The Ukrainian Weekly 2003, No.2

by Oleh WolowynaSpecial to The Ukrainian Weekly

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The 2001Census was the first census implementedby Ukraine as an independent nation, andits results are likely to be as hotly debatedas some of the questions proposed duringthe planning of the census. The two mostcontroversial issues during this debaterelate to the questions on nationality andlanguage.

Some experts have stated that duringSoviet times many Ukrainians declaredRussian as their nationality, and thus thepercent of Ukrainians was underestimatedin the 1989 Census. The language questionin the 2001 Census raised fears that itwould show a large percentage of personsdeclaring Russian as their mother tongue,and that this would be used as an argumentfor making Russian an official language inUkraine and thus would reverse the trend toeliminate the consequences of Russificationpolicies during the Soviet period.

The census results presented here arelikely to be surprising to many persons.They can be interpreted as positive or nega-tive within this debate, depending on one’sperspective. (We will present the results andlet the readers make their own conclusions.)

Before launching into the main topic ofthis article, we provide evidence that thecensus has confirmed what has beenalready known: that Ukraine is loosing pop-ulation at an alarming rate. Between 1989

INSIDE:• “2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEW” – pages 5-38

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$1/$2 in UkraineVol. LXXI No. 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2003

2001 Census results reveal informationon nationalities and language in Ukraine

by Roman WoronowyczKyiv Press Bureau

KYIV – Prime Minister ViktorYanukovych made his first visit toPoland as the head of Ukraine’s govern-ment on January 8, receiving confirma-tion from Warsaw that it had resolved tomaintain a “flexible” visa policy forUkrainians after it enters the EuropeanUnion and that it will continue to cooper-ate on a Odesa-Brody-Gdansk oilpipeline.

“Today we held talks on those sub-jects that will help us to come closer todetermining our [relations’] future direc-tion” explained Mr. Yanukovych after hismeeting with Polish Prime MinisterLeszek Miller.

Ukraine has repeatedly voiced con-cern that a new type of “iron curtain”could descend at the border between thetwo countries once Poland entered theEuropean Union, while Poland hasinsisted all along that it would do every-thing possible to loosen stringent EUvisa requirements and border controls.Kyiv has even suggested that one by-product of the new EU “border” atUkraine’s door could be an influx of ille-gal immigrants from South-Central Asiainto Ukraine seeking to slip into WesternEurope.

Mr. Miller maintained during hismeeting with Mr. Yanukovych thatPoland was committed to maintaining a

Ukrainian prime minister’s visitto Poland confirms good relations

by Roman WoronowyczKyiv Press Bureau

KYIV – Increasingly looking likethe little sailboat that not only could,but did, the cement-bottomedschooner Batkivschyna continues tomake muck of detractors and doubterswho believed it had no chance ofcompleting an around-the-world voy-age. In late October the Ukrainiansailing vessel completed the third legof a five-stage journey that shouldhave it back in Kyiv near the end of2004.

Currently housed in dry dock insouthern California for winter repairs,the 28-meter-long schooner, whichgained international attention and afront-page story in The New YorkTimes in July 2000, is set to begin itstrans-Pacific journey in May. It shoulddock in Australia sometime in Augustif it sticks to schedule.

Staying on schedule, however, hasnot always been simple for thisUkrainian sailing vessel, which set offin April 2000 from its home port of

Kyiv to “let the world know aboutUkraine,” as i ts skipper, DmytroBiriukovich, explained at the time.The Batkivschyna drew internationalattention after a harried trans-Atlanticcrossing, which left it lost at sea atone point and well behind in its plansto join Operation Sail, an internationalgathering of sailing vessels on theEastern Seaboard of the United Statesin celebration of the Millennium – thelargest such event in maritime historybefore it was over.

Captain Biriukovich decided on thetrans-global journey after stops at var-ious ports of call in Europe and theMiddle East in the early and mid-1990s during which fellow sailorsoften asked him the identity of theblue-yellow flag under which hesailed. He decided to develop a proj-ect he named “Discover Ukraine,”which would inform people aboutUkraine and also allow him to travelthe world.

“I believe we have done a lot forUkraine,” said Captain Biriukovichduring an interview in late November

2002 back in Kyiv at his home not farfrom the banks of the Dnipro River.Mr. Biriukovich explained that overthe past three years he had receivedscores of letters from people acknowl-edging his commitment to Ukraine.

“In one letter I received it simplysaid, you are so small and have doneso much,” explained the captain.

Today the Discover Ukraine projectincludes a bevy of informational dis-plays on the culture, history and eco-nomic potential of Ukraine, which theBatkivschyna crew presents alongwith traditional Ukrainian folk musicand souvenirs from Kyiv for sale ateach port of call. The project hasremained afloat even with crew prob-lems and financial uncertainty follow-ing it like the wind the Batkivschynaneeds to keep moving forward.

During the first stage of its journey– which took the schooner from Kyivto Connecticut, with stops fromNorfolk, Va., to Nova Scotia en route– obtaining fuel was a major problem,

Batkivschyna prepares for next leg of around-the-globe voyage

flexible visa regime for Ukrainians desir-ing to travel there.

“Visas will be cheap, multi-entry andaffordable. We are suggesting that certaincategories of individuals, including busi-nessmen and young people, should beallowed to enter Poland without visas,”explained Mr. Miller, according toInterfax-Ukraine.

Poland is expected to become an EUmember in 2004. One of the require-ments it must meet is the implementationby 2003 of a visa regime acceptable tothe EU. Currently Ukrainians can travelto Poland without obtaining a permit toenter the country.

The two prime ministers also dis-cussed increasing economic activityacross their 543-kilometer (about 360-mile) common border. Although themeeting included discussions on broad-ening what is generally considered a lowlevel of economic turnover and invest-ment between neighboring countries, theUkrainian government placed an accenton receiving assurances from Warsawthat it would continue to cooperate indeveloping the Odesa-Brody-Gdansk oilpipeline, which the Polish side maintainsmust include the development of a Polishinvestment consortium to support theproject on the Polish side.

Mr. Miller explained the importanceof private Polish investment in order forthe project to succeed, but emphasizedthat the value of the project and thedemand for the oil in Western Europeneeded to be quantified and specificpotential suppliers identified as well.

Mr. Yanukovych, meanwhile, main-tained that most important at the momentwere concrete expressions of the politicalwill to move forward on the project byboth Ukraine and Poland.

The Ukrainian prime ministerexpressed optimism that economic activ-ity between the two neighbors had muchroom for expansion, especially in theagricultural sector, and said he believedthat Warsaw and Kyiv could cooperate indeveloping common export projects inthe military-industrial sector. He alsonoted that Ukraine would consider pur-chasing Polish coal for its energy sector.

Polish Prime Minister Miller statedthat Poland would continue to support itsneighbor’s move into the World TradeOrganization and, generally, wouldremain a strong backer of post Sovietreforms under way in Ukraine.

“Poland supports the market and polit-ical transformations in Ukraine and isready to share its experience if Ukraineis ready to listen,” explained Mr. Miller,who underscored that a European choicefor Ukraine is exclusively dependent onthe will of its people.

Finally, the two sides broached the(Continued on page 42)

(Continued on page 44)

and 2001, Ukraine’s population declinedfrom 51,706,700 to 48,457,100, whichtranslates into a 6.1 percent decline. Thisdecline is not uniform across the country.

Only two oblasts and the city of Kyivshowed small increases in their population(0.5 percent for Zakarpattia and 0.3 percentfor Rivne and the city of Kyiv) during thisperiod, and one oblast (Volyn), maintainedits population size.

The largest losses occurred in the east-ern, northeastern and some central oblasts.For example, Chernihiv, Luhansk andZhytomyr experienced more than 10 per-cent loss of their population; Sumy,Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Cherkasyand Vinnytsia experienced between 8 per-cent and 9 percent loss.

The smallest losses occurred in the west-ern oblasts and on the Crimean peninsula.Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Ternopil andLviv oblasts, as well as the CrimeanAutonomous Republic and the city ofSevastopol, experienced losses of between1 percent and 5 percent.

Nationality (or Ethnicity)The data on nationality is based on the

following item in the 2001 census: Yourethnic origin (state nationality or ethnicgroup). In other words, each respondentwas free to provide any nationality as hisresponse, and the concept is similar to theethnicity or ancestry concepts used in the


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THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 20032 No. 2

Russian language bill is registered

KYIV – The Verkhovna Rada has reg-istered a bill amending the Constitutionof Ukraine to make Russian an officiallanguage. The bill was submitted byLeonid Hrach, a Communist, and signedby 164 deputies representing Com-munists, Socialists, Social Democrats,the Party of Industrialists andEntrepreneurs and also the parliamentarygroups Labor Ukraine, Regions ofUkraine and People’s Choice. (Interfax-Ukraine) Hrach founds new Russian association

KYIV – National Deputy LeonidHrach has founded the public associationcalled Bohdan Khmelnytsky’sSuccessors to protect the rights of ethnicRussians residing in Ukraine, in particu-lar to give Russian a second official lan-guage status. “A considerable part of theUkrainian people, represented by ethnicRussians, whose number is, according todifferent sources, 10 million to 12 mil-lion people, have their problems, in thecenter of which is the language issue,”Mr. Hrach said in an interview withInterfax-Ukraine. In addition, the associ-ation will take measures to expediteUkraine’s integration into the EurasianEconomic Community or, at least, toform a union of three states, such asRussia, Belarus and Ukraine. Mr. Hrachcharacterized the current multi-vectorforeign policy of Ukraine as a “geopoliti-cal squint.” He added that the new asso-ciation will defend canonical Orthodoxy,showing respect for other religions andwithout engaging in inter-religious con-flicts. Mr. Hrach also told Interfax-Ukraine of his intention to run for presi-dent in 2004, but clarified that foundingthe association is not connected to hispolitical ambitions. “I have founded thismovement not to achieve my politicalambitions,” he said, adding that the asso-ciation will never be turned into a politi-cal party. Mr. Hrach explained that thereare many organizations and parties inUkraine that defend the rights of Russianpeople, but all of them operate on theregional level. He said he is convincedthat his movement will reach the nationallevel. (Interfax-Ukraine)Russians indignant over census results

DONETSK – The “specified data” ofUkraine’s nationwide census conductedon December 5-14, 2001, have evokedthe indignation of the Russian organiza-tions of Ukraine. “It looks suspicious thatsome 3 million Russians happened to benon-existent, judging by the results of the

census,” Konstantin Shurov, head of theRussian Community of Ukraine, said inan interview with ITAR-TASS. “It isnoteworthy that the overall population ofUkraine was reduced by the same num-ber of people. Now it amounts to 48.24million.” Census takers often put downthe information not on special forms, butin notebooks. Now it is evident that the“Russian problem” continues to beresolved by means of forcibleUkrainization, of the dissolving ofRussians and Russian-speaking peopleinto “Ukrainian society,” which is nowbeing created via bureaucratic methods,he continued. Mr. Shurov said he is posi-tive that the consequences of this anti-Russian process will soon become obvi-ous. “The violation of the rights of anation is a suicide for any state. Thepreservation of the Russian language andculture in Ukraine would be a guaranteeof national accord, cultural unity andeconomic prosperity,” he stressed.(ITAR-TASS)Rada questions Kuchma’s greeting cards

KYIV – The chairman of theVerkhovna Rada’s Committee forFreedom of Speech and Information,Mykola Tomenko, on January 5 request-ed that the Accounting Chamber helpclarify the legality of New Year’s greet-ings distributed on behalf of PresidentLeonid Kuchma, the Ukrainska Pravdawebsite reported, quoting DeutscheWelle’s Ukrainian Service. Mr. Tomenkowants to uncover the source of fundingfor the printing and distribution of thecards, which he claims were delivered toroughly 17 million citizens. Such spend-ing contradicts presidential appeals forincreased social-security spending.(RFE/RL Newsline) Kuchma cites transparent government

KYIV – President Leonid Kuchmasaid in his New Year ’s message onDecember 31, 2002, that for the first timein its independent history, Ukraine hasfinally gotten a “transparent power sys-tem that is comprehensible to every-body,” the Ukrainska Pravda websitereported. Mr. Kuchma was referring tothe parliamentary majority and coalitiongovernment of Viktor Yanukovychformed in November-December 2002.The Ukrainian president also suggested ashift in responsibility for state affairsunder this new power system. “[Now]the president will interfere [in stateaffairs] in the event of political necessity,but the primary responsibility will rest


NEWSBRIEFSNEWSBRIEFSby Roman Kupchinsky

RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report

PART IOn November 16, 2002 Ukrainian

President Leonid Kuchma fired the govern-ment of Anatolii Kinakh on the pretext thatit had been unable to ensure financing foreducation and science, and he proposed thatViktor Yanukovych become the 10th primeminister in Ukraine’s 11 years of independ-ence. On November 21, Mr. Yanukovych’scandidacy was approved in Parliament by aless-than-overwhelming vote of 234 for and0 votes against, as opposition factionsdecided not to participate in the voting.

Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych wasborn on July 9, 1950, in the city ofYenakievo in the Donetsk Oblast.According to his official biography, whichwas circulated by the UNIAN news agencyshortly before the vote, he worked as alaborer in a metallurgical factory, a carwelder and a mechanic. Later he worked asthe general director of a number of enter-prises, most of which were somehow con-nected to the transportation sector. InAugust 1996 he was appointed as vice-chairman and in September as first vice-chairman of the Donetsk OblastAdministration. On May 14, 1997,President Kuchma appointed him the headof the oblast administration.

Mr. Yanukovych’s biography says that hegraduated from the Donetsk PolytechnicInstitute in 1980. It also mentions in passingthat in 1968 he was arrested (the reason isnot provided) and sent to a penal institutionfor minors. In 1970 he was arrested for thesecond time and found guilty of assault andbattery. However, a different version of thissecond arrest was broadcast on November18 on ICTV television (a station belongingto Viktor Pynchuk, Kuchma’s son-in-law),which reported that he had been chargedwith manslaughter and theft of state proper-ty.

As soon as Mr. Yanukovych’s name wasannounced by the president as his candidatefor the prime minister’s job, a number ofpolitical observers in Kyiv were quick tocomment that with his appointment, powerin Kyiv would shift to the Donetsk clan.Some believed that the West would not betoo happy with Mr. Yanukovych’s appoint-ment, given his very close connections withwhat they claimed to be a criminal and cor-rupt clan.

The Donetsk clan is not a well-knowngroup, even among Ukrainians. More peo-ple tend to know about the large and moreprominent Dnipropetrovsk clan, or, as it isoften called, “Dnipro.” Mr. Kuchma is partof that group, as was Pavlo Lazarenko(presently in a prison cell in California,awaiting the start of his trial in March 2003and many others in the Ukrainian govern-ment. Even members of the opposition, likeYulia Tymoshenko, are also part of theDnipro group.

The Donetsk clan began its formation inthe late 1980s and early 1990s. The firststep took place in the settlement ofOktiabrsk in 1988. A local resident, AkhatBragin, a man of “great authority” in bothlocal official and underworld circles, tookcontrol of the local market. At that time, 22-year-old Rynat Akhmetov, a young man ofTatar nationality, was close to Mr. Bragin.Mr. Akhmetov, born in Donetsk in 1966,was noticed by many local men of authorityfor his quick mind and ability to get thingsdone. Mr. Bragin kept him close and taughthim the business of doing businessDonetsk-style.

In the early 1990s two other businessenterprises came into being in the region:the Anton company, headed by YevhenShcherban, and Delo Vsekh, belonging toVolodymyr Shcherban (the two Shcherbanswere not related).

In the early 1990s, men of authority fromDonetsk realized that they could influencedecisions in Kyiv by the sheer might oftheir industrial and natural resources. Thus,in 1993, a wave of coal-miners’ strikes,organized by their own management, sweptthe region and forced then-Prime MinisterLeonid Kuchma to appoint as his deputy apowerful “coal baron” from Donetsk,Yukhym Zviahilskyi. Mr. Kuchma left hispost soon afterward to concentrate on hispresidential campaign, and Mr. Zviahilskyibecame acting prime minister. During hisshort time in office, Mr. Zviahilskyi didmanage to slow inflation somewhat andarranged for Russian energy supplies toreach Ukraine.

In 1994 Mr. Kuchma was elected to hisfirst term as president, and matters rapidlychanged. Mr. Zviahilskyi soon found him-self the object of an investigation into hisdealings while acting prime minister – hewas accused of having stolen some $20million – and he fled to Israel in fear for hislife. After some time, Mr. Zviahilskyireturned to Ukraine; he is presently living inthe Donbas region, where he is still verypowerful. Being a member of Parliament,he has immunity from prosecution.

While Mr. Zviahilskyi was hiding inIsrael from the wrath of his enemies in1995, Donetsk came under the control ofthe two businessmen mentioned earlier: Mr.Bragin, by this time the owner of the localsoccer club, Shakhtar, where Mr. Akhmetovwas his deputy; and Yevhen Shcherban.They enjoyed the full support of VolodymyrShcherban, President Kuchma’s choice in1994 to head the Donetsk OblastAdministration.

In December 1995 the Industrial Unionof the Donbas was registered as a corporateentity in the city of Donetsk. Its actingdirector was listed as Serhii Tartyta, and itsfounding members were the Donetskregional branch of the Academy ofTechnical Sciences of Ukraine, theUkrainian Academy of Economics, theDonetsk Chamber of Trade and Industry,the construction company Azovinteks fromthe city of Mariupol and the joint-stockcompany Vyzavi from Donetsk. But mostpeople in Donetsk knew that Mr. Braginand Mr. Shcherban were the real musclebehind the Industrial Union.

Initially, the corporation stated that itsgoals were to coordinate the work of differ-ent regional enterprises in the new econom-ic situation that arose after the collapse ofSoviet communism. But the true originalpurpose of the Industrial Union of theDonbas was to make a lot of money by sup-plying natural gas to enterprises in theregion and by stripping assets from thecompanies they acquired during the earlyperiod of privatization.

At this time, some people in Donetskbegan to show political ambitions, andsome were openly predicting thatVolodymyr Shcherban would be a presiden-tial candidate in the next election. (Themost vocal proponent of this line of think-ing was Yevhen Shcherban.) By late 1995certain events convinced the Donetsk clanthat this was in fact a very bad idea. Nearthe end of that year, Mr. Bragin was gunneddown in Donetsk, and his young deputy Mr.Akhmetov, almost immediately took overthe soccer club. From that day on he wasthe most powerful member of the clan.

From January through July 1996, a

The clan from Donetsk

ANALYSIS

Roman Kupchinsky is the author ofRFE/RL’s Crime and Corruption Watch. (Continued on page 47)

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The Ukrainian Weekly, January 12, 2003, No. 2, Vol. LXXICopyright © 2003 The Ukrainian Weekly

THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2003 3No. 2

Following is the text of an address byAmbassador Carlos Pascual to represen-tatives of non-state educational institu-tions, rectors of Kyiv universities and fac-ulty and students of the EuropeanUniversity delivered on December 12,2002.

CONCLUSION

The so-called Kolchuha affair hasunfortunately arisen in the midst of thiscomplicated domestic climate. It hasexacerbated a crisis of confidence at thetop between Ukraine and the UnitedStates. It caused NATO to act unanimous-ly to downgrade the meeting of theNATO-Ukraine Commission in Praguefrom what could have been a triumphantsummit to a ministerial gathering.Because of the extensive misinformationabout this issue, let me provide a fewfacts.

In September [2002], the United Statesgovernment advised the Ukrainian gov-ernment that it had authenticated a record-ing of a July 10, 2000, conversationbetween President [Leonid] Kuchma andMr. [Valerii] Malev that authorizes thetransfer of the Kolchuha passive detectionsystem to Iraq. The Kolchuha issue isimportant to us because it affects the safe-ty of American and British pilotspatrolling the Iraq “no-fly” zones. Justimagine: how could we face the mother ofa pilot killed because of this system, andtell her that we never followed up becauseit was not diplomatically convenient?Moreover, the decision to transfer the sys-tem to a country that has consistently vio-lated international law and human rightsseems to contradict Ukraine’s stated com-mitment to a “European choice.”

Experts at the FBI’s ElectronicResearch Facility conducted a laboratoryanalysis of the original recording and theoriginal recording device provided byMykola Melnychenko. The recording wasreviewed numerous times using a range oftechnical and audio techniques thattogether can determine if a digital record-ing has been manipulated or distorted.The experts concluded that the recordingis genuine and has not been altered. Theydetected no breaks in the recording, foundno manipulation of the digital files anddetected no unusual sounds that wouldhave been present if the recording hadbeen tampered with.

Three United States governmentdepartments confirmed that the recordingincludes the voice of President Kuchma.They indicated that it would be implausi-ble that a conversation such as the oneexamined could be fabricated, even withhighly sophisticated electronic equipment.

We are aware that some private groupshave conducted analyses of copies ofsome of Mr. Melnychenko’s recordings,but we have not been involved in suchanalyses and cannot comment on them.The Ukrainian government has told theUnited States government that it conduct-ed an analysis of a recording of the con-versation between President Kuchma andMr. Malev, but the Ukrainian governmentadmitted that it reproduced this recordingfrom a version that is available on theInternet; that is, it did not examine theoriginal recording. There has also beensome confusion in the press about the useof the words “recording” and “tape.”Regarding the conversation betweenPresident Kuchma and Mr. Malev, theFBI’s analysis was done on the originaldigital “recording” of that conversation,and not on a “tape.”

Some have asked why we have notprovided the recording to the Ukrainianauthorities. First, the Ukrainian authoritiesknew their analysis of an Internet copywould have no credibility; the fact that it

FOR THE RECORD: Ambassador Pascual’s address at European University

Whatever the eventual resolution of theKolchuha issue, the main challenge willbe to re-establish the trust that is essen-tial to building and sustaining any mean-ingful, long-term relationship [betweenthe U.S. and Ukraine].

was done for political purposes under-scores that any information we might pro-vide will be manipulated. Second, seniorUkrainian officials have repeatedly sug-gested that the conversation took place,but the real issue is whether there was atransfer. Hence, senior Ukrainian authori-ties show little concern over authorizing amilitary transfer in violation of U.N. sanc-tions.

Did an actual transfer of the Kolchuhasystem to Iraq occur? From the beginningof this episode, the United States govern-ment has said that, while we are certain ofthe authenticity of the July 10, 2000,recording, we do not know whether thetransfer actually did occur. There is someinformation available to us that suggests itmay have occurred. Ukrainian authoritiesinvited a team of U.S. and British expertsto Ukraine to establish that a transfer didnot take place.

Faced with incomplete access toimportant documents and serious gaps indocumentation in violation of Ukraine’sexport control process, the team wasunable to rule out the possibility of atransfer of the Kolchuha system to Iraq. Inparticular, the team was not permitted tosee the full investigation reports the gov-

ernment of Ukraine informed us hadalready been completed by the NationalSecurity and Defense Council, theSecurity Service of Ukraine and theOffice of the Procurator General, as wellas key contractual documents. Access tothese documents, in full, had been prom-ised to the team and was later denied.

The team also found serious flaws inthe way that Ukraine’s export control sys-tem is implemented. While Ukraine’sexport control system is supposed to havechecks and balances, such checks eitherwere not exercised or they were not docu-mented, precluding a reconstruction of theevents surrounding the authorization tosell the Kolchuha system in July 2000.Thus, the question of whether a transfertook place must remain open. Moreover, iffurther investigation by the United Nationsis to prove useful, the Ukrainian govern-ment must first decide whether it willmake available documentation denied tothe U.S.-U.K. team. Otherwise, a UnitedNations team will face the same obstaclesin assessing the question of a transfer aswere faced by the team from the UnitedStates and the United Kingdom.

The way forwardWhatever the eventual resolution of the

Kolchuha issue, the main challenge willbe to re-establish the trust that is essentialto building and sustaining any meaning-ful, long-term relationship. In principle,there are two choices on how we moveforward on U.S.-Ukrainian relations. Oneis to leave doors open to possibilities forengagement and allow those possibilitiesto create new dynamics for cooperation.The other option is to say that our viewsare too divergent and foreclose strongerengagement between our nations.

For the United States, the latter makesno sense for U.S. interests, for Ukraine, orfor the kind of Europe that we are hoping

to shape. We will continue to pursue abroad strategy of engagement withUkraine.

In September, the United States begana broad policy review of its relations withUkraine. We continued this assessmentwhile I was in Washington last week. Inmany ways, this review will be ongoing.We need to keep assessing incrementalprogress or backsliding, and then decidehow best to respond. Several key points,however, are already clear.

• First, we must make clear that state-level authorization of military transfers toIraq will exact a price. Moreover, it isincumbent on all nations to strengthentheir export control systems. If Ukraine iswilling to renew cooperation with theUnited States on export controls that workin practice and not just look good onpaper, we are prepared.

• Second, we are ready to engagebroadly with Ukrainian officials to sup-port the types of reforms that can advanceUkraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration. InOctober, the United States welcomed,indeed argued for in the face of initialUkrainian resistance, a meeting betweenDefense Minister [Oleksander]Shkidchenko and Defense Secretary

[Donald] Rumsfeld. We are ready toreceive First Vice Prime Minister[Mykola] Azarov at senior governmentlevels in January. We have stated ourdesire to continue our bilateral commit-tees on economics, foreign policy anddefense issues. We propose to continueeffective trilateral policy meetings withUkraine and Poland.

• Third, we continue to maintain strongmilitary-to-military engagement. This isreflected in dozens of annual bilateralactivities and major exercises such as“Peace Shield,” “Sea Breeze” and “Roughand Ready,” as well as assistance forUkraine’s participation in “Partnership forPeace.” We maintain our support forUkraine’s development of its RapidReaction Forces, and for military reformsthat will allow interoperability withNATO and European forces.

• Fourth, we will maintain and deepen,as opportunities allow, our support forUkrainian civil society. Even while we con-tinue to review assistance programs thatbenefit the central government, we willcontinue our assistance for local andregional government, small business devel-opment, land titling, strengthening civilsociety, independent media and nonprolifer-ation. On November 8 we announced a new$300,000 competition for grants to monitorhuman rights and media freedom. We arewilling to do more, but the Ukrainian gov-ernment must allow it. For example, after ayear of negotiation, the Ministry ofEconomy and European Integration has stillnot approved the registration of projectswith the International Republican Instituteand National Democratic Institute toimprove openness and competition in thepolitical system. The message this sends tothe American Congress is that Ukrainefears transparency.

• Fifth, we will engage Ukrainethrough multilateral channels to help

Ukraine deepen its ties with Euro-Atlanticand global institutions. At the top of thelist are the World Trade Organization andNATO.

Let me say a few words about NATO,because the NATO-Ukraine Action Planapproved at Prague presents a uniqueopportunity. When you think aboutNATO, you probably first think of a mili-tary alliance, and you would be correct.But it is a military alliance of countriesbased on a common commitment toshared values. What is NATO defending,if not democracy, freedom, the rule of lawand the free market in its member-coun-tries? How can an organization that makesdecisions based on consensus function ifits members do not share a commitmentto the same fundamental principles? Itwould be contradictory and self-defeatingto include members who are not commit-ted to these fundamental values.

The Ukrainian government, well awareof what integration with European struc-tures means, included the following in itscore objectives in the NATO-UkraineAction Plan: strengthen democratic andelectoral institutions, strengthen judicialauthority and independence, promote thecontinued development of civil society,fight corruption, money laundering andillegal economic activities. That is theroad to NATO and European integration.It is a choice for bold political and eco-nomic reform.

If one looks at the history of NATO’senlargement, political issues have beenthe most fundamental factor in determin-ing a country’s ability to accede to mem-bership. This was true in Spain andhinged on Spain’s ability to overcome fas-cism. It was true with Greece and Turkeyand the importance of those two countriesreaching a political understanding. It wastrue in Poland, particularly in Poland’staking a strong stand against anti-Semitism. It is true now in the countriesinvited in Prague to become NATO mem-bers, which had to face tough issues suchas how they handled minority rights, cor-ruption, and non-proliferation.

And it will be true in Ukraine, asUkraine contemplates the steps it needs totake toward NATO integration. NATOmembership brings promise and privilege.It also means that each member-countryaccepts the responsibilities of democracy.This mandate includes freedom of speech,the rule of law, a genuinely free and trans-parent electoral process, and adherence tointernational non-proliferation standards.

These will be fundamental to the dia-logue that will take place between NATOand Ukraine, not because Ukraine is beingsingled out, but because these are commonexpectations of all Alliance countries.There is no side door to NATO whereshared values do not matter. There are noexceptions, there are no expedient “short-cuts.” Ukraine’s choice to integrate intoEurope is just that – a choice made fromthe heart, a choice made without condi-tions or reservations because Ukraine trulybelieves the West is where it belongs.

The United States supports Ukraine’saspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration.When we look at Ukraine, we see its greatpotential, we see the bright vision manyUkrainians have of Ukraine’s future, andwe know both rationally and in our heartsthat this bright vision is achievable, thatUkrainians deserve nothing less than ademocratic, prosperous, sovereign andsecure nation fully integrated into Europe.When we see the enormous talent, cre-ativity, tolerance and common sense ofthe Ukrainian people, we believe in yoursuccess. The challenge is getting from thepresent to that future we all know is possi-ble.



by Dr. Michael Palij

LAWRENCE, Kansas – Herbert J.Ellison, professor of Russian history andinternational studies of the University ofWashington, spoke early last year at theUniversity of Kansas on the topic “BorisYeltsin and Ukrainian Independence.” Hisvisit was sponsored by the Maria PalijMemorial Fund, established to promoteUkrainian studies. His lecture attractedmany students, faculty and the Ukrainiancommunity.

The purpose of the lecture was to com-pare the Ukrainian struggle for independentstatehood during the late tsarist period, the1917 revolution and the ensuing civil warwith the struggle of the Soviet period andthe revolutionary transformation of 1991.

While the tsarist policy was repressive ofUkrainian nationhood, both politically andculturally, Prof. Ellison noted that, nonethe-less, Ukrainians made considerableadvances in the official acceptance of theirlanguage and in the development of litera-ture and historical studies that enhancedtheir consciousness of nationhood. Theyalso developed political groups that under-took discussion of the means of acquiringindependent statehood and challenged theRussification of Moscow.

In the wake of the collapse of theRussian monarchy, Ukrainian nationalistleaders encountered a Russian ProvisionalGovernment whose leader responded withindifference or hostility to the efforts ofUkrainian political leaders in the CentralRada to define and implement a transitionto independent Ukrainian statehood.Ironically, that response weakened thestruggle to build a Russian democracy, thelecturer stated. It played into the hands ofthe Bolsheviks, whose deceptive promise ofself-determination for the nations of theRussian Empire facilitated their party’sseizure of power and forceful consolidationof a multi-national Soviet empire and totali-tarian system.

Though Ukraine gained identity as aSoviet republic with its own Communistleadership, the events of the 1920s wouldbring a systematic purge of UkrainianCommunist leaders who sought to build anindependent brand of communism and anautonomous nationhood and culture thatchallenged Moscow’s control.

The brutal policies of the Stalin yearsbrought a massive slaughter and repressionof Ukrainians, especially in the collectiviza-tion and purges of the 1930s. It also broughta “cultural revolution” that Ivan Dzyubahas described as including a program ofRussification vastly more pervasive, effi-cient and cruel than anything Ukrainianshad witnessed during the imperial period,said the speaker. How the Ukrainiansresponded was evident in their efforts toremove Russian power from Ukraine inWorld War II.

The achievement of Ukrainian independ-ence in 1991– the second occasion in the

20th century when the Russian empire col-lapsed – is a fascinating story and a remark-able climax of struggle for Ukrainian state-hood, continued Prof. Ellison. It was evi-dent from the ample supply of Ukrainiannationalist ideas in the samvydav writingsof the Brezhnev era and the rapid emer-gence of the Ukrainian nationalist organiza-tion Rukh that even the totalitarian policiesof the Soviet period had not halted thatstruggle. The collapse of the power of theCommunist Party and the authority of theSoviet center opened the way for the suc-cessful affirmation and implementation ofan independent Ukrainian state.

To what do the Ukrainians owe the finalemergence of national independence in late1991? Despite the negative experiences ofthe Soviet years, they did acquire a territori-al identity as a Soviet republic, Prof. Ellisonpointed out. They were also allowed the useof their native language in their daily life,education and publication, though the polit-ical control, and the elements ofRussification that lay beneath the surface ofSoviet “internationalism,” sought to containthe political impact of these concessionsand block the formation of a movement fornational independence.

The success that came in 1991 owedmuch to the reforms of the Gorbachev era,though to the very end Mikhail Gorbachevremained hostile to the dismantling of theSoviet Union. His memoirs condemn BorisYeltsin for allowing the secession of thenon-Russian nations. Nonetheless, the poli-cy of glasnost and the chance to form elec-tive, representative bodies opened the wayto an open and vigorous drive for nationalindependence that was massively affirmedby a national referendum initiated by theParliament of Ukraine.

Today’s independent Ukraine also owesmuch to Mr. Yeltsin, Prof. Ellison com-mented. Unlike Mr. Gorbachev, he firstenvisaged and then vigorously advocated anew union treaty – the implementation ofwhich brought about the August 1991 coupattempt. The organizers of the coup recog-nized that though the treaty aimed to pre-serve the union, it was based on the princi-ple of full sovereignty of the republics and agenuinely democratic structure of federalpower. They feared that the treaty wouldend both the Soviet Union and Communistpower.

The power collapse that followed Mr.Yeltsin’s brave resistance to the coupallowed him to play the key leadership rolethat proved crucial to the peaceful achieve-ment of Ukrainian independence, Prof.Ellison noted.

The miracle was also the product of theoverwhelming Ukrainian vote for inde-pendence in December 1991 and the effec-tive cooperation between Presidents LeonidKravchuk and Yeltsin in the replacement ofthe Soviet center with independentrepublics voluntarily linked in a loose con-federation negotiated in the autumn of1991. The benefit was reciprocal, since theRussian and Ukrainian leaders had cooper-ated in destroying the power of the SovietCommunist center that denied the inde-pendence of both nations.

As with Russia, the building of workablepolitical, economic and social foundationsfor the new Ukrainian nation still has a longway to go, but Russian imperialism is nolonger an obstacle to that effort, and the endof empire has greatly benefited Russiandemocracy, a vital guarantee of Ukrainianindependence. The peaceful revolution thatfreed Ukraine was surely an inspiring con-clusion to the tragic decades of nationalmartyrdom, Prof. Ellison observed.

22000022 PPaalliijj LLeeccttuurree aatt UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff KKaannssaassffooccuusseess oonn YYeellttssiinn aanndd UUkkrraaiinnee’’ss iinnddeeppeennddeennccee

NEWS AND VIEWS

One of the hazards of authoring abiweekly opinion column is that one occa-sionally gores someone’s ox.

No columnist ever pleases everyone.“Faces and Places” has been around for 22years and during that time I have beenaccused of “falsifying Ukrainian history,”providing “few facts,” being an “arch-Catholic,” being “anti-Catholic,” being“anti-Orthodox,” disrespecting certainUkrainian families, being “out of touchwith the Ukrainian American community”and, of course, of “right-wing rant.”

Fortunately, most readers tend to agreewith most of my views, either in letters toThe Weekly, or by phone, in personal con-versation, or by e-mail. Some e-mailers, ofcourse, disagree. If their criticism is civil, Ialways respond.

Other e-mails, however, condemn whatI write in the most vitriolic language.“Limbaughesque race-baiting bombast,”wrote one correspondent. “Transparentlypopulist crap,” wrote another. “Anti-Jewish whining,” suggested a third.

Some readers are upset that I occasion-ally voice political opinions about devel-opments in the United States. “There is noneed to waste The Weekly’s space,” onedisgruntled correspondent suggested. “Letthe American media do American politick-ing. They are quite competent.”

A year ago I wrote a New Years’ col-umn titled “Predictions, dreams and fears.”This really rankled one lady. “We do notneed your predictions, dreams and fears,”she wrote. “I would suggest that you steeryour energy and interest to a real importantissue instead.” She then suggested that Ifocus on the 1932-1933 Famine inUkraine. I informed her that I had devel-oped the first Ukraine Famine curriculumguide in 1980, that I conducted workshopson the famine for teachers in Chicago,Detroit and Newark, that I testified beforethe Senate Foreign Relations Committeeon behalf of the U.S.-funded UkraineFamine Commission, and that I alsoserved on that commission as a publicmember.

One young man urged the editor of TheWeekly to stop publishing my columnimmediately because it is “an embarrass-ment to the entire Ukrainian Americancommunity.”

An anonymous e-mailer, who calledhimself “The Hiker,” cancelled his sub-scription to The Weekly because the editor“showcased” my father’s 100th birthday.The Hiker argued that the only reason TheWeekly wrote anything about “Taras”Kuropas (my dad’s name was “Stephen”)was in “deference to his son,” described byThe Hiker as someone who is constantly“whining about everyone who doesn’tshare his views.” People familiar with ourcommunity know that my father was oneof the most active UNA members ever. Heestablished eight UNA branches, wrote aSvoboda column for 30 years, and servedas auditor and vice-president of the UNAfor over 40 years. The Hiker was notimpressed.

What astounds me about many of thecomplaints is the seeming lack of thoughtor corroboration. Many appear to be knee-jerk reactions to a perceived slur. Ratherthan write a letter, or a commentary even,that rebuts what I write, my detractorsresort to an ad hominem attack or to sar-casm. Don’t agree with Kuropas? Noproblem. Label his writing “crap,” or“whining,” or “offensive,” or simply

laughable, or anti-this or anti-that. Thendemand that he be censored or exiled.

I have no problem with readers whodisagree and put their thoughts to paper. Ican deal with thoughts; feelings, however,leave little room for discussion. A livelybut intelligent debate is healthy. The best,in my mind, was the months-long, vigor-ous dispute I had with Eli Rosenbaum, thepresent director of the Office of SpecialInvestigations.

Some of my detractors believe I shouldwrite only about events in the Ukrainiancommunity – as if our community is notan integral part of the United States, as ifevents in Congress, the White House, themayor’s office, the schools, have absolute-ly no bearing on our lives.

Having agonized over all of this forquite a while, I have decided to turn over anew leaf beginning this year.

I resolve that I will never again writeanything that might, could, or will offendanyone in our community – be theyCatholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Democrat,Republican, socialist, American-born,Ukrainian-born, Third Wave, FourthWave, young, old, female, male,Banderite, Melnykite, or a UNA executive.

I resolve that I will always take intoaccount the fact that some Ukrainiansbelieve feelings are just as important asfacts. Some in our community are ultra-sensitive and bruising their feelings, espe-cially today in multicultural America, evenunintentionally, is a grave offense, one thatcannot go unnoticed or uncorrected, oreven unpunished.

In order to “get a grip,” I resolve that Iwill enroll in a political sensitivity trainingworkshop so that I can become more opento, and appreciative of, icons such as Billand Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, JesseJackson, Al Sharpton and, of course, JaneFonda.

I resolve that I will stop being so judg-mental. Judgementalism is out in our soci-ety. Just getting along is in.

I resolve that I will write only aboutapolitical American topics. So what if Ihave been politically active all of my adultlife, worked as a Special White Houseassistant to President Gerald Ford as wellas a legislative assistant to Sen. Bob Dole.My opinions don’t count. Fortunately, wehave The New York Times and TheWashington Post to keep our communityinformed.

I resolve to always remember that cer-tain groups – Jews in particular – are abovereproach. To criticize the Office of SpecialInvestigations or the so-called “Nazi-hunters” in The Ukrainian Weekly runs therisk of being labeled “anti-Semitic.” Itdoesn’t matter that I worked with theAmerican Jewish Committee for 15 years,and was honored with an AJC award,before becoming convinced that dialoguewith the AJC is counterproductive.

I resolve that I will never again criticizeleft-wing professors at my or any otheruniversity. These are people whose inten-tions are honorable. The documented factthat most of them are Democrats onlymakes their pronouncements that muchmore credible.

That’s all the resolutions I can think of,but I’m open to suggestions.

One caution, however. I rarely keep myNew Year resolutions.

FFaacceess aanndd PPllaacceessby Myron B. Kuropas

Myron Kuropas’ e-mail address [email protected].

Resolutions for 2003

The Ukrainian Weekly welcomesletters to the editor and commen-taries on a variety of topics of con-cern to the Ukrainian Americanand Ukrainian Canadian commu-nities. Opinions expressed bycolumnists, commentators and let-ter-writers are their own and donot necessarily reflect the opinionsof either The Weekly editorialstaff or its publisher, theUkrainian National Association.


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWand Germany, while meeting in St. Petersburg, signed astatement of understanding and cooperation on the con-tinued use of Ukraine’s pipeline for transporting Russiannatural gas to Germany.

The document envisaged European participation in amultinational consortium that would guarantee the gassupply. The signing came a day after Presidents Kuchmaand Putin signed a separate declaration of strategic coop-eration in the natural gas sector, which would giveRussia joint management and developmental influenceover the Ukrainian tube in return for its agreement toabandon a project to develop the alternative pipelinethrough Belarus.

Ukraine’s First Vice Prime Minister Oleh Dubynaattempted to calm growing fears that the Kuchmaadministration had outrightly given Moscow theUkrainian pipeline by emphasizing to journalists on June10 that the oil tube would never be privatized. Heexplained that terms of the agreement stipulated that aninternational consortium would supervise the gas transittube.

While hope remained until the end that the consor-tium would include Germany, that option did not materi-alize, and on October 7 Moscow and Kyiv signed a bilat-eral deal to create a gas consortium that would managethe Ukrainian pipeline. The move elicited harsh criticismby opposition lawmakers in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada,who said the pact was driven by politics and contravenedUkraine’s national interests. Under the deal, Russia’sGazprom and Ukraine’s Naftohaz Ukrainy would man-age and develop the pipeline as equal partners.

Encouraging closer trade relations remained at theheart of the many meetings between Presidents Kuchmaand Putin throughout 2002. The Ukrainian presidentachieved his biggest victory in this area on August 8when he flew to Moscow to celebrate his 64th birthdayat Mr. Putin’s invitation. During brief talks, the two pres-idents agreed to ease a series of trade restrictions thatmany political experts had predicted could escalate toall-out trade war between the two sides.

While Moscow agreed to lift trade quotas onUkrainian steel pipes, which Ukraine had vehementlyopposed when they were introduced in 2000, Kyivagreed to suspend restrictions on the importation of 19Russian commodities. President Kuchma said that whilehe was not completely satisfied with the agreement, “itis better to have a bad peace [than economic war].”

As Ukraine and Russia grew economically ever clos-er, there were still certain issues on which they couldnot find common ground – most of it centered on histo-ry, language and culture. A brouhaha developed on June8 after mid-level Ukrainian and Russian bureaucratsagreed to look into the formation of a committee thatwas reviewing Ukrainian and Russian school textbooksand would decide on cultural and historical versions

Ukraine’s foreign affairs this past year, like apotluck dinner, consisted of good and badmoments. At the top of a very uneven year in for-

eign relations was the Kolchuha affair, which increasing-ly overshadowed other developments as the year woreon. However, even with accusations of President LeonidKuchma’s involvement in the sale of the air defense sys-tems to Iraq hanging over NATO’s Prague Summit inNovember like a dark cloud, Ukraine claimed success atthat very important meeting. During the summit Ukraineand NATO agreed on a new action plan for the country’seventual integration into the defense alliance.

The Kolchuha imbroglio, plus the lack of resolutionin several high-profile murders of Ukrainian journalists,including the two-year-old disappearance of HeorhiiGongadze, resulted in a cooling of relations withWashington in 2002. After the Kolchuha issue became aglobal affair, even Ukraine’s close ally Poland voicedconcern over actions by some Ukrainian leaders andseemed to politically distance itself from its easternneighbor, if only slightly. Moscow and Kyiv, on theother hand, became increasingly close with PresidentKuchma meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putinmore than a half dozen times.

The year began with the development of relationswith an unlikely and distant foreign partner. On January16 Brazil’s President Fernando Cardoso visited Kyiv tosign several bilateral agreements for joint oil and gasexploration off the Black Sea coast. He and PresidentKuchma also made provisions for the joint constructionof a space booster rocket. In another deal, Brazil gaveUkraine access to its Alcantar Space Center, whileUkraine allowed Brazilian space researchers to use theUkrainian-designed Ziklon-4 booster rocket. Mr.Cardoso traveled to Kyiv after spending four days inMoscow.

Ukraine also made a serious foray into the MiddleEast when President Kuchma made his first tour of thatregion of the world on April 24-28. It was a trip thatmixed economic matters with international politics.

Upon his return to Kyiv he called his visit to Syria,Lebanon and Jordan “fruitful” and underscored that thePalestinian-Israeli issue was potentially the most volatilein the world. He noted that the Ukrainian side was readyto step in as a mediator and had already developed anoutline for a program to bring the two sides to peacenegotiations.

Closer to home, Kyiv strengthened its already warmrelationship with Istanbul after a visit on June 11 toUkraine by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Bothsides belong to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation(BSEC) organization.

Another economic organization in which Ukraine hastaken the initiative, one that neighbors the BSEC, heldits annual summit in Yalta on July 19-20. GUUAM isdedicated to developing and maintaining transport corri-dors between its member-states, Georgia, Ukraine,Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova along what wasonce the legendary Silk Road. At their Yalta Summit thisyear the group signed a free trade agreement among themember-states.

Unfortunately, Uzbekistan suspended its membershipa month before the meeting, stating its concern over thelack of progress in developing the GUUAM charter.Although a representative of the Uzbek government waspresent at the Yalta meeting, he did not sign any of thenine documents ratified by the four other members.

