Best of Kyiv The Kyiv Post’s 10th annual Best of Kyiv awards banquet will be held on Jan. 27 in the InterContinental Hotel. Read about the nominees for 10-Year Achievement Award on page 26.
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INSIDE: • Explosions rock eastern city of Makiyivka. Page 2. • Under pressure, parliament approves greater public access to government information. Page 12.
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vol. 16, issue 3
January 21, 2011
Political Refugees & Prisoners Comeback Of
OLESHKO@KYIVPOST.COM
(PHL)
(UNIAN)
Prosecuting political dissenters is a classic hallmark of an authoritarian regime, widely practiced in Ukraine during the oppressive Soviet Union. Persecution still takes place in neighboring Russia
and Belarus, where businessmen, journalists and politicians who run afoul of the regime regularly flee the country, rot in jail or pay for their views with their lives. Now, many inside and outside of Ukraine are worrying about whether the nation under President Viktor Yanukovych is once again edging towards authoritarianism.
The Yanukovych administration, however, denies hounding opponents for political reasons. Officials insist the investigations are genuine attempts to crack down on abuse of power and corruption. The president “demands that our law enforcement authorities objectively pursue any investigations,” said presidential administration head Serhiy Lyovochkin on Jan. 20. Æ11
(AP)
BY O L E S I A OL E S H KO
Myroslava Gongadze, widow of slain journalist Georgiy Gongadze, won political refugee status in the United States.
Bohdan Danylyshyn, Yulia Tymoshenko’s economic minister, convinced Czechs he faced persecution in Ukraine.
Yuriy Lutsenko, the nation’s former top cop as interior minister, refused warnings to leave the country or be jailed.
Myroslava Gongadze: Yanukovych team may be ‘more brutal’ than Kuchma
Bohdan Danylyshyn: ‘We can conclude that political persecution exists’
Yuriy Lutsenko: ‘Their goal is to rob the country ... with impunity’
BY OL E S I A O L E S H KO
BY YURIY ONYSHKIV
BY PETER BYRNE
OLESHKO@KYIVPOST.COM
ONYSHKIV@KYIVPOST.COM
BYRNE@KYIVPOST.COM
The Ukrainian government is receiving international criticism for curtailing democratic freedoms, raising fears that the country is sliding back toward the authoritarian style of rule that flourished under former President Leonid Kuchma. In 2001, Myroslava Gongadze, the widow of murdered journalist Georgiy Gongadze, received political asylum in the United Æ10
Bohdan Danylyshyn, the former economic minister who served under ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, was released from jail in Prague on Jan. 14, after the Czech Interior Ministry granted him political asylum. Last year, the general prosecutor accused Danylyshyn of abusing his official powers, incurring Hr 14 million in losses to the Æ10
Former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko was arrested in Kyiv while walking his dog on Dec. 26 and has been jailed ever since, after a judge denied his bail request and ordered him held for at least two months. Ukraine’s laws allow for up to 18 months of imprisonment before trial, which human rights groups say subverts the presumption of innocence and is unnecessary for non-violent criminals Æ10
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Divided on Unity Day BY P ET ER BYR NE BYRNE@KYIVPOST.COM
надрукованi в газетi “Kyiv Post” є власнiстю видавництва, захищенi мiжнародним та українським законодавством i не можуть бути вiдтворенi у будь(якiй формi без письмового дозволу Видавця. Думки, висловленi у дописах не завжди збiгаються з поглядами видавця, який не бере на себе вiдповiдальнiсть за наслiдки публiкацiй. Засновник ТОВ “Паблік-Медіа” Головний редактор Брайан Боннер Адреса видавця та засновника співпадають: Україна, м. Київ, 01034, вул. Прорізна, 22Б Реєстрацiйне свiдоцтво Кв № 15261(3833ПР від 19.06.09. Передплатний індекс ДП Преса 40528 Надруковано ТОВ «Новий друк», 02660, Київ, вулиця Магнітогорська, 1, тел.: 559-9147 Замовлення № 11-3149 Аудиторське обслуговування ТОВ АФ “ОЛГА Аудит” З приводу розміщення реклами звертайтесь: +380 44 234-65-03. Відповідальність за зміст реклами несе замовник. Mailing address: Kyiv Post, Prorizna Street 22B, Kyiv, Ukraine, 01034 Advertising tel. +380 44 234-65-03 fax +380 44 234-63-30 advertising@kyivpost.com Editorial staff tel. +380 44 234-65-00 fax +380 44 234-30-62 news@kyivpost.com Subscriptions Nataliia Protasova tel. +380 44 234-64-09 fax +380 44 234-63-30 subscribe@kyivpost.com Distribution Serhiy Kuprin tel. +380 44 234-64-09 fax +380 44 234-63-30 distribution@kyivpost.com Marketing Iuliia Panchuk tel. +380 44 234-30-40 fax +380 44 234-63-30 marketing@kyivpost.com
What’s a Ukrainian national holiday without a little controversy? Unity Day (Den Sobornosti) on Jan. 22 is no exception. A little hornet’s nest is lodged in this year’s celebration, which will be observed differently in Ukraine’s eastern and western regions, as well as among government officials and their critics in Kyiv. It was on this day in 1919 that the Ukrainian National Republic united with the Western Ukrainian National Republic to form a short-lived state. Former President Viktor Yushchenko used the occasion last year to grant the status of Hero of Ukraine to World War II-era nationalist leader Stepan Bandera, who headed the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and fought for Ukrainian independence. In the run-up to this year’s celebration, President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration declared that Stepan Bandera is no longer a hero, saying on Jan. 12 that a court had cancelled the honor. Two days later in parliament, Interior Minister Anatoliy Mohyliov said that government critics are planning to use the national holiday to boost their popularity and make the country’s ruler’s look bad. “We have information that protests planned on Unity Day provide for
the shedding of blood. Bloodshed. [Protest leaders] are talking about staging a protest to attract world attention to what is happening in Ukraine,” Mohyliov said. “I warn everyone that we are documenting these facts and have the strength and means to hold those responsible to account.” In an interview appearing on Jan. 17 in the Politychna Dumka (Political Thought) journal, Ukrainian writer Yuriy Andrukhovych said the regime is scared stiff. “They have driven themselves in a situation where the only option for them is fear and, naturally, instilling fear in their opponents. The more fear the regime generates in society, the more afraid it is.” Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, now the opposition leader, expressed similar sentiments. She has announced the largest planned gathering for 2 p.m. on Kyiv’s St. Sophia Square, where the Act of Unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Western Ukrainian Republic into a single Ukrainian state was declared on Jan. 22, 1919. Some 10,000 people are expected to attend, according to Mykhailo Ratushny, who is coordinating the rally on behalf of the People’s Committee for the Protection of Ukraine, an ad hoc group that was created in April after Yanukovych struck a deal with his Russian counterpart to
Short-lived statehood declared on Jan. 22, 1918 On Jan. 22, 1918, the Fourth Universal of Ukraine’s first government, Central Rada, was announced, when Ukraine was declared an independent state, the Ukrainian People’s Republic. Over the same period, as a result of the split of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic was formed in Halychyna (west Ukraine), with its center in Lviv. The Act of Unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Western Ukrainian Republic into a single Ukrainian state was declared by the Directory of the Ukrainian People’s Republic one year later on Kyiv’s Sofiyska Square, unifying the majority of ethnic Ukrainian lands. But only two weeks after declaration of the Unity Act, the Ukrainian government had to leave Kyiv under pressure from Russia’s Red Army, and somewhat later the whole territory of Ukraine. Ukrainians marked the holiday for the first time en masse in 1990, when 3 million people stood hand-in-hand from Lviv to Kyiv. Shops in western Ukrainian sold out of blue and yellow fabric as people bought the colors to sew Ukrainian flags while momentum built for independence ahead of the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union. Former President Leonid Kuchma declared Jan. 22 a national holiday in 1999.
extend the lease of Sevastopol to the Russian Black Sea Fleet in exchange for cheaper Russian natural gas supplies. The Kyiv City Administration has reported receiving 20 applications for holding rallies in Kyiv on Jan. 22. City officials and Mohyliov are scheduled to meet rally organizers on Jan. 20. Deputy Kyiv Administration chief Oleksandr Puzanov said on Jan. 19 that it’s the job of city officials and the police to ensure law and order and the safety during the rallies. He stressed that Unity Day is a national holiday marking the unification of Ukraine, calling on all participants to behave in a politically correct manner and
respect the rights and views of others. Accompanied by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, Yanukovych is scheduled to lay a wreath at the Taras Shevchenko monument in front of the national university named after the Ukrainian writer who lived from 18141861. Yanukovych and his entourage will then attend a Unity Day holiday concert at the Palace of Ukraine. Kyiv officials have announced temporary outdoor food markets in most of Kyiv’s districts and an all-day concert on Independence Square, starting at 11 a.m., followed by a fireworks display after it gets dark.
Planning protests Just like more than six years ago, during the 2004 Orange Revolution, protest-minded government critics are again crowding into small Kyiv apartments to develop a strategy to challenge what they see as an oppressive and undemocratic regime. The Orange Revolution prevented Viktor Yanukovych from becoming president in a fraudulent election, leading to the election of Viktor Yushchenko on Dec. 26, 2004. Today, demonstration leaders are targeting Yanukovych for his allegedly anti-democratic policies. Longtime pro-democracy campaigner and consultant Dmytro Potekhin (R) on Jan. 16 held a training session in Kyiv for activists on how to avoid provocations from authorities and violence during protests. The activists who attended were from the Committee of Orange Revolution Particpants, known by its Ukrainian acronym KUPR. It is one of several groups that organized last autumn's protests against the government’s plans to sharply increase the tax burden on small- and medium-sized businesses. Activists plan protests in coming months. During his training seminar, Potekhin urged activists to stick to peaceful demonstrations. He said any violence, be it provoked or planned, would be used by authorities to legitimize the arrests of protestors and ban public demonstrations. Interior Minister Anatoliy Mohylov last week warned that oppositionists were planning “bloodshed” during the upcoming Jan. 22 and future protests, charges the organizers deny. (Yaroslav Debelyi)
Two blasts in eastern Ukraine, threats of more
An investigator works at the scene of an explosion near the city’s market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Makiyivka, on Jan. 20. (AP)
DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Two blasts took place simultaneously in the eastern Ukrainian city of Makiyivka early on Jan. 19 and, although no one was hurt, more attacks were threatened for later in the day, local police said. The Interior Ministry said unidentified attackers had left a note at one of the explosion sites demanding money and warning they would set up five more explosions by 3 p.m. on Jan. 21. None materialized, however. “From what has already happened we see that they’re not joking,” Deputy Interior Minister Vasyl Farynnik said on state television. Ukraine’s SBU security service said it did not rule out that the blasts, which took place in President Viktor Yanukovych’s home region of Donetsk, were an act of terrorism. According to local newspaper
Dzerkalo Tyzhnya, the note at the blast site read “We are fed up with this government, we want 4 million euros, there are bombs planted in other buildings in the town”. Police spokesman Ihor Dyomin said the blasts occurred at between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. one near the building of a local coal company and the other at the city’s market. Ukrainian news agencies said the blasts only damaged windows. Last October, three small bombs went off next to government buildings in the Ukrainian city of Kirovograd, hours before a visit by Yanukovych. They did not cause any injuries and the police said they were acts of hooliganism. This month, unidentified attackers used explosives to destroy a monument to Joseph Stalin in the city of Zaporizhya.
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3
January 21, 2011 Advertisement
European Business Association News
,EADERS 4ALK
*O 'PDVT
Leaders Talk: Doing Business in Ukraine in 2011
VAT Exemption for Baby Food
ERE WE OFFER YOU MORE OPINIONS BY %"! MEMBERS IN REGARDS TO BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS OF THE YEAR AHEAD
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TION WILL REMAIN UNSTABLE FOR MANY INSURANCE COM PANIES FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE YEAR 4HIS PERIOD WILL SHOW THE MOST CAPABLE AND EFFICIENT PLAYERS ON THE INSURANCE MARKET
What are your forecasts for doing business in Ukraine in 2011?
!CCORDING TO OUR ESTIMATES THE MARKET GROWTH IN WILL BE GREATER THAN THE INFLATION LEVEL HOWEVER WILL NOT EXCEED 3MALL INSURANCE COMPANIES MIGHT LEAVE THE MARKET 4HE COMPANIES WISHING TO REMAIN ON THE MARKET WILL CONTINUE ENHANCING THEIR SERVICES FACILITATE PAYMENTS PRO CESS AND DEVELOP THEIR OWN NETWORK AS WELL AS THE NETWORK OF THEIR PARTNERS )N THIS REGARD THE PART NERSHIP WITH BANKS CAN BE THE MOST EFFICIENT
6!,%2)9 'ALASYUK #%/ #OWPERWOOD #ONSULTING 'ROUP
)F WE TALK ABOUT THE PROSPECTS FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSURANCE THOSE DIRECTED TOWARD THE PRIVATE o 4HE YEAR OF WILL BE IN DIFFERENT WAYS CUSTOMERS p #-40, MOTOR INSURANCE #!3#/ DIFFICULT FOR VARIOUS BUSINESSES IN 5KRAINE 4HE VOLUNTARY MEDICAL INSURANCE AND PROPERTY INSUR MAIN REASONS FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES WILL BE PRI ANCE p WILL REMAIN A PRIORITY FOR THE INSURERS 4HE MEDICAL INSURANCE CAN BECOME A DESIRED MARILY THE UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH OF THE ISSUED MONETARY MEANSl VOLUME AND THE AMOUNTS OF NICHE FOR MANY INSURERS IN CASE RESPECTIVE LEGISLA EXPONENTIALLY GROWING DEBTS WHICH HAVE BEEN TIVE REFORM WILL BE IMPLEMENTED ACCUMULATED BY ECONOMIC AGENTS FROM NATURAL 4HERE IS NO DOUBT THAT #ORPORATE VOLUNTARY PERSONS TO STATE ENTITIES MEDICAL INSURANCE IS AMONG THE MOST DESIRED FOR 4HE PRIVATE ENTREPRENEURS SMALL AND MEDIUM LEGAL ENTITIES SINCE IT CONTINUES TO SHOW STABLE BUSINESSES AND SMALL BANKS IN 5KRAINE MIGHT GROWTH EXPERIENCE DIFFICULT TIMES DUE TO THE DECLINE IN THE CONSUMER AND BUSINESS DEMAND 4HE WILL BE POSITIVE FOR BUSINESSES RELAT ED TO BUDGET FINANCING REALIZATION OF %URO PLANS AND PROGRAMS AND ALSO FOR THE EXPORTERS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND MINERAL RESOURCES
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4HE 4AX #ODE ADOPTION CREATES ADDITIONAL DEMAND FOR SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE COMPANIES LIKE OURS ACCOUNTING AUDIT EVALUATION TAX AND LEGAL CONSULTING 4HOSE SERVICES WILL BE ESPE CIALLY NEEDED FOR THE COMPANIES WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT
T
he EBA closely monitors the development of clear legislative procedures in regard to the issue of baby food exemption from VAT, according to the new Tax Code.
According to the Article 197.1.1 of the new Tax Code â„– 2755-VI dated 2 December 2010, supply operations of baby food products are exempt from taxation, and a respective list of products is to be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The members of the EBA Food and Dairy Committees, which represent big international and Ukrainian food producers and importers, have addressed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with an appeal highlighting the importance of developing a clear and transparent selection procedure for the list of products subject to VAT exemption. The industries specializing in baby food production and import need clarification on which criteria and evaluation processes are to be applied to baby food products in order to include them in the VAT exemption list. Another issue crucial for the baby food producers is whether the VAT exempted products will be subjects to special price determining rules and regulations, therefore the EBA is willing to provide expertise in developing of the respective norms and procedures. The situation around VAT exemption norms and procedures might be among the first to signal about the necessity of improvement of regulatory legislative field, especially in light of the new Tax Code coming into force. General Manager, Nutricia Ukraine
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CELINE Levointurier
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4
*!#%+ -EJZNER #HAIRMAN OF THE "OARD 0*3# )# m!,&! 342!+(56!..9!n
o )N RESPECT TO THE 5KRAINIAN ECONOMY IN GEN ERAL IN THE GRADUAL RECOVERY IS EXPECTED !LTHOUGH MINOR THE GROWTH WILL BE OBSERVED IN MANY SECTORS ESPECIALLY IN AGRARIAN AND FINANCIAL ONES 4AKING INTO ACCOUNT THE NEW EFFECTIVE 4AX #ODE AND THE PROCESS OF VERTICAL POWER STRUC TURE CONSOLIDATION THERE MIGHT BE CERTAIN REAR RANGEMENTS AS FOR LEADING ROLES IN SOME ECONO MY SECTORS !S FOR THE INSURANCE SERVICES MARKET ITS GREATER CONCENTRATION IN HAND OF THE LEADING COMPANIES IS EXPECTED ) BELIEVE THAT THE SITUA
4HINGS TO KNOW The EBA Personal Assistant School opens the enrolment period We would like to announce that the enrolment period to the EBA Personal Assistant (PA) School 2011 has started! The School participants will learn to perform according to the highest ethical standards, to set and achieve the desired professional goals, to communicate effectively within the wide variety of professional settings. Among our speakers are representatives of the leading training companies and experienced personal assistants, who will share their knowledge and expertise with you. The PA School’s mandatory classes will take place once per month from 17:00 till 19:00. Personal assistants of all levels, working in EBA member companies are welcome to join the School! If you are willing to reach the highest professional standards, eager for continuous career development and thirsty for knowledge and the best professional performance – the EBA PA School is what you need. The application forms downloadable from the EBA web-site should be sent to education@eba.com.ua by 14 February 2011. For more information, please, contact the EBA office. The School classes will start in February 2011.
e definitely need to have clear rules on this matter, and this new law should be transparent for all players of the baby food industry. For the European companies investing in the Ukrainian market like us, it is important to be sure that we are working within a solid legal and regulatory system. It is also important for parents, since transparency is a must to ensure that qualitative baby food products are offered on the market, and Ukrainian parents have a fair choice of such products.
Deputy Market Head of Nestle Ukraine & Moldova
!..! $EREVYANKO
OGETHER WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE %5 )TALY AND THE 5 3 %MBASSIES WE AT THE %"! HAVE CLOSELY MONITORED THE &ERRERO COURT HEAR INGS REGARDING ITS CHOCOLATE PRALINElS TRADEMARK AND CONSIDER THE (IGH #OMMERCIAL #OURT RULING AS AN EXAMPLE OF A MALFUNCTIONING LEGAL SYSTEM IN 5KRAINE 4HE RESULTS OF THE TH )NVESTMENT !TTRACTIVENESS )NDEX PREPARED BY THE %"! ALSO REFLECTS THE OPIN ION OF MANY %"! MEMBER COMPANIES ON THE LITTLE PROGRESS IN REGARDS TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM REFORMATION IN 5KRAINE 4HE BUSINESS COMPANIES STILL EXPERI ENCE MANY DIFFICULTIES IN PROTECTING THEIR RIGHTS INCLUDING THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE 5KRAINIAN COURTS WHICH UNDERMINES THE IMAGE OF OUR COUNTRY AS A RELIABLE AND PREDICTABLE BUSINESS PARTNER 7E HOPE THAT THE 0RESIDENT WILL PAY ATTENTION TO THE REFORMING OF THE JUDICIARY BRANCH SO THAT WE AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY WILL SEE THE REAL CHANGES FOR THE BETTER 4HE RULE OF LAW HAS TO BE ESTABLISHED IN 5KRAINE IF WE WANT TO INCREASE OUR MARKETlS INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS AND NOT SCARE AWAY POTENTIAL INVESTORS THAT MAY OPT FOR ANOTHER mSAFERn INVESTMENT DESTINATION
www.eba.com.ua
ELENA Yeremenko
e in Nestle believe that exemption of baby food from VAT will make these products more available and affordable for consumers in our country, first of all for children. Therefore, it will be a significant contribution that will help to engrain healthy food practices as well as will educate a healthier generation through the use of nutrition products adapted to their age-functional needs. However, we consider that such a measure should be applied to all products, local and imported. Otherwise, it would create the opportunity for abuse and corruption.
2%')/.!,.EWS Kharkiv’s Turboatom is among the three State Enterprises which transferred the greatest amount of dividends to the State Budget in 2010. As reported by the State Property Fund of Ukraine, Turboatom has paid UAH 33.1 million as dividends. The biggest payer is Ukrtelecom, OJSC (UAH 74.38 million, dividends for 2007) and the second one is Ukrnafta, OJSC (UAH 56.67 million). According to the Fund’s data, the state budget has received dividends equalled to UAH 251.78 million in total. Over 100 enterprises transferred dividends on the state corporate rights, among them Kharkivoblenergo, which paid UAH 4.17 million and Khartron – UAH 236.85 thousand.
Customs check point “Gorodok� has been opened. According to the order of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, a new customs check point “Gorodok� was established. The operational area of the unit located in Lviv Oblast, at 659-A Gorodok, includes Mostyska, Gorodok, Yavoriv, Pustomytovsky districts of Lviv Oblast and the city of Lviv. The check point operates within the recently opened and modern-technique equipped customs logistics complex “Zakhidresurs� which provides customs control and clearance for entities engaged in foreign economic activities.
The results of “Donetsk Image 2010� competition are announced. The awarding ceremony of “Donetsk Image 2010� competition was held in Donetsk on the 14th of January, 2011. The ceremony honoured the staff of enterprises, organizations and institutions, who have achieved significant professional results and provided support to city programs and plans, thus making a considerable contribution to the economic growth and infrastructure development of the Donetsk city. During the ceremony the Head of the Donetsk Region State Administration, Anatoliy Blyznyuk, honoured the winners of the competition in the following categories: the Largest exporter, the Best taxpayer, the Best socially significant object, etc. The Grand Prix was awarded to FC Shakhtar and to Donbass Arena.
7E LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR FEEDBACK AT
PGGJDF!FCB DPN VB
4 Opinion
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January 21, 2011
Editorials
Fearmongers On Jan. 14, Ukraine’s top cop made a sensational prediction. Explaining the arrests of dozens of oppositionists ahead of their plans to kick off a new wave of protests on Jan. 22, Interior Minister Anatoliy Mohylov said: “We have information that protests planned on Unity Day envision the shedding of blood. Bloodshed. [Protest leaders] are talking about staging a protest to attract world attention to what is happening in Ukraine. I warn everyone that we are documenting these facts and have the strength and means to hold those responsible to account.” The allegations appear to be baseless. Violence, of course, should be condemned. But it seems that President Viktor Yanukovych's administration is stirring up fears in a bid to legitimize arrests of protesters and scare people away from what have been peaceful demonstrations against administration policies. Mohylov did not name the suspects. But police have recently arrested about a dozen right-wing Tryzub activists, claiming the anti-presidential group had started stockpiling grenades and automatic rifles. Tryzub members have denied this, and claim the arrests are politically motivated by an administration they see as oppressive, undemocratic and corrupt. The record shows, we think, that the vast majority of Yanukovych critics are committed to peaceful protests and peaceful change. The showcase example, of course, is the 2004 Orange Revolution – in which hundreds of thousands overturned a presidential election rigged in Yanukovych’s favor. The existence of extremists or lawbreakers is no justification to curtail freedoms for all Ukrainians. Our fear is that the Yanukovych administration will try to emulate the authoritarian regimes in Russia and Belarus. Yanukovych and his cronies clearly dislike any challenges to their misrule. Mohylov last year expressed his view that all protests should be moved from downtown Kyiv to the city’s outskirts. Smearing opponents is another tactic of oppressive regimes. Political opponents are described as extremists who deserve arrest, prosecution and imprisonment. We urge Yanukovych to pull back and stop the ongoing persecutions, the politicization of law enforcement and the disparagement of people just for simply opposing him. Recent events in Tunisia, where mass uprisings unexpectedly overthrew a dictatorial and corrupt president, show what can happen when people are repressed for too long and too harshly. Ukrainians are merely trying to exercise their democratic rights of peaceful dissent. Let them.
“OK, OK. Hang on until my shift is over!”
“Set your feelings free!”
