORT OF UKRAINIAN IT SERVICES AND PRODUCTS ROSE
57% TO USD 110 MILLION IN 2004
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, March 22, 2005
7. RUSSIA'S SEVERSTAL GROUP SAYS INVESTING IN
UKRAINE NOW LOOKS MORE ATTRACTIVE
New bids for Ukrainian steelmaker likely to surpass $1.5bn
Steel Business Briefing, London, UK, Tue, March 22, 2005
8. FOREIGN CAPITAL TO BACK DOMESTIC BANKS
2006 could be a record year for the sale of Ukrainian banks
to foreign buyers. Deals are currently being negotiated. Kyiv
Weekly offers its readers some exclusive insight into the
matter of who, when and how much
By Andriy Porokhovshchykov, Kyiv Weekly
Busines & Socio-Political Weekly, #8 (148)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Week of March 4-11, 2005
9. UKRAINE'S ECONOMIC BOOM LOSES SOME STEAM
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, March 21, 2005
10. CABINET PREDICTS GDP OF 8.2%, INFLATION 9.8% IN 2005
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, March 19, 2005
11. 30-YEAR MORTGAGES ARE A "MISSION POSSIBLE”
International Mortgage Bank (IMB)
By Andriy Porokhovshchykov, Kyiv Weekly
Business & Socio-Political Weekly, Issue #6 (146)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Week of Feb 18-25, 2005
12. AVAL BANK REACHES AGREEMENT WITH SYNGENTA
COMPANY ON COOPERATION IN SELLING ITS PRODUCTS
Syngenta, World's Largest Seller of Plant-Protecting Agents
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 18, 2005
13. PM YULIA TYMOSHENKO URGES FOREIGN DIPLOMATS TO
HELP INCREASE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, March 19, 2005
14. YUSHCHENKO CALLING ON FRENCH BUSINESSMEN TO
INTENSIFY THEIR WORK IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, March 22, 2005
15. KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO VISITS CHILDREN'S CENTER
PATERNAL HOME IN VILLAGE OF PETRIVSKE
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, March 16, 2005
16. KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO AND WITALI KLITSCHKO INTEND
TO COOPERATE IN CHARITY SPHERE
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 11, 2005
17. PAINTING ON TRADITION
Ukrainian Tradition of Painting and Dyeing Easter Eggs
By Kim Lyons, Tribune-Review
PittsburghLIVE, Pittsburgh, PA, Friday, March 18, 2005
18. THE EGGS-TRAORDINARY ART OF PYSANKY
Saw eggs on display at a Ukrainian museum in New York
By Deanna Larson, Nashvillecitypaper.com
Nashville, Tennessee, Monday, March 14, 2005
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1. YUSHCHENKO WILL START PROCESS OF REVERSING THE
FLOW OF OIL IN ODESA-BRODY PIPELINE
Ukrayinska Pravda, Kyiv, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, March 22, 2005
KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko plans to start the process of
reversing the flow of Odesa-Brody oil pipeline towards Europe, as
originally designed.
"Ukraine's energy-related security will improve if this project will work in
the direction of Odesa to Brody," - Yushchenko told journalists. "For this,
a plan must be worked out to deliver Tengiz Field oil to Odesa terminal
and then to transit it via Brody (Ukraine) - Plock (Poland)," he added.
According to Yushchenko, he discussed this topic with the president of
Russia Vladimir Putin. "The interest of Ukraine lies in moving toward a
more effective work of this oil pipeline". Yushchenko noted that in order
for Odesa-Brody pipeline to effectively work in the original direction, it
has to be loaded to continuously supply 9-10 million tons each year".
"Unfortunately? to this day such an agreement has not been made. In
my opinion, not due to lack of resources. Politics and corporate interests
were mixed there," - Yushchenko said. He announced that "in the next
several months I will hold talks with all sides"; thus, a meeting with the
management of oil companies will be held next week.
"The topic of discussions will be the renewal of the operation of
Odesa-Brody and the possibility of oil processing either on Ukrainian
facilities or the extension of the pipeline (to Plock)", - Yushchenko added.
The decision to reverse the direction of Odesa-Brody pipeline towards
Odesa was approved by the Kuchma administration supposedly due to
absence of Caspian oil for the original project. The reverse was lobbied
by TNK, a Russian company. [translated by Igor Solovey] -30-
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2. SURGE OF INTEREST IN ODESSA-BRODY OIL PIPELINE
By Vladimir Socor, Eurasia Daily Monitor
The Jamestown Foundation
Washington, D.C., Thursday, March 17, 2005
Political transformation in Ukraine has reactivated international interest
in using the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline in the originally intended northerly
direction, which involves extending the pipeline into Poland to Plock and on
to Gdansk. Initially designed for transporting Caspian oil to Europe, the
Odessa-Brody pipeline has instead been used "in reverse mode" since
2004 for transporting Russian oil southward to the Mediterranean basin.
Addressing the "Power-Business Partnership" forum on March 11 in Kyiv,
President Viktor Yushchenko portrayed the Odessa-Brody pipeline extension
project as one of all-European interest, of "enormous significance" to the
task of diversifying Europe's and Ukraine's energy supply sources and
transport options by using Caspian oil and a Ukrainian transit route.
Yushchenko proposed that this transport project be correlated with oil
production in Kazakhstan, notably at the giant Tengiz field, which is
majority-owned and operated by Chevron-Texaco.
During the same Kyiv forum, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko noted that
the pipeline's "reverse use" is loss-making to Ukraine, and she suggested
making arrangements with oil producers in Kazakhstan in order to use the
Odessa-Brody pipeline as originally intended, once it is extended into
Poland.
Also on March 11 in Kyiv, a meeting of Ukrainian, Polish, and European
Commission experts renewed discussion on the extension project. The
European Commission opened a 2 million Euro credit line for a technical
and commercial feasibility study on extending the pipeline to Plock.
