ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR

An International Newsletter, The Latest, Up-To-Date
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis and Commentary

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

AND ITS INDEPENDENCE IS WORTHY
The time has come to say to one another sincerely and fraternally that
everyone who fought for Ukraine is worthy of eternal esteem and gratitude.

So I believe that the work that should regulate the legal status of those
who fought for Ukraine and its independence in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

and 1950s will at last be completed and put into practice - as truth and
historical justice. (President Viktor Yushchenko, Article One)

Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor, SigmaBleyzer

WASHINGTON, D.C., THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2007

-------- INDEX OF ARTICLES --------

Clicking on the title of any article takes you directly to the article.

Return to the Index by clicking on Return to Index at the end of each article

1. PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO SAYS EVERYONE WHO FOUGHT FOR

UKRAINE IS WORTHY OF ETERNAL ESTEEM AND GRATITUDE
Calls for "historical justice" for all those who fought for Ukraine
and its independence in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s .
UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0905 gmt 9 May 07
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Wed, May 9, 2007

2. UKRAINE LEADER SEEKS RECOGNITION FOR WW2 GUERRILLAS
Reuters, Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, 09 May 2007

3. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT'S VICTORY DAY SPEECH ANGERS
VETERANS SAYS RUSSIAN NEWS AGENCY TASS

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0955 gmt 9 May 07

BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

4. "GALACIA: LAND OF DILEMMAS" VIDEO WINS A TOP PRIZE AT
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY"S VISIONS FESTIVAL
Explores inter-ethnic conflicts during WWII in Galicia-Western Ukraine
By Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
Action Ukraine Report (AUR) #841, Article 4
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

5. RUSSIAN TV LAMENTS STATE OF NEGLECTED GREAT

PATRIOTIC WAR MEMORIALS IN UKRAINE
"Segodnya" news report by Russian NTV on 7 May, 2007
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Monday, May 7, 2007

6. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN, MARKING VICTORY DAY, SAYS
DESECRATING WAR MONUMENTS SOWS ENMITY
Mike Eckel, AP Worldstream, Moscow, Russia, Wed, May 09, 2007

7. RUSSIA'S PUTIN JABS AT ESTONIA AT WW2 PARADE
By Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters, Moscow, Russia, Wed, May 9, 2007

8. FOR ESTONIA'S ETHNIC RUSSIANS, TIES TO MOSCOW FADING
By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Wed, May 9, 2007; Page A

9. MAYOR WANTS REMAINS OF POLTAVA RESIDENTS BURIED
AT ESTONIA LIBERATOR MONUMENT BROUGHT TO UKRAINE
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

10. PUTIN IN VEILED ATTACK ON ESTONIA
Russia marks victory in World War II a day later than Western Europe
BBC NEWS, London, UK, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

11. UKRAINIANS! LET US SUPPORT ESTONIA
LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR: By Kyrylo Bulkin, Kyiv
Action Ukraine Report (AUR) #841, Article 11
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

12. DEJA VU
The war is still on in the eyes of Moscow
EDITORIAL, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 08 2007

13. BATTLE FOR UKRAINE: THE UKRAINIAN-SOVIET WAR, 1917-1921
Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine (IEU)
Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 2007

14. NEW BOOK: HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF MOLDOVA
Moldova Foundation, Washington, D.C., Wed, May 9, 2007

15. UKRAINE OPENS CONTROVERSIAL DANUBE-BLACK

SEA CANAL FOR SHIPPING

ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1545 gmt 8 May 07
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, May 08, 2007

16. UKRAINE OPENS NEW SHIPPING CANAL IN DANUBE DELTA
A part of this canal is the controversial Bystroye Canal
Nine o'Clock, Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, May 10, 2007

17. ROMANIA WANTS DANUBE CANAL TURNED INTO EU ISSUE
Project will irreversibly effect a unique geographic area
Rompres news agency, Bucharest, in English 1538 gmt 7 May 07
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom, Tuesday, May 08, 2007

18. ROMANIA HOPING FOR MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL DELIMITATION
OF BLACK SEA SHELF WITH ASSISTANCE FROM UN'S INT COURT
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 8, 2007

19. A ROMANIAN CELEBRATION OF LIFE AND DEATH
In Botiza, views to the mountains of Ukraine
By Carol Pucci, Seattle Times travel writer
Seattle Times, Seattle, Washington, Wed, May 9, 2007

20. UKRAINE'S EXTRAVAGANT DRAG QUEEN VOWS TO

BRING SMILES TO EUROPEAN SONG CONTEST
Associated Press, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 08 2007

21. EUROVISION SONG CONTEST BETTING ODDS: UKRAINE
readaBet.com, United Kingdom, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

22. PROTESTS FOR HIRE IN FORMER SOVIET WORLD
By Stephen Boykewich, AFP, Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

23. CANADIAN UNIV LEADS STUDY OF UKRAINIAN SIGN LANGUAGE
By Caitlin Crawshaw, ExpressNews, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta Canada, Tuesday, May 8, 2007

24. FORUM: INTERNATIONAL ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN EXPOSING
CORRUPTION AND PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE
Presentation by Myroslava Gongadze, Voice of America
Action Ukraine Report (AUR) #841, Article 24
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

25. "SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT" WITHIN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
AND UKRAINE'S CURRENT SITUATION
PRESENTATION: By Mykhailo Zgurovsky at the Kennan Institute
at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, May 1, 2007
REPORT: By Violetta Tutunik, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF)
Action Ukraine Report (AUR) #841, Article 25
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

26. UKRAINIAN PROFESSOR NAMED INT EDITORIAL ADVISOR FOR
GLOBAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT eJOURNAL PM WORLD TODAY
openPR, Press release from: PMForum.org, Inc.
Dallas, Texas, Thursday, May 10, 2007

27. WALT WHITMAN IN UKRAINE
From: "Nina Shevchuk (by way of Robert DeLossa)"
To: aaus-list@ukrainianstudies.org
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 9:33 PM

28. UKRAINE, OUR FEATURED COUNTRY
Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals,
A Bi-Weekly Service, Issue 158
The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA)
Reston, Virginia, Wednesday, March 28, 2007

29. SONGS YOUR MOTHER SHOULD NEVER HAVE TAUGHT YOU?
Erotic Symbolism in Ukrainian Folk Songs"
Lecture in English, comments and singing in Ukrainian,
Saturday, August 25, 2007, Ivan Honchar Museum, Kyiv, Ukraine
Action Ukraine Report #841, Article 29
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

30. UKRAINE: HUTSUL FESTIVAL TOUR

Bringing together some of the finest dancers, entertainers, and craft makers

from the region. You'll be dazzled by the bright and lively colors of the

native costumes and the intricacy of handicrafts and woodwork.

Saturday, July 21 through Thursday, August 2, 2007

SCOPE TRAVEL, Orange, New Jersey, Thursday, May 10, 2007

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1. PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO SAYS EVERYONE WHO FOUGHT FOR

UKRAINE IS WORTHY OF ETERNAL ESTEEM AND GRATITUDE
Calls for "historical justice" for all those who fought for Ukraine
and its independence in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s .

UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0905 gmt 9 May 07
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Wed, May 9, 2007

KIEV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has called for legal
recognition of the status of those who fought for Ukrainian independence in
anti-Soviet organizations from the 1920s to the 1950s alongside veterans of
the Soviet army for the sake of "historical justice".

During his Victory Day speech to war veterans at Kiev's open air war museum
on 9 May, Yushchenko praised Soviet army veterans' contribution to the
defeat of Nazi Germany and emphasized the high price paid by Ukraine during
the war.

However, Yushchenko also mentioned Roman Shukhevych, the leader of the
anti-Soviet Ukrainian Insurgent Army, among military and cultural figures
who he described as exemplifying the unity of the Ukrainian people during
the war years. The reference to Shukhevych was heard to evoke some indignant
responses among those present.

The following is the text of Yushchenko's speech which was broadcast live

on state UT1 TV on 9 May:

Dear Ukrainian nation, dear veterans, today Ukraine is marking a great day
in its history, a historic day of glory and sorrow. We are marking the 62nd
anniversary of the victory in World War II and in the Great Patriotic War.

We pay tribute to every Ukrainian hero who fought for the liberation of the
homeland from totalitarian attackers during the hard days of war. The memory
of every soldier, every victim and every rescuer of Ukraine remains eternal
and indivisible for our nation forever.

With brotherly gratitude, we recall the feat of our comrades and brothers -
all the nations and allied armies who rescued the mankind from Nazi slavery.
THE WAR TOOK NEARLY 10 MILLION LIVES
We truly paid a high price for our victory. Blood was spilt over Ukraine for
40 months. Our towns and villages were reduced to ashes. The war took

nearly 10m lives.

Seven million Ukrainians were killed at the front, in guerrilla and underground

units, over 2m Ukrainians were sent to Germany.

Hundreds of thousands fell victim to repression in camps, in prisons and in
bondage which did not finish with the end of war but was deliberately
continued by the Soviet regime.

Today, less than one third of those who took part or saw the war remain
among us. Our great duty is to do our best with the help of specific
activities and real care to ensure that every day Ukrainian veterans,
without exception, feel the care and support of the Ukrainian nation and the
state.

As the president of Ukraine, as the son of a frontline soldier, I bow my
head before you, our dear veterans.

There are 2.9m veterans in Ukraine: 268,000 are invalids, 374,000 took part
in combat actions, 2.263m are war participants. There are 204 veterans who
have special merits with regard to our fatherland.
CALLS FOR LEGAL RECOGNITION OF ANTI-SOVIET FIGHTERS
I am convinced that we should be proud of the countless bright examples of
the unity and courage of our people in the war years. This unity existed in
opposition to evil, violence, fronts and military lines.

This unity was formed by millions of Ukrainian names and thousands of
military exploits. From [filmmaker] Oleksandr Dovzhenko to [writer] Oles
Honchar. From [Soviet army general] Nikolay Vatutin to [Soviet tankman]
Nykyfor Sholudenko.

From [Soviet army general] Oleksandr Saburov to [Soviet pilot] Ivan
Kozhedub. From [Anti-Soviet Ukrainian Insurgent Army commander]

Roman Shukhevych to [poet] Olena Teliha.
TO SEE GREAT LOVE FOR UKRAINE IN EVERY FEAT
The integrity of our nation is in its power to abandon ideologies and to see
great love for Ukraine in every feat. The evil of hatred for a person and
their life is an enemy which the Ukrainian nation has confronted and
defeated.

This evil begets traitors, mankurts [a person deprived of ethnic memory,
reference to Turkic myth popularized by Kyrgyz novelist Chinghiz Aitmatov]
and people without national affiliation for whom our values, our pain and
history are empty words.

They were not taught [to love] the fatherland. They were taught class
warfare and hostility. They were not taught history. The nation that does
not know its history is a blind nation. That was written by our great son,
Oleksandr Dovzhenko.

