The Ukrainian Weekly 2011-07

8/7/2019 The Ukrainian Weekly 2011-07

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Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association

$1/$2 in UkraineVol. LXXIX No. 7 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2011TheUkrainianWeekly

INSIDE:

The question of succession in the Ukrainian Catholic Church page 4. Tabachnyks educational reform plan is defeated, for now page 8. Students from Ukraine hold Zluka Camp in Chicago page 9.

Activists from Ukraine travel to U.S.to speak on developments back home

by Yaro Bihun

Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON Ten prominentactivists for reform in Ukraine spent threedays in Washington on February 2-4briefing official and other interested par-ties about the situation in their countryand discussing ways in which the UnitedStates and others in the West could helpimprove Ukraines political, economicand civic environment.

That need to reform the way the cur-rent Ukrainian government runs the coun-try was spotlighted when one of the visit-ing activists, a member of UkrainesParliament Volodymyr Ariev, learnedupon his arrival here that while he was on

the plane flying to Washington, with hisvoting ID card in his pocket, he wasbeing recorded in Kyiv as voting for theconstitutional changes proposed by theYanukovych administration that postponethe next parliamentary election from thisyear to 2012 something he opposes.

Mr. Ariev, along with three fellownational deputies, journalists and theother reform activists in the group, spokeabout these and other issues in meetingswith representatives of the White House,

the State Department and other govern-ment officials, Congressional staff, aswell as with members of commercial,

judic ial and civic group s interested inUkraines development.

Their first open meeting in aCongressional hearing room was facili-tated by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation incooperation with the U.S. HelsinkiCommission. Later they also had a work-ing luncheon organized by the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, a panel dis-cussion at the National Endowment forDemocracy and a news conference at theNational Press Club.

The delegation was headed by OlehRybachuk, who chairs two prominentnon-governmental organizations Suspilnist Foundation and Centre UA and is the initiator of the New CitizenCampaign. During the presidency ofViktor Yushchenko, he served as the pres-

idents chief of staff and vice price minis-ter for European integration.

The timing of their trip, according toMr. Rybachuk, was important so that theycould present their analyses and propos-als in Washington before the semi-annualU.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership meet-ing scheduled here for mid-February.Ukrainian government officials stronglyrecommended that their visit follow thatmeeting.

All of the members of this group wereoutspoken in their comments about theneed for reforms in Ukraine. Another OurUkraine member of Parliament, OlesDoniy, commented on the Ariev absenteevote scandal, and noted the sad state of the

A bandit regime in

21st century Europeis not normal.

National Deputy

Oles Doniy

(Continued on page 3)

Ukrainian National Deputy Volodymyr Ariev describes his surprise to learn thatwhile he was flying to Washington unbeknownst to him his vote was beingrecorded in favor of a one-year postponement of the next parliamentary election.Seated next to him at the February 4 U.S.-Ukraine Business Council working lun-cheon in Washington are fellow Ukrainian political and human rights activists

Svitlana Zalishchuk (left) and Kateryna Levchenko.

Yaro Bihun

Ukrainian Catholic Church leaderHusar resigns, citing ill health

PARSIPPANY, N.J. Major Archbishopand Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, 77, hasresigned his post as the primate of theUkrainian Greek-Catholic Church. Theofficial announcement was made in Kyivon February 10 at a 2 p.m. press confer-ence, although news of his departure wasleaked a day earlier to some news media.

The patriarch, who has led theUkrainian Greek-Catholic Church sinceJanuary 2001, resigned due to ill health,and his resignation was accepted by PopeBenedict XVI. He had originally submitted

a request to retire when he turned 75.

Today, when I no longer have the nec-essary strength, I want to transfer authorityto my successor who will effectively con-tinue this work. Because this is not mywork and I am not the key, PatriarchLubomyr said. The Church is the key andthe goal of our work is service to theChurch, and we try to perform this as longas we can do this effectively.

The patriarch added that he will contin-ue to serve the Church and the people. Iwill do what can still be done. I will pray

Major Archbishop and Cardinal Lubomyr Husar at the February 10 press con-ference during which he announced his resignation.

Illya M. Labunka


Top Ukrainian law firm raidedby police and state prosecutors

by Zenon Zawada

Kyiv Press Bureau

NEW YORK One of Ukraines mostrespected law firms became the latest tar-get of President Viktor Yanukovychscampaign against of former PrimeMinister Yulia Tymoshenko and her allieswhen its Kyiv offices were raided onFebruary 3 by armed police and state

prosecutors.For six hours, officers detained 50

lawyers and staff at the Kyiv offices ofMagisters, ranked among the top 100 inEurope. Officials from the ProcuratorGenerals Office of Ukraine confiscateddocuments, corporate stamps, video sur-veillance materials and local computerservers as part of its investigation of the

Tymoshenko government, widely consid-ered to be selective persecution.

Magisters attorneys had been cooperat-ing with prosecutors for a month prior tothe raid, which was meant to pressure andintimidate the firms lawyers into hand-ing over information, said Andrew Mac,managing partner of the Kyiv office.Magisters lawyers claim they dont havethe information the prosecutors are look-ing for. Mr. Mac declined to identifywhat information was being sought, cit-ing the firms confidentiality agreementswith clients.

I anticipated they [prosecutors] wouldbe aggressive in questioning, accuse usduring questioning or even subpoena us,



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Opposition appeals to court

KYIV The opposition has appealedto the Constitutional Court in connectionwith the amendments to the Constitutionof Ukraine that postponed the next parlia-mentary elections until October 2012.The press service of the ConstitutionalCourt reported that the court has receiveda constitutional appeal from 53 nationaldeputies on the constitutionality of theamendments adopted by Parliament onFebruary 1. In accordance with the rulesof the Constitutional Court, the appealwas submitted for study to the Secretariatof the Court. On February 1 theVerkhovna Rada adopted changes to theConstitution that prolong the mandate ofthe current Parliament; on February 3President Viktor Yanukovych enactedthese changes. The opposition says thelegislature did not have the authority toextend its mandate by a year and a half,since based on the norms on the 1996Constitution to which Ukraine has

returned regular parliamentary electionsare be held on March 27 of this year.According to the Constitution of 1996,the Verkhovna Rada is elected for fouryears and the president is elected for fiveyears. In addition, the opposition claimsto have evidence that the voting cards ofabsent national deputies were used in theFebruary 1 vote on the constitutionalamendments. (Ukrinform)

CEEC on sanctions against Belarus

WASHINGTON The Central andEast European Coalition (CEEC) whichcomprises 18 national ethnic organiza-tions and represents over 20 millionAmericans on January 24 sent a letterto U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clintonto express our appreciation for the state-ments already issued, and respectfullyask you to take further, decisive andeffective actions with respect to theregime of Belarusian strongmanAlyaksandr Lukashenka. CEEC mem-bers, including the Ukrainian CongressCommittee of America (UCCA), notedthat the December 19, 2010, presidentialelection in Belarus was neither free norfair and that they remain deeply trou-

bled by the brutal post-election crack-down by Lukashenkas regime on peace-ful demonstrators, democratic activists,

journalists and civil society. We are con-cerned about the wider implications, ifleft unchecked, these actions may have

for democracy and security in the regionas a whole. They went on record tostate: we not only concur with, butwould like to underscore the recommen-dations set forth by prominent U.S. advo-cates for democracy and human rights intheir January 14, 2011, open letter to you.In particular, we believe that the imposi-tion of wider visa bans, targeted econom-ic sanctions, reduced/waived visa fees forBelarusian citizens, support for/place-ment of students facing expulsion fortheir participation in the protests, andgreater support for civil society activitieswill demonstrate our readiness to con-front the dictatorial nature of this currentregime, as well as help to safeguard thebasic principles of democracy. The

CEEC letter was signed by Frank Spulaof the Polish American Congress,Michael Sawkiw Jr. of the UCCA andKarl Altau of the Joint Baltic AmericanNational Committee. Copies of the letterwere sent to Sens. John F. Kerry,Benjamin L. Cardin, Richard J. Durbinand Richard G. Lugar, and Reps. IleanaRos-Lehtinen, Howard L. Berman andChristopher H. Smith. (CEEC)

Missing Kyiv mayor returns

KYIV The Kyiv City Council saysMayor Leonid Chernovetskyi is back onthe job after an absence of several weeks,RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service reported onFebruary 8. Council spokeswoman OlhaTuni i to ld journa l i s t s tha t Mr .

Chernovetskyi had been back in theoffice since February 7. She did not saywhere the mayor was during his absence.Local media reported in December 2010that Mr. Chernovetskyi disappearedshortly after he was ousted in Novemberas head of the Kyiv city administrationand replaced by a senior municipal offi-c i a l , O l e k s a n d e r P o p o v . M r .Chernovetskyi retained the title of Kyiv

ANALYSIS

by Vladimir Socor

Eurasia Daily Monitor

Russias ambassador to Moldova,Valery Kuzmin, insinuated via Chisinaumedia on February 1 that Moscow cangrant Moldova a price discount onRussian gas, as it granted one to Ukraine,in return for military basing rights.

Mr. Kuzmin said: Moldovan authori-ties must execute the conditions of theagreement recent ly s igned wi thGazprom One should not fully excludepolitics from Russias relations with othercountries. The political dimension can beturned into an economic equivalent. Thusin Ukraine, for example, there was pro-vided a compensation mechanism [forgas] in the lease agreement for RussiasBlack Sea Fleet base. Due to that mutual-ly advantageous agreement, the gas price

dropped for Ukrainian end consumers.Moldova also has such opportunities.Chisinaus politicians can make proposalsto Moscow. Then negotiations can beheld and a decision made. We do nothave such proposals on the political agen-da thus far, but this does not mean thatsuch proposals do not exist. We are openfor discussions (Unimedia, February 1;Infotag, February 2).