As Yushchenko recalled at the forum, it was the government he chaired in
2000-2002, with Tymoshenko overseeing the energy sector, that gave the
decisive impetus to the Odessa-Brody-Plock project, with the intention to
bring Caspian oil to European markets. The bulk of financial investments
and most of the construction work on the Odessa-Brody pipeline were
accomplished during that period.
The pipeline was completed to Brody in 2002. In May 2003, the Ukrainian and
Polish governments and the European Commission signed a statement on
extending the line to Plock, and formed an expert working group. In November
that year, the governments of Ukraine and Poland signed an agreement of
intent to use the Odessa-Brody pipeline and connect it with the Polish
pipeline system. In July 2004, the Ukrainian and Polish state pipeline
operating companies, UkrTrransNafta and PERN, formed the joint company
Sarmatia for constructing the extension to Plock.
These agreements did not bear fruit, mainly because Russia and its
state-connected oil companies stood in the way. With the Odessa-Brody
pipeline dry and idle during more than two years, and authorities in Kyiv
tilting politically toward Russia, the stage was set for reversing the
pipeline's use. In June 2004, a long-term Russia-Ukraine agreement on
oil transport envisaged using the Odessa-Brody pipeline for transporting
Russian oil.
In July that year, UkrTransNafta and the Russian-British joint company
Tyumen Neft-British Petroleum (TNK-BP) signed a contract on using the
pipeline southward to Odessa. It envisaged pumping up to 9 million tons
annually from Russian fields operated by TNK-BP and various Russian
companies.
However, only 1.3 million tons were pumped during the first five months of
reverse use, from September 2004 to January 2005. This means that the
pipeline operates at a loss to the Ukrainian government. UkrTransNafta had
estimated last year that a throughput of at least 4 million tons annually
would be necessary for a break-even financial result.
Ukraine had initially anticipated a throughput of up to 7 million tons in
2005. But TNK-BP now claims that Russian oil exporters need lower taxes at
the Pivdenny maritime export terminal near Odessa. Moreover, they now claim
that they cannot make long-term commitments to using the pipeline to Odessa,
amid ongoing discussions by Ukraine and its EU partners about adhering to
the original plans of pumping Caspian oil northward to Europe.
On March 14, Lukoil chairman Vahid Alekperov discussed the possible use in
the northward direction during a meeting with Yuschenko in Kyiv. Alekperov's
statement after the meeting seemed vague and unreceptive. On March 16,
delegations led by the energy ministers of Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Ivan
Plachkov and Vladimir Shkolnik, held potentially more fruitful talks in Kyiv
on possible long-term arrangements for Kazakh crude oil deliveries to
Ukrainian refineries and on to European countries through an extended
Odessa-Brody-Plock pipeline.
The Odessa-Brody line is 674 kilometers long, with a design throughput
capacity of 14 million tons annually. The Brody-Plock extension, 490
kilometers long, is expected to take three years to construct at an
estimated cost of 450 to 500 million euros. (Interfax-Ukraine, March 11,
12, 14, 16). -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
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LINK: http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2369436
===========================================================
3. EU TO HELP UKRAINE WITH ODESSA-BRODY-PLOCK AGAIN
By Kostis Geropoulos, Senior Staff Writer
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, March 21, 2005
The European Union, Ukraine and Poland on March 12, 2005 at a trilateral
meeting in Kiev approved a working plan to carry out a feasibility study on
extending the Odessa-Brody pipeline to the Polish city of Plock to carry
Caspian oil to Europe.
"It is necessary for the European Union to diversify its oil supplies and
this is one of the projects that can make Ukraine beneficial for EU
countries," Alexander Todiychuk, the counsellor to the Ukrainian secretary
of state, told New Europe last Wednesday. Todiychuk, who until last year
headed Ukrtransnafta JSC, the Ukrainian company responsible for the
Odessa-Brody oil pipeline, noted that this project would also accelerate
Ukraine's European integration plans.
Todiychuk reminded that the new government of Ukraine and President Viktor
Yushchenko have confirmed that the strategic direction of Odessa-Brody is
European.
At the meeting it was established that the EU would appropriate two million
Euro in the framework of INOGATE Programme for technical assistance to this
project, Todiychuk, who was present at the discussions, said telephonically
from Kiev. The decision goes back to May 27, 2003 when Loyola de Palacio,
who was the EU energy and transport commissioner at the time, and Polish and
Ukrainian officials in Brussels signed a joint declaration on the support of
the project and shook hands on the two million Euro amount. De Palacio named
the Odessa-Brody as one of the most important projects for European energy
security and things looked set to go.
However, during the second half of last year there was no activity on this
project and the government of Leonid Kuchma, who was the Ukrainian
president, succumbed to Russian pressure and decided to use the pipeline
in reverse toward Odessa until more effective ways to operate it were found.
Ukrtransnafta signed an agreement with TNK-BP for the transportation of
nine million tonnes of Russian oil to the Black Sea port.
"Unfortunately many potential collaborators and partners in this project
viewed the decision to reverse the pipeline as a kind of betrayal,"
Todiychuk said. The Ukrainian officials that supported the direct use of the
pipeline - Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Hayduk, Fuel and Energy
Minister Serhy Yermilov, First Deputy Foreign Minister Olexander Chaly,
and Todiychuk - were all subsequently forced to quit or fired.
Following the presidential elections, the new Western-leaning government
of Ukraine says it is determined to restart this project to transport
Caspian oil to Europe. Still, there have been no changes at the executive
level and the heads of the official companies that represent Ukraine in
this project are supporters of the reverse use of the pipeline.
Sources in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry told New Europe privately that the
political will exists in the new Ukrainian leadership to push Odessa-Brody
but that "there are no economic guarantees and there is no oil." Energy
experts say Caspian oil from Kazakhstan could be made available to Ukraine
but Russia could exert its influence on Astana to convince it otherwise.
Nevertheless, Ukraine has the possibility to take oil not only from
KazMunaiGaz, which is a national oil company, but several private
companies like TengizChevronOil, explained Mikhail Gonchar, vice
president of Strategy-1 Foundation, in Kiev.