As a person and as president, I will never take a position that may divide
our people, but I believe the time has come to put an end to the cynical
policy of those who today continue class warfare, who openly show

disrespect for Ukraine, and sow discord among our peoples.
EVERYONE WHO FOUGHT FOR UKRAINE IS WORTHY
The time has come to say to one another sincerely and fraternally that
everyone who fought for Ukraine is worthy of eternal esteem and gratitude.

So I believe that the work that should regulate the legal status of those
who fought for Ukraine and its independence in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

and 1950s will at last be completed and put into practice - as truth and
historical justice.
PROMISES TO IMPROVE STATE SUPPORT FOR VETERANS
Dear veterans, you were and you continue to be the generation of heroic
victors.

As president of Ukraine, I will continue consistently and persistently to
ensure proper state support and social guarantees for you. Over the past
years, we have achieved some notable improvements. This work will be
continued.

Average pensions for war veterans are nearly twice those for any other
categories of pensioner. As of 1 January 2006, pension supplements for
disabled people and combatants were more than doubled. As of 1 January

2007, they were nearly quadrupled for war veterans.

In 2006, nearly 48,000 fixed phones worth a total of 10m hryvnyas [about 2m
dollars] were installed at war veterans' homes. Almost 52,000 people were
provided with treatment and recreation, and 1,174 war invalids received
cars. In 2007, this work will continue.

On this day, I call upon all civil organizations, political parties, all
Ukrainian citizens to unite around the common achievements of the past. We
should take care for every veteran around us and be proud of every one of
them.

This care should be embodied in the everyday respectful attitudes of sons
and daughters towards their own parents. This is our debt and our gratitude.

We should care for the adequate and decent respect to monuments and every
war-time grave, free from any ideological encrustation.

From the school desk, we should continue to inculcate in every Ukrainian
heart real and great respect for those who saved our land. Thus, we have to
make a step forward to each other for the sake of Ukraine and future
generations.

I express my deepest respect and love to all our dear veterans. I heartily
wish you good health, happiness and long years of life. I congratulate you
on the bright day of the great victory!

Glory to you. Glory to your feat.

Glory to Ukraine!
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]

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2. UKRAINE LEADER SEEKS RECOGNITION FOR WW2 GUERRILLAS

Reuters, Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, 09 May 2007

KIEV - President Viktor Yushchenko urged Ukrainians on Wednesday to
overcome their divisions to help fighters of a World War Two guerrilla
movement that fought both the Red army and Nazi invaders to win
recognition as combatants.

Post-Soviet attempts to extend recognition to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
(UPA), which had 100,000 men in its ranks at its peak in 1943, have
foundered on fierce resistance from Red Army veterans and pro-Russian
groups.

The very mention of UPA and its main leader Stepan Bandera was virtually a
criminal offence after the war as its fighters were ruthlessly hunted down,
while resisting Soviet rule long into the 1950s.

"I believe the endeavour to settle the legal status of those who fought for
Ukraine and its independence through the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s, will at
last be resolved and embodied as the truth, historical justice," Yushchenko
told veterans marking the 62nd anniversary of victory in the war.

Yushchenko vowed never to "adopt a position liable to divide our people".
But the time had come "to say to one another in brotherly fashion that
anyone who fought for Ukraine deserves recognition and gratitude".

His address, next to Kiev's war memorial, referred to heroes from both
sides, including Roman Shukhevych, UPA's commander, killed in a skirmish
in western Ukraine in 1950. Bandera was poisoned by a Soviet agent in
Germany nine years later.

Ukraine suffered colossal losses in the war, with Yushchenko putting the
number of dead at nearly 10 million, plus a further two million sent off to
Nazi Germany as labourers.

But unlike in Russia, where victory commemorations unite most of the
country, anniversaries in Ukraine expose unhealed divisions, pitting
nationalist western regions against the Russian-speaking east, more
sympathetic to Moscow.

Nationalists in western Ukraine, who suffered repression when the Soviet
Union seized their region from Poland in 1939, joined the UPA en masse
in a bid to secure an independent state.

Tens of thousands of other Ukrainians donned Nazi uniforms and fought
the Red Army in a unit known as the SS Galicia.

Post-Soviet governments have granted limited recognition to UPA fighters.
Nationalists have long lobbied for parliament to recognise them as
combatants, both for historical justice and to win veterans' pensions for
their dwindling numbers.

Attempts to persuade veterans from both sides to stage joint commemorations
have failed and fistfights have sometimes erupted during marches in Kiev by
the few remaining guerrillas. -30-
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LINK: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09625264.htm

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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
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3. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT'S VICTORY DAY SPEECH

ANGERS VETERANS SAYS RUSSIAN NEWS AGENCY TASS

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0955 gmt 9 May 07

BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

KIEV - Ukraine is celebrating "a great historic day of national glory
and sorrow", President Viktor Yushchenko said at a Victory Day meeting in
the memorial complex National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic
War 1941-1945. [Passage omitted]

When reciting the names of heroes, Yushchenko included Roman Shukhevych,

the leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, units of which fought against the
Soviet authorities until the end of the 1950s. This caused many veterans to
protest.

They did not hold back their indignation and tried to howl down Yushchenko's
speech. In response he called on Ukrainians to display the "unity and
courage" which the people had demonstrated during the years of war with
fascism and "give historical justice to all who fought for Ukrainian
independence". -30-
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]

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4. "GALACIA: LAND OF DILEMMAS" VIDEO WINS A TOP PRIZE AT
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY"S VISIONS FESTIVAL
Explores inter-ethnic conflicts during WWII in Galicia-Western Ukraine

By Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
Action Ukraine Report (AUR) #841, Article 4
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

WASHINGTON - On Friday, May 4th 2007, as part of American University's
Visions Festival, the video installation 'Galicia: Land of Dilemmas' won
first place in the category of best installation.

The project, created by Olha Onyshko and Sarah Farhat, explores inter-ethnic
conflicts during the Second World War in the region of Galicia-Western
Ukraine.

The video was shown, to around eight viewers at a time, in one of the
University's small photography labs. The installation in the lab recreated a
Ukrainian basement of 1942 filled with all sorts of old Ukrainian artifacts
and household items, as well as food like potatoes, onions and dried herbs.

The smell, the confined setting and the cramped space bought one back in
time in order to experience the fear and uncertainty of the people who were
hiding in similar places during WWII.

The innovative visual style of the video was used to re-create the way a
person remembers images and recalls events while telling a story.

The tension built up while watching the video increases even more through
sounds of children whispering, parents hushing, doors slamming and dogs
barking outside.

"The purpose of the project is to raise awareness about the issues of ethnic
identity and relations during periods of crisis and war," said Olha Onyshko,

one of the two filmmakers.

"The moving story of Ukrainian and Jewish neighboring families, told in
public for the first time 60 years after it happened, shows that tragic
moments of conflicts can bring out the worst and the best in people and
leaves us to wonder: why would people put their own lives in danger to

save their enemies?" Onyshko stated.

The two filmmakers are currently working on producing a feature-length
documentary with the same name that will explore the human side of ethnic
conflicts based on stories from the Ukrainian, Jewish, Polish and Russian
communities in Galicia.

"Events that happened 60 years ago are still relevant in today's society;
that is why it is necessary to find a common language between people of
different ethnicities so that the horrors that happened will not be
repeated," according to Olha Onyshko. -30-
====================================================
CONTACT: Olha Onyshko olia@verizon.net
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================

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========================================================
5. RUSSIAN TV LAMENTS STATE OF NEGLECTED GREAT

PATRIOTIC WAR MEMORIALS IN UKRAINE

"Segodnya" news report by Russian NTV on 7 May, 2007
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Monday, May 7, 2007

MOSCOW - [Presenter] Monuments that are forgotten and not needed by

anyone: in Crimea, monuments to soldiers killed during the Great Patriotic

War [World War II] are virtually on the verge of disappearance. What is

not being vandalized is being destroyed by time.

On the eve of 9 May [celebrated in Russia as Victory Day], all that war
memorials in villages traditionally receive is a bunch of flowers and a pot
of paint. Unlike in large cities, there is no rush to put these monuments in
order. Anna Konyukova reports.

[Correspondent] This monument to paratroopers is in everybody's view since
it is located next to a busy road linking Sevastopol to Simferopol. For
several nights, somebody has been trying to saw off one of the arms of the
metal sculpture. But nobody seems to notice it.

It is very unlikely that on Victory Day this year veterans in the village of
Dubki will be able to get to the top of the village's Hill of Grief: the
stairs [to the monument on top of the hill] have not been repaired even in
the run-up to the holiday.

For several years now the monument that was erected on the site of the
concentration camp in Dubki has been vandalized and destroyed. Today too,
with just a day remaining until 9 May, a new swastika has appeared on the
monument.

The monument to people killed in the concentration camp is falling apart
into two halves: it has been urgently pasted together, while the widening
cracks in the monument have been filled with plastic flowers.

[Unidentified young woman, presumably a local resident] Nobody is looking
after it. Only before the holiday do schools bring pupils here to clean the
area. That's it.

[Correspondent] The monument in the village of Geroicheskoye is unique for
Ukraine: eight Soviet soldiers - all of them Heroes of the Soviet Union -
are buried in a grave on top of the Hill of Glory in this small village.

For several years now local residents have been appealing to the state to
take the monument under its protection and help restore it. However, there
has been no response to these appeals.

The huge slabs are cracking and crumbling with time, while the path made of
stone plates leading to the Hill of Glory is being taken to pieces by
thieves.

[Mikhail Vlasov, captioned as World War II veteran] Can you see what some
unscrupulous people are doing? They have even removed the slabs. This is not
just vandalism, this is villainy. It is a mockery of our memory.

[Correspondent] The diorama in the Geroyskoye [as received, earlier referred
to as Geroicheskoye] museum devoted to the heroism of Soviet soldiers was
vandalized by hooligans at night. Interestingly, nothing was stolen from the
museum. [Passage omitted]

Nobody knows for sure how many such rural monuments erected on soldiers'
graves, common graves and execution pits there are in Crimea. On Victory
Day, the main celebrations are held at well-known memorials in towns and
cities of Crimea.

Rural memorials usually get a modest bunch of flowers and a pot of paint,
provided of course they have not been vandalized or destroyed by then.
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
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6. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN, MARKING VICTORY DAY, SAYS
DESECRATING WAR MONUMENTS SOWS ENMITY

Mike Eckel, AP Worldstream, Moscow, Russia, Wed, May 09, 2007

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin, in an apparent warning to Estonia over
the removal of a memorial to Soviet soldiers, said Wednesday as Russia
celebrated the World War II victory over the Nazis with a Red Square parade
that desecrating war monuments harms relations between countries.

Putin did not mention any country by name, but his words, in a speech before
thousands of veterans, dignitaries and soldiers, echoed Russia's outrage
over the recent relocation of the war monument in the Estonian capital
Tallinn.