Mr. Kuzmin had just held a round ofbilateral meetings with party leaders fromthe governing Alliance for EuropeanIntegration (AEI) and the oppositionCommunist Party. In a concluding publicstatement he advised Chisinau to askMoscow to re-negotiate the price of gas.Russia would discuss anything ifMoldova itself takes the initiative

(Moldpres, January 28, February 2).Almost certainly, the ambassador made amore explicit offer for the politiciansbehind closed doors than he could makepublicly.

Moldovas Vice Prime Minister andEconomics Minister Valeriu Lazar pub-licly drew a parallel with the Russian-Ukrainian tradeoff military base leasingfor cheap gas shortly before Mr.Kuzmin did so. Arguing that the cost ofimported Russian gas depends in part onpolitical relations with Russia, Mr. Lazarsaid: If we follow Ukraines exampleand try to make some political conces-sions to Russia, then we could obtainsome discounts (Radio Moldova,January 30, cited by Infotag, January 31).

Following Mr. Kuzmins public refer-ence to a Ukraine-type deal withMoldova, however, Mr. Lazar went pub-lic again to reverse his position. Alludingto counter-leverage on Russian gas transitto the Balkans via Moldova, he conclud-ed: Either we follow our policy andallow the gas price to reach averageEuropean levels, which will give us lee-way to negotiate [raising] the transit tar-iffs, or we act as the Ukrainians did. Dowe really want this? We should settle ourgas debts and behave with dignity fromnow on (Infotag, February 2).

The Russian-Ukrainian agreementswere signed on April 21, 2010, byPresidents Dmitry Medvedev and ViktorYanukovych. They prolonged the RussianBlack Sea Fleets basing rights in

Sevastopol beyond the 2017 expirationdate, until 2047. In return, Russia granteda 30 percent discount on the price ofRussian gas to Ukraine for the same peri-od of time, if that price exceeds $336 per1,000 cubic meters (tcm).

Moldova could draw some lessonsfrom those agreements. Ukraine seems tohave made a losers trade-off even incommercial terms. An implementation

mechanism and even a common under-standing of that arrangement are appar-

ently lacking. Last month in Moscow,Finance Ministers Aleksei Kudrin ofRussia and Fedir Yaroshenko of Ukrainestarted negotiations about implementingthose agreements. Mr. Kudrin insistedthat a new agreement must be negotiat-ed to define concrete terms and parame-ters, on which implementation woulddepend. Mr. Yaroshenko apparentlypleaded for overcoming a deadlock: Forus it is important to reach a common inter-pretation, define a common methodologyfor implementing this agreement in reallife (Eurasia Daily Monitor, January 18).

Moscow can turn its side of that bar-gain into a dead letter. The price of gasseems very unlikely to stay above $300per 1,000 tcm (unless Moscow decides topractice overt extortion, and by the same

token to subsidize its own extortion ofUkraine). Below that price level, Russiacan still pressure Ukraine into furtherconcessions, in return for further dis-counts on the gas price.

Moscow is well-placed to implementthe military agreement while bargainingover implementation of the gas priceagreement. The April 2010 arrangementsare asymmetrical in that the militaryagreement is self-enforcing, while the gasagreement is not. Ukraine lacks thepower to withhold implementation or theformer, while Russia can set conditionsfor implementing the latter.

The basing agreement contravenesUkraines Constitution, which bans thestationing of foreign forces on Ukrainesterritory (with an exception made forRussias Black Sea Fleet until 2017). TheMoldovan Constitution also bans foreignforces (without exception) from the coun-trys territory. Russia recognizesMoldovas territorial integrity and sover-eignty on paper, but keeps its troops onMoldovas territory in Transdnistria, andseeks from time to time Chisinaus con-sent to legalize those troops presence.

The current attempt is timed, internal-ly, to Moldovas soon-to-be-held presi-dential election (the possible failure ofwhich would trigger parliamentary elec-tions again). Externally, Moscows sug-gestion seems tied to the re-negotiation ofthe Treaty on Conventional Forces inEurope, where Russia needs to demon-strate host-country-consent to the station-

ing of its troops on Moldovas territory.Russias move aims to draw Moldovainto discussions, or at least create theappearance of discussions, about legaliz-ing the presence of Russian troops.

The article above is reprinted fromEurasia Daily Monitor with permissionfro m it s pu bl is he r, th e Ja me st ow nFoundation, www.jamestown.org.

Cheap gas for basing rights: Russia

offers Ukraine-type deal to Moldova

Moldova could

draw some lessons

from the Russian-Ukrainian agree-

ments signed in

April 2010. Ukraine

seems to have made

a losers trade-off

even in commercial

terms.



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3THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2011No. 7

KYIV About 1,000 Ukrainianpatriots gathered at the heroesof Kruty memorial 80 miles fromKyiv on January 29 to honorthe 300 Ukrainian studentsand cadets, out of a 500-per-son contingent, who died fight-ing the 4,000-strong Bolshevikforce advancing toward Kyivon that day in 1918. FormerPresident Viktor Yushchenkomade a rare public appearanceand told reporters he was con-fident of Ukraines future inde-pendence with the passing ofthe old generation and the arriv-al of the new generation.

Volodymyr Musyak

Heroes of Kruty battle remembered

Its no secret that Ukraine is undergoing some trying times right now.Like many, the Helsinki Commission is deeply concerned by the backsliding thatweve witnessed over the course of the last year with respect to freedom ofexpression, assembly, pressures on the media; attempts to curtail academic free-dom and that of institutions and activists who peacefully promote the Ukrainiannational identity; the flawed local elections; the lack of rule of law and the listcan go on and on. By most independent accounts, Ukraine is moving in anauthoritarian direction, although I would also caution against concluding that itis already authoritarian certainly not on the level of Russia or Belarus. In largepart this is due to Ukraines political pluralism, diversity, and the vital role ofcivil society which is represented here.

The Yanukovych government clearly has been moving to consolidate andexpand power and has prided itself on the ability to provide stability, contrastingit with the political chaos of the previous years. But a stability based on authori-tarianism is an illusory one, and if the Yanukovych regime thinks that rollingback democratic freedoms is the way to achieve stability, I frankly think this is ashortsighted and ultimately counterproductive approach. Recent events in

Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, or even the situations inBelarus and Russia, should remind one of the superficiality of the so-called sta-bility of authoritarianism.

Orest Deychakiwsky, policy advisor for Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania andUkraine, at the U.S. Helsinki Commission, delivering welcoming remarks at themeeting on Civil Society Efforts to Defend Democracy in Ukraine held onFebruary 2 at the Rayburn House Office Building, House of Representatives,Washington. The meeting featured 10 prominent activists from Ukraine. (Seestory beginning on page 1.)

Quotable notes

economy of Ukraine, where the averagemonthly wage is less than $200 and theneed for clothing, food, housing can beused to manipulate the electorate and bribeelection commissions. The ruling Party ofRegions tried to bribe him twice to switchover to their side, he said, once with a one-time $10 million bribe, and again with a

$1 million down payment and monthlypayments of $10,000 thereafter.Those who disagree and protest gov-

ernment suppression of their humanrights are persecuted by the security ser-vices and through the courts, he said, asare radio, television and other media thatprovide access to unsanctioned points ofview some of which have had theirbroadcast wavelengths cut back or weretaken off the air completely.

Andriy Shevchenko, a parliamentarianfrom the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and a

journalist by profession, expressed hisfear that, under the current administrationin Kyiv, the regressive process from thelevel democracy previously achievedmay be working much faster than theother way around. Noting that 10 offi-

cials of the former Tymoshenko govern-ment are now unjustifiably sitting in jail,he said that Ukraine may well be on theroad to becoming another Belarus, whichUkrainians do not want.

And this is not a local problem, he added.It should be an international concern.

As Mr. Doniy later added when talkingabout this trend: A bandit regime in 21stcentury Europe is not normal.

National Deputy Kateryna Levchenko,who is president of the internationalwomens rights center La Strada-Ukraineand is active in fighting the sexual exploi-tation of children, stressed the need tochange the present governments casualapproach to these and other issues.

There is no policy on womens rights andgender equality in the Yanukovych govern-

ment, she said. Indeed, she noted thatPresident Yanukovych has been quoted assaying that the rightful place for a woman isin the kitchen and not in politics.

And this approach is reflected in thesad reality of a womans role inUkrainian society and government, shesaid, citing a number of statistical exam-ples: There is not a single woman in asenior position in the current govern-ment; women comprise only 7 percent ofthe members of Parliament, while thelocal government level its 30 percent;the average womans salary is less than70 percent of what an average man earns.And this is reflected in the migration oflabor out of Ukraine, to Russia andEurope, in which 2.7 million, or morethan 60 percent, are women, she added.

Unlike official Ukrainian delegationsthat visit Washington, a much higher per-centage of this visiting groups represen-tatives were women four out of 10.

In addition to Ms. Levchenko, the groupincluded: Alyona Getmanchuk, a journalist,editor and screenwriter who is the directorof the Institute for World Policy; OlenaGromnytska, vice president of GlavredMedia and editor-in-chief of Profil maga-

zine; and Svitlana Zalishchuk, a journalistand cofounder of the non-governmentalorganization Centre UA and coordinator ofthe New Citizen Public Campaign organi-zation. Earlier, she had worked as press sec-retary to the presidents chief of staff and asa television reporter.