“Free hugs”
Dig deeper, CNN It’s great to see CNN, one of the world’s top news channels, dedicating nearly a week’s worth of special coverage to Ukraine through its i-List series, which aired Jan. 17-21. But it’s been disappointing to see CNN’s PR-ish and superficial coverage, showing a Ukraine hardly recognizable to its citizens. Ukraine deserves more attention than it gets from mainstream television media. The coverage, coming as the U.S. and European Union express growing concerns about the deterioration of democracy under President Viktor Yanukovych, could have been illuminating. But we didn’t see insightful journalism, at least by the time this edition of the Kyiv Post went to press on Jan. 20. One report featured Deputy Prime Minister Borys Kolesnikov hyping up Ukraine’s promising agriculture sector. There was no mention of unjustified grain export quotas and non-transparent barriers that have caused huge losses for foreign investors. Another episode showed a happy and smiling Donetsk police officer learning English in preparation for the Euro 2012 soccer championship. It didn’t mention recent crackdowns on the political opposition, let alone the longstanding problems with police brutality, corruption and racial profiling. A CNN spokesperson said an upcoming episode will feature a Yanukovych interview, with him saying his government wants “political and economic stability… and sees the balance between East and West differently than his pro-Western predecessor [Viktor Yushchenko].” CNN said the i-List series on Ukraine is sponsored by the Ukraine Economic Reform Fund. The fund was not immediately able to respond to Kyiv Post inquries, but claims on its website to be backed by Ukrainian business. It describes its mission as consulting government and promoting a positive image of Ukraine. On its website, the fund has press release-style “news reports,” such as “Ukraine’s Leadership Launches Vital Reforms.” Asked by the Kyiv Post about the program's sponsors, i-List anchor Jim Clancy said: "I assumed they were government." He suggested that Ukraine needs promotion and described his program as "cultural journalism" that doesn't go deep into politics. CNN officials stressed that editorial independence was preserved. Whatever the case, the i-List series on Ukraine comes off as too soft on Yanukovych. It's a shame they are leaving before the Jan. 22 protest.
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NEWS ITEM: An activist of the women’s movement Femen was jailed for a day on Jan. 15, apparently for attempting to give hugs to passersby in advance of world Free Hugs Day on Jan. 21. The police said they arrested Inna Shevchenko because her skirt was too short and the group of people around her were “too numerous.” Although Shevchenko did not bare her breasts, Femen’s trademark topless protests have made world news, especially after the young women started to increasingly be harassed by police and security services. The group started more than two years ago. Its members go topless to call attention to such issues as sex tourism, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s disdainful remarks about Ukraine and the poor performance of municipal services. (Drawing by Anatoliy Petrovich Vasilenko)
Lawmakers should stop punching if they want to win respect L EIGH TURNER
In what world ranking of democracy does Ukraine score three of the top eight places? As part of its end-year summary of the events of 2010, the respected British newspaper The Guardian recently published a picture gallery entitled “The Year in Parliamentary Punch-Ups.” The piece features pictures from Italy, Turkey, Nigeria, Taiwan, Argentina and Ukraine. Ukraine appears three times as often as any other country. Ukraine has an ugly tradition of physical violence in its parliament, the 450-member Verkhovna Rada. In my blog “A bad day for Ukraine” in September 2009, I noted the unfortunate habit practiced by members of parliament in both groups of blocking the rostrum to prevent the Rada from working. It was harder, I said, for Ukraine’s friends to make the case that this excellent country was moving toward the European Union as a leader in democracy in the region when a bunch of burly MPs was blockading the rostrum or punching their opponents.
One of the most widespread international images of Ukraine in 2008 was a video of MPs fighting in the Rada, which appeared on international media channels alongside clips of tomato-throwing festivals in Spain and ugly dog competitions in California. 2010 was no better. I’ve raised with leading figures of both main parties the damage such actions do Ukraine’s international image and European credentials. They tend to respond with a “what can one do?” roll of the eyes, or with references to Ukraine’s young democracy. These arguments are not convincing. The leaders of Ukraine’s political parties are 100 percent capable of disciplining MPs who misbehave in the Rada; or of introducing sanctions, as in other parliaments, which will lead to MPs who do not obey the rules losing parliamentary privileges. If they can ensure that in 2011 none of their MPs resort to blocking the rostrum or physical violence in the Rada, that will be a step forward for Ukrainian democracy. If such behavior continues, we will have to assume that Ukraine’s leaders don’t really care about whether the Rada works properly – or how Ukraine’s democracy is perceived internationally. Leigh Turner has been the British ambassador to Ukraine since June 2008. You can read all his blog entries at blogs. fco.gov.uk/roller/turnerenglish (in English) or blogs.fco.gov.uk/ roller/turner (Ukrainian).
Feel strongly about an issue? Agree or disagree with editorial positions in this newspaper? The Kyiv Post welcomes letters to the editors and opinion pieces, usually 800 to 1,000 words in length. Please e-mail all correspondence to Brian Bonner, chief editor, at bonner@kyivpost.com or letters@kyivpost.com. All correspondence must include an e-mail address and contact phone number for verification.
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January 21, 2011
Will Yanukovych oust nation’s top oligarchs?
An elderly woman begs for money as pedestrians pass by in central Kyiv on Jan. 13. A sign on her chest says: “Help for treatment of my eyes.” This scene is not unusual in Ukrainian cities, where the economy remains poor for most of the nation’s 46 million citizens. (AP)
appoint as yet. The two obvious front-runners are Boiko and Klyuev, but either’s appointment would mean that one of the two leading camps had won over the other, and that would make Yanukovych a hostage of the winning camp, which would not suit him. Therefore, I think that both these two strong men are excluded. Yanukovych could not care less about democracy and freedom, while he is greatly concerned about his reputation in the West. So far, he has arrested at least 10 of Tymoshenko’s top officials, and one former minister after another is being arrested or coming under investigation. Although corruption probably could be alleged, the actual arrest reasons are predominantly political. Yanukovych follows the example of Putin and Lukashenko, but faster and more successfully. Yanukovych does not care about the details in economic policy. He focuses on the main features: reasonable macroeconomic stability and decent economic growth. He is likely to target an economic growth of 5 percent a year. He desires to streamline and simplify state administration and regulation, while he is not prone to pursue any anti-corruption program. He stands out as a representative of a handful of big businessmen from eastern Ukraine. A number of big enterprises in coal, electricity, telecommunications and chemical industry are likely to be privatized in the next few years, but they are all likely to be sold at favorable prices to businessmen close to Yanukovych. Yanukovych appears adamant that the IMF standby loan agreement must be followed to the letter, if not to the spirit. The agreement was concluded in July and it is supposed to last for two and a half years. It gives Ukraine a credit of $15 billion. So far, Ukraine has received two tranches, and
the government is likely to continue to do what the IMF requires to give Ukraine $1.5 billion a quarter. The IMF controls the budget deficit very firmly, and checks that the exchange rate is reasonable for the current account balance, while inflation lingers at 10 percent a year and its reduction does not appear to be a priority. The tax code was adopted, and Yanukovych incorporated almost all the protesters’ demands after the first version was adopted and Yanukovych then vetoed it. This appears a political knockout for the opposition. The tax system is hardly improving or deteriorating because of these changes, revealing no real interest in systemic improvement. Apart from the IMF financial stabilization program, Ukraine’s only big international project is to negotiate a substantial deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union, which is likely to be completed within a year or so. Yanukovych’s problem, however, is to comprehend European values. He has refuted NATO membership. Russia offers no alternative in either regard, because the Russia-sponsored customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan is not really operative. Moreover, Russia is trying to reduce its extensive transit of oil and gas through Ukraine by all means. Moreover, given the poor relationship between Yanukovych and Putin, Ukraine appears to tilt to Europe after all. The biggest question is whether Yanukovych will continue to balance the big Ukrainian businessmen close to him who currently dominate his government or whether he will take them out. My mind is open. Anders Aslund is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C.
Nation must break vicious cycle TA R A S K U Z I O
In the last 100 years, Ukraine has experienced three cycles of national re-birth and democratization followed on each occasion by conservative Russophile counter revolution. Ukrainians were deluded into thinking that the cycle had run its course in 1991 when the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) was banned as the party had by then shrunk to a small
VOX populili WITH NATALIYA SOLOVONYUK
Was the Czech Republic right in granting political asylum to ex-Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn on Jan. 13? Ludmyla Shavolovych, maternity leave “I believe that if a person is really guilty, then he or she must answer for their actions. In the case of Danylyshyn and other members of the opposition, I cannot speak about any political persecution in our country because ordinary people cannot know what they have really done.”
AN D E R S A S L U N D
The economic situation in Ukraine is quite easy to assess. President Viktor Yanukovych is fully in charge, and he is quickly consolidating power. So far he is balancing between two oligarchic groups – the so-called RosUkrEnergo group and the Donetsk clan. The big question is whether he will continue to do so, or oust the oligarchs to build his own power hierarchy. Yanukovych has been surprisingly keen on fulfilling the requests of the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine’s biggest lender. But the president complies with the letter of the agreements, rather than with the spirit. Economic growth is likely to stay around a respectable, but not very impressive, 5 percent a year. Yanukovych’s most delicate international task is to negotiate the association agreement with the European Union. His personal relationship with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is terrible, and Putin seems determined to steer both gas and oil transit away from Yanukovych’s Ukraine. Yanukovych’s political position is very strong and no domestic threat to him is apparent at present. The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 2012. Until then, it is difficult to discern any challenge to Yanukovych. His main goal is, obviously, his personal political power. The Ukrainian government has just been changed and slimmed down. In terms of structure, this makes much more sense. The balance between the RosUkrEnergo camp (billionaire co-owner Dmytro Firtash, Energy Minister Yuri Boiko, presidential chief of staff Serhiy Lyovochkin and Security Service of Ukraine chief Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy) and the Donetsk group (wealthy and influential businessmen Rinat Akhmetov, Andriy Kliuev and Boris Kolesnikov) appears to be maintained, while Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, socialist and Communist Party cronies are gone. With Yanukovych supremely in charge, one question is whether he will remove Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. My suspicion is that he will do so, because Yanukovych has appointed Sergei Arbuzov as chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine and two other young loyalists as heads of the State Tax Administration and the tax police. All these three appointments undermine Azarov, and probably also the recent change of health minister. Now Azarov only has the weak minister of finance left. I would not be the least surprised to see both go soon. Yanukovych undermined Azarov by vetoing the tax code and changing it substantially. Azarov has repeatedly objected to raising the retirement age, which Yanukovych supports publicly. My guess, thus, is that Azarov will leave within the next few months. If Azarov would be ousted, I think that Deputy Prime Minister Sergiy Tigipko is likely to take his place, not because he is strong but because he is weak. Yanukovych wants a prime minister who is a moderator rather than a force in his own right, and he does not have any person purely of his own to
Opinion 5
ÆUkraine repeatedly swings between Russophile, nationalistic re-birth policies in last century coterie of “imperial communists” who supported the August 1991 putsch in Moscow. But they were sadly mistaken. Although only 5 percent of its Soviet era 3.5 million members re-joined the re-legalised KPU after 1993, a more serious threat emerged eight years later in the form of the Party of Regions. The KPU and
Party of Regions have both inherited the Russophile, conservative ‘imperial communist’ ideological wing of the Soviet KPU. As we approach the anniversary of two decades of Ukrainian independence, it is the Party of Regions that is Ukraine’s most disciplined, best financed and most organized political force in Ukraine. Æ15
Dmitry Borotvyn, Lawyer “By and large Danylyshyn fled from justice, but it also can be understood. Expecting that courts will be fair in our country is the height of naivete. Judges want to stay in power. This is very similar to what is now happening in Russia. Of course, I believe that by giving shelter to Danylyshyn, the Czech Republic recognized the fact of political persecution in Ukraine.” Tatiana Lytvynova, student “I think that if Danylyshyn had a clear conscience, he would not run anywhere to ask for political asylum. In Ukraine there is no political repression because we have democracy.” Ludmila Lysovenko, occupational safety engineers “I believe that Danylyshyn should be put in jail and let him answer for his actions. The Czech Republic should not have to give him asylum. He is on trial. It’s only our business whether to put someone in jail.” Ruslan Bolshytsky, lawyer “I think that the Czech Republic has the right to do so. Perhaps Danylyshyn has connections there or he has good lawyers. But, in my opinion, this turn of events with political asylum is not a sign of political persecution.”
6 Business
www.kyivpost.com
January 21, 2011
Wizz Air vice president: Getting access to routes ‘biggest issue’ BY V L A D L AV R OV LAVROV@KYIVPOST.COM
In 2008, Wizz Air Ukraine, daughter company of the Hungarian low-cost carrier, entered Ukraine with plans to expand and conquer the market. Wizz Air started in July 2008 with four local flights, connecting Kyiv, Lviv, Simferopol and Odessa and planned to start flying to Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv. Its rates started at around $15, which seemed like a breakthrough for the Ukrainian aviation market, where internal flights usually sell starting at $100 for one-way tickets. The company also planned to launch cheap international flights,
including service to the hugely popular European destinations of London and Milan. Wizz Air was also the first Ukrainian airline in more than a decade to purchase new aircraft – a 180-seat Airbus A320. Its officials announced that they would keep buying. According to the initial plan, by 2012 the airline’s projected fleet would consist of 14 Airbuses, which would require more than $1 billion investment. However, as Wizz Air started flying, its strategy for Ukraine underwent radical change. First, the company canceled all of its local flights except to Simferopol in Crimea, a popular holiday destination. Instead, Wizz Air concentrated on flying internation-
ÆOn the move ALESSIO BONFANTI has
Æ Low-cost carrier ies into stiff headwinds in trying to compete with Ukrainian rivals ally and, as of early 2011, its timetable consisted of more than 11 international destinations – from Norway’s Oslo to Turkey’s Antalia. Wizz Air’s grand plans to increase its fleet were also put on hold. Currently, the airline has only two aircraft.
Send On the Move news to otm@kyivpost.com or contact Oksana Faryna at 234-6500. It should include a photograph of the individual who has recently been appointed to a new position, a description of their duties and responsibilities, prior experience as well as education. Note: The Kyiv Post does not charge for publishing these notices or any news material.
IAN ELLIOTT
been appointed plant manager of a washing machine manufacturer based in IvanoFrankivsk that belongs to Electrolux, a leading global home and professional appliances manufacturer. He will be responsible for ensuring the quality and stability of the production processes and products, maintaining the compliance of the factory processes with the company’s global standards, continuing to invest in factory personnel development, expanding the factory capacity to the target levels, and ensuring the timely and efficient supply of washing machines to the export markets in Russia and Eastern Europe. Bonfanti joined Electrolux in 2002 after receiving a Master of Business Administration from CEU Business School in Budapest, a Master of Science from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a bachelor’s from Politecnico di Milano in Milan. He has occupied a range of positions at the company, most recently as manufacturing engineering manager at a refrigerator factory in Hungary.
has been appointed director of retail solutions for Central and Eastern Europe at Colliers International, a global commercial real estate firm. He will be responsible for advising on the commercial design and analysis of retail projects, retail due diligence for financing and investment, consulting on investment performance management and asset and property management. Elliott has 20 years of experience working with major property companies, developers and investors in Southern Europe, with Hillier Parker, now known as CB Richard Ellis, and Central and Eastern Europe with Jones Lang LaSalle. He graduated from the U.K.’s South Bank University in London with a degree in estate management. He is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
MARIANA MARCHUK has
VITALIY LISOVENKO has
been appointed counsel at the Kyiv office of Baker & McKenzie, a leading international law firm. She will advise Ukrainian and foreign clients, including multinationals, on labor and migration law, employee compensation, executive transfers, data protection, and employee privacy. Marchuk graduated from the Law Department of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University and obtained a Master of Law degree from the Marshall-Wythe Law School of the College of William and Mary in the U.S. Prior to joining the Kyiv office of Baker & McKenzie in 1997 as an associate, Mariana worked as a legal adviser for professional services firm Price Waterhouse. Prior to rejoining the Kyiv office in 2004, she practiced in Moscow for five years as an associate with White & Case law firm and with the Moscow office of Baker & McKenzie.
been appointed a member of the management board and head of corporate and investment business at Alfa-Bank Ukraine. Before joining Alfa-Bank Ukraine, Lisovenko held the post of innovation programs manager and management board member at Ukreximbank, the state-owned export bank. Altogether Lisovenko has four years of experience in the banking sector. Lisovenko has also worked at Ukraine’s Finance Ministry, where he was in charge of public debt affairs and government cooperation with global financial institutions. In 2005-2006, Lisovenko held the position of deputy minister of finance. Lisovenko has also worked as vice-president of Chornomorskiy Trade and Development bank in Greece. Lisovenko graduated from Kyiv State Economic University with a degree in economics. He also obtained a master of business administration degree from Kennedy-Western University in the U.S.
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This spring is likely to start a new era in the history of Wizz Air Ukraine, as the airline announced moving from Ukraine’s main airport Boryspil to Zhuliany, a much smaller secondary airport within Kyiv limits, primarily designed for local flights
and servicing private jets. Starting on March 27, Wizz Air will become the first international airline to use Zhuliany. This move is likely to boost the airport’s modernization, as its administration already announced tenders for improving Zhuliany’s passenger terminal and its engineering networks. Wizz Air officials say that saving on airport expenses will allow the company to achieve better efficiency, add new destinations to its timetable and grow in size. They wouldn’t name the potential destinations, however, citing the numerous obstacles they face in Ukraine. The Kyiv Post talked to John Stephenson, Wizz Air vice presi- Æ7
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Wizz Air wants to compete more with Aerosvit and Ukraine International Airlines Æ6 dent, about the company’s risks and expectations involved in the move to Zhuliany, the destinations it would like to add to its timetable, and the obstacles the airline is facing. KP: As I understand, you planned to change airports for quite a while. Why did it take so long and what are the risks that Wizz Air Ukraine will be facing? JS: When we first met with the airport about a year ago, the level of navigation equipment in Zhuliany was not suitable for our operations. So, our first prerequisite was for Zhuliany to install the navigation equipment that would allow take off and landing day and night, so that we will have a 24-hour operation. Once they completed the upgrade and certified the new runway, we started to plan the move. Another prerequisite that we had was a passenger terminal with at least three gates of adequate size. So there are now three brand new gates – one domestic and two international. As for the risks, there are always risks connected to operating out of a secondary airport, versus a primary one. For example, while in thick fog, Boryspil would be able to accept aircraft to land, while an airport like Zhuliany would ask it to divert. KP: What are the cost efficiencies of moving to Zhuliany for Wizz Air? JS: We expect to achieve a 10 percent reduction of airport charges as immediate savings. However, as we grow and our passenger traffic increases, we should reach the 20-25 percent reduction of airport charges. Besides, we would be able to achieve extra efficiency by lowering down the turn time for our aircraft from current 50 minutes to 30 minutes, as we have in most of the other airports. Combined with shorter taxi time, it will basically give us an additional hour of flying per day free of charge. KP: Perhaps this would allow you to fly more internally? Back in 2008, Wizz Air Ukraine planned to develop at least five local destinations and competing passengers using trains and buses seemed to be your primary target. Why hasn’t this strategy worked out? JS: When you put a 180-seat Airbus on a domestic route on to a market, which is not large enough, this can have a very significant impact on this market, in terms of the fares that you can achieve, and impact it has on competing airlines. Therefore, we found that A320 was a bit too large for the domestic market. As the market grows, we will look at this issue again. KP: What about the Kyiv-Lviv flight, which was very popular, and yet you decided to discontinue it? JS: We were able to get 60-70 percent load factors on this flight, but the fare we had to use to achieve that was too low both for us and for the competition. We were just destroying the market. When you bring too many seats to a route like Kyiv-Lviv, it cre-
Business 7
January 21, 2011
John Stephenson
ates a price fall, which is not good for the market. As the domestic market comes out of recession and grows, at some point it will get large enough for A320 to operate on it. At the moment, it’s much better suited for aircrafts like Embraer that our competitors [Dniprovia and Aerosvit, part of the aviation alliance owned by Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky] operate. KP: Are you saying that your competitors were against you operating the Kyiv-Lviv route? JS: No, I am saying that we were just competing, and we would do the same if they came to our home market. And we brought so many seats to this route daily that we ended up controlling 30-35 percent of the market share, and it had a big impact on everyone’s ability to make money on it. KP: How has the fact that the Ukrainian aviation market is heavily monopolized by one player, an aviation alliance among Aerosvit, Dniproavia, Donbassaero, and, reportedly, Windrose, linked to Ukraine’s second richest person, Ihor Kolomoysky, affected your work in Ukraine? JS: I would say that getting access to routes is our biggest issue in Ukraine. The routes that are operated by other carriers and because of the bilateral agreements [governing the number of flights between countries], new carriers cannot come on to them. I wouldn’t say it’s related to the monopoly situation when four out of five carriers are run by one group. I don’t believe that monopolization is necessarily the driver of our challenges in Ukraine; it is rather the lack of market openness. If there was greater openness, we could compete with that monopoly carrier more effectively. At the moment, we do not have the chance to do that. As a result, we have to operate destinations that no one else is operating – like Katowice (Poland), Trevizo (Italy), and Luton (U.K.) – thus creating an entirely new market, as opposed to stealing the market from other carriers. But I would like to compete with Aerosvit and Ukraine International Airlines more, if route access was available. Kyiv Post staff writer Vlad Lavrov can be reached at lavrov@kyivpost.com
Business Sense
Editor’s Note: Business Sense is a feature in which experts explain Ukraine’s place in the world economy and provide insight into doing business in the country. To contribute, contact chief editor Brian Bonner at bonner@kyivpost.com
WITH SLAVA VLASOV
Implications of new tax code still unknown Ukraine’s new tax code entered into force on Jan. 1. Over the first two weeks of the year, the government issued a number of regulations on the implementation of this document. In addition, the Finance Ministry and State Tax Administration have expressed a number of opinions via the Internet on how the new tax rules should be interpreted. These two authorities have recently announced that they have issued their interpretations of the tax code – running to three volumes – but they remain unpublished. The code is very clear on the fact that its interpretations by authorities, unless they are specifically required by the code or are issued in the form of an individual tax ruling to a particular
taxpayer, are not binding to businesses. But they are nevertheless to be considered strong guidance in the determination of any uncertainties. There is no doubt that the tax code will have a significant impact on Ukrainian businesses. However, because of the above considerations, recent activities of the authorities do not add clarity on how the provisions of the code should apply. It will take two or three reporting periods to fully understand the implications of the code, good and bad. At the moment, there are five areas most businesses should be looking at to make sure their tax affairs are efficient and in compliance with the new code.
In case you missed them, read the last five Business Sense columns by experts online at kyivpost.com
Until the tax code entered into force, businesses may have been comfortable with the competence of their tax staff, provided no significant tax assessments were issued to them. Now is the time for the senior management of businesses to ask themselves whether or not their existing tax function suits the current needs of their organizations. It’s important to consider whether staff of all levels are sufficiently skilled to understand the new tax rules and new forms of tax returns, define issues and potential implications for businesses and make appropriate recommendations to senior management. Accounting software currently in use may need updating to support the changes in the tax law. Based on initial feedback from businesses, most of the software currently used in Ukraine requires adjustment as a result of the new value-added tax reporting formats.
Jan. 14 with Jorge Zukoski, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine: “Grain export quota allocation lacks transparency, fairness” Dec. 3 with Sergey Kuun, oil and fuel market expert at A-95 Consulting Group: “Import schemes in energy market cost state dearly”
Nov. 12 with Michael Lee, independent agricultural specialist: “Nation should not be in rush to lift moratorium on sale of farmland” Oct. 22 with Dario Marchetti, chief executive officer of Danone Ukraine: “Helping milk-producing ‘babushkas’ organize”
Oct. 15 with Nataliya Mykolska, senior associate at Kyiv-based law firm Vasil Kisil and Partners: “Businesses should be more proactive to benefit from WTO”
Staff readiness
Using the grace period The business community will enjoy a grace period of six months after the introduction of the code. A nominal penalty of Hr 1 will apply to tax violations committed during this period. In addition, for corporate profits tax, no penalties will apply during the second and third quarters of 2011. In 2011 the tax authorities are likely to audit all previously unaudited periods. Businesses are likely to benefit from a review of their past unaudited years to determine whether their tax position in these periods was sound. If specific practices were overly aggressive, it is recommended to adjust the returns for these periods prior to an official audit and pay the respective taxes and relatively minor self-assessment penalties. During the grace period, businesses may consider a more aggressive strategy, particularly in situations where the new tax rules are ambiguous. Any resulting future assessments will be subject to the nominal penalties mentioned above along with potentially late interest penalties.