The move and the planned reburial of soldiers who had been interred near it
set off days of clashes between police and demonstrators - most of them
ethnic Russians - in the former Soviet republic, in which one person was
killed and hundreds were arrested.

Putin condemned those who "are desecrating monuments to war heroes, and

in doing that are insulting their own people and sowing enmity and a new
distrust between nations and people."

Victory Day is one of the most important holidays on Russia's calendar,
marking the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. For many Russians,
the victory stands out as the most glorious feat of the nation's troubled
past.

It was achieved at a devastating cost, with an estimated 27 million dead and
much of the western part of the country ravaged in four years of fierce
battles known to Russians as the Great Patriotic War.

The war's large role in the national psyche has frequently been seen in
Russia's denunciation of any moves it regards as disrespectful to the
country's sacrifices in the fighting.

Estonia, like its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania, acknowledges the
Red Army's driving out of the Nazis, but also portrays the army as occupiers
who helped keep it under Soviet control for the next half-century.

The Red Square parade, involving several thousand troops dressed in parade
uniforms, is a rite that has remained virtually unchanged since Soviet
times.

Goose-stepping soldiers in tight formation marched across the cobblestoned
square and fighter jets roared overhead in formation. Before the parade,
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov solemnly greeted the troops as he stood
in an open-top Soviet-era ZIL limousine that drove through the square.

"The only thing that has changed over the years is that we veterans are
getting older," said Zinaida Ivanovna, an 86-year-old Muscovite who was on
the Red Square among other veterans. "Now we get driven to the parade,
instead of walking."

Speaking from a podium in front of Lenin's Mausoleum which was all but
shrouded from view, Putin hailed Victory Day as "the holiday of huge moral
importance and unifying power." He also honored Western allies' contribution
to the World War II victory.
RARE PUBLIC STATEMENT OF DISSENT
In a rare public statement of dissent on a patriotic holiday, longtime human
rights activist Yelena Bonner called on Russians to acknowledge that the
victory did not result in liberation for many countries, including the
Baltic nations.

"We didn't liberate anyone, we weren't even able to liberate ourselves,
although for four difficult years of war we hoped for it" she wrote in an
e-mailed statement.

Parades and festivities were held in other Russian cities, and many other
ex-Soviet nations also celebrated it.
EVERYONE WHO FOUGHT FOR UKRAINE IS WORTHY
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko, whose father was a Soviet Red Army
soldier, appealed to Red Army veterans and Ukrainian partisans who fought
the Soviets to forgive each other and recognize the contribution both sides
made to their homeland.

"The time has come to say to each other sincerely and like brothers:
everyone who fought for Ukraine is worthy of perpetual respect and
gratitude," Yushchenko told veterans.

Yushchenko's message of unity is sensitive because the partisans were
considered traitors during the Soviet Union. Many initially sought support
from the Nazis in their struggle for independence.

Reflecting divisions over history which exist also in Russia, unidentified
vandals late Tuesday broke a memorial stone at a cemetery in northwestern
Moscow for cossack officers who confronted the Bolsheviks after the 1917
revolution and then fought the Red Army alongside the Nazis in the WWII
before being captured and executed by the Soviet authorities, Moscow police
said Wednesday. A criminal investigation was launched.

Away from festivities, most Russians observe the day with visits to the
graves of relatives and family dinners as nationwide television stations run
interviews with veterans and Soviet-era war movies. -30-
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
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7. RUSSIA'S PUTIN JABS AT ESTONIA AT WW2 PARADE

By Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters, Moscow, Russia, Wed, May 9, 2007

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin made a thinly veiled attack on
neighbouring Estonia on Wednesday during a parade on Red Square marking
the anniversary of the World War Two victory over Nazi Germany.

Estonia's removal of a Red Army monument last month from the centre of
Tallinn infuriated the Kremlin and sparked violence in the Estonian capital
as ethnic Russians rioted.

Without naming Estonia, Putin made a clear reference to the removal of the
statue.

"Those who are trying today to belittle this invaluable experience, those
who desecrate monuments to the heroes of the war are insulting their own
people (and) sowing discord and new distrust between states and people,"
he said.

Putin congratulated veterans in the shadow of the Kremlin's walls before
making his short speech dedicated to the tens of millions of Russians who
fell during World War Two.

The Kremlin has sought to foster memories of the Second World War, known
in Russia as the Great Patriotic War, as a way to forge Russian unity after
the upheavals and rancour which followed the fall of the Soviet Union.

In Belarus, where one in four citizens died in the war, President Alexander
Lukashenko denounced Estonia and criticised Poland over its failure to
reopen an exhibition honouring Russian victims of the Auschwitz death camp.

"Acts of mockery of the heroes and victims of war give rise to anger and
indignation," Lukashenko told veterans in the centre of Minsk.

"These include the dismantling of the monument to the liberators in Estonia
and the closure by Polish authorities of the Soviet exhibition at the
Auschwitz camp museum."

Lukashenko, accused in the West of crushing basic rights, obliquely accused
Western countries of "using war as an instrument of foreign policy," citing
NATO interventions in Afghanistan and ex-Yugoslavia.
JETS, TROOPS
Russian state television channels showed live coverage of the Moscow parade,
with fighter jets, drummer boys and an inspection of the troops by Defence
Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who rode around Red Square in an open Soviet
ZiL limousine.

Most Russians say the Soviet Union liberated Eastern Europe from fascism;
Moscow's former satellites view the Red Army as an occupation force which
crushed their independence.

Estonia, annexed by Moscow in 1940, has faced a barrage of criticism from
Russian politicians for moving the bronze statue of a Red Army soldier.
Poland has shelved laws that would allow it to remove monuments to Soviet
soldiers.

Various Russian parties and parliament have appealed to President Vladimir
Putin to impose sanctions on Estonia. Cutting energy transits via the Baltic
state, a boycott of its goods and severing diplomatic relations are among
the proposed steps. (Additional reporting by Andrei Makhovsky in Minsk)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09579516.htm
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
NOTE: Send in a letter-to-the-editor today. Let us hear from you.
========================================================
8. FOR ESTONIA'S ETHNIC RUSSIANS, TIES TO MOSCOW FADING

By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Wed, May 9, 2007; Page A11

TALLINN, Estonia, May 8 -- The passion that erupted in this storybook
capital city and on the streets of Moscow in the past two weeks because of
divided understanding of a shared history left Igor Britikovski cold.

The 23-year-old ethnic Russian, who is an Estonian citizen, had never
visited the bronze statue of a Soviet Red Army soldier whose relocation from
central Tallinn to a military cemetery on April 26 sparked riots by ethnic
Russians here and a siege of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow.

"None of my friends or me were against moving the monument," said the
engineering student, who will graduate in June. "We are against the violence
and what happened at the embassy in Moscow."

Estonia was part of the Soviet Union for close to five decades, a period
many Estonians view as an occupation. Large numbers of Russian civilians
moved here, often resented by the locals.

When independence came in 1991, the Russians found themselves a

vulnerable minority and sometimes continued to look to Moscow to

defend their interests.

But the cross-border debate of recent days, for all its fury, has disguised
a growing distance between Russia and some of those ethnic kin 16 years
later, concerning not just history and the fate of the statue but,
increasingly, the place of ethnic Russians in an independent Estonia.

The social integration of Russian speakers, who make up nearly a third of
Estonia's population of 1.3 million, has been fitful and sometimes harsh,
especially for older Russians. But it is spawning a new generation that no
longer sees Russia as a motherland.

"My parents are Russian, we have Russian traditions, but Estonia is my
home," said Britikovski, who speaks fluent Estonian. "I can work with
Russians, but work in Russia, live in Russia? Hardly. I don't feel any
discrimination here."

But others continue to feel like outsiders. "They let us live here, but with
major obstacles," said Larisa Neshadimova, an activist with the group Night
Watch, which held vigils at the statue to prevent its being defaced by
Estonian nationalists. "When I supported independence for Estonia, I didn't
think there would be so much discrimination."

Willingness to debate the past has often been much greater here than in
Russia. "The Russian community in Estonia, its overwhelming majority,
understand the tragedy of Estonia in the 1940s," when the Soviets took
control of Estonia in collusion with Hitler, said Vladimir Velman, a member
of Parliament. In 1941, the Nazis invaded; the Red Army drove them out in
1944 and stayed.

But Russian community leaders also insist that memorializing victory in
World War II is not an attempt to rewrite history.

"Remembering the heroism of the Soviet soldier is not a celebration of
Soviet power, the evil imposed by Soviet policies," said the Rev. Igor
Prekup, an Orthodox clergyman. "These are different things."

In interviews with ethnic Russians, there was often more dismay than anger
at recent events.

"To be honest, there's nothing bad about the relocation, a military cemetery
is a better place," said Igor Reino, 36, a Russian speaker with an Estonian
father who laid flowers at the statue with his daughter.

"I just wished they had waited until after May 9 to move it. That would have
been more civilized." Russia celebrates the World War II victory on May 9.

Modestly larger than life with its head bowed in grief, the bronze statue of
a Red Army soldier, created 60 years ago by an Estonian sculptor using an
Estonian model, seemed an unlikely catalyst for the anger it has inflamed.

But for two weeks the clash of two historical certainties -- the Soviet
Union liberated Estonia, or the Soviet Union annexed and occupied Estonia --
has been demonstrated through the furor over the statue's fate and sparked
rhetorical barrages between Tallinn and Moscow.

The Estonian government said the statue symbolized the Soviet seizure of the
country. It had also become a touchstone for ethnic Russian extremists and
had to be moved, the government said.

The Russian government, which maintains that the Baltic States, including
Estonia, voluntarily joined the Soviet Union, said the statue's removal from
a center city park was an insult to those who died liberating Estonia from
the Nazis.

The standoff continued Tuesday as Russian diplomats boycotted an official
wreath-laying ceremony at the statue's new location, saying they would hold
their own ceremony Wednesday. Russian officials also announced that they
would cut passenger train service between St. Petersburg and Tallinn, citing
low numbers of riders.

For Russia, the dispute underlined what Moscow views as ongoing
discrimination against ethnic Russians in Estonia.

But Estonian government officials champion their integration policies and
note that the number of people without citizenship has dropped from 450,000
12 years ago to 100,000 today.

The number of Russians speaking Estonian has increased from 15 percent in
1991 to 40 percent today, a figure that increases to nearly 60 percent among
18- to 24-year-olds.

"Of course there's still a lot to do, but integration has been successful,"
said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. "The parents of Russian children
are putting them in Estonian schools because they want their children
integrated into this society."

This integration has been sped by controversial policies of compulsion.
Speaking Estonian is a requirement for employment in many parts of the
public and private sectors.

Depending on the responsibility of the work, people have to obtain a
language certificate at one of three levels -- basic, for instance, for a
taxi driver but advanced for a doctor.