The two other male members of thevisiting group are journalists from TVi:Editor-in-Chief Vitaliy Portnikov andMykola Kniazhytsky, channel director.

The problem of keeping hopes alive inhow things develop about Ukraine, aswell as in Russia, was the subject of apanel discussion at the NationalEndowment for Democracy on the lastday of the Ukrainian groups stay inWashington. It was organized by NEDVice-President Nadia Diuk and featuredMessrs. Rybachuk, Portnikov andShevchenko, and Andrei Piontkovsky,one of Russias foremost political ana-lysts and commentators.

Mr. Piontkovsky noted that there is agrowing irritation and disillusionment inthe Russian political arena. More andmore people in the top echelon ofRussian power understand that politically,morally and metaphysically VladimirPutin is mismatched, that his system can-not provide the modernization of theeconomy that Russia needs. Theyre fedup with Putin, he said. And they woulddispose of him, but they understand thatif they did, the next day he would be inprison and they would soon follow. Sothey focus on their own survival, he said.

Also commenting on the situation inRussia, Mr. Rybachuk said that, as hesees it, Mr. Putin made a deal with theRussian people: Ill give you some rela-tively high salaries, but you dont playpolitics. And those who understand thismessage are enjoying the results, he said.

Mr. Shevchenko said he would rathernot compare countries because similari-ties sometimes lead to erroneous conclu-sions, citing the most recent developmentsin Tunisia and Egypt, which at first glance

seemed to be very similar, but are not.In Ukraine, he said, the government isbuilding a facade democracy and allof us try to look European.

As for the difference between the oldand new governments, he said, Under[Viktor] Yushchenko we had an adminis-tration that was saying the right wordsbut did not do much; now we have anadministration which says the right wordsbut does quite opposite things.

Now Ukrainians hear nice wordsabout freedom of the press, and humanrights, free and fair elections, and seethe opposite, Mr. Shevchenko said.

Instrumental in the organization of thepublic meeting at the Rayburn HouseOffice Building were Orest Deychakivskyof the Helsinki Commission and U.S.-

Ukraine Foundation President NadiaMcConnell. Moderating the session wasformer U.S. Ambassador to UkraineWilliam Green Miller.

Morgan Williams, president of theU.S.-Ukraine Business Council, whichnow has more than 150 member-compa-nies and institutions interested in expand-ing economic ties between the two coun-tries, organized the working luncheon.

(Continued from page 1)

Activists from...

At a panel discussion on February 5 at the National Endowment for Democracyon Keeping Democratic Hopes Alive in Russia and Ukraine (from left are)Vitaliy Portnikov, Andrei Piontkovsky, NED Vice-President Nadia Diuk (modera-

tor), Oleh Rybachuk and Andriy Shevchenko.

Yaro Bihun

BBC ends Ukrainian radio broadcastsKYIV The Ukrainian Service of the

BBC has stopped radio broadcasts, it wasreported on January 27. The Ukrainiansection of the website BBC My Worldwill continue to function.

The British Broadcasting Corp. saidthat dismissals at the BBC World Servicewere linked to a reduction in funding thatthe United Kingdom government allocatesfor foreign broadcasting. Peter Horrocks,the BBCs global news director, said that650 out of 2,400 jobs in the service wouldbe closed over the next three years, most ofthem during the first year.

In addition to Ukrainian, the BBC willstop radio broadcasts in Azerbaijani,Russian (except for certain programs),

Spanish (for Cuba), Vietnamese andTurkish. The cuts also involve the closing ofthe Macedonian, Serbian and Albanian ser-vices, as well as broadcasts in English forthe Caribbean and in Portuguese for Africa.

The BBC Ukrainian Service wasfounded immediately after Ukraine re-established independence in 1991. Thefirst BBC program in the Ukrainian lan-guage was broadcast on June 1, 1992,and participating in it was the countrysfirst president, Leonid Kravchuk.

The BBC pledged that it would reversethe cuts in 2014, when it takes overresponsibility for financing the WorldService from the Foreign Office.(Ukrinform, The New York Times)


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The question of succession in the leadership of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Churchby Oleh Turiy

Currently, Church life in the countriesof the former Soviet Union often oscil-lates between two extremes: from a sacro-

sanct uplifting, at times reaching the pointof exaltation, to a pervasive atmosphereof deadening secularism. Such wounds asthe liquidation of visible structures of theChurch and repressions against hierarchsand faithful, the spiritual crippling of peo-ple and the destruction of ecclesiasticaltraditions are slow to heal even withGods intervention and human remedies.

Most likely, we have not even reachedthe first phase of rebirth and normaliza-tion when it comes to our search for bal-ance and stability, for choosing conversa-tions about all that is spiritual and holy.This concerns various aspects of Churchlife, including the Churchs hierarchicalleadership.

In various countries and among manyconfessions, there is often a discussionabout who should lead and how he shouldlead a particular religious community and,although at times this polemic is long andheated, it is always considered a normalcourse of action. As a result, there is aconcrete, practical and most importantly,a moral and prayerful preparation for achange in Church leadership. We, on theother hand, often do not know how toapproach this issue: we either panic clam-orously, or try to hush it up, thinking thatif we ignore it, it will go away. In general,the silent approach is fostered by a good,fundamental principle, which cannot betaken lightly. And that is the fact that ourlife, in particular, our Church life is inGods hands, so any kind of politicalspeculation, or habitual gossip cannot be

fruitful when contemplating the situationand the future of the Church leadership.

A state of panic is never productive.The components of fear and helplessnessat a time of crisis can be turned aroundand a time of crisis can be a time ofopportunity and a challenge for growthand maturity. (In Greek, krisis means atime to make decisions). When makingsuch an important decision, it is essentialthat a spiritual focus and a steadfast faithin Gods divine Providence, as well as acalm and composed thought process andharmonious cooperation be presentamong those who are responsible for thischallenge.

Where am I going with these thoughts?Various Churches in Ukraine and the

Belarusian Orthodox Church have had arelatively long history with their currentleaders. The first personas of theUkrainian Orthodox Churches both theKyiv and the Moscow patriarchates Filaret and Volodymyr, and theMetropolitan of Minsk and All-BelarusFilaret, the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church His Beatitude Lubomyr

are all now or soon to be octogenarians.And, there are laws of nature.

While we all wish them many moreyears on this earth, every member of theChurch who is concerned about theChurchs welfare, should contemplate, orat least actively pray, for a worthy succes-sor for each Churchs leadership.Nevertheless, many active and committedmembers of the above-mentioned

Churches look to the future with fear. Andthis is not surprising. Patriarch Filaret,Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv andMetropolitan Filaret of Minsk have beenleaders of their respective Churches for

almost half a century. Their persons areclearly embedded in the consciousness oftheir faithful and often they personify thegood of their Church communities.

The question arises: what happensnext? Is the inevitable change in leader-ship not threatened by turbulence, conflictand even demise?

For Greek-Catholics, the prospect of achange in leadership provokes even great-er anxiety. The brilliance of the pastoralwitness of His Beatitude Lubomyr and hisspiritual insight are recognized not only inUkraine, but well beyond its borders. Therecent celebrations of his 10 years aspatriarch clearly accentuated the specialrole that he plays not only in theUkrainian Greek-Catholic Church andamong all Ukrainian Church life, butthroughout our entire society. Many speakof him by name. He radiates such authen-tic love and a sense of deep peace, cou-pled with humility, wisdom and warm andwitty humor, and he shares all of this witheveryone. It is difficult to name anyone inUkrainian society today who is regardedas a greater moral authority than LubomyrHusar.

For this reason, there is trepidation.What will happen after PatriarchLubomyr? These thoughts are not withoutgrounds. Even more so because HisBeatitude Lubomyr has clearly andunequivocally said publicly that he wouldlike to pass on the leadership of the

Church to his successor while he is stillon this earth. And what is even moreimportant, he has kept his word.

When these statements were firstvoiced in 2009, they prompted quite a fewpublications in the Ukrainian press andstirred numerous conversations among thefaithful of the UGCC and the broadercommunity. Many members of theChurch, hearing about the final decisionof His Beatitude Lubomyr are now bewil-dered and live with a real fear: how is itthat at such a complex time, whenUkrainian society is facing such unprece-dented threats, the spiritual leader of theChurch is voluntarily leaving his respon-sibilities?

Without a doubt, if we are to approach

this question as laymen, there is indeedreason for bewilderment and fear. We candelve deeply into these feelings and wal-low in them. However, it is probably moreinteresting and more spiritually beneficialto look at the decision from a differentperspective. In reality, does this decisiondisturb the accepted order and traditions?Cannot the Church, at a critical time,change its leader? Does everything have

to fall apart only because the laws ofnature are at work? Can we not face thechallenges with a greater reliance onGod? Examples from the history of theUkrainian Greek-Catholic Church during

the last century reveal new hopeful pros-pects for us.

In other words, the Church has been inanalogous situations before and is nowfacing similar trials.

If we are to look at the last four transi-tions of the top leaders of the UkrainianGreek-Catholic Church, we will see thateach one occurred in a special and crit-ical time. Each transition was accompa-nied by turmoil and fear, fiery debates anddisputes. And at the same time, each ofthese historic moments was blessed byGod, as each head of the UkrainianGreek-Catholic Church proved to be anauthentic leader, even a prophetic individ-ual. Let us look at these precedents.