Planning opportunities The tax code offers a number of tax-planning opportunities and tax incentives that depend on particular industries and activities, though no general tax incen-
Æ Recent activities of authorities do not add clarity tives are offered to foreign investments. Several areas that were unclear in the previously-existing tax legislation or that had been constantly challenged by the tax authorities, now represent tax-planning opportunities for many transparent international businesses. These include the restructuring headquarters charges, including secondment of foreign personnel to Ukraine; the structuring of an international presence in Ukraine in accordance with new permanent establishment rules; and preparation for the enactment of new transfer pricing rules in 2013. There are many comments from the business community on substantial limitations of tax deductions for businesses, including restrictions on royalties and a number of services paid by Ukrainian businesses to foreign entities. Still, a proper transparent structuring of such fees may provide for their tax deductibility in Ukraine.
Managing profits The profits tax chapter of the tax code – which is one of the most hotly debated – will enter into force on April 1. This means that businesses will have two reporting periods for profits tax in 2011: the first quarter and the second to fourth quarters. If businesses incur losses in the first quarter, these losses can be carried forward indefinitely. However, for businesses that are overly profitable in this quarter, such as seasonal businesses, where sales are predominately in the first quarter of the year, this profit cannot be reduced by the costs of subsequent periods in 2011. Therefore, profit-making businesses are advised to carefully manage the level of their revenues and costs in the first quarter, including the negotiation of invoicing and payment terms with their suppliers and customers.
Transitional deal Serious consideration will need to be given to the specific tax accounting treatment of expenses from April 1. Establishing a fixed-asset register to allow compliance with the new tax depreciation rules could be very time consuming for example. Furthermore, the determination of an appropriate inventory valuation methodology is likely to be another major area of focus. Slava Vlasov is a partner with the tax and legal department at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Ukraine. He can be reached at slava.vlasov@ua.pwc. com.
8 Business
www.kyivpost.com
January 21, 2011
Azarov wants firing of top managers for state oil firm
Italy's Ferraro lost trademark protection in Ukraine for its popular Raffaello chocolate and other products, opening the way for Landrin, a Russian former importer of Ferraro products, to sell similar products.
Italy’s Ferrero calls loss in chocolate trademark case a blow to investors Reuters and Kyiv Post Staff – Italian chocolate maker Ferrero has lost a long-running trademark battle over its top-selling praline in Ukraine in a case that was closely watched for its implications for foreign investments in the country. The 6 billion euro confectionery group said on Jan. 19 a top Ukraine court had upheld a previous ruling cancelling the trademark of its spherical Raffaello chocolate in the country. The court decision opens the way for the marketing of a rival praline – Landrin Waferatto – launched in the country by a former Russian importer of Ferrero products Landrin also manufactures chocolate products which look similar to other Ferrero products, such as Kinder Surprise and Ferrero Rosher. “This all points to the fact that there
Arms exports generate nearly $1 billion for state Kyiv Post Staff – Ukraine exported almost one-fifth more arms in 2010 than in the previous year, creating revenues of almost $1 billion. Ukrspetsexport, the state arms exporter, reported revenues of $956.7 million for 2010, a 19.66 percent rise on 2009, according to a source at the company quoted by Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Forty-nine percent of exports went to Asia, 23 percent to Commonwealth of Independent State countries, 18 percent to Africa, 5 percent to America and 5 percent to Europe. The company hopes to increase exports by a further 10 percent in 2011.
are no active mechanisms for defending intellectual property in Ukraine,” said Yelena Limakova, a senior lawyer for Ferrero-Ukraine. “Today’s negative outcome of the case is only going to encourage third parties to take advantage of the hardearned reputation and know-how of foreign investors in Ukraine,” Ferrero said in a statement. Landrin couldn’t be reached for comment. The maker of Nutella chocolate spread and Kinder chocolate eggs has won hundreds of counterfeit lawsuits, including some in neighboring Russia which is the No. 1 market for Ferrero’s chocolate truffles. The hearing on Jan. 19 was attended by representatives from the embassies of the United States, Italy and the European Union, who have closely
monitored the case. “The case is very important for foreign investors because the court system in Ukraine is one of the key challenges for the business community in the country,” Anna Derevyanko, executive director of the European Business Association (EBA), which represents more than 750 businesses in Ukraine, told Reuters. “Unless there is an opportunity to have a rule of law (in Ukraine) there will be no positive signal for the business community,” she said. Ferrero said it will take all measures necessary to protect its business and investments in the ex-Soviet republic. “(Ferrero) will not stop taking appropriate actions to defend its efforts and growing investments in the country,” Arturo Cardelus, Ferrero chief executive for CIS countries, said in the statement.
Reuters and Kyiv Post Staff – Prime Minister Mykola Azarov on Jan. 19 urged his energy minister to fire the top managers of Ukraine’s biggest oil producing company, Ukrnafta, which has sharply reduced crude output. The state owns 50 percent plus one share in the company. “It is necessary to replace inefficient managers ... in particular the management of Ukrnafta,” Azarov told a government meeting, broadcast on television. Ukrnafta cut oil output by 12 percent to 2.49 million metric tons in 2010 from the level in 2009. Officials from the energy ministry have said Ukrnafta’s annual crude output has fallen by about 1 million tons during the past few years. Ukraine processed 10.5 million tons of crude in 2010, while imported oil amounted to 8.07 million tons, according to government data. Ukraine is a net importer of oil and gas, which it purchases mostly from Russia. Energy Ministry officials said the reshuffling of Ukrnafta management is related to government plans to create a vertically-integrated oil company by merging Ukrnafta and refining company Ukrtatnafta. But it appeared unclear if Ukraine’s so-called Privat business group, which had controlled management at Ukrnafta for many years, had mutually agreed to the merger as well as giving up management control over Ukrnafta, or was pressured into it. State-owned energy company
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov
Billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky
Naftogaz Ukrainy owns a controlling stake in Ukrnafta. But analysts said management of the company had long been under control of Privat. Led by billionaires Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolubov, the group owns about 42 percent of Ukrnafta’s shares.
TNK-BP says it will start search this year for shale gas in Donetsk Oblast Reuters – Russia’s third largest oil producer, British and Russian owned TNK-BP, plans to start a shale gas exploration project in Ukraine in the first half of this year, the company’s Ukrainian-based office said on Jan 17. In October, TNK-BP and the Ukrainian government signed a memorandum saying the firm would explore shale gas in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. “We expect that the first stage of the project – surveying and test drilling – will be launched this year,” a TNK-BP spokesman said.
One of TNK-BP’s billionaire shareholders, German Khan, told Reuters last year the company planned to plough between $1 billion and $2 billion into the project in the next 25 years. He also said that TNK-BP was hoping to produce some 5 billion cubic meters of shale gas – natural gas trapped in layered rock, rather than porous reservoirs – in five to seven years. In November, TNK-BP said it would invest $3.8 billion in its gas business over the next three years as it aimed to more than double production to 30
billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2020. Ukraine, largely dependent of imports of Russian gas, has said it wants to increase domestic gas production and to find other directions of imports. Ukraine also plans to open its first liquefied natural gas terminal in the Black Sea region in 2015, with a capacity of 5 billion cubic meters. Ukraine imports about 60 percent of its domestic gas needs from Russia and has repeatedly said the gas price is too high for Ukrainian goods to compete on world markets.
Kyiv-born German Khan is a minority shareholder and top manager of TNK-BP.
Japan willing to buy more carbon permits, says checks show money accounted for
The Kolchuga (above), a mobile radar system that is designed to detect stealth aircraft, is one of Ukraine’s most advanced and notorious arms exports. In 2002, Ukraine’s Kolchuga system made international headlines after the United States accused Ukraine of selling the technology to Iraq in violation of United Nations sanctions. U.S. officials feared the system could be used by Iraq to locate and destroy its stealth aircraft during military strikes. (UNIAN)
Reuters – Japan has no objection to buying more carbon emissions rights from Ukraine as its checks have shown that money Tokyo previously paid for permits has been properly accounted for, a government official said on Jan. 13. Ukraine’s current government has accused the former prime minister of misusing the funds. “We sent people to Ukraine twice last year and in November confirmed the full amount of money was secured at the account. So, we don’t see any problem,” the official said. Developed nations which are comfortably below greenhouse gas targets under the Kyoto Protocol can sell excess emission rights to other countries, called Assigned Amount Units (AAUs). The AAU deal for 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent was made in 2009 with Ukraine’s former government headed by Yulia Tymoshenko. The payments were to be used for emissions cuts and other
In this photo released by Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, left, speaks with Emperor Akihito, second from right, at the start of a luncheon at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 19. (AP)
environment projects. Ukraine’s government has accused Tymoshenko of misusing 380 million euros ($499 million) from the sale of AAUs, under a broader criminal inves-
tigation into the affairs of her government. Tymoshenko denies charges of misusing state funds raised by selling carbon emission permits. Ukraine’s President Viktor
Yanukovych visited Japan last week. His agenda included talks about selling more AAUs and attracting Japanese investment into Ukraine. Japan’s government and companies have been the biggest buyers of Kyoto carbon rights outside Europe, aiming to help the world’s fifth-biggest emitter meet its obligations to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1.19 billion metric tons on average over Kyoto’s 20082012 period, down 6 percent from 1990 levels. A carbon trader in Tokyo said hardly any Japanese companies were interested in buying AAUs from Ukraine after the questions raised by the allegations of misuse. “A negative image has attached to Ukraine’s AAUs. I doubt there is ample demand to balance off the reputation risk,” the trader said, adding that most of the major Kyoto carbon credit buyers, like power companies, have already bought as many credits as they needed for the 2008-2012 period.
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News 9
January 21, 2011
Wikileaks: Diplomats feared Kremlin might try to stir up trouble in Crimea BY K Y I V P O S T S TA FF
United States and European Union diplomats and policymakers expressed fears during an October 2008 discussion that Russia could be plotting subversion in Crimea, according to a leaked U.S. State Department cable made public on Jan. 13 by WikiLeaks. The discussion took place at a meeting in the Lithuania capital, Vilnius, of policy directors and other senior officials from the U.S., the EU and Nordic and Baltic countries, according to the cable sent by then-Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried. The officials raised concerns that Moscow could be plotting to fuel separatist sentiment on the Ukrainian peninsula as it did in George’s breakaway territories. The discussions followed the brief Russia-Georgia war in August 2008, in which Moscow militarily took control of two separatist territories in Georgia – Abkhazia and South Ossetia – which later unilaterally declared themselves
independent states. According to the leaked cable, American officials expressed concern that Ukraine – which along with Georgia stood out as rare pro-western allies in a region that Russia considers its sphere of influence – could be targeted next. One U.S. official “expressed concern about possible Russian subversion in Crimea, adding that there is a need for more social programs and investment there and the Russians should not be allowed to operate freely.” A European official said “it would not be a bad idea to set up EU information offices to get visitors into the area.” A Lithuanian official also urged for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to speed up approval of offering Ukraine a membership action plan. In a session where other countries including Belarus were discussed, the officials also took note of continued “political turmoil” rooted in rivalries between Ukraine’s political leaders, concluding that it had undermined “effective governance.”
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrives for a meeting with Russian and Ukrainian motorbikers at their camp near Sevastopol in Ukraine’s Crimea on July 24. (AFP)
Inna Shevchenko (R) of the Ukrainian women's rights group Femen takes part in a Jan. 17 demonstration in front of a Kyiv court to protest her arrest. The poster reads: “Hands off, Femen.” Opposition politicians and pro-democracy advocates accuse President Viktor Yanukovych of trampling on the constitution to monopolize power and persecute political opponents. (AP)
Fully clothed Femen in trouble for ‘free hugs’ BY PETER BY RNE BYRNE@KYIVPOST.COM
Femen activists chalked up a rare legal victory on Jan. 17 after a Kyiv court threw out charges against Inna Shevchenko for holding an illegal demonstration. Shevchenko was detained by police on Jan. 15 for offering “free hugs” with her colleagues on the capital’s main thoroughfare of Khreshchatyk in celebration of International Hug Day. Police officers detained Shevchenko after asking members of the group why so many young girls wearing short skirts were walking around. “They took me in after one of the policemen called asking for instructions,” Shevchenko said, adding that she has been booked more than half a dozen times for similar alleged administrative infractions. Members of Femen, a small army of 300 student activists, have taken their clothes off in public to support Ukrainian women’s rights and other causes on numerous occasions. The group in recent months has widened its activities to embrace other
Yaroslav Yatsenko
political causes. Members of the group attracted international attention when they ridiculed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his visit to Kyiv in October. Femen members and supporters picketed Kyiv’s Shevchenko District Court on Jan. 17 before Shevchenko’s hearing, displaying placards, reading “Freedom for Inna Shevchenko” and “Keep your hands off us, you bitches.” “The aim of the picket was to
draw attention to the idiocy of law enforcement agencies, especially the police who detained me on Jan. 15,” Shevchenko said. She added that overzealous police have harassed her and other Femen members recently. The court threw out charges against Shevchenko because she committed no offense, said Yaroslav Yatsenko, Shevchenko’s lawyer, who has represented Femen members in more than a dozen similar cases. “Femen activists have been formally charged on numerous occasions in the past with hooliganism, holding unsanctioned meetings and disobeying the police,” Yatsenko told the Kyiv Post on Jan. 19. “Lower courts traditionally find them guilty and we appeal the decisions to a higher court. This case has been an exception.” Yatsenko said he has formally appealed in writing to the general prosecutor’s office to punish the police officers involved in Shevchenko’s arrest and for violating her rights and those of other Femen activists. He said he has not received a reply. Kyiv Post staff writer Peter Byrne can be reached at byrne@kyivpost.com
10 News
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January 21, 2011
Political refugees speak out Ex-minister wins exile in Myroslava Gongadze: ‘Neither West Prague as democracy’s nor Brussels’ will do job for Ukrainians decline widely noted Æ1 States. She had plenty of rea-
Æ1 state. The accusation involved a one-bid contract to build a parking lot for Terminal D of Kyiv Boryspil Airport. Danylyshyn is also accused of illegal purchases of fuel for the army in 2008. In August 2009, law enforcement authorities asked Interpol for an international arrest warrant. The Czech police on Oct. 20 arrested Danylyshyn following his meeting with Ukrainian investigators at the Ukrainian Embassy in Prague. In a Jan. 14 Kyiv Post interview, Danylyshyn said that granting political asylum to him in the Czech Republic is proof that political persecution exists in Ukraine. As he noted, criminal cases are being selectively launched against former officials while allegations of corruption by those currently in power are being ignored. Kyiv Post: What are you feeling now, having been freed after being granted political asylum? Has justice prevailed? Bohdan Danylyshyn: Justice will prevail when all unjustified criminal cases launched against me in Ukraine will be closed. I believe it is difficult to speak of any justice under the current system [in Ukraine]. For example, my lawyers have not yet been given access to my case. I think that my political asylum is also a manifestation that the rule of law in Ukraine should be a top priority. KP: By granting you political asylum, have Czech authorities de facto confirmed the existence of political persecution in Ukraine? BD: If criminal cases against ministers from other governments are being closed while only cases against ministers from Tymoshenko government are being pursued, then we can conclude that political persecution exists. KP: Representatives of the Regions’ Party backing President Viktor Yanukovych accused the Tymoshenko bloc of allegedly bribing some European officials for you to get political asylum. What can you say in response to that? BD: This is nonsense. European officials cannot be bribed. [...] If Ukrainian authorities want to honestly investigate corruption, they need to probe the activities of all governments, [prior ones and the current one], not just look at the activities of the last government of Yulia Tymoshenko. KP: Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Voytsyshen said that
Æ Exiled Danylyshyn accuses authoritites the General Prosecutor’s Office would continue pursuing your extradition to Ukraine. Do you think this is possible? BD: The decision of the Interior Ministry of the Czech Republic gave me international protection. There was appropriate justification for this. Of course, my lawyers will continue working in Ukraine. KP: There were conflicting stories about how you were detained in Prague in October 2010. Some suggest you showed up at the Ukrainian Embassy there yourself. Others suggest you were captured. How did it happen? BD: By prior arrangement, I myself went to meet representatives of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office at the Embassy of Ukraine in Prague. After I provided them with my explanation [on the case], I was arrested near the embassy. KP: How closely have you followed developments in Ukraine? What is your analysis of the current situation? BD: I think that if Ukraine genuinely wants to focus on its European integration, all must be done to establish an independent judiciary, one that does not engage in selective and politically-motivated prosecutions. What we clearly see now is an attempt to intimidate the opposition, to squeeze it out of the political arena. KP: What encouragement could you give to those in Ukraine who claim to be suffering from persecution? BD: Ukraine should not stray off the path of European integration and values chosen in 2005 [following the Orange Revolution.] I still have hope that we can establish objective investigations, an independent judiciary and fair resolution of conflicts without political pressure, which now exists in Ukraine. Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at onyshkiv@kyivpost. com
sons to leave Ukraine – the murder of her husband on Sept. 16, 2000, allegations that Kuchma and other high-level officials were involved, and an investigation that veered from farce to cover-up and that is still ongoing 11 years later. Myroslava Gongadze worried about her personal safety and the safety of her two young daughters, so she fled to America. Since then, she’s established herself as a successful journalist and TV host at the Voice of America, as well as a public speaker and human rights activist. The Kyiv Post spoke with Gongadze about the West’s reaction to declining democracy in Ukraine, the parallels between Ukraine now and the Ukraine of Kuchma from 1994 to 2005 and the feelings of a political asylum seeker. Kyiv Post: On Jan. 13, Freedom House published a report saying that Ukraine had lost its democratic achievements. Does it mean that the West has finally officially recognized the decline of democratic freedoms and civil liberties in Ukraine? Myroslava Gongadze: The West is totally aware of the usurpation of power by a certain political group that is pursuing its own financial interests. The thing is that the Western governments have already gotten used to the Ukrainian elite’s political manipulations and, frankly speaking, have no desire to interfere in that process. Of course, the West would like to have Ukraine develop as a democratic state, but neither Washington nor Brussels is going to do the job for Ukrainians. The West respects the people’s will in electing Yanukovych. But the recent reports on the situation in Ukraine, critical comments from Western experts and even state officials imply that the Ukrainian government went too far. Given the situation in authoritarian Russia and Belarus, the West is feeling that it’s losing its last hope for democracy and pluralism in Ukraine, which soon might lead to very sad consequences. The repressions and prosecutions are becoming a bad disease in Ukraine, an abscess that will burst if not treated. KP: The Czech Republic has recently granted political asylum to former Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn. Does this case indicate that the new administration is cracking down on its political opponents? MG: I am sure that this “selective justice” that Ukrainian law enforcement authorities are practicing now
Myroslava Gongadze in a 2001 file photo. (UNIAN)
was one of the factors that made the Czechs to grant Danylyshyn asylum. Let’s be realistic. Ukrainian politicians are not angels. But again, if somebody committed a crime and has to be punished for that, the only right way to do it is to conduct an unbiased investigation and respect the rule of law. However, the current actions of the prosecutor’s office look like unprecedented abuse of power for the sake of political order. But Ukraine is not Russia, as [Kuchma] said. The Internet has broken down informational frontiers, thus authoritarian rule has no chance to take hold in Ukraine. Sooner or later a critical number of new [politicians] will blow away the current ones, and they will face criminal charges themselves. So they should do everything possible in order not to find themselves in the current opposition’s shoes. And the only way to avoid it is to respect the law. KP: Do you see any parallels between Ukraine now and Ukraine of 2000? MG: There are a lot of parallels, but I have a feeling that the new authorities can and will be even more brutal than Kuchma’s regime. That’s why it’s so dangerous. They are trying to persuade society that they won’t let up any time soon. Was it possible to prevent all these events that are now taking place – raiding of businesses, arrests of opposition leaders, crackdown on human rights activists and political opponents? Yes, but the leaders of the Orange Revolution who pledged to put bandits in jail failed to fulfill their promise and establish the rule of law. Had they done so we would have had a totally different Ukraine. These people should blame themselves first of all.
KP: From your personal experience – what did you feel when you were asking for political asylum in America? MG: Loss of my motherland, home, comfort, everything that matters. Not being able to come home was just killing me. I had to explain all my fears and dangers, prove the facts of persecution. This is a very humiliating procedure. It’s like a death to some degree, the end of the life you had before. But at the same time this is a beginning of a new life if you are strong enough to move on. KP: A court will soon start hearing the case of Oleksiy Pukach’s involvement in your husband’s murder. You and your lawyer, Valentyna Telychenko, are trying to contest the elimination of the paragraph that said that Pukach was acting upon an order. What are you going to do if your complaint is not satisfied? MG: We hope that the Prosecutor General’s Office will cancel its previous decision. If not, we have enough arguments for the court. KP: And one theoretical question: What circumstances will push the current authorities to pursue the people who ordered the murder? MG: The price of this question is too high. I am trying to crack this chess game. I would just add that the future of Ukraine depends on the person who wins it. Kyiv Post staff writer Olesia Oleshko can be reached at oleshko@kyivpost. com
Open letter by Lutsenko, former top cop in jail Æ1 who are not at risk of fleeing. Kyiv’s Pechersk district court jailed him for two months for failing to become familiar with charges of abuse of office against him, specifically allegations that he misspent up to $30,000. Lutsenko says his alleged crime is hiring a driver two years older than allowed by ministry regulations, which caused the state Hr 40,000 ($5,000) in damages. He has dismissed the charges as political repression. The Security Service (SBU) of
Ukraine moved Lutsenko from an SBU jail to the Lukyanivskiy pre-trial confinement center on Dec. 28. Kyiv’s Court of Appeals denied Lutsenko bail on Jan. 5 and Lutsenko’s lawyers on Jan. 17 filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights protesting against his alleged illegal arrest. The following is an English-language translation of Lutsenko’s open letter, released on Jan. 19 by his People’s Self-Defense Party: I thank all those who supported me
and my family. We feel this support and this is important for us. Before God and the people, I swear that I am not guilty of any crime that is being “rigged” by top officials in the General Prosecutor’s Office. The only reason for my imprisonment in the pre-trial Lykyanovskiy facity is to prevent me from speaking aloud about the resurgence of a “thugocracy” in Ukraine. I, like others in pre-trial police cus-
tody, am a prisoner of war of the criminal elements who have seized power in Ukraine. Their goal is to destroy political opponents and establish an atmosphere of fear in order to rob the country and people with impunity. The current authorities have no morals and do not respect the law. They bought parliament and now control the country’s law enforcement agencies, the courts and prosecutor’s office. The only thing they fear is popu-
lar resistance. This year is a time for each person to take a stand. The pendulum of Ukrainian history is moving into a dark period. What happens next depends on the ability of Ukrainians to defend their families, their soul and the history of the country. Do not remain silent! Be united! Glory to Ukraine!" Yuriy Lutsenko
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News 11
January 21, 2011
Tolerance for dissent low in Yanukovych administration Æ1
However, on Jan. 13, the American human rights watchdog, Freedom House, released a report that downgraded Ukraine from “free” to “partly free.” United States and European Union officials have criticized a decline in press freedoms and politically motivated criminal investigations of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yanukovych’s rival, and her allies. These include Bohdan Danylyshyn, her former economy minister, who was granted political asylum in the Czech Republic on Jan. 13.