Officials from a language inspectorate conduct spot-checks of workers to

see if they speak Estonian. If they fail, they are forced to get certified or
face loss of their jobs.

Amnesty International has condemned the policy as "repressive and punitive
in nature." And it has alienated some Russians who say it is unforgiving of
an older generation who could not easily adapt to change.

"It's humiliating and oppressive," said Prekup, the clergyman. "The state
says it's integration, but as a matter of fact it's assimilation."

Alexey Vovrenko, 64, said he lost his job at a prison canteen in 2005
because of language issues. "I passed the basic level, but at my age, it was
very difficult to raise my language skills to the next level," he said. "I
don't think it was right."

But Vovrenko's daughter, a doctor, and his granddaughter, a high school
student, both speak fluent Estonian as well as Russian, he said. "Life will
be much easier for my granddaughter," he said, noting that she also is
learning German. -30-
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050801935.html
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9. MAYOR WANTS REMAINS OF POLTAVA RESIDENTS BURIED
AT ESTONIA LIBERATOR MONUMENT BROUGHT TO UKRAINE

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

KYIV - Poltava Mayor Andrii Matkovskyi addressed on May 8 Verkhovna

Rada Human Rights Commissioner Nina Karpachova with the request that

she help towards reburying in the native land the remains of the Poltava

residents who were buried at the former site of the Liberator Soldier

Monument in Tallinn, Estonia. Ukrainian News learned this from the text

of Matkovskyi's address.

"We support the initiative of reburying Ukrainian liberators in their native
land," the paper reads. Matkovskyi also condemned the efforts of the
Estonian government to remove the remains of Soviet soldiers.

"The Poltava community is indignant at the actions of Estonian authorities
who, proceeding from political considerations, subjected to revision the
events of the WW-II, thus downgrading the immortal feat of Soviet
liberators," the address says.

It also reads that, in keeping with Item 3 Article 34 of the First
Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the Poltava executive
committee joins in the demand for monitoring observance by Estonian
authorities of the international humanitarian law norms.

"Cynical disregard of those who paid their lives to protect Europe,
including Estonia, from the brown plague is a concealed rehabilitation of
fascism, which was condemned by the Nuremberg tribunal," the document

says.

The Poltava city hall says that the best place to rebury their two
countrymen is the Alley of Heroes at Poltava's central cemetery.

"We, the residents of Poltava, will commit to ground with military
ceremonies and due publicity the remains of the WW-II veterans, thus paying
tribute to all who protected Europe from fascism," the address reads.

As Ukrainian News reported, Ukrainian Ombudsman Nina Karpachova requested
Foreign Affairs Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk to ask the Ukrainian embassy in
Estonia to determine whether the Estonian authorities' decision to transfer
the war monument in Tallinn was in line with the international humanitarian
law.

Karpachova says that two of the 12 Soviet soldiers buried under the war
memorial on Tonismagi Hill in Tallinn were Ukrainians born in Poltava
region: Olena Varshavska, a senior officer in medical service, and senior
sergeant Stepan Khapykalo.

Varshavska and Khapykalo were recruited to the Red Army by the Poltava
military commissariat. -30-

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========================================================
10. PUTIN IN VEILED ATTACK ON ESTONIA
Russia marks victory in World War II a day later than Western Europe

BBC NEWS, London, UK, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned people who "desecrate
memorials to war heroes", accusing them of sowing discord between nations.

His comments at a Victory Day commemoration in Red Square appeared to
be a continuation of a war of words with Estonia.

Estonia last month moved a Soviet-era war memorial out of the city-centre of
the capital, Tallinn.

The move angered ethnic Russians in Estonia, and led to violent clashes. One
person was killed in the disturbances, and hundreds arrested.

Many Estonians consider the monument a symbol of the Soviet occupation,
which continued for nearly 50 years after World War II.

But for Russians it commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazism.

"The reasons for any war must be sought in the mistakes and miscalculations
of peacetime, and their roots are in the ideology of confrontation and
extremism," Mr Putin said.

He also warned of "new threats" based on "the same contempt for human
life and the same claims of exceptionalism and diktat in the world as in the
Third Reich".

Some 7,000 soldiers marched on Red Square after Mr Putin's speech, and
nine jet fighters flew overhead.

The Estonian foreign minister has accused the Russian government of
orchestrating the disturbances in Tallinn, and paying demonstrators to
blockade the Estonian embassy in Moscow. -30-
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LINK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6638029.stm
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11. UKRAINIANS! LET US SUPPORT ESTONIA

LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR: By Kyrylo Bulkin, Kyiv
Action Ukraine Report (AUR) #841, Article 11
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

Dear Morgan,

========================================================
12. DEJA VU
The war is still on in the eyes of Moscow

EDITORIAL, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 08 2007

As former Soviet republics celebrate Victory Day this week, there is a
lingering mood that the war is still on in the eyes of Moscow.

The relocation of the Tallinn Bronze Soldier became the focus of a
coordinated protest and media campaign that saw violence erupt in Estonia's
capital city and embassy in Moscow.

Pro-Russian protesters and media argued that moving the Soviet memorial
to a cemetery was tantamount to fascism. Estonians viewed Soviet troops
as occupiers.

While this issue has sparked large debate, the dangerous hypocrisy lies in
the fact that President Vladimir Putin's Russia is not tackling a much
larger neo-Nazi problem at home.

According to human rights watchdogs, hate crimes across Russia were up
33 percent year-on-year on the occasion of Hitler's birthday last month.

Instead of fighting modern fascism at home, Russian society is forced to
constantly relive the Second World War and fight a "fascism" that was
already defeated by the Soviets (and others) 50 years ago.

This latest display of machismo from Moscow presents new challenges for
the EU and NATO. Moscow has demonstrated its readiness to use energy
supplies, the Internet and state-controlled media as political weapons.

Neo-Soviet propaganda continues to equate NATO and fascism, depicting
the Alliance as the 21st century descendant of Hitler's Nazi Germany.

Despite the political chaos in Ukraine, which has seen thousands of
protesters in Kyiv in the last month, the situation has remained calm, with
no clashing, looting and arrests, as in Tallinn, Berlin and Paris.

While the Ukrainian protesters may have been paid political tourists, they
chose dancing and singing over rock-throwing and car-burning. If
non-violence is a European trait, then Ukraine can claim rightful membership
in Europe.

In Russia, the situation is starkly different. Fear-mongering protests
seemingly backed by the Kremlin are on the rise, as peaceful opposition
rallies get systematically crushed. The unofficial eastern boundary of
Europe currently lies on the Ukraine-Russia border. -30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/editorial/26570/
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========================================================
Send in a letter-to-the-editor today. Let us hear from you.
========================================================
13. BATTLE FOR UKRAINE: THE UKRAINIAN-SOVIET WAR, 1917-1921

Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine (IEU)
Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 2007

Shortly after the October Revolution of 1917, a military struggle for
control of Ukraine began and was waged intermittently until 1921 by
Ukrainian independentist forces and pro-Bolshevik elements seeking to
establish Soviet rule.

Notwithstanding the creation of the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR)
on 20 November 1917, the Bolsheviks planned to seize power in Ukraine
with the aid of Russian or Russified urban elements, Russian garrisons,
and army units stationed near the front.

Their armed uprising in Kyiv on 11 December 1917 was unsuccessful,
however, and the Bolshevized army units were deported from Ukraine in
stages.

A pro-Bolshevik force under Yevheniia Bosh moving in on Kyiv was also
disarmed by Ukrainian troops under Pavlo Skoropadsky and then sent off
to Russia.

However, in December 1917 a 30,000-strong Red Guards army from
Russia set off for Ukraine starting the war that would eventually lead to
the establishment of Soviet rule in all of central and eastern Ukraine...

Learn more about the history of the fateful Ukrainian-Soviet War by
visiting: http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/featuredentry.asp
or by visiting: http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com
and searching for such entries as:

[1] UKRAINIAN-SOVIET WAR, 1917-21.
The invasion of Ukraine by pro-Soviet forces in early 1918 was accompanied
by uprisings initiated by local Bolshevik agitators in cities throughout
Left-Bank Ukraine. The Central Rada prepared for the defense of Kyiv by

sending advance forces of volunteers to Poltava and Bakhmach. One of those,

the Student Battalion, was annihilated by a vastly larger Bolshevik force at the
Battle of Kruty on 29 January.

On 9 February Soviet troops under Mikhail Muravev's command entered
Kyiv and then carried out brutal reprisals against the Ukrainian civilian
population. After taking Kyiv the Bolsheviks launched an offensive in
Right-Bank Ukraine, but the tide changed following Ukraine's signature of
the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the entry of German and Austrian
troops into the conflict in late February as allies of the Central Rada...
[2] ARMY OF THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL REPUBLIC.
Unlike the Ukrainian Galician Army, the regular armed forces of the Western
Ukrainian National Republic, the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic
was never a regular, well-structured organization, but was made up of
various armed volunteer units.

The formation of Ukrainian units in the Russian army was part of the
process of general disintegration of the multinational Russian army along
national lines that had begun at the front and in the rear immediately
after the February Revolution of 1917.

Instances of spontaneous Ukrainianization on the front became widespread.
In units that were nationally mixed, the Ukrainian soldiers formed their own
subunits, in which both discipline and fighting ability were superior and
resistance to the Bolshevik appeals for demobilization was stronger than in
other subunits.
[3] PETLIURA, SYMON, b 10 May 1879 in Poltava, d 25 May 1926 in

Paris.
Statesman and publicist; supreme commander of the Army of the Ukrainian
National Republic and president of the Directory of the Ukrainian National
Republic. He entered the Poltava Theological Seminary in 1895 but was
expelled in 1901 for belonging to a clandestine Ukrainian hromada.

From 1900 he was also active in a political cell in Poltava that became the
nucleus of the Revolutionary Ukrainian party. In 1909 he moved to Moscow
and worked there as a bookkeeper until 1912, when he became coeditor, with
Oleksander Salikovsky, of the Russian-language monthly Ukrainskaia zhizn'
(1912-17).

In 1916 and until the beginning of 1917 he was deputy plenipotentiary of the
All-Russian Union of Zemstvos aid committee on the Russian western front.
In June 1917 he was appointed general secretary of military affairs in the
first General Secretariat of the Central Rada.
[4] PARTISAN MOVEMENT IN UKRAINE, 1918-22.
As government and public order in the Russian Empire dissolved after the
February Revolution of 1917, a host of partisan groups sprang up in Ukraine.
Differing in size and political orientation, they never formed a unified
force behind a single leader or program and often switched their support from

one to another of the major contenders for control of Ukraine.

Formed mostly from among the Ukrainian peasantry, the movement defended
the broad social and political goals of the revolution and sided
increasingly with the national aspirations of the Ukrainian people. After the

defeat of the UNR Army, the partisan movement became the chief opponent

of Bolshevik power in Ukraine.