Relations with Ukraine’s western neighbor, Poland,also remained warm, notwithstanding concern voiced byPolish President Aleksander Kwasniewski in Octoberover Ukraine’s involvement in the sale of Kolchuhas toIraq. With Poland scheduled to enter the EuropeanUnion in 2004, a central issue between Kyiv andWarsaw was possible new barriers between Ukraine andthe rest of Europe as visa restrictions were implemented.President Kwasniewski repeatedly assured Ukrainiansthat he would fight to keep visa requirements and bor-ders between Poland and Ukraine pliable.

A watermark moment in Polish-Ukrainian relationscame on April 18 when Mr. Kwasniewski officiallyexpressed regret over Akcja Wisla (Operation Vistula),the forced expulsion by Communist authorities in 1947of some 140,000 Ukrainians from their native areas inthe southeastern part of the country to Poland’s newlyacquired northern and western territories. His regrets

came in a letter to the National Remembrance Institute,addressed to a conference being held on the matter.

Poland and Ukraine also worked to continue tostrengthen economic ties in 2002. Poland’s recentlyelected Prime Minister Leszek Miller made his first visitto Kyiv on February 4 to meet with his Ukrainian coun-terpart, Anatolii Kinakh, as well as with PresidentKuchma. Talks centered on the Odesa-Brody-Gdansk oilpipeline. Prime Minister Miller expressed his full sup-port for the plan and Poland’s intention to find businesspartners to complete the pipeline’s Polish sectionthrough to the Baltic seaport city of Gdansk.

Mr. Miller also said that trade between the two coun-tries, which at that time stood at a paltry $1.2 billion, hadto increase. In addition, he expressed reservations abouta Russian plan for moving natural gas around Ukraine inthe development of a multibillion-dollar gas pipelinethrough Belarus.

Ukrtransnafta, a wholly owned subsidiary of NaftohazUkrainy, reported on April 13 that oil would enter theOdesa-Brody pipeline in a matter of weeks. However, itwould still be several years before the “black gold”would flow regularly to Europe from parts east. The oil,called technical oil, would protect the tube and its com-ponents from corrosion and degradation.

Ukrtransnafta also announced that a study released bya U.S. consulting company, Halliburton, Kellogg, Brownand Root, in conjunction with Cambridge EnergyResearch Associates and commissioned by the U.S.Trade and Development Agency, reported that there wasa demand in the European market for Caspian Sea oilflowing through Ukraine. It noted the importance, how-ever, of finishing the pipeline through to Gdansk.

Oil and gas remained a central part of Ukraine’s rela-tions with Russia, as well. Ukraine’s Prime MinisterKinakh said after a meeting with Russia’s PrimeMinister Mikhail Kasianov on April 10 that the twosides would sign a 10-year gas transit agreement byJune. The accord would give Russia secured transit forits natural gas to Europe and would help Ukraine to dealwith its thus far unresolved gas debt to its eastern neigh-bor.

The matter came closer to reality when the presidentsof Ukraine and Russia met in Sochi on May 17 andexpressed support for the deal their prime ministers werein the process of hammering out.

In Sochi, Messrs. Kuchma and Putin also discussednew developments in NATO, in which Russia waspoised to get a seat at the table of 19 North AtlanticTreaty Organization members on certain issues. It wasthe first indication that Ukraine would make a bid forNATO membership a mere few weeks later.

The gas transit agreement that Russia and Ukrainewere discussing took on new impetus and a new dimen-sion on June 10 when the presidents of Ukraine, Russia

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma (left) walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their informal meeting at Mr. Putin’s residence on August 9.

Ukraine’s foreign affairs:pluses and minuses

AP/ITAR-TASS/Presidential Press Service

acceptable to both sides. The agreement in principlebrought a deluge of criticism from Ukraine.

The controversy arose after the proposal hit theInternet. Many Ukrainians, including many members ofthe mass media, immediately interpreted the idea as giv-ing Moscow too much influence over bringing accuracyto a Ukrainian history that has often been falsified andtwisted in the past – much of the time by Moscow.

A June 18 report in the government organ UriadovyiKurier attempted to calm the surging controversy whenit wrote that certain facts regarding the initiative hadbeen misconstrued and that Kyiv would never allow anywriting of history that did not reflect the national inter-ests of Ukraine, including historical accuracy and expe-dience.

The flaring of cultural animosities killed that issuerather quickly, only to be followed by another disagree-ment over cultural differentiation when on October 25the Russian State Duma voted – and not for the first time– its support for making Russian the official language ofUkraine’s Crimean Autonomous Republic. Nationaldemocrats in Ukraine immediately responded by accus-ing the Russian Parliament of interfering in Ukraine’sinternal affairs.

The State Duma had reacted in support of a motionpassed on October 18 by the Crimean legislaturedemanding that the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv give itsautonomous republic the right to determine what lan-guage it could use.

National Deputy Pavlo Movchan, the longtime leaderof the Ukrainian Prosvita Language Society called it “themost blatant expression of chauvinism that I have seenin all my years” and blamed President Kuchma’s recent-ly appointed chief of staff, Viktor Medvedchuk, for initi-ating the matter to ingratiate himself further withMoscow, where he had plenty of political contacts.

Similar motions for making Russian a second officiallanguage came to the floors of oblast legislatures inDonetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv.

President Kuchma had named Mr. Medvedchuk thenew head of his administration on June 12, after the mul-timillionaire businessman who leads the SocialDemocratic Party-United brought his parliamentary fac-tion into a pro-presidential coalition in the recently elect-ed Verkhovna Rada.

This year’s controversial parliamentary electionsbrought a whole slew of renowned and respected foreignpolicy experts to Ukraine, including Madeleine K.Albright, President Bill Clinton’s former secretary ofstate, who stated in Kyiv on February 12 that Ukrainemust adhere to democratic norms and values in its elec-tion process if it was serious about its move to the West.Canada’s Secretary of State for Central and EasternEurope Gar Knutson followed her to Ukraine onFebruary 18. He took a more neutral, wait-and-see


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

stance regarding allegations that Ukraine’s parliamentaryelections were being manipulated. Meanwhile JavierSolana, European Union foreign affairs representative,expressed a bit more concern during his February 21visit to Kyiv when he noted that in a truly free and fairelection everybody must have the ability to express anopinion and have access to the political process.

It was Mr. Solana’s fifth visit to Ukraine during histerm in office, which showed the extent to which rela-tions between Kyiv and Brussels had warmed. PresidentKuchma stated throughout the year that Ukraine hadmade its “European choice,” and would stick to it, adecision that Europe applauded. Yet the EU in Brusselsand the Council of Europe in Strasbourg continued tochastise Kyiv for much rhetoric and little action through-out the year.

Ukraine’s parliamentary elections complete,President Kuchma made his first trip to the West in2002 when he spent two days in Copenhagen at theEuropean Union summit. The president returned toKyiv on July 5, waxing optimistically that he hadmoved relations with the EU forward and laid thegroundwork for EU membership for his country. In fact,however, he had left Copenhagen with little tangibleresults. Ukraine did not receive the market economystatus it had sought, which Russia had obtained theprior month. Nor did the EU hold out a timetable forextending associate membership to Ukraine, which Mr.Kuchma has set as one of his primary goals before hesteps down from office in 2004.

However, the joint statement signed by the two sidesfor the first time did not include criticism from the EUon the slow pace of economic reforms in the country oron dubious press freedoms.

Relations between Ukraine and the U.S, on a downhillslide ever since U.S. President George W. Bush came tooffice in January 2001, continued to erode this past year.

The year began on a sour note when Washingtonimposed long-threatened trade sanctions on Ukraine forits inability to stop CD and audio piracy and to legislatelaw that would halt such activity and assure intellectualrights (see story in economic section).

Then, in response to new demands and requirementsdetermined as essential by the U.S. after the September11 World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks,the U.S. Embassy announced on January 30 that it wouldtighten visa procedures that already made it nearlyimpossible for an average Ukrainian to travel to theUnited States. An Embassy spokesman underscored inmaking the announcement that the new requirementswere set to “keep terrorists out” [of the U.S.].

A piece of good news came on March 13 when Rep.Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.), who is a co-chairman of theCongressional Ukrainian Caucus, introduced legisla-tion in the House of Representatives to permanently lift

U.S. government trade restrictions against Ukrainebased on provisions in the old Jackson-VanikAmendment, which restricted trade with countries thatdid not allow free emigration. The law, a vestige of theCold War, has yet to be retracted in the case ofUkraine, even though it is commonly agreed that nosuch restrictions, including discrimination againstJews, exist in the country today.

Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), another member of theCongressional Ukrainian Caucus, introduced anotherresolution to get the Schaffer bill through the Congressquickly when he asked that the House of Representativeson May 14 agree to relieve Ukraine from the requiredevaluation process.

More good news came on June 10 when the U.S.agreed to restructure a $179 million Ukrainian debt onthe more advantageous terms of the Paris Club of credi-tors. Ukraine’s Minister of the Economy Ivan Yushkosaid he was extremely pleased with the agreementbecause it sent “a positive signal to other countries andthe international financial community,” that Ukraine wasfinancially stable.

“A Requiem Concert in Memory of the Events ofSeptember 11” was held on September 13 at theNational Opera House in Kyiv. The concert broughttogether some 200 singers and musicians from aroundthe world. Volodymyr Spivakov, conductor of theNational Symphony Orchestra of Russia, led the musicaltribute with the Academic Chorus of the National Operaof Ukraine under the direction of Lev Venediktov, withsoloists Janice Chandier (U.S.), Elsa Maurus (France),Robert Lee (South Korea) and Desmonde Byrne(Canada).

The second part of the concert was opened by U.S.Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual. FormerPresident Bill Clinton and Michael Bloomberg, mayor ofNew York, offered their appreciation via video, onbehalf of the American people and the people of NewYork City. On the occasion, President Kuchma presenteda gift to the people of America, a mural titled “Eyes ofChrist” by artist Aleksander Postupnyi.

What seemed like the beginning of a thaw in relation-ships between Washington and Kyiv once again wentfrigid on September 25 when Washington announced ithad information that state leaders in Kyiv had negotiat-ed the transfer of Kolchuha anti-aircraft defense sys-tems to Baghdad. At the time Washington announced ithad frozen a $54 million program of direct assistance tothe central government in response to evidence it hadobtained in the form of digitally recorded conversationsbetween President Kuchma ordering the sale of aKolchuha to Iraq through a Jordanian intermediary.

Further bad news came on December 19 when theU.S. Treasury Department announced it had singledUkraine out as one of two countries that had failed todevelop anti-money laundering legislation and wouldimplement sanctions against the country in response.

Amnesty International kept the bad news rollingUkraine’s way in 2002 when it issued its annual report inMay, criticizing Ukraine’s human rights record in fourareas: ill treatment in the armed forces, inhuman prisonconditions, the unsolved disappearance of HeorhiiGongadze and lack of freedom of expression.

A perception that the Ukrainian leadership was reflex-ively reasserting authoritarian rule as political controver-sies kept popping up like mushrooms and moving awayfrom its initial thrust towards democracy kept most lead-ers away from Kyiv in 2002. However, United NationsSecretary General Kofi Annan made the trek to Kyiv onJune 3-4 to praise Ukraine’s peacekeeping role in theworld as part of several U.N. operations and to com-mend the country for closing the Chornobyl nuclearreactor complex on time.

Ukraine did an about-face of sorts when it declared onMay 29, after years of maintaining neutrality, that itwould make a bid to join NATO. The announcement wasnot totally unexpected only because it came a day afterNATO had accepted Russia into a special 19+1 regimewith the North Atlantic defense alliance. Minister ofForeign Affairs Anatolii Zlenko conveyed Ukraine’sintention to NATO Secretary General George Robertsonduring a two-day working meeting with NATO leadersin Brussels.

Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security andDefense Council Yevhen Marchuk had given the firstindication that Kyiv was about to redirect its foreign pol-icy a week earlier, after a special meeting of his agencyin which President Kuchma participated. Many hadexpected an announcement of a new NATO-Ukrainearrangement, but not before a scheduled July 9 visit toKyiv by Mr. Robertson.

NATO Secretary General George Robertson (right) speaks with Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anatolii Zlenko during the North Atlantic Council’s meeting in Kyiv on July 9.

AP/Viktor Pobedinsky


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWSeveral weeks after the visit, Procurator General

Mykhailo Potebenko resigned his post to enter parlia-mentary politics as a newly elected national deputy ofthe Communist faction. He was replaced by SviatoslavPiskun, whom President Kuchma nominated on June 29and the Verkhovna Rada approved on July 5. Mr.Piskun, previously the No. 2 person in the State TaxAdministration, quickly became part of the quagmirecalled the Gongadze affair, after stating upon his confir-mation by the Parliament that his first priority was tosolve the crime.

On July 12 he announced the formation of a specialtask force dedicated to solving the mystery of the disap-pearance of Mr. Gongadze. The announcement camedays after the new Parliament had agreed to continuethe work of the ad hoc investigative committee formedby its predecessor, to be chaired by National DeputyHryhorii Omelchenko, a former general in the SecurityService of Ukraine and a prominent member of the anti-Kuchma political bloc.

Just days before the second anniversary of Mr.Gongadze’s disappearance, Mr. Piskun announced thathis office had determined the Tarascha corpse to be theremains of the Ukrainian journalist. Mr. Piskun said thata top-notch panel of Ukrainian medical examiners hadreviewed the medical evidence related to the corpse.They had concluded that, “the body belongs to HeorhiiGongadze 100 percent,” said Mr. Piskun. He also notedthat, contrary to previous conclusions, these experts hadsaid the cause of death was decapitation.

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual said thesame day, when queried by The Weekly, that the U.S.supported the conclusion that the Tarascha bodybelonged to Mr. Gongadze based on an earlier FBIanalysis of the DNA. However, the Ukrainian journal-ist’s mother said she would make a statement only aftershe personally had reviewed the report. A few weekslater Rober Menard, director of Reporters WithoutBorders, appearing together with Mrs. Gongadze, told apress conference in Kyiv they would request the servic-es of a French-based forensic expert for a third-partyevaluation.

National Deputy Omelchenko announced the sameday that his commission had filed a request with theProcurator General’s Office that it open a formal inves-tigation into the complicity of President Kuchma andthree close political associates on four criminal matters,including the disappearance of Mr. Gongadze.

When the Procurator General’s Office failed to act onthe matter, a member of the Kyiv Appeals Court, JudgeYurii Vasylenko filed 11 criminal charges on October 15against the Ukrainian president in regard to theGongadze case, along with additional allegations ofblackmail and corruption. Procurator General Piskunretaliated by filing a complaint with Ukraine’s SupremeCourt in which he declared the charges “mistaken,” butUkraine’s highest criminal court only remanded the caseback to Mr. Vasylenko’s court to correct proceduralerrors.

In November Judge Vasylenko repeated his chargesand ordered the Procurator General’s Office to immedi-ately begin an investigation, an authorization theAppeals Court judge claimed only his court or theSupreme Court could override.

National Deputy Yulia Tymoshenko, who spent partof 2001 behind bars and under constant threat of re-incarceration, obtained new political life after hereponymous political bloc did better than expected in theMarch parliamentary elections. With 7.4 percent ofUkraine’s electorate backing her, Ms. Tymoshenko rein-vigorated her anti-Kuchma campaign.

Six weeks after the elections she called a press con-ference to announce that a judge had cleared her of anywrongdoing related to charges of illegal money opera-tions and bribery, which had brought her imprisonmentthe previous year.

She explained on May 8 that a Kyiv district court,after reviewing all the charges against her and her hus-band in regard to their work as owners and chief execu-tives of United Energy Systems, had exonerated both ofthem fully. In the mid-1990s UES had been Ukraine’slargest energy trading company and very close to PavloLazarenko, a discredited former Ukrainian prime minis-ter who today sits in a U.S. jail awaiting trial on chargesof money laundering.

Not two months later, however, the ProcuratorGeneral’s Office announced it had opened a new crimi-nal investigation into embezzlement charges in the pur-chase of Russian natural gas, conspiracy to defraud andabuse of public office. Ms. Tymoshenko quicklyresponded that the new charges, which she said were

As Ukrainians began to adjust to the proposition ofUkraine in NATO, the ramifications for the country werediscussed at several conferences in Kyiv over the nextweeks. At one such conference held on June 24 Prof.Michael McFaul of Stanford University expressed theopinion that Ukraine would receive little attention duringNATO’s Prague Summit, during which seven of thecountry’s neighbors would become members, becauseseveral important NATO members – including the U.S. –were not interested in seeing a Kuchma-led Ukraine inthe North Atlantic defense club. Other experts warnedthat the Russian Black Sea Fleet would have to leaveSevastopol in order for Ukraine to qualify for NATOmembership.

NATO Secretary General Robertson and ambassadorsof the 19-member countries went about separating factfrom rumor when they held the second Ukraine-NATOconference in Kyiv on July 9-10. NATO used the meet-ing – held on the fifth anniversary of the signing of theDistinctive Partnership between Ukraine and NATO – toassure the country that it was wanted in the internationalsecurity alliance and to encourage Kyiv to take the need-ed practical steps towards membership.

Mr. Robertson repeatedly told Ukrainian state leadersand journalists that “NATO is willing to go as far asUkraine is willing to go.” However, he also underscoredthat moving towards membership in NATO meant morethan incorporating defense systems. It also meant thatUkraine needed to complete economic reforms, as wellas attain rule of law, freedom of the press and a civilsociety.

The momentum that seemed to be building on a newUkraine-NATO relationship came crashing down, if onlymomentarily, when the U.S. announced on September 25that it would place sanctions on Ukraine for what itbelieved to be the illegal transfer of Kolchuhas to Iraq bythe state leadership in Kyiv. While NATO did not con-demn Ukraine for any illegal actions, Secretary GeneralRobertson voiced concern about grave consequencesshould Washington’s allegations prove true.

Nonetheless, on October 30 the North AtlanticCouncil of NATO in effect informed Ukraine that noneof the leaders of the 19 member-states would meet withPresident Kuchma after it downgraded the Ukraine-NATO conference, scheduled for the second day of thePrague Summit, to a meeting of foreign ministers. Thereason NATO gave was Ukraine’s inability to convinc-ingly prove that it was not complicit in arms transfers toBaghdad.

Kyiv immediately stated that while it needed to con-sider the new situation, it reserved the right to refuse toparticipate in the Prague Summit given the new circum-stances. It also announced that the country’s NationalSecurity and Defense Council would ultimately decidethe manner of the country’s participation.

In the end, not only did Minister of Foreign AffairsZlenko attend, but President Kuchma did as well-eventhough NATO spokespersons insisted even days beforethe beginning of the Prague Summit that the Ukrainianpresident’s attendance would only upset matters at themeeting.

If nothing else, Mr. Kuchma’s presence upset the seat-ing arrangement of the Euro-Atlantic PartnershipCouncil, which is the organization of all the countriesthat are part of the NATO-sponsored Partnership forPeace Program. Because Ukraine’s delegation, includingMr. Kuchma, was to sit next to the U.S. delegation andPresident Bush if an English-language alphabetical seat-ing assignment were used, NATO decided to utilizeFrench, which is NATO’s second official language, andwhich put Ukraine alphabetically at the other end of thetable from the United States.

While President Kuchma even made a short statementbefore the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council during theNovember 21-22 NATO affair, Minister of ForeignAffairs Zlenko signed documents that gave Ukraine rea-son to believe it could eventually become a NATO mem-ber-state. The accords included an overall action plan forUkrainian membership to precede the formal member-ship action plan, as well as a specific objective plan for2003.

After all the controversy, Ukraine’s leadershipexpressed satisfaction with the conference and with itsfuture relationship with NATO. Mr. Zlenko even saidthat he was now more optimistic about future relationsbetween Ukraine and NATO than he had expected to be.

“We adopted what are new basic documents openinga new strategy of Ukraine-NATO relations. With thesedocuments in mind, Ukraine can now begin practicalpreparations for NATO membership,” explained Mr.Zlenko in Prague.

Maintaining a steady domestic policy proved tobe very difficult for the Ukrainian governmentand state administration in 2002. As in years

past, the effort to steer policy was too often a matter ofreacting to unexpected developments and veeringaround unforeseen obstacles as Ukraine bounded fromone crisis to another.

Elections dominated much of the first half of theyear. In the three months to the March 31 parliamentaryelections, the various political interests formed politicalblocs to consolidate their energies. Throughout the peri-od, government and state leaders defended themselvesfrom allegations that they were unfairly and even ille-gally swaying the political balance in favor of pro-presi-dential candidates and political blocs by utilizing stateadministrative and financial resources at their disposal.

Nonetheless, nearly a quarter of the voting popula-tion supported the Our Ukraine Bloc – headed by for-mer Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko and outside theinfluence of the ruling elites – in the March 31 vote (seeseparate story). But its fortune turned into anotherdomestic political crisis when it became apparent thatthrough political arm twisting – at times done in anallegedly dubious legal manner – the For a UnitedUkraine Bloc of pro-presidential forces ended up withthe most seats in the new Parliament.

That crisis still simmering, Ukraine headed into theusually peaceful summertime vacation lull only to beracked by several man-made disasters that took muchhuman life, including several mining accidents and thecrash of a military jet into a crowd of onlookers at an airshow near Lviv (see separate story).

After the summer recess, political turmoil again tookcenter stage with demonstrations by anti-presidentialforces, partly in response to the post-election politicalmaneuvering in the Verkhovna Rada, but also as a con-tinuation of the Gongadze affair.

Matters finally settled down after the VerkhovnaRada formed a politically fragile parliamentary majoritythat eventually succeeded in forming a new govern-ment, as President Leonid Kuchma had promised itcould during an unexpected Independence Day addressin which he called for a dramatic change in the coun-try’s political system.

The year began with the Parliament’s AccountingChamber announcing that audits of the work of severalgovernment institutions during the last five yearsshowed financial irregularities by the government in theamount of $357 million (U.S). Overall, it found morethan $2.2 billion in misused funds in the nearly 2,000state institutions it reviewed. Among the governmentinstitutions charged with the most widespread financialabuse: the Ministry of Industrial Policy and the Ministryof Fuel and Energy.

The matter of the disappearance and apparent murderof Ukrainian journalist Heorhii Gongadze in September2000 remained just below the surface of Ukrainian poli-tics throughout the year, re-emerging intermittently. Byyear’s end the body that was found outside Kyiv nearthe town of Tarascha two months after Mr. Gongadze’sdisappearance remained unclaimed by his mother andunburied.

On January 27 Reporters Without Borders, an inter-national human rights organization that had becomeinterested in the case, said that, contrary to indicationsby Ukraine’s Procurator General’s Office, theParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe wasstill considering the formation of an independentEuropean commission of inquiry to look into the matterof the Ukrainian journalist’s disappearance and death.Earlier, Ukraine’s prosecutors had announced thatPACE had rejected the idea of a special investigativecommission.

Ukrainian prosecutors also announced they wouldturn to a German firm to do a third examination of theTarascha corpse for yet another determination ofwhether the remains belonged to the journalist. By theend of the year no such examination had taken place.

The FBI said after a visit to Kyiv on April 8-15 that ithad been stymied in its efforts to assist the Gongadzeinvestigation when Ukrainian investigators refused toshare information other than what already was in thepublic domain. Ukrainian investigators also refused toshare evidence or conduct a joint site inspection in theforest near Tarascha where the body was discovered.

At home: maintainingsteady policy is difficult

simply based on the earlier ones, carried political moti-vation and were a response to her leading role in organ-izing new demonstrations against President Kuchma,which were planned for the fall.

The first of those demonstrations, held on September17, the day after the second anniversary of the disap-pearance of journalist Gongadze, turned into a largeraffair than most disinterested observers had expected.The Kyiv protest was part of a series of internationalprotests held across Ukraine, as well as in Prague,Budapest, Paris, London, Chicago, Washington andNew York.

In Kyiv, an unexpectedly large crowd of 25,000 gath-ered on European Square to listen to the anti-Kuchmaleadership – Ms. Tymoshenko, Socialist Party leaderOleksander Moroz, Communist Party leader PetroSymonenko – along with Mr. Yushchenko, who hadtried unsuccessfully to reach a political agreement onsharing power in the Verkhovna Rada with the pro-pres-idential forces before becoming part of this protestaction. The demonstration, which proceeded under theslogan “Arise, Ukraine,” called for the resignation ofPresident Kuchma for a variety of alleged crimes,including complicity in the disappearance of Mr.Gongadze. It ended before the PresidentialAdministration Building, where a tent city was erected.

That evening, state militia officers clad in riot gearand brandishing billy clubs swept away the tent city,while beating protesters. Law enforcement officialsarrested 51 individuals, while protest leaders said some125 others had gone missing.

Undeterred, some 10,000 anti-Kuchma forces gath-ered again on September 24 on European Square inKyiv to continue to push for the president’s resignation.The accent at this rally was the allegedly underhandedway in which the pro-presidential parliamentary forceshad achieved a majority in the Verkhovna Rada, evenwhile they took only 12 percent of the popular vote.Before the protest, during the morning session of theVerkhovna Rada, opposition leaders called for the presi-dent’s impeachment and announced they would para-lyze the work of the Parliament by not taking part inany legislative votes.

The evening before, the three leaders of the opposi-tion, Messrs. Moroz and Symonenko and Ms.Tymoshenko, had forcefully entered the television stu-dio of the government channel UT-1 and had demandedairtime on the evening news program to air their allega-tions against state authorities. Their refusal to leave thestudio resulted in the cancellation of that day’s newsprogram.

During the protest the next day, Mr. Yushchenko toldthe gathering that the new political crisis in Ukraine haddeveloped because, “The nation votes for one set oflawmakers, while another set takes power.”

Afterwards, demonstrators marched to the


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWPresidential Administration Building only to be con-fronted by some 400 helmeted, shield-wielding militiaofficers who blocked their path. A group of some 50national deputies used their status to obtain access to thebuilding, where they demanded a meeting withPresident Kuchma. After being held at gunpoint, theystaged a sit-in that lasted all night. They finally wereallowed to meet with Mr. Kuchma in the morning.

Two other protests followed. On October 12, 25,000demonstrators assembled again to hear the leaders ofthe anti-Kuchma movement read a litany of specificcharges against Ukraine’s president. However, onlydays later, on October 21, only some 5,000 turned out totake part in a candlelight vigil to “commemorate” 10years since President Kuchma took his first governmentposition as prime minister.

Press censorship also came to the fore again in 2002,when several journalists quit their positions in protestover the appearance of anonymous directives, labeled“temnyky” from what were generally considered presi-dential sources. After a new director at the independentUNIAN news agency began heavily editing materialcritical of presidential policy, the staff went on strike.

In the ensuing days Kyiv journalists announced theyhad formed a strike committee as a first step towardsthe development of an independent trade union. Theyalso published a manifesto demanding that the state stopmanipulating and intimidating the mass media.

On December 4 the journalists succeeding in obtain-ing a hearing on press censorship and freedoms during aspecial session of the Verkhovna Rada, during whichvarious journalists accused government and state lead-ers of not allowing them to work freely and openly,while authorities defended themselves by saying that asufficient amount of legislation was on the books to pre-vent censorship and that any such cases were independ-ent acts by bad bureaucrats.

While the Gongadze affair continued to be the centralfocus of the opposition movement, his death merelyrepresented the fate of a dozen other journalists over thelast decade. On May 23 a Donetsk Appeals Court over-turned a guilty verdict against Yurii Verediuk, who hadbeen convicted in the murder of another journalist, IhorAleksandrov. Mr. Aleksandrov was beaten to death witha baseball bat before the TOR television studio of whichhe was general manager on July 3 of last year. He hadbeen broadcasting a series of stories on police corrup-tion in his raion at the time of his demise. Mr. Verediukwas a homeless alcoholic who many doubt from theoutset was capable of the killing. Mr. Verediuk died notlong after his release from jail.

The Melnychenko “tapes” – the digital recordings thatwere at the center of the Gongadze controversy on whichMr. Kuchma is allegedly heard planning the young jour-nalist’s disappearance – continued to remain in the news.On February 7 Oleksander Zhyr, the head of the ad hocparliamentary committee investigating the Gongadzeaffair, said that an independent U.S. expert, considered atthe top of his field, had analyzed the recordings and con-cluded they were authentic. The announcement wasmade in Washington in an interview with Radio Liberty,at which Mr. Melnychenko was present.

Mr. Melnychenko was a member of Mr. Kuchma’ssecurity detail before requesting and receiving asylumin the U.S. after he announced the existence of hisrecordings in December 2000.

On May 21 Mr. Melnychenko announced fromWashington that he had testified before a U.S. grandjury, although he did not disclose the subject matterinvolved. He did, however, emphasize that the testimo-ny did not involve Mr. Lazarenko, the former primeminister being held in a U.S. prison in the SanFrancisco area for the third year now as the investiga-tion into money-laundering charges continues.

While Mr. Melnychenko would not state the reasonfor his testimony, he repeated a charge that wouldexplode into a major international controversy severalmonths later: President Kuchma had ordered the sale ofa Kolchuha anti-aircraft defense system to Iraq. Mr.Melnychenko said he had recorded the Ukrainian presi-dent giving authorization for the military transfer in aconversation with his chief military export official.

Mr. Lazarenko remained in the news as well,although his case continued to move at snail’s pace inthe U.S. On February 7 Ukraine’s Procurator General’sOffice charged the former prime minister with the mur-der of National Deputy Yevhen Scherban of Donetsk,who was assassinated in 1996, and Vadym Hetman, for-mer chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, whowas found dead in his apartment building in a gangland-style slaying in 1998.

Mr. Lazarenko was accused of ordering the murdersthrough a group of professional assassins. That grouphad been disassembled and its members arrested, whichled to the revelation of Mr. Lazarenko’s involvement,according to the Procurator General’s Office.

There was also relatively more mundane politicalactivity and news in Ukraine in 2002. Perhaps the mostunexpected development occurred on UkrainianIndependence Day, when President Kuchma addressed anational television audience to announce he was propos-ing to shift the country from a presidential political sys-tem to a parliamentary system. In essence, such a movemeant that the legislature, not the executive, wouldcarry ultimate authority in the country if the proposedchanges became law.

Outlining his proposal the president said he wouldallow a parliamentary majority, if one were successfullyformed in the Verkhovna Rada, to form the next govern-ment and appoint its prime minister. He also said he wasready to move to a strictly proportional electoral sys-tem, in which lawmakers would be elected based onelectoral support for political parties. Mr. Kuchma alsosaid he would agree to constitutional changes to makethe system permanent.

While many politicians expressed surprise at themove, those in opposition to Mr. Kuchma called it anattempt by the president to cast himself in the role ofdemocratic reformer and seize the initiative from theopposition, which had announced mass demonstrationsin response to his alleged autocratic rule.

Lawmakers like Ms. Tymoshenko reminded the pub-lic that for several years now they had been pushing fora parliamentary democracy, in which the prime ministerand his Cabinet are chosen from among legislators, as isthe case in Germany and Great Britain.

President Kuchma also emphasized repeatedly duringthe year that Ukraine would continue to move Westwardand that its “European choice,” was irreversible. Duringhis annual state of the state address, held this past yearon June 11, the Ukrainian president said he would liketo see associate membership in the European Union by2004, with full membership sometime after 2011. Healso emphasized the need to get membership in theWorld Trade Organization.

The president derided the Parliament, telling deputiesto stop bickering and get to work, specifically to finallyapprove a new tax code. Mr. Kuchma also said onceagain that he would consider allowing the Parliament tohelp him form a new government, if it could form andmaintain a majority

A day later, the president appointed the leader of theSDPU and one of the richest and most influential menin Ukraine, National Deputy Viktor Medvedchuk, as hisnew chief of staff, a sign that he would make the effortneeded to find political agreement on a parliamentarymajority.

As he strode to the podium to deliver his annualaddress, Mr. Kuchma was met with catcalls from theopposition and a pair of slippers tossed his way. Thefootwear was meant to symbolize that the president

“Kuchma out” reads a banner held aloft at an anti-Kuchma demonstration in Lviv on September 16.

“Freedom is our right” is the message at an October12 protest in Kyiv calling for President Leonid

Kuchma’s ouster.

Kyrylo Horiszny

AP/Victor Pobedinsky



The following table presents the distribution ofpopulation among Ukraine’s administrative-territorial units, as reflected in the 2001

nationwide census. The population of Ukraine as ofDecember 5, 2001, stood at 48,416,000 people.

Autonomous Republic of Crimea 2,031,000Cherkasy Oblast 1,402,000Chernihiv Oblast 1,236,000Chernivtsi Oblast 923,000Dnipropetrovsk Oblast 3,560,000Donetsk Oblast 4,843,000Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast 1,409,000Kharkiv Oblast 2,910,000Kherson Oblast 1,174,000Khmelnytskyi Oblast 1,431,000Kirovohrad Oblast 1,129,000Kyiv Oblast 1,828,000Luhansk Oblast 2,546,000Lviv Oblast 2,626,000Mykolaiv Oblast 1,264,000Odesa Oblast 2,468,000Poltava Oblast 1,630,000Rivne Oblast 1,173,000Sumy Oblast 1,300,000Ternopil Oblast 1,142,000Vinnytsia Oblast 1,772,000Volyn Oblast 1,061,000Zakarpattia Oblast 1,258,000Zaporizhia Oblast 1,926,000Zhytomyr Oblast 1,389,000City of Kyiv* 2,607,000City of Sevastopol* 378,000*Including population centers under the jurisdic-

tion of the city council.The total number of cities in Ukraine on the day

of the 2001 nationwide census was 454. Of these, 37had populations ranging from 100,000 to 500,000people, nine cities counted more than half a millionresidents, and five of the latter had more than 1 mil-lion. The population of the city of Kyiv was 2.6 mil-lion. Cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants arepresented in the following table, listed in alphabeti-cal order.

Alchevsk 119,000Antratsyt 64,000Artemivsk 83,000Berdiansk 121,000Berdychiv 88,000Bila Tserkva 200,000Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi 52,000Boryspil 54,000Brianka 55,000Brovary 87,000Cherkasy 295,000Chernihiv 301,000Chernivtsi 240,000Chervonohrad 71,000Dniprodzerzhynsk 256,000Dnipropetrovsk 1,064,000Donetsk 1,016,000Drohobych 79,000Druzhkivka 65,000Dymytrov 54,000Fastiv 52,000Feodosia 74,000Horlivka 292,000Illichivsk 54,000Ivano-Frankivsk 218,000Izium 56,000Izmail 84,000Kalush 68,000Kamianets-Podilskyi 100,000Kerch 157,000Kharkiv 1,470,000Khartsyzk 64,000Kherson 328,000Khmelnytskyi 254,000Kirovohrad 253,000Kovel 66,000Kolomyia 61,000

would soon be “walking” after anti-Kuchma forces suc-ceeded in forcing his resignation (which ultimately didnot happen). Ironically, the president voiced support fora new impeachment law in his statement to theUkrainian legislature.

The Verkhovna Rada began its work after the March31 parliamentary elections in chaos and confusion.Assertions by the Our Ukraine political bloc, led by for-mer Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, that pro-presi-dential forces had stolen the parliamentary elections bycoercing newly elected independent lawmakers to jointheir For a United Ukraine faction in the new legislativeassembly caused political turmoil and paralysis.

While the leaders of For a United Ukraine expressedconfidence they would quickly elect a new VerkhovnaRada leadership and then move to formalize a parlia-mentary majority, it became evident from the outset thatthe process would take time and political compromise.

After two weeks and the rejection of more than halfa dozen possibilities, a bare majority of lawmakers(226 votes) agreed to give the chairmanship of theVerkhovna Rada to Volodymyr Lytvyn, who onlyrecently had been elected. Mr. Lytvyn, 46, who becamethe favorite after the first week of debates and closed-door meetings, formerly had served as PresidentKuchma’s chief of staff.

Hennadii Vasyliev, a member of the Donetsk-basedRegions of Ukraine Party, and Oleksander Zinchenkoof the Social Democratic Party-United took the posts offirst vice-chair and second vice-chair, respectively. Norwas the apportionment of committees achieved withouta struggle, with Mr. Yushchenko insisting that his fac-tion should get the majority of the committee chair-manships because the faction had 110 seats in theVerkhovna Rada – the largest number held by a singlebloc. Finally, the lawmakers agreed to divvy up thechairs roughly in proportion to the number of seats thesix winning political blocs had taken in the elections.

The election of the parliamentary leadership crystal-lized the political split within the ranks of the lawmak-ers – between nine pro-presidential parties and thethree anti-presidential forces: the Socialists, theCommunists and the Tymoshenko bloc. Mr.Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine at first tried to maintain aposition somewhere in the gulf between the two sides,but soon found itself in the opposition camp for allpractical purposes.

Giving credence to claims by the opposition that Fora United Ukraine was artificially constructed for thesole purpose of talking the parliamentary leadershipposts, within days of completion of the process it hadfragmented into nine separate factions.

While it had taken more than two months of politicalmaneuvering and negotiating to settle on the leadershipof the Verkhovna Rada, it would take an additional fourmonths to develop a parliamentary majority. However,on September 30, Parliament Chairman Lytvyn toldjournalists that he had received unofficial agreementfrom a majority of national deputies that they wereready to form a majority and take responsibility for thelegislative process. On October 8, 231 lawmakers,including one who had been with the Our Ukraine bloc,signed a pact formalizing the parliamentary majority.

Both opposition members and political pundits bothexpressed doubt that such a conflagration of variouspolitical and business interests could hold, and in factin the first official vote after the majority was formed,the group failed to garner the required 226 votes tosupport a proposal to discuss the creation of an ad hoccommission on the Kolchuha scandal. However, onNovember 21 they succeeded in putting one of theirown candidates in the prime minister’s seat.

Anatolii Kinakh, who had been prime minister sinceMay 2001 and had been considered one of four finaliststo retain the position by the new parliamentary majori-ty, was removed by President Kuchma on November 5.While a knowledgeable political leader, Mr. Kinakhproved ineffective in moving through the jungle ofUkrainian politics. He had put together a 2002 nationalbudget that was roundly criticized and had troubleobtaining consensus on a 2003 budget. Also, he had notbeen able to move privatization forward and had failedto get a new tax code enacted.

Viktor Yanukovych, Donetsk Oblast chairman,emerged victorious after weeks of political ponderingand negotiations among the nine factions of theVerkhovna Rada majority and President Kuchma. Hewas ratified as Ukraine’s 10th prime minister by theUkrainian Parliament on November 21. The 52-year-old crony of President Kuchma said he would concen-trate on building Ukraine’s economy and increasing

foreign trade and investment. Many in Ukraine, includ-ing political experts, expressed skepticism that hewould do more than continue to assure the president’shold over the government and influence among the var-ious political/business clans.

Mr. Yanukovych, like his first vice prime ministerMykola Azarov, formerly the head of the State TaxAdministration, is not a native Ukrainian speaker andrarely uses the state language, which did not bode wellfor those who continued to fight for supremacy ofUkrainian in schools and public institutions.

The Verkhovna Rada made some headway inacknowledging the historical reality of the existence ofthe Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) as Ukrainian free-dom fighters, when National Deputy Yaroslav Kendziortold journalists that he and his National Rukh ofUkraine Party, had finally succeeded in getting theissue of the status of the UPA put on the VerkhovnaRada agenda. Rukh, which is part of the Our Ukrainefaction, had fought for years to have the UPA recog-nized as World War II combatants, which would giveits veterans the benefits and subsidies accorded toSoviet Army veterans.

The issue of the status of the UPA and it politicalarm, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, hasstirred emotions for years in Ukraine. Even when theUkrainian government submitted a bill to theParliament for consideration in July, the announcementon July 12 that a provision of the bill would requireeach UPA veteran to be scrutinized to determinewhether he could have possibly committed ”crimesagainst humanity,” brought a tirade of criticism fromnational democratic forces.

Earlier in the year another storm resulted from adecision by the city council of Ivano-Frankivsk to rec-ognize members of the Galicia Division as World WarII veterans. The resolution, passed on March 19,brought the ire of Moscow, which blasted the decisionas “regretful” and “shameful.” Jewish leaders both inUkraine and the U.S. also lambasted the resolution.

While minorities continued to receive equal treat-ment in Ukraine, a rock- throwing incident by amarauding group of unruly soccer hooligans upsetmembers of Kyiv’s Central Synagogue, the Jewishcommunity of Kyiv and residents in general. The inci-dent, which occurred on April 13 after a Kyiv Dynamosoccer match, began when some 200 drunken teenagersand young adults began throwing bottles and rocks atstorefronts along one of Kyiv’s main thoroughfares. Asthe hooliganism intensified, state militia began to makearrests, but not before a group of about 50 thugs beganto throw stones at children leaving Saturday services atthe Central Synagogue.

While some Jewish leaders warned that the incidentwas the beginning of a rise in anti-Semitic activity,state militia asserted that the rock and bottle-throwingmelee was an isolated and unfortunate series of events.

While closed forever, Chornobyl also stayed in theheadlines in 2002. On the 16th anniversary of thelargest nuclear accident ever, work continued on moth-balling the now-idle plant and on reinforcing andrebuilding the “sarcophagus,” the concrete casing thatcovers the ill-fated fourth reactor. The city ofSlavutych, which housed the workers, also remained intransition, with half of the population relocated, butsome 10,000 residents still working and living there.

President Kuchma, however, expressed his dissatis-faction with the progress being made and chastised hisCabinet for an insufficient allocation of funds forChornobyl expenses in the 2002 budget. His remarkscame on May 16, after he had met with EuropeanCommission Chairman Romano Prodi.

While Chornobyl will always remain a sad com-memoration, Ukraine also commemorated happymoments in its national life in 2002, most notably the11th anniversary of independence. The size and enthu-siasm of the crowds on the Khreschatyk, Kyiv’s mainthoroughfare, for the 2002 Independence Day Parademirrored those of years past, but it was a relatively sub-dued celebration. But then it would have been all butimpossible to better the 10th anniversary bash Ukrainethrew the year before.

Yet, Ukraine spared nothing in 2002 as well, withsmall celebrations, marching bands and fireworks dis-plays in towns and cities all across the country.However, the place that had the most fun, or so itseemed, on August 24 and in the two weeks leading upto the holiday was a scouting camp set up near the townof Svirzh, in the Lviv Oblast. There, more than 1,500members of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization heldtheir first International Jamboree in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Census:a look at the numbers

Amid the several natural and man-made catastro-phes and the continued political turmoil thatdominated the headlines on Ukraine in 2002, the

economy was the one area where the country experi-enced relative calm and continued growth.

Ukraine’s economy again expanded in 2002, albeit abit more slowly than it had in the previous two years.By year’s end, the gross domestic product (GDP) wasreported at 4.1 percent for the first 10 months of theyear, which guaranteed that Ukraine would end the yearwith strong numbers. Inflation, which had began theyear at a stable 6.1 percent had fallen even further, to adeflationary state of – 1.1 percent. This was the thirdconsecutive year the Ukrainian economy had expandedafter a decadelong downturn. In 2001 Ukraine hadrecorded 9 percent GDP growth, while in 2000 it was 6percent.

As a result of continued growth and positive changes


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWin the economic infrastructure, on January 8, J.P.Morgan Bank and Moody’s announced that they hadraised Ukraine’s investment rating to make it one of themost investment-attractive global economies. In fact, inthe CIS zone, only Kazakstan, with GDP growth of 12percent in the past year surpassed Ukraine’s strongshowing. Russia saw stable growth at 6 percent.

On January 18, Vice Prime Minister of the EconomyVasyl Rohovyi added to the good economic news whenhe said that the income of Ukrainians after inflation hadincreased in real terms by about 18 percent. The averagegovernment wage had increased about 25 percent, final-ly giving the people real additional spending power.

Foreign investments also were up for the year, by28.6 percent; nonetheless this still added up to a meager$4.9 billion total during the country’s 11 years of inde-pendence. The largest foreign investors in Ukraine werefrom the United States, Cyprus, Great Britain, theNetherlands, Russia, the Virgin Islands and Germany, inthat order.

While, at first glance, large investments from Cyprusand the Virgin Islands seemed incongruous, economicexperts explained that they were investment savingsoriginally transferred out of the country to these off-shore havens and now returning to Ukraine.

While the year witnessed continued economic expan-sion, it was not controversy-free. The InternationalMonetary Fund and the World Bank continued to prodKyiv to move more quickly on economic reforms, espe-cially in the spheres of privatization, bank reform and anew tax code, with many experts concluding thatUkraine continued to move too slowly. Ukraine failed togain access to the World Trade Organization, a goal ithad set for 2002. And, Washington upset Ukraine’sdrive for more open access to U.S. markets when it lev-eled economic sanctions to push Kyiv to bring CD andrecording piracy under control.

The year began on a downbeat after President LeonidKuchma authorized the dismissal of longtime Ministerof Finance Ihor Mitiukov in favor of Ihor Yushko, abanker from the Donetsk Oblast. Mr. Mitiukov was dis-missed on December 27, 2001, ostensibly due to “min-isterial reorganization.” While some right-center politi-cians, including Valerii Asadchev of the Our Ukrainepolitical bloc, alluded to Mr. Mitiukov’s failure todevelop a budget that could have been utilized by pro-presidential forces for the upcoming elections as a rea-son for his dismissal, the conventional wisdom was thathis inability to once again push a realistic nationalbudget through the Verkhovna Rada had sealed his fate.

Mr. Mitiukov was replaced by a relatively unknown,but well-respected banker; Mr. Yushko lasted only untilthe end of November, when President Kuchma fired thegovernment of Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh.