On December 17, 1900, when Pope

Leo XIII nominated Andrey Sheptytsky tothe post of Galician metropolitan,Sheptytsky was a 35-year-old who camefrom established Ukrainian ancestry,which had been Polonized over the centu-ries. Many patriotic Greek-Catholicsbelieved that this appointment was cata-strophic seeing it as a Polish plot to bringtheir Trojan horse up the hill to St. GeorgeCathedral, the bastion of the westernUkrainian society.

During his 44 years as the pastor of theChurch, Ukrainian society acceptedMetropolitan Andrey gradually, and somepeople did not always understand him to

the end. Although with time, the metro-politan became a pre-eminent authority,he almost always faced groups that werein opposition to him, whether it be theAustrians, the Poles, the Germans, orSoviet powers, or his Churchs monks andpriests or right or left politicians. Hewas not an expected hierarch, but because

he was both wise and creative, he alwaysremained unpredictable.

Today, looking back at the history ofthe 20th century, we realize that it wasMetropolitan Andrey who at first wasmet with prejudice became both thespir i tual and nat ional leader of Ukrainians. He became a man of univer-sal significance, rising in significancebeyond the communities of the UkrainianGreek-Catholics and the Ukrainian peoplein general. He was, perhaps, the most sig-nificant Ukrainian of the 20th century.

Metropolitan Andrey was chosen bythe Holy See in Rome. Pope Leo XIII waspersonally acquainted with the youngmonk 15 years before making thisappointment in 1900. Today, it is clear

that this choice was courageous, one daresay brilliant. Gods divine providence soordered that the successor to MetropolitanAndrey was chosen differently; however,the caliber of the individual was of nolesser quality. Pope Pius XII grantedMetropolitan Sheptytsky extraordinaryrights in personnel policy and otherissues. So, in fact, Metropolitan Andreyreceived permission and consent from

Pope Pius XII to name his own successor:Josyf Slipyj.

Metropolitan Andrey nominated andconsecrated Slipyj as his archbishop andco-adjutor with the right of succession.

This happened on December 22, 1939, atthe start of the second world war and theoccupation of Halychyna by Soviet forc-es. No doubt, this period in Ukrainian his-tory was more critical than our current sit-uation. Indeed, at that time, it seemed thatthe entire civilized world was collapsingaround them.

So, when Metropolitan Andrey died onNovember 1, 1944, at the age of 79, theyoung Metropolitan Josyf had to lead hisChurch and support his people, who weretraumatized during the war and faced ter-rible material losses and moral devasta-tion. Less than six months went by whenSlipyj and his entire episcopate werearrested and put behind bars. With thesearrests began the martyrdom of our

Church and paradoxically the mostfamous and singularly heroic pages in thehistory of our Church. It is hard to imag-ine a more steadfast and persevering lead-er during this era of trials and tribulations.

Slipyj spent 18 years (1945-1963) inprisons, concentration camps and in exile.At the age of 71, he found himself deport-ed to the free world. There, already elder-ly, this Confessor of the Faith in a20-year span was able to not only gathertogether the Church community, but theentire Ukrainian community, breathinginto them a new faith that the battle forhuman dignity continues in Ukraine, thatthe struggle for Church freedom andnational rights goes on behind the IronCurtain.

He initiated broad reforms in Churchadministration, renewing the synodal gov-ernance of the Ukrainian Greek-CatholicChurch and raising the level of conscious-ness of all Ukrainian Christians regardingecclesiastic identity, the particular Churchand especially regarding patriarchal digni-ty. And so, if Metropolitan Andrey waschosen as the UGCC leader by Rome, andArchbishop Slipyj was chosen byMetropolitan Andrey with the consent ofthe Holy See, the future election ofUkrainian Catholic Church leaders was toinclude the Ukrainian Synod of Bishops.

This was no easy task to secure, andPatriarch Josyf faced many challengesand obstacles to achieve this status. And,this was all happening in the free world,without the strong arm of Moscow

interfering, without the totalitarian repres-sions that the Church faced in the SovietUnion. After the emergence of the Churchfrom the catacombs, today, the election ofa Church leader in an independentUkraine adheres to the principles elabo-rated by Patriarch Josyf and promulgatedby the Holy See.

The transition of the leadership in theunderground took place in extreme condi-tions. When in early 1963 the Soviet gov-e r n m e n t u n e x p e c t e d l y r e l e a s e dMetropolitan Slipyj from exile and puthim on a train to Rome via Moscow, hismission was to quickly secure a leader forthe Church in the Catacombs, inUkraine. By telegram, he summoned aRedemptorist monk, Vasyl Velychkovsky

to Moscow and in a hotel room in theSoviet capital on February 4, 1963,ordained him a bishop. (Velychkovskywas recognized as a martyr in 2001).

Bishop Vasyl was the head of theunderground Ukrainian Greek-CatholicChurch until 1972. That year, the Sovietregime deported him to the West

ANALYSIS


Dr. Oleh Turi y is vic e-rect or forresearch and head of the Department ofChurch history at the UkrainianCatholic University in Lviv.

What will happen

to the UkrainianGreek-Catholic

Church after Pa-

triarch Lubomyr

Husar resigns?

Patriarch Lubomyr Husar in a photo

from 2008.

Illya M. Labunka


5/24


SILVER SPRING, Md. Hierarchs,clergy and faithful from across the United

States, Canada and the United Kingdomtraveled to St. Andrew UkrainianOrthodox Cathedral here on January 22to honor Archbishop Antony, ruling hier-arch of the Eastern Eparchy and presidentof the Consistory of the UkrainianOrthodox Church of the U.S.A. (UOC-U.S.A.), during the celebration of the25th anniversary of his episcopal conse-cration and ministry.

Metropolitan Constantine and BishopDaniel of the UOC-U.S.A., along withMetropolitan Yurij and Bishop Andriy ofthe Ukrainian Orthodox Church ofCanada (UOCC) joined ArchbishopAntony at the altar to celebrate a divineliturgy. The cathedral was filled to capac-ity with faithful who came from all overthe country.

The Rev. Volodymyr Steliac, pastor ofSt. Andrew Cathedral, and nearly 50 cler-gy of the UOC-U.S.A. and otherOrthodox jurisdictions welcomed thehierarchs at the entrance to the cathedral.Cathedral Board of AdministrationPresident Olga Coffey, and SonyaKrawec and Nadia Kolesnik from theparish sisterhood, along with childrenfrom the parish church school and thosevisiting from other parishes also wel-comed the heirarchs. Each child present-ed a bishop, including visiting hierarchsfrom other Churches, with individualbouquets of flowers. Following theGospel reading, Bishop Daniel reflectedupon the meaning of the episcopal ser-vice in the life of a Church, recalling the

lives of such figures as St. Basil theGreat, St. John Chrysostom and St.Gregory the Theologian, and making ref-erence to the 25 years of the archbishopsministry among the faithful of the UOC-U.S.A. The bishop spoke of the archbish-ops attempts to further ecclesiastical

unity among the faithful of the Church inUkraine, his humanitarian efforts and his

dedication to the ministry of the UOC-U.S.A., as well as his efforts to continual-ly improve the life circumstances of theclergy of the Church on all levels.

Bishop Daniel stated that during theyears of Archbishop Antonys service, hecontinuously proclaimed the teachings ofthe gospel with conviction and hope, cel-ebrated the divine liturgy and all the mys-teries of the Church prayerfully and fer-vently, and shepherded his flock withpatient attentiveness to the gifts andneeds of all. In that process, ArchbishopAntony often stated that he matured andgrew in the spirit himself.

Metropolitan Constantine spoke fol-lowing the conclusion of the divine litur-gy, expressing his gratitude to God forArchbishop Antonys dedicated service

and the ability to touch the lives of thosewho were entrusted into his spiritual care.

Metropolitan Constantine stated:Twenty-five years ago the archbishop

heard the word Axios proclaimedrepeatedly during his consecration. Theterm Axios he is worthy is an existen-tial term and an affirmation of the faithfuland a directive or a goal to be achieved a lifelong process. When all is said anddone, our Lord welcomes him into His

joy. For 25 years Archbishop Antony hasasked himself: What would Christ do inthis situation? For 25 years in his careand loving fatherly concern, he has trav-eled fulfilling the affirmation of Axios. Itis our deep prayer that the silver of thisanniversary will turn to gold and be

embellished by a diamond God grantthe archbishop many years.

The day continued with a festive ban-quet at the parish hall with over 300guests. Metropolitan Constantine openedthe gathering with a prayer and read anaddress from Ecumenical Patriarch

Bartholomew I, who greeted the arch-bishop with the following congratulatoryletter:

On the occasion of the 25th anniver-sary of your dedicated service in ourHoly Church, we hasten to convey to youour personal prayers and wholeheartedbest wishes, as well as those of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate. We too, alongwith the Orthodox clergy and Christ-loving faithful that have gathered today,share in the joy and celebration of yourgracious tenure. We express to you ourwarm congratulations and applaud yourzealous and dynamic ministry in the ser-vice of the people of God. We appreciateyour vibrant ministry and pray that ourLord will bestow upon you strength andspiritual joy so that you may continue torightly teach the word of His truth.

From our Venerable See, the MotherChurch of Constantinople, we confer ourpatriarchal blessings upon your emi-nence, on this celebration, and to all thosepresent, so that the Lord will grant allthat is good and profitable for your

souls.Metropolitan Yurij greeted ArchbishopAntony at the banquet on behalf of hisChurch administration and all his clergyand faithful, recalling their more than40-year friendship since meeting in hisfirst year and the archbishops final yearof studies at St. Andrew Seminary in

Winnipeg, Manitoba. He spoke of themany times they have worked together onvarious projects as hierarchs of theChurch and the many t imes thatArchbishop Antony has taken part in thelife of the Church in Canada.