The first partisan groups were formed in 1917 in the Kyiv region to defend
the local population from roving bands of soldiers returning from the front.

The peasant brigades then took part in resisting the Bolshevik offensive on
Kyiv in January-February 1918.
[5] WINTER CAMPAIGNS.
Offensives of the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic behind the lines
of the Volunteer Army and Red Army in 1919-20 and 1921. The First Winter
Campaign lasted from 6 December 1919 to 6 May 1920.

As conventional military action in the Ukrainian-Soviet War became
impossible, the UNR government decided to demobilize those units unfit for

battle and to send its battle-ready troops behind enemy lines to conduct

partisan warfare until it could set up a regular front.

The Second Winter Campaign took place in November 1921, while the UNR
government and its disarmed army were in Poland, and the partisan movement
was still active in Ukraine. The goal of the raid behind the Bolshevik lines
was quite bold: to unify the partisan operations and to sweep the Soviet regime
from Ukraine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The preparation, editing, and display of the IEU entries associated with
the Ukrainian-Soviet War of 1917-21 was made possible by a generous
donation from Dr. MICHAEL DASHCHUK of Toronto, ON, Canada..
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT IEU: Once completed, the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine will be
the most comprehensive source of information in English on Ukraine, its
history, people, geography, society, economy, and cultural heritage. With
over 20,000 detailed encyclopedic entries supplemented with thousands of
maps, photographs, illustrations, tables, and other graphic and/or audio
materials, this immense repository of knowledge is designed to present
Ukraine and Ukrainians to the world.

At present, only 11% of the entire planned IEU database is available on the
IEU site. New entries are being edited, updated, and added daily. However,
the successful completion of this ambitious and costly project will be
possible only with the financial aid of the IEU supporters. Become the IEU
supporter and help the CIUS in creating the world's most authoritative
electronic information resource about Ukraine and Ukrainians!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Marko R. Stech, Managing Director, CIUS Press
Project Manager, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine
Project Manager, Hrushevsky Translation Project
Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
University of Toronto, 20 Orde Street, Rm. 124
Toronto, Ontario M5T 1N7, tel: (416) 946-7326; fax: (416) 978-2672
www.utoronto.ca/cius; www.encyclopediaofukraine.com
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
14. NEW BOOK: HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF MOLDOVA

Moldova Foundation, Washington, D.C., Wed, May 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - On April 30th, the American publishing house Scarecrow
Press released a new book on Moldova as part of its series of European
Historical Dictionaries. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of
Moldova is written by Andrei Brezianu and Vlad Spânu.

Through its chronology, introduction, appendixes, maps, bibliography, and
hundreds of cross- referenced dictionary entries on important persons,
places, events, and institutions and significant political, economic,
social, and cultural aspects, the book traces the history of this small and
little known eastern European country.

The Republic of Moldova is one of the smallest fragments of the former
Soviet Union. When the opportunity came for successor states to renew their
independence in 1991, few seized it with greater joy. Moldova, in various
shapes and forms, had been dominated by others over most of its recorded
history.

A remote outpost of the Roman Empire in ancient times, it narrowly escaped
being absorbed into the Ottoman Empire and was forcibly inserted into the
Russian Empire, then more tightly integrated in the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics, while suffering excessive influence or intrusion from
the Habsburg Empire (in the last 19th century), the German Reich (in the
1940s), and all along from Romania -- the only land with which it has any
general affinity.

The new state's relaunch was not entirely auspicious, being itself plagued
by the presence of a breakaway region.

Yet, despite numerous evident problems, Moldova has succeeded in
establishing a working government and administration, shifting from a
command to a market economy, and adjusting to the pressures of much larger
neighbors.

This story of domination and independence, a struggle far harsher and longer
than most other European states have experienced, can be gleaned from the
Historical Dictionary of Moldova. It reaches back to the earliest times and
stretches into Moldova's most recent past.

It covers not only the political aspects, but also the economic, social,
cultural, religious, and linguistic features that make Moldova distinct.

This is done, first, in a chronology that follows the country's progression
over time, then in an introduction that presents its main characteristics,
and, finally, in a dictionary that provides specifics on significant
persons, places, institutions, and events.

The bibliography, much of which is inevitably not in English, itself
enhances the value of this unique book.

There are exceedingly few people who could have written this volume since,
for obvious reasons, Moldova is not that well known abroad, and all too

many local authorities espouse a rather skewed view.

It is therefore fortunate that a knowledgeable author, Andrei Brezianu,
wrote the first edition and, together with a perceptive insider, Vlad Spânu,
updated and substantially expanded this second edition.

Dr. Brezianu studied and then taught at the University of Bucharest before
moving to the United States, where he lectured and wrote on European

history and culture, with an emphasis on the history of Moldova.

Vlad Spânu, who studied at the State University of Moldova, served as a
senior diplomat at home and abroad before establishing the Moldova
Foundation, near Washington, D.C., of which he is president. He, too, has
written extensively on Moldova, specializing in economic and political
issues. Together they have provided exceptional insight into a very poorly
known country.

The book can be purchased on-line:
http://www.scarecrowpress.com/ISBN/0810856077
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Moldova Foundation in Washington, DC (www.foundation.moldova.org)

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15. UKRAINE OPENS CONTROVERSIAL DANUBE-BLACK

ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1545 gmt 8 May 07
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, May 08, 2007

KIEV- [Presenter] One of Ukraine's most ambitious national projects has
finally been implemented.

The Danube-Black Sea deep water canal, which has been built for over four
years, has now been opened for navigation [Romania has long opposed the
project, warning of environmental dangers while retaining monopoly on
shipping access to the Black Sea in the Danube Delta].

Around 50 vessels have passed through the new canal over the month that

the canal has been operated in a test mode.

Ukraine has spent tens of millions of dollars on the canal's construction,
but the expenses will not be recouped for a least a decade.

The canal has started operating, but environmentalists are not happy yet.
They have scheduled an expedition for this summer to establish the exact
impact of heavy navigation on the nature reserve [in the Danube Delta].

[Correspondent] The Danube-Black Sea deep water canal is now open for
navigation. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent to build it over
more than four years.

It is a true window on Europe for Ukraine, experts believe, because passage
by the new waterway is half as expensive as navigation by the Romanian
canal.

[Valeriy Salivon, captioned as acting president of the Ukrainian Danube
shipping company, in Russian] Fifty per cent is saved. It is very important
to us. The second thing is the country's prestige.

[Correspondent] The troublesome canal has been built by four transport
ministers. The biggest problems have been caused by Romania, which has
spoken against building an alternative route.

The current transport minister, Mykola Rudkovskyy, is certain that Romanians
now will have to put up with the competition.

[Rudkovskyy] Ukraine will earn tens of millions in profit because these
transport routes will traverse Ukrainian territory.

[Correspondent] Nevertheless, environmentalist do not know yet how the new
canal will affect the fauna of the Danube biological nature reserve. The i's
will be dotted by a Ukrainian-Romanian expedition scheduled for the summer.

[Mykola Berlinskyy, captioned as director of the Noosphere research centre,
in Russian] Any river, especially such a murky one as the Danube, requires
attention and regular soil removal for confident navigation.

There is no way around this. The Romanians are doing this, and their canal,
thank God, operates like clockwork.

[Correspondent] Meanwhile, local residents, who make their living by
fishing, say there will be far more fish in the river, especially during the
spawning period.

[Hryhoriy Zirtsov, captioned as fisherman, in Russian] There will be more
herring here, because the stream will be stronger and there will be more
fish showing up.

[Correspondent] Fishermen are also learning the profession of gondoliers to
organize boat rides for foreign tourists. The expenses Ukraine has incurred
building the canal will be recouped in a decade.

Experts think that the success of the national project may become obvious in
as little as three years. [Video shows the channel, captioned speakers being
interviewed.] -30-
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16. UKRAINE OPENS NEW SHIPPING CANAL IN DANUBE DELTA
A part of this canal is the controversial Bystroye Canal

Nine o'Clock, Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, May 10, 2007

The Ukrainian Government opened traffic on the new shipping canal in the
Danube Delta yesterday, at the end of four years marked by strenuous work
but also by disputes with Romania, several international institutions and
many ecology groups.

A part of this canal is the controversial Bystroye Canal, project completed
by widening the Chilia branch river bed. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said
yesterday that there was no official confirmation that Bystroye Canal has
been opened.

On the other hand the Ministry of Transportation in Kiev announced on April
27 that navigation has been opened 'experimentally.'
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http://www.nineoclock.ro/index.php?page=detalii&categorie=homenews&id=20070509-6765
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17. ROMANIA WANTS DANUBE CANAL TURNED INTO EU ISSUE
Project will irreversibly effect a unique geographic area

Rompres news agency, Bucharest, in English 1538 gmt 7 May 07
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom, Tuesday, May 08, 2007

BUCHAREST - The Minister of Foreign Affairs Adrian Cioroianu told a

press conference on Monday 7 May that Romania will not let the Bastroe

canal issue be a bilateral one between Bucharest and Kiev, but will turn it

into an European affair, as the Danube Delta is under the protection of
international laws assumed by all European states.

Cioroianu stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did its best to
solve the issue on diplomatic channels, but found no understanding from

the Ukrainian side.

'We cannot make them understand that the finalization of the project will
irreversibly affect a unique geographic area. They tell us that the canal
has an economic importance and we are offered some economic gains.

We must resort to European methods,' said the Romanian chief diplomat.

The Kiev authorities officially announced that the canal will be opened to
navigation next week, marking thus the end of works. -30-
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========================================================
You are welcome to send us names for the AUR distribution list.
========================================================
18. ROMANIA HOPING FOR MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL DELIMITATION
OF BLACK SEA SHELF WITH ASSISTANCE FROM UN'S INT COURT

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Romania is hoping for mutually beneficial delimitation of its border with
Ukraine on the Black Sea shelf with the help of the United Nations
Organization's International Court of Justice.

Romania's Ambassador to Ukraine Traian Laurentiu Hristea announced

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19. A ROMANIAN CELEBRATION OF LIFE AND DEATH
In Botiza, views to the mountains of Ukraine

By Carol Pucci, Seattle Times travel writer
Seattle Times, Seattle, Washington, Wed, May 9, 2007

BOTIZA, Romania - Spend time in any of the villages in the rural Maramures
region, and chances are good you'll be included in a wedding, funeral or
some other Romanian Orthodox religious celebration.

Here in Botiza, a Maramures village known for its hilltop wooden church and
views to the mountains of Ukraine, we've checked into a new guesthouse
for our last few days, and have been wandering around soaking up village
life.

People are friendly and curious. Everyone returns a smile and greets us with
a "buna ziua," or "good day."

We watched as 100 or so turned out for a funeral that started with a long
procession through the streets, and ended with a feast in the town hall
below the church.

Women left their houses carrying dozens of knot-shaped round loaves of
bread. "Familia," one said to me, putting her hand to her mouth in a gesture
inviting us to share in the meal.