Economic relations with the U.S. took a dive onJanuary 23 when Washington announced it had placedeconomic sanctions on Ukraine in response to Kyiv’sfailure to enforce intellectual property rights and stopCD and software piracy. The action came after theVerkhovna Rada failed to pass an effective piece of leg-islation in support of CD licensing by rejecting a bill theU.S. preferred in favor of a less stringent one.

U.S. and industry experts had repeatedly warnedUkraine about its continued non-enforcement of inter-national intellectual property rights standards in themonths before the sanctions were announced. The billbanned Ukrainian imports of steel, textile and chemicalproducts worth about $75 million annually to Ukraine’seconomy.

Ukraine reacted on January 18 by placing sanctionson U.S. poultry. Kyiv said it had long warned the U.S.about its inability to give assurances that only antibiot-ic-free birds would enter the Ukrainian market.

Ukraine continued an international dialogue on itsaim to become part of the World Trade Organization.The country’s movement towards that goal was slow,impeded by failure to gain free market economy statusfrom the United States and other countries. About athird of the way through 2002 it pushed back its goal forentry into the WTO from the end of the year to the endof 2003.

The dialogue on WTO membership was a central partof Ukraine’s activity at the World Economic Forum, anannual gathering of leaders of the business and econom-ic spheres held this year in New York on February 1-4.Finance Minister Yushko and Vice Prime Minister ofthe Economy Rohovyi led a Ukrainian delegation thatset itself the goal of getting the word out that Ukraine,with its economy on fire and reforms moving apace,was ready for foreign investment and full economicintegration into the world economy.

The IMF cooled Ukraine’s heels on February 22when it told Kyiv it must return more than $1 billion invalue-added taxes it had improperly collected fromUkrainian exporters, or else fail to qualify for additionalcredits the international financial organization had pro-posed.

President Kuchma responded by suggesting that itwas time to curtail the country’s reliance on the IMF,whose loans had been used to shore up annual budgetdeficits. The president said that IMF demands were toooften not in line with Ukrainian policy. Governmentofficials supported the idea and said that Ukraine’s bal-ance of payments had been in the black for three yearsrunning, which indicated that IMF credits were nolonger needed. However, Minister Rohovyi noted thatUkraine still needed a non-credit consultative arrange-ment with the IMF and reinforced the notion thatUkraine needed continued IMF relations to maintaincredibility among global economic powers.

In May, after IMF and World Bank officials visitedthe country, relations improved as both internationalfinancial institutions took care to praise Ukraine’sascendant economy. The World Bank said it would soonbe ready to extend another credit line of $250 million toUkraine, while the IMF said Ukraine would probablyqualify for a final $550 million tranche of the ExtendedFund Facility program, which would expire inSeptember.

However, the IMF continued to press Ukraine onbank and tax reform, as well as increased privatizationefforts. In the end, Kyiv never received the final IMFinstallment, but maintained that it did not need it.

Ukraine received a boost to its financial health ingeneral and in its efforts to join the WTO when FinanceMinister Yushko announced on June 10 that the U.S.had agreed to restructure $179 million in Ukrainian debton terms of the Paris Club of creditors. The deal wasimportant because it was a signal of confidence to theinternational financial community on Ukraine’s abilityto repay its debt to the U.S., which totaled $286 millionat the time. Later that year Ukraine reached agreementwith Italy and Japan on similar restructuring on termsmore advantageous to Ukraine.

While multinational corporations remained leeryabout entering the Ukrainian market with its lack of taxreform and stable legislative policies, one corporategiant, Microsoft, pushed forward on its commitment tothe country by introducing a new Ukrainian-languagesoftware program for business. While Microsoft offi-cially noted that it was responding to specific marketdemands in developing its “Office XP” product in theUkrainian language, it downplayed the fact that theMinistry of Education had exerted pressure on it todevelop a Ukrainian version of its basic software pro-grams for use in schools. The Ukrainian governmentaction, in turn, came only after the ShevchenkoScientific Society had used its influence to put the heaton them.

Nonetheless Microsoft’s move gave the world thefirst computer programs exclusively in the Ukrainianlanguage, which had the effect of adding computercommands to the Ukrainian lexicon.

Ukraine continued to strengthen economic relationswith its closest neighbors in 2002, first during the annu-al Poland-Ukraine Economic Forum, held this year inRzeszow, Poland, in mid-June. The main topics of con-versation between government leaders who attended,among them Ukraine’s President Kuchma and PolishPresident Aleksander Kwasniewski, included how rela-tions might change between the two neighbors afterPoland enters the European Union in 2004. Among theitems discussed were: a new visa regime and problemswith the transport of people and goods; customs issues;increased cooperation in finance and banking; expandedbilateral trade; and, of course, European integration.

President Kwasniewski said he would do all he couldto “minimize the consequences of the introduction ofvisas.”

The Ukrainian economic sector that has seen themost changes in the last years – since PresidentKuchma’s agricultural reform decree in December 1999– continued to develop strongly. In 2002 the farmingsector enjoyed another strong grain harvest of nearly 36million tons. While the numbers did not quite reach the39-million-ton level reached the previous year, theywere still encouraging.

While the number of private farmers in Ukraine con-tinued to increase in 2002, affordable loans and creditterms, as well as legalized land transactions, remainedat the top of their list of needs.

A limited opportunity to overcome high interest rates

Komsomolsk 52,000Konotop 93,000Korosten 67,000Kostiantynivka 95,000Kramatorsk 181,000Krasnyi Luch 95,000Krasnoarmiisk 69,000Krasnodon 51,000Kremenchuk 234,000Kryvyi Rih 667,000Kyiv* 2,602,000Lozova 63,000Lubny 53,000Luhansk 463,000Lutsk 209,000Lviv 732,000Lysychansk 115,000Makiyivka 390,000Marhanets 50,000Mariupol 492,000Melitopol 160,000Mukachiv 82,000Mykolaiv 514,000Nikopol 135,000Nizhyn 76,000Nova Kakhovka 52,000Novovolynsk 54,000Novohrad-Volynskyi 56,000Novomoskovsk 72,000Odesa 1,029,000Oleksandria 94,000Okhtyrka 50,000Pavlohrad 119,000Pervomaisk (Mykolaiv Oblast) 70,000Poltava 318,000Pryluky 65,000Rivne 249,000Romny 50,000Rovenky 54,000Rubizhne 65,000Sevastopol* 341,000Sieverodonetsk 120,000Shakhtarsk 60,000Shostka 87,000Sloviansk 125,000Smila 70,000Snizhne 59,000Stakhanov 90,000Stryi 62,000Sumy 293,000Sverdlovsk 73,000Symferopol 343,000Ternopil 228,000Torez 73,000Uman 89,000Uzhhorod 118,000Vinnytsia 357,000Yalta 81,000Yenakiyeve 104,000Yevpatoria 106,000Zaporizhia 814,000Zhovti Vody 52,000Zhytomyr 284,000

Ukraine’s economymarked by growth



Electoral victory for the political organization calledOur Ukraine seemed solid as the 2002 parliamentaryelections in Ukraine in 2002 concluded. The new

coalition and the successful effort it had produced resultedfrom the efforts of Ukraine’s politically charismatic formerprime minister, Viktor Yushchenko. It was the first time thenational democratic front stood united going into high polit-ical season.

Yet, in the end, political intrigue and legally questionablepolitical maneuvering by pro-presidential forces deniedpower to the Our Ukraine faction, which, by winning amajority of seats in this newly elected convocation of theVerkhovna Rada ostensibly had the right to form the parlia-mentary leadership.

The campaign period, which in effect had begun at leastsix months before January 1, 2002, increased in intensitywith the onset of the New Year, which also marked thebeginning of a phase of mud-slinging that would continuethrough the last days of the parliamentary campaign season.

On January 9 Mr. Yushchenko was accused of unethical-ly conspiring with Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko tooust National Deputy Viktor Medvedchuk from his seat assecond vice-chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. Mr.Medvedchuk was dismissed the same day as an allegedcellphone conversation between the two political leaderstook place in which Mr. Omelchenko chastised Mr.Yushchenko for not being present during the vote, butwhich allegedly also contained information on how theyhad plotted Mr. Medvedchuk’s removal.

During a speech on January 16 Mr. Yushchenko dis-avowed any inappropriate actions, called the attack a smearcampaign and underscored that the point of his campaignwas to bring transparent and ethical politics to Ukrainealong with the completion of economic reforms.

The first half of the first month of the New Year saw var-ious party congresses choose their party candidate lists andconsolidate into political blocs. In addition to Our Ukraine,the For a United Ukraine Bloc, consisting of the nine politi-cal parties that support and benefit from the policies ofPresident Leonid Kuchma, announced it had affirmed itspolitical slate. A congress of Women for the Future, whichwould make a strong showing in polls leading up to elec-tion day before fading just before the vote, elected a slatecomposed of a majority of men.

Other groups deciding on their candidate lists were theSocialist Party, the Communist Party, the TymoshenkoBloc, led by the ubiquitous and fiercely anti-Kuchma politi-cian Yulia Tymoshenko, the Social Democratic Party-United (SDPU) and the Progressive Socialist Party ofNatalia Vitrenko.

A Razumkov Center poll released on January 12revealed that only 19.8 percent of Ukrainians believed theupcoming elections would be more “democratic and trans-parent” than in previous years.

Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC) reportedon January 30 that 13 political blocs and 23 parties hadmanaged to register for the March 31 elections before theJanuary 29 deadline date. In addition 1,160 individuals had

and a lack of collateral in developing the farming busi-ness came on September 29 when the U.S. Agency forInternational Development announced it would provideloan guarantees on certain loans to Ukrainian farmersand agricultural suppliers who qualified for a new pro-gram.

USAID said it would guarantee 720 loans madethrough the Nadra Bank, a Ukrainian commercial finan-cial institution, which offered to provide the equivalentof $6 million in credits to allow Ukrainian farmers todevelop various segments of their business. U.S.Ambassador Carlos Pascual called the program a pilotproject.

As the year came to an end, the Kherson Oblast, theland of the Ukrainian steppe, could claim it had themost private farmers, with about 4,800 individualsusing their own and borrowed capital to raise Ukraine’sagricultural sector from the depths to which it hadplunged in the 1990s. The region had already seen tan-gible improvements in the rural economy. Agriculturalworkers hired to work the fields were receiving steadypay, and villagers who leased out their portions of priva-tized lands were getting higher rent payments. As onelocal Kherson farmer said in the first part of November,“In the village, life is percolating.”

For Ukraine, perhaps the most difficult and evenchilling moments of the year came in July, gen-erally a leisurely time for the country as people

take vacations in the Crimea or relax at their dachas orfarmhouses. This year the seventh month of the yearproved a tragic and deadly time for many Ukrainians,especially for those living in the western city of Lvivor in the eastern mining regions.

The first indication that a calamitous month hadbegun for Ukraine’s mining regions came on July 7when 35 miners lost their lives as a fire swept througha colliery of the Ukraina mine in the small town ofUkraina, Donetsk Oblast.

Most of the 114 miners working in the shafts in thewee hours of the morning escaped, but flames shoot-ing up from the lower shafts as they tried vainly tomake their way to freedom engulfed the luckless 35.

The mine’s director and several lower-level man-agers were arrested on charges of negligent homicide.First Vice Prime Minister Oleh Dubyna visited themine on July 10 and blamed terrible work conditionsand shoddy discipline for the fatalities.

Two weeks later, a methane explosion rocked theYuvileina mine in the Dnipropetrovsk region, 100kilometers to the west of the Ukraina mine, killing sixmore miners. Nineteen workers were hospitalized,seven of them critically. The local procurator’s officeannounced that it was investigating “violations ofsafety rules in a very dangerous work environmentwhich resulted in death.” The director of the mine wasarrested on charges of negligent homicide. And againFirst Vice Prime Minister Dubyna arrived on thescene, where he was told that the cause of the explo-sion was improper use of electronic devices and viola-tions of procedures during blasting operations.

The month ended just as it had begun for themineworkers of the Donbas when the infamousZasiadko mine took more victims on July 31. Twentyminers died as a result of an explosion, which manyexperts believed could have been prevented. Themine, owned by former Prime Minister YukhymZviahilskyi, pays the best wages and is considered themost productive mine in the country, but it has alsoseen the most fatal disasters during its years of opera-tion.

This time a build-up of coal dust about a kilometerbelow the surface ignited, killing all but one of the 21workers present. Minister Dubyna visited the site ofthis latest mining tragedy. Officials charged a deputydirector and the chief of blasting operations with crim-inal negligence. As families grieved and buried theirloved ones, President Leonid Kuchma ordered a thor-ough check of mining safety standards and proce-dures.

“Ukraine does not need coal at such a cost,” saidMr. Kuchma.

Even so, less than a month later, on August 20,another fire swept through the Zasiadko mine. Of the1,680 miners in the various shafts at the time, 21 were

hospitalized. There were no fatalities this time.Another tragedy, one that had occurred years earlier

only to be discovered now, came to light when monksrenovating the 400-year-old Basilian Monastery inZhovka, Lviv Oblast, unearthed scores of humanbones buried in the monastery’s basement. The bodies,except for several exceptions, had no obvious marksof violence. Also strange, they all lacked clothing andjewelry.

While the local procurator’s office refused to drawconclusions until the 228 sets of human remains hadbeen analyzed, local officials of the Memorial Society,dedicated to investigating and bringing to light Sovietcrimes and atrocities, laid the blame squarely on theshoulders of the Soviet system. They showed evidencethat the deaths had occurred in the immediate yearsafter World War II.

The society said that the bodies, mostly women andchildren, were either the remains of Ukrainian victimswho had resisted resettlement under Akcja Wisla andhad returned, or had refused to become local spies forSoviet authorities. Another theory held that perhapsthey were unfortunates who successfully escapedround-ups of alleged “anti-Soviet agents” for deporta-tion to the East, only to be found later and eliminated.

However, some experts maintained that these couldalso have been Jews who were killed as part of theNazi extermination process.

Yet, the most tragic event in a month filled withgrief was the air disaster at the Sknyliv air base out-side Lviv. On July 27, as some 8,000 parents and chil-dren watched a thrilling airshow commemorating the60th anniversary of the local Lviv air force command,a Sukhoi-27 jet aircraft lost control as it did a divetoward the crowd and crashed into a sea of onlookers,tumbling along the tarmac before exploding into a ballof flame. As a result, 76 people died, among them 27children. Another 241 people, including 83 children,were hospitalized. Thirteen children lost at least oneparent, while three kids lost both.

The two pilots of the Soviet-era jet were arrestedon various charges, including failure to properly pre-pare for the event with a practice drill at the Sknylivsite and for performing their stunts over the crowd,which is expressly prohibited by law.

Several high-ranking Ukrainian navy generalswere relieved of command as well. Minister ofDefense Oleksander Shkidchenko also submitted hisresignation, which President Kuchma did not accept.

One of the young kids who survived the Sknylivair disaster would have to live through anothercalamity later in the year. Kyrylo Holovenko, 13,after having survived the Sknyliv disaster perhapsonly because he had gotten there late, just happenedto be in Moscow on October 23 with his mother, whomade what would be a bad decision to go see the play“Nord-Ost.”

Young Kyrylo and his mother became one of some800 hostages taken by Chechen terrorists and held inthe theater for days before a Russian special forcesoperation used gas and extreme methods to obtain therelease of the hostages. While the action took some120 lives, the young Mr. Holovenko, a survivor in thetrue meaning of the word, was not among them.

An SU-27 fighter plane crashes into a crowd of spectators at an air show in Lviv on July 27.

Elections: how to win, and then lose

July: a monthmarked by disasters

AP/Oleksi Shinkarenko

registered to run in separate districts. The registration proce-dure was the first step in the process to pick the 450 law-makers to the next Verkhovna Rada. The next official dateof importance was February 9 when campaigning was offi-cially allowed.

The new election law, which was finally passed at theend of last year after President Kuchma four times vetoedparliamentary bills he did not agree with, again gaveUkrainians two votes in what is called a mixed electoralsystem. On March 31, they would first choose from a list ofpolitical organizations on the ballot; then they would pick arepresentative on the ballot from their electoral district.

The composition of the Verkhovna Rada would con-sist of half the elected lawmakers seated as individualwinners from the 225 electoral districts in Ukraine,while the other 225 votes would be apportioned fromamong the various political parties based on the percent-age of the electoral vote that supported them. The key tothe proportional by-party voting was that a politicalorganization needed to get at least 4 percent electoralsupport to obtain any seats.

Widespread allegations that government and state offi-cials were intruding into the campaign process by utilizingthe materials at their official disposal – whether financial,manpower or otherwise – raised fears among the anti-Kuchma forces, particularly Our Ukraine and theTymoshenko bloc, that the elections threatened to become acampaign of intimidation tactics and voter manipulationthat would not allow for a democratic outcome.

To make its own viewpoint on the matter known, theU.S. sent Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky on avisit to Kyiv on February 5-6 to assess the election situationand to emphasize their significance in Washington’s eyes.She acknowledged that in meetings with political leaders,representatives of the press and civic organizations moni-toring the elections she had heard of campaign violationsand what she termed “aberrations.” She underscored, how-ever, that it was far too early to condemn the elections andcalled on state and government leaders to allow for free andopen elections.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright andJavier Solana, the foreign affairs secretary of the EuropeanUnion, echoed similar thoughts during their visits in theweeks that followed.

Nevertheless, pre-election maneuvering continued,most notably on February 11 when President Kuchmaordered Kyiv Mayor Omelchenko to resign as the head ofthe state administration for the city of Kyiv with theexplanation that all government officials running for theParliament must step down. Most of Mr. Kuchma’sdetractors, however, saw it simply as a politically motivat-ed move to counter efforts by Mr. Omelchenko to form astrong Yednist Bloc, which he said would cooperate withMr. Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine. Those same presidentialcritics said that people close to the president had not beengiven the same walking papers.

After a series of meetings with the president Mr.Omelchenko was returned to his post as representative tothe state government. Coincidentally or not, he remained



off the political radar screen for the rest of the campaignperiod.

On March 4 Mr. Yushchenko said during a press confer-ence, after a just-completed swing through the eastern andcentral oblasts of Ukraine, that local and regional govern-ment leaders were impeding his efforts to get his messageto the voters. Two days later, in the southeastern city ofBerdiansk, he said that many local officials had simply andovertly become campaign workers for the pro-presidentialcandidates. The allegations included refusal by local andregional officials to allow public buildings to be used forpublic rallies and denial of broadcast time for interviewsand paid political announcements on local and regional tel-evision stations.

On March 11, less than three weeks before Election Day,the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europefiled a breach of election law complaint with Ukraine’sCEC, charging the government’s main television stationwith giving advertising access exclusively to the pro-presi-dential For a United Ukraine Bloc. Adrian Severin of theOSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly warned state and govern-ment leaders that his organization had “heard serious alle-gations and had legitimate concerns about whether theMarch 31 elections to Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada would befree and fair.”

Other international election monitoring organizations,including the Helsinki Commission, the NationalDemocratic Institute and the International RepublicanInstitute issued similar appraisals.

When the final pre-election political surveys werereleased on March 14 – two weeks before Election Day, asallowed by law – Mr. Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine nonethe-less continued to gather steam and move ahead of its near-est competitor, the Communist Party.

A Razumkov Center study showed that 23.9 percent ofthe 2,010 respondents it questioned supported Our Ukraine.The Communists had the support of 16.8 percent of thosequestioned, while For a United Ukraine had a mere 7 per-cent support, according to the survey.

A week before the elections, with intense internationalpressure on Ukraine, including resolutions by both theU.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate onMarch 20 and March 21, respectively, calling for free andfair elections, several leading elements within Ukraine’spolitical establishment lashed out at what they consideredundue and illegal foreign influence over Ukraine’s internalmatters.

President Kuchma described the U.S. congressional res-olutions as “unprecedented.” But he showed little displeas-ure with comments and suggestions made by Russia’sAmbassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin, who had notshied away from commenting on the election on severaloccasions. The envoy also decided that he had a right tocriticize the U.S. congressional resolutions.

At one point Mr. Chernomyrdin had said that the politi-cal structure of the Our Ukraine Bloc “worried us,” whichled the Russian newspaper Segodnia to call the Russianambassador “the biggest expert on the elections.”

In a final exclamation point to a very controversial and

dirty campaign period, a candidate from an electoral districtjust outside the city of Ivano-Frankivsk was found shot todeath less than two days before the elections in what lawenforcement officials termed a “political assassination.”

Late on March 29 an unidentified assailant shot MykolaShkribliak, a candidate from the SDPU. Attempts weremade to link his opponent, National Deputy RomanZvarych – a member of the Our Ukraine bloc and a formerU.S. citizen – who was leading in the polls, to the murder,but no strong causal relationships were ever established andthe incumbent never became a serious suspect in the case.The killers of Mr. Shkribliak have yet to be found.

Two days later, nearly 65 percent of Ukrainians – lessthan usual for Ukraine, but much higher than by Westernstandards – turned out for the controversial elections. Votersgave Mr. Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine a resounding victoryin the parliamentary elections with 23.6 percent of themsupporting the national democratic political force.

The Communist Party came next with 20 percent, fol-lowed by For a United Ukraine with 11.8 percent and theTymoshenko Bloc with 7.24 percent.

The other political groups to break the 4 percent barrierneeded by law to gain seats in the Parliament were theSocialist Party, with an unexpectedly high 6.88 percent, andthe SDPU with a very surprisingly anemic 6.27 percent ofthe electoral vote.

The Green Party, the Democratic Union, the YablukoParty and the Yednist Party failed to make it past the mark.Both the Green Party, which ironically had always beenaligned with pro-presidential forces, and the Yabluko Partyclaimed vote-counting fraud as a reason for their defeat.

Also notable was the election of Ukrainian NationalAssembly leader Andrii Shkil to the Verkhovna Rada aspart of the Tymoshenko Bloc. Mr. Shkil had spent morethan a year in jail on unsubstantiated charges that he had ledthe uprising that led to the March 9 confrontation with lawenforcement officials before the Presidential AdministrationBuilding. He was freed from jail because as an elected law-maker he now had immunity from criminal prosecution.

Observer groups from both the United States and Europegraded the third elections to the Verkhovna Rada as free,but not altogether fair. Domestic observers also reportedwidespread accusations of voter intimidation, lack of accessto the media for some candidates and the use of govern-ment resources to support favored candidates.

The U.S. State Department emphasized that “importantflaws persist.”

Among the very few positive conclusions was one notedby the State Department that, in general, these electionswere an improvement over past polls; the other was thatElection Day itself went much more smoothly than in pastyears.

In the first days after the election, Our Ukraine feltcomfortable that it would claim a minimum of 112 seats,which it believed would give it sufficient weight to lead aparliamentary majority. Within a week, however, itbecame apparent that the bloc had erred seriously in notrecruiting independents to its side and, even more impor-tantly, that it had not pressed for credible assurances ofsupport from winners in the single-mandate districts. OnApril 9, President Kuchma’s chief of staff, who had ledthe For a United Ukraine bloc, announced that he hadobtained commitments from 145 of the country’s 225 sin-gle-mandate representatives to join his pro-presidentialfaction in the Verkhovna Rada. That number added to the35 seats his bloc had taken with its 12 percent of the elec-toral vote would give it a whopping 180 seats – just 45seats short of a majority.

Our Ukraine initially said little about the sudden turn ofevents. However, one respected political scientist,Volodymyr Polokhalo, could not remain silent. He calledthe underhanded way in which For a United Ukraine hadcajoled and threatened lawmakers to come over to its side,“a slap in the face of the electorate, which voted very differ-ently from the way in which power is developing in theVerkhovna Rada.”

At first, Our Ukraine remained optimistic that it couldfind a middle ground with some of the political partieswithin Mr. Lytvyn’s mega-faction and draw them over. Butsoon – and too late – they, too, began crying foul play.

In the end, Mr. Lytvyn became the new chairman ofParliament and the SDPU, which had the poorest resultsof the political groups that had surpassed the 4 percentthreshold, had become part of the new pro-presidentialcoalition, while also obtaining a seat on the parliamentarypresidium.

When a pro-presidential parliamentary majority becamereality a few months later, the electoral mandate that Mr.Yushchenko and Our Ukraine had achieved became nomore than a footnote for the history books.

Workers of a polling station in Kyiv empty ballot boxes as they prepare to count votes cast in the March 31 parliamentary elections.

AP/Efrem Lukatsky


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWThe text engraved on the black marble slab document-ed for posterity the date that construction on the patri-archal sobor began, and identified the religious leadersof both the ecumenical Catholic Church and theUGCC, as well as the political leaders of both Ukraineand Kyiv, the architect and the builder.

Construction of the church is the first phase of a planthat will eventually turn the site into the UGCC’s newhome and administrative headquarters. The initial stagealso includes the building of the patriarchal residenceand administrative office. Eventually a religious/cultur-al center and a school are envisioned for the complexon another two-hectare plot that the city has givenUGCC officials an option to take.

Bishop Vasylyi Medvit of the Kyiv-VyshhorodEparchy said it was a historic moment for the UGCC.“This church, this building is being built for the ages,”explained Bishop Vasylyi, who added that, “when thatday finally arrives when our various Churches are unit-ed into one all-Ukrainian Church, this house of worshipwill then belong to it.” The completion date for theconstruction of the sobor is autumn 2004.

The reaction of the Moscow Patriarchate was no sur-prise. When contacted by The Weekly for its stand onthe construction of the cathedral, a spokesmanexpressed reservations about a UGCC religious com-plex in Kyiv: “Who needs a giant sobor that holds5,000 people?” The spokesman for the UkrainianOrthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate, the Rev.Heorhii Kovalenko, added: “But it is clear from thisthat the Greek-Catholic Church has placed before itselfthe aim of filling the church with those christened inthe Orthodox faith. In Church language, this is calledproselytization.”

Even prior to the cornerstone blessing, when theUGCC first announced its intention of moving its cen-ter from Lviv to Kyiv, the UOC-MP had expressed itsvehement opposition. “Moving the office of the head ofthe UGCC from Lviv to Kyiv and creating Catholiceparchies in Russia show that the masks have beenfinally thrown off. This means returning to the East,about which the Roman Catholics have always spo-ken,” declared UOC-MP Archbishop Auhustyn of Lvivand Halych back in March. “They do not consider ustrue Christians and perceive the world as their canoni-cal territory.”

The year 2002 was proclaimed as the Year ofCardinal Josyf Slipyj by Cardinal Husar to mark the110th anniversary of the late primate’s birthday. TheLviv Theological Academy (LTA) hosted an evening ofremembrance on February 18. Among those whoshared their memories of Patriarch Josyf were Bishop-elect Father Hlib Lonchyna; Father Mykhailo Dymyd,director of the academy’s Institute of Canon Law;Father Roman Mirchuk, vice-rector of Holy SpiritSeminary (Lviv-Rudno) in the 1990s; and FatherMyron Pidlisetskyi, a priest active during the under-ground period of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.“It is providential that the formal arrangement of thedocuments establishing the Ukrainian CatholicUniversity will take place this year, the year ofPatriarch Josyf Slipyj,” commented the Rev. Dr.Gudziak, LTA rector, who was a student of PatriarchJosyf at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome.

The Ukrainian World Congress also paid tribute toPatriarch Slipyj, issuing a statement calling on all peo-ple of good will to honor this heroic pastor whoendured 18 years of imprisonment and suffering for hisChurch and his faith. The statement was signed byUWC President Askold Lozynskyj and BishopCornelius Pasichny, eparch of Toronto and head of theUWC Church Council. The UWC also disseminatedthe “Prayer for the Beatification of Confessor PatriarchJosyf Slipyj.”

Later in the year came the debut of a full-lengthdocumentary film, “Patriarch.” The film on the heroiclife of Cardinal Slipyj, the first leader of the UkrainianGreek-Catholic Church to have been commonlyreferred to by the designation “patriarch,” premiered onJune 29 – only hours before one of his most preciousdreams, a Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv,became a reality. It was the third premiere for the film,after an initial showing in Kyiv on June 21 to a packedhouse, and one in April in Chicago, at Ss. Volodymyrand Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church, whose parish-ioners financed much of the project.

The movie developed from an idea by ex-journalistMarta Kolomayets and her husband, DanyloYanevsky, a Kyiv television host. The two decided tomove forward on the project after a lively night ofconversation with their friend, the Rev. Myron

Major developments in the life of the UkrainianGreek-Catholic Church were reported during2002. Among them were the inauguration of

the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, the conven-ing of a Patriarchal Sobor near Lviv and the blessing ofthe cornerstone of the patriarchal sobor in Kyiv.

At year’s end there was renewed talk of a patriar-chate for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, as theCatholic News Service reported that Cardinal LubomyrHusar said the Vatican was studying practical steps thatwould have to be taken in order to proclaim the primateof the UGCC a patriarch.

“I think something is moving,” Cardinal Husar toldCNS on November 20, while attending a meeting of theCongregation for Eastern Churches at the Vatican.“Studies are being made because it is a very delicatequestion,” one that could provoke strong negative reac-tions from Orthodox Churches if not explained and dis-cussed with them, he explained to the news service.

The UGCC primate went on to say that he believesPope John Paul II would like to give the UkrainianChurch the patriarchal status enjoyed by most otherEastern Catholic Churches, but due to “ecumenicalcommitments and sensitivity, the Vatican wants tomake sure that such a move is “supported and acceptedby the Eastern Churches – both Catholic andOrthodox.”

The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church also gainedseveral new bishops. On January 11 Pope John Paul IIgave his assent to the provisions made by the Synod ofBishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church forthe establishment of an exarchate in Donetsk-Kharkivand the appointment of two auxiliary bishops for Lviv.An official Vatican release reported the creation of thearchiepiscopal exarchate of Donetsk-Kharkiv, and theelection of the Rev. Stepan Meniok, CSsR, superior ofthe monastery of St. Alfonso of Lviv, as hierarch of thenew exarchate, as well as the election of the Rev. IhorVozniak, CSsR, master of novices for the Lvivprovince of the Congregation of the Most HolyRedeemer, and the Rev. Hlib Lonchyna, MSU (Monkof the Studite Order), collaborator at the apostolic nun-ciature in Kyiv, as auxiliaries for the Lviv Eparchy.

The Revs. Meniok and Vozniak, both members ofthe Redemptorist order, were born in Ukraine and stud-ied during the Soviet era in the underground seminaryin Lviv. They were ordained to the episcopacy onFebruary 15 and 17, respectively; both ceremonies tookplace in St. George Cathedral in Lviv.

On May 13 in Donetsk, Bishop Meniok wasinstalled as head of the Donetsk-Kharkiv Exarchate, thesecond exarchate of the UGCC established in Ukraine.(An exarchate is a church administrative structureheaded by a bishop, but considered an organizationalnotch below the level of a full eparchy because of amore limited number of faithful and clergy.) During hissermon, newly installed Bishop Meniok said the UGCCdoes not want other religious confessions in easternUkraine to feel threatened by the new official presenceof the Catholic Church there. “Our Church moves east-ward with love, peace and God’s blessings,” said thenew bishop.

The American-born Bishop Lonchyna’s episcopalordination took place in Lviv on February 27; onMarch 1 Bishop Lonchyna served his first episcopalliturgy at the Lviv Theological Academy, where he hadpreviously been a teacher.

The Ukrainian Catholic University was formallyopened on June 29. With a crowd of more than 3,000Lviv residents watching, UCU Vice-Rector MyroslavMarynovych, acting as master of ceremonies, read theproclamation that announced the inauguration of theUGCC’s new university in Ukraine.

The founding documents of the UCU had beensigned by the St. Clement Fund at the Metropolitan’sPalace in Lviv on February 22, in fulfillment of thedecision of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-CatholicChurch in 2000 that recommended the foundation ofthe UCU in Lviv. Thus began the process of juridicalregistration and state accreditation of the UCU.

At the UCU’s opening ceremony, seated on the stageerected before the famous Lviv Opera House on Lviv’sFreedom Square were Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, UGCCarchbishop major and the head of the Church who isalso UCU chancellor; the newly appointed UCU rector,

the Rev. Dr. Borys Gudziak; Archbishop Vsevolod ofthe Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.; theVatican’s papal nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop MykolaEterovic; ambassadors from Great Britain, Germanyand France; as well as Lviv Mayor Lubomyr Buniakand rectors of several prominent Ukrainian universities.

In his address, Cardinal Husar emphasized the needfor a Christian university in Ukraine as a center forChristian thought and of Christian values. He calledthis the unique aspect of the new institution’s work. “Ifa university is supposed to seek truth, beauty and good-ness beyond the façade of the obvious, then the univer-sity that is being born today must uphold this standardas well and search for these eternal values, but in addi-tion it must do so through the eyes of a Christian,” hestated.

The head of the UGCC presented Rector Gudziakwith a scholar’s toga, which the late Patriarch JosyfSlipyj, the founder of St. Clement’s UkrainianCatholic University, located in Rome, had orderedmade even before the doors of that institution opened.As Cardinal Husar explained, it was symbolic of thepatriarch’s inability to see anything but success in hisendeavors.

The Rev. Gudziak, who had been unanimously elect-ed to lead the new university by the St. Clement Fundthat oversees the educational institution, reviewed thecentury-long effort to establish a Ukrainian Catholicuniversity in Lviv, and the vision of MetropolitanAndrey Sheptytsky and determination of PatriarchSlipyj that led to its realization. He noted that seven ofthe Ukrainian martyrs for the faith that Pope John PaulII beatified last year had attended the Lviv TheologicalAcademy, the UCU’s predecessor. He also underscoredthe leading role the UCU must play in unitingUkrainians through knowledge, understanding and tol-erance.

The inauguration of the UCU was preceded by aconference on “The Identity and the Mission of theUkrainian Catholic University,” which reviewed theeffort to establish a Catholic university in Ukraine andthe history of the UGCC’s higher educational institu-tions and looked ahead at the future of the new Lvivschool.

The final session of a Patriarchal Sobor (council)met on June 30-July 4 in Rudno, some 30 kilometersoutside of Lviv. Representatives of the UkrainianGreek-Catholic Church called on the Vatican to recog-nize its status as a patriarchal Church in a letter drawnup at the conclusion of the final session of a specialconvocation of the UGCC laity and leadership. Themeeting, the final session of the three-part PatriarchalSobor held over the course of six years (two earliersessions were held in October 1996 and August 1998),approved a total of four documents, including an ethi-cal code of social responsibility and two addresses,one to the primate and the other to the Church’s faith-ful.

During a press conference after the conclusion of thePatriarchal Sobor, Cardinal Husar – whom manyUGCC faithful already refer to as “patriarch,” evenwhile the Vatican officially refers to him as archbishopmajor – expressed confidence that the wishes of theUGCC will be acknowledged by the Mother Church.

“We are taking appropriate measures to come to anunderstanding with the holy father and Vatican authori-ties,” explained Cardinal Husar, according to a UGCCpress release. “In the last year this matter has gatherednew momentum. It has become clear to all that we havea living Church, and in accord with the tradition of theEastern Churches it should have the structure of a patri-archate.”

The UGCC primate also stated his satisfaction withthe sobor and the recommendations it had made to theUGCC leadership. He said that its most important char-acteristic was the expression of unity within theChurch. “The sobor was seriously disposed to the prob-lems of the Church, not only in Ukraine but in the dias-pora. The whole Church felt the importance of thesobor,” said Cardinal Husar.

On October 27, the Ukrainian Greek-CatholicChurch moved yet another step closer in its quest to setup a center in the capital of Ukraine. With more than300 faithful in attendance at the future site of the reli-gious center of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church,Cardinal Husar marked the beginning of constructionof the UGCC patriarchal sobor as he blessed the build-ing’s cornerstone.

Nearly a dozen UGCC bishops and priests joined inthe ceremony, which included encasing a commemora-tive plaque within the cornerstone as a time capsule.

Our Churches: activein Ukraine and abroad

Panchuk, pastor of Ss. Volodymyr and Olha, aboutgreat men in Ukrainian history, during which thename of the patriarch cropped up in conversation. “Itparticularly affected me because I knew PatriarchSlipyj from my time at the summer courses of theUCU,” said Ms. Kolomayets. Less than four monthsafter the night of conversation that sparked the idea, acontract was signed with Kontakt Film Studio in Kyivand noted Ukrainian television director OleksanderFrolov. Ms. Kolomayets became the film’s executiveproducer and chief interviewer.

Another film project was initiated during 2002, asthe Ukrainian Congress Committee of America andOles Yanchuk from the Dovzhenko Film Studioannounced their collaboration on a film aboutMetropolitan Sheptytsky. As of mid-2002, fund-raisingin support of the project had begun, and a screenplayfor the full-length feature film was being solicited.

To record the history of Ukraine’s “Church of theCatacombs,” as the underground Ukrainian CatholicChurch was referred to, the Institute of Church Historyat the Lviv Theological Academy has begun videotap-ing the testimonies of 50 of the oldest surviving mem-bers from the underground of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC). The accounts of these sur-vivors, all over 70 years old, will be included in a doc-umentary film about the UGCC’s illegal existence inUkraine from 1946 to 1989. This news was reported bythe newspaper Postup (Progress) on June 4. Bishops,priests, priests’ widows, religious men and laity talkabout important events in their lives and the ordealsthey had to undergo, professing Christian values indefiance of Soviet ideology. “These people are gradual-ly passing away,” noted Iryna Kolomyiets, head of theinstitute’s pastoral department. “So we are simplyobliged to leave their recollections, emotions andworldviews on film, to show future generations theright way to go. It is our duty to show and to preservethe faces of these everyday heroes.”

In addition to the video project, the Institute ofChurch History since its founding in 1992 has beencompiling a “living history” archive of the under-ground UGCC. This archive is a collection of texts,audio files, authentic documents and photographs. Itwas announced in June that the archive would soon beavailable not only to scholars and researchers, but



would also be accessible via the Internet. Other news related to the history of the Ukrainian

Greek-Catholic Church came in early 2002, when theReligious Information Service of Ukraine reported on asensational discovery presented at Lviv’s Museum ofEthnography and Art: the miter of MetropolitanSheptytsky, head of the UGCC from 1900 to 1944.Andrii Yurash, lecturer at Lviv’s Ivan Franko NationalUniversity and at the Lviv Theological Academy, wasthe first to examine the relic and to theorize that thiswas the metropolitan’s miter. The miter was part of aprivate collection belonging to Mykola Rohutskyi,president of the Artor company.

Meanwhile, in Canada, faithful of the UkrainianCatholic Church marked another milestone: the cre-ation of a shrine to a bishop who is one step from saint-hood. In mid-September thousands in Winnipeg escort-ed the relics of the Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky fromSs. Vladimir and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral,where they were in storage after being disinterred froma cemetery earlier in the week. The remains of BishopVelychkovsky, who was persecuted, tortured andimprisoned by the Soviets, were enshrined in a smallchapel-like structure inside St. Joseph UkrainianCatholic Church.

Bishop Velychkovsky, who survived Soviet mistreat-ment for nearly 30 years, arrived in Winnipeg in June1972 and died a year later. He was beatified in 2001,along with other martyrs of the Ukrainian CatholicChurch, by Pope John Paul II. The Winnipeg Free Pressreported that, according to Andre Lalach, programdirector for the Redemptorist Provincial House, theshrine to Bishop Velychkovsky is only the second oneto martyrs in Canada. (The other is in Midland, Ontariodedicated to French missionaries who worked with theHuron people.) “It’s probably once in a lifetime formost of us,” said Mr. Lalach of the Winnipeg ceremony.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. cele-brated two major anniversaries during 2002.

First came the 30th jubilee of the consecration ofMetropolitan Constantine, the Church’s primate, asbishop, an event that took place on May 7, 1972, inPhiladelphia. Thirty years later, on May 18, hundredsof faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of theU.S.A., and representatives of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Byzantine Catholic Church,

Carpatho-Russian Church and the Ukrainian govern-ment gathered for the jubilee divine liturgy of St. JohnChrysostom in St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Parma,Ohio. An agape meal followed the religious services.

On September 28 the UOC-U.S.A. celebrated the50th anniversary of the consecration of its MetropoliaGrounds in South Bound Brook, N.J. MetropolitanConstantine could not participate as he was recuperat-ing from surgery; his words of greeting were read at theliturgy by the Protopresbyter Frank Estocin. Hierarchs,clergy and faithful paid homage to the vision and thededication of the UOC’s spiritual fathers, MetropolitanJohn Theodorovich and Patriarch Mstyslav Skrypnyk,for realizing the necessity of having a diocesan center,museum and cultural center as an anchor for theUkrainian Orthodox Church in the United States and inthe Ukrainian diaspora.

Archbishop Antony, ruling archbishop of the EasternEparchy and president of the Consistory of theUkrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.; ArchbishopVsevelod, ruling bishop of the Western Eparchy of theUkrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.; ArchbishopYurij of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada;and Bishop Dimitrios of the Greek Orthodox Church ofAmerica; were greeted at the door to St. Andrew’sMemorial Church. Also concelebrating were 47 priestsand three deacons.

Following the liturgy, all the bishops, priests, dea-cons and faithful participated in the blessing of theApostolic Prayer Trail, which comprises 15 iconsplaced on wooden crosses along the path between thememorial church and the cemetery. The icons depictthe 12 Apostles, St. Paul, St. Volodymyr the Great andSt. Olha, and the icon of the Transfiguration.

The year 2002 was notable also for the UOC-U.S.A.as the Church was involved with the Children ofChornobyl Relief Fund in helping the children of theZaluchia orphanage, located in a remote village of thatname in the Sniatyn district of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.On October 23 Archbishop Antony led a 40-memberdelegation from the UOC-U.S.A. on a visit to the insti-tution, which had been notorious for its poor condi-tions. It was through the efforts of CCRF that thedeplorable conditions in which the children livedbecame known, and many improvements have sincebeen made thanks to the generosity of benefactors from

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar blesses the cornerstone for the patriarchal sobor in Kyiv on October 27.

Patriarch Filaret (left) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate with newly enthroned Bishop Stephan Bilak on May 19 in Cooper City, Fla.

Roman Woronowycz



The Ukrainian World Congress was particularlyactive in diaspora circles in 2002. On January 27,The Weekly printed a letter by UWC President

Askold Lozynskyj which introduced the Election Fund2002. The fund’s sole purpose was preparing program-ming and arranging airtime on local television stationsbefore the parliamentary elections in regions of Ukrainethat were still susceptible to Communist propaganda.The letter asked Ukrainians in the diaspora to supportthe UWC effort by “offering suggestions, materials anddonations.”

Two months later, on March 31, the UWC joined theUkrainian Greek-Catholic Church in proclaiming 2002as the Year of Patriarch Joseph Slypyj, noting the 11thanniversary of his birth. The statement called for allpeople of good will to “honor this heroic pastor whoendured 18 years of imprisonment and suffering for hisChurch and his faith.”

On April 17 and April 25 Mr. Lozynskyj met withOleksander Moroz, Yulia Tymoshenko, VolodymyrLytvyn and Viktor Yushchenko, four of Ukraine’s blocleaders in Kyiv. The meeting focused on issues impor-tant to the Ukrainian dispora to be considered by thenext parliamentary session, including: government sup-port of Ukrainian national Churches; the popularizationof the Ukrainian language in Ukraine; recognition ofUkrainian freedom fighters and affording them certaineconomic privileges; condemnation of the CommunistParty of the Soviet Union; the return of repressedUkrainians and their descendents to Ukraine; safeguard-ing national and religious rights of Ukrainians living inthe Russian Federation; and adoption of a new law onrights and privileges of Ukrainians living outsideUkraine. Mr. Yushchenko, Mr. Lytvyn and Ms.Tymposhenko agreed to all the proposals of the UWC;Mr. Moroz expressed reservations, but said he was will-ing to work with the UWC.

In May another UWC statement appeared on thepages of the Weekly, this one on the October 2002 cen-sus in the Russian Federation. The last census conduct-ed in 1989 found 4.6 million Ukrainians residing there.However, there was suspicion that this last census hadseverely undercounted the Ukrainian population. In itsstatement, the UWC urged its brothers and sisters in theRussian Federation “to recognize that they are an inte-gral part of the world Ukrainian diaspora, and that theiremotions and loyalties dare run to both countries, theone where they reside and raise their families and theone which is their ancestral homeland and which is nowfree and independent.”

In August, an analytical essay by Mr. Lozynsky titled“The Ukrainian diaspora, East and West” appeared inThe Weekly, defining more clearly diaspora issues ofnational awareness, cultural deficiences and the indige-nous versus émigré phenomenon relevant not only tothe Russian Federation, but to the Ukrainian diasporaworldwide.

In June, The Weekly printed the text of the UWC’sdeclaration on the occasion of the 55th anniversary ofAkcja Wisla in Poland, which deported over 140,000Ukrainian men, women and children from the ethnicallyUkrainian territories of eastern and southeastern Poland.

In August, the UWC president traveled to Australiain response to an invitation from the AustralianFederation of Ukrainian Organizations. Mr. Lozynsky’svisit addressed the current Ukrainian political situationand its implications for Australia-Ukraine relations,issues of cultural and linguistic preservation, and othermatters. Two issues seemed paramount in Ukrainian andAustralian politics. The first, due to the mortality of theolder generation and an unequal replacement by itsprogeny, is a striking need for a supplemental immigra-tion. Secondly, Australia has not yet opened any newdiplomatic missions in the coutries that were once in theUSSR.