Many thought Ukraine, once-andfor-all, had made a breakthrough to democracy with the 2004 Orange Revolution that overturned an election rigged in Yanukovych’s favor. But recent events suggest otherwise. Nearly a dozen political allies of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko have been arrested in a series of corruption investigations that both the U.S. and European Union say smell of “selective prosecution.” Those who challenge the current administration are investigated with vigor, while allegations of rampant
corruption close to those in power are ignored. In recent weeks, authorities have also investigated and jailed dozens of activists involved in protests against the Yanukovych administration. However, Lyovochkin also said that 166 out of more than 360 criminal cases launched in the last year have targeted pro-presidential government officials. Tymoshenko, charged with misspending $300 million in environmental money on pensions, has been called in for questioning by prosecutors
some 16 times since early December. She claims Yanukovych is engaged in “political oppression” and that the ruling powers are turning the nation into a mafia-like state. Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst who heads Kyiv’s Gorshenin think tank, said the current prosecutions are a mix of political revenge and personal animosity cloaked as an “anti-corruption” campaign. Fesenko said it appears that the Yanukovych administration is raising the stakes after Party of Regions’ parliamentarian Borys Kolesnikov
and other allies came under investigation in the mid-2000's while President Viktor Yushchenko and Tymoshenko were in power. Criminal investigations also were launched and went nowhere against some of former President Leonid Kuchma’s allies – Ihor Bakai, Anatoliy Zasukha, Ruslan Bodelan and Volodymyr Shcherban. The first three went to Russia; all the cases were eventually closed. Kyiv Post staff writer Olesia Olesho can be reached at oleshko@kyivpost. com
Yanukovych’s investigations of Tymoshenko government raise growing concern in West AP – Ukraine’s ex-premier, Yulia Tymoshenko, vowed not to flee her homeland Jan. 17 as she again appeared before prosecutors in part of a wide-ranging corruption probe that has already sent 10 of her senior aides to jail and banned her from leaving the capital. Almost a year into his presidency, President Viktor Yanukovych maintains he is fighting corruption as he investigates his political opponents for alleged financial misdeeds. But the West is increasingly speaking up about opposition complaints that he is merely persecuting his foes, raising questions about the Russia-friendly leader’s democracy record as he maintains he wants closer ties with the European Union. The Czech Republic last week decided to grant political asylum to Tymoshenko’s former economy minister. As she emerged from the prosecutor general’s office on Jan. 17, Tymoshenko said the asylum case demonstrated the political oppression in Ukraine, but promised she herself would not go. “Yanukovych is not going to succeed in making me flee somewhere from my own country,” she said. “Time will come and it is they who will flee from
their own country because today they are committing real crimes against the country and their people.” Tymoshenko’s visit to be questioned or study evidence in her is case is her 13th since December. She says the summons are meant to pressure her and physically keep her from engaging in opposition work. The United States issued a stern warning to Kyiv in late December, saying the investigation of Tymoshenko, the country’s most vocal opposition figure, and her allies “gives the appearance of selective prosecution of political opponents.” The European Union raised similar concerns. The Czech asylum offer is itself a strong condemnation of the government, an analyst said on Jan.17. “When political asylum is given to a person it means that he could suffer for his political beliefs — and this should not be happening in a democratic country,” said Yuri Yakimenko, a political analyst with the Razumkov Center, a Kyiv-based think tank. “It means there are problems with democracy.” The opposition and some experts say Yanukovych is seeking to discredit Tymoshenko, whom he narrowly
defeated in last year’s presidential race, ahead of 2012 parliamentary elections and trying to pin blame on her for economic problems he cannot fix. Tymoshenko stands accused of using some $280 million that her government received for the sale of carbon credits as part of the Kyoto protocol to pay pensions during a severe recession. Tymoshenko admits to having used the environmental funds on pensions — and takes pride in her actions, saying it was her job as a prime minister to care for destitute retirees. She says she later rechanneled the sum on environmental projects in line with the Kyoto agreement and calls the case against her a “witch hunt of the opposition.” Tymoshenko’s top ally, former Interior Ministry Yuri Lutsenko, was detained in late December as he was walking his dog outside his home on charges of abuse of office and misspending up to $30,000. Lutsenko says his alleged crime is hiring a driver two years older than allowed by ministry regulationsm which caused the state 40,000 hryvna ($5,000) in damages. He dismisses the charges as political repression. Bohdan Danylyshyn, Tymoshenko’s economy minister, was detained in
Prague in October on an international arrest warrant issued by Ukraine on charges that he caused the government $1.78 million in damage for failing to hire a cheaper contractor for Kyiv international airport — charges he denies. He was freed from detention after the Czech Interior Ministry granted him asylum last week. The Ministry did not comment on its decision. Tymoshenko’s top foreign policy aide Hrihoriy Nemyria said Danylyshyn’s asylum was a sign of growing Western discontent with Yanukovych’s undemocratic policies. “The signal is very powerful,” Nemyria told The Associated Press. “Stop politically motivated attacks on the opposition, restore an equal playing field, don’t kill political pluralism, don’t attack freedom of association and don’t undermine freedom of the press.” Since Yanukovych came to power nearly a year ago, the democratic achievements of the 2004 Orange Revolution have taken a beating. The influential weekly Korrespondent named Yanukovych person of the year 2010 “for a resolve in the sphere of consolidating power and curtailing
civic liberties.” The stern 60-year-old leader has tinkered with the Constitution to weaken parliament and boost his powers, has curbed anti-government protests, sent security forces to investigate civil society groups and sought to limit press freedoms. Yanukovych also oversaw a regional election criticized by Washington and Brussels as not fair or open. Over the past year, Ukraine fell an alarming 42 points on the press freedom list compiled by the Paris-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders, ending up on par with countries like Iraq. The democracy watchdog Freedom House downgraded Ukraine from free to partially free in a report last week. Yanukovych’s office declined to comment on Danylyshyn’s asylum status. The Foreign Ministry said the decision made no sense since Danylyshyn had never been engaged in politics and thus cannot be called a political refugee. Yanukovych’s Party of Regions said in a statement it will continue to fight corruption despite what it called the opposition’s attempts to thwart that fight.
12 News
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January 21, 2011
Information law wins parliament’s approval Æ Under EU pressure, lawmakers make more state information available to public
BY O K S A N A G RY T SEN KO GRYTSENKO@KYIVPOST.COM
After three years of public advocacy and pressure from European institutions, the Verkhovna Rada passed two landmark bills on Jan. 13 that could open up government and make it more accountable to citizens. In a rare showing of bipartisan cooperation, the 450-seat legislature passed two bills concerning public access to information by overwhelming majorities of more than 400 votes. Under the bills, public interest is given preference to such matters as accessing the spending budgets of more than 520 state and 22,000 local government agencies, bodies and institutions. Government agencies with “special statuses” like the Tax Administration, Security Service of Ukraine and the State Property Fund will also be obliged to answer public inquiries. “All information without the label ‘state secret’ has to be opened,” said Viktoria Siumar, executive director of Institute for Mass Information, a media watchdog. The changes are expected to make it much more difficult for corrupt authorities to conceal misspending, outright theft and non-transparent dealings which are considered widespread in the halls of Ukrainian government. In the past, authorities were notorious for refusing to reveal basic information on their decision-making and operation, including how they spend taxpayer money. Siumar said one state body that will face scrutiny is the State Affairs Department, an obscure but always well-funded state body within the presidential administration which provides everything from automobiles, airplanes, hotel and health-care services for government officials and lawmakers. Information how this agency, which also owns a vodka factory, spends money will no longer be restricted by the new laws. After similar laws were passed in the new European Union member states of Bulgaria and Hungary, “real changes took place in those nations,” Siumar said, adding that government became more accountable to citizens. The legislation envisions that ordinary citizens and journalists will now be able to receive responses to inquiries in five instead of the current 30 days, to gain access to land cadastres showing who owns what property and be able to submit information requests electronically instead of in written form. “We equate citizens with public
Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mustafa Nayem (center) and political analyst Maksym Latsyba hang a banner that reads: “Access to information: now or never” at the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv on Jan. 13, the day that parliament approved legislation to give the public greater access to government information. (UNIAN)
Maksym Latsyba
Viktoria Siumar
Andriy Shevchenko
officials. Anything officials know will become available to every citizen,” said Andriy Shevchenko, a lawmaker from the opposition Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko who submitted one of the bills. While politicians on both sides of the political aisle were quick to praise the bills’ adoption, democracy watchdog groups who worked with parliament members on the bills were cautionary. All eyes will now be on Ukraine’s ability to administer the new legisla-
tion. The country is notorious for often adopting progressive legislation but failing to administer it effectively. “There is now a great amount of work ahead that needs to be supervised by the government,” said Maksym Latsyba, an expert at the Ukrainian Center for Political Research. Both laws on access to public information will come into force three months after the president signs them and are subsequently published in parliament’s official newspaper. By that time more than 22,500 government bodies will have to open a set criteria of information, sort it and post it on their websites. According to the bills, special public executives responsible for handling information requests will have to be formed in every government body. “The Cabinet of Ministers has its work cut out for it,” Latsyba added. “Transcripts of parliamentary hearings or city council meetings will have to be made available within three days of them taking place.” European institutions also responded positively to parliament’s exceptional act of cooperation but expressed vigilance in the laws’ implementation. “My bureau will monitor its realization. It will give advice and share the best practices of OSCE mem-
ber countries,” said Dunja Mijatovic, the media freedom representative of the Organization of Security and Cooperation of Europe. The new law says that information “on managing state budget funds, on ownership, use or management of state property”, and also the names of people or organizations that received state money or property cannot be restricted. Not only state bodies but also private institutions that receive money from the state budget will be obliged to answer public inquiries explaining how they spend public funds, said Taras Shevchenko, the director of Institute of Media Law. Moreover, the income declarations of people who hold the government posts or intend to occupy them including the declarations of their family members will also become open to the public. Officials who refuse to answer requests or lie face administrative fines ranging from Hr 425 to Hr 850, Andriy Shevchenko said. Some experts warned that the relatively small size of these fines could hurt compliance. Otar Dovzhenko, a media critic at the Kyiv-based media watchdog Telekritika, expressed some skepticism that the administration of President Viktor Yanukovych, which has been
Comparison of old and new information laws Current information laws
New information laws
Public requests for information must be answered in 30 calendar days.
Public requests must be answered in 5 working days.
Government bodies, except those that have special status and local governments, must give requested information.
All government bodies, local governments and private firms that receive financing from the state budget must answer public inquiries.
Journalist could be refused access to state institutions.
Journalists have free access to government institutions and other citizens can freely visit local government meetings.
Some government information has a stamp “for official use only.”
A stamp “for official use only” is changed to “official secret” and this kind of information will be significantly narrowed.
Public officials are able to classify some information as “secret” by their own decision.
Information deemed "secret" is specified in the law on state secrets.
accused in and outside of Ukraine of muzzling media and backsliding on democracy, will swiftly and completely implement the legislation. “I have a feeling it will be simply ignored,” Dovzhenko told the Kyiv Post. Taras Shevchenko fears that one of the laws could enter into contradiction with another law On Personal Data Protection, which was adopted on Jan. 1, and banned the publication of information stored in electronic databases. “The government has to approve a set of bylaws during the first six months of this year that will regulate how personal data is to be protected,” Taras Shevchenko said. He called on the public to monitor whether any bylaws will contradict the newly passed rules of public access to information. If the legislation is implemented, the public and journalists will need to learn how to properly submit requests for information to authorities, Dovzhenko said. After years of receiving runaround bureaucratic replies from tight-lipped authorities, journalists will need to get into the habit of sending formal inquiries. Training from think tanks could help show them how to properly do this, he added. Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Grytsenko can be reached at grytsenko@ kyivpost.com
New law could help reveal fresh details on issues kept under wraps 1. How President Viktor Yanukovych took control of Mezhyhyria, a stateowned, 138-hectare estate outside of Kyiv. 2. Who donated an $80,000 Cadillac Escalade to Interior Minister Anatoly Mohylov. 3. Access to court documents in the Ukrainian government's arbitration case against Swiss-registered RosUkrEnergo over a multi-billion dollar gas dispute. 4. Specific details on who bids and acquires state property during government auctions, tenders and privatizations. 5. How much is spent on providing medical care and housing to government officials. 6. How much public officials earn. 7. How billions of dollars are spent on public procurement. 8. How National Bank of Ukraine chairman Serhiy Arbuzov made Hr 150 million in recent yers. 9. How efficiently is public money spent to provide basic services to citizens. 10. How city councils spend money and other public-interest information.
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News 13
January 21, 2011
Orange Revolution leader explains why he now works for Yanukovych team BY Y U R I Y ON YS H K I V ONYSHKIV@KYIVPOST.COM
In late 2004, Vladyslav Kaskiv played a major role in organizing the Orange Revolution, a popular uprising against the presidential vote rigged for Viktor Yanukovych. Now, however, Kaskiv is working as a top official for his old nemesis, Yanukovych, the beneficiary of the 2004 rigged election that Kaskiv worked so hard to overturn. Back then, Kaskiv headed the grassroots Pora youth movement. In the first days of the revolution, the pro-democracy group swiftly set up tents along Kyiv’s main street. Their actions inspired millions of Ukrainians. Facing mounting public pressure, the Ukrainian Supreme Court cancelled the fraudulent vote, leading to Viktor Yushchenko’s victory in a repeat election on Dec. 26, 2004. Kaskiv today advises Yanukovych and heads the State Agency for Investment and National Projects Management. The agency seeks investment for strategic projects, but many opposition politicians question its transparency. Meanwhile, many of Kaskiv’s former colleagues from Pora see Ukraine under Yanukovych moving in an undemocratic direction again. They point the blame on Yanukovych and see Kaskiv as betraying Orange Revolution principles. In this Kyiv Post interview, Kaskiv explained why he is today not siding with a new wave of activists in defense of democracy, opting instead to work in Yanukovych’s administration. Kyiv Post: There are several grassroots pro-democracy groups currently organizing mass protests, similarly to what you did 6-7 years ago as leader of the
Æ Kaskiv says protesters against president should ‘declare their patriotism and high goals’ for nation Pora student movement. Why are you not, this time, on the same side of the barricades? Vladyslav Kaskiv: There are two natures at the core of any protest and what is called a revolution – either to fight “for” or “against” something. All this creates a fundamentally different motivation for participants. It generally combines a fundamentally different environment and, thus, creates different results. Unlike in 2004, the fight today is more “against” something and is motivated by mercantile interests. In 2004 the struggle was “for” – for a better future and life. In fact, the year of 2004 was the completion and culmination of the post-Soviet transition period. KP: But activists are again planning massive protests, and they say the reason is the same as in 2004: that democracy in Ukraine is under threat. Back in 2004, you also believed that democracy was under threat. Do you share the view of those organizing the protests now? VK: I am now engaged in my professional activities. I think that’s the most important thing I can do for Ukraine now. I believe that poverty is slavery. And a democratic society can never be poor. So now I’m working on solving this.
KP: What advice could you as a former protest leader give, if any, to today’s protest organizers? VK: They should carefully think about what goals they are pursuing. Moreover, they should declare their patriotism and high goals for the whole of Ukraine as a state. KP: What goals would you advise them to declare and defend, and how could they achieve this? VK: I think the key objective for Ukraine is attaining competitiveness in a global world which is in crisis and dynamically changing. We need to be strong, have a clear strategy and work very fast to survive and make progress. This requires unity as a nation in our efforts. KP: When visiting Kyiv on Jan. 10-11, European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood policy Stefan Fuele warned Ukrainian officials that without democracy Ukraine cannot move to Europe. VK: That’s true. Who denies it? The question is, however: who are the representatives of democracy today? I think that the old opposition is too discredited. Only new ideas and an ambitious new generation can make the country democratic.
Former Pora youth movement leader Vladyslav Kaskiv attends a protest in Kyiv on April 3, 2007. Kaskiv now works as a key official in the President Viktor Yanukovych administration. (PHL)
KP: But the current authorities are always responsible for the state of democracy in a country... VK: In Ukraine, a totalitarian regime is not possible in principle. KP: But in your opinion, is democracy in Ukraine now under threat? VK: Such a threat exists in any country, even in the U.S. There are always those who want more control and those who oppose this. The more important question is: How strong are state institutions and public understanding of the priorities facing society? KP: Should one worry about democracy in Ukraine?
VK: One should always worry [about democracy] and be ready to defend it. But I would like to emphasize that poor societies are rarely democratic. KP: So, you now see the fighting poverty as a big step towards preserving democracy? VK: I think these things are interdependent. If a person is in a state where he or she is wondering where to get their next loaf of bread, they are not likely to be thinking much about democracy. … But these processes should be occurring in parallel to one another. The more economically developed a society is, the more democratic it is likely to be. Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at onyshkiv@kyivpost. com
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14 Opinion
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January 21, 2011
Fate of nation may hinge on fate of political opposition M Y KO L A RIA B C H U K
A prison cell is not the best place to spend the New Year and Christmas holidays. But for a good number of top Ukrainian officials, including former Interior Minister Yuriy, Lutsenko and former Economic Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn, this was exactly the place where they had to meditate on the whims of fortune. It comes as little surprise that virtually all of them belong to the “Orange” [Revolution] camp that is today’s political opposition. Their leader, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, was also summoned to the prosecutor’s office but was spared arrest on condition she would not leave the city. The tough measures against corrupt Ukrainian officials might be well received, both domestically and internationally insofar as Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and the least attractive country in Europe for foreign investors. Any cause for cheer, however, soon fades away once we take a closer look at the who, how and why of the allegedly anti-graft measures.
Who? The entire Party of Regions can be broadly perceived as a mafia-style organization with tight inner discipline and immeasurable shadow resources. And
its power base, the Donbas region, has a well-earned reputation of a local Sicily. The president, Viktor Yanukovych, has never been absolved from the murky privatization of a huge government-owned estate near Kyiv, nor has he managed to cast off a parvenu lust for luxury cars, helicopters and other overpriced things bought with government money – despite broadly trumpeted austerity measures. Like master, like servants. His ministers, governors, mayors and other clerks have no restraint in their love for dolce vita – apparently at the expense of the state. Every day the Internet carries something new about their extravagances. The deputy head of the president’s administration wears diamond watches worth $50,000 each and claims that this is just a birthday present from her party comrades, one of which happens to be the mayor of Kharkiv. Few care that the head of the Security Service of Ukraine effectively runs multiple private businesses; the deputy prime minister in charge of investment and innovation reportedly endorses Hr 300 million for his own enterprises; the prime minister responds favorably to the Orthodox bishop's lobbying for trade preferences for Russian companies, and so on. No one is prosecuted, fired or even reprimanded. The only rebuke that has occurred to date would make one laugh – or cry. It comes from a conversation between the two ministers recorded secretly by a journalist in the parliament. One of them, Andrey Kliuyev, was in charge of construction of a fast road for the presi-
dent to his rancho. He used the occasion to stretch the road for a dozen more kilometers to his own estate. Boris Kolesnikov, his colleague, can be overheard chastising him – but not for embezzlement of state funds. On the contrary, Kliuyev’s faux pas was much worse. He failed to extend the super highway for a few more kilometers to Kolesnikov’s dacha. This probably says enough about the team that is fighting corruption as well as about the ultimate prospects of this fight. Yet, one more actor of this tragi-comedy should be mentioned. Viktor Pshonka, the prosecutor general, heralds from Donetsk, as do most top officials. There, reportedly, he made his career under Yanukovych’s governorship, providing reliable legal service for good people. In 2000, he became notorious for allegedly trying to cover up the brutal murder of investigative journalist Ihor Aleksandrov. A vagrant was found who confessed to the crime, but no serious evidence was presented in court. The poor man was released, only to die shortly afterward under mysterious circumstances. Remarkably, the last case investigated by Aleksandrov before his death was about alleged connections between Pshonka’s son, Artem, and local criminal bosses. Even if these allegations are false, the way in which Pshonka understands his duty and the essence of the judiciary leaves little doubt concerning his role. He stated frankly: “As the prosecutor general, I am a member of the president’s team [eager] to implement all his decisions.” Enough said.
“What a nightmare! I thought for a moment I was in Tunisia!”
NEWS ITEM: Around 150 small business owners picketed the presidential administration on Jan. 17, threatening that President Viktor Yanukovych would end up with the same fate as the deposed president of Tunisia, where public protests ended 23 years of iron-fisted rule by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, driving him into exile on Jan. 14. While the parallels may be overblown, concern is rising that the Yanukovych administration is moving Ukraine further from democracy and closer to authoritarianism. Consequently, peaceful protests are becoming more numerous in Ukraine. (Drawing by Anatoliy Petrovich Vasilenko)
Former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko is in a court cage as his wife, Irina, speaks with him in Kyiv on Dec. 27. Ukraine's prosecutors allege Lutsenko misspent $30,000 in government money. He denies the charges. (AP)
How and why? The answer to this question comes mainly from the answer to the previous one. On the one hand, it is quite clear that the ruling team members, including the president, are not going to refrain in any noticeable way from their deeply rooted habits. On the other, it is also clear that the Ukrainian prosecutor – as a loyal member of this very team – would be neither willing nor able to restrain those habits from the outside. Political opposition and an independent mass media might be the only obstacles for the ruling team in its drive for uncontrolled accumulation of wealth and power. So, its destruction is a strategic goal for all branches of the government that are fully subordinated now to the president. The more this destruction can be represented as a fight against corruption, the better. The government is effectively killing two birds with one stone. It represses and destroys the opposition on seemingly non-political grounds and, at the same time, it distracts people’s attention from its own misdeeds and even wins some popularity for purportedly reestablishing law and order. The short-term gains of this policy are undeniable. The long-term goals are simply not on the agenda of these political leaders. The selective application of law is the main feature of the system they have built. It is at the heart of the institutionalized blackmail whimsically employed as a tool of state domination. The system was analyzed more than 10 years ago by Keith Darden as consisting of three elements: (1) widespread corruption that is tolerated and even encouraged by the authorities; (2) tight surveillance that enables the authorities to collect compromising materials against everyone and keep each subject on the hook; (3) selective punishment of any politically disloyal subject for non-political wrongdoings. Former President Leonid Kuchma had gradually constructed such a model. The Orange Revolution, which overturned a presidential election rigged for Yanukovych in 2004, shook the system but failed to dismantle it and replace it with functional democratic institutions based on the rule of law. Hence, the old system did not work because it required the full control of all branches of power by the executive that neither Yushchenko nor Tymoshenko had. Yet no new system was introduced instead. So, the country became, as a result, virtually unmanageable. Yanukovych has successfully monopolized power, subordinated all the branches of government, the parliament and judiciary to his office, and reestablished a kind of order. He has made institutions more or less manageable, but this has meant moving back
towards Kuchma’s authoritarianism. Stagnation, backwardness, lawlessness, and rampant corruption are likely to be preserved and entrenched. The only conclusion Yanukovych seems to have made from Kuchma’s failure is that the system was not repressive enough. Indeed, Kuchma lost because he had not completely marginalized opposition and had not prevented his allies from overt and covert defection to the opposition camp. So, we are likely to witness more clampdowns on opposition and independent media, disguised as a “fight with corruption” and “restoring order” and, of course, “reforms.” The red line, however, that separates Ukrainian authoritarians from their Russian, Belarusian and Central Asian counterparts has not yet been crossed. So far, the government in Ukraine can be changed peacefully, in more or less democratic elections. Yanukovych and his associates seem to be reluctant to cross that line despite a strong temptation. Remarkably, all the criminal accusations against their predecessors and political opponents concern some misuse of funds (which was actually typical for all Ukrainian governments, with traditionally low budget discipline), but not their appropriation and personal enrichment. This means that the punishment for these crimes, if they are proven, would be rather mild, with the sentences probably suspended. They may reflect an informal agreement among Ukrainian elites to avoid harsh penalties against their opponents, simply because of a fear that the wheel may turn around and today’s opponents might become tomorrow’s authorities that would implement the same harsh measures against them for the same misdeeds. Not a single Ukrainian top official has been imprisoned over the past two decades, no matter what accusations of theft, embezzlement, and money laundering have been raised. If we happen to see this informal agreement broken, it would mean that Ukraine has become either a fullfledged democracy based on the rule of law, or a full-fledged authoritarianism with a firmly entrenched repressive regime that would never step down peacefully. The first development under the current regime looks unlikely. The second is possible but still uncertain. The sentences given to Tymoshenko and her associates will probably signal the real political ambitions – and perspicacity – of today’s rulers. Mykola Riabchuk is a Ukrainian author and journalist. This article is reprinted with the author’s permission. It originally appeared in Current Politics in Ukraine at http://ukraineanalysis.wordpress.com, Stasiuk Program for the Study of Contemporary Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.