(Death isn't necessarily a sad occasion. At the Merry Cemetery in the
village of Sapanta, more than 800 painted crosses celebrate the life of the
deceased, often humorously, with carvings and inscriptions recalling the
person's love of drinking, dancing or playing music.)

Inside the hall, long tables were set with plates of cakes and plastic
bottles of orange drink.

Men and women sat separately. A trio of priests blessed the bread, and each
man put his hand on the shoulder of one in front of him.

We didn't understand everything we saw and heard, but being included in
events like these makes for a special travel experience.

About 2,500 people live in Botiza, some in old wooden houses, but many in
new homes they built with money earned by working as laborers in Western
Europe.

Most everyone turns out for church on Sundays. Services last two hours, and
people come and go.

The older villagers tend to arrive first, the men wearing nubby sheep's wool
vests and felt hats; the women dressed in black knee-length skirts, dark
scarves and vests of wool or leather.

Fashionably late are the younger women in short pleated floral-print skirts,
heels, fitted jackets and flowered scarves.

In the Romanian Orthodox church, men sit in a separate section in front of
the women, and the biggest rooms in the old churches were reserved for them.

Now church-going women outnumber men, and the new churches are designed

========================================================
21. EUROVISION SONG CONTEST BETTING ODDS: UKRAINE

readaBet.com, United Kingdom, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Punters all over Europe have sparked one of the biggest Eurovision gambles
in the history of the programmed, with thousands of bets being placed on the
Ukraine to win in the last forty eight hours.

As a result bookies William Hill have slashed the price of 'Verka' winning
from an original quote of 33/1 to 9/2 favourite. "The Ukraine entry needs to
be seen to be believed and only in the Eurovision could 'Verka' ever stand a
chance.

Turnover has exceeded all our expectations and we are confident that £1
million will be bet on the outcome and can only hope that the Ukraine fail
to dazzle on the night," said Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams.

The UK entry Scooch is a 25/1 outsider to win the competition with Hills
offering 3/1 that they finish last, 16/1 that Scooch fail to score a point
and 7/4 that the UK finish in the bottom four.

William Hill Latest Eurovision Winner Prices*: 9/2 Ukraine, 6/1 Serbia, 7/1
Belarus, 8/1 Sweden, 9/1 Switzerland, 12/1 Bulgaria, 12/1 Russia, 16/1
Cyprus, 20/1 Greece, 25/1 United Kingdom, 25/1 Slovenia, 25/1 Malta, 25/1
Malta, 33/1 Israel, 40/1 Spain, 40/1 Romania, 40/1 Hungary, 40/1 France,
40/1 Turkey, 40/1 Bosnia-Herzegovina, 50/1 Ireland.others on request

William Hill UK Finishing Position: 7/4 21st-24th, 9/4 17th-20th, 3/1
13th-16th, 6/1 9th-12th, 11/1 5th-8th, 16/1 1st-4th.

William Hill Semi Finals: 11/4 Serbia, 9/2 Belarus, 5/1 Switzerland, 8/1
Bulgaria, 10/1 Andorra, 12/1 Cyprus, 14/1 Slovenia, 16/1 Malta, 20/1 Turkey,
20/1 Moldova, 25/1 Latvia, 25/1 Israel, 25/1 Hungary.others on request
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.readabet.com/index.php/other/article/10550
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22. PROTESTS FOR HIRE IN FORMER SOVIET WORLD

By Stephen Boykewich, AFP, Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

KIEV - It looked like the soul of democracy, a repeat of the 2004 Orange
Revolution: high-spirited, flag-waving demonstrators on Kiev's central
square decrying an attack on the constitution.

A few hours before, they had been a train full of kids gushing over how they
would spend their pay for protesting.

The scene from Ukraine's latest political crisis in April reflected an open
secret in the former Soviet world: protests taken in the West as signs of
grassroots political passion are often more a matter of dollars and cents.

Oleksander Chernenko, an activist from an independent voter advocacy group,
the Committee of Ukrainian Voters, saw it from the inside, infiltrating a
trainload of paid protestors supporting Russian-backed Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych's Regions party in April.

"About 20 percent of them had come with genuine convictions -- but that
doesn't mean they didn't take the money," said Chernenko, who posed as
a protestor from the Yanukovych stronghold of Donetsk to board the train.

He later published a report on the trip with photographic evidence from the
train and the protest.

Party organisers paid hundreds of young people, most in their late teens and
early 20s, 130 gryvnias (26 dollars, 19 euros) each for an overnight protest
in Kiev, Chernenko said. "They all talked about the money very openly,"
along with the excuses they had used to get out of work or school.

The practice -- which provoked a nationwide investigation by the prosecutor
general into the illegal recruitment of children under 18 -- is hardly
unique to Ukraine.

In Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet state often called Central Asia's most open
democracy, opposition rallies in April were filled with protestors bussed in
from rural towns, many of whom had trouble explaining to AFP reporters why
they were there.

Mukhamed, who was camped out in a traditional nomadic tent on the main
square of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, complained about poverty in his native
city of Naryn. But he gave a gold-toothed grin when asked whether his
protest had come at a price.

"How many of us do you think would be out here if we weren't being paid?"
he told AFP.

A friend named Almaz quickly admonished him. "What he said about them
paying us was a joke, you understand," he told the reporter.

Protestors are reluctant to talk about the practice, organisers usually deny
it exists, but analysts say it has become a standard tool for gaining media
attention and pressuring opponents. "It's barely even hidden anymore," said
Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Penta think tank in Kiev.

For Chernenko, the irony is that Ukraine's Orange Revolution, which saw
hundreds of thousands take to the streets of Kiev to protest a flawed
presidential election, spawned the protests-for-hire trend.

"People didn't come to make money" in the Orange Revolution, but "now
the situation is different, and it's worrying."

"A sort of psychological complex sprung up in those times: the fear of the
street," which since has prompted political forces across the spectrum to
tap into that anxiety and "use protests as a technique," he said.

In Russia, the fear of an Orange-type revolution is keen and has triggered
the creation of several well-funded, pro-government youth groups who face
down domestic opposition and support the Kremlin's foreign agenda.

Three of these, Nashi (Ours), the Young Guard, and Mestnye (Locals), were
on the streets daily during a nasty diplomatic row with Estonia in April
over the relocation of a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn.

Nashi protestors deployed both in Moscow and Pskov, near Russia's border
with Estonia, as well as in Tallinn itself.

Instead of using money, however, these groups lure core members from
universities with promises of help finding jobs or a coveted place in summer
camps that mix sport and romance with political lectures, said Svetlana, a
former Nashi member who asked not to use her last name.

And they can rally formidable numbers. In December 2006, a Nashi rally drew
70,000 marchers in Santa Claus costumes -- ostensibly to honor veterans of
World War II -- though many had no link with the group.

Students from local colleges and universities are given a day off and bussed
to protest sites without even knowing why, Svetlana and other current and
former Nashi members told AFP.

Sam Greene, an American analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center, noted that
former Soviet states do not hold a monopoly on such practice and quickly
pointed to US precedents, including the dirty political tricks during the
administration of former president Richard Nixon.

"There's the attitude that you in the US have had 200 years to learn how to
fake it." The feeling in former Soviet states is that 'it's the same sham
there as here, but we've only had 20 years to learn how to fake it," he
said. -30-
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23. CANADIAN UNIVERSITY LEADS STUDY OF

UKRAINIAN SIGN LANGUAGE

By Caitlin Crawshaw, ExpressNews, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta Canada, Tuesday, May 8, 2007

EDMONTON - Under the rule of the former Soviet Union, the education
system in Ukraine wasn't allowed to teach sign language to the deaf. An
international agreement signed at the University of Alberta today is helping
teachers and deaf students in Ukraine to teach and learn signing.

Led by education professor Dr. Debra Russell the Ukrainian Sign
Language Project will document Ukrainian Sign Language. It is the
first project of its type in the world.

"It's never been researched before," said Russell, who holds the
David Peikoff Chair of Deafness Studies at the U of A. "Since sign
language was not allowed to be used in the country, there was no
formal study of Ukrainian Sign Language. It's really the first
linguistic, descriptive study."

"Under Soviet times, the educational method was entirely oral. So,
while deaf people have used sign language for centuries, it wasn't
allowed to be used in school systems and it wasn't a formal area of
study," she added.

"And now, as with most signed languages, it's capturing the most
interest. Sign language research is one of the growing fields across
most countries, and Ukraine is no different in that way."

The data collected by the project will help Ukrainian educators
instruct students in Ukrainian Sign Language and develop teaching
curriculum, said Russell. It will also help researchers better
understand American Sign Language, she added.

Dr. Judy Lupart, a U of A educational psychology professor who holds
the Canada Research Chair in Special Education, said the agreement
expands the range of collaboration between Drahomanov National
Pedagogical University and the U of A.

Viktor Andrushchenko, rector of Drahomanov National Pedagogical
University, noted that the agreement builds upon previous
collaboration. He's particularly pleased with the agreement's
specific focus.

"Another of these important areas is education of children with
special needs, and the training of a new generation of teacher
susceptible to new, technical innovations, and able to adapt to the
new realities of life," he said.

According to U of A Dean of Education Dr. Fern Snart, the MOU
"reflects beautifully the faculty's goals for international
initiatives within our academic plan."

"It's well understood, but I think it bears repeating, that when we
collaborate in this fashion, it enriches both sides of the
collaboration," she said.

"I also know that when talented, enthusiastic people work together,
there are wonderful surprises in terms of achievements that have not
yet been planned or dreamed. And I hope some of those surprises will
begin to happen as early as today."

Dr. George Richardson, the Faculty of Education associate dean
(international initiatives), said the agreement is a great place "to
begin looking at the range of future opportunities."

"We look forward to a long and very profitable collaboration." -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Links: Ukrainian Sign Language Project:
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/edpsychology/nav03.cfm?nav03=51849&nav02=16904&nav01=13956
Dr. Debra Russell:
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/edpsychology/nav03.cfm?nav03=19786&nav02=14211&nav01=13954
Dr. Judy Lupart:
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/edpsychology/nav03.cfm?av03=15507&nav02=14211&nav01=13954
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=8422
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24. FORUM: INTERNATIONAL ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN EXPOSING
CORRUPTION AND PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE
Presentation by Myroslava Gongadze, Voice of America

Action Ukraine Report (AUR) #841, Article 24
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

WASHINGTON - A forum in honor of World Press Freedom Day, sponsored

by the NED's Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), took place

on May 2nd at the US Capitol.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), one of the event's honorary co-hosts, moderated
the discussion among four panelists:

[1] Daniel Kauffman of the World Bank,
[2] Myroslava Gongadze [Ukrainian Service], Voice of America;
[3] Mauricio Herrera Ulloa of the Costa Rican daily La Nación; and
[4] Joyce Barnathan, president of the International Center for

Journalists and former executive editor of BusinessWeek.