Todiychuk said Ukraine is banking on Kazakh oil. He confirmed that a
Kazakh delegation was in Kiev last week, reciprocating a recent visit of a
Ukrainian delegation to Astana, to discuss Kazakh companies' participation
in the project. "They have made a real proposition but they feel that
Ukraine has to provide them with normal conditions for collaboration," he
said without elaborating.
At the same time, Ukraine expects western companies to come out of their
waiting stage, Todiychuk said. "In friendly conversations with them, the
western companies say they have no doubts in the profitability of the
project but they also estimate 'how much we can lose because of your
disputes with Russia.'" -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
===========================================================
4. SEEKING PARTNERS FOR ODESSA-BRODY PIPELINE EXTENSION
German, Ukrainian, and Polish leaders discuss possible pipeline changes
By Vladimir Socor, Eurasia Daily Monitor,
The Jamestown Foundation, Volume 2, Issue 56
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Meeting in Kyiv on March 21, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and the
German and Polish Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Joschka Fischer and Adam
Rotfeld, discussed using and extending the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline as
originally intended for transporting Caspian oil to European countries.
Following the meeting, Yushchenko told a news conference that Ukraine
would seek to obtain deliveries of Kazakhstan oil from Russia's Black Sea
port Novorossiysk to Odessa.
Yushchenko said that he intends to initiate discussions with certain
companies involved in the extraction and transit of Kazakhstan oil. These
include: ChevronTexaco, majority owner and operator of the giant Tengiz
field; the ExxonMobil-led Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) which owns
the pipeline that terminates at Novorossiysk; and Russia's Transneft state
pipeline monopoly. Ukraine will seek deliveries of 10 million tons of crude
oil annually, with guarantees of uninterrupted supply. Those volumes could
be used both for refining in Ukraine and for supplying European countries,
once the Odessa-Brody pipeline is extended into Poland to Plock and the
port of Gdansk.
Characterizing the pipeline's northward use and extension as important to
Ukraine's energy security, Yushchenko nevertheless reassured Russian oil
companies that they could continue "reverse-using" the pipeline southward to
Odessa, for export to Mediterranean countries, pending conclusive decisions
on restoring the originally intended northward use (Interfax-Ukraine,
Ukrainian Channel One TV, March 21). In a similar vein, Ukrainian Prime
Minister Yulia Tymoshenko had announced the preceding week that she would
seek discussions with the governments of Kazakhstan and Russia regarding
oil supplies for the Odessa-Brody pipeline to be extended to Gdansk
(Interfax-Ukraine, March 19).
Also on March 21, however, the Russian-British joint company Tyumen
Neft-British Petroleum (TNK-BP), the main reverse-user of that pipeline,
indicated its opposition to the originally intended northward use. At a
press briefing in Moscow, TNK-BP Executive Director German Khan contended
that Caspian oil deliveries through Odessa-Brody to Plock and Gdansk would
be economically unprofitable. TNK-BP contracted with UkrTransNafta in 2004
to transport 9 million tons of Russian oil annually through that pipeline to
Odessa for a three-year period. The actual amounts, however, run at a
considerably lower annual rate thus far (see EDM, March 17).
Khan's briefing in Moscow -- as well as a recent briefing by TNK-BP Ukraine
chairman Oleksandr Horodetskiy in Kyiv -- enumerated some conditions for
raising the transit volume to 9 million tons annually. The conditions
include: 1) deepening the navigation channel at the Pivdenny terminal near
Odessa, so as make it accessible to 100,000-ton tankers (Pivdenny now takes
80,000-ton tankers; TNK-BP would defray the costs of deepening the channel);
2) cutting Ukrainian customs tariffs at the port by 50%; and 3) lowering the
transit tariffs on the pipeline to Odessa (Interfax-Ukraine, March 19, 21).
In his Kyiv press conference, Yushchenko alluded to political motives behind
the 2004 decision to reverse the Odessa-Brody pipeline's direction. The
newly appointed chairman of Naftohaz Ukrainy, Oleksiy Ivchenko, stated
explicitly, "The only reason for reversing the direction was to thwart the
originally intended use [for Caspian oil]." According to Ivchenko, TNK-BP
did not actually need to use this pipeline to Odessa: it could have used the
Dnipro regional pipeline system that runs in the same direction, is shorter,
and currently operates at only 42% of its capacity (Zerkalo Nedeli, March
19).
At present, Kazakhstan delivers approximately 8 million tons of crude
annually to Ukrainian refineries. Ukraine's expectations to fill and extend
the Odessa-Brody pipeline rely on Kazakhstan's projected output growth,
from some 60 million tons at present to as much as 100 million tons by 2010.
Those expectations will begin to acquire a more definite shape when Ukraine
and Poland initiate the formation of a consortium to extend the pipeline to
Gdansk with European Union backing. -30-
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LINK: http://www.jamestown.org
================================================================
5. FIRST VICE PRIME MINISTER AND US AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE
DISCUSS TOPICAL MATTERS OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thur, March 17, 2005
KYIV - First Vice Prime Minister Anatoli Kinakh met with US Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, the Vice Prime
Minister's press service told Ukrinform on Thursday.
The parties to the meeting discussed Ukrainian-US cooperation. The sides
particularly focused on deletion of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, rendering a
market economy status to Ukraine and signing a bipartite protocol on mutual
access to markets of goods and services between Ukraine and the USA and
the promotion of Ukraine's accession to the WTO. Ukraine's readiness for the
facilitation of investment and trade-economic cooperation with the American
business was stressed.
As Anatoli Kinakh noted, the Ukrainian Govt means to step up moves to speed
up Ukraine's acquiring the market economy status, "including moves to adopt
legal acts with regard to proper securing intellectual property rights,
which would correspond to the norms of the international law" as well as
strengthening trust between the American and Ukrainian businesses.