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Opinion 15
January 21, 2011
Kuzio: Is Ukraine forever doomed to such a divisive political fate? Æ5 While national democrats are fracturing into ever more political parties and unable to unite, the Party of Regions has successfully merged with four former pro-Leonid Kuchma parties and attracted, through various means, many defectors from the senior ranks of the opposition, including some who voluntarily defected such as Taras Chornovil and Serhiy Holovatiy. Is it Ukraine’s fate therefore to experience repeated cycles of national rebirth-democratization followed by conservative, Russophile counter-revolution? Let us hope not. From the 1920s until the early 1930s, Ukraine experienced indigenization and Ukrainianisation that facilitated a national revival in culture, the arts and drama. Ukrainian peasants moving to the growing towns were becoming the new Ukrainian-speaking working class. National communists defended Ukraine’s Ukrainianisation program and sovereignty. Ukrainianisation was accompanied by political and economic liberalization. If permitted to continue eastern Ukraine’s urban centers would have become Ukrainian speaking and the last two decades would have seen a different political class emerge in independent Ukraine. In 2004 all of Ukraine would have supported the Orange Revolution – not just Western and Central Ukraine. The tragedy is that Ukraine’s Russian speakers and Russian minority have voted for counter-revolutionary political forces, whether the KPU in the 1990s or Yanukovych and the Party of Regions since 2004. In Eastern Europe, national minorities have supported democratic revolutions against autocrats and strongly backed their country’s integration into Europe; in Ukraine they have done the opposite. From the early 1930s until the mid 1950s, the height of Stalinism was accompanied by a massive counter-revolution against everything Ukrainian, with the teaching of history returning to the glorification of Imperial Russia. The Stalinist counter-revolution began with the Holodomor (murder famine) that led to the deaths of between 3.5-4 million Ukrainians in 1933. Tim Snyder’s excellent new book “Bloodlands” calculates that 5.5 million people died from famine in the USSR, of whom 3.5 were Ukrainian and 1 million were Kazakhs; Russians were in a decided minority. In addition, Snyder points out that Ukrainians and Poles living in Ukraine represented the majority of the victims in the Great Terror. In the mid-1950s, Ukraine experienced its second cycle following the death of Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev’s secret speech revealing the horrors of Stalins crimes leading de-Stalinisation accompanied by political and economic liberalization. Ukrainian cultural, and to some extent political, elites support the de-Stalinisation campaign and push powerful demands for a change to the manner in which history is written, the rehabilitation of countless murdered Ukrainian cultural figures and greater republican sovereignty. Petro Shelest, who headed the republics KPU from 1963 until 1972, gave tacit encouragement to the de-Stalinisation process and moderate program of Ukrainianisation, advising Ukrainian writers that they should defend the Ukrainian language. Shelest, who came from Kharkiv – the center of Ukrainian national communism in the 1920s, encouraged and distributed to local
party branches the hugely influential Internationalism or Russification text written by Ivan Dziuba (today he is a fierce critic of Minister of Education Dmytro Tabachnyk). The forces of Russophile counterrevolution were not asleep and operated through the KGB and two large regional branches of the Communist Party that were the bastions of conservatism – Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk. In the mid 1960s and early 1970s, Ukraine was engulfed by large scale arrests of Ukrainian dissidents and cultural figures; the 1972 arrests were the largest to take place in the USSR since the Stalin era and were described by the samvydav (self-published) journal UkrainskiVisnyk (Ukrainian Herald) as the "Ukrainian Pogrom.” Most importantly, Ukraine’s ruling elites under three presidents (Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Yanukovych) began their careers during the Shcherbytsky and Leonid Brezhnev “era of stagnation.” As the person in charge of ideological control, Kravchuk must have worked alongside the KGB and Moscow in repressing Ukrainian dissent and stagnating Ukrainian culture. Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko, born far later, emerged as economic personalities and politicians only in the late 1980s and 1990s. By the late 1970s, the human rights organization Amnesty International calculated that the Soviet Union had 10,000 political prisoners. Of these political prisoners, 40 percent were Ukrainians, representing a far higher proportion than their numbers in the Soviet population. Russians accounted for far fewer political prisoners than their share of the population. The highest sentences handed down to dissidents in the Soviet Union were in Ukraine and Ukrainian political prisoners continued to die in the Gulag right through to the mid 1980s. OUN-UPA (Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army) nationalists convicted in the late 1940s and early 1950s for armed resistance to Soviet rule were sentenced to 25 years, released (if they survived) and then often either executed or re-sentenced for another term. Soviet executions of Ukrainian nationalists continued until 1987. In 1972, a Russophile counter-revolution removed Shelest and replaced him with Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, who ruled Ukraine for the next 17 years. The Shcherbytsky era Russified Ukraine to a greater extent than the Stalin era, led to cultural stagnation and massive political repression with further arrests of opposition leaders in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1972, a Russophile counterrevolution removed Shelest and replaced him with Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, who ruled Ukraine for the next 17 years. The Shcherbytsky era Russified Ukraine to a greater extent than the Stalin era, led to cultural stagnation and massive political repression with further arrests of opposition leaders in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Nevertheless, Ukrainians remained stoic. With 40 members, the Ukrainian Helsinki Group became the largest of the Helsinki Groups established in Soviet republics, double in size to the Moscow Helsinki Group. In western Ukraine, the underground Uniate Catholic Church was the largest catacomb church in the world. The third cycle emerged in the late 1980s, during Soviet leader Mikhail
People search for any leftovers following a harvest in Kharkiv in 1933, during the Josef Stalin-ordered famine known as the Holodomor, which claimed several million lives – mostly of Ukrainians. (Courtesy photo)
Volodymyr Shcherbytsky
Petro Shelest
Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost. In 1989, Shcherbytsky was replaced by another KPU conservative, but the tide was already turning and the KPU was beginning to split between “imperial communists,” on the one hand, and “sovereign (i.e. national) communists” and the KPU’s democratic platform (mainly within the Komsomol Communist youth league) on the other. In addition, in the same year, Rukh held its inaugural congress and as the Democratic Bloc went on to win a quarter of seats in the March 1990 elections. During the next two decades, independent Ukraine experienced the flowering of Ukrainian national identity, the pursuit of a Ukrainophile educational policy and national identity and moderate state support for the Ukrainian language which grew in the educational system. The two exceptions where education did not experience Ukrainianisation were Donetsk and the Crimea – the two regional strongholds of the Party of Regions. Throughout the majority of these two
decades, Ukraine experienced democratization and a liberal political and media environment. The exception to this liberalization was during Kuchma’s second term in office, where Ukraine experienced the emergence of authoritarian tendencies. The major difference between Kuchma and Yanukovych is that the former could only possibly build a semi-authoritarian regime in Ukraine (for example, he never fully controlled parliament). He even failed in building semi-authoritarianism as seen in the sweeping victory of the opposition and the 2004 Orange Revolution, which overturned an election rigged for Yanukovych, in his last year in office. The third cycle’s Russophile counter revolution took place after the election of Yanukovych in 2010 as he, and the neo-Soviet political culture of Donetsk and Crimea are far more likely to build a full Eurasian authoritarian regime. In 2011, only a year after Yanukovych was elected president, Ukraine was downgraded by Freedom House to the Kuchma era designation of “partly
free.” If this took place only one year into Yanukovych’s five-year presidency, it is obvious that by 2013, following inevitable election fraud in Ukraine’s parliamentary elections, or 2015, following fraudulent presidential elections, that Freedom House will reduce Ukraine’s position even further to “not free.” A category of “not free” would be the first time Ukraine has been defined as such and reflect the fact that the Yanukovych regime is far more of a threat to democracy than Kuchma ever was. Over the last weekend of November 2004, it was Prime Minister Yanukovych who allegedly instructed Interior Ministry special forces to advance on Kyiv to violently crush the Orange Revolution; Kuchma refused to issue the order. Yanukovych and the Party of Regions represent the biggest threat to Ukrainian democratic and national rights since the Shcherbytsky-Brezhnev era. This is again not surprising as they are the inheritors of the conservative-russophile wing of the Soviet Communist Party in Ukraine. This commentary is not meant to be an indictment of eastern Ukrainians, but of the deep-seated, inherited Soviet and Eurasian political culture found in that region of Ukraine. Indeed, eastern Ukrainians suffered the most from Russophile counter-revolution during the Stalin era. Threats to Ukrainian national identity, language and culture and the crushing of Ukraine’s hopes for democracy have always come from the east during the 1930s-1950os, 1970s-1980s and again today. It is time to seek to break out of this vicious historic cycle. Ukrainians, east and west, deserve far better. Taras Kuzio is an Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation visiting fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. He is writing a contemporary history of Ukraine.
16 Opinion
Friedman: Poland, Ukraine share much
A boy waves the Polish national flag during ceremonies commemorating the 90th anniversary of Polish independence in front of the Tomb of Unknown Soldier on November 11, 2008, in Warsaw. Poland's hard-fought independence came on Nov. 11, 1918 – the day of the armistice that ended World War I – following 123 years of partition by Russia, the Austro-Hungarian empire and Germany. (AFP)
Editor’s Note: George Friedman, chief executive officer of Stratfor, a geopolitical risk analysis company based in Austin, Texas, traveled recently to Turkey, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and Poland. In this installment, Friedman – whose organization is a partner of the Kyiv Post – shared his observations about Poland, Ukraine's western neighbor and close ally.
G E OR G E FR I E D MA N
To understand Poland, you must understand Frederic Chopin. First listen to his Polonaise and then to his Revolutionary Etude. They are about hope, despair and rage. In the Polonaise, you hear the most extraordinary distillation of a nation’s existence. In the Revolutionary Etude, written in the wake of an uprising in Warsaw in 1830 crushed by Russian troops, there is both rage and resignation. In his private journal, Chopin challenged God for allowing this national catastrophe to happen, damning the Russians and condemning the French for not coming to Warsaw’s aid. Afterward, Chopin never returned to Poland, but Poland
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January 21, 2011
never left his mind. Poland finally became an independent nation in 1918. The prime minister it chose to represent it at Versailles was Ignacy Paderewski, a pianist and one of the finest interpreters of Chopin. The conference restored the territories of Greater Poland, and Paderewski helped create the interwar Poland. Gdansk (the German Danzig) set the stage for Poland’s greatest national disaster when Germany and the Soviet Union allied to crush Poland, and Danzig became the German justification for its destruction.
Greatness, tragedy For the Poles, history is always about betrayal, frequently French. Even had France (and the United Kingdom) planned to honor their commitment to Poland, it would have been impossible to carry it out. Poland collapsed in less than a week; no one can aid a country that collapses that fast. (The rest of the
invaders’ operations comprised mopping up.) Wars take time to wage, and the Poles preferred the romantic gesture to waging war. The Poles used horse cavalry against German armor, an event of great symbolism if not a major military feat. As an act of human greatness, there was magnificence in their resistance. They waged war — even after defeat — as if it were a work of art. It was also an exercise in futility. Listen carefully to Chopin: Courage, art and futility are intimately related for Poland. The Poles expect to be betrayed, to lose, to be beaten. Their pride was in their ability to retain their humanity in the face of catastrophe. I think Chopin can be understood geopolitically. Look at where Poland is. It rests on the North European Plain, an open country whose national borders to its west and east are not protected or even defined by any significant geographical boundaries. To its east is Russia, by 1830 a massive empire. To the west were first the Prussians and after 1871 the Germans. To the south until 1918 was the Hapsburg Empire. No amount of courage or wisdom could survive forces as massive as this. Poland is neither the master of its
A group of people dressed as Nazi-era concentration camp prisoners (L) block a street as they protest against a march by ultra-nationalists marking Independence Day in Warsaw, Poland on Nov. 11. At right, in a photo made available by Yad Vashem Photo Archive in Jerusalem, Nazi guards stand outside the Belzec death camp in occupied Poland in 1942. (AP)
fate nor the captain of its soul. It lives and perishes by the will of others. Little can be done to stop the Germans and Russians when they join forces or use Poland as their battlefield. The most Poland can do is hope that powers farther away will come to its aid. They can’t. No one can aid a country that far away unless it aids itself. Chopin knew this in his soul and knew that the Poles would not succeed in aiding themselves. I think Chopin took pride in the certainty of catastrophe. There is a book by Ivan Morris titled “The Nobility of Failure.” It is about Japan, but the title resonates with me when I think of Poland, Chopin and Paderewski. The Poles were magnificent in defeat, something I say without irony. But it must be remembered that Polish history was not always about the nobility of failure, nor is this kind of nobility Poland’s certain fate. Before the Russian empire emerged, before the Hapsburgs organized southeastern Europe and before the rise of Prussia, Poland was one of Europe’s great powers, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. When the Germans are divided, the Russians weak and the Austrians worried about the Ottomans, then Poland stops being a victim. The Poles remember this and constantly refer to their past greatness. It is not clear that they fully appreciate why they were once great, why the greatness was taken away from them or that its resurrection is not unthinkable. The Poles know they once dominated the North European Plain. They are convinced that it will never happen again. The Poles today want to escape their history. They want to move beyond Chopin’s tragic sense, and they want to avoid fantastic dreams of greatness. The former did nothing to protect their families from the Nazis and Communists. The latter is simply irrelevant. They were powerful for a while when there was no Germany or Russia,
Frederic Chopin
but they’re not now. Or so it would appear. I would argue that this view is lacking in imagination.
Poland, Russia, Europe The Poles, like the rest of Central Europe, look at the European Union as the solution to their strategic problem. As an EU member, Poland’s German problem is solved. The two nations are now to be linked together in one vast institutional structure that eliminates the danger the two once posed to each other. The Poles also think the Russians are not a danger because the Russians are weaker than they appear and because, as one Foreign Ministry official put it to me, neither Ukraine nor Belarus is simply a Russian satellite. Indeed, he thought of Ukraine and Belarus more as buffers. As for the old Austro-Hungarian threat, that has dissolved into a melange of weak nations, none of which can threaten Poland. Under these circumstances, many Poles would argue that the dangers of life on the North European Plain have been abolished. From my point of view, there are two problems with this perception. The first, as I have said in previous essays in this series, is that
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Friedman: Poles insecure about future because old enemies are forging alliances in Europe again Æ16 Germany is re-evaluating its role within the European Union. This is not because the German leadership wants to do so; Germany’s financial and political elites are deeply wedded to the idea of the European Union. But as with many elites worldwide after 2008, Germany’s elites have lost a great deal of room for maneuver. Public opinion is deeply suspicious of the multiple bailouts the German government has underwritten and may have to underwrite in the coming years. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel put it, Germans are not going to retire at 67 so Greeks can retire at 58. From the point of view of Germans — and the least interesting views are expressed by the increasingly weak elite — the European Union is turning into a trap for German interests. For the Germans, a redefinition of the European Union is needed. If Germany is going to be called on to underwrite EU failures, it wants substantial control over the rest of Europe’s economic policy. A two-tiered system is emerging in Europe, one in which patrons and clients will not have the same degree of power. Poland is doing extraordinarily well economically for the moment. Its economy is growing, and it is clearly the economic leader among the former Soviet satellites. But the period in which EU subsidies will flow into Poland is coming to an end, and problems with Poland’s retirement system are looming. Poland’s ability to maintain its economic standing within the European Union is going to be challenged in years to come. Poland could then be relegated to the status of client. I don’t think the Poles would mind being a well-cared-for client. The problem is that the Germans and other core EU members have neither the resources nor the inclination to sustain the EU periphery in the style the periphery
Opinion 17
January 21, 2011
wants to be cared for. If Poland slips, it will have the same sort of controls put on it that are being placed on Ireland. One Polish official made clear he didn’t see this as a problem. When I mentioned the potential loss of Polish sovereignty, he told me that there were different kinds of sovereignty and that the loss of budgetary sovereignty does not necessarily undercut national sovereignty. I told him that I thought he was not facing the magnitude of the problem. The ability of a state to determine how it taxes and distributes money is the essence of the sovereign state. If it loses that, it is left with the power to proclaim national ice cream month and the like. Others, most particularly the Germans, will oversee defense, education and everything else. If you place the budget beyond the democratic process, sovereignty has lost its meaning. Another conversation concerned Russian power. Again, officials emphasized two things. The first was that Russia was weak and not a threat. The second was that Russian control over Ukraine and Belarus was much less than imagined — neither is fixed in the Russian orbit. On this, I agreed partly. But they do want to limit Ukraine’s and Belarus’ options in foreign policy. They will not permit politico-military alliances between the two and Western nations. And they will insist on Russian army and naval forces’ having access to Belarusian and Ukrainian soil. I do not find the argument about Russian weakness persuasive. First, strength is relative. Russia may be weak compared to the United States. It is not weak compared to Europe or Russia’s near abroad. A nation does not have to be stronger than its strategic requirements, and Russia is certainly strong enough for those. True, Russia’s population is in decline and it is an
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, is welcomed by his Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski in the yard of the presidential palace in Warsaw, Poland, on Dec. 6. Medvedev came to repair historically troubled relations between Poland and Russia. (AP)
economic wreck. But Russia has been an economic wreck since Napoleon, if not before. Its ability to field military power disproportionate to its economic power is historically demonstrable. I raised the question of European, and particularly German, energy dependence on Russia, and was told that Germany only imports 30 percent of its energy from Russia. I had thought it was 45 percent, but still, I see 30 percent as a huge dependence. Cut that percentage off and the German economy becomes unsustainable. And that gives Russia a great deal of power. Finally, there is the question of German and Russian cooperation. As I have discussed before, the German dependence on Russian energy and the Russian requirement for technology has created a synergy between the two countries, something reflected in their constant diplomatic consultation. In addition, German questions about the future of the European Union have taken them on a more independent and exploratory course. For their part, the Russians have achieved the essentials of a geopolitical recovery. Compared to 10 years ago, Putin has taken Russia on an extraordinary recovery. Russia is now interested in splitting Europe from the United States, and particularly from Germany. As Germany is looking for a new foundation for its foreign policy, the Russians are looking to partner with Europe. The Polish leaders I spoke to all made it clear that they did not see this as a problem. I find it hard to believe that a German-Russian understanding does not concern the Poles. I think the real point the Poles are making is that they have no choice. When I pointed out the option of the Intermarium with American backing, a senior Foreign Ministry official pointed out that under the new NATO plan the Germans have guaranteed two divisions to defend Poland while the United States has offered one brigade. He was extraordinarily bitter on this score. Following on the American decision to withdraw from a commitment to construct a fixed, permanent Ballistic Missile Defense installation in Poland and the tentative nature of a rotational deployment of a single Patriot battery, he saw this as a betrayal by the United States of earlier commitments. His charge was that there was no American commitment under the new NATO plan, or at least nothing credible.
Polish self-reliance, U.S.