Here is the link to the NED web site where you can find the video of
Myroslava Gongadze's and the remarks by the other panelists at the NED panel
discussion "The International Role of the Media in Exposing Corruption and
Promoting Good Governance': http://www.ned.org/events/events.html
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25. "SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT" WITHIN A GLOBAL

CONTEXT & UKRAINE'S CURRENT SITUATION

PRESENTATION: By Mykhailo Zgurovsky at the Kennan Institute
at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, May 1, 2007
REPORT: By Violetta Tutunik, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF)
Action Ukraine Report (AUR) #841, Article 25
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

Mykhailo Zgurovsky, Rector of the Institute for Applied System Analysis and
the National Technical University of Ukraine ("Kyiv Polytechnic Institute"),
presented a mathematical model, Sustainable Development Gauging Matrix, and
described how Ukraine's prospects for development can be analyzed using this
model, at a presentation at the Kennan Institute in Washington on May 1.

With limited resources left in the world, Dr. Zgurovsky believes that
development is a complex process and should focus on multiple aspects, not
only economical ones.

When a country chooses a model for development, there needs to be a balance
between the different aspects to achieve sustainable development. His model
of sustainable development includes four dimensions of analysis: economic,
ecological, social and institutional.

The purpose is to find a universal mathematical approach to describe the
complex interdisciplinary process of sustainable development and rank
countries according to how well they do in all four dimensions.

Then an analysis of results is to follow in order to present conclusions in
a comprehensible manner to policymakers.

The Sustainable Development Gauging Matrix (SDGM) uses the following
data to measure sustainable development in different countries:

[1] economic:
a. growth: Global Competitiveness Index (source: World Economic
Forum)
b. Economic Freedom Index (source: Heritage Foundation)
[2] ecological:
a. Environmental Sustainability Index (source: Yale University)
[3] social and institutional:
a.Quality of Life Index
b. Human Development Index (source: UN)
c. Knowledge Index (source: UN)

Results: after countries are measured in each of these aspects, they are
ranked into an index of sustainable development. For example, in the 2006
simulation, the countries that came out with high rankings were United
States, United Kingdom, Australia, and various Western European countries.

The countries that ranked highest in all four categories were Finland,
Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom, respectively.

To estimate the adequateness of the model, nighttime light use is examined.
This provides information about economic and social levels of countries.
Generally, the higher the level of nighttime light usage, the higher the
economic and ecological levels in any given country.
ASSESSING THE CURRENT SITUATION IN UKRAINE AND
THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
According to Dr. Zgurovsky, after the Orange Revolution, Ukraine became
a significant player in the world. The balance between the factions/parties
was a good base to introduce a model of development.

Unfortunately, soon after the Orange Revolution, certain political parties
tried to change this balance and go back to a previous model (old Soviet
ways).

However, Dr. Zgurovsky believes that this is part of the democratic process
and the parliament will find a way towards sustainable development and will
come back to the democratic model.

Ukraine will not resort back to the authoritarian model due to the renewal
of the people as a result of their experiencing the Orange Revolution. They
will no longer allow oligarchs to take them back to the Soviet model.

Future scenarios include:
[1] short-term scenario: "Old Politicians" 2004-2010
a. separation of Ukraine (about 5% probability)
b. permanent strife for power of present political forces and
their gradual separation from the nation (90-95% probability)
[2] mid-term scenario: "New Generation of Politicians" 2010-2015
coming to power of educated and democratic-thinking leaders
[3] long-term scenario: "Fast Progressing" 2015-2050 where sustainable
development can be effectively implemented.
BEDROCK OF A NATION
To promote the strategic utilization of new knowledge, science and
technology, and human resources

In terms of reaching the sustainable development goals, a comparison of
Ukraine and the Euro 5 (the top-rated countries in terms of success in
sustainable development: Finland, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, and
United Kingdom) is undertaken. In this comparison, the goal is to
determine what can be changed in Ukraine to achieve these goals.

The following criteria of evaluation will be used:
[1] Intellectual assets index
a.Years of schooling
b. Cell phones
[2] advancement index
a. research and development
b. military expenditures
c. corruption perception
[3] foresightedness index
a. income inequality
b. child mortality
c. CO2 emissions
POSSIBLE MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT FOR UKRAINE
[1] CEA model - not attractive for Ukraine
[2] G8 model - not attractive
a. Great in terms of economic development but problematic in
the ecological and social aspects
[3] Harmonized Society model (four-dimensional approach) - most
attractive for Ukraine!
a. Ex: Finland, Netherlands, etc.

Ukraine should utilize the experiences of different countries to determine
which development path to chose. -30

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTACT: Violetta Tutunik, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation,
1701 K. Street, N.W., Suite 903, Washington, D.C. 20006
202 223 2338, violetta@usukraine; www.usukraine.org.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE FROM AUR: Contact for Michael Zgorovsky,
Rector, National Technical University of Ukraine, "Kyiv
Polytechnic Institute", 37 Peremogy Ave., Kyiv, Ukraine 03056
zgur@zgurov.kiev.ua or zgurovsm@hotmail.com.
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26. UKRAINIAN PROFESSOR NAMED INT EDITORIAL ADVISOR FOR
GLOBAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT eJOURNAL PM WORLD TODAY

openPR, Press release from: PMForum.org, Inc.
Dallas, Texas, Thursday, May 10, 2007

PMForum, Inc. announced today that Professor Sergey Bushuyev, PhD, Head
of the Project Management Department at the Kiev National University of
Construction and Architecture (KNUCA) in Kiev, Ukraine, has been named an
international editorial advisor for the online eJournal PM World Today.

In January 2007 the company announced the formation of an International
Editorial Advisory Council for PM World Today, to include representatives
from some of the world's leading universities with graduate programs in
project management.

According to managing editor David L. Pells, "Sergey Bushuyev is one of the
leading authorities on modern project management in Ukraine and the entire
former Soviet Union. He has been very active in the project management
academic and professional communities across Europe for many years and is
widely known among professional leaders, educators and researchers.

I have known him since 1992 and know him to be one of the leading experts

on project management in the world. It is an honor and a pleasure to welcome
him to our editorial advisory team."

Sergey Bushuyev, PhD, Dr. Sc., is Professor and Head of the Department of
Project management at KNUCA, specializing in Strategic Project Management
and Organizational Development.

He is also founder and President of the Ukrainian Project Management
Association (1993) and founder of the Project management Academy of

Ukraine (1999).

Dr. Bushuyev studied at Kyiv Engineering-Construction Institute, faculty of
Automation and Information Technology (1970), PhD (1973), Dr.Sc. (1986),
Professor (1988), and honorary Scientist and Technician of Ukraine (2003).

He has been an active member of the New York Academy of Sciences (1996);
Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia ;
visiting Professor at ESC Lille, France; Member of the Certification
Validation Management Board of the International Project Management
Association - IPMA ; active member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences; and
an active member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Engineering Science since
1998.

Dr. Bushuyev has published more than 200 scientific books and articles. He
is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Project
Management published by IPMA, and for several other national and
international Journals.

He has lectured and taught courses at universities in Australia, Austria,
Czech Republic, France, Germany, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden,
UK, USA and other countries.

He is the author of Project management National Competence Baseline NCB
(Ukraine, in Russian, 2006); Glossary of Project Management. (Dilova,
Ukraine, UPMA, in Ukrainian, 2001); Dynamic Leadership in Project Management
(Dilova, Ukraine, UPMA, in Russian, 2000); Investment Instrument of Project
Management (UPMA, in Russian, 1998); and Project Procurement (UPMA, in
Russian, 1999).

Since 1975, Dr. Bushuyev has prepared 20 candidates for Ph.D. and Doctor

of Science degrees in Development of Information Management Systems and

Project Management. Since 1996 he has been responsible for preparing more

than 600 candidates for Masters of Science degrees in Project Management.

He was recipient of an Award as the best professor in Ukraine in 1987.

Founded in 1930, Kiev National University of Construction and Architecture
(KNUCA) is the largest and most important building and architectural
university in Ukraine and is located in the nation's capital Kiev (Kyiv).

It is one of the leading National Ukrainian Universities, with over 12,000
students, 700 professors and instructors, and 40 degree and professional
programmes through seven faculties (institutes) and 57 departments.

The University offers an innovative, research-led curriculum, taught by
world-class academics who consistently attract a quality student intake.

The University's internal research reputation spans all of its faculties.
Additional information about KNUSA can be found at www.KNUBA.edu.ua.

PMForum, Inc. administers and operates www.pmforum.org, the world's first
project management website and one of the world's leading sources of project
management news and information.

PMForum also publishes the monthly online PM World Today e-Journal, where
articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading project management
authorities and experts from around the world can be found. Free
subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net. -30-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT: editor@pmforum.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.openpr.com/news/20198/Professor-Sergey-Bushuyev-in-Ukraine-named-International-Editorial-Advisor-for-the-global-project-management-eJournal-PM-World-Today.html

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27. WALT WHITMAN IN UKRAINE

From: "Nina Shevchuk (by way of Robert DeLossa)"
To: aaus-list@ukrainianstudies.org
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 9:33 PM

Dear Colleagues:

The Walt Whitman digital archive (www.whitmanarchive.org) has started
digitizing translations of Whitman's work into various languages to
add to its resources. I am directly involved with the Russian and
Ukrainian translations, so I am here to ask for some pointers.

I think I have my Russian covered, and I have the two Soviet
Ukrainian editions of Leaves of Grass (1954 and 1982), but I find it
difficult to believe that there was no "Ukrainian Whitman" before
1954. I've had some difficulty even establishing the existence of
earlier translations.

Does anyone know of any Ukrainian poets translating Whitman? Does
anyone know of any published translations before 1954? The archive
has ways and means of obtaining materials -- even if there's just a
manuscript in some obscure library, we can get it. Thanks in
advance for all your input.

Sincerely,
Nina Shevchuk-Murray (n_shevchuk@YAHOO.COM)
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28. UKRAINE, OUR FEATURED COUNTRY

Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals,
A Bi-Weekly Service, Issue 158
The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA)
Reston, Virginia, Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Hello International Traders! John McDonnell here, with Web sites that will
help you achieve success in international trade.

Some experts think Ukraine is poised to become a major regional player,
and I have a site in this issue to give you all the facts about this up and
coming economy.

I also found a site where you can get quick access to Customs information
and forms from hundreds of countries worldwide. And, if you want clear,
practical explanations of trade topics, I have a site that will give you
just that.

Finally, I have a site with reviews of fun and offbeat gadgets, books, and
other products, and I guarantee you'll find something here to tickle your
fancy!

And don't forget -- if you'd like more information about international
trade, go to FITA's Really Useful Links (http://fita.org/webindex/index.html),
which has a link library of more than 8,000 sites related to international
trade.
UKRAINE: OUR FEATURED COUNTRY
The Ukraine was always the top producer among all the republics of the
old Soviet Union, and after the fall of the USSR it has continued to show
positive economic trends.