Bishop Andriy greeted the archbishop

on behalf of all the Canadian hierarchs including Bishop Ilarion, who was unableto attend the celebration and presentedArchbishop Antony with a beautiful iconof St. Antony the Great for utilization inhis liturgical and prayer life.

In addition to the Orthodox hierarchspresent at the celebration, MetropolitanStefan Soroka of the Ukrainian CatholicArcheparchy of Philadelphia, BishopEmeritus Basil Losten of the UkrainianCatholic Eparchy of Stamford, BishopKen Nowakowsky of the UkrainianCatholic Church of Canada, and BishopJohn Kudryk of the Byzantine CatholicEparchy of Parma, Ohio, also attendedthe celebration and delivered words ofgreetings.

Greet ings were also given byArchbishop Demetrios of the GreekOrthodox Archdiocese of America, theVery Rev. Michael Rosco, representingMetropolitan Nicholas of the Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox Church, UkrainesAmbassador to the U.S. OleksanderMotsyk, Christine Balko of the UkrainianNational Credit Union, the seminarians ofSt. Sophia Seminary, the Cathedral

Church School students, and more than30 other representatives of various reli-gious and social institutions of theOrthodox and Ukrainian community.

Ukraines Ambassador to the UnitedNations Yurij Sergeyev greeted the arch-bishop in South Bound Brook, N.J., afterparticipating on January 19 in the divine

liturgy and the Great Blessing of Waterson the Feast of Theophany/Epiphany,presenting him with an original icon ofSt. Andrew.

A wonderful musical interlude duringthe program featured the vocal duet ofsisters Nadia and Nataliya Pavlyshyn anda performance by Solomiya Gorokhivskaon violin and Andrei Pidkivka on windinstruments.

Towards the end of the banquetMetropolitan Constantine spoke ofArchbishop Antonys life and ministryand called upon the Archbishop toaddress the faithful gathered at the silver

jubilee.Archbishop Antony spoke of the great

mystery of events that took place 25

years ago on October 6, 1985, when heknelt down before the altar at St. AndrewMemorial Church in South Bound Brook,N.J., and was gifted with the reality ofthe Grace of God, which would fulfillthat which was lacking in him andstrengthen him along the entire path ofhis episcopal ministry.

The archbishop offered special andemotional words of gratitude to manypeople for their influence on his life. Hepresented a bouquet of flowers to hismother, Dorothy, who was overcomewith emotion at the long standing ovationgiven to her by the entire gathering.

The archbishop made special mentionof all those who provided very specificand powerful spiritual and emotionalpresence in his life, all at the appropriatetimes: the members of his family, hisbrother b i shops Met ropol i t anConstantine and Bishop Daniel, the VeryRev. William Diakiw and his family, theVery Rev. John Nakonachny, EmilSkocypec and the Very Rev. MichaelRosco, among others.

He expressed his gratitude to all thehierarchs, both Orthodox and Catholic,present for the celebration, to the cathe-dral choir for the spiritually upliftingresponses during divine liturgy. Heoffered most special appreciation to theVery Rev. Volodymyr Steliac and hiswife, Marta, to Ms. Coffey and the cathe-dral board, who dedicated many hours ofpreparation for the anniversary celebra-tion. He also thanked all the members ofthe Cathedral present and other guestswho came even from as far away asLondon, England, in the person of theVery Rev. Bohdan Matvijczuk of theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox

Archbishop Antonys 25th anniversary celebrated in Maryland

Archbishop Antony distributes the Eucharist during divine liturgy.

Metropolitan Constantine of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.recalls Archbishop Antonys 25 years of episcopal service.


Metropolitan Yurij of the UOC of Canada greets Archbishop Antony on theoccasion of his 25th anniversary as bishop.


6/24


Seven years ago, on February 18, 2004, Gen. ValeriyKravchenko of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) toldDeutsche Welle radio that he had documents in his possession

that proved Ukraine had illegally spied on members of its polit-ical opposition when they traveled abroad. Gen. Kravchenko

served as the liaison officer between Ukrainian and German intelligence services atUkraines Embassy in Berlin.

The head of the SBU, Ihor Smeshko, and the chief of the Central IntelligenceDirectorate, Oleh Synianskyi, in contravention of enacted legislation give their staffabroad orders to track representatives of the Ukrainian opposition, as well as membersof government at the ministerial level and higher, said Gen. Kravchenko.

At first the order was to track Ukrainian delegations and then ministers and higher togather information about who they were meeting and for what reason. The most importantmatter was whether they were criticizing Ukraine and the current leadership and whetherthey supported the opposition, explained Gen. Kravchenko in a telephone interview withDzerkalo Tyzhnia. Gen. Kravchenko noted that he was ordered to return to Kyiv onFebruary 13, 2004, to receive a security briefing on an upcoming visit by President LeonidKuchma to Berlin, but failed to do so after the generals friends in the SBU told him thatupon his return he would be fired. The same day as his appearance on Deutsche Welleradio, the SBU dismissed Gen. Kravchenko for failure to appear in Kyiv.

Gen. Kravchenko, who was hiding out in Germany, said he would not allow materialsto be published in the press because they were classified secret and, therefore, it wasunlawful for him to do so. But he said he would submit the documents to the ProcuratorGenerals Office and would entrust them to several lawmakers, including Borys Oliinyk ofthe Communist Party of Ukraine, Ihor Yukhnovsky of Our Ukraine or National DeputyMykola Tomenko, who headed the parliamentary Committee on Press Freedoms.

Two days after Gen. Kravchenkos statement, President Leonid Kuchma signed adecree banning the assignment of SBU intelligence officers to Ukrainian governmentoffices. Virtually all Ukrainian government ministries, departments, military installa-tions, embassies and consulates and even banks had intelligence officers assigned as

Feb.

182004

Turning the pages back...

Its embarrassing and disappointing, but it cant be ignored. Americans play akey role in the success of the Party of Regions of Ukraine, the political machinethat enriches Ukraines oligarchy at the expense of the Ukrainian people.

After making a career of consulting African dictators, Paul Manafort washired by Rinat Akhmetov to give the Party of Regions the proper makeover theyneeded to compete in Ukrainian politics. The candidates adopted stories of apoor childhood, memorized some crafty sound bytes and mastered the rules ofpolitics in the TV age: attack relentlessly and never admit youre wrong. In addi-tion, their strategy included stirring the passions of voters with ethnic and reli-gious scandal and avoiding discussion of boring stuff like economics and bank-ing. The makeover was also aimed at foreign political and business leaders, whoneeded convincing that it was acceptable to do business with these thugs. Itworked marvelously. Much of the Western world threw its support behind ViktorYanukovych after the 2010 election without concerns about his shady history, orthat of his entourage.

Following the 2010 triumph, the Party of Regions saw the need to hire a main-tenance crew to keep the momentum going. Their point man in Washingtonbecame former Freedom House President Adrian Karatnycky, whose commentar-ies touting the Yanukovych administration in leading publications such as theFinancial Times have distorted the political situation in Ukraine and downplayedthe rise of authoritarianism, political persecutions, dismantling of democraticinstitutions and violations of individual rights.

The Regions American lapdog in Kyiv is Anthony T. Salvia, whose writings

and statements on the Yanukovych administration embrace tried and true propa-ganda tactics. Allegedly receiving Party of Regions seed money, Mr. Salviaestablished the American Institute in Kyiv. His latest bid for attention was hisincredible claim that Mr. Yanukovych ought to be considered for the NobelPeace Prize (see http://www.kyivpost.com/news/opinion/op_ed/detail/95770/).Mr. Salvia ignores the Yanukovych administrations authoritarian rule. Giventhat he rarely speaks Ukrainian, Mr. Salvia is unable to appreciate firsthand theRussian chauvinist policies pursued by the Yanukovych administration that haveexacerbated ethnic tensions in Ukraine like never before since the countrysrenewed independence. His claim to represent an American Institute whilepraising the Yanukovych administration not only fails to convince, but is a slapin the face to those Ukrainians who are working to bring Western values toUkraine.

Supporters of a democratic and Western-oriented Ukraine must serve as thecounterbalance to these guns for hire in offering information about what is trulyhappening in Ukraine rigged elections, the dismantling of an independent judi-ciary, nihilistic approaches to law and legislation, restrictions on freedoms andthe media, and the persecution of ethnically conscious Ukrainians and the oppo-

sition. There are serious observers of the scene who accurately present what isgoing on in Ukraine, people like David Kramer and Alexander Motyl, to namejust two. But we all can play a role in countering disinformation and getting thenecessary message across, whether through op-ed pieces, letters or blogs.

Readers, meanwhile, need to heed the principle caveat emptor, let the buyerbeware in this case the consumer of information presented on myriad websitesand in diverse publications. Todays consumer of information has to be acutelyaware of who is who and why they write what they write.

Let the reader beware

The UkrainianWeeklyNEWS AND VIEWS

The Russian Federation vs.

the Ukrainian minority in Russia

Askold S. Lozynskyj, a New York Cityattorney at law, is immediate past presi-dent of the Ukrainian World Congress.

by Askold S. Lozynskyj

The Union of Ukrainians of Russia

(UUR) is the central coordinating organi-zation for the Ukrainian ethnic minority inthe Russian Federation. It was formed in1992 and registered with Russias Ministryof Justice in 1994.