As the Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister told the US Ambassador, the Govt
will realize its policy, directed at establishing a civil society in
Ukraine, consolidating the supremacy of law, creating conditions for equal
and transparent competition, enhancing business security, protecting owner
and investor rights and combating corruption and smuggling in Ukraine. "We
do realize that this is the way to provide Ukraine's efficient economic and
political integration", Anatoli Kinakh stressed. -30-
===============================================================
6. EXPORT OF UKRAINIAN IT SERVICES AND PRODUCTS ROSE
57% TO USD 110 MILLION IN 2004
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, March 22, 2005
KYIV - The volume of export of Ukrainian IT services and products rose
by USD 40 million or 57% to USD 110 million in 2004. This is stated in a
report by the Tekhinvest venture company, a text of which Ukrainian News
obtained.
"According to data from the Tekhinvest company, the increase in the volume
of the Ukrainian export industry was 57% - from USD 70 million to USD 110
million, which exceeds the forecast indicators," the statement said.
According to data from Tekhinvest, the exports of the IT sector of the
Ukrainian economy is the most dynamically developing. However, a large
proportion of it is in the shadow. According to official statistics,
software exports is close to zero.
At the same time, the total number of IT specialists operating on the
market reached 15,000 toward the end of 2004. This was an increase
of 50%, compared with 2003.
The size of the Ukrainian IT industry continued to increase in 2004, as
a result of which large and medium companies accounted for a large
proportion of the export of IT services and products (65%). About
half of the companies operating in the sector are fully or partially
owned by foreigners.
Ukrainian IT exports continue to focus mainly on high-end software
development, using the high intellectual potentials of Ukrainian
specialists.
Over 25% of the IT companies engaging in export operations earn
profits not only from provision of services, but also from the sale of
their own intellectual property and products. Tekhinvest's review of
2004 is based on the results of an express poll of 30 export-
oriented IT companies and experts.
Methods that Tekhinvest developed during a research that was conducted
in 2003 in conjunction with the international analytical agency Market Vizio
(the Gartner Group) was used in the poll. As Ukrainian News earlier
reported, the volume of export of Ukrainian IT services and products
amounted to USD 70 million in 2003.
Tekhinvest is the successor to the AVentures company, which was
founded in 1994 (it was called Ukrinvestkom until 2001) and specializes
in management consulting and investments in high-technology projects.
===============================================================
7. RUSSIA'S SEVERSTAL GROUP SAYS INVESTING IN
UKRAINE NOW LOOKS MORE ATTRACTIVE
New bids for Ukrainian steelmaker likely to surpass $1.5bn
Steel Business Briefing, London, UK, Tue, March 22, 2005
Bids in the next tender for Ukrainian steelmaker Krivorizhstal are most
likely to surpass the $1.5bn offered by the Ispat/US Steel consortium last
year, believes Thomas Veraszto, deputy managing director of Russia's
Severstal Group.
Speaking at the recent Euroforum Stahlhandel conference in Düsseldorf,
Veraszto remained unspecific about Severstal's possible interest in
Krivorizhstal, but said that Ukraine is generally attractive for
investments. "Ukraine's new government will be more liberal with foreign
investors, which the former wasn't," he said. Severstal in the long term has
ambitions to be one of the global players with an annual production between
60m and 100m tonnes, Steel Business Briefing understands.
Besides Ukraine, Severstal sees interesting prospects in Kazakhstan, mostly
in raw materials, Veraszto said. He pointed out that vertical integration is
a key feature in Russia, with Severstal since the mid-1990s having built up
a base to cover its entire raw materials demand.
With the former Rouge Steel in North America now a Severstal subsidiary,
"we have a similar position in the USA as US Steel has in Europe," Veraszto
said. Severstal recently eyed Canada's Stelco, given similar locations on
the Great Lakes and comparable customer bases in the auto industry,
Veraszto said. However, he added: "we were not willing to bid any price -
unlike many who try to play Wilbur Ross." -30-
===============================================================
8. FOREIGN CAPITAL TO BACK DOMESTIC BANKS
2006 could be a record year for the sale of Ukrainian banks
to foreign buyers. Deals are currently being negotiated. Kyiv
Weekly offers its readers some exclusive insight into the
matter of who, when and how much
By Andriy Porokhovshchykov, Kyiv Weekly
Business & Socio-Political Weekly, Issue #8 (148)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Week of March 4-11, 2005
Ukraine’s banking system is on the verge of being sold. The talks owners
of Ukrainian banks are currently engaged in with foreign bankers could
potentially result in a deluge of investments. Western financial
institutions are not concealing the fact that they have never been so
interested and are seriously considering investing in Ukrainian banks. “We
continue to receive inquiries about Ukrainian banks and requests for doing
research on them from our foreign colleagues. They are studying local
financial institutions with a fine toothed comb for the ultimate purpose of
acquisition.
Moreover, they are expressing interest in different share packages in a bank
ranging from 50% to 100%,” one of the international financial institutions
operating in Kyiv informed our KW correspondent. Meanwhile, both Western
and Russian investors are prepared to acquire shares in Ukrainian banks.
According to local banking experts, preliminary talks are being held with
over a dozen Ukrainian banks.
Recently, the chairman of Aval Bank Oleksandr Derkach announced the
bank’s intention of attracting foreign investment capital, explaining that
foreign shareholders in the bank will help increase its local market share
to 20-25%. According to him, there are plenty of proposals from potential
investors. “I’ve been receiving phone calls ever since we announced our
readiness to attract foreign investors. I often have several meetings a
day,” said Derkach. He further emphasized that the sale of entire bank is
not on the agenda.
For this reason, observers believe the owners of Aval will not sell 100% of
the shares in the bank in the first stage (to date, it is owned by several
individuals). Experts think that initially the talk could be about the sale
of only a controlling share package. A representative of a bank with 100%
foreign capital backing commented to KW, “It is likely that Aval owners will
even sell a smaller share package, but the investors interested in its
acquisition are far too serious. They are unlikely to be interested in
acquiring a small share package.