These issues were discussed with both Ukrainiancommunity leaders and Australian government repre-sentatives. Although the results of the meeting remainedunclear, a news release noted that “the thrust of theargument was that the Australian states seek trade rela-tions with Ukraine and, thus, all of Australia would ben-efit economically. Also, the Ukrainian American exem-plary record of hard work and loyalty was offered as amajor argument for Australia’s inclusion of Ukraine andnew Ukrainian immigrants.

the United States.The guiding force behind the establishment of the

Ukrainian Orthodox Center in South Bound Brook,Metropolitan Mstyslav, who later became patriarch ofKyiv and all Ukraine was recalled on the ninth anniver-sary of his death on June 11, 1993, with a panakhyda(memorial service).

In remarks delivered at the crypt where the Churchleader is buried, Protopresbyter Estocin noted: WhenMetropolitan Mstyslav became patriarch of Kyiv andAll Ukraine, he devoted all of his experience andstrength to the cause of fortifying and establishing anindependent Ukrainian Church. His vision was one ofundivided unity based on prayer, love and mutual for-giveness. Today, nine years after his repose, his visionis still struggling in independent Ukraine; his spirit oflove for freedom and unity seems to disappear amongthe various jurisdictions of the Orthodoxy in Ukraineand the diaspora.

Another Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the UOC–Kyiv Patriarchate expanded its presence in the UnitedStates with the enthronement of a new bishop. On May19, the Very Rev. Stephen Bilak, 83, was ordained abishop during a pastoral visit to the United States ofPatriarch Filaret of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine, theUOC-KP’s primate. Present at the ceremony, in addi-tion to Patriarch Filaret, were Bishops Dymytrii andAlexander (Bykovetz). The Rev. Bilak is a former pas-tor of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church inCooper City, Fla.

The website of the Vicary of the Ukrainian OrthodoxChurch – Kyiv Patriarchate in the USA notes thatBishop Bilak, former president of the Consistory of theUkrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. (headquar-tered in South Bound Brook, N.J.), was a long-timemember of the hierarchy of UOC-USA. However, afterthe UOC-USA leadership decided to come under theomophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate inConstantinople, the Rev. Bilak opted for the jurisdic-tion of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – KyivPatriarchate.

The vicary’s website also said of Bishop Bilak’senthronement: “This is a momentous occasion, for itfirmly establishes the Kyiv Patriarchate within the bor-ders of the United States and Canada and unites allparishes which have declared their allegiance to theUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate, underone central leadership.” The site went on to explain thatPatriarch Filaret had formally established a Vicary ofUOC-KP for the United States and Canada headquar-tered in Cooper City, Fla., with Bishop Stephan as itsspiritual leader. On May 20, a Vicary Constitution wasreviewed and formally adopted, and a Bishop’sCouncil, consisting of four clergy and four laypersons,was elected.

In late December, Patriarch Filaret again journeyed tothe United States, this time on what Ukraine’s diplomatsin the United States told The Weekly was a private visit.

Back in Ukraine, by year’s end a fourth UkrainianOrthodox Church had appeared on the scene: theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox ChurchSobornopravna, led by Metropolitan Moisei. Speakingon November 27 after the Church’s establishment wasannounced, the church’s primate emphasized that hisgoal is to bring unity to the Ukrainian OrthodoxChurch.

“I believe that a new leader, a new spiritual leader,can show a new way, give a fresh perspective. Theopportunity for unification exists,” said MetropolitanMoisei, who also went on to criticize the leaders of thethree existing Orthodox Churches in Ukraine: theUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate, theUkrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchateand the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

Ukraine’s Muslims also were in the news during2002 when Ukraine joined most of the world in com-memorating the first anniversary of the tragic events ofSeptember 11, 2001. A special conference hosted byIslamic Ukrainians on September 9 kicked off a week-long series of memorial events in Kyiv. At the confer-ence, organized by the regional branch of the UkrainianIslamic organization, Arraid, at the Islamic CommunityCenter in Kyiv, Ukrainian Islamic political and reli-gious leaders, as well as government representatives,discussed Ukraine’s reaction to the September 11 ter-rorist attacks and how the events affected Muslims inUkraine.

From the outset, participants made it clear that no onewas going to excuse the action of the Al Qaeda terroristswho organized and carried out the attacks. “We, theMuslims of Ukraine, condemn the terrorist acts and we

also condemn extremism in the name of Islamic princi-ples,” said Mufti Suleiman Mukhamedzianov, the spiri-tual head of Kyiv’s Muslims in opening the conference.

Yurii Kochubyi, head of the Ukrainian Organizationof Foreign Affairs and editor-in-chief of the magazineEastern World, who once was a diplomat to the MiddleEast, explained that, counter to the pronouncements bymany experts and academics after the calamitousevents of September 11, a “clash of civilizations,” didnot begin, as some were quick to label a new era theysaid would ensue. Instead, the result was more under-standing and more cooperation than was evident earlier.

About 2 million members of the Islamic faith live inUkraine, constituting some 4 percent of the population.

Other Church news during 2002 included the follow-ing.

• Canada’s Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate(SSMI) marked the centennial of their mission in 2002.The order held eparchial celebrations on October 6,with a divine liturgy of thanksgiving at Winnipeg’s St.Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church. The SistersServants of Mary Immaculate, the first Ukrainian apos-tolic congregation of women, were founded in 1892 inZhuzhel, western Ukraine, by the Rev. Kyrylo Seletsky,a parish priest, under the spiritual guidance of Y.Lomnytsky of the Basilian order. The first charter wasapproved by Metropolitan Sylvester Sembratovych inMay 1892, and the first prioress of the Sisters Servantswas Sister Josaphata Hordashevska. In 1902, inresponse to a request by the Canadian Roman Catholichierarchy, Metropolitan Sheptytsky sent a group com-prising three Basilian priests, a lay brother and fourSisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, to minister to thenew Ukrainian immigrants in Canada. Celebrations ofthe centenary will continue in 2003.

• A jubilee was celebrated also by Bishop BasilLosten who on December 7 marked the 25th anniver-sary of his installation as the third bishop of theUkrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford, Conn.Among the hundreds who attended the celebration thatday, which began with a pontifical divine liturgy ofthanksgiving and ended with a dinner reception, werecardinals and bishops of the Catholic Church, as wellas the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United States,hierarchs of the Ukrainian Catholic Church,Archbishop Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Churchof the U.S.A., faithful and friends of Bishop Losten.

• A U.S. landmark also marked an anniversary dur-ing 2002. St. John the Baptist Ukrainian CatholicChurch in Jewett, N.Y., recognized by local newspaperswhen it was first built as a unique and significant pieceof wooden architecture, is a distinctive example ofUkrainian culture. Dr. Ivan and Natalia Makarewycz,donated the land and initiated the project, and thechurch was built by master craftsman Jurij Kostiw,based on artist Jaroslaw Paladij’s preliminary scalemodel and architect Ivan Zhukowsky’s constructiondrawings. Inside the church are an iconostasis andother woodcarved works by sculptor MychailoCzereshniowskyj, as well as icons by Petro Cholodny.The church and its “Grazhda” building are also thefocal point of the Hunter area Ukrainian communityand serve as the venue for many concerts and artexhibits. Parishioners and friends marked the church’s40th anniversary on August 4 with a liturgy and festiveluncheon.

• Stritennia, or Presentation, the choir of theUkrainian Catholic University in Lviv, wowed audi-ences in the greater Toronto area this past July whenthey came to sing for the 2002 World Youth Day heldon July 23-28. But they also sang for divine liturgies atlocal Ukrainian Catholic parishes, performed concertsof sacred music and even appeared on a broadcast of anationwide Christian television channel in Canada. Thechoir comprises students and staff of the UkrainianCatholic University.

• In April it was reported that after a 20-year hiatus,the Alumni Association of the Lviv TheologicalAcademy (LTA) has been revived. The LTA graduatedits first post-war class in 1999, so there are now threeyears of fresh graduates to give the association vigor,and there are more graduates to come. The sterlingexample of numerous pre-war graduates and the activeassistance of a remaining few are an inspiration for 200new active members. The academy’s pre-war alumnilist is composed of such distinguished figures as thelate Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky and FathersRoman Lysko and Oleksii Zarytskyi, two of the newUkrainian martyrs beatified by Pope John Paul II inLviv last June. The last meeting of pre-war alumni washeld in Toronto in May 1980.

Diaspora demonstratesmultifaceted activity

Relations between the United States and Ukraine,which had worsened in 2001, continued on adownward spiral in 2002. As some of the previous

year’s irritants – such as high-level corruption, the piratingof entertainment and computer recorded media and theunsolved murder of the journalist Heorhii Gongadze –continued to fester, new, more serious problems for therelationship, came to the fore.

There were a few signs of a continuing normal bilater-al relationship – the opening of a consulate here and theannouncement of a small aid program there – and someefforts to improve relations – proposals in Congress toremove the Soviet-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment restric-tions – but, for the most part, the news was negative, andit centered on an anti-aircraft detection system thatUkraine was suspected of selling to Iraq. And, by year’send, Ukraine was hit by two punitive actions: a cutbackon U.S. aid in response to the Iraqi sale and threatenedlimitations on financial transactions for money launder-ing.

As the new year began in the wake of the 9/11 terror-ist airliner attack on New York’s World Trade Center andthe Pentagon, and new alliances were being formed inthe resulting U.S. war on terrorism, the U.S. and Russianpress began reporting about an emerging new U.S. poli-cy that seemed not to be concerned about developingcloser relations between Kyiv and Moscow, as in thepast. Indeed, as The New York Times reported,Washington now was encouraging them. Earlier, theRussian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta called thechange in policy the “Rice Doctrine,” after its supposedauthor, President George W. Bush’s national securityadvisor, Condoleezza Rice. According to this leadingRussian paper, the new doctrine provided that “Russiahas a right to special interests outside its borders and,consequently, to the special handling of Ukraine.”

These newspaper accounts about what would amountto a major shift in U.S. foreign policy went unchallengedby the administration. The U.S. ambassador in Kyiv,Carlos Pascual, however, discounted the suggestion thatWashington was ceding Ukraine to Moscow’s sphere ofinfluence.

“Absolutely not,” he told The Weekly in an interview.“The U.S. policy on Ukraine has always been that we sup-port a sovereign, independent, democratic, market-orient-ed Ukraine – and you have heard us say it for the last 10years. As neighbors, Russia and Ukraine are going to havea relationship, Ambassador Pascual said. “And it’s betterfor that relationship to be a good relationship rather than abad relationship.”

Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington, KostyantynGryshchenko, in a separate interview, also stressed thepositive nature of improving relations both betweenWashington and Moscow, and between Moscow andKyiv.

“We have always adhered to the position that, in gen-

Finally, in November, the UWC marked the solemn69th anniversary of the Famine of 1932-1933 with aninformative statement that called upon “the governmentof Ukraine and other governments worldwide to recog-nize the Famine in Ukraine as a genocide against theUkrainian people and to condemn the perpetrators.”Also, meeting in a limited session, on September 21, theUWC discussed its program for observing the upcoming70th anniversary of the famine, “suggesting most signif-icantly the need for a suitable monument in Kyiv fromthe Ukrainian diaspora honoring the memory of the vic-tims.” By October 30, Kyiv’s City Council and theOffice of the Mayor gave the go-ahead for the erectionof a diaspora-funded memorial.

Also, preparing for the 70th anniversary was theHollywood Trident Foundation, which on June 16called for the Ukrainian community’s help in contactingsurvivors of the famine in order to record their recollec-tions on videotape. The oral histories will be recordedand distributed to educational and media venues world-wide.

This year also marked the 90th anniversay of thefounding of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization. Thecelebration of this momentous event actually began onDecember 26, 2001, in Adelaide, Australia where over160 “plastuny” gathered for a nine-day jamboree.Paticipants hailed from most major urban centers ofAustralia, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Geelong,Adelaide and Brisbane, as well as from North America.At the Plast Open Day 20 members from the UkrainianYouth Association (SUM) and about 200 members ofthe Melbourne Ukrainian community joined the Plastmembers in celebration of their jubilee.

In May National Deputy Viktor Yushchenko, an hon-orary Plast member, addressed members of the youthOrganization, “stressing the responsibilities ofUkraine’s youth to continue the fledgling democratictradition established in Ukraine and voicing the expec-tation that members of the scouting organization wouldtake the lead in ensuring a free and open Ukrainiansociety.”

Finally, on August 11-24, more than 1,700 Plastmembers gathered in Lviv for the first InternationalPlast Jamboree to be held in Ukraine. The 14-day jam-boree, proceeding under the slogan “Discovering theUkrainian Planet,” was divided into two significantparts. During the first week, the participants were divid-ed into 22 camps dedicated to various aspects of thescouting experience. During the second week, thecampers gathered at a main camp outside of Lviv nearthe ancient feudal castle of the town of Svirzh for morejamboree activities, including bonfires, sports competi-tions, traditional Ukrainian arts and crafts, as well as


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWtours of Lviv and nearby sites.

On August 24 members of Plast not only commemo-rated the 11th anniversary of Ukraine’s independenceand the culmination of their jamboree, but also took partin the reburial of the remains of their organization’sfounder, Dr. Oleksander Tysovsky from Vienna toLviv’s Lychakiv Cemetery. Plast members solemnlyfiled onto the site of the burial as the words to the Plastoath resounded throughout the cemetery.

In addition to hosting the Plast jamboree and a visitby the UWC president, Australia witnessed other note-worthy events. On February 2, Australian FootballLeague legends Alex Jesaulenko and Ron Barrassi trav-eled to Kyiv to hand over $250,000 worth of aid to chil-dren affected by the Chornobyl disaster. The aid wasspearheaded by the Sunday Herald Sun and was flownby Lauda Air free of charge. Mr. Jesualenko, who traceshis roots to the Luhansk region of Ukraine was also tobe inducted into the Ukrainian Museum of Sports inrecognition of his achievements as an AFL player. He isthe first Australian sportsman of Ukrainian descent tobe afforded the honor.

Also in February, The Weekly reported about a visitto Ukraine by the chairman of the Australian Federationof Ukrainian Organizations, Stefan Romaniw. He partic-ipated in a series of meetings to promote Australia as abusiness, investment, tourist and migration destination.A further reason for the visit was to call on theAustralian government to show a greater interest inAustralian-Ukrainian relations.

Back in Washington, on February 16 the UkrainianAmerican Coordinating Council reaffirmed its recogni-tion of the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council inKyiv as the main non-governmental organization repre-senting Ukrainians in Ukraine and abroad, and estab-lished a separate fund in support of the UWCC. TheUACC called upon the central organizations in theUnited States, Canada and Western Europe to give theirfull support, both financial and moral, to the UWCC.

On March 4-5 in the United Nations, theCommission on the Status of Women (CSW), a func-tional commission of the Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC), met and considered two issues: eradicatingpoverty, including through the empowerment of womenthroughout their life cycle in a globalizing world; andenvironmental management and mitigation of naturaldisasters. Oksana Sokolyk, president of the WorldFederation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations(WFUWO) was present at this 46th session of the CSW.

The session produced documented recommendationsto be submitted to ECOSOC, which included proposalsto “ensure the full participation of women in sustainabledevelopment decision-making and disaster reductionmanagement at all levels.” It also noted that “in order toeradicate povery and promote gender equality anddemocracy, and stengthen the rule of law, both womenand men are involved in decision-making, politicalagenda-setting and in allocation of resources.”

The diaspora circles of Eastern Europe also wereactive in 2002. On April 22, a statue of TarasShevchenko by sculptor Viktor Lypovka was unveiledin the Belarusian captial of Miensk in a park locatednear the Embassy of Ukraine. The unveiling marked theformal opening of a series of cultural events organizedas part of a Days of Kyiv festival in the Belarusian capi-tal and what has been declared as the Year of TarasShevchenko in Belarus. It was a memorable week in thelife of Ukrainians in Belarus and attested to an upturn inrelations between the two neighboring Slavic countries.Also announced was a Days of Miensk festival in Kyivscheduled for next year.

On July 28 The Weekly printed a feature about theUkrainian community in Tbilisi, Georgia. TheUkrainian Community Center is located in an outlyingarea of the capital on the second floor of a dilapidatedbuilding. The center hosts dance classes, a youth bandand children’s choir. Most of the Ukrainians in Georgiaare people who resettled during Soviet times, and weresent there to work in factories or to serve in armedforces. Because there are not enough people for a con-gregation, there are no Ukrainian churches or parishesin Georgia. Ukrainian Churches, however are reexamin-ing the possibility of providing clergymen for the con-gregations there. The author of the article, TheodoraTurula of the Chicago area, noted that the GeorgianUkrainian Community Center resembles our own dias-pora centers in the United States.

In April The Weekly reported that Polish PresidentAleksander Kwasniewski had expressed regret overAkcja Wisla. He stated: “On behalf of the PolishRepublic, I would like to express regret to all those who

were wronged by Akcja Wisla ... The infamous AkcjaWisla is a symbol of the abominable deeds perpetratedby the Communist authorities against Polish citizens ofUkrainian origin ... It was believed for years that AkcjaWisla was the revenge for the slaughter of Poles by theUkrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in the east in 1943-1944. Such reasoning is fallacious and ethically inad-missible. It [invokes] a principle of group accountabili-ty, with which we cannot agree. The slaughter of Polescannot serve as an excuse for the brutal pacification ofUkrainian villages and the expulsion of populace. AkcjaWisla should be condemned.”

In November, The Weekly published a position paperreleased in Warsaw on October 12 by the board of theUnion of Ukrainians in Poland concerning the elimina-tion of the consequences of Akcja Wisla. The union stat-ed that, “in the last decade, both the Polish administra-tion and political elites not only failed to commit them-selves to the eradication of those consequences, but alsoto carry an unequivocal assessment of the causes andeffects of the deportation, whose impact on the situationof Polish citizens of Ukrainian nationality is evident tothe present day.” The statement continued by providingevidence for that conclusion in the realms of the law,historical studies and public rights, and pointed to thepresent consequences of Akcja Wisla.

The Taras Shevchenko monument unveiled on April 22 in Miensk, capital of Belarus.

U.S.-Ukraine relationson a downward spiral



Another noteworthy visit, this one to the United Statesfrom Ukraine, came in September as the chairman of theDonetsk Oblast Administration, Viktor Yanukovych, led adelegation on a visit to Baltimore, where issues of mutualinterest to the United States and Ukraine, especially theDonetsk region, were discussed. What was most notableabout the visit was Mr. Yanukovych himself – exactly twomonths later he emerged as the new prime minister ofUkraine.

In an effort to improve bilateral economic relations, theWashington-based U.S.-Ukraine Foundation got togetherwith the Embassy of Ukraine in conducting two businessroundtable discussions in October for representatives ofgovernment, industry and non-profit development organi-zations.

Among the leading reasons generally mentioned forworsening U.S.-Ukrainian economic relations have beenhigh-level corruption and the absence of adequate lawsgoverning such corrupt business practices as intellectualproperty piracy and money laundering. In both cases,Ukraine had passed laws that were judged by Washingtonto be inadequate and resulted in the U.S. TradeRepresentative announcing trade sanctions for piracy onDecember 20, 2001, and on that very same day one yearlater, the U.S. Treasury Department threatened to imposevarious restrictions on American financial institutions intheir dealings with Ukrainian entities because of Ukraine’slax attitude toward money laundering.

Although overshadowed by the negative, there weresome positive entries in the 2002 bilateral relations ledger:

• Ukraine opened a new consulate at the UkrainianCultural Center in Warren, Mich., in March, and appoint-ed the center’s president, Bohdan Fedorak, as honoraryconsul.

• An American Studies and Language Center wasopened at Odesa National Mechnikov University inNovember. Funded by the English Language Fellow pro-gram of the U.S. State Department, it is one of the fewlending centers in Ukraine that offers books and materialsthat are specifically designed to meet the needs of Englishlanguage teachers.

• The U.S. Agency for International Developmentannounced a new program in September which, in coop-eration with the Nadra Bank, will provide U.S. guaranteesagainst default by farmers for 50 percent of the worth ofeach loan. Nadra Bank, a Ukrainian commercial financialinstitution, said it would provide the equivalent of $6 mil-lion in credits to allow Ukrainian farmers to develop vari-ous segments of their business.

• On December 20 the State Department presented theEmbassy of Ukraine copies of the Ukrainian-languagedocuments taken by the Nazis from the All-UnionCommunist Party archive in Smolensk, which came intopossession of the United States at the end of the WorldWar II. The original documents from the archive wereturned over to Russia a week earlier.

• And, as the year was coming to a close, the StateDepartment on December 24 announced an agreement onfuture cooperation between the United States andGUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan andMoldova). It calls for a number of U.S.-funded projectsdesigned to achieve “a new level of cooperation on thefacilitation of trade and transport, the improvement of bor-der and customs services, and the fight against terrorism,organized crime and drug trafficking.”

emerging with new revelations and allegations of high-level wrongdoing. The Gongadze murder case, whichemerged from those recordings, dominated in the previ-ous year, but re-surfaced on occasion, such as June 18,when the BBC documentary “Killing the Story” wasscreened in the Dirksen Senate Auditorium of the U.S.Congress, and on September 15-16, when protesters inWashington and New York gathered to draw attention tothe cases of Mr. Gongadze and other journalists and polit-ical activists who died under mysterious circumstances inUkraine.

In 2002, however, it was the Melnychenko tapes’ refer-ences to the Kolchuha that took center stage. During hisnumerous meetings with U.S. government officials, andlater with the press in May, Mr. Melnychenko disclosedthat one of his recordings show that President Kuchmaactually gave his consent to the sale of the Ukrainian-builtKolchuha air defense system to Iraq in July 2000. If so,the sale would have been in violation of United NationsSecurity Council sanctions.

Mr. Melnychenko also disclosed in May that he hadtestified before a U.S. grand jury in California in connec-tion with an investigation into organized crime. Hedeclined to reveal the specific case – though he did say itwas not the case of former Ukrainian Prime MinisterPavlo Lazarenko (whose case, at last report, was sched-uled to begin on March 24, 2003).

As the Kolchuha issue continued to ferment throughthe summer months, in September the State Departmentannounced that the United States analyzed theMelnychenko tape and concluded that it was authentic.This, a State Department spokesman said, “has led us tore-examine our policy toward Ukraine, in particulartoward President Kuchma” and to initiate “a temporarypause” in providing $54 million in Freedom Support Actassistance to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian government denied the allegations, butallowed U.S. and British technical experts to inspect sev-eral sites in Ukraine connected to the development andproduction of the Kolchuha air defense system. Theresulting report of the Anglo-American inspection teamreleased in November neither proved nor disproved thatUkraine sold the Kolchuha system to Baghdad.

Later, the State Department expressed disappointmentthat the inspectors “did not meet with the cooperation andopenness promised by the Ukrainian authorities” andwarned that Kyiv’s failure to fully respond with the infor-mation and documents requested in the report could fur-ther damage Ukraine’s relations with the United Statesand with NATO.

The highest U.S. official to visit Ukraine in 2002 wasTreasury Secretary Paul O’Neill (who was replaced late inthe year in a shakeout of the Bush administration econom-ic team). During his three-day stay there in mid-July, hespoke with Ukrainian political and business leaders aboutthe need to make their economy attractive to foreigninvestment.

“Capital is a coward,” he said in a speech to a businessgroup. “Money is more likely to go where it is treatedwell.” When he was the chief executive officer at AlcoaAluminum, he said, he didn’t bother to even considerinvesting in countries where the rule of law, good corpo-rate governance and enforcement of contracts were doubt-ful. “Frankly, I did not spend much time looking at placeswhere this did not exist,” he said.

eral, Russia and the United States should maintain thebest possible relations. We believe that this helps create abetter condition for Ukraine’s own development,” hesaid, adding that “the absence of conflict with Russiashould not be seen as a negative factor in determining thelevel of the dialogue between the United States andUkraine.”

Ambassador Gryshchenko indicated that one of theways U.S.-Ukrainian relations could be improved wouldbe to get rid of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. Imposedon the Soviet Union to pressure Moscow on Jewish emi-gration, the law’s restrictions on economic relations con-tinue to this day, despite the breakup of the USSR and thefact that emigration no longer is an issue.

To this end, U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio),Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.)introduced bills in the House in 2002, and UkrainianAmerican diaspora leaders discussed the issue withJewish leaders in Washington. The bills never made it tothe floor for a vote, however, and died in the last sessionof Congress.

The predominant subject in the U.S.-Ukrainian rela-tionship during the first quarter of 2002 was the electionof deputies to the Verkhovna Rada. Ukrainian and foreignhuman rights and democratic action groups that monitoredthe pre-election campaigns in Ukraine reported govern-ment intrusion and coercion with the intent of influencingelection results.

Citing these disturbing reports, the U.S. Congresspassed a resolution urging the Ukrainian government “toenforce impartially” Ukraine’s new election law and“meet its commitments on democratic elections” agreed towith the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE). Meanwhile, the Helsinki Commission onFebruary 27 held a public briefing to examine the parlia-mentary elections scheduled for March 31.

One of the pre-election observers was former U.S.Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, who later indi-cated that the resolution made the Ukrainian governmentsit up and notice. She said she was surprised during ameeting with President Leonid Kuchma at how “very con-cerned” he was about it. “He does think – at least that’sthe way I read it – that what Washington thinks about himis important to him,” she said during a briefing about hervisit which was organized by the National DemocraticInstitute, which she chairs.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William GreenMiller, who accompanied Dr. Albright to Ukraine, was abit more skeptical. While President Kuchma understoodthe value of how he and Ukraine are perceived interna-tionally, he said, “the difficulty is that he is in the middleof a power struggle, in which his interests may require –in his own mind – the kind of actions that are taking placein this election.”

Similar actions were to follow in the recent shake-up ofthe government and the leadership in the Verkhovna Rada,which also raised some eyebrows internationally aboutPresident Kuchma’s political intentions.

Also visiting Ukraine in February was Undersecretaryof State Paula Dobriansky, who, during a two-day stay inKyiv, underscored the importance Washington attached tothe bilateral relationship and to the elections.

As the election issues died down, the secret recordingsof President Kuchma’s discussions made by a member ofhis security detachment, Mykola Melnychenko, kept re-

Mykola Melnychenko’s clandestine recordings yielded new revelations of high-level wrongdoing in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S. KostyantynGryshchenko urged Washington to scrap the

Jackson-Vanik Amendment.Madeleine K. Albright visited Ukraine to urge free

and fair elections.

Yaro BihunYaro Bihun

Yaro Bihun

Redress was the key issue, it seemed, for UkrainianCanadians during the year 2002. For over a decadethe Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association

(UCCLA) has sought recognition and restitution for thewrongs done to Canadians of Ukrainian and otherEuropean origins during Canada’s first national internmentoperations, 1914-1920. More than 8,000 men, and somewomen and children, were labeled “enemy aliens,” herdedinto Canadian concentration camps and forced to do heavylabor. There were 24 such internment camps throughoutCanada, and the UCCLA has been placing markers at thesites. Over 80,000 more were forced to report to the policelike common criminals and lost the right to vote; somewere deported. The enemy aliens’ assets were confiscated,and they were subjected to various other state-sanctionedcensures.

As a result of the efforts of the Ukrainian CanadianCivil Liberties Association, supported by the UkrainianCanadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko and theUkrainian Canadian community of British Columbia, atrilingual historical marker was unveiled at the original siteof one of the Monashee-Mara Lake camps, at Two Mile,near Sicamous, on Saturday, June 8.

“This unhappy episode in Canadian history must berecalled if we are to ensure that what happened toUkrainian Canadians in the first world war period, and toour fellow Japanese Canadians in the second world war,and to some citizens of Quebec in 1970, does not happenagain,” stated the UCCLA’s local representative, AndreaMalysh. Tying such remembrances to current events, sheadded: “This is particularly important in the wake of thehorrors that befell our society on September 11. While wemust remain vigilant as we prosecute our war against ter-rorism, we can not allow our societies to become vigilanteswhen dealing with Canadians of other ethnic and religiousbackgrounds. Canada is an inclusive society and mustremain that way. Recalling this tragic past is a step we canall take to ensure that wrongs done in the past are notrepeated in our future.” The plaque in Mara Lake was the18th placed by the UCCLA and its supporters since 1994.

On August 5, another plaque recalling the internmentoperations was placed near a camp once located in theEaton-Munson-Drumheller region of southern Alberta.

Those held around Drumheller worked in the nearbycoal mines and were also deployed to assist local farmersin collecting their harvests.

On August 11, the festivities at the annual UkrainianDay celebrations at the Ukrainian Cultural HeritageVillage were interrupted to unveil a trilingual memorialplaque commemorating the internment operations. TheUkrainian Cultural Heritage Village, located in Alberta, 30miles from Edmonton, Alberta, is an open-air museumreplicating the pioneer experience of Ukrainians inCanada. It houses the original homestead buildings of sev-eral pioneer families, including the Slemkos, who just afew years after their homestead had been cleared and thebuildings erected, had three family members unjustlyinterned at concentration camps in western Canada.

While the markers were being placed at sites around thecountry, the UCCLA and the Ukrainian CanadianCommittee were meeting in an effort to issue a joint posi-tion on redress for World War I internment. It was at itsannual meeting in Winnipeg on June 22 that the UCCagreed to refine a joint position in cooperation with theUCCLA regarding redress for the World War I periodinternment operations.

The cooperative effort is being led by attorney AndrewHladyshevsky, president of the Ukrainian CanadianFoundation of Taras Shevchenko. For several months, thedirector of research for the UCCLA, Dr. Luciuk, and PaulGrod, first vice-president of the UCC, had worked withMr. Hladyshevsky to ensure that a thorough and compre-hensive redress package would be ready for presentation tothe government of Canada in the fall.

Mr. Hladyshevsky, who also serves as chair of theInternment Committee of the Ukrainian CanadianCongress; Dr. Luciuk, and Alexandra Chyczij, a memberof the Justice Committee of the Ukrainian CanadianCongress and a local constituent; met on August 23 withMember of Parliament Jean Augustine, secretary of statefor multiculturalism, and three senior members of thedepartments of Canadian Heritage and Justice, to begin theprocess of resolving the community’s call for the recogni-tion of Canada’s first national internment operations andtheir impact on Canadians of Ukrainian and other East


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWEuropean origins.

During an hourlong meeting, the minister indicated awillingness to move the issue forward within her own min-istry, Canadian Heritage, and others, including ParksCanada, Veterans’ Affairs, Justice and to do so in the nearfuture. Although Minister Augustine did not specify atimeline, she did pledge to meet with key ministers inSeptember and to initiate consultations as soon as possible.The minister reaffirmed, in principle, her support for ele-ments of Bill C-331, the Ukrainian Canadian RestitutionAct authored by Member of Parliament Inky Mark, whorepresents the Dauphin-Swan River riding (district) inManitoba.

A major step toward raising awareness of the redressissue and securing restitution came during the launch ofProject Roll Call. The National Press Gallery in Ottawawas the venue on November 5 of the launch of the project,described by MP Mark as “a continuation of the fight toget justice for all the internee Canadians that were put into24 prison camps across this country between 1914 and1920.”

The gathering also aimed to drum up support for a billto recognize the injustice inflicted decades ago upon per-sons of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans – includingCroats, Serbs, Poles, Turks, Slovenians, Slovaks,Hungarians, Germans and Austrians – who were internedat the time of World War I .

The joint press conference by Mr. Mark and theUkrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association (UCCLA)announced the beginning of the Roll Call program that willmail more than 37,000 postcards to Canadian householdsthat have been identified as having the same or similar sur-names to those of the World War I internees. Among otherpolitical leaders present were Sen. Raynell Andreychukand MP Joe Clark.

Dr. Luciuk stated: “Project Roll Call is a search for sur-vivors of Canada’s first national internment operations in1914 to 1920. It is not only for survivors, actual internees,but for their descendants.”

He explained how the UCCLA began this project:“Several years ago, working with the few remaining gov-ernment documents that refer to the internment operations,volunteers right across Canada pulled together a list ofsome 5,000 civilian internees in the first world war period.Over the last year, working with volunteers across Canada,we have ... put together a master list, of just over 37,000Canadian families who may be in some way or anotherrelated to a person who was interned during the FirstWorld War.”

“The postcard has two objectives,” explained Mr. Mark.“First, it asks that Canadians whose family members wereor may have been interned to contact the UkrainianCanadian Civil Liberties Association. Second, it urges allCanadians to support Private Member’s Bill C-331 that Iintroduced in the last session of Parliament and will be re-introducing shortly.”

Mr. Mark reminded his listeners that: “For almost twodecades, Canadians of Ukrainian descent, and there are

almost a million of them in this country, have been lookingfor justice from this Liberal government and I just want toremind Canadians that in 1993 Mr. [Jean] Chrétien wrote aletter as leader of the Official Opposition saying that hewould deal with the redress issue when he became primeminister. Well, we have been waiting for almost 10 years.”

Mr. Mark’s fellow Progressive Conservative, Mr. Clark,speaking in English and French, noted that Bill C-331“urges the government to act on an undertaking that theprime minister made in 1993.” He noted that “the principleof redress has been established in our law,” referring to theredress sought and gained by Japanese Canadians for mis-treatment during World War II.

“Thousands ... were unjustly interned in Canadian con-centration camps during the first world war period, notbecause of anything they had done but only because ofwhere they had come from,” Dr. Luciuk explained. “Theyhad been lured to Canada with promises of freedom andfree land, and yet suddenly found themselves branded asenemy aliens, herded into 24 Canadian concentrationcamps, forced to do heavy labor, their valuables and prop-erty confiscated.”

“Ironically, this happened against the background ofsome 10,000 Ukrainian Canadians volunteering to servewith Canadian Expeditionary Forces overseas, one ofwhom as you may know, Philip Konowal, won the VictoriaCross,” Dr. Luciuk added.

Mr. Mark said he had met recently with Mr. Chrétienand urged him to honor his decade-old promise before heleaves office in early 2004.” A legacy of broken promisesshould not be the legacy of a prime minister,” Mr. Markconcluded.

Dr. Luciuk emphasized that “there are still some sur-vivors of Canada’s first national internment operationsalive, and we would like to resolve this matter within theirlifetimes. That is all that we want.”

During the latter part of 2002, working with theUkrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko andthe Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the UCCLA craftedterms for a proposed settlement with the government ofCanada, involving recognition of the injustices done cou-pled with educational and commemorative projects collec-tively aimed at initiating a timely and honorable reconcilia-tion. In Hamilton on December 2 they tabled the proposalwith Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps.

The proposal calls for, among other things, the develop-ment of a permanent museum about the internment opera-tions in Banff National Park, six commemorative stamps,historical markers at all internment camp sites and thedevelopment of educational and other commemorativematerials for Canadian schools and universities, includingfour permanently endowed scholarships for those intend-ing post-graduate studies in the social sciences and human-ities, law, education and the arts having to do with theUkrainian Canadian experience. The total amount – whichwould be committed to the proposed Ukrainian CanadianReconciliation Fund, to be administered by theShevchenko Foundation – will be determined after negoti-

Members of Parliament Inky Mark (left) and Joe Clark (right), and Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk (second from right) of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association at the November 5 launch of Project Roll Call.

News from Canada:redress and celebrations



The focus in late January of 2002 was on immi-gration to Canada, as Prof. Vsevolod Isajiw, aprominent Ukrainian Canadian sociologist,

revealed some preliminary findings from a ground-breaking study of the latest wave of Ukrainian immi-grants to Canada. Speaking at the University ofToronto on January 28 at a seminar co-sponsored bythe Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies and thePeter Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine, Prof.Isajiw highlighted the so-called “Fourth Wave” – thoseUkrainians who came to North America from 1991 to2001, and continue to arrive even today – estimatingtheir number to be approximately 18,000 to 20,000 inCanada and at least 100,000 in the United States. Headded that, “technically,” he would call this a “FifthWave” of Ukrainian immigration, as it was precededby Ukrainian immigrants from Poland in the 1980s,but was amenable to considering it as the secondphase of a “Fourth Wave.”

Prof. Isajiw provided a basic profile of the immi-grants. Ninety percent were born in Ukraine, and 90percent came as independent immigrants (the remain-ing 10 percent arrived sponsored). Just over one-quar-ter (26 percent) have taken Canadian citizenship. Theyare divided almost equally between males andfemales. Most (78.6 percent) are married, while 11percent are single and 9 percent divorced or separated.Their average age upon arrival was 35.4, while theiraverage age at the time of being interviewed was 39,indicating that they had been in Canada, on average,for just over 3.5 years. Twenty-two percent are home-owners. Seventeen percent have no children, while31.9 percent had one and 45 percent have two. Eighty-nine percent are working full-time, although only 43percent use specific skills acquired in Ukraine in theirwork.

The principal area from which they emigrated was“Greater” Ukraine (i.e., Central and Eastern Ukraine,50 percent), with western Ukraine (Halychyna andBukovyna) following at 41 percent, and southernUkraine (and “other” regions) coming in at 9 percent.Significantly, 26 percent of all those who emigratedfrom Ukraine to Canada came from Kyiv and 24 per-cent from Lviv.

Prof. Isajiw noted the high educational achievementof the immigrants: 12.8 percent had degrees from an“uchylysche,” or a “tekhnikum,” 37 percent from an“instytut” and 36.1 percent from a university. As well,he noted their religious affiliation (at the time of emi-gration) as being split among Ukrainian Orthodox (37percent), Russian Orthodox (16 percent), Catholics (27percent) and non-believers (11 percent). Prof. Isajiwnoted that while Ukrainian immigrants are fairly wellintegrated into the Canadian economy, they generallytended to be overqualified for the work they weredoing. As such, Canada has done very well byUkrainian immigration.

Prof. Isajiw then turned to the integration of thenew immigrants into the Ukrainian community, theother major question addressed by the study. The con-clusion was unequivocal: new arrivals have not linkedup with the “hromada” in any significant way. Theiractive participation in existing Ukrainian organizationsstood at 9 percent and in Ukrainian organizations fornew arrivals at 4 percent. Their attendance of activitiessponsored by Ukrainian organizations was 8.0 percent“very often”; 23.7 percent “time to time”; 20.1 percent“rarely”; and 48.2 percent “never.”

Even informally the new immigrants have main-tained a certain social distance from local UkrainianCanadians: less than 27 percent agreed or stronglyagreed that it was “easy to make friends withUkrainian Canadians” (compared to just over 41 per-cent for making friends with non-UkrainianCanadians).

Nevertheless, the new arrivals by and large areinterested in Ukrainian matters. A full 92.3 percentindicated that they feel it is important to pass on asense of Ukrainian culture to their children, 50 percentsend their children to a Ukrainian school, and 24 per-cent send their children to dance lessons. Almost 82percent read Ukrainian Canadian newspapers often orfrom time to time, while 66.8 maintain a strong inter-est in Ukrainian politics.

ations with the federal government have arrived at anagreed-upon contemporary value of the internee’s forcedlabor and of that portion of their confiscated wealth thatwas never returned.

Speaking after the meeting, Dr Luciuk remarked: “Theminister was very sympathetic to the proposal we ten-dered, which represents the united position of our commu-nity on this matter. She has promised to work with us toaction some of our requests in the near future, and to fol-low up with other government ministries to ensure that allrelevant departments within the government are engagedin helping us right this historical injustice.”

In other news, in July the Ukrainian Canadian CivilLiberties Association called for an official commission ofinquiry on Soviet and Communist war criminals inCanada, and, if the evidence merits it, for the denaturaliza-tion and deportation of those who lied about their criminalactivities upon entering Canada. The request came in lightof recent evidence of individuals now living in Canadawho were members of SMERSH, a Soviet formationresponsible for the executions of Red Army soldiers and ofthousands of anti-Communist civilians in Eastern Europe.One of the most well-known victims of SMERSH wasRaoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who savedHungarian Jews during World War II.

“We are calling on the Canadian government to deter-mine how many of these alleged Soviet war criminals andcollaborators are in Canada, how they came to be here andwhy they continue to enjoy the privileges of Canadian citi-zenship,” said Dr. Luciuk. “We are also calling for theirdenaturalization and deportation, if the evidence warrantsit. There are people in Canada today who have publiclyadmitted to having committed atrocities while serving withSMERSH and the murderous Soviet secret police, theNKVD. Some have even written books, in English, boast-ing of their roles in liquidating anti-Soviet Lithuanians andUkrainians,” he added.

Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War CrimesSection has not taken any known action against allegedCommunist war criminals in Canada, despite severalrequests by UCCLA.

Ukrainians in Canada were closely watching the case ofWasyl Odynsky, a displaced person who arrived in Canadain 1949. Back in March 2001, Justice W. Andrew MacKayof the Federal Court of Canada found that Mr. Odynskywas innocent of any war crimes. However, he did find himguilty of probably not truthfully answering questions askedby Canada’s immigration authorities when he entered thecountry 53 years ago. In his decision Justice MacKaywrote, “After careful consideration of the evidence pre-sented, on a balance of probabilities it is more probablethan not Mr. Odynsky did not truthfully answer questionsthat were put to him concerning his wartime experience.”As a result, during 2002 Mr. Odynsky was awaiting a deci-sion of the federal Cabinet on whether he should bedeported from Canada. Deported – not for war crimes –but for probably lying.

In a commentary titled “Who needs evidence?” inReport Newsmagazine on July 8, Kevin Michael Grace gotto the heart of the matter, describing the government’sargument: “Immigration officials must have asked Mr.Odynsky and the others about Nazi associations (becausethat was government policy), and they must have lied(because they would not have been admitted otherwise).”For the record, Mr. Odynsky said under oath that he wasnot asked what he did in the war. According to Dr. Luciuk,“No specific documentary evidence refutes his testimony.Ottawa destroyed those files years ago. But, on ‘a balanceof probabilities,’ the judge ruled Mr. Odynsky secured citi-zenship under false pretenses.”

In a June 14 column titled “This is justice?” PeterWorthington of the Toronto Sun wrote: “The case againstOdynsky – conscripted by the Nazis at age 19 on pain ofdeath and/or reprisals to his family – is so tenuous, vindic-tive and unjust it should be dismissed out of hand. ... Byany objective standard, Odynsky was more a victim ofNazism than a perpetrator ... Odynsky, 19, with a Grade 5education, was conscripted into an SS auxiliary unit as aperimeter guard at a concentration camp. He ran away toavoid conscription, but returned when the Nazis threatenedhis family.”

The Ukrainian Weekly weighed in with its editorial onthe case, arguing that : “The only just decision at this pointin this case would be for the Cabinet of Canada to allowMr. Odynsky to remain in that country. But justice wouldbe best served if Canada went back to the drawing board,trashed the new Citizenship Act that permits naturalizedcitizens to be deported without appeal (in effect creating alower class of citizens) and reverted to the made-in-Canada solution to war crimes: i.e., prosecuting suspectedwar criminals for war crimes – not some lesser violation –

in accordance with Canadian criminal law and the con-comitant higher standards of evidence.

The year 2002 began with Canada marking a decade ofrelations with Ukraine. Canadians and Ukrainians onJanuary 30 celebrated that anniversary at a special gather-ing in Ottawa, as more than 300 people crowded into theNational Archives down the street from the NationalParliament in the Canadian capital to mark the occasion.

Canada was the first country in the Western hemisphereto recognize independent Ukraine, extending diplomaticrecognition one day after Ukrainians voted on December1, 1991, in a national referendum to break away from theSoviet Union. By January 27, 1992, Canada’s secretary ofstate for external affairs at the time, Barbara McDougall,was in Kyiv to open the Canadian Embassy.

“As Canada’s [representative] at that historic moment adecade ago, I am proud that our country was the first toextend diplomatic recognition to Ukraine,” said Ms.McDougall in a speech read by Ian Wilson of the NationalArchives. (Ms. McDougall was unable to attend theJanuary 30 event due to a prior commitment.) “Canadianswith Ukrainian roots were among those who were burstingwith pride in their former homeland,” she said. “Andmany, indeed, have since returned to help shape democra-cy and free markets as the country has developed. ... Thatperiod of development has not been without missteps andindeed, sometimes, mischief.” But there is no turning back,and we must never forget that momentous change is hardwork.”

In a letter to Canada’s head of state, Governor GeneralAdrienne Clarkson, President Leonid Kuchma of Ukrainewrote that Canada will always be “a close friend” toUkraine. “Without exaggeration, [Canada’s acknowledg-ment] paved the way for our state into the internationalcommunity,” said Mr. Kuchma. “It accelerated democraticreforms and the formation of a civil society in Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s independence was first recognized by itsWestern neighbor, Poland. But as Ukraine’s ambassador toCanada, Dr. Yuri Shcherbak, was quick to point out,Poland, located in almost the same time zone as Ukraine atthe time, had the advantage of time in extending itsacknowledgment. Ottawa was only eight hours behind, heargued, and its early recognition must not go unnoticed.

A month after the celebration of the decade of bilateralrelations, Ambassador Shcherbak on February 22 con-vened a meeting at his residence with prominent membersof the Ukrainian Canadian community, to discuss the stateof affairs and future directions of Canada-Ukraine rela-tions. Members shared their views on the contributions ofthe Ukrainian Canadian community to the relationshipbetween both countries. The outcome of the discussionwas the establishment of a Canada-Ukraine AdvisoryCommittee to the ambassador of Ukraine. The main goalof this committee is to contribute to the strengthening ofbilateral Canada-Ukraine relations in all spheres of cooper-ation, including supporting Ukraine’s initiatives in thedemocratization of society, economic development andintegration into the European Community; partnering inthe organization of a wide range of the educational, scien-tific, cultural and economic workshops, conferences andother events related to current and future Canada-Ukrainerelations; promoting Ukrainian masterpieces of tangibleand intangible heritage; and informing Canadians aboutthese activities.