Its nightmare began on July 22, 2009,when the Russian Ministry of Justice tar-geted it for an audit. The audit lastedalmost three weeks. The findings wereminor and administrative in nature call-ing for updating its list of members, add-ing certain provisions to its by-laws inorder to comply with the Russian statuteand the like.

Upon receipt of the findings the UURsexecutive convened a meeting onSeptember 12, 2009, passed what itdeemed to be the necessary motions and

began the process of updating its member-ship lists, including deleting inactivemembers.

In the meantime, the ministry notifiedthe UUR that pending correction of thedefects, its activities were suspended untilMay 2, 2010. Twice, once in December2009 and then again in March 2010, theUUR wrote to the ministry refuting someof the allegations and advising that it hadtake care of the defects that needed correc-tion. The ministry did not respond.

On December 10, 2010, the Russiangovernment brought an action in theSupreme Court to liquidate the UUR. Thecomplaint referenced Russian law andrepeated five allegations from the auditfindings, specifically, that its list of mem-bers included an autonomous non-com-mercial organization that could not be itsmember since it was autonomous, thatthe list of members itself was not welldocumented, that its qualified membersdo not operate in more than half theregions of the Russian Federation asrequired since its an All-Russian publicassociation, that its by-laws do not spe-cifically provide for the election of itsgoverning body by a qualifying majority,and that while the law allows for mem-bers who are foreign citizens, they mustbe lawfully on the territory of the RussianFederation, yet the UURs by-laws do notinclude that restriction. Interestinglyenough, there were no allegations that theUUR included actual members who wereforeign citizens.

The complaint acknowledged receipt ofthe two responses from UUR, but rejectedthem as insufficient. The government thenalleged that the UURs meeting ofSeptember 12, 2009, was not conducted inaccordance with administrative regulationsin that the members present at the meetingand information on the voting results werenot disclosed. The government deemed itimpossible to determine the validity of theaction taken.

Additionally, the government stated thatthe UUR had violated its suspensionbecause its co-chair appeared on RadioLiberty on January 4, 2010, and on a tele-vision program titled Freedom ofThought on April 27, 2010. Finally, thegovernment alleged that, in connection

with this matter, the Justice Ministry hadforwarded a notice to the UUR onNovember 11, 2010, which was returnedwith the note addressee vacated. Thus,the government alleged, the UUR failed tonotify the appropriate authorities of its

change of address which was yet anotherviolation.

The government requested a court orderliquidating the UUR based on repeatedand gross violations and failure to curethe violations within the time periodimposed.

Assuming arguendo the accuracy ofall factual allegations in the complaint, theviolations/defects alleged were minor byany democratic measure and, essentially,of an administrative nature. Furthermore,no allegations were made that the viola-tions were of a repeated nature or thatthese violations persisted despite previousadmonishments. No allegations weremade of prior audits, similar findings anda failure to comply. Still, the governmentconcluded that the violations alleged wereboth repeated and gross. For dissolutionof an organization the Russian law

requires repeated or gross.Despite the absence of a prima facie

case, the governments confidence borderson arrogance. The Supreme Court of theRussian Federation is expected to rubber-stamp the governments position.Exposure of the judicial system in Russiaas an instrument of government politicsdoes not seem to trouble the existing pow-ers in Russia. This matter is scheduled tobe heard by the court on January 31.

Over the last few years a pattern hasemerged in the Russian Federation anunrelenting war against perceived enemiesof the state, including ethnic communitiesnot kowtowing to government pressure,and the executive branch exploiting thelegislative and judicial branches to imple-

ment its policies. Ukrainians in Russiahave felt this pressure. Murders ofUkrainian activists remain unsolved. AUkrainian language class at a Moscowpublic lyceum has been discontinued. And,very most recently, the Moscow Library ofUkrainian Literature was ransacked, shut,reopened, then ransacked again and itshead librarian assaulted.

The reference in the complaint to theUUR co-chair appearance on radio andtelevision (Radio Liberty and Freedomof Thought) and violating the organiza-tions suspension, hints at the govern-ments political motivation. The appear-ances had nothing to do with the pendingproceeding. Regardless of his position,the subject individual is also a humanwho has the right of freedom of speechprotected under international law,Russias treaties, covenants and its ownConstitution, irrespective of any adminis-trative suspension.

In November of 2010, following analmost identical pattern of proceedings,the Russian government persuaded theRussian Supreme Court to liquidate anoth-er all-Russian Ukrainian organization the Federal National Cultural Autonomyof Ukrainians in Russia. Subsequently,Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovacknowledged that the liquidation was theresult of political activity.

During Russias last presidential elec-tion process in 2008, the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe wasrestricted in the allotment of election

observers. The OSCE refused to partici-pate. Then President Vladimir Putinadmonished the OSCE not to teachRussia. Mr. Lavrov, foreign minister thenand now, said that no self-respecting coun-try would bow to ultimatums set by theOSCE. President Putin concluded hisadmonishment to the OSCE with thewords, Let them teach their wives tomake cabbage soup!(Continued on page 20)


7/24


FOR THE RECORD

EDITORS NOTE: The following openl e t t e r w a s s e n t b y V a l e n t y n

Nalyvaichenko, chairman of the Political

Council for the Our Ukraine PoliticalParty, to Ambassador Knut Vollebaek, thehigh commissioner on national minoritiesat the Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe (OSCE). The let-ter was originally published in the KyivPost on January 26.

Your Excellency, on behalf of the OurUkraine Party, I write this letter of graveconcern and ask for your immediateattention to systematic violations ofnational minority rights in Russia.

We highly respect your authority onthese issues and would like to addressthem with you. These are matters ofutmost importance for my country and allUkrainian communities around the world.

We have witnessed a series of resonantevents with the Ukrainian community inRussia. These events are clearly aimed atthe Ukrainian minority and in our opinionare deliberate actions of the Russian gov-ernment in systematic violations of theUkrainian national minority rights in thatcountry.

The Russian Federation is the largestneighboring country of Ukraine.According to the national population cen-sus in Russia of 2002, more than 3 mil-lion ethnic Ukrainians live within thecountry. Ukrainians in Russia are one of90 officially registered communities in 16regions of the country.

Our party and our civic partner-organi-zations vigorously advocate for the free

utilization of national minority develop-ment principles. We believe this to be aninalienable part of an interstate good-neighbor policy between Russia andUkraine.

Respect for the cultural and civicrights of national minorities is an obliga-tion of Russia envisaged in many interna-tional and Ukrainian-Russian bilateralagreements.

Regrettably, we have to admit that, inpractice, the Russian authorities do notrespect their obligations to guarantee thefree development of the Ukrainiannational minority on its territory.

Protection of Ukrainian cultural rightsin Russia is of outmost importance.

Opportunities for educating childrenin the Ukrainian language are very limit-ed . There a re approximate ly 10Ukrainian Sunday schools and a dozenschools with Ukrainian as an optionalstudy language in all the regions ofRussia. All petitions to the officialauthorities for establishing Ukrainian-language schools in the regions of com-pact residence of the Ukrainian commu-nity remain unsatisfied.

Ukrainian communities do not receivestate support for their functioning thereare no Ukrainian-language newspapersand radio or TV broadcasting in theRussian Federation.

The following and most recent actionsby official Russian authorities to drasti-cally limit the cultural and civic freedomsof the Ukrainian community must be

addressed: In November 2010 the High Court of

Russia cancelled registration of one ofthe biggest civic communities of theUkrainian minority, the Federal Nation-Cultural Autonomy of Ukrainians inRussia (FNCAUR). The reason the courtruling was the conclusion of the JusticeMinistry of Russia to the effect: theactivity of the FNCAUR is aimed at dis-

crediting the political course of theRussian government on interracial unity,and such activity threatens the constitu-tional regime

On January 3, 2011, Russian ForeignMinister Segey Lavrov officially statedthat FNCAURs activity was targeted atdamaging bilateral Russian-Ukrainianrelations.

In December 2010 we witnessed anew round of repressions against theLibrary of Ukrainian Literature inMoscow (the only official Ukrainian lit-erature library in Russia). The RussianProsecutors Office launched a criminalinvestigation based on charges of distri-bution of printed materials with xenopho-bic content at the library. During the pastthree months, the Extremism Departmentof the Interior Ministry of Russia con-ducted three searches at the library,

seized books and computer hardware, aswell as inflicted wounds to the director ofthe library, Nataliya Shariniy. At present,the library is closed for an undeterminedtime-frame.

Russian media continue to report thatthe Russian Ministry of Justice petitionedthe High Court of Russia to liquidate theother Russian-wide civic Ukrainian com-munity organization, Union of Ukrainiansin Russia, which comprises 41 regionalassociations such as Batkivschyna,Blakytna Desna, Prolisok, Mriya, theUkrainian regional center Dnipro, theYasen-Ural Ukrainian national culturecenter, the Ukraina-Seim partnership, theAssoc ia t ion of Ukra in ians f romPovolzhie, Kyiv Rus, and the Ukrainian

culture centers Promin, Svitanok, andKrynytsia.

The abovementioned cases followedprevious years actions by the Russianauthorities, such as:

In April 2008 the Moscow cityauthorities shut down the Ukrainian edu-cational center, which allegedly did nothave the necessary licensing documenta-tion. The Ukrainian educational center inMoscow had worked for more than 10years under the license of School No.124, and its members were employed inaccordance with the law of the RussianFederation. After the shut-down of thecenter, its employees were questioned bythe Federal Security Service (FSB).

On May 10, 2009, Russian authori-

ties declared Yurii Kononenko personanon grata. He was the first deputy direc-tor of the Union of Ukrainians in Russia,an activist of the Ukrainian cultural-edu-cational movement in Russia and founderof the Library of Ukrainian Literature inMoscow.