A picture taken on April 1, 1943, shows men digging out bodies of Polish officers from a mass grave in Russia. More than 22,000 Polish officers were killed by Soviet security forces in the Katyn forest and other sites in 1940. (AFP)
Poland had been helpless for centuries, the victim of occupation and dismemberment. It had been free and sovereign in the interwar period. It had thrown away its sovereignty by simply depending on French and British guarantees. Guaranteeing Polish national sovereignty is first and foremost a
Polish national issue. First, a nation does not give away control of fundamental national prerogatives, like its economy, to multinational organizations, particularly ones dominated by historical threats like Germany. But most important, a nation’s sovereignty depends on its ability to defend itself. True, Poland cannot defend itself from a treaty signed by Germany and Russia, at least not by itself. But it can buy time. Help may not come, but without time, help can’t possibly come. Of course, Poland can decide to accommodate itself to the Germans and Russians, assuming that this time things will be different. It is a comfortable assumption. It may even be true. But Poland is betting its nation on that assumption. My reading of the situation is that both Polish officials and the Polish public understand that they are safe for the moment but that the future is unknown. They also feel helpless. Poland is a bustling European country, full of joint ventures and hedge funds. But all of the activity only covers the underlying tragic sense of the Polish nation, that in the end, the idea of the Polish nation is not in Polish hands. What will come will come, and the Poles will make a heroic stand if worse comes to worst. Chopin turned this sensibility into high art. Ultimately, I am an American and therefore less taken by tragic sensibilities than by viable strategy. For Poland, that strategy comes from the recognition that not only is it caught between Germany and Russia, it is the monkey wrench in German-Russian entente. It can be crushed by this. But it can prevent this. To do that, it needs three things. First, it needs a national defense strategy designed to make it more costly to attack Poland than to find a way around it. This is expensive. But how much would the Poles have paid to avoid the Nazi and Soviet occupation? What seems expensive can be cheap in retrospect. Second, Poland by itself is too light. As part of an alliance stretching from Finland to Turkey, the Intermarium, Poland would have an alliance of sufficient weight to matter that would be free from the irrelevancies of NATO. NATO was the alliance of the Cold War. The Cold War is over, but the alliance lives on like a poorly fed ghost administered by a well-fed bureaucracy. Poland would need to coordinate with Romania, regardless of, say, Portugal’s opinion on the matter. This alliance requires Polish leadership. It will not emerge from it. But Poland must first overcome the fantasy that the 18-year-old European Union represents Europe’s millennial transformation into the peaceful Kingdom of Heaven. Eighteen years isn’t much time by European standards, and
Europe has been looking unwell of late. If Germany bets wrong on the European Union, it will survive. Will Poland? National strategy is based on the worst-case scenario, not on hopeful understandings with transitory leaders. Finally, the Poles must maintain their relationship with the global hegemon. Certainly, the last years of the Bush administration and the first years of Obama’s administration have not been pleasant for Poland. But in the end, the United States has fought three times in the 20th century to prevent a German-Russian entente and the domination of Europe by one power, whether that be Germany, Russia or a combination of the two. The wars were driven by geopolitics. A GermanRussian entente would threaten the United States profoundly. That is why it fought World War I, World War II and the Cold War. There are things the United States cannot permit if it can stop them. The domination of Europe by one power tops the list. At the moment, the United States is more concerned about ending corruption in Afghanistan. This fixation will not last. Of course, the United States runs by a different and longer clock than Poland does. The United States has more room for maneuver. Poland also has time now, but it must use it in preparation for the time when the Americans regain their sense of perspective. The European Union might right itself, and what emerges could be a confederation of equal nations as originally planned. The Russians might go quietly into that good night. But the problem the Poles have is what they will do if the best case doesn’t emerge. I would argue that there is no nobility in a failure that could be avoided. I would also argue that if you listen carefully to the Polonaise, it is an invitation not only to survival, but to greatness. The Polish margin of error is extraordinarily thin. What I found in Poland was not an indifference to that margin, but a sense of helplessness coupled with intense activity to do well while living well is impossible. But it is the sense of helpless fatalism that frightens me as an American. We depend on Poland in ways that my countrymen don’t see yet. The longer we wait, the greater the chance of tragedy. The Germans and Russians are not monsters at the moment, nor do they want to be. But as Chopin makes clear, what we want to be and what we are are two different things, a subject to be considered in my concluding essay. George Friedman is chief executive officer of Stratfor, a private geopolitical analytical firm based in Austin, Texas, and found at www.stratfor.com. This article can be found at http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20111202_geopolitical_journey_part_7_poland
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With 10 years on the market, libertarian Wikipedia is a dubious source of information
January 21, 2011
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Believers cleanse souls at Epiphany
Although a dip in cold water on Epiphany doesn't last long, it is believed to wash one's sins away and protect body and soul for the year ahead. (Joseph Sywenkyj)
BY T E T YA N A B OY C H EN KO BOYCHENKO@KYIVPOST.COM
Ukrainians are not exactly a frost-proof nation. They wrap themselves up in furs the minute they see November on the calendar. But on Jan. 19, in celebration of the Epiphany holiday, old spirits call on the living to take dips in freezing water. Immersions are encouraged by the Catholic and Orthodox churches, which associate the custom with washing away sins. Jesus Christ is believed to have received the Holy Spirit after baptism in the Jordan River. The same hope of clearance drives many ordinary people, and sometimes even politicians, to the rivers and lakes across
the country. They are followed by cameras. Then articles like this one spring up in the media. The day starts with an early church service, after which people take away buckets of blessed water home with them. It’s believed to have healing powers both for the body and soul. Ardent custom followers insist that this water does not go off or stink for a year, but that you’ll have to check yourself. Back in the day, before the age of washing machines, Ukrainian women avoided doing laundry in ponds and lakes thinking that the devil hides in the water. For the same reason women would not fetch water from a well. Young girls would put red berries from
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snowball trees in their blessed water for washing the face in the morning to make cheeks look rosy. Despite an icy bath, Ukrainians had to restrain from food on Epiphany. However, after the fast there was a feast, which included fish, varenyky, or dumplings stuffed with cooked cabbage, pancakes, kutya, a sweet wheat porridge and uzvar, a juice made from dried fruits. Epiphany was especially popular with single girls because this was another good day in the pagan calendar, which preceded the Christian tradition, for fortune-telling. They would go outside and ask passers by their name, which was believed to be the name of their husband to be. At night, some would
also go to the church to listen if there are any noises inside the locked premises. Bells chiming was the sound dreamt of by all of them because it meant a wedding; a hollow knock though was interpreted as death. After these extraterrestrial frolics though, fortunetellers had to bathe in the icy water to wash away their sins for trying to predict the future. These days, however, Epiphany customs are rarely observed in full and the message of the holiday often gets lost the minute January 20 pops up on the calendar. Kyiv Post staff writer Tetyana Boychenko can be reached at boychenko@kyivpost.com
See Photo story on page 32
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World d vele er Traveler WITH BRIAN BONNER BONNER@KYIVPOST.COM
Winter travel blues: Staying overnight in snowbound airports is misery Here’s a tip for winter traveling: Don’t do it, especially during the Christmas-New Year’s holidays. If you must, go south or be prepared for blizzards, crowds and delays. I wasn’t and became a statistic – one of thousands of winter travelers stranded at airports in Europe and America. I have only now recovered enough from the trauma to write about it. Because I hadn’t been home to America for Christmas since 2007, I decided to make the trip from Kyiv on Dec. 17. Never again. It’s not that I don’t like seeing everyone “back home,â€? but everyone else is traveling during the holidays – so really, it’s not that enjoyable. Many of my friends and relatives were stressed out or were extremely busy anyway. Also, as the traveling world found out, sometimes you just can’t get from here to there. My flight was scheduled to leave Boryspil Airport at 6:25 a.m. I worked late the night before and decided to stay up overnight, rather than catch only a few hours of sleep. I went to the terminal B and wondered where everyone was, then realized they were at the new terminal F - the first time I had flown out of there. So I walked my bags the extra 100 meters or so. The troubles were just beginning. My work permit had expired. The immigration control officer demanded that I trudge to terminal C, pay the Hr 700 fine and get an official receipt, before she would let me out of the country. “But my plane leaves in an hour,â€? I pleaded unsuccessfully. I ran there and back, boarded the plane and then ... sat for a few hours with everyone else as the snow fell with gusto. Finally, they told us to get off the plane because bad weather had blocked travel to Amsterdam. After milling around Boryspil until early afternoon, we were allowed back on the plane again ‌ only to wait some more. Finally, we took off and landed ‌ in Brussels, Belgium, not Amsterdam because its Schiphol Airport had all but closed due to inclement weather. After two or three pointless hours in the Brussels airport, where no one could tell us what was happening or how long we would be stuck there, the passengers of this ill-fated flight were tired and testy. But we also started to get to know each other and exchange business cards. Finally, we got the clearance for Amsterdam, but it was a rough flight in white-out conditions because of snow. I was so relieved to land. By now, it Æ25
20 Entertainment Guide
Musical Baron Munchausen in 3D
Thursday, March 10
(www.stadtdatenbank.de)
(courtesy)
Jan. 21-23
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January 21, 2011
No, this is not a new movie in the IMAX 3D cinema. It’s a musical based on “The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen” by Rudolf Raspe. And it is nothing short of a miracle on Ukraine’s lackluster musical scene. A cast has been put together from the best participants of the popular talent TV show “Everyone’s Dancing.” As for the 3D effects, a screen will be pulled down between the audience and the dancers to recreate all the magic and hapless fun stories in the life of the baron. Wonder what it will look like? Head to Budynok kultury “KPI” on Friday or the weekend, Jan. 21-23, 7 p.m, 37 Peremohy Prospekt. Tickets: Hr 100-500
(www.boeblingen.de)
Saturday, March 5
Roxette Evergreen Swedish pop duo Roxette heads to Kyiv in March as part of a world tour to promote their new album, “Charm School.” Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle started working together in 1986 and since then never left the pop scene, scoring hits with songs such as “It Must Have Been Love” and “Listen to Your Heart.” They have won numerous awards and have sold around 60 million records. Thursday, March 10, 7 p.m., Mizhdarodny Vystavkovy Tsentr, 15 Brovarsky prospekt. Tickets: Hr 400-3500
Friday-Monday, Feb.11-14
Glenn Miller Orchestra
(courtesy)
Glenn Miller Orchestra is one of the world’s most famous jazz orchestras. Founded in 1937, it was led by trombonist Miller for seven years. In 1944, he boarded a flight to Paris that never arrived. Miller’s plane disappeared somewhere over the English Channel to the great shock of his fans. The orchestra was taken over by his close friend, carrying on the orchestra’s performances in Miller’s honor and memory. Nowadays, the world has three Glenn Miller Orchestras. There are two licensed clones and one original. The one coming to Kyiv was formed 20 years ago by Dutchman Wil Salden. He spent a lot of time studying the history of Miller’s music and now uses that knowledge to recreate the original pieces with painstaking precision. Saturday, March 5, 7 p.m., Palats Ukraina, 103 Velyka Vasylkivska St., 247-2303. www.glenn-miller.de. Tickets: Hr 60-600
(www.organcompetition.kotka.fi)
Best classical picks Friday, Saturday, Jan. 21, 22 – Igor Zavadsky plays accordion at 7 p.m., Budynok Aktora, 7 Yaroslaviv Val, 235-2081. Tickets: Hr 50-120 Friday – Wednesday, Jan. 21-26 – “Evenings of baroque music” from Bach, Hendel and Vivaldi, 7 p.m., The House of Organ Music, 77 Velyka Vasylkivska St., 5283186. Tickets: Hr 20-50 Saturday, Jan.22 – the ballet “Giselle” by Adolphe Adan at 7 p.m., National Opera, 50 Volodymyrska St., 279-1169. Tickets: Hr 20-200 Tuesday, Jan. 25 – the ballet “Romeo and Juliette” by Sergei Prokofiev at 7 p.m., National Opera, 50 Volodymyrska St., 2791169. Tickets: Hr 20-300
Chocolate heaven in Lviv Lviv holds a four-day chocolate festival, which is a perfect excuse to jump on the train and indulge yourself. Singer Roberto Loreti from Italy, best known for his song “Jamaica,” will launch the party on Friday. On Saturday, chocolate wizards will present Lviv’s best known landmarks made of chocolate. On Sunday, get in there early to see how a potentially record-breaking chocolate cake is made and, of course, taste it. On the last day, which falls on Saint Valentine’s, listen to a special jazz program while enjoying chocolate hearts made right in front of you. Friday- Monday, Feb.11-14, Lviv, Palats Mystetstv, 17 Kopernyka St., www. shokolad.lviv.ua (available in English). Tickets: Hr 20 per day
Compiled by Nataliya Horban
www.kyivpost.com
January 21, 2011
Movies
Entertainment Guide 21 Live Music
French actress Juliette Binoche plays an English writer in ‘Certified Copy.’ (www.irishfilminstitute. blogspot.com)
Red Rocks will rock Docker Pub on Jan. 21. (Courtesy)
ART CLUB 44 44B Khreshchatyk St., 279-4137, www.club44.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 8 – 10 p.m. Jan. 21 Carte Blanche, Hr 50 Jan. 22 45 EN, Beathoven, Hr 50 Jan. 23 No Comments, free admission Jan. 24 Nicky Rubin, Hr 30 Jan. 25 Winter Jazz Nights: Andriy Arnautov Workshop, Hr 40 Jan. 26 Tuapse, The Twisters, Hr 30 Jan. 27 Pilar (Russia) FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL French film festival will shake Kyiv from its dreary winter starting next week. Drama “Certified Copyâ€? starring Juliette Binoche, William Shimell and Jean-Claude Carriere will open the program with a story of an English writer who comes to France for work. Meeting a charming French gallery owner, she’s made to believe that he may be her long lost husband. The trash horror comedy ÂŤRubberÂť is an odd story of a car tire that for some reason has a brain, memory and the ability to kill. ÂŤThe RefugeÂť shows a pregnant drugaddict looking for a place to escape and forget the death of her beloved partner. In “Making for Lena,â€? a family can be a real pain and hindrance to living a life you want. In the optimistic “The Last Romantic on Earth,â€? filmmakers ask the ever-green question who you want to spend your last day with if the world is about to vanish. For the full schedule, go to www.kino-ukraina. com.ua. ON THE TOWN Language: English with English subtitles Comedy/Musical/Romance. USA (1949) Directed by Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly Starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Betty Garrett The movie is an adaptation of the 1944 Broadway musical, although many changes in the script have been made by Hollywood
producers. Before heading to war, three jolly sailors receive a long-waited permission to leave. They head for the city, but not just any city. Disembarking to the sounds of “New York, New York,â€? they hit no less but the Big Apple. In 24 hours, they must check all the important landmarks and, of course, meet the most beautiful girls in the world. The film was a huge success. Besides winning the Oscar for Best Music, “On the Townâ€? was ranked #19 on the American Film Institute’s list of best musicals ever. THE GREAT MADCAP Language: Spanish with Russian subtitles Comedy. Mexico (1949) Directed by Luis BuĂąuel Starring Fernando Soler, Rosario Granados and AndrĂŠs Soler After the death of his beloved wife, Ramiro de la Matahas loses his track. With work and family on the back burner, he only cares for a bottle. A wealthy man, he doesn’t think twice about spending the money away. It is his lawyer, not the accountant, who decides to put the end to it. He writes a letter to Ramiro’s brother, Gregorio, with a plea for help. And Gregorio won’t let him down. LUNA PAPA Language: French with Ukrainian subtitles Comedy/Drama. Germany, France, Russia, Switzerland (2000) Directed by Bakhtyar Khudojnazarov
Starring Chulpan Khamatova, Moritz Bleibtreu and Ato Mukhamedzhanov Mamlakat is a 17 year old teenager living with her father and brother in a small village in Central Asia. When a theater group visits their middle of nowhere, the girl’s life suddenly stops being boring. A charming actor, who brags about being friends with Tom Cruise, seduces Mamlakat only to vanish the next morning. As you can expect, she soon learns that she’s pregnant and tries to get an abortion. Yet after her father, Safar, gets to hear her story, he sets off to find the actor and revenge for the daughter. A string of comic adventures ensues.
DOCKER’S ABC 15 Khreshchatyk St., 278-1717, www.docker.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9:30-10 p.m. Jan. 21 Motor’ Rolla, Chill Out, Hr 70 Jan. 22 Mad Heads XL, Partizanskie Vytivky, Hr 70 Jan. 23 Foxtrot Music Band, free admission Jan. 24 Mojo Jo Jo, free admission Jan. 25 Tres Deseos Latino Party, Hr 20 Jan. 26 Tamozhnya Daet Dobro Party: Rockin’ Wolves, Hr 30 Jan. 27 Animals Session, Hr 30
BOCHKA PYVNA ON KHMELNYTSKOHO 4B-1 Khmelnytskoho St, metro Teatralna, 390-6106, www.bochka.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9-10 p.m. Jan. 21 Zavodnoy Apelsin, Tres Deseos Jan. 22 Lucky Band, Hot Guys Jan. 26 Chill Out Jan. 27 Red Rocks PORTER PUB 3 Mazepy St., 280-1996, www.porter.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 Pozitiv Band Jan. 22 Hit Point Jan. 23 Trio Impreza Jan. 26 Ivan Bliuz Jan. 27 Tysha JAZZ DO IT 76A Velyka Vasylkivska St., 599-7617, http://jazz-doit.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 21 Tatyana Arenfieva Duo Jan. 22 Maria Zubkova Duo Jan. 26 Boris Petrunek Other live music clubs:
UKRAINA CINEMA French film festival 5 Horodetskoho St., 279-6750, 279-6302 Jan. 27- Feb. 2 MASTERCLASS CINEMA CLUB 34 Mazepy St., 594-1063 The Great Madcap Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. On The Town Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. BUDYNOK KINO 6 Saksaganskogo St., 287-7557 Luna Papa Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
DOCKER PUB 25 Bohatyrska St., metro Heroyiv Dnipra, www.docker.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9:30-10 p.m. Jan. 21 Ukrayinska, Red Rocks, Hr 70 Jan. 22 Motor’ Rolla, Foxtrot Music Band, free admission Jan. 23 Vostochny Express, Hr 70 Jan. 24 Second Breath, free admission Jan. 25 Vysotsky Birthday Party: Sergey Galanin, Tex-Mex Company Jan. 26 Customs Worker Day: The Magma, free admission Jan. 27 Rockabilly Party: Ruki v Briuki
PIVNA NO.1 ON BASEYNA, 15 Baseyna St., 287-44-34, www.pivna1.com.ua DRAFT 1/2 Khoryva St., metro Kontraktova Ploshcha, 463-7330 KHLIB CLUB 12 Frunze St., www.myspace.com/xlibclub CHESHIRE CAT 9 Sklyarenko St., 428-2717 O’BRIEN’S 17A Mykhaylivska St., 279-1584 DAKOTA 14G Heroyiv Stalinhrada St., 468-7410 U KRUZHKI 12/37 Dekabrystiv St., 562-6262.
Compiled by Alexandra Romanovskaya and Svitlana Kolesnykova
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22 Lifestyle
www.kyivpost.com
January 21, 2011
Malaysia is feast for eye, stomach
Editor’s Note: After traveling through Sri Lanka over the winter holidays, the Kyiv Post’s Svitlana Tuchynska moves on to Malaysia in the second of a four-part trip around Asia. BY S V I T L A N A T U C H YN S KA TUCHYNSKA@KYIVPOST.COM
Arriving in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur from Sri Lanka, you get the feeling you caught the wrong flight and arrived in Tokyo. The airport, sleek highways and the capital itself present a strikingly modern urban landscape. Kuala Lumpur is the place where skyscrapers and parks blend together making it a pedestrian-friendly city where you can walk almost anywhere. Visit Merdeka Square, Petronas twin towers – the fourth tallest building in the world, and local parks. I went to Orchids Park and Lake Gardens – a lovely place where you forget you are in the heart of a metropolis and can enjoy beautiful trees, flowers, reindeers, birds and lakes. Malaysia traces its roots to several Malay Kingdoms, conquered by colonists in the 16th century and passed through Portuguese, Dutch and British hands. This inherent multiculturalism lies behind the fact that, although the country’s official religion is Islam, with Muslims making up 60 percent of the population, other religions are freely tolerated, including Buddhists, who account for 20 percent, Christians and Hindus.
Trip budget for one traveler • Meal $3 (Chinatown) – $10 (fine restaurant in the city center) • Flight Kuala Lumpur – Kota Kinabalu (Air Asia, return) $70 – $120 (depending on promotions) • Double room in Kuala Lumpur $25 (Chinatown) – $40 • Foot massage (Bukit Bintang area) – $9 (30 minutes) • Bus to Kuala Perlis and ferry to Langkawi – $26 • Double room in Langkawi (beach) – $16-30 • Ferry from Langkawi to Penang – $19 • Double room in Georgetown – $1525
Nowhere are the multiple cultural influences more evident that in the food. The bustling Petaling Street in Chinatown is probably the best place to indulge in the outstanding local cuisine. For breakfast, head to a traditional Indian restaurant for roti kanai – a thin crusty pancake served with a variety of fillings. Grill your own traditional Malaysian satay at an outdoors
ÆGet good karma buying a sparrow near a Malaysian temple and releasing it into the wild. local cafe. Satay is a kind of shashlyk, or skewered meat, seafood, vegetables that is grilled or boiled. Make sure you also try the local pride nasi lemak – rice steamed with coconut milk and served with fried anchovies, peanuts, cucumber, eggs and spicy chili. I was also very impressed with a Korean restaurant where, for $13, I had a delicious meal, followed by coffee at a Vietnamese restaurant for $2. Both are located on the top floor of the city’s biggest shopping mall, Pavilion, in Bukit Bintang district. Malaysia is also the place to enjoy many exotic local fruits – durian, longan, and rambutan, among many others. From Kuala Lumpur I flew to Borneo Island, which Malaysia shares with Brunei and Indonesia. Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the province, is a quiet town with a big seafood market and a lovely sea view dotted with tiny islands. The fish market offers freshly cooked seafood meals. While waiting you will probably be surrounded by local chil-
dren carefully examining you and the map you are studying. Islands around Kota Kinabalu are not inhabited but open for daytrips. From the harbor the speedboat took me to the smallest one – Sapi. I skipped the public beach and went for a walk on a path across the island, before swimming on a majestic wild beach. Beware of the rather large lizards who may quietly keep you company. Meeting one unexpectedly right on my path in the forest almost made my heart stop, although it turns out they are used to humans and are just begging for food like strays. Apart from lizards, the islands are also home to the most beautiful fish. Bumping into a large colorful clown fish while snorkeling was the highlight of the whole trip. To enjoy mountainous landscapes of Borneo take a bus to Sandakan, a small town on the opposite side of the island. There you can visit the Turtle Island and a lovely orangutan rehabilitation centre in the jungle. This being my second visit to Malaysia, I was determined to see the pride of the tourist industry – Langkawi Island. I stayed on Pantai Cenang beach where you can both find luxurious and budget hotels. The island enjoys the status of the World Geopark, according to UNESCO, and there is a lot to see: from small mountain islands to forests and crocodile farms. However, the place is packed with tourists, so I headed for Penang Island pretty soon. Georgetown, the main town of the island, took my breath away and remains at the top of my favorite cities of the world list. Founded in 1786 by Captain Francis Light, a trader for the British East India Company, the town has preserved its old fort and the whole district of old twostory buildings. You will be charmed by the lovely narrow streets with flower and fruit stands and a very relaxed atmosphere. Local merchants proudly tell stories of their family businesses, some dating centuries back. Spend some time exploring local temples. The Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas is probably the largest religious temple I have ever seen. Downtown, Confucian temples are
permeated with incense smoke. Little sparrows are sold. Buying and releasing one is said to be a merit and create good karma. From Georgetown, you can take a bus to Kuala Lumpur and then fly to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Despite its striking contrast with developed Malaysia and its status as the poorest
One of the Hindu gods, Murugan, guards the limestone Batu caves, which are said to be 400 million years old. Countless flocks of doves live around caves that are a short trip away from Kuala Lampur's city center. (Courtesy)
country in the region, Laos is probably the most authentic and relaxed one. With Air Asia the flight to this country of majestic temples, mountains and kindhearted people costs around $80 one way per person. Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at tuchynska@kyivpost.com
Malaysian Hindu devotees smash coconuts during a 10-kilometer procession march to signal the start of Thaipusam, an annual festival symbolizing the struggle between good and evil in Penang Island, northwestern Malaysia. (AP)
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Lifestyle 23
January 21, 2011
Wikipedia celebrates 10th year with mixed reviews ÆRussian Wikipedia accused Oleh Tyahnybok, a nationalist politician, of being gay; critics say it’s more proof of how false information gets spread by the free online source that all can write, edit
BY S V I T L A N A T U C H YN S KA TUCHYNSKA@KYIVPOST.COM
Almost a default research tool for everyone, Wikipedia celebrates its 10th birthday this year. In its egalitarian world of allowing pretty much anyone to edit entries, democracy often sides with anarchy. And the Ukrainian edition of Wikipedia is not an exception. With more than 200,000 articles, the Ukrainian site is the 16th biggest in the world. Yet despite of being a mine of useful information, it’s often accused of bias and described as a virus of modern education, which leads many students astray. Consider a Wikipedia story about Oleh Tyahnybok, the leader of the nationalist Svoboda party. A presidential candidate last year, Tyahnybok is known for his ultra-nationalist views on Ukraine’s statehood, allegedly racist remarks and support for membership in NATO and the European Union. His English-language profile seems the closest to being balanced; the Russian entry shines with criticism and controversy; and the Ukrainian part is nothing more than dry biographical data. In 2009, the Russian Wikipedia added fuel to the fire: Someone edited the profile saying that Tyahnybok was gay. “The Russian Wikipedia is often being used as the ideological weapon and [its story about] Tyahnybok is just another example,” said Tyahnybok’s spokesperson Yuriy Stratyuk. The libelous remark was taken down by the Wikipedia editors on their request, said Stratyuk, noting that “there is still no mention” that a court in 2006 cleared Tyahnybok of charges of xenophobia and extremism. Tyahnybok’s story is just a drop in the ocean of controversial political, historical and religious profiles. Sometimes just comparing titles of articles in different languages is enough to understand the slant. “For example, an article in Ukrainian is called “Volyn tragedy” while its Russian supposed twin refers to the event as “Volyn massacre,” said Yuriy Perohanych, the head of Wikimedia Ukraine, the company
Ukrainian contributor Andriy Bondarenko supplies Wikipedia with stories on music and composers in Polish and Ukrainian. (Joseph Sywenkyj)
that manages Wikipedia. “The RussianGeorgian War’ on Ukrainian Wiki-page became ‘The Ossetian Conflict’ in Russian and so on.” Entries on communists, nationalists, and historical or current events connected with them are primary targets. To protect the online encyclopedia, its editors banned anonymous users from supplying or changing stories. Every statement must come from a registered user and be linked to sources, according to Perohanych. If the entry’s missing a verifiable source, it gets deleted, he said. Yet these precautions don’t always stop malicious abuse because virtually anyone can register as a wikiauthor and supply a story.
High school and college students are also guilty of abusing Wikipedia information. “It’s a big temptation for them,” said lecturer of political science in the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Rostyslav Pavlenko. “Gone are the days when students were more avid users of Internet than their teachers. It’s easy to recognize a Wikipedia style in their papers now.” The most covered subjects in Ukrainian Wikipedia are cities and towns, geography, biology, astronomy, music and cinema. Controversial stories on history and politics account only for 5 percent of the content, according to wiki-writers. Areas of Ukrainian culture and arts, technology
and military are in tatters and need the most work. With more than 4,300 authors, a typical Ukrainian Wikipedia author is a male professional or a student in his mid-20s, said Perohanych from Wikimedia. Women apparently make up less than 10 percent of writers. Andriy Bondarenko from Kyiv is one of those few young authors supplying Wikipedia with things other than politics. He said that he’s written more than 4,000 articles mostly about music to both Ukrainian and Polish Wikipedia. A music college graduate, he teaches musical computer science in his full time job. When he first visited the Ukrainian online encyclopedia, “it
was very small and I did not believe it has any future,” he said. “It had little information on music and composers. [And then] I thought if I do not write about them, then probably nobody will.” As the head of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, got $6 million in donations last year, Ukrainian Wikimedia managers say that they lack money to organize trainings for their writers and reward the most active ones. “For instance, Poland holds annual competitions for best articles in various fields and gives winners small cash awards. But we cannot do that,” said Perohanych. Balancing out the job in the Association of Information Technology Enterprises and managing Wikimedia Ukraine, he is not an official Wikipedia employee and neither are any of his contributors. This once again confirms the free-spirited nature of the largest online encyclopedia, most of which stories should be taken with a grain of salt. Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at tuchynska@kyivpost.com
24 Paparazzi
www.kyivpost.com
January 21, 2011
Tabasco ballet
New food venue is about fashion
Hat designer Marta Kholod (L) and showman Kishe
Æ
New restaurant Shlyapa, or Hat, strikes fashion as its core theme. For the opening on Jan. 13, guests arrived wearing all types of quirky hat designs. Weighing 50 kilos, a hat made of salmon and caviar tarts, cheese and meat snacks, was a delicious treat. A fashion show and dancing acts kept the guests entertained. Winners of the X-Factor talent show sang for the party crowd. Apart from European and Ukrainian cuisine, Shlyapa boasts Jewish, Chilean and Peruvian dishes, among many others at 14 Horkogo St. (Oleksiy Boyko, courtesy photos)
The bar is always the right place to check out the party scene.
Representatives from the Ukrainian Guinness Book of Records measure a hat made of food.