Members of the Canada-Ukraine Advisory Committeeencompass persons from diverse fields. They include:James C. Temerty, president of Northland Power Inc.(tapped by committee participants as coordinator); ErastHuculak, president and chairman of the board, MedicalPharmacies Group Inc.; Orest V. Nowakiwsky, executivedirector, Canadian Bank Note Co. Ltd.; Mary Szkambara,president, Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Toronto Branch;Rostyslav Kysil, president Meest Corp. Inc.; Orest Dubas,director, Ukraine-Canada Policy and Trade Center; OksanaBashuk-Hepburn, president, Ukraine-Canada RelationsInc.; Prof. Ostap Hawaleshka, president, Canada-UkraineFoundation; Prof. Orest Subtelny, York University;Dmytro Cipywnyk, chair, Advisory Committee onSaskatchewan-Ukraine Relations; Viktor Pedenko, secre-tary-general, Ukrainian World Congress; Bud Convey, rep-resentative of the Alberta-Ukraine Council; and JohnWoychyshyn, president, Oleh Olzhych World Foundation,Canadian Branch.

The Advisory Committee decided to hold its meetingstwice a year, alternately in Ottawa and Toronto, and toinclude as members not only Ukrainian Canadians but alsoprominent representatives of Canadian society.

In other developments in Canada, the UkrainianCanadian Students’ Union, now in its 50th year, announcedthat during 2002 that it was entering a rebuilding phase.After a productive but poorly attended national congress

A look at Canada’snew Ukrainians

Ukrainians in America this past year were active onmany fronts. Among the different diaspora groupsmaking news this year, the Ukrainian Congress

Committee of America celebrated the 25th anniversary ofits Ukrainian National Information Service with a benefitbanquet at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Chicago onMay 1.

Two of America’s largest Ukrainian financial institu-tions, 1st Security Federal Savings Bank andSelfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Unionjoined forces to co-sponsor the banquet, which launcheda yearlong celebration and fund-raising effort to supportthe Washington-based UNIS office.

According to Julian E. Kulas, president of 1stSecurity, who served as the master of ceremonies for thebanquet, UNIS provides timely information aboutUkraine to the media and academia through policypapers and backgrounders, and produces newslettersand action items to inform and rally the community’ssupport on important issues.

The banquet included speeches by Steven Pifer, for-mer U.S. ambassador to Ukraine (1998-2000) and cur-rently the assistant secretary for the European Bureau atthe State Department, specializing in Ukrainian,Belarusian, Moldovan and Russian affairs; as well asremarks by Michael Sawkiw Jr., UCCA president andUNIS director.

Key issues reviewed by the UNIS director included:U.S. foreign assistance to Ukraine and its necessity tocontinue reforms in the economic and political spheres;the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, which maintainsbilateral relations with the Ukrainian Parliament;Permanent Normal Trade Relations for Ukraine, asUNIS is actively pursuing a bill in Congress that wouldeliminate the Jackson-Vanik Amendment for Ukraine;the Ukrainian American Veterans’ federal charter; and aUkrainian leadership program that would bring youngtalented parliamentarians, regional leaders and politicalparty workers to the United States to experience first-hand how civic society interacts with various forms ofAmerican government



Later in the year Ukrainian and U.S. politicians anddiplomats, as well as a smattering of journalists fromUkraine, continued to mark UNIS’s milestone 25thanniversary with a jubilee celebration in Washington. Thejubilee party, held at the Ronald Reagan InternationalTrade Center on October 8, was held in conjunction withan international conference organized by UCCA andincluded State Secretary for European Integration at theMinistry of Foreign Affairs Oleksander Chalii, Ukraine’sAmbassador to the U.S. Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, alongwith former Minister of Foreign Affairs for UkraineBorys Tarasyuk and former Ambassador to the U.S. OlehBilorus, both of whom today are national deputies inKyiv. U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and DannyDavis of Illinois both praised the office for giving voiceto the demands and desires of the Ukrainian community.

“UNIS has not only been the voice of the Ukrainiancommunity, it has been the voice of justice and free-dom,” said Askold Lozynskyj, the president of theUkrainian World Congress and a former longtime presi-dent of the UCCA, during the celebration.

Mr. Kulas, who later that evening received the Friendof UNIS Award for 25 years of dedicated financial sup-port, in his introductory remarks listed UNIS’s mostrecent successes, which included providing stimulus forthe formation of the Ukrainian caucus in the U.S.Congress; taking part in a successful lobbying effort tohave the first visit to Washington by President LeonidKuchma upgraded from a working visit to a state visit;and lobbying the U.S. Congress on maintaining a cer-tain level of foreign aid for Ukraine.

Mr. Sawkiw acknowledged several individuals whoplayed key roles in keeping the fledgling informationservice on its feet during the first few years of its exis-tence, including Bohdan Denysyk, George Nesterczuk,Andrij Bilyk, Vitaliy Garber, Eugene Iwanciw andGeorge Woloshyn, and presented the six individualswith UNIS Co-Founder Awards.

Mr. Sawkiw also announced that the Selfreliance(New York) Federal Credit Union had donated $15,000in commemoration of the UNIS jubilee, while the SelfReliance (New Jersey) Federal Credit Union hadpledged $7,500.

With the help of two donations totaling $45,000 theUCCA also moved forward on a decision made during aregular board meeting on December 16, 2001, to createa bureau in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. The benefactors,responding to a UCCA appeal, included Arkadi Mulak-Yatzkivsky of Los Angeles, who donated $20,000, andan anonymous donor who contributed $25,000. Thesedonations covered the operating costs for the newlyopened Kyiv Office, which is staffed by a citizen ofUkraine, for at least a two-year period, the UCCAannounced on March 10.

The UCCA also announced that the Kyiv Office’simmediate responsibility would be to carry out “ThePower of One” civic education program, which had as

its goal to promote greater citizen involvement in civicdecision-making by encouraging voter participation inthe March 2002 parliamentary elections, and to educatethe people about their inalienable rights as citizens of ademocratic country. Following the elections, the bureau,located at Myzeinyi Provulok No. 8, would functionsimilarly to the UNIS office in Washington by monitor-ing and disseminating information and by serving as theUCCA’s voice in Kyiv. Additionally, the Kyiv officewould assist the UCCA’s Council on Aid to Ukrainians,which conducts humanitarian aid projects.

The new UCCA Kyiv Office then grabbed a headlineby hosting an informational seminar for their parliamen-tary election monitors at the Taras Shevchenko NationalMuseum in Ukraine on March 29. According to theCentral Election Commission, the UCCA’s 46-memberdelegation was the largest non-governmental organizationand the fourth largest team overall registered to monitorUkraine’s March parliamentary elections. The seminar,which was divided into two sections, was dedicated toacquainting the election monitors with the various politi-cal parties and blocs vying for seats in Ukraine’sVerkhovna Rada and providing practical information onhow best to serve as international election monitors.

The UCCA invited all 33 registered political partiesand blocs in Ukraine to the briefing and asked them tooutline their respective political platforms and to pro-vide insight on the pre-election atmosphere. The semi-nar attracted leaders of parties and blocs from across thepolitical spectrum including: the Party of Greens, YuliaTymoshenko Bloc, Reformed Communist Party,Socialist Party, Our Ukraine, Yabluko, Liberal Party,Social Democratic Party of Ukraine-United, ZUBR (ForUkraine, Belarus and Russia), For a United Ukraine,All-Ukrainian Christian Party and the Congress ofUkrainian Nationalists.

The second half of the seminar concentrated on pro-viding practical information about how best to serve asinternational election observers. During this portion ofthe briefing, UCCA election monitors were able to obtainfirst-hand knowledge and recommendations from severallocal non-governmental organizations that have experi-ence in monitoring Ukraine’s elections. Ultimately, theUCCA monitors observed the elections in various oblastsof Ukraine, including, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Luhanskand Lviv. Additionally, several UCCA international elec-tion observers monitored elections in the United States atthe Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, and at the NewYork and Chicago Consulates.

Aided in part by a $500 grant from the One CityAwards Program, announced on February 7, the UCCAalso opened an information center for the newestUkrainian immigrants in New York City on May 11. Thegrant was given in support of civic education courses,which would be held in the newly remodeled FourthWave Information Center, located in the UCCA’s head-

held in Ottawa in July, the union will be concentrating onre-establishing links with its members and narrowingdown a focus.

“We’re an umbrella body for Ukrainian student clubsacross Canada,” said the new vice-president (internal),Jenn Kehoe. “Some of these clubs are faring extremelywell, while others are faltering. All we can do as theirnational representatives is help them out if they need it,”she explained.

Windsor, Calgary and Ottawa universities were repre-sented at the three-day gathering, which is held annually.Lower-than-expected turnout was the result of a number offactors, explained outgoing President Pavlo Horbal. “Sincethe congress this year was pushed to the summer instead ofthe usual February, many students couldn’t get awaybecause of summer job commitments,” Mr. Horbal noted.“Being peak travel season, and understanding the risingcosts of tuition here in Canada, we realized that many stu-dents probably couldn’t afford to make the trip to Ottawa.We may have to look more towards fund-raising in thefuture.” It is expected that the SUSK conclave will returnto February next year in Toronto, which is hosting the 50thanniversary congress.

In Winnipeg, the Osvita Foundation on June 12 hosted areception at Oseredok, as the Ukrainian Cultural andEducation Center there is known, to celebrate 20 fruitfulyears of support for Ukrainian education in Canada. Osvitalapel pins were presented to outstanding individual donors,past Osvita testimonial banquet honorees and past mem-bers of the board of trustees.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, North American’s largestUkrainian street festival, the Bloor West Village UkrainianFestival attracted well over 100,000 visitors in the periodbeginning on Friday evening, September 13, and continu-ing all day Saturday. The seven-block festival features a 40-square-foot stage that presents an all-day concert featuringpop stars from Ukraine and Canada, and numerous danceensembles, among other performers. The festival, presentedby Kontakt Television, is to be even larger in 2003 withplans calling for outdoor structures to represent Ukrainiancommunity life, and even a scale model of the world’slargest cargo plane, Ukraine’s own Antonov-225, the Mria.

Guests at the reception celebrating UNIS’s 25th anniversary on October 8 included Rep. Danny Davis (farleft), and leaders of Ukrainian community institutions, such as credit unions and the Ukrainian National

Association.

Ukrainians in the U.S.:active on many fronts

Andrew Nynka


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWtower. It would also raise the Hewitt Building – thelargest bone of contention with the Ukrainian communityin the school’s plan – from its current two-story level to anine-story academic building with retail planed for thebottom floor.

Ukrainian residents in the East Village argued thatenlarging the Hewitt Building, which sits between Sixthand Seventh streets on Taras Shevchenko Place, wouldadversely affect St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church –located opposite the Hewitt Building, also on TarasShevchenko Place. In an effort to halt the developmentprocess, a lawsuit was filed on July 24 with the StateSupreme Court in Manhattan by four individuals fromthe community against the City’s Planning Commissionand Cooper Union. The plaintiffs charged the city andcollege with violating land-use procedures and contendthat the school does not own all of the properties onwhich it plans to develop and that significant amenitiesfor the community have not been included in the plan.

The newly renamed Mountain View ResortVerkhovyna also made news in 2002. Since the resortwas sold by the Ukrainian Fraternal Association in earlyJune 2001 questions arose regarding how funds donatedto the Ukrainian American Cultural Foundation – theorganization that now controls the resort – have beenused. There were questions, too, about organizationaldetails of the UACF. These and other questions have qui-etly surfaced within the Ukrainian American communityand, to date, remain unanswered.

In response to those concerns, The Ukrainian Weeklyspent over a year working to clarify the many questionssurrounding Verkhovyna and the issue of how the UACFboard is constituted. After The Weekly’s attempts to pro-vide space for both sides of the UACF dispute to tell theirstories were unsuccessful, The Weekly decided to publishwhat was known.

Additionally, members of the UACF’s current board ofdirectors were hit with a lawsuit, not yet resolved, thatchallenges the authority of board members. The lawsuit,according to one of the plaintiffs, lists four individualswho contend that members of the current UACF boardinitiated a clandestine takeover of the UACF in contra-vention of the foundation’s by-laws.

Current members of the UACF board of directors,including its chief executive officer, Stephen Kapczak,said, however, that the board members were electedaccording to the rules of the organization. According tothe organization, the UACF is officially managed by itsboard of directors, which meets annually to elect boardmembers and officers of the foundation and continuallyasserts that it is a public organization.

Mr. Kapczak said the lawsuit is nothing more than agroup of individuals – some who left the UACF when theresort’s future looked uncertain – now trying to get backin.

Questions regarding donations made to the UACF in2001 and 2002 also arose and, to date, the UACF has notmade those records public. Current executives of thefoundation say that a detailed breakdown of donationswill be made public by the beginning of 2003.

quarters in New York City. The idea for the InformationCenter came from an action plan developed by theUCCA’s Fourth Wave Committee and presented duringthe organization’s first executive board meeting of 2002.

Clergy from the Ukrainian Catholic Church, membersof the UCCA executive and national boards, representa-tives from various Ukrainian organizations and financialinstitutions, as well as many of Ukraine’s newest immi-grants gathered at the entrance of the UCCA’s building inlower Manhattan to dedicate the UCCA InformationCenter for New Immigrants on May 11. As in traditionalUkrainian ceremonies, members of the ensembleUkrainian Family, under the direction of OksanaLykhovyd, welcomed the public to the new premiseswith bread and salt, followed by the singing of theUkrainian national anthem.

UCCA President Michael Sawkiw Jr. introduced Ms.Lykhovyd, director of the UCCA’s Information Centerfor New Immigrants, who described the opening of thecenter as a truly “historic and timely event for Ukrainiansin the United States,” as it gives new immigrants themeans to use the services available at the center such asEnglish-as-a-Second Language (ESL), computer training,and even citizenship courses. “This will help the newimmigrants integrate themselves into American societyand be a part of the greater Ukrainian community,” Ms.Lykhovyd added.

Members of UCCA’s Fourth Wave Committee addedthat the center would be used to provide valuableresources and information for the newest Ukrainianarrivals to the United States, such as computer training,courses for citizenship, and legal and medical advice, aswell as a job training and apartment databank.

UCCA President Sawkiw on May 9 also submitted tes-timony to the Foreign Operations, Export Financing andRelated Programs Subcommittee of the House ofRepresentatives Appropriations Committee regarding for-eign assistance to Ukraine for Fiscal Year 2003. Mr.Sawkiw’s testimony before Congress included statementson the importance of U.S. funding to Ukraine, although itcomprises only 1 percent of the total U.S. federal budget.“U.S. foreign assistance is critical to promoting expan-sion of democracy and building lasting peace throughoutthe world,” Mr. Sawkiw said.

Construction of a long-anticipated new home for TheUkrainian Museum in New York City officially began inearly February 2002 with scaffolding surrounding theexisting structure located at 222 E. Sixth St., betweenSecond and Third avenues in the East Village section ofManhattan. Architects of the new building said it wouldhave 75 square feet of frontage and offer 25,000 squarefeet of space and would be constructed at a cost of $7.6million. The Ukrainian Museum, which has been in oper-ation at its present location, 203 Second Ave., for 25years, has been conducting a capital fund-raising cam-paign for more than a decade in support of this project.

On Sunday, December 8, The Ukrainian Museum cele-brated the completed construction of the building’s steelframe with a “topping out” ceremony; the placing of thefinal and highest beam, which links the infrastructure of anew building. The ceremony is marked by crowning thestructure with a tree, a branch or flowers – an act that rep-resents the attainment of an important milestone in thebuilding process.

Other singular rites and customs of the topping outceremony were observed during the event. The superin-tendent on the construction site, Bob Mankowski fromDiGiacomo & Son, received a Ukrainian embroideredhandkerchief instead of the traditional silk one. A“palanytsia,” a flat bread, was also shared with the partic-ipants during the event to express a traditional thank youto all who helped in the endeavor. In order to chase awayany evil spirits that may inhabit the new structure, themuseum placed an evergreen tree, imbued with spiritswith kindly dispositions, on the steel beam. The tree wasdestined to remain on the beam atop the infrastructureuntil the roof would cap the building.

Olha Hnateyko, president of The Ukrainian Museum’sboard of trustees, flanked by members of the board, pastand present, as well as the museum staff, recalled the$500,000 donation from Self Reliance (New York)Federal Credit Union and the princely gift of $2.5 mil-lion, plus an additional challenge grant of $1 million,from entrepreneur Eugene Shklar and his wife, Daymel.

The Ukrainian Museum also gained the support ofAmbassador Valeriy Kuchinsky, permanent representa-tive of Ukraine to the United Nations, and SerhiyPohoreltzev, the consul general of Ukraine in New YorkCity, who both offered to help the museum’s future proj-ects that promote involvement with museums and the artscommunity in Ukraine. The suggestions of cooperation

were made during a special visit to the museum in lateFebruary 2002 by the ambassador and the consul general,as well as the Mission’s Second Secretary DanyloLubkivsky.

Speaking to an attentive audience, AmbassadorKuchinsky said it is important for the Ukrainian diplo-mats posted in New York City to develop a working rela-tionship with the museum. For example, he said they canbe instrumental in facilitating the loan process for exhibi-tions from museums in Ukraine and assist, through TheUkrainian Museum, with helping young artists fromUkraine to explore and take advantage of career-buildingopportunities in the United States.

The ambassador emphasized that the Ukrainian diplo-mats will treat cooperative projects with the museum asmatters of great importance. “Our meeting today reflectsnot only our concern. It is a testimony of our readiness tohelp the museum staff in any way possible,” he said. “Foreach Ukrainian heart there can be no choice whether tosupport or not to support the museum, for it is throughthis sanctuary of Ukrainian presence in the United Statesthat our nation speaks to the world.”

In July came word that the Manhattan BoroughPresident’s Office had awarded the museum $125,000 incapital funds to support its new building project. Theaward was announced in a letter from Borough PresidentC. Virginia Fields. The museum also received a $12,000grant during 2002 from the New York State Council onthe Arts for the planning of an inaugural exhibit plannedfor the new building’s opening in the summer of 2003.

Over in New Jersey Ukrainians came out for a historicflag-raising ceremony at the governor’s mansion,Drumthwacket, in Princeton, N.J., to celebrate the 11thanniversary of Ukrainian independence. Officials at Gov.James E. McGreevey’s office counted approximately1,300 guests at the event and said the attendance made asignificant impact on the governor’s awareness of theUkrainian community in New Jersey.

During the program the governor noted Ukraine’s longstruggle for freedom and self-determination, and com-mended its citizens and the diaspora for upholding thatfight for so many years. “We must remember to support afree and independent Ukraine,” the governor said. “Thebattle for Ukrainian independence will not end on thisanniversary celebration or any future anniversary celebra-tion. That battle will always be there.”

Ukrainians of New York City continued their opposi-tion to the Large Scale Development Plan proposed byThe Cooper Union to expand buildings which the schoolowns in the East Village. Ukrainian residents, many ofwhom have lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years,argue that much of the school’s plan, centered on increas-ing the retail and commercial space in order to ease theschool’s financial burden, would create a corporate envi-ronment that would push longtime residents out of thearea.

The New York City Planning Commission approvedthe controversial development plan on September 3. Theplan the city passed would replace a six-story engineeringbuilding, located at 51 Astor Place, with a 212-foot office

Board members, staff and friends of The Ukrainian Museum gathered at the construction site of the newbuilding during the topping out ceremony on December 8. At the microphone is Olha Hnateyko, president of

the museum’s board of trustees.

B. Yaremko

Mr. Kapczak said the foundation has spent $304,000to rebuild the resort’s guest house, bring all past viola-tions to code and upgrade facilities. He said the UACFhas resumed hosting summer camps and the largely suc-cessful annual Ukrainian Festival, adding that the founda-tion is actively interested in attracting new business.

According to the UACF website, the UkrainianAmerican Cultural Foundation is a charitable not-for-profit foundation and is exempt from federal income taxunder section 501(A) of the Internal Revenue Code as anorganization described under section 501(c)(3).

Current UACF officers include: Mr. Kapczak, CEO;Iwan Nazarkewycz, president; Oleh Kolodiy, vice-presi-dent of activities; Oleh Dekajlo, legal counsel; WalterKlokiw, auditor; Christine Smetaniuk, treasurer; ZenonHolubec, community liaison; Andrew Rakowsky, vice-president of activities; Wasyl Kinach, technical support;and Jerry Sus, technical support. The UACF board ofdirectors includes: Mr. Kapczak, Mr. Nazarkewycz, Mr.Kolodiy, Mr. Dekajlo, Sonya Blanarovich, Mr. Holubec,Olena Kolodiy and Alison Kapczak.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed against current boardmembers of the UACF include Anton Filimonchuk andhis wife, Father Nestor Kowal and Stephan Palylyk.

The Ukrainian American Veterans got some help intheir efforts to get a national charter for their organizationwhen, on July 8 Reps. David Bonior (D-Mich.) and JackQuinn (R-N.Y.) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to fellowmembers of Congress asking for support of a bill to granta federal charter to the Ukrainian American Veterans.

The letter read in part: “This act is an important step torecognize the American veterans of foreign wars ofUkrainian descent. Like many other servicemen, theyhave sworn allegiance to the United States of Americaand risked and sacrificed their lives to protect the strate-gic interests and democratic values of the United Statesall over the world. With their roots in a country that was



suffering under the yoke of communism for most of thelast century, Ukrainian American veterans knew the realvalue of democracy and the free market, and bravely pro-tected and advanced them in all conflicts along withAmerican soldiers of other ethnic backgrounds.”

“In the past, the United States Congress has grantedfederal charters to Italian American, Jewish American,Polish American, as well as other ethnic veterans’ organi-zations. The Ukrainian American Veterans Inc. deservesthe same recognition. I urge you to sign onto H.R. 818and support its passing,” the letter concluded.

The UAV, meeting in Independence, Ohio, onSeptember 12-15 for its 55th national convention. Theconvention focused on the ongoing UAV RegistrationProject that would document the contributions ofUkrainian Americans to America’s military history.Another concern of the convention, at which MathewKoziak was elected national commander, was theVeterans History Project initiated by the United StatesLibrary of Congress and the American Folklife Centerwhere the UAV is an official sponsor. The mission of theVeterans History Project, which was inaugurated on June6 aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid, is to collect the memories,accounts and documents of veterans of World War I,World War II and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulfwars, and to preserve these stories of experience andservice for future generations.

Ukrainians in the United States also held a summit thatlooked at the topic of youth involvement in UkrainianAmerican organizations. Held on March 15-17 at theUkrainian National Association’s Soyuzivka resort, theinaugural Summit of Ukrainian American Organizationswas an informal discussion that attracted over 60 leadingdiaspora representatives and activists. The summit con-cluded without a new initiative or distinct solutionregarding the topic of engaging today’s “youth” butseemed to stimulate many ideas and much candid discus-sion. Andrij Wowk, national president of the UkrainianEngineers’ Society of America (UESA) and event co-organizer, called it “completely satisfying” and said theevent “should be repeated in other major diasporahotbeds such as Detroit and Cleveland.”

The executive committee of the Ukrainian AmericanCoordinating Council, the other umbrella organization ofUkrainians in the U.S., at its quarterly meeting onFebruary 16, reaffirmed its recognition of the UkrainianWorld Coordinating Council in Kyiv as the main non-governmental organization representing Ukrainians inUkraine and abroad and established a separate fund insupport of the UWCC. The UACC executive committeevoted to send $1,500 to the UWCC as its initial contribu-tion to the fund. The executive committee also approvedother donations totaling $1,550 for various educationaland charitable organizations in Ukraine and a $300 con-tribution for the Ukrainian teachers’ committee responsi-ble for developing Ukrainian language tests for second-ary school students in the state of New York.

The Palatine, Ill., branch of the Ukrainian AmericanYouth Association received a $100,000 state grant onFebruary 23 during a social evening at the Ukrainian

Cultural Center in Palatine. The money came from theIllinois First Member Initiative Fund, an initiative byGov. George Ryan which puts funds into the hands oflegislators to disburse to worthy causes in their communi-ties as they see fit. Illinois State Sens. Walter Dudycz andWendell Jones each sponsored $50,000 to go to the build-ing fund of the Cultural Center.

The Ukrainian National Women’s League of America(UNWLA) completed celebrations of its 75th anniversaryduring its 26th convention on May 24-27 at the HyattHotel in Sarasota, Fla. The diamond jubilee, whose cele-brations began in 2000, culminated with a special pro-gram at the convention during which each former presi-dent of the respected women’s organization was honoredfor her achievements and work.

During the banquet that evening, Honorary PresidentAnna Krawczuk officially recognized the new nationalboard, headed by Iryna Kurowyckyj, who was re-electedto a second term as president, and administered the oathof office. She also led the assemby in toasting the 75thanniversary of the UNWLA and the 26th UNWLAConvention. Congratulatory letters from dignitariesacross the country and around the world were read,including letters from President Leonid Kuchma,President George W. Bush, Ukrainian Greek-CatholicCardinal Lubomyr Husar and Patriarch Filaret of theUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate. A con-gratulatory statement from the World Federation ofUkrainian Women’s Organizations was personally deliv-ered by President Oksana Sokolyk and SvitlanaKocherha, representing Soyuz Ukrainok of Ukraine, reada warm message from Ukraine’s former Prime MinisterViktor Yushchenko.

On September 27-29 Ukrainian American BarAssociation members gathered at the SheratonRittenhouse Square Hotel in Philadelphia to celebrate theUABA’s 25th anniversary to participate in a professionalconference and to honor a select group of individuals fortheir special achievements.

During the UABA’s gala banquet on Saturday evening,Rep. Bob Schaffer of Colorado was presented with theUABA’s first Rule of Law Award in recognition of hisoutstanding work in supporting an independent Ukraine.Bohdan Futey, a federally appointed judge on the U.S.Court of Federal Claims received the UABA’s secondRule of Law Award.

Awards were also presented to attorneys who, accord-ing to the UABA, have changed in a significant way thelives of Ukrainian Americans burdened by labels rootedin Soviet propaganda and in the turbulent struggles ofWorld War II. Thus, Arthur Belendiuk, BohdannaPochoday-Stelmach and Askold S. Lozynskyj receivedthe Litigation Award for their work in winning a courtaction against CBS for a 1994 broadcast called “TheUgly Face of Freedom.”

The UABA was in the news in 2002 also after theorganization filed an amicus curiae brief to challenge aU.S. immigration court’s characterization of the PopularMovement of Ukraine (Rukh) as an anti-Semitic, perse-cutory organization. The author of the brief, which was

UCCA President Michael Sawkiw Jr. speaks during the November 16 requiem service at St. Patrick’sCathedral for victims of the 1932-1933 Great Famine. Seated are (from left) Bishop Basil Losten, Archbishop

Antony and Cardinal Lubomyr Husar.

Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organizationannounced a new project modeled after theU.S. Peace Corps called Project PAX. The pro-

ject’s goal is to help the people of Ukraine by pro-viding direct technical assistance in various socialprograms. The project will send highly trained Plastscouts age 18 to 35 into Ukraine to provide expertisein child care, education, the environment and healthin order to contribute to the betterment of Ukrainiansociety. The project would donate the skills andknowledge acquired by Plast scouts in the U.S. toUkrainians, while simultaneously giving Americanscouts an opportunity to rediscover their Ukrainianroots and would also help to preserve their uniquecultural heritage.

In an interview conducted by the Voice ofAmerica radio program on October 5, Ihor Mykyta,president of the U.S. National Plast Command, saidthat participants in the project would travel toUkraine for six to eight weeks, from the middle ofMay to the end of August. To date, the Plast U.S.A.website has eight specific projects listed, all spon-sored by the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund.

Other suggested topics include: the restoration ofmemorials, the renovation of an orphanage, workwith the physically handicapped at an orphanage,development of public relations for a museum, aswell as projects that seek to improve the way hospi-tals and orphanages use technology to keep track ofpatient records still other suggestions listed on thePlast U.S.A. website, include work with children,the environment and medical and educational insti-tutions.

The initiative for different projects, Mr. Mykytasaid, would come from interested scouts but anapplication must be accompanied by the support of asponsor and would need to be approved by the U.S.National Plast Command. Additionally, the sponsormust secure room and board for a Project PAX par-ticipant. Any individual who is interested in ProjectPAX or would like more information should contactthe U.S. National Plast Command by writing to PlastKPS – Project PAX, 144 Second Ave., New York,N.Y. 10003; calling, (212) 533-8991; visiting thewebsite http://www.plastusa.org/kps/paks.php; or e-mailing [email protected].

A new U.S. projectfocusing on Ukraine

Andrew Nynka



During 2002 a federal judge once again revokedthe U.S. citizenship of John Demjanjuk, whomthe Office of Special Investigations of the U.S.

Justice Department accuses of being a guard at severalNazi death and labor camps. The decision was handeddown on February 21. Ed Nishnic, spokesman for theDemjanjuk family, told The Weekly on February 27 thatMr. Demjanjuk would appeal the decision.

Judge Paul Matia of the Federal District Court inCleveland said there is enough evidence to prove Mr.Demjanjuk was a guard at Nazi death and forced laborcamps without eyewitness corroboration. The rulingcame a little more than eight months after a seven-daytrial in the case that ended on June 8, 2001.

“It is true that judges have ruled against us over thepast 25 years, and public opinion has seemed to beagainst us as well. Nevertheless, we have proven themwrong before and we have been vindicated. I am sureeverybody will remember that Mr. Demjanjuk waswrongfully convicted, spent seven years in solitary con-finement, and was sentenced to death by hanging due toan erroneous decision by a three-judge panel in Israel.They were wrong, and we were vindicated. We willappeal and will prove them wrong once again,” Mr.Nishnic told The Weekly.

Mr. Demjanjuk, 81, whose case was initiated morethan 25 years ago, has claimed that he served in theSoviet Army, was captured by German forces and was aprisoner of war. The Demjanjuk case dates back to1977, when the Ohio resident was first accused of being“Ivan the Terrible.” A naturalized U.S. citizen, he lostthat status in 1981, when a court stripped him of his cit-izenship. He was ordered deported and in 1986 wasextradited to Israel, where a war crimes trial began ayear later.

He was sentenced to death in 1988, but that convic-tion was overturned on appeal in 1993 by Israel’sSupreme Court, and Mr. Demjanjuk returned home toSeven Hills, Ohio. His citizenship was restored in 1998.In that 1998 ruling Judge Matia cited fraud on the partof U.S. government prosecutors and wrote that attor-neys of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of SpecialInvestigations (OSI) “acted with reckless disregard fortheir duty to the court and their discovery obligations”in failing to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence tothe Demjanjuk defense.

The Justice Department filed suit again on May 19,1999, seeking for the second time to revoke Mr.Demjanjuk’s U.S. citizenship on the grounds that heillegally gained entry into the United States and illegal-ly gained U.S. citizenship because he had concealed hisservice as a camp guard. Federal prosecutors now allegethat Mr. Demjanjuk served as a guard at the Sobibor,Majdanek and Flossenberg camps, and that he had beentrained at the Trawniki camp.

Mr. Demjanjuk denies that he ever served the Nazis,but admits giving false statements when entering theUnited States in order to escape repatriation to theSoviet Union. Attorney Michael Tigar said during thetrial in 2001 that his client is once again the victim ofmistaken identity. The New York Times of February 22reported that Mr. Tigar predicted Mr. Demjanjuk wouldbe cleared.

Later in the year, on June 16, the Simon WiesenthalCenter announced in a press release that it had officiallyasked Polish judicial authorities to investigate thecrimes allegedly committed by Mr. Demjanjuk inPoland during World War II in the Sobibor andMajdanek death camps and the Trawniki training camp.The move was the first step toward his possible extradi-tion to stand trial in Poland. The Wiesenthal Center’srequest was submitted in Warsaw at a meeting betweenDr. Efraim Zuroff, the center’s Israeli director and chiefNazi-hunter, and Leon Kieres, head of Poland’sNational Remembrance Institute.

According to various press reports, Poland wasstudying the issue. Prof. Kieres told the news media hisoffice is investigating whether it could “put forwardcharges against Demjanjuk” as a basis for seeking extra-dition. He explained that the review could take severalmonths.

Commenting on the Wiesenthal Center’s latest effortsrelated to the Demjanjuk case, Mr. Zuroff said, “In viewof the recent U.S. decision stripping Ivan Demjanjuk ofhis American citizenship, which confirmed his service

filed on April 22, was Andre Michniak, president of theUABA, who explained that the UABA became involvedbecause the decision characterizing Rukh as an anti-Semitic organization is considered legal precedent. As itstands today, a court or the INS can deny not only asylumbut also residence in the United States to applicants basedsolely on membership in Rukh.

The UABA’s “friend of the court brief” has providedaccurate information on Rukh to the Board ofImmigration Appeals, which might be utilized in futuredecisions. Mr. Michniak said the UABA also hopes tolimit what it considers an inaccurate characterization ofRukh to the facts of the case in which the characterizationwas originally made. If the BIA agrees with the UABA,the characterization of Rukh as anti-Semitic mightbecome limited to a certain time and place, and to specif-ic events; it would not be applicable to every member ofRukh. In other words, even if some Rukh members mighthave used the organization for isolated anti-Semiticactions, the organization itself would be considered nei-ther anti-Semitic nor persecutory. As a result, in order todeny asylum to members of Rukh on the basis of partici-pation in the commission of persecutory acts, INS attor-neys would need to show that the person applying forasylum actually participated in persecutory acts ratherthan relying simply on the applicant’s membership inRukh.

The New York Metro Chapter of the UkrainianMedical Association of North America held the first of aplanned series of discussions, “How to enter the medicalmainstream: Ukraine to U.S. – the success stories,” withnewly arrived Ukrainian physicians on May 11 at theSelfreliance Association building in Manhattan.

NY Metro officers, led by President Dr. AlexandraKushnir, hosted a gathering of enthusiastic and inquisi-tive health care professionals from Ukraine seeking tolearn about the process of accrediting their skills foracceptance and use in the United States. The panelistsexplained what channels are open to newly arrived healthcare specialists, how to prepare for the inevitable seriesof examinations, as well as various job options within themedical professions.

The four-hour discussion was the first of a series ofmeetings representing a new initiative spearheaded by theNew York Metro Chapter to make UMANA an associa-tion more relevant to its members, and more sensitive tothe needs and concerns of Ukrainian-born colleagues.

In other news, Ukrainian Fraternal Association held its25th Convention at the Clarion Hotel on June 17-20,electing a new president, Jaroslaw Gawur, a former man-ager of the Verkhovyna resort once owned by the UFAand a former UFA auditor. The convention proceedingswere opened by the outgoing president, John Oleksyn. Inattendance were 59 delegates and members of the UFASupreme Council.

Mr. Oleksyn, 80, was feted at a retirement luncheon atthe Radisson Hotel in Scranton. He was recognized fornearly 30 years of service to the organization and wasnamed an honorary member of the UFA SupremeCouncil.

The Ukrainian Music Institute of America – the largestmusic school in the Ukrainian diaspora – assembled stu-dents, alumni, teachers and friends at Carnegie Hall’sstately Weill Recital Hall on October 27 for a concert cel-ebrating the organization’s 50th anniversary.

Ukrainians also commemorated the 75th anniversaryof the 1932-1933 Ukrainian Famine-Genocide with thefourth annual ecumenical requiem service held at St.Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on November 16.Prior to the requiem service a bill was introduced in theU.S. Congress to erect a memorial in Washington to thevictims of the Famine.

At the initiative of the Ukrainian Congress Committeeof America (UCCA), Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, wasapproached with the idea of constructing the monument.The Famine Memorial Bill, H.R. 5289, provides for aparcel of land in Washington for the construction of amemorial, which would be dedicated in 2008 in com-memoration of the 75th anniversary of the Famine.

The bill recognizes the horrific nature of the man-made famine in Ukraine, stating it was “not broughtabout by natural causes such as pestilence, drought,floods, or poor harvest, but as a consequence of a pre-meditated policy on the part of the Soviet government ledby Joseph Stalin to crush the nationally consciousUkrainian people and destroy their national, political, cul-tural and religious rights.” The bill has been referred tothe Resources Committee of the House ofRepresentatives, specifically to the Subcommittee onNational Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. As of

August 6 the Famine Memorial Bill had 40 co-sponsors.Some 3,500 Ukrainians, as well as Cardinal and Major

Archbishop Lubomyr Husar, primate of the UkrainianGreek-Catholic Church, and other Ukrainian Catholicand Orthodox Church hierarchs gathered for the ecu-menical requiem service offered for the victims of theGreat Famine at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

During 2002, updated data on the total number ofUkrainians in the United States were released in 2002.The 2000 Census supplementary survey showed that theestimated 862,416 Ukrainians living in the U.S. was not acompletely accurate number and could be characterizedas an underestimate. Updated 2000 census data on ances-try showed the real number closer to 893,055 Ukrainiansliving in the United States, reported Dr. Oleh Wolowyna.

The census gave detailed information on variablessuch as: first and second ancestry, age, sex, marital status,place of birth, year of immigration (for immigrants), citi-zenship status, education, school attendance and type ofschool, occupation, income of individuals and families,relationship to the head of the household, etc. The censusalso revealed detailed information about housing charac-teristics: rent/own status, numbers of rooms and bed-rooms, year of structure, mortgage payment, rent, valueof house, as well as information on the number ofUkrainians living in a given state and migration patternswithin the United States.

Ukrainians in the U.S. also hosted a major conferencethat brought experts from the United States, Ukraine, theEuropean Union and NATO together in Washington onOctober 8-9 to evaluate Ukraine’s prospects for eventualintegration into the structures of the EuroAtlantic com-munity. Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Nation Statehood –Roundtable III: “Ukraine and the EuroAtlanticCommunity” took into account Ukraine’s efforts to movematters from theory to practice, by exploring four majorareas of discussion. The conference’s topics assessed: theprogress of Ukraine’s transition to EuroAtlantic struc-tures, the state of European Union-Ukraine relations, thestate of U.S.-Ukraine relations and the state of NATO-Ukraine relations. The conference featured 12 panels andtwo working luncheons, as well as keynote addresses bySen. Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed ServicesCommittee and Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York.

The Ukrainian Institute of America presented its Manof the Year 2002 Award to Mayor OleksanderOmelchenko of Kyiv at a gala dinner in New York City’sPlaza Hotel on December 9. Walter Nazarewicz, presi-dent of the UIA, presented the award to Mr. Omelchenkoand cited the mayor as the “primary mover of the renais-sance of Kyiv.”

Mr. Omelchenko also appeared at a press conferencewith world heavyweight boxing superstars Vitalii andVolodymyr Klitschko at UIA headquarters on 2 E. 79thSt., where he was awarded the honorary title of NewYork State boxing commissioner by Jerome M. Becker,commissioner of the New York State AthleticCommission.

Mr. Omelchenko’s two-day trip to New York includeda meeting with students and faculty at ColumbiaUniversity’s Harriman Institute; a trip to Ground Zero,the site of the collapsed World Trade Center, where heplaced a wreath in commemoration of the terror attacksof 9/11; a private interview with an editor from BusinessWeek magazine; as well as a visit to St. GeorgeUkrainian Catholic Church and School in New York’sEast Village.

The UIA announced plans to commemorate 2003 witha series of yearlong programs that are intended to show“the changes and the beauty of the ‘new’ Kyiv,” a UIApress release said. Mr. Omelchenko opened the first ofthose programs during his trip to New York on December10. Included in the exhibit were over 70 images of pres-ent-day Kyiv, video presentations and other informationon the city’s history, as well as statistics on developmentsin education, commerce, infrastructure, housing, religionand advertising. According to the chair of the exhibitcommittee, Ulana Baczynskyj, the Year of theRenaissance of Kyiv program tries to capture the changestaking place in Kyiv and “conveys it in the form of amultimedia experience and brings you momentaryimmersion into Kyiv city life.” The exhibit committeealso added that additional programs would follow at two-month intervals and are planned to focus on architecture,art, music and fashion designers of Kyiv.

In conjunction with the UIA’s Renaissance of Kyivprogram The Weekly ran a six-week series of articlestitled “Renaissance of Kyiv.” The topics included reli-gion, culture, fashion, economics, as well as features onworld champion boxers Vitalii and Volodymyr Klitschkoand Mr. Omelchenko.

Demjanjuk, and otherstargeted by the OSI


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWto throw an innocent old man out of the only country hehas called home for half a century. I believe in justiceand I trust that somehow it will be served to me fairlywhen all is said and done. Any intervention on mybehalf would be greatly appreciated.”

At year’s end, on December 26, federal officials filedpapers at the District Court in Brooklyn to denaturalizeJaroslaw Bilaniuk, 79, of Douglaston, Queens. Onceagain the Trawniki camp is at the heart of the matter, asthe OSI alleges that Mr. Bilaniuk, after being trained atTrawniki, was a guard at the adjacent forced labor campand that he concealed that activity in order to gain entryinto the United States.

The Bilaniuk family issued a statement to the presson December 27, stating that Mr. Bilaniuk “is innocentand he was not involved in any persecution of any peo-ple during World War II.”

“Our family and relatives were also victims of theNazi regime and sheltered Jews in Ukraine risking thepenalty of death. Unfortunately, our husband and fatheris the victim of overzealous prosecutors working to jus-tify their existence by superimposing the crimes of theNazi regime on an innocent, law-abiding citizen of theUnited States of America. The first step of a smear cam-paign and vilification in the press is taking place now toarouse the emotions of the reader.”

“Our father raised his sons to believe in Americanideals and we are confident that justice will be servedand our father vindicated, despite the fact that this sameOSI office was found to have committed fraud with its‘win at any cost’ attitude by a U.S Circuit Court ofAppeals,” the family noted.

According to the Department of Justice, 71 individu-als who assisted in Nazi persecution have been strippedof U.S. citizenship and 57 have been removed from theUnited States since the OSI began operations in 1979.In addition, more than 150 individuals who sought toenter the United States in recent years have beenblocked from doing so as a result of the OSI’s “WatchList” program. Some 160 persons remain under investi-gation by the OSI.

at Polish concentration camps, it would be extremelyimportant for him to be tried for the crimes he commit-ted during World War II.” He added, “We, therefore, areurging the Polish authorities to initiate an investigationof this case as quickly as possible with a view towardDemjanjuk’s extradition for trial in Poland.”

The Plain Dealer quoted Joseph McGinness, aCleveland lawyer who has represented men suspectedof helping the Nazis, as saying that Mr. Demjanjuk hasgone through enough. “He has been through hell,” saidMr. McGinness, who has not handled the Demjanjukcase. “They’re trying to destroy this man, absolutelydestroy him, and it’s just not right.”

* * * Meanwhile, at least three other Ukrainians were the

subjects of legal action by the Office of SpecialInvestigations.

On May 9, the Justice Department asked a federalcourt in Brooklyn, N.Y., to revoke the U.S. citizenshipof Jakiw Palij, 78, of Jamaica Heights in Queens for hisalleged participation “in acts of persecution againstJewish civilians while serving during World War II asan armed guard at an SS slave-labor camp in Nazi-occu-pied Poland.” The OSI alleges that Mr. Palij trained atthe Trawniki training camp and subsequently served atthe adjacent slave-labor camp in Trawniki as a guard ofJewish civilian prisoners. The complaint also allegedthat Mr. Palij lied when he applied for a U.S. immigra-tion visa, misrepresenting his true wartime activities.

The Daily News reported that Mr. Palij is not accusedof any specific atrocities, but that “guards like himforced prisoners to work and prevented them fromescaping.” The newspaper also noted that Mr. Palij sayshe was forced to serve with the Nazis. No trial date hasyet been set for the case.

Speaking in May, OSI Director Eli Rosenbaum stat-ed: “There will be more [cases] in the next few weeks.”He declined to give any more details.

On October 25, a federal immigration court inManhattan ordered that Mykola Wasylyk, 79, ofEllenville, N.Y., be deported, also on the basis that heparticipated in the persecution of Jewish civilians dur-ing the second world war. The move came after Mr.Wasylyk’s U.S. citizenship was revoked in July 2001 bythe District Court in Syracuse, N.Y., which found thatthe defendant should have been ineligible for an immi-grant visa and that he had committed fraud when apply-ing for entry into this country by concealing his wartimeservice. Documents filed by the OSI say that Mr.Wasylyk was trained at the Trawniki camp and thenserved as an armed guard at the slave-labor camp there.Later, the OSI charges, he served as a guard at theBudzyn labor camp.

Also in October, Mr. Wasylyk penned a letter to U.S.Attorney General John Ashcroft, appealing for his inter-vention at “the eleventh hour.” He wrote: “I am seekinga reprieve, a waive of deportation, a miracle.”

Mr. Wasylyk went on to tell Mr. Ashcroft his story,explaining that he and other young Ukrainian men wererounded up by the Nazis. “They loaded us all into cattleboxcars, took us into Polish territory, and dropped us inthe town of Trawniki. ... We were informed that theywere going to train us. ... Approximately two monthslater, they ordered us to walk the perimeter of our camp.We learned that, on the other side, Jewish prisonerswere working in a nearby factory, but we never sawthem. Soon after, they transferred our unit to Budzyn,about 100 kilometers away. Nearby, behind a wirefence, were civilian people working in a German facto-ry about 2 kilometers from us. We were never allowedany physical interaction with them. Occasionally theyused us as watchmen behind the fence outside of thecamp ...”

Mr. Wasylyk underscored: “To date, no one has pro-vided any evidence of war criminality against me. I didnot join the SS auxiliary forces or voluntarily serve withthem in Trawniki or Budzyn. There is no evidence ofany incident in which I was involved that could be con-sidered as directed wrongfully at any other individual,whether a forced laborer-prisoner, or any other person.”