Although it went through a rocky transition to democracy in the 1990s, and
relations with Russia have been strained at times, Ukraine today is on
the upswing. Its GDP grew seven percent in 2006, and that growth is
expected to continue in 2007.

One reason is that rising prices in the steel market have benefited Ukraine,
which is a major steel producer. The country passed many laws in recent
years to conform its trading system to World Trade Organization standards,
and trade prospects look good.

If this sounds like a country you'd like to research, a good place to start
is the BISNIS Ukraine page
(http://www.bisnis.doc.gov/bisnis/country/ukraine.cfm ).

BISNIS stands for "Business Information Center for the Newly Independent
States of the former Soviet Union", and this U.S. government agency has
lots of information about Ukraine.

You'll find reports on specific Ukrainian markets, a country commercial
guide, a guide to doing business there, news and reports on trade issues
affecting Ukraine, useful contacts & resources, the Customs Code of
Ukraine, upcoming trade events, and more.

You'll also find plenty of good research at the Ukraine Mini Portal
(http://fita.org/countries/ukraine.html ), a feature of the FITA Web site.

The Ukraine Mini Portal has an overview of the country, with facts about the
language, currency, climate, etc., plus more specific information about the
economy, Ukrainian markets, taxes, labor market indicators, and tips on
doing business in Ukraine.

Click on "Useful Links" and you'll find a variety of sources for market
research, trade leads, business directories, logistics, government contacts,
travel, financing, and lots more.

The Ukraine Mini Portal is one of many research gateways at the FITA site.

To find Mini Portals for other regions or countries, just click on "Country
Profiles" from within a Mini Portal, or at the FITA home page
(http://www.fita.org ). -30-
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LINK: http://fita.org/useful/archives/158.html
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29. SONGS YOUR MOTHER SHOULD NEVER HAVE TAUGHT YOU?
Erotic Symbolism in Ukrainian Folk Songs"
Lecture in English, comments and singing in Ukrainian,
Saturday, August 25, 2007, Ivan Honchar Museum, Kyiv, Ukraine

Action Ukraine Report #841, Article 29
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 10, 2007

WASHINGTON- Remember all those old Ukrainian folk songs you have been
singing all these years, the ones you learned from your mama and baba? Do
you really know what they're about? The love song lyrics have special
meanings, and are rich in deep ancient symbolism of a most interesting kind.

Orysia Tracz of Winnipeg , Manitoba, Canada, a specialist in Ukrainian
ethnology, writer, translator, columnist for The Ukrainian Weekly,
translator of Ivan Honchar's album Ukraine and Ukrainians, will present a
lecture in English with comments and singing in Ukrainian on "Songs Your
Mother Should Never Have Taught You? Erotic Symbolism in Ukrainian
Folk Songs" in Kyiv on August 25th.
KOKHANNIA po-ukrains'ky / LOVE Ukrainian-style:
Love Themes in Ukrainian Folk Art
15:00 [3 P.M.] Saturday, August 25, 2007
Ivan Honchar Museum -- Ukrainian Centre of Folk Culture.
29, Sichnevoho povstannya, Kyiv [east of Pecherska Lavra]
With an exhibition from the Museum's collections --

All expats, the business community, tourists, lovers of Ukrainian song
welcome! Proceeds to benefit the educational programmes of the Ukrainian
Centre of Folk Culture " Ivan Honchar Museum".

Bus #24 to the final stop at Pecherska Lavra. TROLLEYBUS #38

Pecherska Lavra. Nearest Metro station is Arsenal'na, then transfer to bus.
Telephone(+380-44) 288 9268, 288 5419; Fax: (+380-44) 288 9268
E-mail: honchar_museum@ukr.net. -30-
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30. UKRAINE: HUTSUL FESTIVAL TOUR

Bringing together some of the finest dancers, entertainers, and craft makers

Canadian citizens. Persons holding other documents, please check with

Scope Travel consultant.
B-Breakfast, L-Lunch, D-Dinner
Jul 21 Sat JFK/ViennaOS 88 5:45PM/8:40AM
Please be at New York/JFK Airport, Austrian Airlines TERMINAL #1 no

later than 3:00PM. Scope representative will assist you with check-in. Your
baggage must be checked to your final destination, L'viv (Code LWO).
Jul 22 Sun Vienna/L'vivOS 381 l:20PM/3:40PM
Upon arrival in L'viv, transfer to hotel. Welcome cocktail and dinner at
hotel.
L'VIV, THE "CITY OF LIONS"
Situated in the Western part of Ukraine, L'viv, the "City of Lions", is its
heart and soul. Founded in the 13th c. by King Danylo Halytckyj, it was
named in honor of his son Lev (Leo).
Through centuries of Polish, Austrian, and Soviet occupation, L'viv was the
gateway to "the East", but with independence in 1991, L'viv is finally free
to develop its own Ukrainian identity.
Jul 23 Mon L'viv B/L
Highlights of your first city tour are Rynok, the 15-16 th c. city square,
the Dominican Church, Armenian Church Complex, the Chapel of the Bojim
Family, the Armenian Quarters, the Opera House and L'viv University.
St. George's Cathedral, the stronghold of Western Ukraine's Catholic Church,
is our final stop before lunch in a local café. Remainder of the day and
dinner under own arrangements.
Jul 24 Tue L'viv B/L
This morning's tour is to Shevchenko Haj, an open air museum with an active
Bojko Church and replicas of Western Ukrainian Lemko and Bojko villages
dating back to the 18th c. This "village" is a popular Sunday outing for
L'viv residents.
We continue to Lychakiv Cemetery to view graves of Ivan Franko, Solomija
Krushelnytcka, Volodymyr Ivasiuk, Oleksander Tysovsky and many others.
Lunch in Restaurant Oselya. Remainder of the day and dinner under own
arrangements.
Jul 25 Wed L'viv B/L
Today we join our local guide for a walking tour of L'viv's historical city
center, a UNESCO protected architectural ensemble of buildings and we also
visit the Historical and Ethnographic Museums of L'viv. Lunch in a local
café. Remainder of the day and dinner under own arrangements.
Jul 26 Thu L'viv B/L
Free Day. Optional excursion to Khrekhiv-Zolotchiv or Potchajiv Lavra.
Gala Farewell dinner tonight.
Jul 27 Fri L'viv/Yaremche B/L/D
HEART OF THE CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS: YAREMCHE

Master Ceramists and Woodcarvers
Today we join our touring coach and head to the heart of the Carpathian
Mountains, to Yaremche. From L'viv, through Rohatyn's newly reconstructed
city center, we view the lovely new statue of Roxolana, then we continue to
Kolomyja, famous for its master-ceramists and woodcarvers.
Here we have lunch and visit the Hutsul Pysanka and Woodcarving Museums.
Evening arrival in Yaremche for dinner at hotel. The Carpathian mountain
region of Western Ukraine is both a natural and cultural gem of Eastern Europe .

UNIQUE CULTURE AND TRADITIONS
Bordered by Romania to the south, Hungary to the west, Poland to the north
and cut off from the rest of Ukraine to the east by the Hutsul Alps, the
Ukrainian inhabitants of these majestic highlands have developed their own
unique culture and traditions.
Consisting of both steep rocky mountain peeks and gently rolling mountain
meadows, it is the home of the archetypal Ukrainian shepherd. The Hutsul
people are deeply tied to nature and vested in her preservation and
appreciation.
This is most evident in their annual celebrations and festivals, reflecting
their love of folklore and their wonder about the surrounding mountains, the
crystal clear rivers and the rolling green hills.
COMPETITION AT THE HUTSUL FESTIVAL IN YAREMCHE
This year, the competition at the Hutsul Festival is in Yaremche and will
bring together some of the finest dancers, entertainers and craft makers
from the region. You'll be dazzled by the bright and lively colors of the
native costumes and the intricacy of handicrafts and woodwork.

YOU'LL WITNESS THE DRIBUSHKA
You'll witness the Dribushka , a unique style of dancing based on quick and
energetic steps. You'll hear musicians play Trojiska Muzika, using both the
Sopilka , a traditional wooden flute, and the Duda , a bagpipe made from
goat.
It's no wonder that Hutsul folk melodies, rhythms and dance moves have
influenced world-renown Ukrainian artists like pop star Ruslana Lyzhichko
and filmmaker Myroslaw Skoryk.
Jul 28 Sat Yaremche B/D
Hutsul Festival - program to be advised - transfers to/from performances
will be provided.
Jul 29 Sun Yaremche B/D
Hutsul Festival - program to be advised - transfers to/from performances
will be provided.
Jul 30 Mon Ivano Frankivsk/ Kyiv plane 9:00AM/l0:30AMB/L/D
We get an early start for the bus transfer from Yaremche to Ivano Frankivsk
airport for our flight to Kyiv. Check-in and lunch.
PANORAMIC CITY TOUR OF KYIV
After a short rest, you will join your touring coach for your first
panoramic city tour of Kyiv includes: Khreshchatyk Boulevard, Volodymyr's
Hill, Kyiv National University, the Opera House, St. Volodymyr's Cathedral
and the 11th century Golden Gate. The highlight of this tour is the St.
Sophia Cathedral, constructed in the 11th c. by Prince Yaroslav the Wise.

Its construction reflects a strong Byzantine influence and its interior is a
unique harmonious union of mosaics and fresco paintings. Directly opposite
St. Sofia (about 500 m.) you will visit the newly (1999) reconstructed St.
Michael's Sobor.
Your tour will end at Uzviz artisan section, where the open-air bazaar is
the most popular place in Kyiv. Return to hotel for dinner.
Jul 31 Tue Kyiv B/L/D
Morning half-day excursion to Pecherska Lavra (Monastery of the Caves),

an active monastery founded in the 11th c. and center of Christianity for
Kyivan-Rus.
Its complex of churches reflects a unique Ukrainian baroque style which is
only surpassed by the beauty of the newly reconstructed Uspenskyj Cathedral
(1998), destroyed by Soviet mines in 1941.
The labyrinths of the "near" and "far" caves hold over 115 burial niches
containing remains of St. Antoniy, Nestor the Chronicler, and many religious
and political leaders. World-renowned Scythian Gold treasures are exhibited
within its walls. Lunch in town. Afternoon free. Dinner at hotel.
Aug 01 Wed Kyiv B/D
Free day for own discovery of Kyiv and for optional excursions.
Tonight farewell gala dinner preceded by a Dnipro River sunset champagne
cruise.
Aug 02 Thu Kyiv/Vienna; Vienna/New York PS 845 8:00AM/9:00AM;

OS 87 ll:30AM/2:50PM
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Phone: 973-378-8998, Toll Free: 877-357-0436,
Fax: 973-821-4855; scope@scopetravel.com www.scopetravel.com
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