Indeed, it appears that these investors have serious plans for Ukraine. This
is why one could posit that they would not be satisfied with just a small
chunk. In addition to that, it is unlikely that foreigners would buy 50% of
the shares without having plans to acquire the full package in the future.”
To date, observers are singling out two of the most likely contenders for
the acquisition of Aval shares - Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank and France’s
Societe Generale. Both of the banks are the largest in the respective
countries.
Meanwhile, the managers of other Ukrainian financial institutions are more
cautious in their public statements. There is only unofficial information
about the possible sale of a controlling share package in UkrSotsBank.
According to unconfirmed information, Russia’s VneshTorgBank has
expressed interest in the bank, which is within the sphere of influence of
Interpipe owner Viktor Pinchuk. VneshTorgbank is a state bank, which is
among the top three in the Russian Federation. Its balance indicators
“outshine” those of any Ukrainian bank. Furthermore, all this bank has
managed to do in Ukraine lately is to open up an affiliated branch
registered by the NBU at the end of last year.
Foreign investors are also interested in smaller Ukrainian banks. In
particular, as KW learned, UkrGasBank, which is in 21st place on the NBU
ratings list as of Jan. 1, 2005, has recently announced the sale of its
shares. The bank is controlled by VR deputy and businessman Vasyl Horbal.
So far, it is not known which of the foreign banks has a chance of becoming
a shareholder at UkrGasBank, though there is information that talks on this
issue are being held with a financial institution in the U.S.
Observers believe that the talks initiated this year will end no sooner than
in 2006. Such a long negotiating process is not considered drawn out under
the current circumstances, particularly since foreign banks are known for
their caution in the acquisition of new structures. Before investing even a
penny into a new object, foreign banks analyze not only the financial
standing of a bank, but also local market conditions. In any case, a
12-month period provides Ukrainian banks the opportunity to prepare
for the sale.
Observers expect that 2006 will see the implementation of both the
aforementioned plans and a number of sales that had been planned earlier.
This concerns both agreements not disclosed to the public as well as old
agreements known to the public. Recall that last year managers of the Mriya
Bank announced plans for the sale of its shares, while Nadra Bank had
announced its plans of accessing the IPO market.
Last year saw only a few deals in the acquisition of Ukrainian banks by
foreign companies. One of the largest Kazakhstan banks — TuranAlem
became a shareholder of Transbank, the Swedish financial group SEB
acquired 100% in Agio Bank and the management of Russia’s Renaissance
Capital group announced the acquisition of the small Ukrainian bank Leader.
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LINK: http://www.kyivweekly.com/english/article/?348
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9. UKRAINE'S ECONOMIC BOOM LOSES SOME STEAM
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, March 21, 2005
KYIV - The Ukrainian economic boom has lost some but not all of its
steam, and is currently expanding at a single-digit rate, according to
the data made public by Ukraine's State Statistics Committee last
Tuesday, cited by Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 5.5 percent annual rate during
the first two months of 2005, well below the 12.1 annual rate achieved
during the course of 2004. The monthly government report predicted a
definite slowdown for the first quarter of 2005, and called into question
previously rosy projections for the Ukrainian economy over the rest of
the year.
The 5.5 percent rate, though still strongly positive, is disturbingly lower
than the 8.2 percent expansion rate built into the national budget by
Ukraine's newly-elected reform government.
Profits in Ukrainian heavy industry have fallen since the beginning of the
year as a result of a national campaign to increase government collections,
hitting big business with higher costs for state-provided energy and rail
transportation, and dramatically reducing large firms' ability to avoid
paying taxes and wages.
Also worrying for long-term Ukrainian macroeconomic prospects are
an annual inflation rate of 9 to 10 percent. -30-
============================================================
10. CABINET PREDICTS GDP OF 8.2%, INFLATION 9.8% IN 2005
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, March 19, 2005
KYIV - The Cabinet of Ministers predicts that in 2005 Ukraine's gross
domestic product will increase by 8.2% up to UAH 436 billion, and inflation
will be 9.8% (December on December). Economy Minister Serhii Teriokhin
announced this at the Cabinet of Ministers' meeting on Saturday, disclosing
macroindicators envisaged by the Cabinet of Ministers in preparing
amendments to the 2005 national budget.
He also added that the Cabinet of Ministers predicts industrial output
increase of 12% and average wage increase of 22.5%. In 2005, the Cabinet
predicts production export rise by 10.4%, and import rise by 17.8%. In
forming the current law on the 2005 national budget, it was planned that
exports will rise by 6.9%, and imports by 11.2%.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Cabinet of Ministers suggested that
the Verkhovna Rada increase revenues of the national budget for 2005 from
UAH 86.5 billion to UAH 108.2 billion, expenditures from UAH 95.5 billion to
UAH 113.6 billion, and reduce deficit from UAH 8.6 billion to UAH 5.4
billion.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet envisages increasing income rise in connection with
changing increase in macroindicators, particularly, improvement of the GDP
growth. Earlier the Economy Ministry predicted the 2005 inflation at the
level of 11.2-11.4% in case of adoption of amendments to this year's state
budget with unchanged monetary policy. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
stated that the Cabinet of Ministers would limit the 2005 inflation at the
level of 8-9%. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
===============================================================
11. 30-YEAR MORTGAGES ARE A "MISSION POSSIBLE”
International Mortgage Bank (IMB)
By Andriy Porokhovshchykov, Kyiv Weekly
Business & Socio-Political Weekly, Issue #6 (146)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Week of Feb 18-25, 2005
Purchasing an apartment through home mortgages will become more
affordable. After all, although the concept of a home mortgage for a
term of 30 years is something quite new to Ukraine, it is not a mission
impossible. In fact it is quite possible in light of the stiff competition
on the local mortgage market
With new players appearing on the mortgage market every day,
competition has seriously stiffened. The latest fight for customers is
due to the inception of the International Mortgage Bank (IMB), registered
by the NBU in December of last year. This is the first specialized
mortgage financial institution on the territory of Ukraine created by a
highly respected shareholder: Western NIS Enterprise Fund, the
owner of a 100% stake in the new bank and which controls over half
of the Moscow mortgage market.