If you want Kyiv Post Paparazzi to cover your event, please send details or invitations to news@kyivpost.com or contact photo editor Yaroslav Debelyi at 234-6500
Best gallery picks Ukrainian sculptor Mykola Malyshko borrowed a few ideas from traditional African art to make a series of wooden sculptures. Spiritually, his work pays respect to the African sculpture tradition. Damaged by time or burned down by missioners in the 19th century, not much of it has survived to this day. Simple and sometimes rough sculptures by Malyshko reflect on tribal lifestyles in Africa. Ya Gallery, 55/57 Voloska St., 537-3351, www.yagallery. com.ua, Jan. 18 - Feb. 14 The M17 Contemporary Art Center takes you on a stroll through Venice in the oil paintings by Victor Babentsov, Victor Ryzhikh and Ivan Pilipenko. The exhibition “Venice for Three” presents a journey beyond romantic channels and bridges. Covering nearly 50 years of the Venetian history, the artists also pay tribute to the people of Venice. M17 Contemporary Art Center, 102-104 Gorkogo St., 5962030,www.m17.com.ua, until Jan. 23 (closed Mondays) Painter Volodymyr Budnikov is in the air with his new exhibition “Clouds.” Fascinated by the changing nature of the sky, he presents 10 oil paintings. He knows that he can’t catch the clouds’ transcendence in full and therefore, makes you think of fluidity as another form of reality. Bottega gallery, 22B Mykhaylivska St., 279-5353, www.bottega-gallery.com, until Jan. 20 (closed Sundays and Mondays) Lviv expressionist Mykhaylo Demtsyu thinks that everyone needs a “colorful ambulance” to get the spirits up in this grey reality. Traveling around the world, he figured that every country has its own color code. In Mystetska Zbirka, he presents the exhibition “London, New York, Monaco and Hutzul Ksenya,” in which the latter is a girl from a popular Ukrainian folk song. In Demtsyu’s work, Ksenya represents a regular Ukrainian during his travels abroad. Mystetska Zbirka Gallery, 13 Tereschinkivska, (050) 856-0448, 234-1427, www.artzbirka.com, until Jan. 30
Olaf Martens photo exhibition showcases women and nothing but women. Completely nude or wearing little but lingerie, they hop from catwalks to fashion studios putting little effort to look sexy and voluptuous. Once called the Helmut Newton of Eastern Germany, the photographer likes to say that his work balances between art and the so-called commercial kitsch. Yet you can’t help but wonder if his works are fine examples of strong irony or just a series of clichés, typical for our vague and materialistic age. In his defense though famous publications like Harpers Bazaar, Der Spiegel, Die Welt, Glamour, among many others did found his photographs worth publishing. Brucie Collections, 55B Artema St. 353-1234, www.bruciecollections.com, until Jan. 24 Avant-garde artist Mark Epstein was a prominent figure in the 1920s’ Kyiv. His graphics, sculptures, and sketches of costumes and decorations for a couple of theater plays have survived to this day. He has also worked as a book illustrator. The exhibition of “The Master’s Return” shows more than 100 works by Epstein and most of them for the first time ever. National Art Museum of Ukraine, 6 Grushevskogo St., 278-13-57, 278-74-54, www.namu.kiev.ua, until Jan. 30 Trace the evolution of winter holidays and gifts in The Christmas Tale exhibition. It presents ornaments, old post cards, and magazines dating back to the 19th century. The items on display tell the story of Orthodox, Catholic and secular New Year’s celebrations through the years. There’re a poster advertising smokeless fireworks, which were a novelty of that time, an old-fashioned train and different statuettes of Father Frosts. One Street Museum, metro Kontraktova Ploshcha, 2B Andriyivsky uzviz, 425-0398, www.onestreet.kiev.ua. Tickets: Hr 20, until Jan. 30.
Compiled by Alexandra Romanovskaya
www.kyivpost.com
Lifestyle 25
January 21, 2011
Visiting relatives at Christmas? Try picking another time of year Æ19 was already dark, past 7 p.m. or so, and I was nowhere near my destination. We deplaned and were greeted by a single airline employee who – no matter how much we harangued her – could not help us. No flights were going out and few were coming in. All the transfer desks were closed for the night. The hotels were full. I would have to spend the night at the airport. Then I got the unhappy piece of news that most of the cafes, restaurants and kiosks closed at 9 p.m., so I couldn’t even eat and drink the night away. It would be a very long and chaotic night. Thousands formed lines and slept on the floor in front of the transfer desks, waiting for them to open at 7 a.m. I couldn’t even find the end of some lines, so I decided that this wasn’t the way to get re-booked. Dazed and sleepless for more than 24 hours, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I decided, however, to keep moving all night and stay awake, walking throughout the airport with my carry-on bag. If you are in this position, two things are a must – money and a credit card; a third is very handy – a laptop. I had all three, but still it wasn’t enough. As the night wore on, I lucked out and found an enterprising group of travelers at the Internet café. Together, we called airlines repeatedly on Skype in a bid to get through. At 3 a.m., I managed to finally get an answer from Delta Airlines and a rebooking
ÆWhen stuck overnight at an airport, it helps to have money, credit cards and a laptop computer with a decent amount on your Skype account
Hundreds of people gather around information stands at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, which was paralyzed by bad weather on Dec. 28. Snowstorms disrupted travel over the holidays in many cities of Europe and America, causing delays for thousands of people. Exasperated passengers criticized airports and airlines for bad planning. (AFP)
– a flight to my destination exactly 24 hours after the original one. Now I just had to kill time until the 2 p.m. takeoff.
My record was 0-1 in missing snowstorms on this trip. I arrived in New York, while my baggage took another four days to catch
up with me. I left the Big Apple just before a snowstorm paralyzed the city for days. With my record at missing snowstorms improving to 1-1, I felt my
luck turning. But I still had my northern home state of Minnesota – or Minnesnowta, as it is known – to contend with. Fortunately, Mother Nature took pity. I returned to Kyiv on Jan. 2 with no problems whatsoever, even spending an enjoyable morning layover at the Amsterdam airport. This time, the first airport transfer desk I saw had five employees waiting on a single customer. Next Christmas? I plan to listen to Dean Martin’s rendition of “Let It Snow” and other classics – hopefully from somewhere on a tropical island. Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner can be reached at bonner@kyivpost.com
26 Lifestyle
www.kyivpost.com
January 21, 2011
These people have made lasting contributions to Kyiv Three awards for individual achievement will be presented during the 10th annual Kyiv Post Best of Kyiv award ceremony on Jan. 27. The other 21 prizes go to top businesses and one non-profit organization. The individual awards are the Spirit of Kyiv, given to the person who generously helps make Kyiv a better place, the Business Person of the Year award for exceptional success and the 10-Year Award for the most outstanding contributions to life in Ukraine during the past decade. Winners for the individual awards are chosen by the Kyiv Post, while a combination of online voting and expert tallies decided the 21 business or organization awards. The Business Person of the Year and Spirit of Kyiv nominees were profiled in the Jan. 14 issue of the Kyiv Post. Here are the nominees for the 10-Year Award: Getting to the top of your business is easier than staying there, a feat Czechborn Tomas Fiala has managed to accomplish year after year. He set up Ukraine’s most successful investment bank in Dragon Capital exactly 10 years ago when he was only 26. According to its website, it still accounts for the largest share of turnover on the Ukrainian stock market carrying out approximately a third of reported transactions. Since 2005, Dragon has completed more than 50 deals, including initial public offerings, private placements and merger and acquisition transactions, raising about $2 billion. Dragon’s asset management arm has approximately $0.6 billion under management. Over the last decade, financial magazine Euromoney named Dragon Capital the Best Equity House in Ukraine in 2002 and 2004-2008. Thomson Reuters Extel and Institutional Investor surveys have recognized Dragon Capital analysts as a leading Ukrainian equity research team in 2007-2009. The financial publication “emeafinance” named Dragon Capital the Best Broker in Ukraine in 2010. Dragon Capital was named Ukraine’s Stock Market Leader-2010 and the Best Online Broker-2010 by the Ukrainian Exchange. Dragon Capital ranked first in the C-bonds Awards-2010 categories of “Best Equity Research” and “Best Equity Sales”.
Midway through the last decade, Chicagoan Natalie Jaresko became one of four founding partners of Horizon Capital, a private equity fund that originates and manages investments in medium-sized companies in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Before that, Jaresko was the chief executive officer of the U.S.-government sponsored Western NIS Enterprise Fund. That fund went on to invest $165 million into small- and medium-sized Ukrainian companies “at a time when virtually no other institutions were doing so,” Jaresko said in October. Then, not long after the 2004 democratic Orange Revolution that overturned that year’s rigged presidential election, Horizon Capital was formed. The Chicagoan helped raise $132 million from U.S. and European investors and invested the money into 11 companies in the consumer, financial and business-to-business sectors. “That 2006 vintage fund has been quite impressive to date. Based on it, we raised the $390 million Emerging Europe Growth Fund, from which we are currently making investments of $15-40 million into mid-capital companies in Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus,” Jaresko said. She is engaged in the rebuilding of Pokrovska Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) in Chernihiv Oblast’s Baturyn, including the establishment of a community center, support of the local schools, orphanage and hospital, as well as the planning of community activities there. “I have served and continue to serve on the board of trustees of Pechersk School International, and am engaged alongside my children in a number of charitable efforts that are organized by the school and the children, including support of the Ark (orphanage and day center in Kyiv),” she said.
Jorge Zukoski is one of Ukraine’s best known expats, often serving as the unofficial face of Western business in the country. In his 12 years as the president of the 650-member American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, the articulate and amiable American has become a familiar face. He moderates investment conferences. He gives speeches about the concerns of international business. He hobnobs at VIP cocktail parties. Under the Florida native’s leadership, AmCham has organized numerous charitable events, such as the annual American Independence Day Picnic. Zukoski has also developed and promoted a volunteer program. It mobilizes the community for such tasks as cleaning beaches, planting trees, supporting animal shelters, delivering food and other necessities to people who are not mobile. Now, in a country with a generation of capitalist experience, Zukoski and the organization that he personifies are more like an advocacy group for wide-ranging reforms. “Our core philosophy is that the rule of law, transparency, predictability and equity in application of legislation and regulations to all investors, no matter their nationality of capital, has been a key driver for the change initiatives that the Chamber has undertaken over the years. These have led to increased investment, protection of the rights of internationally oriented investors and implementation of more business friendly practices,” Zukoski told the Kyiv Post in October.
Compiled by Mark Rachkevych
10-Year Anniversary Award
Richard Creagh, the vice president of Ukraine International Airlines, came to Kyiv in 1993 to establish a high-quality airline. He succeeded, overcoming numerous obstacles. “There were huge cultural differences in the early 1990s, a lot of stifling bureaucracy and very little optimism. We have achieved a profit in each of the last 10 years,” Creagh, of Ireland, said in January last year. Apart from his business success, Creagh’s positive attitude, eagerness to form helpful partnerships and support charities are appreciated by many.
Eric Aigner can fairly be credited with transforming the nightclub and bar scene in Kyiv. Starting out with a simple pizza place, the East German seized on the idea of affordability and customer service. Soon, he had his own pub, which didn’t need any advertising to fill up. Rather than intimidating his loyal following of patrons, Aigner and his then-partner and then-wife, Viola Kim, set the house example for approachability. Despite open conflicts with his partners, Aigner went on to launch new and more successful venues, reaching his peak in 2001 when the cult-status 111 opened its doors beneath the Lybid Hotel on Pobedy Square. It was racy rather than glamorous and drenched with the kind of freedom that the city was learning to enjoy. When asked once during a Kyiv Post interview what the secret of his success was, Aigner, now divorced, said: “I think that it was a mix that consisted of a lot of work, a certain amount of risk and a love of people.” Some of Aigner’s creations, which at one time numbered 18 venues under Eric’s Family chain of restaurants and clubs, such as Art Club 44, continue to operate under different management – living testaments to the man who started them and set the standards for the restaurant and club scene in Kyiv.
David and Daniel Sweere David Sweere added the word “business” to agriculture in Ukraine when David Sweere he started the Kyiv-Atlantic Group at the dawn of Ukraine’s independence. After relentless toil and bureaucratic headaches, the Sweeres finally turned a profit in 2002. Sweere started operations in Ukraine in 1990, with $1 million, after selling off his agricultural business in Minnesota. “My father was lured by the amazing farming opportunity that Ukraine offered,” Daniel Sweere said, who joined his father’s Ukrainian farming business in 1994. Roughing it out for so long through the chaotic hyper-inflation in early 1990s, his effort finally paid off. And the company has been profitable every year since 2002, according to Daniel. Today, Kyiv-Atlantic farms 10,000 hectares of leased land in Kyiv and Cherkasy oblasts, growing corn, barley, rape, sunflowers and soybean. The father-and-son majority stakeholder tandem also has 4,000 head of beef cattle and has started adding value through food processing: pasta, flour, multi-game feed, producing vegetable and soy oils and getting into the retail side of selling meat products. The Sweeres have created more than 700 jobs mostly by pumping money into the infrastructure of 10 villages where they farm. Daniel said they often give money to benefit the elderly and to promote education for youth. “There’s not much left in the villages where we operate, so we’re serious about rural development,” Daniel said. His company, created with a total investment of nearly $30 million, also has a 40,000-ton grain elevator, a feed mill, an oil refinery and a milk plant. They are Daniel Sweere currently building two more feed mills worth $10 million.
The past decade saw Michael Bleyzer’s private equity firm bring more than $1 billion in assets under management and spawn a charity. Born in Kharkiv, he seemed destined for a high-flying Soviet scientific career before he left for America in 1978 as a Jewish emigre. His career in the United States blossomed, turning him into a successful capitalist. “Then in 1993, I returned to Ukraine for a visit, and I saw the opportunities that were opening. I realized where I fit in. There were great opportunities, but no one in Ukraine knew how to access capital markets. I knew this very well, so I decided to act as a bridge between capital and opportunities,” he recalled. In 1995, Bleyzer founded his private equity institution SigmaBleyzer. While his fund does restructuring work on the company level, the Bleyzer Foundation, his charity, lobbies government for improvement in the business climate.
www.kyivpost.com
Paparazzi 27
January 21, 2011
Orphans meet diplomatic and business community
Actor Volodymyr Horyanskyi
Æ Æ
A belated New Year’s Eve celebration took place on Jan. 15 in support of the non-profit, nongovernmental project “Orphans – Our Chidren.” More than 60 orphans, ages 12 and above, had a chance to meet Ukraine’s Olympic champions, actors, singers, businessmen and diplomats during the party. The goal of the program is to bring less fortunate children together with successful people for mentoring and life-coaching. (Roman Hrytsenko)
Dance group Release
Indonesian Ambassador Nining Suningsih Rochadiat (M) talks to orphans. More than 60 orphans attend the event.
Singer Masha Sobko
Founder of ‘Orphans – Our Children’ fund Natalia Uvarova (L) talks to Mykola Kuleba from Kyiv Children and Youth Service.
Guests arrive at the show.
28 Community Bulletin Board
January 21, 2011
Publication of items in Kyiv Post Community Bulletin Board is free of charge. The newspaper will print as many submissions as space permits, but notices must be no more than 30 words, except for the people in need section. Advertising of paid services or commercial ventures is prohibited in this space. Permanent items must be resubmitted every three months. Deadline for submissions is 3 p.m. Friday for the next issue. New listings are boldfaced. Please e-mail news@kyivpost.com or contact lifestyle editor Yuliya Popova at 234-6500.
Business clubs – 4 listings
McMurrin is its founding pastor. Music for worship is provided by the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Worship services are held every Sunday at 2:30 pm at the House of Artistic Collectives (Veriovka Choir Hall, 4th floor) at 50/52 Shevchenko Blvd. Call 235-4503 or 235-6980. Î International Church, Kyiv. English and Spanish Bible study classes. We invite you to weekly services at 10.30 a.m. Saturdays at 13A Miropolskaya St. (metro Chernigovskaya, second stop by a tram Boichenka. Central entrance of twostory building). Telephone: 38-093-757-6848, 542-3194. Î Word of God Church offers Bible study every Sunday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. Sunday school, nursery for children. For more information call: 517-5193. Î International Baptist Church invites you to our English language worship services (Sundays at 10 a.m.). We are located near Vyrlytsya metro in the downstairs hall of Transfiguration Church, 30B Verbytskoho. http://livingvinechurch.googlepages.com.
Î The Business-English Center meets on Sundays at 3 p.m. for a series of business English skills workshops. For more information, call Alex at 234-0871 or email: e-club@i.com.ua or visit www.etcentre.com.ua. Î A new gentlemen’s club is always open for well-educated, successful members (free admission) to combine establishing business relationships with unconstrained socializing. Please contact us: vadym_n@ukr.net, kobserg@yahoo.com, (067) 7406820 Sergio. Î The British Business Club in Ukraine meets every Saturday for business discussion and once every month for networking. Membership is by invitation only and is open to individuals and companies. Please email: administrator@bbcu.com.ua. Î Free English discussions about Internet marketing. Bold Endeavours, a British marketing and web development company, welcomes senior marketing managers/directors to an English language discussion group about search engines and Internet marketing at noon on the first Saturday of each month. Call 221-9595, or register online at www.bold.com.ua.
Î The Evangelic Presbyterian Church of the Holy Trinity invites you to our worship service, held in Ukrainian and Russian with simultaneous English translation. We meet each Sunday at 50-52 Shevchenka Blvd., #402 (4th floor). Worship begins at 11 a.m. Sunday school for adults begins at 9:45 a.m. Pastor Ivan Bespalov: tel. (044) 287-0815; (097) 317-9598; e-mail: ivanbespalov@gmail.com. Î Kyiv International Bible Church, an English-language evangelical nondenominational church meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays at 34A Popudrenka, between Darnytsya and Chernihivska metro stops. Contacts: 501-8082, or kievIBC@ gmail.com. Î International Christian Assembly meets at 57 Holosiyivska St. Services are held every Sunday: 9 a.m. till 11:30 a.m. For further information contact: Paul, +050-382-2782, www. icakiev.com
Support groups – 5 listings
Î The Kyiv Rotary Club meets on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Andreyevsky Prichal restaurant, 6 Bratskaya Str. For more information, please contact Nataliya Rodovanskaya at 067296-5672 or n_radov@yahoo.com. Î The International Women’s Club of Kyiv (IWCK) welcomes women from around the world to join our support network and participate in our extensive social and charitable programs. For more information, see our website www.iwck.org, call or e-mail the IWCK Program Coordinator Galina Timoshenko at 234-3180, office@iwck.org. Address: 39 Pushkinska, #51, entrance 5, door code 250. Î The Rotaract Club Kyiv meets on Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the Ukrainian Educational Center, Prospect Peremohy,#30, apt. 82. For more information, please email: president@rotaract-kyiv.org.ua or visit our website www.rotaract-kyiv.org.ua. Î Democrats Abroad Ukraine is the official organization of the Democratic Party in Ukraine; connecting Americans with U.S. politics and the Democratic Party; registering, informing, and motivating voters; supporting U.S. candidates, holding events, and fundraising. To join, email info@democratsabroad. org.ua. Î The Kyiv Multinational Rotary Club welcomes all Rotarians who are in Kyiv and new potential Rotarians. Our meetings are conducted in English and are held every Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, Yaroslaviv Val St. 22. For a map and further information please consult our website at: http://kmrclub.org. Î The Kyiv Lions Club is one of 45,000 Lions Clubs around the world. We raise funds and provide services to help those most in need in our community by supporting charities in our chosen sectors of giving: children, the disabled, and the elderly. We meet on the second Monday of every month in the downstairs bar of the Golden Gate Irish Pub at 7 p.m. For more information contact Paul Niland at 044-531-9193 or paul. niland@primerosfunds.com.
English clubs – 12 listings
Public speaking – 6 listings
Î Divorce mediation, commercial mediation, consulting on diagnostics of conflict resolution in organization. Ukrainian Mediation Center, www.ukrmedation.com.ua Please contact Oksana Kondratyuk: 066-758-66-44, delo2@i.ua. Î Individual consultations, psychological support in divorce, family relations, stress management, health issues, relaxation, self-esteem, personal development. Call Elena: 097-294-6781. Î Dnipro Hills Toastmasters Club would like to invite success-oriented people to learn and develop public speaking, presentation and leadership skills. Join us Sundays from 10 to 11 a.m. at Kyiv Business School, 34 Lesya Ukrainky Street, metro station Pecherska. For detailed information, please, check our website www.dniprohills.org.ua Î EBA Toastmasters Club invites enthusiastic, goal-oriented people to learn and improve their communication and leadership skills in friendly learning and supportive environment. We meet every Monday at 7.30 p.m. at American Councils at Melnykova, 63. For more information, contact Svetlana Nesterenko at lana_svk@ukr.net or call 067 220 77 55. More information can also be found at: www.ebatmc.blogspot.com. Î Top Talkers Toastmasters Club is happy to invite ambitious and enthusiastic people to learn by doing. Together we will discover inner potential in public speaking and leadership in each of us. We meet every Tuesday at Kraft Foods, 23 Yaroslaviv Val St. at 7 p.m. Please check our website www. toptalkers.org Î American Chamber of Commerce Toastmasters Club invites English speaking business professionals to advance their presentation and communication skills in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. We meet each Wednesday at 7.30 p.m., at the Microsoft Ukraine office, 75 Zhylyanska St., Floor 4, Business Center Eurasia. To receive further details on the club and its membership, please contact our club vice president for membership, Anton Stetsenko at 093-609-5161.
Î Alcoholics Anonymous English-speaking group meets Saturday/Sunday at 12.30 p.m. and Tuesday/Thursday at 7 p.m. at various locations. Contacts: aakyiv@ukr.net, 096-4600137 (friend of Bill) for details of meeting location. Î Counseling/advising in relationships, personal growth, body/ mind/spirit matters. Well-known Ukrainian psychologist counsels expats in English and French in the center of Kyiv (Lyuteranska). See www.hohel.kiev.ua or call 050-595-3686 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Î Individual psychological counseling for Russian and English speakers. Family issues, mood disorders, anxiety, depression. Psychological Rehabilitation & Resocialization Center. Call Elena Korneyeva, 050-573-5810, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., or e-mail: kornyeyeva@rambler.ru.
Social, sport and health clubs – 2 listings Î Volleyball group, expats and locals, seeks new players, male or female. Skill levels, advanced beginner to intermediate. We meet on Sundays, 11 a.m., near Livoberezhna metro. For more info, send email to vbkiev@gmail.com Î Kiev Hash House Harriers club meets every second Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Lucky Pub, 13 Chervonoarmiyska St. (near Lva Tolstoho metro station). For more details, visit the website at http://hashhouseharriers.kiev.ua/
International clubs – 9 listings
Î Kyiv Toastcrackers Club, a part of Toastmasters International, is a worldwide organization that helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening and thinking through effective oral communication. We invite new people to benefit from the meetings on Wednesdays, at 7 p.m. at the House of Scientists, 45a Volodymyrska St. For more information see www.toastcrackers.kiev.ua.
Î Sprout Christian International School is looking for native English-speaking volunteers who are enthusiastic and love working with children to help in pre-school and English club starting coming September. For more details please call ASAP: Natalie Istomina: +067 501-0406, +093 798-9840. Î Wave Language School offers free English speaking clubs to the public. Join us on weekends from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m.– 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Please contact us by email if you are interested: info@wavelanguageschool.com. We hope to see you soon – everybody is welcome. Î Free English practice at conversation club, regular meetings on Fridays at 7 p.m. near Akademgorodok metro. English native speakers. Interesting topics for discussion. Everyone is invited. Join us at 76 Irpenskaya str., off.31. http://english. in.ua/, 229-2838. Î Free book & DVD exchange. Hundreds of English books and movies. Bring one, take one at the Phoenix Center. Address: metro Pecherska, 2 Nemyrovycha-Danchenko, University of Technology and Design, blue 14-storied building, 3rd floor. Hours: Mon-Fri 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Sat noon until 1:30 p.m. Î Native English speakers. Meet the best and the brightest in Kyiv, well-educated, ambitious, and talented young people 20-30 years old. Share your English skills and make new friends. Everyone is welcome to visit for free. We also organize picnics, balls and excursions. Five days a week at different locations. Please contact Mark Taylor at jmt260@hotmail.com for more information.
Î Improve your English-speaking skills and have fun. Be prepared to speak English most of the time with native speakers. Conversational club, thematic discussions on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information please contact Vadym. email: vadik_s@ukr.net or call 066-767-4407. Î Free international conversation club on Fridays at 7 p.m. at English Language Center. Interesting topics for discussion, studying the Bible sometimes. Join us at 4B Kutuzova lane office No. 106 (m. Pecherska) and 76 Irpenska, office No. 31 (m. Akademgorodok. The ELC LTD. Tel. 5811989, 229-28-38. http://english.in.ua
Religion – 8 listings
Î Stolypin Club (Kiev) meets every third Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. at various locations. It is a non-profit public organization uniting Kyiv’s citizenry, including prominent business representatives, politicians and the liberal professions. The club is private, but opens its doors and its spirit to the wider community, affording the public a chance to partake in certain events alongside club members and guests. Please contact Tamara Avdeyeva at 096-462-4646 or assistant@ stolypinclub.org.