He concluded his letter by noting: “After three years of this constant harassment, I am

emotionally, mentally and financially drained. I am onvarious medications for my heart, prostate and doublehip replacement surgeries. I have great difficulty walk-ing with a cane and my hearing is poor. I would bepleased to provide you with all of my pertinent medicalrecords should they be required.

“I have nothing to hide and everything to lose. “In closing, I am appealing to you, as one human

being to another. Please do not allow our justice system

knocking Donald out in the 10th round. It was the first timethe 35-year-old Donald was knocked out in his 44-fightcareer. Klitschko, 32-1 with 31 knockouts, dropped Donaldfive times before the referee counted “The Legend” outwith 23 seconds left in the 10th round.

With the win against Donald the spotlight now rests onVitalii Klitschko, the mandatory challenger for LennoxLewis. However, the final details of the duel have yet to beironed out as the fight has been canceled and rescheduledrepeatedly. The fight is currently scheduled for March 2003,but rumors from the Lennox Lewis came have the Britishfighter walking away from a Klitschko fight in order to boxMike Tyson.

According to a November 18 issue of Sports Illustrated,which featured the Klitschko brothers, Tommy Brooks,who trained both Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, saidthat although he does not see Vitalii beating Lewis, wereVolodymyr to box Lewis, the Ukrainian would “cleanLennox’s clock.” The SI article also spoke highly of theintelligence of both brothers, saying: “[Vitalii] Klitschkoappears to be more accomplished than Lewis, having hungin with former world [chess] champ Garry Kasparov for 31moves during a 2001 chess exhibition. This year he playedboth Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz [in chess] – thereigning human and computer champs, respectively – todraws.”

Perhaps the brightest light in Ukraine’s performance atthe Olympic Games in Salt Lake City this past year was theperformance of the men’s ice hockey team.

On Saturday, February 9, even before the puck droppedat center ice in Ukraine’s first preliminary round game ver-sus Belarus, a tremendous sense of accomplishment sur-rounded the Ukrainian club. The 2002 Winter Games wereUkraine’s first ever participation in Olympic hockey com-petition. Previously, Ukraine had earned its status in theupper echelon of hockey nations by winning the 1998 B-Pool World Championships.

Team Ukraine boasted three semi-noteworthyUkrainian-born wingers with varying levels of NationalHockey League experience: 12-year veteran DmitriKhristich of the Washington Capitals, second-year rookieRuslan Fedotenko of the Philadelphia Flyers and 21-year-old Alexei Ponikarovsky of the Toronto Maple Leafs,recalled from the American Hockey League’s St. John’sLeafs in mid-January.

Initially the Philadelphia Flyers were not too keen on theidea of giving Fedotenko permission to go to the Olympics,but General Manager Bobby Clarke had a change of heartafter he realized Fedotenko was one of only a handful ofNHL players on Ukraine’s roster.

Team Ukraine gained its Olympic ice hockey berth byplacing third at the Olympic Qualification Tournament forthe Salt Lake City Games in Oslo, Norway, on August 2,2001, and followed up this performance with a top-10 fin-ish at the 2001 World Championships in Germany.

With two wins and one loss in Group B of the Olympichockey competition’s preliminary round, Ukraine’s recordwas equal to that of the Belarusian team that emerged atopthe group that also included Switzerland and France.

In the end, the deciding match-up was Team Ukraine’sfirst Olympic game, played against Belarus on February 9that Ukraine lost by a score of 1-0.

Ukraine won its next two games against Switzerland andFrance to tie Belarus with four points at the conclusion ofGroup B preliminary round competition. Belarus won itsgame against France (3-1), but lost to Switzerland (2-1).Thus, Belarus’ victory over Ukraine allowed theBelarusians to move on to play the Russian Federation inthe next round.

The result against Belarus – a one-goal difference –turned out to be the key factor in Ukraine’s relegation toplay for ninth place against Latvia, a lopsided game whichUkraine lost 9-2.

The best result Ukraine’s athletes could muster at theWinter Games was a pair of fifth-place finishes in men’sfreestyle aerials and women’s 30-kilometer cross-countryskiing.

In both events the fifth-place results came as a pleasantand unexpected surprise for the competitors, highlighting abright spot in Ukraine’s disappointing final medal count ofzero.

In the men’s freestyle aerials event, Stanislav Kravchuktold The Weekly that he expected to do no better than sixthplace, but was shooting to place in the top 10. Mr.Kravchuk’s fifth-place finish was seen as one of Ukraine’shighlights during the Salt Lake Games. The other brightspots for Ukraine were Valentyna Shevchenko, who took anunexpected fifth-place finish in the women’s 30-kilometercross-country event, and Lilia Ludan, whose sixth-placefinish in the women’s luge surprised many people.

The overall disappointment in the Ukrainian camp came

The 19th Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City,Utah, were largely a disappointment for the world ofUkrainian sports in 2002. The Ukrainian delegation,

which had some strong medal hopefuls and a handful ofoutside shots at medals, walked away from Salt Lakeempty-handed.

However, the performance of world champion boxersVitalii and Volodymyr Klitschko made worldwide newsand introduced much of the boxing world to the tall, sleekand intelligent Ukrainian boxing duo which, at the close ofthe year, seemed poised to prove themselves as the best inthe sport.

Most recently, Volodymyr Klitschko defeated AmericanJameel McCline with a 10th round knockout on December7 in Las Vegas to successfully defend his WBO worldchampionship title. Klitschko won nine of 10 rounds ontwo scorecards and eight on the third, but was fighting cau-tiously throughout the bout. Since the younger Klitschkohad boxed in Germany for most of his career, the fight wasseen as Volodymyr’s first big challenge in the UnitedStates.

The 26-year-old Volodymyr also defended his title onJune 29 against Ray Mercer, winning by technical knockout(TKO) with 1 minute, 8 seconds left in the sixth round.Mercer, whose record was 30-4-1 with 22 knockouts, wasbloodied and humbled. In defeating Mercer by TKO,Klitschko (whose record before this bout was 38-1 with 35knockouts) did what no other fighter in the world had everdone.

Prior to fighting Mercer, the WBO champion dealt amethodical eight-round beating to South African FransBotha at Hanns-Martin Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart,Germany, on March 16. Botha showed toughness, but wasable to generate little offense against the 6-foot-7-inchVolodymyr, who rained hard blows on the “White Buffalo”repeatedly before finally bludgeoning Botha to the mat inthe eighth round.

Volodymyr’s older brother, Vitalii, successfully defendedhis World Boxing Association title against Larry Donald onNovember 23 in front of a crowd of 10,000 people in theWestfalenhalle arena in Dortmund, Germany.

Vitalii boxed skillfully throughout the fight before

The sports world:boxing, Olympics, etc


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWcompeted in the Pan-American Games, the World Cup andat the Olympic Games in the years between 1956 and 1964.

Mr. Snylyk played on three U.S. Olympic Teams – in1956, 1960 and 1964 – and was captain of the first two. Atthe time Mr. Snylyk was the only American player in histo-ry to make three Olympic teams. Twice he played on U.S.National Teams in the Pan-American Games – in 1959,when he was team captain, and in 1963.

On the three types of U.S. National Teams, Mr. Snylykrepresented America in a combined total of 92 internationalmatches.

With the U.S. National Teams, Mr. Snylyk traveled allover the world, competing on all five continents. To him aparticularly memorable event was the preliminary matchfor the World Cup on November 13, 1960, in Mexico City.He cherished the historic photograph immortalizing thisevent, which shows him standing in the middle of the field,the stadium brimming with 115,000 spectators, and, as cap-tain of the U.S. World Cup Team, presenting a pennant tothe captain of the Mexican squad.

Above all, Mr. Snylyk was a Ukrainian patriot and thatoutlook informed his editorial policy. As top editor of UNApublications for a period of over 36 years, he made surethey reflected the views and values of the Ukrainian com-munity in America. He was a passionate defender of thepurity of the Ukrainian literary language, vehementlyopposing the Russification of Ukrainian language andorthography so evident in Soviet and post-Soviet Ukraine.

Former U.S. Olympian Yaro Dachniwsky of Chicagocarried the Olympic torch in Racine, Wis., in early Januaryas it traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 2002 WinterOlympic Games, which began on February 8.

Mr. Dachniwsky, a former professional soccer player,today is senior manager of corporate sales for the ChicagoFire of Major League Soccer. He was a member of the1996 U.S. Olympic Handball Team, playing the position ofgoalkeeper and contributing mightily to the team’s ninthplace finish in Atlanta – the best U.S. Olympic Team finishever in that sport.

In the world of chess, Ruslan Ponomaryov, 18, ofKramatorsk on January 23, became the new champion ofthe world, after defeating his countryman, Vasyl Ivanchukof Lviv, by a score of 4 1/2:2 1/2 in the final match of theworld chess championship, staged by the InternationalChess Federation FIDE in Moscow.

The winner went undefeated, posting a record of twowins and five draws. Mr. Ponomaryov is the first Ukrainianand the youngest player ever to capture the world title. Theworld championship match between Ukraine’s top twograndmasters had been described as an event of epic signifi-cance for Ukrainian chess.

For the first time in history Ukraine possesses boththe team and the individual world chess championships– and both of them have Ruslan Ponomaryov written all

mainly from the women’s biathlon team which resulted inthe firing of a biathlon coach and biathlon team leader.Prior to the Winter Games in Salt Lake City it seemed thegreatest hope for a Ukrainian medal would rest with thebiathlon team, specifically Olena Zubrylova. Ms.Zubrylova finished 34th in the 15-kilometer event, whathad arguably been her strongest event. She had earned agold medal in that same event at the 1999 WorldChampionships.

Vladimir Platonov, vice-president of the NOC-Ukraineand rector of the State University of Physical Education andSport, later told The Weekly that poor preparation and inter-nal dissension were behind the failure of Ukraine’sOlympians to win a single medal in Salt Lake City.

Additionally, Mr. Platonov also admitted that cross-country skier Iryna Terelia, who, along with Russian cross-country skier Larissa Lazutina was disqualified from thecross-country relay on the final day of competition, hadindeed taken a banned substance, which had enhanced herred blood cell count. He called the incident unfortunate andexplained that neither her federation nor her coaches sanc-tioned her action.

It was later suggested that the problems for the biathlonteam began after the squad reached the top of the sport withits world championship in 1999. Then the federation’s pres-ident, Ivan Biekov, who had directed it since 1991 and led itto the top spot in the world, was replaced. To help in raisingbadly needed funds, the new federation head asked busi-nessmen to get involved in the federation’s activities. Thebusinessmen, however, put the accent on developing theircommercial projects at the expense of the federation’s suc-cesses, explained Mr. Platonov, and the squad’s downhillslide began. As a consequence, many of the leading trainersthat Mr. Biekov had retained left as well.

Ukrainian biathlete Ms. Zubrylova and her personalcoach and husband, Roman Zubrylov, then moved toBelarus on July 9 after expressing dissatisfaction with theway the Ukrainian sports officials have treated them. Ms.Zubrylova’s contract expired this past year and the renego-tiation process with Ukrainian authorities failed, causing theZubrylovs to leave.

Ms. Zubrylova is not the first Ukrainian winter sport ath-lete to decide to stop performing under the Ukrainian flag.Earlier, several athletes had left for Russia. A top freestyleskier, Alla Tsuper, was the first to trade her Ukrainian citi-zenship for a Belarusian one, in order to obtain the opportu-nity to train in adequate conditions.

Ms. Zubrylova is no ordinary athlete. Her first successcame in 1997 when she won three silver medals in individ-ual events at the World Championships. In 1999 Ms.Zubrylova brought Ukraine a World Cup gold medal as shecrossed the finish line of the 15-kilometer race with aUkrainian flag in her hands. In all, she has won four WorldChampionship gold medals during her career. Although herperformance during the Salt Lake City Olympics, whereshe failed to medal, was disappointing, she made a come-back later during the 2002 season, winning a WorldChampionship title in Holmenkollen, Norway, in March.

In preparing for the 2002 Olympic Games members ofUkraine’s biathlon, cross-country and figure skating teams

spent several weeks prior to the opening of the 19th WinterOlympiad training in Sun Valley, Idaho, thanks in large partto the work of Laryssa Barabash-Temple, attaché for theNational Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Jack Sibbach ofthe Sun Valley Company, and Chip Fisher, president of theIdaho governor’s Olympic Committee. Ms. Temple wasalso instrumental in securing press accreditation for TheWeekly at the Salt Lake Games.

On the women’s side of Olympic hockey competition,Tammy Lee Shewchuk, a member of Team Canada’swomen’s Olympic gold medal ice hockey team, met withover 150 students of the Metropolitan Andrey SheptytskyUkrainian Saturday School in Montreal on April 6.According to the newspaper Ukrainian News, Ms.Shewchuk “explained to her audience how her grandpar-ents played an important role in her upbringing and [in]teaching her to speak Ukrainian – and talked about howproud she was of her Ukrainian heritage.”

Zenon Snylyk, a former editor of The Ukrainian Weeklyand former editor-in-chief of the Svoboda daily, passedaway on January 21, at the age of 68. His sports biographyearned him renown, and a place in history, as Mr. Snylykplayed on and captained U.S. National Soccer Teams that

Ukraine’s Olympic ice hockey team (right) congratulates Team Latvia (left) following a 9-2 loss to the Balticcountry on February 14. Team Ukraine, which for the first time competed in Olympic ice hockey, finished

the 16-team tournament in 10th place.

WBO heavyweight champion Volodymyr Klitschko (right) holds up his belt with his brother, Vitalii, afterdefeating Ray Mercer at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., on June 29.

Andrew Nynka

AP/Mary Godleski

over them.Mr. Ponomaryov was born on October 11, 1983, in the

city of Horlivka in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Helearned chess moves at age 7 and since the age of 12 hasbeen living under the guidance of a full-time chess coach.In the under-18 age category he won the European champi-onship at age 12 and the world championship at 13.

Twelve-year-old Ukrainian Serhiy Karjakin became theyoungest person to achieve the rank of grand master duringthe Sudak Tournament in Ukraine on August 2-12. Mr.Karjakin was 12 years and exactly 7 months old when heattained the rank. Before Mr. Karjakin, the youngest grandmaster was Bu Xiangzhi of China at age 13 years, 10months and 13 days. Mr. Ponomaryov became a grandmaster when he was 14 years and 17 days old, while world-renowned grand master Bobby Fischer accomplished thefeat when he was 15 years, 6 months and 1 day old.

The youngster, Mr. Karjakin, was also one of Mr.Ponomaryov’s official trainers during the all-UkrainianFIDE championship between Ponomaryov and VasylIvanchuk of Lviv on January 23 in Moscow.

Additionally, the 2002 chess championship of theUkrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada(USCAK) took place on October 5 at the Verkhovyna resortin Glen Spey, N.Y. The 12 participants included representa-tives of five Ukrainian American sports clubs plus twounaffiliated recent arrivals from Ukraine.

Five rounds of competition using the Swiss system pro-duced a clear winner in Borys Baczynskyj (Tryzub,Philadelphia), a chess master and winner of manyUkrainian tournaments, who posted a score of 4:1. Mr.Baczynskyj had victories over the reigning USCAK cham-pion, Olexa Podebryi, and Peter Radomskyj, the only othermaster in this year’s event. The winner’s prize was $200.

In soccer news, legendary Ukrainian soccer coachValerii Lobanovsky, 63, died on May 13 after suffering astroke. Almost 100,000 people descended on DynamoStadium in Kyiv on May 16 to pay homage to the soccercoach.

Mr. Lobanovsky was coaching a game between hisDynamo Kyiv and Zaporizhia Metallurg on May 9, whenhe became ill, but stayed on the field until his team hadattained victory before being transferred to a local hospitalby emergency vehicle. He was reported to have suffered astroke, and his condition worsened in the next three days.He died in Zaporizhia after a second stroke and a brainoperation that failed to improve his situation.

Forty minutes into the viewing, the lines were halted as alarge group of national deputies numbering more than ahundred entered the stadium, led by National DeputiesValerii Pustovoitenko, a former head of the UkrainianSoccer Federation, Leonid Kravchuk, the country’s firstpresident, and Viktor Medvedchuk.

Shortly after that, President Leonid Kuchma, PrimeMinister Anatolii Kinakh and a bevy of ministers and gov-ernment officials paid their respects. President Kuchma toldreporters that Mr. Lobanovsky meant much more toUkraine than simply soccer.

With thousands of people lining the streets of Kyiv, thehearse bearing the casket of the late legend was movedfrom the stadium to Baikove Cemetery on the afternoon ofMay 16, where Mr. Lobanovsky was given a state burial.

On the day of his death, President Kuchma posthumous-ly awarded Mr. Lobanovsky the Hero of Ukraine medal.The same day the Kyiv Dynamo board of directors voted to


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWchange the name of Dynamo Stadium to Dynamo-Lobanovsky Stadium.

In diaspora sports the Carpathian Ski Club’s (KLK)annual ski races were held on February 23 at Ski Windhamin Windham, N.Y. Close to 60 skiers competed in the raceheld annually in the Catskill Mountains of New York state.Along with the various skiing categories the 2002 KLKraces introduced snowboard racing in a separate category,and six athletes of various ages competed on snowboards.

Awards were presented that evening during a banquetfor skiers, their families and guests, held at HunterMountain in nearby Hunter, N.Y. KLK leaders ErkoPalydowycz, Orest Fedash and Zenon Stakhiv conductedthe evening’s program.

In diaspora soccer news, Nicolaus Kasian was inductedon April 27 into the Hall of Fame of the Philadelphia OldTimers Soccer Association in recognition of his outstandingachievements and contributions in the sport of soccer. Thishonor was followed on May 1 by formal recognition of his35 years of distinguished service by the PhiladelphiaReferees Association. These events marked the culminationof a career devoted to soccer.

The 46th annual Labor Day weekend swim meet washeld at the Ukrainian National Association’s Soyuzivkaresort on August 31 by the Carpathian Ski Club (KLK)under the auspices of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of theU.S.A. and Canada (known by its Ukrainian acronym,USCAK). Trophies and ribbons awarded to individual ath-letes and teams were funded by the Ukrainian NationalAssociation.

Fifty swimmers registered to compete in the meet –among them 17 members of Chornomorska Sitch, a likenumber of members of the Ukrainian American YouthAssociation (SUM), five from the Tryzub sports club andthree from Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization.

Ultimately, it was the SUM swimmers who were tri-umphant, winning the team trophy for most points scoredduring the meet, a total of 168 earned by its athletes.Second place went to Sitch with 145 points. Tryzub earned59 points, while Plast earned 18.

Also during the Labor Day weekend, USCAK held the47th annual national tennis championships at Soyuzivka,the resort of the Ukrainian National Association. This pastyear’s tournament was dedicated to the memory of ZenonSnylyk, a great athlete, chief editor of The UkrainianWeekly and Svoboda, and a member of USCAK’s tenniscommittee, who passed away in January 2002. The dedica-tion ceremony was a celebration of Mr. Snylyk’s life andwas presented during the opening activities of the tennistournament and the swimming championships, which wereheld concurrently at Soyuzivka.

Almost 60 tennis players of various age groups partici-pated in this year’s tournament. The Ukrainian NationalAssociation sponsored the trophy awards. As in manyprevious years, the firm of Winner Group fromWilmington, Del., whose owner and president is JohnHynansky, sponsored the financial stipends for the men’s,women’s and junior groups. This year the total amount ofstipends was $3,500.

In the men’s group, Mark Oryskevich from Chicagodefended last year’s title by defeating Andrew Salak in athree-and-a-half-hour-long final. In the women’s group,last year’s finalist, Ann Marie Schumsky from WestHartford, Conn., won the title by defeating MayaMilanytch in two sets.

Spanning the globe – that might well be the bestdescription of the activity of Ukrainian scholarly cir-cles during 2002, as major events and developments

were recorded in the United States, Germany, Ukraine,Canada and elsewhere.

Following is a chronological summary of the most sig-nificant news in the world of academia.

• The Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) inFebruary announced plans to launch a website devoted tothe Ukrainian translation of George Orwell’s satire ofRussian Communism, “Animal Farm.” Ihor Sevcenko, aco-founder of HURI published the translation in 1947under the pseudonym Ivan Cherniatynskyi, after exchang-ing letters with Orwell. The translation was seen by Orwellas a valuable tool for Eastern European intellectual circlesin opposition to Stalin’s tyranny. As part of the project, theoriginal version and a previously unpublished reviewedversion that Prof. Sevcenko worked out with Orwell will bemade available. In addition, the website will feature Orwelland Sevcenko’s correspondence and analysis of the work.

• Also in February, HURI held a book presentation andreception for Patricia Kennedy Grimsted’s trailblazingstudy “Trophies of War and Empire: The Archival Heritageof Ukraine, World War II, and the International Politics ofRestitution” (Cambridge, Mass.: HURI, 2001). On thisoccasion, Dr. Grimsted presented an update on the recentlypublished volume. Dr. Grimsted’s book has had the mostreview requests of any HURI book and has won praisefrom specialists in such diverse fields as archival studies,history, the Holocaust, restitution studies and internationallaw.

• Ukrainian intellectual heavyweights from around theglobe, including representatives of two respected academicsocieties, gathered in Kyiv on February 12 to announce therelease of the first volume of the Encyclopedia of ModernUkraine. The encyclopedia, which is expected to consist of25 volumes with some 65,000 entries at its completion, wasdeveloped to document the development of Ukrainian soci-ety and culture in the 20th century and the transformationof the Ukrainian nation into an independent state, whichtoday is a decade old. The encyclopedia was a joint effort ofthe National Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Kyiv,and the Shevchenko Scientific Society, an internationalorganization centered in New York. Leading scholars ofboth organizations, from Ukraine and abroad, contributedto its development.

• The Ukrainian Free University in Munich began itsyear with a special occasion, as Helmut Kohl, former chan-cellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, received LeonidRudnytzky, rector of the Ukrainian Free University (UFU),in a special audience held in Berlin on February 14. Theoccasion was the presentation of a commemorative bookletcontaining photographs and speeches from a ceremony heldon December 4, 2000, during which Chancellor Kohl wasawarded an honorary doctorate from the Ukrainian StateUniversity of Forestry and Wood Technology in Lviv. Dr.Kohl had a lengthy conversation with Prof. Rudnytzky con-cerning life in contemporary Ukraine and the work of theUkrainian Free University in Munich.

• The Shevchenko Scientific Society of America (NTSh)hosted the 22nd annual scholarly conference dedicated toTaras Shevchenko on March 10 in New York City. Thehighlight of the conference was the presentation of twobooks published in Ukrainian by NTSh in 2001. One of thebooks, “A Concordance to the Poetic Works of TarasShevchenko,” compiled by Dr. Oleh Ilnytzkyj and GeorgeHawrysch, is the first ever concordance on Ukrainian litera-ture. The four-volume, 3,200-page work lists every wordused by Shevchenko, presented in the context of the sur-rounding sentences. The concordance lets scholars easilytrace nuances of meaning and grammatical structures, andis expected to facilitate a greater understanding ofShevchenko’s work. The other book presented at the con-ference was “The Worlds of Taras Shevchenko,” Vol. 2, acollection of articles edited by NTSh President Dr. LarissaOnyshkevych, Prof. Assya Humesky and Dr. John Fizer.

At the NTSh conference, Dr. Ilnytzkyj, a professor ofUkrainian literature at the University of Alberta, presented alecture titled “The Word ‘Zhyd’ in the works ofShevchenko.” Some of Shevchenko’s critics have labeledhim an anti-Semitist because his works contain the word“zhyd,” which is an offensive term in Russian, but a benignone in Ukrainian. In fact, Dr. Ilnytzkyj noted thatShevchenko, in various works, openly opposed anti-Semitism in the Russian Empire. “Shevchenko and Post-Colonialism” was the topic explored by Prof. Vitaly

Ukrainians Ruslan Ponomaryov (right) and Vasyl Ivanchuk during the world chess championships in Moscow on January 23. Mr. Ponomaryov won.

Scholarly activityspans the globe

AP/Ivan Sekretarev



Scientific Society of Canada discussed the state and futureof Ukrainian studies in Canada. Held at the CanadianUkrainian Art Foundation gallery on May 25, the round-table attracted participants from all across Canada. Speakersincluded scholars from York University, the University ofToronto, the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, theuniversities of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba andQuebec, the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute at St.Paul’s University and the University of Trent. The conclu-sion was that declining student enrollment in Ukrainianstudies and courses is challenging academics to re-evaluatethe field of Ukrainian studies. As the university whichenjoys administrative and government support, Alberta iscurrently the functioning center of Ukrainian studies inCanada. The two other western universities – Manitoba andSaskatchewan – continue to hold their own and, althoughtheir enrollment numbers are falling, they are not yet con-sidered to be at a crisis level. Although the MetropolitanSheptytsky Institute has developed a niche for Ukrainianstudies within Eastern Christian Studies, other Ontario uni-versities need a variety of creative approaches to positionUkrainian courses and topics within the new societal andacademic constellations.

• The Toronto Office of the Canadian Institute ofUkrainian Studies celebrated 25 years of the institute’swork on May 26, a date chosen to coincide with the annualconference of the Canadian Association of Slavists, thenbeing held on the University of Toronto campus. The festiv-ities were enhanced by two interesting and significant aca-demic events: the annual Danylo H. Struk MemorialLecture and a book launch for the four-volume“Concordance to the Poetic Works of Taras Shevchenko.”

The Struk Memorial Lecture – supported by a fundestablished in memory of Prof. Struk and administered bythe Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies – wasdelivered this year by Dr. Oleh Ilnytzkyj, professor ofUkrainian literature at the University of Alberta departmentof modern languages and Cultural Studies. In a most inter-esting and illuminating presentation titled “DeconstructingGogol’s/Hohol’s two ‘Souls’,” Dr. Ilnytzkyj refuted theconventional explanation of Gogol/Hohol as a Russianwriter and presented his views on Mykola Hohol’s/NikolaiGogol’s national identity and the nature of the broad inter-play between Ukrainian and Russian literature in the 19thcentury.

• President Leonid Kuchma’s decree “On theCommemoration of the 350th Anniversary of the PereiaslavKozak Council of 1654” – an event that led to the abolitionof the independent Ukrainian state formed under BohdanKhmelnytsky’s leadership – raised the ire of the scholarlycommunity. First to react in the diaspora was the CanadianInstitute of Ukrainian Studies, led by Dr. Zenon E. Kohut,CIUS director; Dr. Frank Sysyn, director, Peter JacykCenter for Ukrainian Historical Research; and Dr. SerhiiPlokhy, director, Church Studies Program. In a June 14open letter to Ukrainian historians, the CIUS argued that,“Intentionally or not, the presidential decree of March 13politicizes historical scholarship in order to legitimize apossible change in the foreign policy of Ukraine and reori-ent the historical consciousness of the Ukrainian people.Your participation in these measures – commemorating anevent that most historians on the organizing committee con-

Chernetsky of the Harriman Institute of ColumbiaUniversity. Prof. Grabowicz of HURI spoke on “TheCurrent State of Scholarly Research on Shevchenko: SomeThoughts on the Subject of Recent Publications andPresentations.”

Some worrisome closing thoughts were shared by Dr.Olexa Bilaniuk, UVAN president, who traced the history ofthe struggle of the Ukrainian language for survival in theface of the imperialist Russian onslaught. Realizing that“the word is mightier than the sword,” said Dr. Bilaniuk,tsarist Russia in the 19th century banned the Ukrainian lan-guage both from print and public speech. After a briefrebirth in the 1920s, the Ukrainian language fell victim to anew wave of compulsory Russification beginning in theearly 1930s when, among other measures, some 40,000Ukrainian terms were specifically excluded from usage byMoscow’s edict. Russification reached its peak in theBrezhnev era, when the unconcealed policy of the Sovietregime was to mold all Soviet peoples into one Russian-speaking nation. “We all had expected,” said Dr. Bilaniuk,that upon gaining national independence Ukraine wouldrestore its original language and orthography but, sadly, thishas not happened. A project of the OrthographyCommission of the National Academy of Sciences ofUkraine which proposed a partial de-Russification of theUkrainian orthography has just been canceled by Ukraine’sgovernment and the commission itself was suddenly dis-banded. Thus, the struggle for the Ukrainian language hasgone full cycle.

• A short time later, on March 21, the ShevchenkoScientific Society was the beneficiary of a special recitalheld by world-renowned Metropolitan Opera soloist PaulPlishka and internationally acclaimed pianist ThomasHrynkiw. The event was sponsored by India House, knownas a gathering place for those engaged in foreign com-merce. Funds raised at the benefit went toward the society’sscholarship fund.

• Ukraine was the principal focus of the seventh annualWorld Convention of the Association for the Study ofNationalities (ASN) held in New York on April 11-13. Thisyear’s convention featured 18 panels, roundtables and videopresentations, the most of any other post-Soviet country,including Russia. The convention saw an unprecedentedemphasis on language in Ukraine, explored in three differ-ent panels: “Nationality and Language in the 2001Ukrainian Census,” “Language Policies and Politics inUkraine and Belarus” and “Political, Social and LinguisticImplications of Surzhyk in Ukraine Today.” The “surzhyk”roundtable, organized by the Shevchenko Scientific Societyof New York with the active participation of the HarvardUkrainian Research Institute, was particularly well-attend-ed. Other panels and papers explored topics as diverse as“Dealing with Diasporas,” “Ukraine’s Loss of HumanResources: Immigrants from Ukraine to Canada, 1999-2001,” “Civic Values and Religious Education in UkraineToday” and “Lemko Separatism and Ethnic Politics of thePolish Government in the 21st Century.”

• In Canada on April 11-13, the University of Albertalooked at the topic of “Ukrainians in Canada from the GreatWar to the Cold War.” Titled “A Rock and a Hard Place,”the conference brought together Ukrainian Canadian spe-cialists and enthusiasts to hear presentations on mattersranging from a history of the hemp seed oil press in eastcentral Alberta to a treatment of the Vasile Avramenkodance repertoire within the “paradigm of national art.” Theconference was organized by the Ukrainian CanadianProgram of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.The April date coincided with the 25th anniversary banquetof the CIUS and, thus, highlighted the institute’s importantrole in the development of Ukrainian-Canadian studies overthe last quarter-century.

The conference also provided an opportunity for repre-sentatives of the CIUS-UCP, the Ukrainian Resource andDevelopment Center at Grant MacEwan College inEdmonton, the Canadian Center for Ukrainian Culture andEthnology at the University of Alberta, the Prairie Centerfor the Study of Ukrainian Heritage in Saskatoon, theCenter for Ukrainian Canadian Studies at the University ofManitoba and the Canadian Foundation for UkrainianStudies to get together before the conference to look atways in which to best cooperate in the development ofUkrainian Canadian studies.

• Meanwhile, in Switzerland, an international conferencetitled “Ukraine: Challenges of a Country inTransformation” was held on April 19-20, at the Universityof Fribourg. The organizers of the conference were: theInterfaculty Institute of East and Central Europe, theInstitute for Ecumenical Studies, and the Ukrainian Societyof Switzerland (Andrej N. Lushnycky, president). This wasthe second such symposium devoted exclusively toUkrainian subjects. The first, in November 2001, was com-posed of many distinguished international guests, among

them the former president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk,and was dedicated to the celebration of 10 years ofUkrainian independence. The 2002 conference featured 16speakers from nine countries and was held in the context ofthe annual “European Days” at the university, a celebrationof the establishment of the Council of Europe. Topics cov-ered included political changes, the media, security issues,economic cooperation, Church and religion, and literatureand culture.

• At the HURI-sponsored Vasyl and Maria PetryshynMemorial Lecture at Harvard University, Dr. NataliaYakovenko argued that the common view of the relation-ship between Orthodox and Catholics during the 16th and17th centuries is rooted in myth rather than reality. TheApril 22 lecture – titled “Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants:Religious Co-Existence in Ukraine in the 16th-17thCenturies” – sought to prove that the perceived tensionsbetween religious groups of that period came about becausehistorians misread the works of church polemicists.According to Dr. Yakovenko, Churches were competing forthe souls of Christians, and their rhetorical communicationsacquired the status of bona fide testimony. She pointed tomuch evidence that religious groups of that period co-exist-ed peacefully and presented records showing a good deal ofinter-faith marriage among Orthodox, Catholics andProtestants.

• At the Shevchenko Scientific Society in New York onApril 27, two noted Ukrainian scholars discussed the ongo-ing process of building a Ukrainian national state. Dr.Natalia Yakovenko, a professor of history at the NationalUniversity of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and a visiting scholarat the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute spoke of thedramatic contrast in the status of historiography before andafter independence. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, sheexplained, discussions about history have been more honestand there has been an increased amount of collaborationwith other European countries, resulting in more access toscholarly works.

Dr. Oleh Romaniv, a member of the National Academyof Sciences of Ukraine and the secretary general of theShevchenko Scientific Society’s World Council, spokeabout the irregularities in Ukraine’s parliamentary elections.Dr. Romaniv explained how President Leonid Kuchma’sFor a United Ukraine bloc had rigged votes in rural areas,sidestepping the European observers monitoring the ballotsin major cities. In a fair election, Dr. Romaniv said, VictorYushchenko’s Our Ukraine bloc would have garnered up to35 percent of the by-party vote, rather than the 23.6 percentit won in March.

• “Language and Identity” was the theme of a conferenceheld on April 27 at St. Vladimir’s Institute in Toronto.Topics addressed included: How important is language foridentity and vice versa? Who in Canada is speakingUkrainian? Who is learning it? The conference organizerswere the Educational Council of the Ukrainian WorldCongress, the Shevchenko Scientific Society of Canada andthe Ukrainian Canadian School Board-Toronto Branch;speakers included representatives of the University ofToronto, Ryerson University, the University of Alberta andZielonogorski University in Poland. A presentation of Dr.Oleh Wolowyna’s census-based research on the situation ofthe Ukrainian language (originally prepared for theUkrainian Canadian Congress) was made to provide ademographic foundation to the language question inCanada.

• An international conference entitled “Ivan Mazepa andhis Followers: State Ideology, History, Religion, Literature,Culture” was held at the conference center of the Universityof Milan at Gargnano del Garda, Italy, on May 7-11.Sponsored by the Slavic and Ugro-Finnic Section of theDepartment of Linguistic, Literary and Philological Studies,the conference included papers by 11 Ukrainian scholarsfrom Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv, four from Canada,four from Poland, three from Italy, two from Russia, twofrom France, one from Germany, one from Estonia, andone from Israel. Conference organizer Prof. GiovannaBrogi-Bercoff of the University of Milan opened the pro-ceedings with an exhortation that the time had come to dis-cuss the multi-faceted figure of Mazepa and his agedivorced from the political and ideological polemics thathave dominated for the last three centuries.

• The 250th anniversary of the composer and conductorDmytro Bortniansky (1751-1825), generally recognized asa giant in Ukrainian religious music, was observed by theShevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh) at its building inNew York on May 18 with a musicological conference anda concert in his honor. The conference offered lectures rich-ly illustrated with recordings of Bortniansky’s choral andorchestral music, and was crowned with a live solo per-formance of a selection of his songs.

• A roundtable organized by the Ukrainian FreeAcademy of Sciences (UVAN) with the Shevchenko

The four-volume “Concordance to the Poetic Worksof Taras Shevchenko,” compiled by Dr. Oleh

Ilnytzkyj and George Hawrysch.

tinue to regard as a decision forced upon our ‘greatBohdan’ – will lend legitimacy to those forces in Ukraineand beyond that seek to resurrect the empire that Pereiaslavhelped create. That would be a disservice to Russia andUkraine, whose progress requires not the rebuilding of theempire but the development of democratic nation-states.”Similar reactions came from the Shevchenko ScientificSociety of both the United States and Canada (July 3), theWorld Scholarly Council of the Ukrainian World Congress(July 12), the Ukrainian World Congress (July 16) andother quarters.

• Dmytro Mymka, a retired farmer who died at age 98,left $500,000 to the Center for Ukrainian Studies at theUniversity of Manitoba in what was one of the largest indi-vidual bequests ever received by the University ofManitoba. A university press release reported that Mr.Mymka had no connection to the university but wanted toremember his province and heritage. He was born inEthelbert in 1903 to Ukrainian immigrants who arrived in1897 among the first wave of Ukrainian settlers inManitoba. Mr. Mymka worked on the Winnipeg-Churchillrailroad and farmed in the Red River area until 1966, whenhe retired to Vancouver. The unsolicited gift from Mr.Mymka, which was announced in July, will increase thecenter’s endowment significantly.

“Mr. Mymka has made a contribution to his community,his province and our university that cannot be underestimat-ed,” said Denis Hlynka, the center’s acting director.Through the new Dmytro Mymka Research andScholarship Endowment Fund, the center will be able toexpand research and community service, and explore newways of delivering courses. The center, which celebrated its20th anniversary in 2001, funds up to 17 undergraduatecourses in Ukrainian Canadian literature, language, history,economics, religion and arts as part of its mission to create,preserve and communicate knowledge relating to UkrainianCanadian culture and scholarship.

• “Ukrainian Archives in North America: TheirDevelopment and Their Future” was the main theme of the21st annual conference on Ukrainian subjects held at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on July 19-20.The conference was organized by the Ukrainian ResearchProgram at the University of Illinois under the chairman-ship of Prof. Dmytro Shtohryn and was held within theframework of the Summer Research Laboratory on EasternEuropean countries.

• The Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute 2002 (HUSI)concluded on August 16. Thirty-four students from NorthAmerica and Ukraine, Japan, Poland, Lithuania, Belarusand Italy took courses in Ukrainian studies that includedUkrainian language and history, as well as two pioneeringcourses: “Images of Ukraine in Western Culture” (LubomyrHajda and Ksenia Kiebuzinski) and “Ukraine as LinguisticBattlefield” (Michael Flier). The most significant event ofthe HUSI cultural calendar was the screening of “A Prayerfor Hetman Mazepa,” the latest film by the world-renowned Yuri Illienko – a film that had caused an uproarin Ukraine even before its release for the general viewer.The Harvard screening was the film’s de facto NorthAmerican premiere.


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEW• The International Foundation of Omelan and Tetiana

Antonovych announced the laureates of its 21st annualawards for literary and scholarly achievement on August 17at the newly remodeled Vasyl Stefanyk Scientific Library inLviv. Historians Yurii Shapoval and Yaroslav Isaievychwon the 2002 prizes in the scholarly category, whileHryhorii Huseinov, little-known outside Ukraine, was pre-sented the award for literary achievement.

Dr. Shapoval, an internationally recognized expert on theSoviet secret police, a member of the National Academy ofSciences of Ukraine and director of the Institute of Politicaland Ethno-National Studies, has combed Kyiv andMoscow archives for years and written extensively on thedark world of the Soviet intelligence agencies, such as theKGB, NKVD, CheKa, MVD and GPU. He was recognizedfor his complete body of work, including “The Person andthe System,” published in 1994; “Mykhailo Hrushevskyand the GPU-NKVD,” which was produced in 1996; aswell as “Poland and Ukraine in the 1930s-1940s: UnknownDocuments from the Archives of the Special Services,”published in 2000 in two tomes. Prof. Isaievich, the directorof the Krypiakevych Institute of Ukrainian Studies and amember of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,has authored “The First Printer, Ivan Fedorov, and theBeginning of Printing in Ukraine,” (1975); and “UkrainianBook Publishing: Its Wellspring, Development andProblems;” (2001). He was recognized for his contributionto research on the development of book publishing inUkraine.

Mr. Huseinov, was recognized for the Ukrainian-lan-guage literary magazine, Kurier KryvBas, which he haspublished and edited in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih since1994. National Deputy Mykola Zhulynskyi, a member ofthe jury that decided on the winners, gave particular praiseto Mr. Huseinov, who has published extensively in Ukraineand is the author of a five-volume book of literary workscalled “Hospodni Zerna” (God’s Seeds). “He has supportedUkrainianism, Ukrainian themes and literature in an atmos-phere not very conducive to the development of thingsUkrainian,” explained Dr. Zhulynskyi, referring to the veryRussified character of the Kryvyi Rih region of southernUkraine that Mr. Huseinov calls home. Writer and literarycritic Ivan Dzyuba said of Mr. Husienov: “He is aUkrainian marvel from the steppe. He has told us about thesouth of which we know too little. He has shown us howmuch of the truly Ukrainian is contained there.”

• An international conference titled “Ukraine-Russia: ADialogue of Historiographies” was held on August 23-25 inChernihiv, a city whose monuments and history are remi-niscent of the 1,000-year history of Ukraine-Rus’. The con-ference was initiated and co-sponsored by the KowalskyProgram for the Study of Eastern Ukraine at the CanadianInstitute of Ukrainian Studies (Edmonton) and the Instituteof European Studies of the National Academy of Sciencesof Ukraine (Kyiv). Others involved in sponsoring or organ-izing the conference included the Viacheslav LypynskyEast European Research Institute (Philadelphia), the TarasShevchenko State Pedagogical University (Chernihiv) andthe Siverian Institute of Regional Studies (Chernihiv).About 30 historians from Ukraine, Russia, the United Statesand Canada participated in the conference, which attemptedto understand recent developments in both Ukrainian andRussian historiographies, which 10 years ago had embarkedon the path of post-Soviet transformation.

• The International Congress of Ukrainian Studies heldin Chernivtsi, Ukraine, on August 26-29, elected Prof. Markvon Hagen of Columbia University as president of theInternational Association for Ukrainian Studies. Other offi-cers elected at the congress were: First Vice-PresidentYaroslav Hrytsak (Ukraine); Vice-Presidents JoannaBerkoff (Italy), Tamara Hundorova (Ukraine), StefanKozak (Poland), Halyna Lisna (Russia), Wolf Moskovich(Israel), Marko Pavlyshyn (Australia) and Frank Sysyn(Canada); and Scholarly Secretaries Antonina Berezovenko(USA) and Serhii Lepiavko (Ukraine).

• On October 13, The Ukrainian Weekly’s front pagefeatured a story headlined “Ukrainian Studies Fundannounces campaign for new center at Columbia.” Thestory reported that the USF had inaugurated a capital cam-paign to fund a new center for Ukrainian studies at the pres-tigious and influential Columbia University in New YorkCity. A planned endowment fund of $5 million is to becomethe prime funding source for the center’s programs. Thefirst step in establishing the Ukrainian Studies Center isfocused on the establishment of a new teaching position atColumbia in Ukrainian history. The USF’s announced goalwas to raise $1 million of capital within a year since thatamount will be sufficient to initiate and sustain the teachingposition in Ukrainian history. Founded in 1957 by studentsof the Ukrainian diaspora, the USF’s mission is theadvancement of knowledge about Ukraine in the UnitedStates and Canada, via the establishment and funding of

centers of Ukrainian studies in North American universities.• An exhibit marking the event and highlighting some

recently discovered documentation opened in Toronto onOctober 25. The exhibit was organized by the UkrainianCanadian Research and Documentation Center with thesupport of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’sOrganizations and was housed at the UCRDC’s premises atSt. Vladimir Institute. The focal point of the exhibit was thephotographic prints of the 216 negatives of UPA activitythat were found in 1999 in Yavoriv, Ukraine. The exhibitalso featured original publications – ideological and peda-gogical materials used by the UPA to inform the populaceabout the true face of the Soviet occupier – found in a hide-out in Verkhovyna, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, and hidden bya teacher until 1992 when it was given to the UCRDC.

• On October 26 the Canadian Foundation for UkrainianStudies announced a campaign to increase funding forUkrainian studies in Canada and elsewhere. “In the courseof the last 27 years the Canadian Foundation for UkrainianStudies has placed more than $3 million in the service ofUkrainian studies. This includes funding the publication ofthe English-language Encyclopedia of Ukraine, other schol-arly works, as well as scholarships and other assistancegiven annually to students and scholars. The foundationwants to provide more because more is needed. For thisreason we are undertaking an extensive fund-raising cam-paign to enable us to increase support for Ukrainian studies.This will benefit the Ukrainian community wherever itmight be, in Canada, and worldwide, both now and for thenext and succeeding generations,” noted Olya Kuplowska,CFUS president, speaking at the foundation’s annual meet-ing.

• A book note published in November noted the releaseof Volume 8 of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s “History ofUkraine-Rus’.” Titled “The Cossack Age, 1626-1650,” the808-page volume was released by the Canadian Institute ofUkrainian Studies Press. It is the third volume of the classic10-volume work by Hrushevsky that has been produced bythe Hrushevsky Translation Project of the Peter JacykCenter for Ukrainian Historical Research.

• In mid-November it was reported that Ihor Pasichnykand Natalia Lominska, rector and vice-rector, respectively,of the National University of Ostroh Academy, who were inthe United States visiting Ukrainian communities inMinneapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia andWashington, had announced the establishment of aUkrainian Emigration History Center at Ostroh. Theannouncement was made, fittingly, at the ImmigrationHistory Research Center at the University of Minnesota.

• The National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy(KMA) and the Northwestern University Center forTechnology and Innovation Management on December 2officially announced a partnership and unveiled a new pro-gram of collaboration. Northwestern University is home tothe Kellogg School of Management, ranked the best busi-ness school in the world in its MBA programs by TheEconomist (October 2002). The announcement was madein Kyiv at an official reception at the Imperia Restaurant ofthe Premier Palace Hotel. The program of cooperationbegan on December 2-3, with a two-day joint executivedevelopment seminar on “Stimulating and ManagingInnovations” for senior managers of leading Ukrainian andinternational companies.

Volume 8 of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s “History of Ukraine-Rus’ ”– “The Cossack Age, 1626-1650.”

Hryhorii Huseinov accepts the Antonovych Awardfor literary achievement during ceremonies in Lviv

on August 17.