“We are not planning to create a network of subsidiaries this year. We will
focus on developing partnership relations with banks that have branched-out
networks, can sell our products and are not implementing mortgage programs
similar to ours,” stated IMB CEO Yuriy Blashchuk. According to him, during
2005 the bank will increase its credit (loan) portfolio to Hr 100 mn.
Blashchuk’s commentary on pricing policy was less direct. “If you take the
market, we will always be in its lower segment in terms of interest rates.
But we will not be involved in dumping,” Blashchuk promised.
Apparently the competition does not believe in his statement and quickly
began improving their mortgage programs. Changes were introduced to all
parameters — from expanding the number of partners to changes in lending
terms for the end borrower. “To date, UkrSibBank is working with two
construction companies — TMM and UkrSibInvest.
Their plans for 2005 include attracting about five other construction
companies to cooperate, including on a regional level,” stated Ivan Istomin,
Chief of the Retail Lending Department at UkrSibBank. At the same time, the
Kharkiv bank announced a reduction in the downpayment on a mortgage for an
apartment from 30% to 25% of the property value. For some cities, this limit
was lowered to 20% (including Kyiv, Donetsk, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk,
Zaporizhzhia and Lviv).
Almost at the same time commercial banks began lowering the cost of a
mortgage. From the previous 16% per annum, the interest rates have already
dropped to 13-15% (in hard currency). Moreover, bankers assure that in the
second half of the year the rates for mortgages should return to the
pre-crisis level of 12% annually. Another concession to borrowers will be an
extension in the term of the mortgage. Up until recently, it was considered
an achievement for a bank to provide home mortgages for 10 years and now
banks are ready to go for 20 years and more.
Bankers are convinced that borrowers will soon “respond” to such liberalism.
They have already calculated that soon they will be able to increase their
mortgage portfolios by 2-2.5 times. This will fully cover losses the market
suffered in January and the beginning of February, when buy/sale operations
with real estate were suspended due to confusion over certain legislative
nuances for registering such deals. -30- Action Ukraine Report Monitoring]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.kyivweekly.com/english/article/?245
=============================================================
12. AVAL BANK REACHES AGREEMENT WITH SYNGENTA
COMPANY ON COOPERATION IN SELLING ITS PRODUCTS
Syngenta, World's Largest Seller of Plant-Protecting Agents
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 18, 2005
KYIV - Aval Bank, which is one of the ten largest banks in Ukraine, has
reached an agreement with the Syngenta company (Kyiv) on cooperation
in selling its products (crop and seeds protecting agents). The bank
disclosed this in a statement, the text of which Ukrainian News has
obtained. According to the statement, Aval will provide avalized
promissory notes (guarantees for promissory notes) to Syngenta.
It is disclosed in the statement that the agreement will afford agricultural
producers the opportunity to minimize expenditures for purchasing
crop-protecting agents and to optimize the payment scheme for this
product.
Syngenta represents the interests of the Swiss company Syngenta in
Ukraine. Syngenta (Switzerland) is the world's largest seller of plant-
protecting agents. Syngenta specializes in the sale of herbicides,
fungicides and insecticides, and it also sells seeds.
As Ukrainian News reported previously, as of January 1, 2005 Aval
Bank's net assets were valued at UAH 11,859.44 million, whereas its
credit portfolio was UAH 8,614.32 million and it had capital of UAH
1,276.08 million. The bank finished 2004 with net profits of UAH
18.248 million. The bank's structural units throughout Ukraine now
count nearly 1,400 outlets. -30- [Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
===========================================================
13. PM YULIA TYMOSHENKO URGES FOREIGN DIPLOMATS TO HELP
INCREASE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, March 19, 2005
KYIV = Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has called on foreign diplomats to
help increase foreign [international] investments in Ukraine. Tymoshenko
made the comment at a meeting with representatives of diplomatic missions
of foreign states accredited to Ukraine. "In order that you would give a
signal that Ukraine is a stable partner for your investors and your
banks," Tymoshenko said.
In particular, Tymoshenko called for assistance in attracting foreign
investments to the agricultural sector, especially aimed at qualitative
cultivation of the land and reprocessing of agriculture products, developing
the transit arterial roads of Ukraine, including with respect to
transporting oil and gas, car roads and railroads, the light industry, and
also residential housing construction, particularly construction of modern
housing facilities to replace the "Khruschev" houses, which were built in
the center of Kyiv, as well as in large regional cities.
The prime minister said that Ukraine wants investors to come to the country
with serious loans, which they would make available for small interests.
Tymoshenko said that a registry of investment projects in key sectors will
be created in Ukraine in the coming month or two in order that investors
would be able to see the niche that is in need of their investment.
The premier apologized to the diplomats for the fact that within the period
of 1.5 months of her premiership she had up to today's date not been able
to hold systematic meetings with them due to the fact that the Cabinet of
Ministers is focused on preparing changes to the state budget for 2005.
Tymoshenko acquainted the diplomats with the conception of the changes,
which the Cabinet is going to propose to the Verkhovna Rada to make to the
state budget for 2005, which was formulated by the previous government
and adopted by Rada in December of last year.
In particular, Tymoshenko said that the Cabinet is going to provide revenues
for the budget owing to the cancellation of tax incentives that were
previously given to several enterprises, as well as fighting against
smuggling, and also improving the management of state assets.
Tymoshenko promised that after the Verkhovna Rada passes the changes
to the state budget that the Cabinet had prepared, the government will hold
systematic meetings with diplomats. She also said that she has determined
for herself the objective of resolving all disputes that are connected with
projects, in which foreign investors are participating, by the end of the
year.