In 2008-2010, a series of administra-tive measures were imposed on theUkrainian cultural movements in St.Petersburg, Surgut, Voronezh and Ufa.

Such situations inflict uneasiness onUkrainian community representatives inRussia. The Union of Ukrainians inRussia and the Federal Nation-CulturalAutonomy of Ukrainians in Russia urgedRussian authorities to stop the harass-ment of Ukrainian organizations. They

claim that state authorities of Russia areset to eradicate the well-organizedUkrainian community in Russia andreplace it with new pseudo-Ukrainianones.

Harassment of the Ukrainian commu-nity in Russia is accompanied with thedecrease in civic rights and democraticfreedoms throughout the country, and

Valentyn Nalyvaichenkos letterto OSCE re: national minority rights


March 10 this year is the 150th anniver-sary of the death of Taras Shevchenko.Looking for an angle for my column, Ithought I might cite something about thepoet from 1911 when Ukraine commemo-rated the 50th anniversary of his death. So Iwent to the Ukrainian Museum-Archiveslibrary and sure enough I found a slim45-page booklet published by the Prosvita(Enlightenment) Society in Lviv titledTaras Shevchenko on the 50th Anniversaryof his Death by Bohdan L.

I was instantly taken aback. The veryfirst line reads: Life was bitter for our peo-ple a hundred years ago. And just like that,Bohdan L. took me back two centuries.

Deprived of a country of their own, hewent on, torn apart by borders, exhausted

by eternal battles for their freedom, theygroaned under the weight of a foreign yokeand as if debilitated and in semi-slumber,called on stories and songs to rememberbetter times from long ago.

In 1811, most Ukrainians were serfs,descendents of proud, freedom-lovingKozaks, but no less enslaved than BlackAmericans in the Deep South. EmpressCatherines governor general for LittleRussia, Pyotr Rumiantsev, declared thatthe peasant [khlop] and the field are oneand the same; the khlop born for the solepurpose of working the field to benefit themaster. One of those serfs would be TarasShevchenko. Well be celebrating the bicen-tennial of his birth in 2014.

Shevchenkos story is utterly astonish-

ing: Orphaned at an early age and raised bythe village, he was eventually taken in byhis master to serve as a houseboy. When hecaught him stealing paper and pencil so hecould draw pictures, Tarass owner saw theboy had talent and enrolled him as anapprentice in St. Petersburg, expecting topocket the earnings once his slave got a jobas an artist. A group of Ukrainian andRussian intellectuals who also recognizedthe boys gifts thought otherwise andbought him his freedom. Not only an artis-tic prodigy, Shevchenko it turned out, had agenius for poetry and composed terrific sto-ries about Ukraines folklore and Kozakbattles which he published in his bookKobzar (Minstrel) when he was 26. Thebook made him famous.

Instead of being grateful for his unex-pected freedom and celebrity, Shevchenkowas bitter that his family and countrymenwere condemned to a life of ignorance andtoil, and secretly began writing severelycritical poems condemning serfdom andRussian imperialism, which he shared witha small circle of friends. And thats what gothim in trouble.

Turned in by an informant in 1847,Shevchenko was arrested and sentencedto indefinite exile with a personal admo-nition from the tsar that the prisoner wasforbidden to write or paint. For 10 years,he served in a penal battalion on theremote shores of the Caspian Sea inKazakhstan, quietly ignoring the tsarsban. Pardoned in 1857 after the death ofTsar Nicholas, he lived another four

years in St. Petersburg, writing, painting,drawing portraits of friends and attendingthe theater. He died a day after his 47thbirthday. Among the mourners at hisfuneral were Fyodor Dostoyevsky, IvanTurgenev, Mykola Kostomarov andPanteleimon Kulish.

Days before Shevchenkos passing, serf-dom was abolished in the Russian Empire.Two years later, so was the Ukrainian lan-

guage. And so, while Russian culturethrived, Ukrainian culture was kept at a vil-lage level, sustained only by the culturalgiants who emerged across the border inAustrian-ruled Galicia.

Despite the language ban, Shevchenkosverse proved to be so memorable and quot-able that it helped sustain the national con-sciousness of a largely illiterate peasantryfor the next 50 years. The commemorationof Shevchenkos death in 1911 and evenmore so the centennial of his birth threeyears later, was a national celebration, cul-minating in a profound way in January1918 with the declaration of Ukrainianindependence, followed by a decade ofunprecedented creativity, the UkrainianRenaissance. It ended horrifically in the

1930s with mass executions of artists andthe deliberate starvation of millions asStalin re-imposed Russification and serf-dom.

But they couldnt kill Shevchenko.Too big to ignore, the Soviet governmentcynically invoked his words to justify itspolicies, putting up a monument to himin Kyiv in 1939 to commemorate his125th anniversary. Twenty-five yearslater, Ukrainian Americans dedicated am o n u m e n t t o S h e v c h e n k o i nWashington, inscribing his words aboutthe ultimate liberation of his homelandon the pedestal. The Soviet Union pro-tested vociferously that Ukraines nation-al poet had been kidnapped by national-ists. Diaspora Ukrainians argued it was

the other way around. The dueling inter-pretations of who owned Shevchenkoand what his message was pretty muchended with the break-up of the SovietUnion and the re -es tabl i shmentUkraines Independence in 1991.

In March, President Viktor Yanukovychwill place a wreath at the monument toShevchenko in Kyiv and then in August hewill have the privilege of presiding over the20th anniversary of Ukraines indepen-dence. Shevchenko, I bet, would be doublypleased, although you dont have to be anexpert to know that he would have seenindependence as a beginning not an end.

Ukraines current president dutifully dis-plays the trident, salutes the blue-and-yel-low flag and, invoking an orientation on

Europe, says all the right things aboutdemocracy and freedom even as he steershis country toward Russia and its odiouspolicies and practices. Its a big disappoint-ment and a cause for alarm.

What would Shevchenko say? Iwouldnt presume to speculate, other thanto note he was never impressed by over-weening authority. Instead, he appealed,and still does, directly to the people ofUkraine the living, the dead and those yetto be born to study, to embrace what istheirs, and defend their rights and valueswith their deeds.

In looking for inspiration for this col-umn, I happened to come across what awriter said a century ago and I ended up in1911. And yet, re-reading Shevchenkos

unfiltered words I discovered anew that hismessage is about the future, much morethan it is about the past. We honor his mem-ory this year and every year by rolling upour sleeves and working to help make hisvision a reality. Thats how the nation gotfrom 1911 to where it is today.

Remembering Shevchenko

Andrew Fedynskys e-mail address [email protected].

PERSPECTIVES byAndrew Fedynsky


8/24


NEWS AND VIEWS

Tabachnyk education reform plan is defeated, challenges expectedThe analysis below was prepared by

the Press Service of Kyiv MohylaFoundation of America (Chicago) andthe Press Service of the Canada UkraineFoundation (Toronto).

The draft law on higher education (No.7486-1) proposed by Ukraines Ministerof Education Dmytro Tabachnyk wasdefea ted on February 2 , a t theParliamentary Commission on Education.

The Tabachnyk draft law would haveimposed substantial limitations on uni-versity autonomy and academic freedom,budget cuts and other provisions thatwould have returned Ukraine to Soviet-style control and censorship in education.The provisions and budget cuts applied toall universities of Ukraine, not only to theNational University of Kyiv MohylaAcademy. The draft law also includedthe absurd proposal that universities withfewer than 10,000 students would no lon-ger be considered universities, a require-ment that would disqualify even some ofthe worlds most respected universities.

Mr. Tabachnyks proposed changes inUkrainian higher education had been con-troversial in international academic cir-cles, as well as among the general publicfor several weeks. The NationalUniversity of Kyiv Mohyla Academy(NUKMA) and the Kyiv MohylaFoundation of America issued statementsof opposition to the draft law and theUkrainian Catholic University supportedNUKMAs statement. Other Ukrainianuniversities remained silent about thedraft law, possibly fearing retribution inthe form of dismissals and budget cuts.

Student protests

The law proposed by Mr. Tabachnykwas opposed also by large numbers ofUkrainian university students, who orga-nized protests in several cities. At the

initiative of NUKMA students, more than1,000 students from various universitiesprotested in Kyiv on January 31 againstbudget cuts and centralized control ofeducation.

Marching from the Khreschatyk metrostation to the Parliament Building, stu-dents held banners that displayed signssuch as Kyiv Mohyla Academy againstcommercial izat ion of educat ion,Tabachnyk out and Equality, freedomand student solidarity.

A Kyiv Mohyla student spokesman,Yagor Stadnyk, said, This proposalbrings education under total control ofthe ministry. This means that all disci-plines, all books and subjects to belearned will depend on the ministrysapproval.

He continued: This is only our firstwarning. We, students of Kyiv MohylaAcademy and the other universities ofUkraine will not give up our destiniesand our futures.

Some students of other universitieswore masks, fearing retribution by uni-versity administration or governmentauthorities. Upon reaching the Parliamentbuilding, the students were met byNational Deputy Andriy Shevchenko,who told the students that no law on edu-cation reform would be passed without anopen debate that included students.

The combination of student pressure,international criticism and other negotia-tions helped defeat the draft law proposedby Mr. Tabachnyk.