Î You are invited to the St. Paul’s Evangelical Church. Roger
Î English-Russian Conversation Club for adults. People of different ages are invited for international meetings. Mini-groups, individual approach. Making new friends. Conversational trainings. Email: engrusglobe@i.ua
Î Free speaking English club in Irpen on Saturdays at Lan School. Call 093-623-3071.
Î Talkers Toastmasters Club invites those interested in improving their public speaking, communication skills, English and creative abilities to join its meetings on Saturday mornings at 11 a.m. Please, check club’s website at arttalkers.wordpress.com, call 096-565-6229 or e-mail: arttalkers@gmail.com
Î Christ Church, Kyiv. We are the Anglican/Episcopal Church, serving the English-speaking community in Kyiv. We meet Sundays at 3 p.m. at St Catherine’s German Lutheran Church, 22 Luteranska Street, a five-minute walk from Khreshchatyk. Bible study on Tuesdays at 7.30 p.m. Please call Graham at 098-779-4457 for more information, www.acny.org.uk/8592.
Î Free English speaking club A@5! Improve your English speaking skills and have fun. Be prepared to speak in English most of the time with native speakers. Conversational clubs and thematic discussions on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, please contact Vadym at vadik_s@ukr.net or +066 767-4407
Î Welcome to the friendly atmosphere of a French-speaking club. We meet once weekly on Saturdays or Sundays for conversation practice and movie sessions. Please contact Svetlana: 067-907-1456 or email: consonance-s@ukr.net. Î Student Embassy Project invites students to join intercultural events in Kyiv, Lviv and Ternopil. The initiative is aimed at international students’ integration into Ukrainian society, youth leadership development, intercultural dialogue. To learn more please e-mail us at studentembassy@gmail.com or visit: http://studentembassy.org.ua.
Î Are you a native English speaker? We are glad to invite you to join our English-speaking club. Call 067-620-3120 (Olga) or e-mail Olga.Bondar@atlantm.com.ua Î Free English/German conversation club on Sundays. Druzhbi Narodiv 18/7, office No. 3. Everyone is welcome. Tel: 529-75-77.
People in need - 7 listings
www.kyivpost.com Î Nastya Kotova, 15, has been diagnosed with acute leukemia. She had a successful bone marrow transplant in Israel two months ago. Nastya is in a relatively stable condition now for the first time in many months. A step away from recovery, she still has to go through a rehabilitation period. The Kotov family urgently needs $12,000 to continue the treatment. Please help save their daughter’s life. More information: http://www.donor.org.ua/index.php?m odule=help&act=show&c=1&id=1170 http://fonddarina.com/ru/child/nastya-kotova?news#72 Contact Nastya’s volunteer, Iryna: 096-373-89-71. Bank details: Beneficiary: Kotova Olena Vasylivna (Nastya’s mother) Deposit money on a banking account: # 4405885014676768 PrivatBank Account #: 29244825509100 MFO: 305299 Code: 14360570 Î Maksym Nalivkin, 12 years old, needs your help. The boy had suffered from cerebral haemorrhage and further subarachnoid hemorrhage, which led to 3 brain surgeries and constant artificial pulmonary ventilation. Since March 2010 the boy has been held at the resuscitation department, for 2 months he’s been out of coma, there are slight positive changes that give hope. He still needs a long-term rehabilitation; however his family already spent their savings on treatment. In case you have any possibility to support them, Maksym’s family would much appreciate it. Contacts: Mother Elena Nalivkina - mob.tel.: +380 99 625-2475 Father Arkadiy Nalivkin - mob.tel: +380 50318-5499; tel: +380 552 22-2806; email: nag.box@gmail.com; skype: arkady_g. nalivkin; ICQ: 8423832 Webpage: http://nag.pp.net.ua/ Bank details for hryvnia transfer: Bank: Черноморское отделение Херсонского филиала «Приватбанк» МФО Code: 305299 ОКПО Code: 14360570 Account: 29244825509100 Purpose of payment: 4627085825848787, Nalivkina Elena Nikolaevna, ИНН: 2596602804 Multicurrency account (U.S. dollar, euro): BENEFICIARY: NALIVKIN ARKADYY, Kherson, Ukraine ACCOUNT: 2620001696644 BANK NAME: JOIN STOCK COMPANY "THE STATE EXPORTIMORT BANK OF UKRAINE" (UKREXIMBANK), KHERSON BRANCH SWIFT: EXBSUAUXKHE BANK ADDRESS: 46, RADIANS'KA STR., KHERSON Maksym’s family also appeals for advice - any useful contacts of rehabilitation professionals, recovery programs, as well as charity organizations or grant programs for such cases. Î Two-year-old Vanya Chornozub from Kherson Oblast has brain cancer. Since no clinic in Ukraine was able to cure him, he has been transferred to Germany for further treatment. Due to the efforts of many people, two years of therapy brought very good results. Vanya is getting better. But his parents are very short of money to pay for further treatment. His parents appeal to anyone who can help support Vanya’s treatment. Contact person: volunteer Olga Kopylova: +380-67-234-1225 Webpage www.donor.org.ua/index.php?module=help&act=s how&c=1&id=870 Details for money transfers: PrivatBank Account: 29244825509100 Bank branch location code: 305299 Code: 14360570 Details of payment: card replenishment: 4405885012914724, Chornozub À.À., support for son’s treatment Î Sofia Sydorchuk, 3,5 years old, needs your help urgently. The girl has recently been diagnosed with myeloblastic leukemia, she is in hospital, the intensive chemotherapy department. Sofia needs to undergo a course of medical treatment that consists of 4 blocks of chemotherapy (one block has already been done). It is difficult to determine the exact cost of the treatment at this stage; our best estimate is around Euro 200,000. After chemotherapy Sofia needs to move to a specialised rehabilitation clinic in Israel or Germany. Sofia’s family hopes for your support, each day they do treatment and tests. You can make a donation via one of the following options: (1) Donations made through a bank transfer Banking details for transfers in Hr: Beneficiary: ÀÒ “Ukreksimbank” Account: 2924902234 Bank of the beneficiary: ÀÒ “Ukreksimbank” MFO code: 322313 EDRPOU code: 00032112 Payment purpose: receipt of funds to the account of Sydorchuk D.V. 0001025541 (2) Donations via web-money Z351457992891 R639870369876 E252216931289 U585571766822 (For instructions on transferring the money via web-money please refer to: http://webmoney.ua/withdrawfunds/) Î The Down Syndrome Ukrainian Organisation gathers parents who have trisomic children, in order to help them raise their kids, and aims at changing the public perception of the disease. The Organisation is now opening a Center for Early Development of the Children with Down Syndrome in Kyiv. The association has recently launched the operation “Serebrenaya Monetka” (Silver Coin) in order to raise funds for the center. Transparent boxes have been displayed in the 100 branches of UkrSibBank (the subsidiary of the French BNP Paribas group) in Kyiv, in order to collect the small coins that everybody has in their pockets. All donations are welcome. Details can be found at http://www.downsyndrome.com.ua/; http://www.ukrsibbank.com. The operation will end on March 19th. All the proceeds of the operation will be used to buy equipments and furniture for this Center.” Hryvnya account: BENEFICIARY: Vseukrainskaia Bkagodiyna Organizatsia Down Syndrome ACCOUNT: 26007265663400 MFO 351005 UKRSIBBANK
www.kyivpost.com
29
January 21, 2011
Find out the winners of the Best of Kyiv 2010 competition on Jan. 28 2EADERS OF THE +YIV 0OST ARE INTELLECTUAL NETWORKERS LAUNCHING NEW IDEAS DEVELOP ING BUSINESS AND SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION 4HEY ARE ALSO mCULTURE PRENEURSn p THE PEO PLE WHO ACTIVELY DEFINE THE CULTURAL SCENE /NCE A YEAR THEY PICK THE BEST IN THEIR FIELD OF EXPERTISE HONORING ACCOMPLISHMENT AND INSPIRING OTHERS TO FOLLOW SUIT 4HE +YIV 0OST TH ANNUAL m"EST OF +YIVn SURVEY IS FINISHED )TS AIM WAS TO IDENTIFY AND HUNT DOWN THE BEST VIXEN AND FOXES ON +YIVlS BUSINESS AND SOCIAL TRAILS )N ITS CELEBRATORY TH POLL READ ERS AND EXPERTS WERE ENCOURAGED TO VOTE FOR LEADING COMPANIES IN SECTORS 9OU HAVE BEEN ASKED TO CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE BANK AND YOUR PREFERRED WATER ING HOLE ONLINE AT WWW KYIVPOST COM 4O OUR TRADITIONAL CATEGORIES WE ADDED FOUR NEWCOMERS -"! PROGRAM PUB CLOTHING
G e n e ra l p a r t n e r
CHAIN AND A NON PROFIT NON GOVERNMEN Acco u n t i n g p a r t n e r TAL ORGANIZATION (ERElS HOW IT ALL WORKS )NITIAL NOMINEES WERE HAND PICKED BY THE +YIV 0OST EDITORIAL STAFF 4HEN AN EXPERT PANEL REPRESENTED BY LAST YEARlS NOMINEES SCREENED THE LIST 4HEY VOTED IN EACH CATEGORY TO NARROW THE SELECTION DOWN TO FIVE CANDIDATES 4HEN H o s t o f t h e awa rd s ce re m o ny READERS HAD A CHANCE TO HONOR THEIR FAVOR ITES ONLINE CASTING HALF OF ALL RANKING POINTS TOWARDS THE FINAL SELECTION 2ESULTS WERE DETERMINED BY PAIRING UP YOUR VOTES WITH THOSE OF EXPERTS Fl owe r p a r t n e r B e e r p a r t n e r 7HAT HAPPENS NEXT IS THE MOST DELICIOUS PART OF THE m"EST OF +YIVn EVENT 7E HONOR WINNERS DURING AN EVENING OF FINE DINING AND PARTYING
Æ The award ceremony will be held on Jan. 27.
Airlines partner
List of TOP 5 nominees for Best of Kyiv 2010 1.
BEST INVESTMENT COMPANY
a.
Concorde Capital
b.
Dragon Capital
c.
e.
Pedersen & Partners
b.
InterContinental Kyiv
b.
Lavinia
7.
BEST TELECOMMUNICATIONS/ INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER
c.
Opera
c.
Polyana
d.
Premier Palace Hotel
d.
Premium Wine
Horizon Capital
a.
IP.net
e.
Radisson BLU
e.
Wineport
d.
Renaissance Capital
b.
Kyivstar mobile
Troika Dialog Ukraine
c.
MTS connect
BEST ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL
BEST RESTAURANT
e.
13.
18. a.
Belvedere
2.
BEST BANK SERVICES
d.
Ukrtelekom
a.
British Council Ukraine
b.
Concord
a.
Alfa-Bank
e.
Volia
b.
British International School
c.
Fellini
b.
Citibank
8.
BEST MOBILE OPERATOR
Goodman
OTP Bank
a.
Golden Telecom
Kyiv Mohyla Business School (KMBS)
d.
c.
c.
e.
Le Grand CafĂŠ
d.
Raiffeisen Bank Aval
b.
Kyivstar
d.
London School of English
f.
Lipskiy Osobnyak
e.
UkrSibbank BNP Paribas
c.
Life
e.
Speak Up
g.
Nobu
3.
BEST TAX/AUDIT SERVICES
d.
MTS
14.
BEST MBA
h.
Oliva
a.
Baker Tilly Ukraine
e.
Utel
a.
Edinburgh Business School
i.
Pantagruel
b.
Deloitte & Touche
BEST FREIGHT & FORWARDING COMPANY
International Institute of Business
j.
Santori
Ernst & Young
9.
b.
c.
BEST PUB
d.
KPMG
a.
DHL
Kyiv Mohyla Business School (KMBS)
19. a.
Arena Beer House
e.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
b.
Kuehne + Nagel
Belle-Vue
4.
BEST LEGAL SERVICES
c.
Maersk Logistics/Damco
MIM-Kyiv (International Management Institute)
b. c.
Docker Pub
a.
Baker & McKenzie
d.
Raben Ukraine
Golden Gate
b.
Clifford Chance
e.
TNT Express
Wisconsin International University in Ukraine
d. e.
O’Briens
c.
CMS Cameron McKenna
20.
BEST CLOTHING CHAIN
d.
DLA Piper Ukraine
e.
c.
d.
f.
10.
BEST CAR SALES DEALER (BY HOLDING GROUP)
15.
BEST PRIVATE HEALTH SERVICE
a.
Laura Ashley
Magisters
a.
AWT BAVARIA
a.
American Medical Centers
b.
Mango
f.
Vasil Kisil & Partners
b.
Honda Ukraine
b.
Boris
c.
Marks & Spencer
5.
BEST REAL ESTATE SERVICE
c.
Nissan Motor
c.
Eurolab
d.
United Colors of Benetton
a.
Blagovest
d.
Toyota Ukraine
d.
ISIDA
e.
Zara
b.
Colliers International
e.
Winner
e.
Medikom
c.
DTZ
11.
BEST PASSENGER AIRLINES
16.
BEST INSURANCE COMPANY
21.
BEST IMPACT, BY NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
d.
NAI Pickard
a.
Air France-KLM
a.
Allianz Ukraine
e.
Park Lane
b.
Austrian Airlines
b.
AXA Insurance
a.
Children of Chornobyl Relief & Development Fund (CCRDF)
6.
BEST HR AGENCY
c.
British Airways
c.
INGO Ukraine
b.
International HIV/AIDS Alliance
a.
Ancor SW
d.
Lufthansa German Airlines
d.
Providna
b.
Brain Source International
e.
Ukraine International Airlines
e.
PZU Ukraine
c.
International Women's Club of Kyiv (IWCK)
c.
Golden Staff
12.
BEST HOTEL
17.
BEST WINE BOUTIQUE
d.
Kyiv Lion’s Club
d.
Hudson Global Resources Ukraine
a.
Hyatt Regency Kyiv
a.
Good Wine
e.
Victor Pinchuk Foundation
Winners among online voters will be drawn from a lottery at the award ceremony on Jan. 27. Their names will be published on the website at www.kyivpost.com/ projects/best2010/ on Jan. 28 and in the Kyiv Post on Feb. 4.
BOARD OF EXPERTS Nick Cotton (DTZ) Alex Sokol (American Medical Centers) Serhiy Boyko (Volia) GĂśkhan Ă–ztekin (Tike) Jorge Intriago (Ernst & Young) Ihor Predko (Deloitte & Touche) Andriy Krivokoritov (Brain Source International)
The prizes are:
Yana Khoziainova (Hertz) Adam Mycyk (CMS Cameron McKenna) Oleksandr Nosachenko (Colliers International) Robert S. Kossmann (Raiffeisen Bank Aval) Ron Barden (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Karen McPhee (InterContinental Kyiv) Olena Berestetska (Aquarium) Alexa J. Milanytch (CCRDF)
SPECIAL AWARDS The Spirit of Kyiv award will go to the person who best exemplifies generosity in community involvement to make Kyiv a better place to live. Nominees: Leigh Turner Anna Derevyanko Jorge Intriago Maryna Krysa Mychailo Wynnyckyi Bate C. Toms Sergiy Oberkovych H. Brian Mefford Business Person of the Year award will go to the person who had exceptional success. Nominees: Nick Piazza Jorge Intriago George Logush Bjoern Stendel 10-Year Anniversary Award will go to the person who has made the most outstanding contributions to life in Ukraine for the past decade. Nominees: Tomas Fiala Natalie Jaresko Jorge Zukoski Richard Creagh Eric Aigner David & Daniel Sweere Michael Bleyzer
a certificate for a luxury weekend for 2 persons in
one of two certificates for a dinner (up to Hr 400 w/t alcohol) at Anna Derevyanko (EBA) Mykhaylo Radutskyi (Boris) Michael Kharenko (Saenko Kharenko) Tetyana Kalyada (TNT Express) Alla Savchenko (BDO) Myron Wasylyk (The PBN Company) Tetyana Zamorska (KPMG) Martyn Wickens (Pedersen & Partners)
Olga Karpova (International Institute of Business) Peter I. Metelsky (KUEHNE + NAGEL) Nick Piazza (BG Capital) Yuri Lutsenko (Leo Burnett Ukraine) Alla Konyaeva (Ancor SW) Svitlana Shynkarenko (Adwenta Lowe) Jared Grubb (Clifford Chance) Oleksiy Didkovsky (Asters)
Stuart McKenzie (Pulse) Maryna Bodenchuk (Providna) James T. Hitch, III (Baker & McKenzie) Tomas Fiala (Dragon Capital) Oleksiy Aleksandrov (UkrSibbank) Harald Hahn (Lufthansa German Airlines) Philippe Wautelet (AXA Ukraine) Kateryna Skybska (DOPOMOGA Staffing Company)
For more information, please contact Iuliia Panchuk at panchuk@kyivpost.com or by phone at +380 44 234-30-40
30 Employment/Education
WWW KYIVPOST COM
January 21, 2011
How to place an Employment Ad in the
Prices for ads (hrn.)
Kyiv Post By Fax, Phone or E-mail (from 9 a.m. to 6p.m. Ask for Nataliia Protasova)
Tel. +380 44 234 6503 Fax. +380 44 234 6330 e-mail: protasova@kyivpost.com
Size (mm)
B&W
Color
15 boxes 260×179,5
11 931
15 907
9 boxes 154,5×179,5
7 158
9 544
4 boxes 102x118
3 333
4 444
3 boxes 49,2×179,5
2 500
3 333
2 boxes 102×56,5
1 666
2 222
1 boxes 49,2×56,5
833
1 111
All prices are given without VAT.
требуются штатные переводчики с опытом устного и письменного технического перевода c/на английский язык.
www.richmondra.com
careers@richmondra.co.uk
Место работы – офис в Киеве. Зарплата по результатам собеседования. Приветствуется знание французского, как второго языка. Присылайте резюме на электронную почту vbouratevich@gmail.com.
Japanese company ITOCHU (www.itochu.co.jp) Is looking for
In Ukraine for YOKOHAMA tire Brand promotion Requirements: )JHI FEVDBUJPO ZFBST PME ZFBST SFMFWBOU PS NPSF FYQFSJFODF JO TBMFT PS NBSLFUJOH GJFME BU UIF MFBEJOH UJSF NBOVGBDUVSJOH DPNQBOZ PS 6LSBJOJBO USBEJOH DPNQBOZ 6OJWFSTJUZ EFHSFF 'MVFOU TQPLFO XSJUUFO &OHMJTI 6LSBJOJBO PS 3VTTJBO $PNQVUFS MJUFSBUF 8PSE &YDFM 1PXFS 1PJOUT BU NVTU
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ПРОСЬБА ОБРАЩАТЬСЯ ТОЛЬКО СОИСКАТЕЛЕЙ, ПРОРАБОТАВШИХ ШТАТНЫМ ПЕРЕВОДЧИКОМ ТЕХНИЧЕСКОГО ПЕРЕВОДА НЕ МЕНЕЕ 5 ЛЕТ.
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s !CCOUNTING &INANCE %CONOMICS OR "USINESS EDUCATION BACKGROUND s %XCELLENT COMPUTER SKILLS %8#%, s &LUENT WITH READING %NGLISH s 4HE POSITION WILL ENTAIL ANALYZING AND COMPILING EARNINGS REPORT DATA ON PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES MEETING DEADLINES s HOUR WORK WEEK s #OMPETITIVE 3ALARY Send CV to fcedge@zoominternet.net calls taken at 724-323-4166
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занимающемуся строительством нового защитного сооружения в Чернобыле,
announces an open position. The candidate will have:
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Please, contact us now at:
«Новарка»
RESUME
Looking for an exciting international career in Hospitality or qualified personnel for your Hotel?
Management C o m p a n y
RESUME
Французскому консорциуму
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WWW KYIVPOST COM
Classifieds 31
January 21, 2011
3&"- &45"5&
,
,
1 2 3
35 65 80
55 90 110
1 Chervonoarmijs’ka 2 Pushkins’ka 2 Yaroslavov Val 2 2 Mykhailyvska Voloska 2
40 60
1200 800
Baseyna
Prorizna Lysenko Kropyvnyts’kogo
65 1500 60 1500 62 2000
Malopidval’na
2
70 67
Mezhygirska
3
90
1800
2100 2400
Kostyolna
3
90
Khreschatyk
3
110
1300 1600
M.Zhytomyrs’ka 3
120 3500
Yaroslavov Val
3
105 1900
Velyka Zhytomyrs’ka 5 B. Khmel’nytskogo 5
170 4000 250 4500
Chervonoarmiyska
8
420 8000
Tarasovskaya
7
280
Gonchara
2
72 175000
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FOR SALE
AVAILABLE FOR RENT NOW
private house and land in Kiev Location: Solomenskiy rayon, Zhulyany, Naberezhnaya St., 5 min. to metro “Vasylkivska�
EUROPEAN QUALIT Y OFFICE
Price: 750 000 USD Total area: – house: 318 sq.m – land: 12 00 sq.m – guest house 12 sq.m Important: new school nearby, house just rebuilt, heated swimming pool, own sports field and children’s play zone, car parking for 5 cars
230 sq.m. CBD $IRECT FROM OWNER
(044) 353 79 18 ' 0 3 3 & / 5
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Contact: +38067 465 5747 or +38067 9091630
Contact: Inna: 067 209 14 59
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AN APARTMENT BUILDING CONSISTING OF 11 ONE, TWO AND THREE ROOM APARTMENTS IS AVAILABLE FOR LONG-TERM RENT. Centre, Arsenalna metro station. Elegant, contemporary design • full-featured kitchen • broadband • security • 24H surveillance • parking.
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AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL in Podol ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING CENTRE NEW SCHOOL, Tuition, Training, Clubs, (Psychology, Films, Discussions – Various Themes) NATIVE SPEAKERS Some FREE Events Tel 050 5688403 greenbananas.ua@gmail.com
Driver-interpreter with own car 10 eur/hour, 60 eur/day airport transfer 20 eur trips around Ukraine alex.all-transport@yandex.ua tel. +38067 8731686
THAI COOKING COURSE Learn to prepare authentic Thai dishes - it's simple, easy and we use only fresh, local ingredients! Small group lessons, 3-hour course. Cook, eat, enjoy! Email UkeyThai@gmail.com to enroll.
Cars for rent Mercedes E, Bus-Sprinter with driver, translator. Autovermietung, loyer. Tel.: +38 067 305 0055 +38 093 558 5050
Teacher of Russian language for foreigners. Teacher of English language. +380 67 734-93-74
Work Permits for Non-Residents, Residency Permits, Tax IDs, Company Registration, Nominal Directors, Legal Support, Tax Reporting & Accounting info@megaprime.com.ua +380-50-070-2126, Perfect English
Visa consultation services for Ukr citizens/residents to travel abroad on: business matters, friend/family visit, sporting/cultural event etc. elenakalyu@yandex.ru. Reply quickly.
Euroconcierge Any kind of service in Ukraine. EURO 2012. Personal assistant. www.euroconcierge.com.ua +38-067-230-68-75
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32 Photo Story
www.kyivpost.com
January 21, 2011
Washing sins away on Epiphany One of Ukraine’s most important religious holidays, Epiphany, was celebrated on Jan. 19 with traditional ice-water swimming. Some 150 Christian Orthodox believers opted for a quieter celebration in the village of Buzova some 30 kilometers from the capital on the grounds of the folk museum “Ukrainian Village.” A church service was held first (2). Then believers gathered around a cross cut out of ice splashed with reddish beetroot juice, symbolizing the blood of Jesus, who was said to be baptized on this day. The faithful came with bottles of water to be blessed by Father Bohdan Tymoshenko. The water is believed to have healing powers (4). Some 50 followers braved the cold in the belief it would wash their sins away. Encouraging people to take the icy bath, Father Bohdan announced free shots of vodka and a bite to eat for everyone who comes out of the water with a wet head of hair (3, 5). Story by Nataliya Horban Photos by Joseph Sywenkyj
2
1
3
4
5