Tymoshenko also assured the diplomats that the Cabinet of Ministers will
ensure stability for the work of foreign investors in Ukraine, adding that
the Cabinet is not going to undertake any revolutionary steps that would
destroy one or another business.
As Ukrainian News reported previously, a Ukrainian delegation headed by
Deputy Premier Oleh Rybachuk left for London (United Kingdom) to
participate in the Ukrainian investment summit, which took place March
15-16.
President Viktor Yuschenko had earlier discussed investments in Ukraine
with Russian entrepreneurs. Yuschenko also promised representatives of
Germany's business circles to create a favorable investment climate in
Ukraine.
Yuschenko and Vagit Alekperov, the president of the Russian LukOil
company, discussed the investment climate in Ukraine in late February.
The volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ukraine for 2004 expanded
by 23% or USD 1,559.468 million and totaled USD 8,353.878 million, as of
January 1. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
===============================================================
14. YUSHCHENKO CALLING ON FRENCH BUSINESSMEN TO
INTENSIFY THEIR WORK IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, March 22, 2005
KYIV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko is calling on French
businessmen to intensify their work in Ukraine. This was announced in
a report of the presidential press service, which quoted Yuschenko as
saying during his meeting with representatives of French business at
the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
According to the report, taking part in the meeting were First Deputy
Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh, French Ambassador to Ukraine Philippe
de Suremain and representatives of over 70 French companies.
The President drew the attention of French businessmen to the
government's effort to combat shadow economy and amend the
national budget, stressing that proposals are expected on
improvement of investment climate in Ukraine.
"We propose you a sincere dialogue; we are interested in cooperation
with you," the press service cited Yuschenko.
As Ukrainian News reported, earlier Yuschenko discussed with Russian
entrepreneurs investments in Ukraine, as well as promised German
businessmen to create investment-friendly climate in this country. In
February Yuschenko urged diplomats to fight for improvement of
economic and investment relations with foreign countries. -30-
=========================================================
15. KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO VISITS CHILDREN'S CENTER
PATERNAL HOME IN VILLAGE OF PETRIVSKE
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, March 16, 2005
KYIV - Chairman of the Ukraine-3000 Fund Supervising Council
Kateryna Yushchenko familiarized with work of the children's center
Paternal Home in the village of Petrivske, Kyiv-Sviatoshyn District.
Workers of the center invited the President's wife to visit the center and
communicate with children, the presidential press service told Ukrinform.
Kateryna Yushchenko expressed her sincere admiration with the Foundation
work, noting that the Paternal Home is a bright example "how efforts of
devoted persons and believers may work wonders in life of many children".
"Those children, abandoned by their families and their fate, are surrounded
by care and love, they have possibilities to study and plan their future
life. Later they will become good people and will take care of other
people", she said.
Representative of the International Charitable Foundation Paternal Home
Roman Korniiko, minister of the Salvation Church, which patronizes the
children's center, told Kateryna Yushchenko about the center's activities
and educational work. During the conversation, Paternal Home
representatives and the President's wife discussed a theme of legal
support to work of children's houses of the family type.
Jointly with Kateryna Yushchenko the Paternal Home was visited by her
daughter Khrystynka and International Fund Children's Friends Ukrainian
Branch Chairman Maryna Krysa.
The main goal of the International Charitable Foundation Paternal Home,
founded in 1999, is education of homeless children and those devoid of
parental care in family traditions. At present 67 children, ranging from
three to eighteen years, are living in the center. Work with children's
parents and searching for new families, wishing to adopt children, is an
important component part of center's work. -30-
===============================================================
16. KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO AND WITALI KLITSCHKO INTEND
TO COOPERATE IN CHARITY SPHERE
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 11, 2005
KYIV - The President's wife Kateryna Yushchenko met with well-known
Ukrainian boxer Witali [Vitali] Klitschko. During the meeting they shared
experience of their charitable organizations' activities and expressed a
wish to cooperate in the future on some projects, the presidential press
service told Ukrinform.
Kateryna Yushchenko heads the Supervision Council of the Ukraine-
3000 Charity Fund, which renders aid to orphans, homeless persons
and physically handicapped children, as well as promotes those
children's harmonic integration with the society.
The "Klitschko Brothers Fund" fights children's diseases and spreading
of AIDS through propaganda of sports and healthy way of life. -30-
===============================================================
17. PAINTING ON TRADITION
Ukrainian Tradition of Painting and Dyeing Easter Eggs
By Kim Lyons, Tribune-Review
PittsburghLIVE, Pittsburgh, PA, Friday, March 18, 2005
Claudia Stefurak says a few years ago, she worried that pysanky -- the
Ukrainian tradition of painting and dyeing Easter eggs -- was dying off.
"I thought I might be one of the only people who remembered how to do it,"
Stefurak said. "I decided I should teach other people how to do it, so I can
hand it down." She can't explain the shift, but Stefurak, of Baldwin
Pennsylvania], says the pysanky classes she teaches at the Baldwin
Community United Methodist Church are booked solid -- and next year's
classes already have a waiting list.
Maria Renard has been taking Stefurak's class for several years. She got
interested in pysanky mostly because of her Slovak background. During one
recent class, Renard carefully traced the pencil lines she had drawn on her
unpainted egg with a kistka, a stylus that coats the drawing in wax.
"I wish I was as good as Claudia; she can make these designs freehand,"
Renard said of Stefurak. "I have to be a little more patient." She applied
small dots -- representing stars -- and planned to add drawings of wheat,
which symbolize growth and abundance.
Stefurak said she doesn't have formal art training, learning pysanky from
her sister-in-law. "My husband's whole family is pure Ukrainian," she said.
"Once I learned to do it, I kept trying to learn it and make different
designs."
While the process of waxing and dyeing is similar to what children who buy
egg-dyeing kits at the supermarket, the tradition of pysanky is a cultural
tradition among Ukrainian and other Eastern European people.
Pysanky, or pysanka, is part of an ancient folk art that dates back to the
Neolithic Era. Since eggs represented life and fertility, decorating them
with symbols of animals was a way of harnessing the spirit or essence of
the animal or object drawn on the egg.