Alternate draft law proposed

As the Tabachnyk draft law becamemired in controversy, increasing supportdeveloped for an alternative draft law

registered by Party of Regions NationalDeputy Yurii Miroshnichenko, who isalso the representative of President ViktorYanukovych in Parl iament . The

Students in Zaporizhia take part in the nationwide protest Against Degradation

of Education held on January 31. The students were demanding the rejection ofthe proposed law on higher education.

Oleksandr Prylepa/UNIAN

Miroshnichenko draft law on higher edu-cation (Draft No. 7486) includes provi-sions which support university autonomy,academic freedom and Ukraines integra-tion into the world academic community.

The Miroshnichenko draft is supportedby the National University of KyivMohyla Academy and the administrationof President Yanukovych. HannaHerman, deputy chief of staff of thePresidential Administration, called forsupport of Mr. Miroshnichenkos draft onreforms in education, which supportEuropean integration, autonomy and free-dom. Other members of the PresidentialAdministration also expressed support forMr. Miroshnichenkos proposed reforms.

Debate on academic freedom

The current controversy over reform ofhigher education in Ukraine has broughtthe longstanding issues of academic free-dom and university autonomy to the pub-lic arena.

It is a welcomed development. Itswe l l - k n o wn t h a t Ky i v M o h y l aAcademys administration, faculty andstudents took the lead years ago inreforming higher education in Ukraine,and academic freedom and universityautonomy have always been at the centerof those reform efforts, said MartaFarion, president of the Kyiv MohylaFoundation of America.

I returned from Kyiv a few days agoand witnessed first-hand the round-the-clock work of Viacheslav Briukhovetskyand Serhiy Kvit related to the controver-sial activities of the Ministry ofEducation, Ms. Farion said. TheAcademys position and standing inUkraine has been strengthened in thisprocess, she added. Id like to take thisopportunity to thank everyone in theStates and in Canada for their support ofthe National University of Kyiv MohylaAcademy and higher education inUkraine.

In Canada, the Canada UkraineFoundation has taken the lead in assistingthe National University of Kyiv MohylaAcademy and Kyiv Mohyla Foundation

of America in this reform effort.But I regret that the Tabachnyk con-troversy generated an avalanche ofrumors and misinformation in the diaspo-ra community in recent weeks. When Ireturned from three weeks in Ukraine afew nights ago, I was immediately askedto respond to wild rumors circulating onthe Internet that the Education Ministryclosed down Kyiv Mohyla Academy, that

the government took over the universitysaccounts and that the academy is termi-nating the contracts of 40 percent of itsfaculty and closing down programs. Idont know how these rumors and hear-say begin, but they do not reflect thefacts, she said underscored.

To set the record straight, rumors ofdiminished faculty ranks and academicprograms and closures are unfounded.The faculty and students of NUKMA aresecure in their position as leaders in pro-moting university autonomy and academ-ic freedom. Reports of closure, dismissalor reduction of faculty or programs areunfounded. They are based on sensation-alism and hearsay. The budgetary reduc-tions announced by the Ministry ofEducation relate to all of the countrysuniversities, not only the NUKMA.

Dr. Serhiy Kvit, president of theNational University Kyiv MohylaAcademy, clarified the universitys posi-tion, stating that, reductions in the bud-get will be implemented in other areas atthe university, such as utilities or equip-ment, but that no reductions in faculty oracademic programs will take place.

Educational reform in Ukraine will bea long and difficult process, and it is notadvanced by the dissemination of misin-formation. The quality of informationabout Ukraine needs reform, as well.

Challenges expected aheadThe defeat of the draft law on educa-

tion proposed by Minister Tabachnyk wasonly the first step in a long struggle aheadfor university autonomy and academicfreedom. The day after the defeat of themeasure, Maksym Lutskyj, the formalco-author of Mr. Tabachnyks proposal,announced that the main provisions of theproposal will remain in place in the con-solidated text that is to be reviewed incommittee within two weeks.

The National University of KyivMohyla Academy and the academic com-munity of Ukraine need the support ofthe international community to advancean acceptable law that will be ultimatelyadopted by Parliament. In this regard, the

Kyiv Mohyla Foundation is working withthe Canada Ukraine Foundation, andCanadian and American organizations toorganize a conference of high-levelWestern academics in Kyiv, to advise thegovernment of Ukraine, and to put for-ward, a modern post-secondary educationlaw that would allow Ukraines universi-ties to flourish and expand in a global,best-practice fashion.

IN THE PRESS: The freedom agendaThe Quest for Dignity, by David

Brooks (op-ed columnist), The NewYork Times, January 31:

More than 100 nations have seendemocratic uprisings over the past fewdecades. More than 85 authoritarian gov-ernments have fallen. Somewhere around62 countries have become democracies,

loosely defined.The experiences of these years teach

us a few lessons. First, the foreign policyrealists who say they tolerate authoritari-an government for the sake of stabilityare ill informed. Autocracies are morefragile than any other form of govern-ment, by far.

Second, those who say that speechesby outsiders have no influence on placeslike Egypt have it backward. The climateof opinion is the very basis of the revolt.

Third, for all the pessimism and ner-vousness that accompanies change, mostcountries that have experienced uprisingsend up better off.

Fourth, while the public hunger fordignity is unabated, the road from author-itarianism to democracy is rocky and per-ilous. Over the past few years, the worldhas experienced a freedom recessionwith more governments retreating fromdemocracy than advancing toward it. Foroutside powers, the real work comes afterthe revolution in helping democratsbuild governments that work.

The Obama administrations reac-tion [to the uprising in Egypt] was tardy,

but no worse than, say, the first Bushadministrations reaction to the uprisingsin the Baltics and Ukraine. The point is,theres no need to be continually wrong-footed. If you start with a healthy respectfor the quest for dignity, if you see autoc-racies as fragile and democratic revolts asopportunities, then youll find it mucheasier to anticipate events.

Obama needs a freedom agenda hecan believe in, by Fred Hiatt (colum-nist and editorial page editor), TheWashington Post, February 7:

For the Obama administration 1.0,Egypt mattered most for the help it couldprovide on Iran, Israel-Palestine, counter-terrorism and nuclear nonproliferation.Values were a luxury, in a separate bas-ket something to push for, but only inso far as doing so didnt interfere withstrategic interests.

Now, as [Secretary of State Hillary]Clinton explained it here, theres anunderstanding that pushing for democrat-ic reform is a national interest, too. Thisis not just a matter of idealism, she said.It is a strategic necessity.

The best antidote to such tactics[Hosni Mubaraks trampling of anyshoots of democratic reform] is to nur-ture a free press, a diversity of politicalparties, labor unions and other indepen-dent organizations the kind of work thatAmericas National Endowment for



9/24


by Myron B. Kuropas

CHICAGO When Daria Kaleniuk, aFulbright scholar from Ukraine, first con-tacted me about a conference involvingstudents from Ukraine, I was intrigued.Were calling it Zluka Camp in honorof January 22, 1919, the day Ukraine wasunited, she said.

There are a lot of us studying in theChicago area, she told me and wereinterested in knowing more about theUkrainian diaspora. Would you be willingto give us a brief history? No problem.

Daria had another request. Venue. I

contacted Bohdan Watral of SelfrelianceUkrainian American Federal CreditUnion and he was happy to let us use theauditorium on the top floor. So far sogood.

I contacted Daria via e-mail with thegood news. Who else will participate inthe event? I asked. Her reply read: Asfor the panelists, the format of the eventwill be barcamp its a new worldwideformat of conducting conferences. Themain idea is that potentially every partici-pant can be a speaker/panelist... I havebeen a participant of several barcamps inUkraine and was organizing some ofthem and must say, that this way of con-ducting conferences is very productive.But you never know the panelists from

the very beginning. Barcamp is being cre-ated to find the panelists.

It all seemed quite chaotic, but since Ihad met Daria before and found her tobe both enthusiastic and bright I decid-ed to cross my fingers and suspend judg-ment . I shouldnt have worried.Everything fell into place, and ZlukaCamp turned out to be a most enlighten-ing event for my wife, Lesia and me.

Zluka Camp began with all partici-pants standing around a blank, outlinemap of Ukraine. As we introduced our-selves, we marked our cities of origin onthe map. Amazingly, all regions ofUkraine were represented.

There were seven student panelists, allstudying at American universities. All

were associated in one way or anotherwith Dr. Bohdan A. Oryshkevich, theenergetic founder of the USA/USA pro-gram. The purpose of the program is toidentify the brightest and best studentsfrom Ukraine, and to help win grants andscholarships to outstanding universities inthe West.

My presentation was first I amembarrassed to admit that I was the only

one who didnt use PowerPoint.I was followed by Maria Zaloznaya, of

Kerch, Crimea, whose topic was SocialScientific Research on Ukraine: Why WeShould Get Involved. A NorthwesternUniversity Ph.D. candidate in sociology,and a USA/USA alumna, Maria discussedcorruption at Ukrainian universities.Bribery can be found at all levels, Mariasaid, and it varies from university to uni-versity and from faculty to faculty.Corruption is a relative concept. It mustbe defined before it can be studied scien-tifically, and it needs to be dealt with on acase-by-case basis.

Marias research focused on teacher/student relationships. Ukraine has beenrated 2.4 out of 10 by TransparencyInternational, the global coalition againstcorruption, Maria noted. Social scientificresearch in Ukraine has improved some-what since independence, Maria told us.It has moved from the ideological mind-set of Soviet times, but resources arescarce and many outstanding scholarshave left Ukraine. Ukrainians, moreover,dont seem much interested in social sci-ence research.

Oksana Polhuy, a student at DePauwUniversity, originally from Chernihiv,and another a

Documents

The Ukrainian Weekly 2011-07