Roman Woronowycz



Peter Borisow, president of Entertainment FinanceManagement, as HTR president.

Award-winning Montreal filmmaker Yurij Luhovywas completing a film about Bereza Kartuzka, the sitebetween 1933 and 1939, of an infamous Polish concen-tration camp under the command of Col. YanushKostek-Biernacki where hundreds of Ukrainian patriotswere incarcerated. Mr. Luhovy was interviewed for TheWeekly (February 3) by Fran Ponomarenko. The film,the first part of a trilogy dealing with Ukraine underthree occupations – Polish, Communist and Nazi –highlights the political situation in which WesternUkrainians found themselves under Polish rule betweenthe two world wars.

On the occasion of the forthcoming 70th anniversaryof the 1933 Famine-Genocide in Ukraine, theHollywood Trident Foundation undertook a project torecord on videotape the recollections of the Ukrainiansurvivors of the Famine-Genocide now living in theUnited States and Canada. The oral histories are to beprofessionally produced for distribution to educationaland media venues worldwide.

The Our Blossom – Across the World Film Festival,founded by The Institute of Diaspora Studies in Kyiv, acompetition that emphasizes Ukrainian diaspora themesand experiences, announced this year’s winners: firstplace, Petro Midrihana and Vasyl Riabunets of Rivne,on life of Ukrainians who were forcibly moved intolands in western Poland as a result of the resettlementprogram undertaken by Polish authorities in 1947known as Akcja Wisla; second place, television journal-ist Maksym Drabka, on Ukrainian life in the Balticstates; third place, Kyiv film-makers VasylShenderovskyi, Nadia Dovhych and AnatoliiVasianovych, on the life of Ukrainian Czech ex-patriateand noted scientist Ivan Puliuj, and his contribution tothe discovery of the X-ray.

LiteratureA Ukrainian-language edition of the first book in the

globally popular Harry Potter series by British authorJ.K. Rowling, appeared as a publication of the highlyrespected Ukrainian children’s publishing house A-Ba-Ba-Ha-La-Ma-Ha, with illustrations by VladyslavYerko. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, A-Ba-Ba-Ha-La-Ma-Ha, whose founder and president is poetIvan Malkovych, also re-issued seven of its most popu-lar children’s stories and folk tales in a first ever 1-mil-lion-copy printing of children’s books in Ukraine. Ajoint venture with Ukraine’s postal service, UkrPost, theproject titled “Mini-Dyvo,” made the books available atthe cost of a single hryvnia each at the more than15,000 post offices nationwide, and thus accessible to

The arts scene, as it was covered in The Weekly,has been been rich and varied, with film and doc-umentaries prominent on the scene. The year

2002 may well be referred to as the year of Dovzhenko,with his films shown in retrospectives throughout theUnited States in a program organized with help from theUkrainian government, which took an active role inchampioning Dovzhenko’s work outside his nativecountry.

Among the highlights of the season were the follow-ing, listed by category.

ArchitectureThe photographic exhibition “Ornament is Not a

Crime,” presented by Dr. Ihor Zhuk, curator of the visu-al materials collection at Lviv Theological Academyand guest scholar at Harvard Ukrainian ResearchInstitute, depicting the art nouveau style of architecturein Lviv, was on view at The Ukrainian Museum onApril 28-July 28. The exhibit was previously presentedin Krakow and Wroclaw, Poland, as well as in Londonand Edinburgh.

A campaign to further the artistic heritage of VasylKrychevsky (1873-1952), a leading figure in the fieldsof architecture, art and graphic design of Ukraine, wasundertaken by E. Morgan Williams, publisher.Krychevsky’s many outstanding contributions, especial-ly to architecture, were often altered or repressed by theauthorities in Soviet Ukraine, who found his designs,which often incorporated traditional folk ornamentationand motifs, to be “too Ukrainian.” Among projects to beundertaken is the restoration of the Taras Shevchenkomuseum in Kaniv as it was originally designed byKrychevsky in the 1930s. Mr. Morgan has been workingwith Krychevsky’s grand-daughter, Oksana Linde, ofCaracas, Venezuela, and others on this endeavor.

ArtThe art of Roman Kowal was the subject of a feature

article by Alexandra Hawryluk in the March 3 issue ofThe Weekly. Known chiefly for his innovative approachto ecclesiastic interior design, Maestro Kowal has com-pleted mosaics and stained glass for 16 Ukrainianchurches in Canada, in successful partnership witharchitect Victor Deneka and for two Winnipeg churchesdesigned by Radoslav Zuk. Thus he has taken on animportant role in the development of Canadian religiousart.

Taras Polataiko, the Chernivtsi-born Saskatoon-basedartist who has been on the art scenes of both Canadaand Ukraine, represented Ukraine at the XXV Biennalede Sao Paulo held March 23-June 2 in Brazil, where hepresented his project “Bird’s Eye View,” with JerzyOnuch, curator of the presentation.

Tapestries, marked by a purity of color and rawnessof material, and the photography of Lialia Kuchma werefeatured in an article by Cynthia Quick in the May 19issue of The Weekly on the occasion of the exhibit ofMs. Kuchma’s work in a show of contemporary furni-ture and fiber art titled “The Artist’s Hand” at the WoodStreet Gallery in Chicago on March 9-April 20.

The centenary of the birth of Edward Kozak (1902-1992), known as “Eko,” was marked in New York at theConsulate of Ukraine in a production by the UkrainianStage Ensemble, under the direction of LydiaKrushelnytsky, which presented an overview of theworks of the late humorist and artist. Also, as part of theopening of the summer season, the Music and ArtCenter of Greene County, jointly with the ChervonaKalyna Plast fraternity, of which the artist was a mem-ber, held an exhibit at the Grazhda in Hunter, N.Y.Featured were caricatures and 96 covers of the satiri-cal/humorous journals Komar and Lys Mykyta (1948-1991), which were edited by Maestro Kozak. A brilliantcaricaturist and illustrator, Maestro Kozak was equallyknown as an artist and editor of numerous children’s aswell as humorous/satirical journals. His writings andcaricature drawings also served as a chronicle of thepost-war émigré community in the United States. A ret-rospective exhibit of Maestro Kozak’s works was heldin Lviv in 1990, accompanied by an exhibition cata-logue.

The exhibit “From Here to There,” featuring theplein-air paintings of Zenowij Onyshkewych, was heldat the Southport Harbor Gallery in Southport, Conn., on

November 3-December 1. An essay titled “TheOmnivoyant Traveler” by Philip Eliasoph appeared inthe November 3 issue of The Weekly.

The exhibit “Recent Paintings by Motria C.Holowinsky,” expression of dreams on imaginary sub-jects, color and composition, opened at the HarvardUkrainian Research Institute on November 20 and wason view through January 17, 2003.

Andrij Babytsch, president of the UkrainianAssociation of Visual Artists of Canada (since 1994),exhibited his portraits and landscapes at the UkrainianInstitute of America in New York in an exhibit thatopened October 11.

Folk art and craftsSeeking to add to its extensive collection of pysanky,

or Easter eggs, a museum devoted to the pysanka, builtas a new addition to the Museum of Hutsul and PokuttiaFolk Art in Kolomyia, sent out a request addressed topysanka writers throughout the world. The museum hasa collection of some 6,000 pysanky practically fromevery region of Ukraine and abroad, with a separateexhibit of pysanky of the Ukrainian diaspora of NorthAmerica and Australia. A letter written by the museum’sdirector, Yaroslava Tkachuk, appeared in the April 28issue of The Weekly.

Designer and sculptor A. Andrew Chulyk’s multiplesection “sculpted” boxes were featured in an article inthe November 10 issue of The Weekly. The work of theaward-winning artist has been exhibited in invitationalshows, as well as exhibited and marketed in craft gal-leries and fairs, and at the museum store of the Museumof Fine Arts in Boston.

Dance“Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors,” a dance-the-

ater piece based on the novel by MykhailoKotsiubynsky (1864-1913) which uses the theatricalconventions of dance, puppetry and music to tell thestory of the star-crossed young lovers Ivan andMarichka, premiered as a bilingual presentation byMN2 Productions at the Cleveland Public Theater onJanuary 25. The text for the production, considered avariation on the Romeo and Juliet theme, is by NadiaTarnawsky; with choreography by Sarah Morrison,Natalie Kapeluck and Roman Lewkowicz, and stagingby Michael D. Flohr.

The Brigham Young University International FolkDance Ensemble, (Edwin G. Austin Jr., artistic directorand producer), whose repertoire includes Ukrainianpieces such as the Hopak, performed during the 19thWinter Olympics in Salt Lake City and at the Light ofthe World cultural festival sponsored by the Church ofthe Latter-Day Saints, in celebration of the different cul-tures represented by athletes at the Winter Games.

The Arkan Dance Company (Danovia Stechishin,artistic director), which has performed as culturalambassadors of Canada and of Ukraine at internationalfestivals throughout the world, presented “A JourneyThrough Ukraine,” a concert of Ukrainian and moderndance featuring the work of guest choreographerNational Artist of Ukraine Rafayil Malynovsky at theLiving Arts Center in Mississauga, Ontario, on June 9.Also featured was the modern dance “Scythian Gold,”choreographed by Mme. Stechishin and commissionedby the Royal Ontario Museum.

Film/documentariesDirector Yuri Illienko’s latest film, “A Prayer for

Hetman Mazepa” (Molytva za Hetmana Mazepu) – withBohdan Stupka in the lead role and score by VirkoBaley of Las Vegas – had its American premiere onAugust 1 at the Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute inCambridge, Mass. The first big-budget picture made inUkraine since independence by Kyiv’s DovzhenkoStudio, the film was released in Ukraine in September.The film, referred to as a “phantasmagoric dream of his-tory,” received mixed reviews. An article on the state ofUkraine’s film industry and response to the film byRussian and Polish critics appeared in an article titled“Ukraine’s cinema industry faces its moment of truth”by Conor Humphries, in the August 25 issue of TheWeekly.

Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Jack Palancebecame chairman of the board of directors of the newlyformed Hollywood Trident Foundation (HTR), whoseaim is to encourage those working in the film-makingindustry to “study film and present the Ukrainian contri-butions to film-making, past and present, worldwide.The foundation was formed in January by members ofthe Hollywood Trident Network in Los Angeles, with

Edward Kozak

Culture and the arts: a survey from A to ...

all Ukrainian children.Writer Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch’s latest book,

“Hope’s War,” a book of fiction for teenagers about analleged Ukrainian war criminal, was published inOctober by Dundurn Press. The background to thebook’s story is the problem of finding Nazi criminals inCanada. In a book launch held at the UkrainianCanadian Art Foundation in Toronto on November 17,Ms. Skrypuch, a well-received writer of children’sbooks who deals with difficult subjects, noted that thecentral focus of the book is not wartime Ukraine but theissue of justice in Canada today.

Toronto author Lydia Palij, a 1997 recipient of thePavlo Tychyna Award for poetry, noted for her activitiesin PEN and the Writers’ Union of Canada, published herfirst book in English titled “Woman in the Window –Poetic Images” (Patricia Harvie, translator; Ms. Palij,editor of the translations).

“Landscapes of Memory: The Selected Later Poetryof Lina Kostenko” came out as a bilingualUkrainian/English edition published by LitopysPublishers in Lviv (Michael M. Naydan, translator;Olha Luchuk, editor).

Museums and exhibitsAn exhibit titled “For You, Ukraine,” with items

from the collection of Serhei Platonov, a prominentKyiv businessman, featuring pottery from the Trypillianperiod, glasswork, ancient Greek ceremonial ornamentsfrom settlements in the south of Ukraine and Crimea, aswell as coins and metals from the Kyivan Rus’ andKozak periods, was held at the Kyiv Pecharska Lavraand at St. Sophia Cathedral museums in November. Mr.Platonov, one of Kyiv’s emerging new philanthropists,recently donated a significant part of his collection toUkraine’s history museum.

The development of The Ukrainian Museum in NewYork City drew enthusiastic interest and promise ofsupport from the government of Ukraine.Representatives of the Ukrainian diplomatic communi-ty in New York City, Ambassador Valeriy Kuchinsky,permanent representative of Ukraine to the UnitedNations, and Consul General Serhiy Pohoreltzevoffered to assist the museum’s future projects with theaim of promoting cooperative endeavors with museumsand the arts community in Ukraine. The meeting ofgovernment and museum representatives took place atthe end of February.

The Ukrainian Museum’s new building project onEast Sixth Street in the East Village section ofManhattan entered the construction phase, with the con-struction company S. Di Giacomo & Son, and projectarchitect, George Sawicki of the firm SawickiTarellaArchitecture+Design, PC, engaged in the more than $8million project. The proposed three-story building willbecome the new center for the activities of the museum,which for 26 years has preserved and presented the cul-tural legacy of Ukrainian Americans through exhibi-



tions, educational programs, publications and communi-ty-related events.

In her report Museum Director Maria Shust alludedto the preparatory work that has begun on inauguralexhibitions in the new building, with Dr. JaroslawLeshko engaged as curator for the AlexanderArchipenko art exhibition.

The Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago(UNM), – boasting a collection of over 12,000 arti-facts, a library of over 29,000 titles and an extensivearchive collection – celebrated its 50th anniversary onSeptember 29 in its newly renovated and expandedpremises designed by the architectural firm of Joseph I.Mycyk of Chicago. This year, as an active member ofthe Chicago Field Museum’s “Cultural Connections”program, the UNM hosted a program on the ethnic edu-cation in the Ukrainian community, titled “UkrainianSaturday School, Culture for Homework.” The pro-gram, overseen by Christina Taran, was recorded April6 by Chicago Access Network Television for cable TV.

Music In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Leontovych

String Quartet, quartet-in-residence at the UkrainianInstitute of America in New York, appeared at NewYork’s Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on January27 presenting a program of works by Dvorak, Silvestrovand Tchaikovsky.

The chamber music concert “Jewels of Ukraine,”brought about on the initiative of concert pianistThomas Hrynkiw, was held March 3 at the CaliforniaState University of Sacramento featuring works byDmytro Bortniansky, Yuriy Oliynyk, Victor Kosenkoand Peter Tchaikovsky.

The award-winning women’s chorus Vesnivka, underthe direction of Kvitka Zorych-Kondracka, presented aprogram of traditional, contemporary and rarely heardUkrainian carols and New Year’s songs on January 13 atthe Humbercrest United Church in Toronto. TheChristmas concert also featured the recently formedUkrainian Male Chamber Choir. On April 21 Vesnivkashowcased works by contemporary composers fromUkraine – Stankovych, Stetsenko and Nekrasov – in aconcert at the University of Toronto MacMillan Theater,with guest piano soloists Luba and Ireneus Zuk.

The Yevshan Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble, comprising34 singers from eight parishes across Connecticut, withAlexander Kuzma, music director, appeared in its annu-al spring concert at the West Hartford Town HallAuditorium on May 19 in a program of liturgical andrarely heard folks songs and secular works. The concertreceived extensive publicity on Connecticut’s publicradio stations and was the subject of a full-length fea-ture in the Connecticut Post.

The Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton, under thedirection of Orest Soltykevych – with special guests, theMontreal/Kingston piano duo of Luba and Ireneus Zuk,and New York-based jazz pianist John Stetch – present-ed a concert of Ukrainian music and classical selections

on November 9 at the prestigious Winspear Center inEdmonton. The festive concert drew a capacity audi-ence of well over 1,000.

A feature article on Roman Hurko, Canadian operadirector and composer, author of “Requiem: Panakhydafor the Victims of Chornobyl” (2001), appeared in theMay 12 issue of The Weekly. Penned by MyrosiaStefaniuk, it brought out the full spectrum of MaestroHurko’s creative oeuvre, bringing to the fore the under-lying symbiosis of opera, theater and liturgical music inhis work.

Marika Kuzma, associate professor of music anddirector of choral activities at the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley, directed the University Chorusin a performance of Paul Hindemith’s “Requiem: ForThose We Love” at Berkeley’s Hertz Hall and organ-ized a campus-wide concert, “In Memorian: A Concertof Musical Reflections on the Events of September 11,2001,” composed of sacred and secular music fromvarious cultures. Among her engagements as director ofthe Chamber Chorus of the University of California atBerkeley was the June 6 concert “Voices of Byzantium:From Mt. Athos to Kiev [Kyiv] to Moscow” presentedas part of the prestigious Berkeley Early MusicFestival.

Soprano Stefania Dovhan, a recent graduate of theUniversity of Maryland School of Music, appeared atthe Ukrainian Institute of America in New York withdistinguished bass Stefan Szkafarowsky in November.Ms. Dovhan was in Kyiv this fall for engagements inmajor operatic roles at the National Opera of Ukraineand solo recitals at the National Philharmonic Hall.

Young Ukrainian tenor and opera star Misha Didykappeared as lead tenor in the Bellini opera “TheCapulets and the Montagues” at the Academy of Musicin Philadelphia on April 13.

The vocal duet of sisters Halyna and Lesia Telnyuk,natives of Kyiv, whose work is referred to as a synthesisof poetry and song, presented concerts in a programtitled “Zhar-Ptytsi’ (Firebirds) in New York (November3) and Baltimore (November 9-10). Having previouslycompleted successful tours in Canada, Russia, Poland,England and Ireland, the duo’s current tour took them toNewton, Iowa, Chicago and Kingston, Ontario. Theduo’s repertoire includes Ukrainian, Irish and Englishfolk songs, as well as songs by Bob Dylan andOleksander Melnyk, and their own compositions.

Winners of the fourth International Competition forYoung Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz whichwas initiated in Kyiv in 1994 – Kyrylo Keduk ofBelarus (first prize, junior group); Dmytro Onishchenkoof Ukraine (first-place, intermediate group); MaryiaKim of Ukraine (first prize, senior group) – appeared inconcert at the Lyceum in Alexandria, Va., on March 24,in a concert sponsored by The Washington GroupCultural Fund under the patronage of the Embassy ofUkraine.

Cellist Vagram Saradjian and pianist VolodymyrVynnytsky were the featured performers at theRachmaninoff Festival held as part of the RachmaninoffInternational Piano Competition at the Dolburn Schoolfor Performing Arts in Los Angeles on March 27. Mr.Vynnytsky also appeared in concert with the ZapolskiString Quartet of Denmark in a series of concerts at theUkrainian Institute of America in New York (June 22),the Grazhda in Hunter, N.Y. (June 29), and at MusicMountain (June 30).

Cellist Natalia Khoma and pianist VolodymyrVynnytsky appeared in concert at Carnegie’s WeillRecital Hall on May 29 in a program of works byBeethoven, Mozart, Shostakovich, Granados, Cassadóand Vynnytsky. They also performed at the Lake SanMarco Chamber Music Society concert series inCalifornia (May 26) and at La Belle Alliance inWillemstad in Curaçao (November 1-3).

The concert “Oleh Krysa at 60 with Family andFriends,” held May 11 at the Ukrainian Institute ofAmerica in New York as a special event and gala con-cert of the “Music at the Institute” (MATI) series,launched the 60th anniversary celebrations of the emi-nent violinist and teacher, and honorary artistic directorand founder of MATI. The celebrations entailed aworld tour, with concerts presented in Kyiv, as well asin Australia, Canada, England, Germany, theNetherlands, Russia, Singapore and Japan. The NewYork concert featured composer/pianist Virko Baley,pianists Alexander Slobodyanik and Tatiana Tchekina,violinist Peter Krysa, violists Borys Deviatov andAlexander Rees, and cellists Rachel Lewis Krysa andVolodymyr Panteleyev, with Robert Sherman of NewYork’s classical music radio station WQXR-FM, as

Program of the “Oleh Krysa at 60 with Family andFriends” concert held as a special event on May 11 at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York.

The cover of the Ukrainian-language edition of the first book in the “Harry Potter” series.


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWNew York in November.

TelevisionJohn Spencer, a veteran of television, film and stage,

won the award for best supporting actor in the dramaseries “The West Wing,” where he plays the WhiteHouse chief of staff, during the 54th annual EmmyAwards held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeleson September 22.

TheaterGregory Hlady, the critically acclaimed stage and

cinema actor and director, who has made his mark inCanadian alternative theater and abroad, was the subjectof a review by Alexandra Hawryluk (April 7) on theoccasion of the premiere of his theater piece“Kateryna’s Dreams.” The work, inspired by MykolaHohol’s “A Terrible Vengeance,” premiered atInfinitheatre in Montreal on February 28. This year Mr.Hlady also played the lead role in Kim Nguyen’s newfeature film “Le Marais” and appeared in Paula deVasconcelos’ Montreal theater production of “TheOther.”

Virlana Tkacz, New York director of the dynamicYara Arts Group, was in Kyiv this fall teaching on aFulbright Fellowship. Among Ms. Tkacz’s activitieswhile in Kyiv was the direction of a concert version of“In the Beginning Was Song,” a dialogue of traditionalsongs from Ukrainian and Hebrew, performed byMarianna Sadovska from Germany and Victoria Hannafrom Jerusalem. The concert was staged for theFulbright Conference and for a new music and poetryseries, “Kolo Nas,” which was inaugurated by Ms.Tracz.

The company NaCl (North American cultural labora-tory), founded by Canadian-born actress TannisKowalchuk and her husband, Brad Krumholz, took partin the 10-day Catskill Festival of New Theater 2002 inHighland Lake, N.Y., this summer, and appeared at folkfestivals in Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. During abenefit at St. Clements Church Theater in Manhattan,Ms. Kowalchuk performed in the featured event “10Brecht Poems,” which she helped create, and in“Invisible Neighborhood,” an NaCl street theater work-in-progress held in Manhattan, Brooklyn and in cityparks this summer.

The Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theaterof Kyiv (Mykhailo Zakharevych, director), withUkraine’s leading actor Bohdan Stupka in the title role,brought “Tevye” to the U.S. in a Ukrainian production.The two-act play, based on Sholom Aleichem’s story ofJewish life in Ukraine in the early 20th century, wasstaged on August 2 and 3 at Brooklyn’s MillenniumTheater in Brighton Beach. The tour closed in Chicagoon August 4.

master of ceremonies. Bandurist Julian Kytasty performed music from

“Black Sea Winds: The Kobzari of Ukraine,” his latestCD recording, at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Artin Chicago on April 4. On November 23 he appearedwith master Mongolian musician Battuvshin and IlyaTemkin in the concert “Music from the Far Ends of theSteppe,” in Tibet House in New York. On December 6,Mr. Kytasty’s Experimental Bandura Trio performed atSymphony Space in the “Music for Pipa” (or Chineselute) concert, with Wu Man, and in duets drawing onChinese and Ukrainian sources.

The concert “Shliakhamy Kobzariv” (In the Steps ofthe Kobzars), featuring Victor Mishalow, Julian Kytasty,Hryhoriy Herchak, Jurij Fedynskyi, Ilya Temkin andMaestro Mishalow’s students, was held at St.Volodymyr Orthodox Cathedral in Toronto onDecember 1.

MusicologyThe personal archive of noted diaspora conductor and

musicologist Prof. Myroslav Antonovych of Utrecht,whose research specialization was on Ukrainian churchmusic and Franco-Flemish church music of theRenaissance, was acquired by the library of the LvivTheological Academy. Prof. Antonovych’s celebratedByzantine Choir was composed of Hollanders who sangUkrainian music in the Ukrainian language.

The 250th anniversary of the birth of renowned com-poser and conductor Dmytro Bortniansky (1751-1825),was marked by the Shevchenko Scientific Society inNew York on May 18 with a conference, an exhibittitled “Bortniansky in Iconography, Discography andPrint,” and a concert. Taking part in the conference wereDr. Andrij Szul, Roman Sawycky Jr., StepanMaksymiuk, Vasyl Hrechysnky and Dr. JaropolkLassowsky.

Musicus Bortnianskii, the Ukrainian Canadian per-forming arts organization/ensemble, under the directionof Myron Maksymiw, released its latest recording: the17th and 18th century five- and six-part Ukrainianmotets known as “Partesni Kontserty” or “PartesniMotets” by anonymous Ukrainian composers.

PhotographyThe photography exhibit, “Starving for Color,” featur-

ing black-and-white photos of infants in orphanages inUkraine taken by Dr. Roksolana Tymiak-Lonchyna dur-ing her travels on humanitarian missions and privatetrips to Ukraine, opened at the Ukrainian NationalMuseum in Chicago where it was on view on October15-29. The exhibit, with its deeply humanitarian subjectmatter, raised $10,800 for nutrition programs in theorphanages.

Pop culture/entertainmentIn a three-part series titled “Pop, rock, hip-hop –

Ukraine’s music scene has it all – and it’s thriving,”Roman Woronowycz, The Weekly’s Kyiv correspon-dent, focused on Kyiv’s vibrant popular music sceneand Ukraine’s contemporary music stars – pop divasAni Lorak and Iryna Bilyk; the rock bands VopliVodopliasova (V.V). and Okean Elzy; and the hip-hopgroup Tanok na Maydani Kongo and Dymna Sumish.

Pop star Annychka from Lviv was the feature act dur-ing the Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival’s kick-offconcert on September 13 in Toronto appearing before anenthusiastic crowd reaching 50,000 people. Canada’smost prestigious radio station, CFRB, did a four-hourlive broadcast from the festival site.

Popular composer and musician Taras Petrynenkoand vocalist Tetiana Horobets toured the eastern U.S., aspart of a project undertaken by Cleveland-basedMelodies of Ukraine, in an outreach program to youngUkrainian audiences through Ukrainian pop music. Theduo appeared in concert at St. George’s Academy in

The films of Oleksander (Alexander) Dovzhenko(1894-1956), a key figure of Soviet-era and worldcinematography, whose works include classics of

the silent and early sound eras, were given multiple expo-sure in film programs throughout the United States. Theseries was organized with help from the Ukrainian gov-ernment, which has taken an active role in championingDovzhenko’s work outside his native country.

A forceful modernist in the structural, especially visual,aspects of his work, Dovzhenko, also drew on theUkrainian folkloric tradition. With Stalin’s denunciationof Dovzhenko in 1944, the filmmaker’s post-silent-eracareer was characterized by banned projects and unpro-duced or drastically altered screenplays.

The Dovzhenko film series premiered at the WalterReade Theater at New York’s Lincoln Center on May 8-21, with subsequent screenings at the University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles (October 3, 5 and 8) in a pro-gram organized by UCLA Film and Television Archivesand the Hollywood Trident Foundation. Concurrentlywith the Dovzhenko series at the National Gallery ofArt in Washington held December 7-29, Dovzhenko’sfilms were shown at the Museum of Fine Arts in Bostonand the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part ofBAMcinematék (December 5-19), as well as at CornellUniversity.

Featured in New York were all of Dovzhenko’s extantworks, i.e., 13 films, including his early silent films,

which were presented with live music accompaniment,and the rarely screened later films. The series also includ-ed “Farewell, America,” Dovzhenko’s unfinished finalfilm, which was restored under the sponsorship ofMosfilm and Gosfilmofond Rossii in 1995 as well as“Povist Polumianykh Lit” (The Chronicle of the FlamingYears), 1945, based on a script by Dovzhenko and filmedby his wife and close collaborator, Yulia Solntseva.

The film programs in New York, Los Angeles andWashington were supplemented by symposia onDovzhenko’s art and legacy, featuring scholars fromUkraine and North America, and a gallery exhibitioncurated by the Dovzhenko Museum in Kyiv that com-prised posters and Dovzhenko self-portraits and draw-ings.

The New York symposium, titled “The Art and Legacyof Alexander Dovzhenko,” featured representatives fromthe National Center of Oleksander Dovzhenko (NCAD),and the Ministry of Art and Culture of Ukraine, SerhiiTrymbach, film historian at the NCAD as well as P.Adams Sitney and Josephine Woll, author of “ReelImages: Soviet Cinema and the Thaw.”

The UCLA program, titled “Earth – The Films ofAlexander Dovzhenko,” featured presentations by MarcoCarynnyk, editor and translator of “AlexanderDovzhenko’s 1939 Autobiography” and translator of“Alexander Dovzhenko: The Poet as Fimmaker”; GeorgeO. Liber, author of the just published book “AlexanderDovzhenko: A Life in Soviet Film”; and Bohdan Nebesio.

The Dovzhenko series was presented by the FilmSociety of Lincoln Center and Seagull Films in collabora-tion with Ukraine’s Ministry of Arts and Culture and theNational Center of Oleksander Dovzhenko.

Films by Dovzhenkogain much exposure

Oleksander Dovzhenko, during his years abroad (c.1921-1923). Reprinted with permission from“Alexander Dovzhenko: A Life in Soviet Film,” byGeorge Liber (British Film Institute, London, 2002).

Marika C. Kuzma

New beginnings – that’s how one could best describethe year 2002 at the Ukrainian NationalAssociation. It was, of course, a convention year,

during which a new General Assembly was elected for afour-year term. At the top of the list was the UNA’s newpresident, Stefan Kaczaraj, who was elected in place of thedeparting chief executive, Ulana Diachuk, who retired thisyear after 52 years of service to the fraternal organization –30 of them as an executive officer.

The pre-convention preparations began in earnest withthe publication in mid-January of the official announcementof the 35th Regular Convention of the UNA and lists ofsmall UNA branches that would need to unite with others inorder to elect a common delegate. Our editorial“Convention countdown 2002” explained to readers thesignificance of the upcoming conclave. In succeedingweeks the hubbub continued with announcement of theconvention program and related special events in Chicago,the host city; lists of delegates and alternates; the naming ofconvention committees; proposals for amendments to theUNA By-Laws and comments, pro and con, on those pro-posals. Among the most vocal was the chairman of theChicago Convention Committee, a long-time UNA activistand former vice-president, Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, whounderscored that the UNA must begin thinking in terms of“revival and not survival.”

Perhaps the hottest issue was the proposal to reduce thesize of the General Assembly from 25 to 14 members: fourexecutive officers instead of six; three auditors instead offive; and seven advisors instead of 14. Two other majorissues that were discussed in Chicago were the future of theUNA in Canada, where membership had been decliningsteadily, and the fate of Soyuzivka, the UNA’s beautiful, butdeficit-plagued resort.

Ultimately, the convention elected a new 20-memberGeneral Assembly – significantly, one whose compositionwas greatly changed as 14 of the 25 members of theGeneral Assembly for 1998-2002 are no longer on theassembly (13 of them opted not to seek election). TheExecutive Committee for 2002-2006 includes four new-comers among its six members. Two experienced handsreturned, but in new capacities: Treasurer Kaczaraj, a CPAwidely praised for his no-nonsense handling of UNAfinances and for a new degree of openness, moved fromCFO to CEO in his new role as UNA president. NationalSecretary Martha Lysko, while leaving the UNA’s employas the full-time executive officer in charge of its insurancebusiness, returned as the non-salaried first vice-president.Newcomers to the executive committee are EugeneIwanciw, a UNA advisor in 1974-1998 and formerly thedirector of the UNA Washington Office that functioned in1988-1995, who joined the executive as second vice-presi-dent; and Al Kachkowski, a one-term advisor who hasmuch experience in the realm of charitable giving, whonow serves as director for Canada.

In addition to the president, there are two other full-timeUNA executive positions; both filled by capable youngwomen. The new national secretary is Christine Kozak, for-merly the UNA’s director of insurance operations, who hasworked at the UNA Home Office since 1995. RomaLisovich, the new treasurer is new to the UNA and to theGeneral Assembly; however, she is far from new to herfield since she has more than 20 years’ experience in bank-ing and corporate finance.

The newly elected Auditing Committee, downsized fromfive members to three in accordance with an amendment tothe UNA By-Laws adopted at the convention, includes twoexperienced UNA auditors: Alexander Serafyn, an MBAand Ph.D., and Yaroslav Zaviysky, a credit union manager.Joining them as the top vote-getter among the auditors isnewcomer Zenon Holubec, a CPA who is president of hisown accounting firm. (The new team conducted its firstaudit of UNA operations on November 19-21.)

The new advisors, too, have qualifications that should bemost beneficial to the UNA as it works to improve its bot-tom line by focusing on increasing its membership. Four ofthem – Eugene Oscislawski, Joseph Hawryluk, StefanHawrysz and Myron Pylypiak – are top UNA organizers,and Mr. Hawrysz is a former UNA supreme organizer andlongtime field organizer (not to mention a former auditor).Nine of the 11 advisors (formerly there were 14) are branchsecretaries – a most significant factor now that the by-lawshave been changed to include among the advisors’ dutiesthe enrollment of new UNA members.

Speaking after his election by acclamation by the 122delegates, 22 General Assembly members and four hon-



orary members of the assembly who had voting power atthe convention, Mr. Kaczaraj expressed optimism about theUNA’s future. However, he said it would be necessary torevitalize and re-energize the UNA membership to assure areturn to growth. “I would like to see our membership moreunited, inspired by the idea of progress and full of the vitali-ty needed for continued growth,” said the new UNA presi-dent.

During five days of sometimes strained deliberations, thedelegates approved several other key changes to the UNA’sBy-Laws, including a measure that prohibits UNA employ-ees from simultaneously holding a job with the UNA andserving on the General Assembly, and an amendment thatmore clearly specifies the duties of advisors, including theenrollment of members, keeping in touch with local branch-es and being active in regional district committees, andbelonging to one of the standing committees of the GeneralAssembly.

In addition, UNA delegates approved a proposal to moveforward a plan to search for investors to develop and sharethe running of the Soyuzivka estate owned by the UNA.The resort, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2002(more on those celebrations below), is losing more than$500,000 annually and is in need of extensive renovationand upgrading. Mr. Kaczaraj said the deficit was sufficient-ly serious to be a danger to the UNA’s well-being and saidthat within a year an authoritative decision must be madeon whether it would be viable to save Soyuzivka and howthat would be done, or whether to seriously consider sellingthe property.

A special standing committee established in 2000 hadworked with consultants to develop a proposal for savingthe resort that was presented to delegates. “Soyuzivka mustbe redesigned, renovated, rejuvenated, reinvented,recharged and rediscovered,” explained John A. Flis,Soyuzivka’s manager. “It needs an infusion of capital, itmust operate like a business, not like a mom-and-popshop.”

After some debate, a consensus seemed to develop thatthe best alternative would be to find a Ukrainian partner toinvest to keep the treasured asset entirely within the handsof the Ukrainian community, and a new SoyuzivkaRedevelopment Committee – composed of Stefko Kuropas,Taras Szmagala, Anya Dydyk-Petrenko, Alex Chudolij andAl Kachkowski – was directed to work for another year onother alternatives, after which it was to make a final recom-mendation to the Executive Committee. The resolution stat-ed: “This committee shall be responsible for evaluatingoptions available to the association regarding Soyuzivka.The goal of the committee shall be to end the need for sub-sidization of the resort by the UNA, while at the same timepreserving the Ukrainian cultural focus of the resort.Solutions may include the transfer or sale of the resort, ifnecessary. The Executive Committee is directed to provideadequate funding for the activities of the SoyuzivkaCommittee for one year.”

A separate resolution made it clear how dear Soyuzivkais to UNA members: “We, the delegates call on the newUNA leadership in the strongest possible terms to do theirutmost – and then some – to assure that Soyuzivka remains

a UNA asset and one of the best fraternal benefits the socie-ty has to offer its members. We call on our new presidentand new officers, auditors and advisors to keep our belovedCatskill Mountains resort either wholly owned by the UNAor at the very least to limit any partnership that may beneeded to save and invigorate Soyuzivka, to ones that willinvolve organizations or investors from the worldwideUkrainian community. We also remind our leaders that theUNA remains a Ukrainian community organization and thatone essential aspect of its functions and responsibilities isthe rearing of our children in the Ukrainian culture and tra-ditions and that Soyuzivka has been where that socializa-tion process begins, specifically in the children’s campsheld there.”

Another thorny issue addressed by the delegates waswhether “Batko Soyuz” should retain a presence in Canada.And while the issue wasn’t formally raised until the finalday of the convention, it ran as an undercurrent throughoutit, beginning on the first day when the continued need forthe executive position of director for Canada was consid-ered. The UNA has been losing membership in Canadasince 1978 when membership reached 10,000. Since then ithas fallen to 1,207 paid-up and 1,615 premium-payingmembers, a fact noted by National Secretary Lysko duringdebate on the issue. She added that the Canadian businessclimate for U.S. fraternal societies and insurance companieshad worsened, with Canadian insurance regulators puttingpressure on them to either increase their percentage ofCanadian business or consider leaving the market.

UNA President Diachuk said Canada could eventuallyforce the UNA out and that viable alternatives must bedeveloped for taking care of the membership still existingthere, including: having the Canadian UNA membershipincorporated into U.S. branches or the Home Office andhave all memberships, new and old, turned into U.S. dollarvalue; selling UNA Canadian policies and completely leav-ing the country; or, submitting a five-year plan with thehope that it will be accepted by the regulators.

However, the new director for Canada, Al Kachkowski,told the delegates that, in his view, making Canadiansbecome U.S. members would lead to the end of the UNA inCanada. “I believe that turning to U.S. dollars would resultin a drastic cashing in of policies,” he explained. He said hefavored going ahead with a five-year plan and organizing avigorous effort to develop growth in Canada. The delegateseventually decided on a two-year moratorium on a decision,during which time Mr. Kachkowski would attempt a mem-bership drive and a standing committee of advisors wouldbe formed to track the matter and develop a strategy.

Much discussion at the convention was devoted to the“Fourth-Wave” of immigrants from Ukraine, and, indeed,their influence was felt at the convention. There were anumber of delegates from this newest group of immigrants,and that fact was reflected in the increased use of theUkrainian language alongside English during conventiondeliberations. It was noteworthy also that two FourthWavers were elected as advisors, making them the firstGeneral Assembly members from that group. MyronPylypiak has been a very successful UNA organizer in theSeattle area, while Paul Prinko of the Philadelphia area is

The UNA’s newly elected Executive Committee on May 28 (from left): Second Vice-President EugeneIwanciw, Director for Canada Al Kachkowski, President Stefan Kaczaraj, First Vice-President Martha

Lysko, Treasurer Roma Lisovich and National Secretary Christine Kozak.

At the UNA: conventionmeans new beginnings

Roma Hadzewycz


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWsomewhat new to the UNA but joins the General Assemblywith new ideas about the public relations campaign that isabsolutely essential for the expansion of the UNA. In addi-tion, many speakers spoke in favor of reinstituting a bilin-gual (English-Ukrainian) application form for UNA mem-bership that would help organizers attract members whoseEnglish may not yet be up to par.

For all their attention to the work of the convention, thedelegates and guests also had time to visit the UkrainianVillage area of Chicago, take a tour of the beautiful city, aswell as attend a concert and a banquet. The gala banquetfeatured addresses by Ukrainian community and U.S. polit-ical leaders, including U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio,Ukrainian World Congress President Askold Lozynskyj andDr. Kuropas, UNA historian and former UNA vice-presi-dent.

In the Ukrainian Village, the delegates attended a divineliturgy at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral,presided over by Bishop Innocent Lotocky, which was fol-lowed by an ecumenical moleben service with both BishopLotocky and Archbishop Vsevolod concelebrating. Theyalso visited the new premises of the Selfreliance UkrainianAmerican Federal Credit Union, where UNA’ers were wel-comed by CEO Bohdan Watral and feted at a reception, fol-lowed by a tour of downtown Chicago.

Back in New Jersey, President Diachuk and NationalSecretary Lysko were given a warm send-off on June 28 byemployees of the UNA Home Office. That day marked thelast working day of the four-year term of General Assemblymembers elected in 1998, as, in accordance with the UNABy-Laws, the newly elected General Assembly takes officeon July 1.

Mrs. Diachuk, the first female president of the UNA, leftafter working at the Home Office for 52 years – serving forthe last 12 of those years as president and the 18 yearsbefore that as treasurer. Mrs. Lysko departed from the UNAheadquarters after 16 years of service, half of them asnational secretary; however, she remains on the UNAExecutive Committee as the organization’s first vice-presi-dent. Their colleague, Treasurer and President-ElectKaczaraj, delivered farewell remarks at the reception to“two persons who made large contributions to the UNA inthe course of many years.”

The following Monday, July 1, the UNA Home Officewelcomed its new full-time executive officers: PresidentKaczaraj, National Secretary Kozak and TreasurerLisovich.

Also in the news, UNA-wise, during 2002 was talk ofmerger between the UNA and the Ukrainian FraternalAssociation. Executive officers of the Ukrainian NationalAssociation and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association met inScranton, Pa., at the Radisson Lackawanna on January 11to discuss their possible merger at the two organizations’upcoming conventions later this year.

The meeting’s goal was to lay the groundwork for dis-cussions on the possibilities and conditions for a merger ofthe two fraternal benefit societies. Both sides agreed to con-vene again at a second meeting to continue discussions asthe UNA’s convention would be held in May while theUFA’s would follow in June. By mid-February, however,the UNA released a notice to its members that stated: “It isour duty to inform our members that in the past month wehave had no response from the leadership of the UFA inregard to matters discussed at the January 11 meeting, norwas any attempt made to set up another meeting. The UNAConvention is scheduled to begin on May 24. In accordancewith the requirements of the statutes of New Jersey andPennsylvania, the agreement of merger has to be printed inthe official publications not later than 60 days before theconvention, or by March 24, but such a merger agreementdoes not yet exist. We also must seek tentative approval forthe merger from the Insurance Department of New Jersey,which might take a long time to achieve, and to this day notmuch has been accomplished in that respect. The UFA hasbeen notified of all these requirements. Due to the fact that,to this date, the merger of both organizations has not beenproperly prepared, we have only a very slim hope that themerger will be on the agenda of the UNA Convention.Should the deliberations start anew, we will notify ourmembership in our official publications.” The noticeappeared in The Weekly on February 17.

In the very next issue of the UNA’s official publications,the UNA President Diachuk offered an update on negotia-tions in which she reported that “As it stands today, such amerger proposal will definitely not be on the conventionagenda. On Friday, February 15, UFA President JohnOleksyn notified me that after polling all members of theUFA General Assembly, it is evident that for the merger ofthe UNA and the UFA to take place the new organizationmust have a new name.”

At the January 11 meeting UFA President Oleksyn hadinsisted on almost the same terms as were presented for

Celebrations made the year 2002 special forSoyuzivka as the Ukrainian National Associationestate marked its 50th anniversary. It was in 1952

that the Foord estate was purchased by the UNA, andSoyuzivka’s dedication in 1953 was seen as a communi-ty-wide affair that was greeted with much enthusiasmand witnessed by 2,000 guests who arrived for the occa-sion in the hamlet of Kerhonkson, N.Y., from all parts ofthe country.

Fifty years later, Soyuzivka guests, employees,campers and Miss Soyuzivkas – anyone in any way con-nected to the resort – were asked to share their “remem-brances,” as the resort planned an exhibit and bookletcommemorating its anniversary.

During the 2002 summer season, the period from July28 through August 11 was designated as special goldenanniversary weeks at Soyuzivka, and a special 50thanniversary cabaret was held on August 3. At the eveningshow in the Veselka auditorium hosted by RomanWasylyk, the entertainment ranged from a traditionalSuzy-Q talent night to the more serious main stage per-former, and included performers who blended both for-mulas.

All along the perimeters of the auditorium photo col-lages were displayed and viewed by all of the formerworkers in attendance that night. There was a tribute tothe late Manager Walter Kwas, of course, as well as pho-tos of every past and present manager. Fifty years’ worthof memories were depicted: people from all over vaca-tioning at Soyuzivka; performers from all around theU.S., Canada, and Ukraine; campers at various “tabory”;artists who came to display or sell their works; and theworkers who not only worked at their posts but who alsotook part in the various talent nights – some of whomwould then move onto the main stage at the Saturdaynight shows.

Also on August 3, the Voice of America program“Kaleidoscope of the Diaspora” aired a special show onSoyuzivka. The broadcast featured interviews with AlexChudolij, a former employee and band leader atSoyuzivka; former Manager Daniel Slobodian; OfficeManager Sonia Semanyshyn, “Tabir Ptashat” founderNeonila Sochan; former Advisor Stephanie Hawryluk, afamiliar face at the resort’s gift shop, and others.

At the same time, however, questions continued toswirl in the community about Soyuzivka’s fate, eventhough the UNA’s 35th Convention (see preceding sec-tion) had made clear that the UNA was committed to sav-ing its resort. Soyuzivka is, after all, an institution and acommunity treasure; it is part and parcel of the UNA’spublic face.

In mid-August, UNA President Stefan Kaczaraj issueda message titled “On the road to Soyuzivka’s renewal” inwhich he noted that the fate of the resort was the subjectof much attention during the recent UNA convention, aswell as during the annual conference of UNA Seniorsand at a special meeting convened at the resort during“Tabir Ptashat” (Plast’s day camp for pre-schoolers,which has been conducted at Soyuzivka since 1989).“The Soyuzivka management, with the assistance of thespecial committee established at the UNA convention, aswell as with the help of other supporters of Soyuzivka,intends to conduct a multi-faceted review of the resort’sproblems and to reach appropriate conclusions on how tofoster Soyuzivka’s rebirth so that it may continue to serveus and succeeding generations. A plan for the renewal ofSoyuzivka will soon be presented to the Ukrainian com-munity at large,” Mr. Kaczaraj assured readers.

In a second message in early September, headlined“The UNA is committed to keeping Soyuzivka,” Mr.Kaczaraj stated: “We have been touched by the over-whelming support from our community to help resolvethe various problems associated with Soyuzivka. Ourblue-ribbon panel of experts, all volunteers, has beenworking throughout the summer, analyzing the situationand examining ways to redevelop our beloved resort. Allof this is happening because the UNA is committed tokeeping Soyuzivka. We are perturbed by the number ofrumors that say that the sale is eminent, or even conclud-ed. This is simply not true.” He went on to reiterate thatthe UNA would present a redevelopment plan in the fall,and solicited the advice and ideas of all “those to whomSoyuzivka is important.”