The designs and the tools used to create them became more sophisticated,
and pysanky began to incorporate wishes -- say, for an abundant harvest --
in
the design on the eggs. Pysanky became cherished gifts at births and
weddings. When the Ukraine became predominantly Christian, the symbolism
in pysanky were reinterpreted with Christian meanings.
Michael Kapeluck of Carnegie had the tradition of pysanky passed down from
his mother and grandmother. He 's one of the parishioners Sts. Peter and
Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Carnegie who paints pysanky for the
church's annual sale. "It's an art form, but it's also a craft anyone can
learn to do," Kapeluck said. "My 7-year-old daughter is wonderful at it.
Everyone who does it has their own style."
Kapeluck says pysanky is not only alive and well, but very popular. When he
and the other parishioners get together to paint the eggs, he said there's a
social aspect to the gathering, much like a quilting bee. "It's folk art in
its purest form," he said.
The process is simple, but painstaking, and requires patience. First, a
design is sketched on the egg surface in pencil. Then, any area to be left
white is covered in wax, preferably beeswax. Then, the wax then has to dry
before another color is applied.
Additional colors are added from light to dark, with a wax application after
each color application. After all the color and wax has dried, the wax is
melted off -- traditionally with the flame from a candle -- and the colors
and design are revealed.
The different designs all have specific religious meaning. Leaves and
flowers symbolize life and growth. Birds represent fertility and
wish-fulfillment, fish represent Christ, and butterflies represent
resurrection, in keeping with the Easter theme.
And each color has a traditional meaning as well. Naturally, red represents
love and white represents purity, but brown? It symbolizes happiness;
orange represents attraction, and black stands for remembrance.
Stefurak said traditionally the dyes came from food products; tea would
create brown, beets made pink, and onion skins would produce yellow. She
uses powdered dyes that are mixed with water and vinegar for her classes
because it's easier; the natural dyes are very time-consuming to make from
scratch, she said.
Catherine Dawgert of Bloomfield remembers creating Ukrainian eggs with
her mother and grandmother every Easter. "The smell of beeswax is still
something I have a very happy association with," Dawgert says with a smile.
"We would buy the eggs a week or two before Easter, and then we'd all get
together and paint them, then give them to each other as presents."
One egg takes her roughly 45 minutes to an hour to create, Dawgert said.
She doesn't use an electric stylus as some prefer, because she likes that
the hand-drawing method can sometimes create unintended effects-
mistakes that can be changed into a new design.
She will be teaching a pysanky class at the Dormont Recreation Center
tomorrow, for children and parents. "It's a wonderful course for children,
they really love it," she said. "When the black wax comes off, and they
finally get to see all the colors and designs they've created it's like a
little miracle." -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://pittsburghlive.com/x/style/homegarden/s_314843.html
===============================================================
18. THE EGGS-TRAORDINARY ART OF PYSANKY
Saw eggs on display at a Ukrainian museum in New York
By Deanna Larson, Nashvillecitypaper.com
Nashville, Tennessee, Monday, March 14, 2005
NASHVILLE - The egg has symbolized rebirth and renewal since
thousands of years ago when they were dyed with dirt and plants and
decorated with symbols that encouraged peace, goodwill, good
harvests and hunting.
After Christianity became widespread, eggs symbolized the faith and hope
embodied in Easter. Eastern Europeans became known for their intricately
decorated eggs offered in Easter baskets and given as gifts to priests,
family and friends; and the artistry reaches a pinnacle with the pysanky of
the Ukraine.
A pysanka (plural: pysanky) or Ukrainian Easter egg is created with a
wax-resist method. An instrument called a kistka is used to draw designs
with beeswax on an intact egg or on the shell of an emptied egg. Each stage
of the design is then dyed with a different, progressively darker color, and
then the wax is melted to reveal the multi-hued egg.
Nashvillian Dan Smith, whose family hails from northern Bavaria, took up the
absorbing and highly detailed hobby about 15 years ago after he saw some
vintage eggs on display at a Ukrainian museum in New York. "You have to
come at this at your own pace," Smith said of the delicate process. "Time
is your big investment, not the tools."
Smith creates about 50-60 intricate pysanky each Lent for exclusive sale at
St. Mary's Bookstore, 1909 West End Ave., where he also presents the
legends and lore of the eggs and demonstrates the craft each Saturday
until Easter.
Pysanky feature complex designs made with a variety of symbolic colors
and otifs created specifically for the needs or qualities of the recipient,
from babies and grandparents to priests and potential beaus; excavations
of Ukrainian graves often reveal people buried with the eggs given to them
throughout their life, Smith said.
Babies and children often receive an egg featuring a white background to
represent a pure and unblemished future, and the elderly often receive black
eggs to suggest eternity. Eggs will often feature spiders to symbolize
patience, diamonds to signal knowledge, pine needles for health, a saw motif
for wisdom and loyalty, and curls to suggest defense and protection.
Motifs repeated at certain intervals also communicate messages in pysanky,
according to Smith, including fives for the five wounds of Christ, triangles
or threes for the Trinity, and pairs to suggest the duality of God.
Traditionally, Eastern Europeans didn't eat meat, dairy or eggs during Lent,
so some of the excess farm eggs were decorated in the week between Palm
Sunday and Easter by the whole family, according to Smith. They would draw
designs with dark wax and dye them a different color each night, ending with
black dye on Good Friday, "the darkest day," Smith said. The wax would be
melted away on Easter to reveal the brightly colored egg, symbolizing the
rolling back of the tombstone and the joy of the resurrection.
Pysanky are a reminder of the cycles of life and the hope nestled in faith
during the darkest time of the year, and Smith "gets goose bumps"
whenever he tells their stories. "It's a Lenten discipline," Smith said,
"not
a preaching message [but] a sharing of something I find very spiritual."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Smith's e-mail: pysankyman@comcast.net
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