Then, in the fall, beginning on September 1, in issues

published for Labor Day weekend – traditionally themost popular weekend at Soyuzivka – The UkrainianWeekly and Svoboda carried “Save the date” advertise-ments promoting Soyuzivka’s 50th anniversary jubileeon November 23. Next came a full-page ad, with a redheart (our first use ever of spot color) urging readers to“Come home to Soyuzivka” and celebrate its 50thanniversary. The $100-a-plate banquet was billed as afund-raiser for Soyuzivka that would kick off its redevel-opment plan.

The theme for the event was “I ª Suzy Q,” and hun-dreds arrived at Soyuzivka for the golden jubilee. Uponarriving at the resort’s Main House, guests were greetedby outdoor lights spelling out “I ª Q.” Inside, the lobbywas decorated with hundreds of balloons bearing thesame message. The welcome continued in the guests’rooms, where a schedule of the festivities was attached toHershey’s kisses, in keeping with the “I love Soyuzivka”theme, and more balloons. A local winery, Rivendell, wascontracted to prepare special anniversary bottles of winebearing a 50th anniversary Soyuzivka label.

The evening began with cocktails in the Main Houselobby and library, which were filled to overflowing.Guests mingled and enjoyed the photo display of peopleand events from years past at Soyuzivka. Many foundthemselves in the photos on exhibit, and thus recalled oldtimes, good company and cherished moments.

The main event, of course, was the elegant banquet inthe Veselka auditorium, during which guests heard mes-sages about Soyuzivka, its past, its significance and itspotential, presented by three UNA executives: PresidentStefan Kaczaraj, National Secretary Christine E. Kozakand Treasurer Roma Lisovich. The evening’s master ofceremonies Nestor Olesnycky and keynote speakerRoman Kyzyk shared reminiscences and reflectionsabout Soyuzivka.

The band chosen to play for the evening’s dance wasTempo, a regular at the resort for decades. A high point ofthe evening came when it was announced that the SelfReliance (New York) Federal Credit Union was donating$50,000 to Soyuzivka. The presentation, made by Dr.Bohdan Kekish, president and CEO, was the first dona-tion to what was later dubbed “Soyuzivka ProjectRenaissance” and set in motion a series of donationsfrom guests at the banquet that added $20,000 more tothe fund for Soyuzivka.

A blue-ribbon panel of experts – Orest Fedash, hotelmanager; Peter Darmohraj, architect, and MyronKukuruza, building contractor – who have volunteeredtheir services to help revitalize Soyuzivka was introducedto the audience at the banquet. Also assisting withSoyuzivka’s planned renovations is John Shmerykowsky,a structural engineer, who answered UNA executives’call for assistance in that field.

The program for the special evening was printed in abilingual booklet that also contained a brief history ofSoyuzivka. Also as part of the golden jubilee, the UNA’stwo official publications, Svoboda and The UkrainianWeekly, each released special eight-page pullouts devot-ed to Soyuzivka.

As the year 2002 drew to a close, UNAers and theUkrainian community at large were anxiously awaitingmore details about the plans for Soyuzivka’s redevelop-ment, which are to be released in early 2003.

Soyuzivka celebrates50th anniversary

Dr. Bohdan Kekish (left) of Self Reliance New YorkFederal Credit Union presents a donation of$50,000 toward Soyuzivka Project Renaissance toUNA President Stefan Kaczaraj during the resort’s

50th anniversary gala on November 23.

Roma Hadzewycz

Association estate’s 50th anniversary year. For the first timesince the contest began in 1956, there was a tie for firstplace in the judges’ voting. The winners were Lydia Rajsz,21, of Edison, N.J., and Michelle Odomirok, 19, of Thiells,N.Y. The first runner-up was 18-year-old Christina Rajsz(yes, she’s Lydia’s sister), while the second-runner up slotproduced yet another tie, with Acya Fedun and Olga Olach.

A little more than a week later, Soyuzivka hosted theUNA Secretaries and Organizers Courses, with secretariesor organizers representing 21 branches in attendance.Topics covered included insurance matters, the UNACharter and By-Laws, membership benefits and fraternalactivities, as well as customer service by both UNA HomeOffice personnel and branch secretaries.

Other developments at the UNA included an April 5 visitto the UNA Corporate Headquarters by top representativesof Ukraine’s diplomatic corps in the United States –Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary andUkraine’s Permanent Representative to the United NationsValeriy P. Kuchinsky and Consul General of Ukraine inNew York Serhiy Pohoreltzev. During the unprecedentedvisit, Ukraine’s diplomats pledged to initiate a “workingdialogue,” i.e., to establish contacts with one of the leadingUkrainian organizations in the United States and two majornewspapers, and through them with the Ukrainian commu-nity at large.

And that was the news at the UNA, as it prepares for its109th birthday on February 22, 2003.

Noteworthy is our traditional name for the categorythat encompasses items that do not neatly fit intoany of our aforementioned sections. The following,

presented in chronological order, are among the most note-worthy developments, people and events observed duringthe year 2002.

• In the first six months of 2002, Canada Post releasedfour Ukraine-related postal items honoring five differentmen in the fields of sport, goverment and art. On January12, Canada Post released an envelope honoring the 75thanniversary of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club. Inaddition to the team crest and a jersey, the souvenir enve-lope features a photo of the most famous goal ever scoredby a Maple Leafs player. It occurred in the 1951 StanleyCup finals, when William “Bashing Bill” Barilko scoredwhile airborne in sudden-death overtime against theMontreal Canadiens to win the game and the series. Alongwith the envelope, Canada Post issued a pre-stamped post-card for the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Oneside of the card carries a reproduction of the WayneGretzky All-Star stamp from 2000.

On February 1, Canada issued a stamp marking the 50thanniversary of a Canadian first becoming governor gener-al, a position responsible for carrying out the duties of headof state of Canada. The stamp lists the nine persons whohave served as governor general over the past five decades.Two of the nine governors general listed on the stamp areof Ukrainian background, Edward Schreyer and RamonHnatyshyn (who passed away in December 2002).

On June 10 Canada Post released a two-stamp set hon-oring Canadian sculptors Leo Mol (with his figures of“Lumberjacks”) and Charles Daudelin (and his abstractcreation “Embacle”). Leonid Molodozhanyn, who short-ened his name to Leo Mol, was born in Volyn, Ukraine.The Taras Shevchenko monuments in Washington andBuenos Aires are his creations, and Mr. Mol is now recog-nized as one of Canada’s finest-ever sculptors.

The text about Mr. Mol that appears on the reverse ofthe day of issue envelope reads: “The monumental bronzesculpture, ‘Lumberjacks’ (1990), by Winnipeg sculptorLeo Mol, effectively captures the strength in motion whichepitomizes his work. Born in Ukraine in 1915, the classi-cally trained artist immigrated to Canada in 1948. He cameto prominence in 1964, when his monument to TarasShevchenko was unveiled in Washington by Dwight D.Eisenhower. His sculptures of Canadian themes, like the‘Lumberjacks,’ have earned him a loyal following amongcollectors. A longtime member of the Royal CanadianAcademy of Arts, his artistic contributions have earnedhim numerous awards and honors, including the Order ofCanada in 1989.”

• The city of Hartford installed a temporary skating rinkduring the 2001-2002 holiday season, and sinceThanksgiving an estimated 2,000 skaters per week, mostlychildren, enjoyed the ice. On January 6, area resident and

approval of the delegates of the UNA Convention in May1998, namely: the name of the new organization is to bechanged to Ukrainian National Fraternal Association; forthe next four-year term one member of the AuditingCommittee and two advisors will be designated by theUFA; and all honorary members of the UFA SupremeCouncil will become honorary members of the new organi-zation’s General Assembly, without any time limitation.

The stumbling block of the merger discussion becamethe UFA’s demand to change the name of the new organiza-tion to “Ukrainian National Fraternal Association.” At the1998 UNA Convention, though delegates approved theUNA-UFA merger, the name change did not receive thenecessary two-thirds majority of votes and as a result wasdefeated. At that year’s UFA Convention, which followedthe UNA convention by one month, UFA delegates rejecteda proposal to merge with UNA because the name changedid not pass at the UNA convention. Four years later, thename change proposal previously defeated at the conven-tion now had even less support in the UNA GeneralAssembly and among UNA members than it had four yearsago.

At the January meeting the UNA’s representativesstressed the many benefits of a merger to both UFA mem-bers and to the UFA as an organization: UFA memberswould have access to all the new and very competitiveUNA insurance policies and to several types of UNA annu-ities; and merger would allow administrative expenses to bereduced by approximately $400,000. Despite these positivepossibilities, Mrs. Diachuk noted, members of the UFASupreme Council rejected a merger of the two fraternalsocieties without the name change.

Then, at the UNA convention in May, an unannouncedvisit by UFA Supreme Council Member MykolaDomashevsky exacerbated matters when what was pre-sumed to be a simple greeting by him became an apparentpolicy statement. After extending greetings to the UNAConvention on behalf of the UFA, Mr. Domashevsky toldthe delegates that he sees no reason for a merger. Heexplained that he believes there are sufficient numbers ofFourth Wave immigrants and even earlier-generationUkrainians in the U.S. who can be enrolled, allowing bothfraternal organizations to thrive.

Nonetheless, UNA delegates adopted a resolution direct-ing the newly elected General Assembly to begin the task ofmailing ballots regarding a UNA-UFA merger to the dele-gates of the UNA 35th Convention by the end of 2002 if,and only if, the upcoming UFA convention in Juneapproved the merger, barring any name changes of theUkrainian National Association.

Meeting at the Ukrainian Fraternal Association’s 25thConvention on June 17-20, however, delegates passed aresolution that contained a non-specific reference to a merg-er: “We believe it would be useful to continue negotiationswith the aim of possible merger with other Ukrainian frater-nal organizations.” The resolution also called on newlyelected officers (led by the UFA’s new president, JaroslawGawur, a former manager of the Verkhovyna resort onceowned by the UFA and a former UFA auditor) to work forthe further growth and development of the UFA.

There was sad news at the UNA during 2002 as severalUNA stalwarts passed away.

John Teluk, UNA supreme vice-president from 1970 to1974, UNA supreme auditor from 1978 to 1982 andSecretary of Branch 414 from 1969 to 1998, died on July13 at the age of 78. A professor of economics and financefor 28 years at the University of New Haven, he was veryactive as chairman of the New Haven UNA DistrictCommittee.

Anne Remick, former advisor of the UNA, and a life-long activist in the Boston area Ukrainian community, diedon August 2 at age 79. Mrs. Remick was elected to twoterms as a UNA supreme adviser, and was also active in theNew England Fraternal Congress, representing the UNA onits board. She also served as financial secretary-treasurer ofUNA Branch 238 for over 30 years.

Mary Dushnyck, 91, four-term supreme vice-president-ess of the Ukrainian National Association and an honorarymember of the UNA Supreme Assembly (today called theGeneral Assembly), died on September 13. She was knownin the UNA as a leader on women’s, youth, sports and cul-tural issues, serving and chairing UNA committees thatfocused on those fields of endeavor. She was the longtimechair of the Supreme Assembly’s Women’s Committee andwas the initiator and moving force behind efforts to erect amonument to poet Lesia Ukrainka at Soyuzivka. Mrs.Dushnyck was active in UNA sports since 1956 when thefirst tennis tournament was held at Soyuzivka under theauspices of the Carpathian Ski Club and the UkrainianSports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada. She herselfcompeted in those tournaments and won a women’s title in1956. For decades Mrs. Dushnyck was the sponsor of a


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWsportsmanship trophy awarded at the annual national tennischampionships at Soyuzivka. She was active as well in theNew York District Committee, serving for many years asthe English-language press liaison, as well as in Branch 293of Brooklyn.

On the legal front, on November 8 the New JerseyDivision of Criminal Justice, Office of Insurance FraudProsecutor, announced that it obtained an indictmentagainst Joseph Binczak, a former insurance agent for theUkrainian National Association, charging him with theft,forging signatures and falsifying the records of sevenclients in a scheme to fraudulently obtain a portion of theirfunds from their annuity accounts. The indictment cameafter an almost two-year investigation by the State of NewJersey. The Ukrainian National Association initiated theinvestigation in early 2001, when the UNA uncovered sus-picious activities on two transactions that involved Mr.Binczak. The discovery led to a cooperative effort betweenthe State of New Jersey and the Ukrainian NationalAssociation that resulted in the indictment.

The investigation began after a UNA policyholder ques-tioned a transaction on her annuity statement. TheUkrainian National Association immediately notified theproper state insurance authorities. This irregularity prompt-ed the UNA to conduct a painstaking internal audit, whichled to the discovery that between November 1996 andNovember 2000 more than $600,000 was illegally trans-ferred from the accounts of seven annuity policyholders byMr. Binczak, who used shell companies and forged docu-ments to accomplish the theft.

Mr. Kaczaraj emphasized: “It is important to note that noUkrainian National Association policyholder has sufferedany financial loss as the Ukrainian National Associationmade full and immediate restitution to the impacted mem-bers. The Ukrainian National Association took this extraor-dinary step out of commitment to our policyholders, whichis in keeping with the Ukrainian National Association’snature as a non-profit fraternal benefit society. We want toprevent losses from being incurred by innocent and loyalUNA members.” Mr. Kaczaraj underscored that, “This loss,while serious and regrettable, does not change the fact thatthe UNA is a sound and stable financial institution, with ahigh ratio of assets to liabilities and a healthy reserveaccount.”

In addition to the State of New Jersey’s criminal caseagainst Mr. Binczak, the Ukrainian National Associationalso commenced legal action to recover the misappropriat-ed funds. The Ukrainian National Association successfullyobtained a civil judgment against Mr. Binczak, and twocompanies he owns that played a role in the theft, in anamount equal to the misappropriated funds.

The UNA Executive Committee, old and new, met threetimes this year: once before the convention and twice after,with the first post-convention meeting, that is, the firstmeeting of the six newly elected officers, occurring onSeptember 9. The focus was on teamwork, as Mr. Kaczarajwelcomed the new Executive Committee members andwished them all the best in the next four years.

At the September 9 meeting, Mr. Kaczaraj began thepresident’s report by announcing that $18,050 in scholar-ships had been awarded to UNA members for academicyear 2002-2003. The scholarships are divided into four cat-egories, and the UNA awarded the following: 33 scholar-ships for $125; 19 scholarships for $150; 21 scholarships$175 and 17 scholarships for $200. In the special scholar-ships category, awarded were the Galandiuk Scholarship,(one for $2,000); the Jarosewycz Scholarship (one for$1,000) and the Blackstone Scholarship (two for $500each).

Likewise, the UNA’s Auditing Committee, as usual, con-ducted two reviews of UNA operations: one in the spring,before the convention, and one in the fall, before the specialmeeting of the UNA General Assembly.

Also during 2002, the UNA Seniors held their 28thannual conference at Soyuzivka on June 9-14. The seniorsspent a great deal of time discussing the fate of Soyuzivka,and they were pleased that UNA President-Elect Kaczarajmet with them at a session and shared his goals for thefuture of the Ukrainian National Association andSoyuzivka. The seniors voted to donate $1,500 to a fund to“Save Our Soyuzivka.” Anna Chopek, who celebrated her90th birthday on September 16 (she was feted by familyand friends at a surprise birthday party held a week early),was re-elected as president of the UNA Seniors. Ms.Chopek is well-known to the Ukrainian community, havingserved as vice-president of the Ukrainian Youth League ofNorth America, as supreme advisor of the UkrainianNational Association for 24 years and afterwards as an hon-orary member of the UNA General Assembly.

During 2002 Soyuzivka had not one, but two MissSoyuzivkas. Over the weekend of August 9-11 a new MissSoyuzivka was crowned during the Ukrainian National

Worthy of note in 2002: events, people, etc.



Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko was on hand toskate with them. Under the auspices of the Children ofChornobyl Relief Fund, Mr. Petrenko spent about an hourand a half skating and clowning on the ice with fans. Heposed for countless photographs and signed autographs.An especially touching moment hushed the crowd as ahandful of children pulling little red wagons filled withtoys made their way to Mr. Petrenko. BoundlessPlaygrounds and its corporate sponsor, Hasbro, donatedtoys to Mr. Petrenko and CCRF for distribution to childrenin Ukrainian orphanages.

• Long-time community leader Orest T. Dubno of NewHaven, Conn., was honored on January 12 as a recipient ofthe Martin Luther King Jr. 2002 Brotherhood Award inrecognition of his “outstanding, distinguished andunselfish efforts to promote tolerance and understandingamong all racial, ethnic and cultural groups.” He was citedfor his work as the former president of the ConnecticutHousing Finance Authority and for his long years of publicservice in the state of Connecticut. Mr. Dubno has servedon the board of directors of the University of New Havenand the Advocacy Council at Yale New Haven Hospital.He was Connecticut’s commissioner of revenue from 1975until 1985 and is currently the chief financial officer withthe Lex Atlantic Corp. He served as the chairman of theboard of directors of the Children of Chornobyl ReliefFund from 1993 to 1999.

• In February it was reported that Lohika Systems Inc., acompany with close ties to Ukraine, announced it hadcompleted its Series A Round of equity financing from apremier group of private investors, raising a total of $1.25million. Employing computer programmers in Ukraine,Lohika provides high-quality, cost-effective outsourcedsoftware development, integration and maintenance servic-es to the higher-education and utilities markets in theUnited States. In Ukraine the shortage of rewardingemployment opportunities means that the best and bright-est young minds in the country look to the West for jobs,causing a “brain drain” through emigration. Lohika estab-lished a software development center in Lviv, and as aresult serves the important social function of helpingUkraine retain its talented programmers.

• Cmdr. Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper (U.S. Navy),who completed NASA’s astronaut training program inApril of 1998, was assigned to a space shuttle missionscheduled for April 2003, and was to become the firstUkrainian American to fly in space. The announcementcame on February 26. The mission is to deliver and attachthe second port truss segment to the International SpaceStation. Cmdr. Stefanyshyn-Piper was born in St. Paul,Minn., on February 7, 1963, and was an active member ofthe Ukrainian American community – belonging to PlastUkrainian Scouting Organization, the local Ukrainiandance ensemble, the school of Ukrainian studies and St.Constantine Ukrainian Catholic Church. She is currently amember of the Ukrainian American Cultural Club ofHouston.

• In the springtime of 2002, Capt. Myron Diduryk, aUkrainian American veteran of the Vietnam War, was citedin the movie “We Were Soldiers” starring Mel Gibson. Themovie documents the first major battle fought by the U.S.forces in Vietnam: the November 1965 battle of the Ia

Drang Valley. Capt. Diduryk’s key role in the battle isnoted in the best-selling book “We Were Soldiers Once...And Young,” written by Lt. Gen. Moore (ret.) and JosephT. Galloway, the only journalist on the scene during thebattle. The similarly titled movie is based on the book.Though there are numerous citations for Capt. Diduryk inthe book, as well as a photograph of the young soldier anda diagram of the battle titled “Diduryk’s Men Hold theLine,” Diduryk’s character does not appear in the movie.There is a reference to Capt. Diduryk, however, in a line inthe movie, as Lt. Col. Moore addresses the departingtroops and notes that the unit includes “a captain fromUkraine.”

• Dr. Michael I. Yarymovych, currently chief scientificadvisor to ANSER Corp. of Arlington, Va., was presentedthe von Kármán Medal by the NATO Research andTechnology Board during ceremonies held in March atMandelieu, France. The medal is awarded annually forexemplary service and significant contribution to theenhancement of progress in research and technology coop-eration among the NATO countries, carried out in conjunc-tion with NATO Research and Technology Organizationactivities. Dr. Yarymovych served as director of theAdvisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development(AGARD) in Paris, as well as U.S. national delegate toAGARD and chairman of the same body. He also servedas chairman of the newly established NATO Research andTechnology Organization.

• Jan Demczur became a hero on 9/11 by freeing him-self and five others trapped in an elevator in the WorldTrade Center. Mr. Demczur had worked for 11 years as awindow washer in the Twin Towers, and he used the toolof his trade, a squeegee, to extricate himself and the othersfrom the elevator. The elevator that Mr. Demczur was rid-ing fell 20 floors before coming to a stop at the 50th floor.The men were able to pry open the elevator doors, butfound a wall of sheetrock on the other side. They used thesqueegee blade until they dropped it, and after that used thesqueegee handle break through the sheetrock. Six monthslater, on March 11, 2002, the squeegee was part of a tem-porary display at the National Museum of AmericanHistory along with other artifacts of the terrorist attacks.

• The Microsoft Corp. released a Ukrainian version ofits new Microsoft Office XP software package on March12, making it the first computer software on the marketavailable in the Ukrainian language. Originally a plan tocomputerize 2,900 Ukrainian schools and institutions ofhigher learning was to utilize existing Russian-languageprograms. However, the U.S-based Shevchenko ScientificSociety (NTSh) turned to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gatesand to the Ukrainian government to insist that only aUkrainian-language software program could be acceptable.Microsoft had provided localized operating software for allthe countries of the region – Russia, Romania, Bulgaria,Hungary, Slovakia, Poland – but, inexplicably, not forUkraine. Microsoft did not deny that it had responded topressure from the Ukrainian Ministry of Education butsaid, “It is an international standard of Microsoft that whenthere is a partnership with a government the most impor-tant programs are to be translated into the native lan-guage.”

• The Batkivschyna, the Ukrainian schooner that was

lost at sea in the Atlantic Ocean for three weeks and thenbecame the toast of the Eastern Seaboard during OperationSail 2000 in the millennium year, began the third year ofits trans-global expedition in mid-April. The vesselplanned to spend the spring and first part of the summer inthe Carribbean before crossing the Panama Canal and trav-eling up the U.S. Pacific coast and then continuing west-ward to Hawaii and Australia. Its 2002 tour came after lastyear’s three-month journey through the Great Lakes, dur-ing which the crew met with Ukrainian communities of allthe major cities of the region and continued the DiscoverUkraine project, the Batkivschyna’s quest to publicizeUkraine, its achievements and its potential.

• The Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal CreditUnion in April moved its main office into a modern newbuilding. The credit union chose to remain in the UkrainianVillage of Chicago, the neighborhood that is home toUkrainian churches, schools and a number of Ukrainian-owned businesses, and where many of its members stillreside. On April 14 President Bohdan Watral and BoardChairman Michael R. Kos ceremoniously cut the ribbon atthe opening, and the blessing of the premises was conduct-ed by Archbishop Vsevolod with Bishops MichaelWiwchar and Innocent Lotocky.

• The Province of Saskatchewan honored PaulOrtynsky, pharmacist and longtime Ukrainian Canadiancommunity activist, on April 25 when he was investedwith the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal. Mr. Ortynsky’scontributions include service as: board member of theUkrainian Canadian Committee’s Saskatchewan ProvincialCouncil; mayor of Canora; vice-president of ParklandRegional College Canora Ukrainian Centennial celebra-tions and millennium reunion; national president of theUkrainian Professional and Business Association; Canorabranch president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress;president of the Canora Ukrainian Heritage Museum;member of the Senate at the University of Regina; andmember of the Provincial Government’s AdvisoryCommittee on Saskatchewan-Ukraine Relations.

• The 2002 Heorhiy Narbut Prize balloting, whichbegan in May, selected the Korol (King) Danylo souvenirsheet as the best-designed philatelic release of 2001 inUkraine. The winning design by Oleksii Shtanko, depictedthe famous king of Halych (Galicia) and Volyn (ruled1238-1264; King of Rus’ from 1253) riding a white charg-er at the head of his troops. A golden lion on a blue bannerunfurls behind him, while in the background are the wood-en walls of the newly built city of Lviv, named forDanylo’s son Lev and founded about 1256. There was alsoa Special Narbut Prize awarded in April of 2002 for “thebest stamp issue of Ukraine’s first decade of independ-

The Canadian postal issue honoring two of the country’s sculptors, Ukrainian Canadian Leo Mol and Charles Daudelin.

Cover of the book “We Were Soldiers Once ... AndYoung,” which recounts the key role of Capt. MyronDiduryk in the battle of the Ia Drang Valley during

the Vietnam War.

ence.” Two souvenir sheets were declared co-winners – the1997 “Founding of Kyiv” and the 2000 “Wildflowers ofUkraine.” “Founding of Kyiv,” designed by VolodymyrTaran and Oleksander Kharuk, depicts the legendaryfounders of Ukraine’s capital: the brothers Kyi, Schek, andKhoryv, and their sister Lybid. According to the ancientmanuscript “Povist Vremenykh Lit” (Tale of BygoneYears), the siblings established the city some 1,500 yearsago on a site overlooking the Dnipro. “Wildflowers ofUkraine,” designed by Kateryna Shtanko, depicts a girlwearing a floral wreath standing in front of various typesof flowers. Each stamp from the sheet features a differentflower.

• “Window on America,” the Voice of America’s popu-lar Ukrainian TV newsmagazine, became available world-wide on the Internet, according to a news story publishedin early May. “Window’s” presence on the World WideWeb came nine years after the program’s nationwide debuton Ukraine’s UT-1 state television network. Produced inWashington, the 26-minute weekly broadcast highlights awide range of topics, from U.S.-Ukrainian relations, anddifficult issues such as homelessness and crime, to light-hearted vignettes. The program also features Americansports, business, agriculture, medicine, education, cultureand life in the Ukrainian American community. The web-site can be accessed at www.vikno.tv.

• Ukrainian American Stefan Tatarenko won his secondterm as Clifton city councilman on May 14. Following Mr.Tatarenko’s victory, a celebration was held in his honor atVenezia Restaurant in Clifton the same night. In a speechduring the celebration Mr. Tatarenko added a “promise tocontinue to help the citizens of Clifton by maintaining alow tax base, increase ratables, increase senior housing andservices, maintain infrastructure in the city, attract newbusinesses, continue redeveloping the downtown areas andof course, continue the outstanding relationship with theUkrainian community and to assist them in any way possi-ble.”

• More than 100 people crammed into Ottawa’sUkrainian Orthodox church hall on May 15 to take part inthe fifth annual National Kovbasa Tasting Competition,organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Profesional andBusiness Association of Ottawa. The kovbasa tasting com-petition was preceded by a brief panel on real estate tips.At the competition, attendees got to taste, then vote for,their favorite kovbasa in three categories: traditional, ham-based and specialty. Asked if the garlic in the kovbasa wasperhaps a little intense, Terence Scheltema answered “notat all,” but he added that he “feels sorry for the personwho’s not eating kovbasa tonight.”

• Oksana Horbunova, a leading women’s and humanrights activist in Ukraine who helped focus the world’sattention on the growing international problem of traffick-ing in women and children was honored for her efforts atthe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts onMay 16. Ms. Horbunova, the Kyiv program coordinatorfor the International Organization for Migration, was



joined by three other women activists – from Afghanistan,Northern Ireland and South Africa – as the first awardrecipients to be honored for their work on behalf ofwomen’s rights by Vital Voices Global Partnership, anorganization that supports women’s groups worldwide inexpanding the participation of women in the political andeconomic life of their countries and in fighting trafficking.

• The Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum cele-brated its 25th anniversary of service to the public, withactor Jack Palance as special guest, at the LackawannaHeritage Valley Center in Mayfield, Pa., on May 31. Mr.Palance, who was born Vladimer Palaniuk in LattimerMines, Pa., took part in the celebrations expressing appre-ciation for the work the museum does in preserving thecoal region heritage. The region can rightfully be called thecradle of Ukrainian immigration to the U.S.

• On June 16, 35-year-old teacher Danylo Darewychand 21-year-old University of Toronto student AndriyKolos reached North America’s highest peak, Denali inAlaska. Denali is the Native American name for MountMcKinley, which has a height of 20,320 feet. Messrs.Darewych and Kolos started out from base camp on June 1with enough food for 30 days. They finally arrived at thesummit on June 16. During their ascent, the UkrainianCanadian pair by chance met a group of three climbersfrom Zaporizhia in Ukraine.

• A newly constructed EMS Building on Grove Street inPassaic, N.J., was dedicated on June 30 to the memory ofJohn Skala, a police officer killed at the World TradeCenter on September 11, 2001. On that day Officer Skalawas stationed at the Lincoln Tunnel. After the first planecrashed into the World Trade Center, he and others rushedto the site, where he would lose his life. Mr. Skala was amember of the Ukrainian American Youth Association(SUM), as well as a member of the board of directors ofthe Ukrainian Center of Passaic. The 16th world congressof SUM, which was held in Novembor 2001, posthumous-ly awarded the Iron Cross of Valor to Mr. Skala. It is thehighest honor in SUM, and it is the first time it has everbeen awarded.

• During the 2001-2002 academic year at the DesMoines Area Community College in central Iowa, faculty,staff and students took a close look at Ukraine. The “Yearof Ukraine” marked the 18th consecutive year the DesMoines Area Community College (DMACC) observedInternational Year. Each year the school selects a differentcountry, learning about its history, culture, economy andpolitics. Students at DMACC read The Ukrainian Weeklyand books about Ukraine; viewed artistic exhibits demon-strating photographs, watercolors and tapestries; watchedfilms; ate Ukrainian food; heard speakers talk about con-temporary issues; saw performances by classical and popmusicians; and made pysanky.

• The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation conducted its first annu-al Youth Leadership Program in Washington on August 3-9for 13 U.S. college students interested in U.S.-Ukrainerelations. A weeklong program of meetings and discus-

Oksana Horbunova (left), the Kyiv program coordinator for the International Organization for Migration, was honored on May 16. With her is Melanne Verveer, chair of Vital Voices Global Partnership.

sions focused on U.S.-Ukraine relations, leadership, publicpolicy, the political process and public service. The stu-dents met with lobbyists, former ambassadors, congress-men and congressional staffers, leaders of NGOs, as wellas Ukrainian priests and representatives of social organiza-tions in Washington. They visited many of Washington’spolitical establishments, such as the Kennan Institute andthe Young Republican National Federation. They alsoattended a viewing of CNN’s “Crossfire” TV program.

• Nonagenarian Dr. Michael Ewanchuk, author of 12books on Ukrainian pioneers in Canada, as well as a bookon Ukrainian contract workers in Hawaii, was honored onSeptember 10 with the Queen’s Medal on the occasion ofQueen Elizabeth’s 50 years on the British throne. Dr.Ewanchuk is currently working on two more books aboutUkrainian settlers and pioneers. Another recipient of thegolden jubilee medal was Metropolitan Wasyly Fedak ofthe Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.

• Acrobatic aerialist Tatyana Petruk, Kyiv-born WorldCup and European acrobatics champion and member ofNew York’s Team AntiGravity, wowed hundreds of specta-tors in the a at the outdoor extravaganza that opened the100th birthday celebration of Macy’s, billed as the world’slargest department store. A later AntiGravity appearancefeatured Ukrainian-born acrobat Tatyana Brikulskaya.

• On September 23, the Miss Universe Organizationannounced that Oxana Fedorova of Russia had beenrelieved of her duties as Miss Universe 2002 and that thefirst runner-up, Justine Pasek of Panama, would assumethe title and serve the remaining nine months of MissUniverse’s reign. What was not known at the time was thatthe naming of Ms. Pasek would be a proud day also forUkraine and Poland. The beautiful brunette was born inUkraine, lived in Poland and later moved to Panama withher parents. According to the Brama website, which citedPolish journalist Waldemar Piasecki of Kurier Lubelski,Ms. Pasek’s mother, Elizabeth Patino, was a chemistry stu-dent in Kharkiv, Ukraine, when she met and fell in lovewith a Polish engineering student, Stanislaw Pasek. Thecouple was married in Kharkiv, where their daughterJustine was born and spent the first year of her life. ThePasek family then moved to Wuzuczynie, Poland, where“Yustyna” was baptized. The new Miss Universe is 22,works in TV production and plans to complete a degree inenvironmental engineering.

• An editorial in The Ukrainian Weekly in Novembercalled “Famine and The Times revisited” commented onthe newly released book “Written into History,” whichcontains Pulitzer Prize reporting of the 20th century fromThe New York Times. It refers to Walter Duranty, whowon the Pulitzer in 1932 for his reporting from the USSR,in which he denied the Famine of 1932-1933 while pri-vately telling British intelligence that he believed over 10million had died. The book contains a parenthetical nota-tion saying, “Other writers in the Times and elsewherehave discredited this coverage.” In a later section, it notesthat Duranty’s reporting “has come under a cloud” and thathe “ignored the reality of Stalin’s mass murder.” However,there is no mention of the Famine-Genocide. A PulitzerPrize awarded to Janet Cooke of the Washington Post in1981 was returned because Ms. Cooke had fabricated thestory. The Times has elected not to follow suit and evenhas a picture of Duranty hanging among the photographsof Pulitzer winners in a corridor at The Times.

• At year’s end came news of a proposal for a newmuseum in France: the Museum of Accidents. As reportedin the December 26 issue of The New York Times, the ideacomes from Paul Virilio, 70, a French urbanist, philoso-pher and writer, who expounds a theory of accidents whichholds that many human accidents today are caused bytechnology, and that modern technology and communica-tions have made accidents more global in impact. As anillustration of what he proposes to display in such a muse-um, Mr. Virilio prepared an exhibit called “UnknownQuantity” which is on view at the Cartier Foundation forContemporary Art in Paris through March 30. The exhibitincludes all types of natural and man-made disasters;among them, along with volcanic eruptions, hurricanes,train derailments and airplane crashes are the terroristattacks of 9/11, which Mr. Virilio says falls into the catego-ry of “war disguised as accident.” Also part of the exhibitis the 1986 disaster at Ukraine’s Chornobyl nuclear powerplant. The Times noted that “The fire at the Chernobyl[sic] nuclear plant in Ukraine in 1986 is presented as per-haps the most dramatic example of sophisticated technolo-gy run amok.” It quoted Mr. Virilio as saying in a film pre-pared for the exhibit that Chornobyl “foreshadowed a newkind of warfare, terrorist war, in which you cannot differ-entiate between attacks and accidents, where the declara-tion of war does not exist, where there are no uniforms, noflags, where there is simply evil-doing.”

Yaro Bihun



Whoa! Is it 2003 already? Here at The Weekly, letus tell you, 2002 just flew by. Could be the work-load and the number of stories we published dur-

ing the year ... there was just no time for reflection or therealization that the end of the year was fast approaching(that despite the repeated warnings of our webmaster/spe-cial projects adjunct Serge “Sid” Polishchuk that “theyearender is coming.”)

Really, it seems like just yesterday that we unveiled thefull texts of all 52 issues of The Ukrainian Weekly pub-lished in 2001 at www.ukrweekly.com, our newspaper’sofficial website. The new addition was unveiled, as hasbecome tradition, in February, on the anniversary of thefounding of the Ukrainian National Association, publisherof The Ukrainian Weekly. Included in the 2001 issues nowonline are 1,771 news stories and articles (not countingindividual items in Newsbriefs) published during the courseof the entire year. The Weekly’s official website now con-tains 11,115 full-text articles. Notable among the 2001issues are the newspaper’s special sections dedicated to the10th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.

The Ukrainian Weekly Archive, which opened its offi-cial website on August 20, 1998, now contains full texts ofall issues published in 1996 through 2001, as well asexcerpts of the top news stories published each week duringthe current year. All sections of the site are searchable. TheUkrainian Weekly provides this website of archival materi-

• John Teluk, 78, former vice-president of theUkrainian National Association and professor of econom-ics and finance at the University of New Haven –Kerhonkson, N.Y., July 13.

• Bohdan Yasinsky, 79, librarian-bibliographer andUkrainian area specialist at the Library of Congress; resi-dent of Silver Spring, Md. – died in Kyiv, while on anextended visit to Ukraine, July 28.

• Bohdan Pevny, 71, artist, arts writer and critic, co-editor of the journal Suchasnist – Kew Gardens, N.Y.,September 7.

• Mary Dushnyck, 91, former vice-presidentess of theUkrainian National Association and a women’s and com-munity activist – Brooklyn, N.Y., September 13.

• Zenon Onufryk, 66, engineer, community activistand leader – Whippany, N.J., September 24.

• Hryhoriy Oleksandrovych Kostiuk, 99, prominentémigré literary scholar and editor, who wrote extensivelyon Ukrainian literature and politics in interwar SovietUkraine – Silver Spring, Md., October 3.

• Ivan Kandyba, 72, lawyer and dissident active in thenational and human rights movements in Ukraine, andfounding member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group –Lviv, November 8.

• Dr. Wasyl Lencyk, 90, scholar and educator, whoselife was marked by service to the Ukrainian CatholicChurch in the United States – Stamford, Conn.,November 10.

• Michael Terpak, 85, pioneer in international radiobroadcasting during the Cold War, established theUkrainian section of Radio Liberation (now RadioLiberty), chief of the Ukrainian Service at Voice ofAmerica – Fairfax, Va., December 2.

• Ramon John Hnatyshyn, 68, governor general ofCanada, 1990-1995, and former justice minister ofCanada – Ottawa, December 18.

During 2002 we mourned the passing of statesmen,scholars, editors and broadcasters, leading mem-bers of the community, and other prominent indi-

viduals. Among them were the following.In early 2002, we learned of the death of the Rev. Vital

Wasyl Pidskalny, 80, former vice-general and Canadianprovincial superior of Basilian Fathers – Saskatoon,December 10, 2001.

• Stepan Woroch, 81, dentist and prominent Ukrainiancommunity activist and leader – Maplewood, N.J.,January 2.

• Ivan Fedorovych Karabyts, 57, a leading composerof Ukraine, founder of the international music festival,Kyiv Music Fest and the Kyiv International PianoCompetition in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz – Kyiv,January 20.

• Zenon Snylyk, 69, editor-in-chief of the SvobodaUkrainian-language daily newspaper (1980-1998) andprior to that editor of The Ukrainian Weekly; an accom-plished athlete and three-time member of the U.S.Olympic soccer team – Berkeley Heights, N.J., January21.

• Lydia Wasylenko Smyk, 43, teacher at St. John theBaptist Ukrainian Catholic School and editor of TheUkrainian Weekly’s “UKELODEON” section – Newark,N.J., February 14.

• Natalia Shukhevych, 92, wife of Roman Shukhevych(1907-1950), supreme commander of the UkranianInsurgent Army (UPA) – Lviv, February 28.

• Wasyl Kardash, 79, founder and director ofUkrainian Canadian church choirs and choral ensembles;member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalistsand a Holocaust survivor – Toronto, March 26.

• Dr. Oksana Maria Korzeniowski, 57, physician andprofessor of medicine at the Medical College ofPennsylvania-Hahnemann University in Philadelphia –Glenside, Pa., March 29.

• George Y. Shevelov, 94, world-renowned linguist andliterary critic, professor of Slavic philology at Harvardand Columbia universities – New York, April 12.

• Savella Stechishin, 99, editor and author, pioneer ofUkrainian women’s movement in Canada – Saskatoon,April 22.

• Dr. Peter Woroby, economics professor emeritus ofthe University of Regina, special advisor to the govern-ment of Saskatchewan on Ukraine (1990-1995) and com-munity leader – Regina, Saskatchewan, May 5.

• Valerii Lobanovsky, 63, legendary soccer coach ofKyiv Dynamo – Kyiv, May 13.

• The Rev. Michael Horoshko, 90, Ukrainian chaplainin the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II andparish priest serving in parishes in Canada and the UnitedStates – Mahonoy City, Pa., May 31.

• Roman Oliynyk Rakhmanny, 83, prolific journalist-publicist – Montreal, June 24.

• Dr. Mykola Deychakiwsky, 81, physician, memberof the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, communi-ty activist and benefactor – Parma, Ohio, July 11.

Zenon Snylyk Ramon Hnatyshyn

George Y. Shevelov

Only during 2002 did the names of the thou-sands of victims of 9/11 become known.Below are the names of victims gleaned

from The New York Times website by doing asearch for the keywords “Ukraine” and “Ukrainian.”

• Tatyana Bakalinskaya, 43, arrived in New YorkCity from Ukraine in 1994, and worked as a hostessat the offices of Marsh & McLennan on the 93rdfloor of the World Trade Center (WTC).

• Marina Gertsburg, 25, emigrated from Odesaand settled in Queens with her family at age 4. Shewas a junior manager at Cantor Fitzgerald, whichshe had joined only a week before the terroristattack and was enrolled in a master’s program atBaruch College.

• Boris Khalif, 30, moved to the United Statesfrom Ukraine at age 10. He was a computer consult-ant at Marsh & McLennan.

• Iouri Mouchinski, 55, arrived in New York Cityfrom Ukraine in 1994, and was a civil engineer whoworked as a handyman at the World Trade Center.

• Vladimir Savinkin, 21, came to the UnitedStates almost six years earlier from Odesa. Heattended Pace University at age 16, and became anaccountant at Cantor Fitzgerald.

• Simon V. Weiser, a Jew born in Kyiv in 1936,arrived in Brooklyn in 1978. He was an engineer inthe USSR who eventually worked in power-distribu-tion engineering for the Port Authority.

• Oleh Wengerchuk, 56, was born in Ukraine, andbecame a Displaced Person as a result of World WarII. He was a transportation designer for theWashington Group International, on the 91st floor ofthe WTC, and lived in Centerpoint, Long Island.

• Igor Zukelman, 29, an immigrant from Ukrainearrived in this country in 1992, and worked at theFiduciary Trust Co. on WTC’s 97th floor.

It should be noted that the name of John Skala,31, of Clifton, N.J., a Port Authority police officer.did not come up in either search as he was not iden-tifed as being either Ukrainian or from Ukraine.Officer Skala was assigned to the Lincoln Tunneland was called to the World Trade Center after theterrorist attack on the Twin Towers.

In addition to these nine victims killed at theWTC, there were others on the long somber list thatfilled two pages in small type in a recent issue ofThe New York Times, whose last names soundUkrainian. So the number of victims with Ukrainianroots undoubtedly is higher.

Victims of 9/11:for the record

Our communitymourns its losses

Meanwhile, at The Weekly...


2002: THE YEAR IN REVIEWals as a community service. The site is maintained by thenewspaper’s production and editorial staffs.

For the record, during 2002, The Ukrainian Weeklypublished 1,715 articles (not counting individual“Newsbriefs” or “Preview of Events” items). The word“Ukrainian” was used 11,237 times; “Ukrainians” –1,037 times; “Ukraine” – 9,695 times and “Ukraine’s” –2,257 times. Need we go on? This is, after all, TheUkrainian Weekly! Oh, and the total number of wordspublished in 2002: 1,278,700 – a nice round number.

During the year, The Ukrainian Weekly celebrated anumber of achievements and innovations.

The most notable was the release of “Ukraine Lives!” –a compilation of materials prepared on the occasion of themilestone 10th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. Thename of the book is taken from the title of The Weekly’seditorial written in 2001 to mark a decade since the historicact of August 24, 1991, that once again placed the name“Ukraine” on the world map. Copies of “Ukraine Lives!”were mailed to The Ukrainian Weekly’s subscribers inNorth America, as well as all members of the U.S.Congress.

The book contains contemporaneous reports on eventsleading up to the re-establishment of Ukraine’s independ-ence, as well as news reports filed from the scene by TheWeekly’s Kyiv Press Bureau on that momentous day in1991 when the Parliament of the Ukrainian SSR, pro-claimed the independence of Ukraine. Also included arereports on the often tense and exciting events that transpiredimmediately thereafter, including the referendum ofDecember 1, 1991, that affirmed the Ukrainian nation’soverwhelming support for independent statehood.

Materials in the book are organized into chapters: “FromPerebudova to Independence,” “Independence: The EarlyYears,” “The Tenth Anniversary,” “Ukraine’s IndependenceDay” (a collection of Weekly editorials published on eachsuccessive Ukrainian Independence Day, which gives asnapshot of both independent Ukraine’s progress and thediaspora reaction) and “Attributes of Statehood.”

The 288-page book also covers the compelling eventsthat led up to independence. Thus, the book transports read-ers to Ukraine, then still part of the USSR, at the time of thenewly proclaimed policies of glasnost, perestroika (or pere-budova in Ukrainian) and demokratyzatsia. The volumecontains unique materials related to Ukraine’s first decadeof independence – encompassing the fields of politics, thearts, religious life, philately, etc. – along with specialreports, commentaries by scholars, observations by foreignleaders, and reflections by youths of both Ukraine and thediaspora related to the 2001 celebrations of the 10thanniversary of Ukrainian independence. Among the newlypublished materials in the book is an account of Ukraine’sparticipation in the Olympic Games, from 1992 to 2000.

Besides the book (Roma Hadzewycz, editor; SergePolishchuk, design/layout) our editors had other successesduring 2002.

Roman Woronowycz of our Kyiv Press Bureau startedthe year off by covering the music scene in Ukraine with athree-part series, each of which featured two groups. “Pop,rock, hip-hop – Ukraine’s music scene has it all – and it’s

thriving,” read the headline.Editor Andrew Nynka covered Ukraine’s participation in

the 2002 Winter Olympics from Salt Lake City and envi-rons, as well as Team Ukraine’s preparations before theGames in Sun Valley, Idaho, the team’s official training site.(Thanks go to Laryssa Barabash Temple, attaché for theUkrainian National Olympic Committee, for making thispossible.)

Throughout the year our arts editor, Ika KoznarskaCasanova was on the lookout for news and new talent inthat realm. She succeeded in enlisting the cooperation ofAlexandra Hawryluk of Montreal as a new arts writer, andthe results included features such as those about artistRoman Kowal, known for his ecclesiastic interior design,and actor and director Gregory Hlady. In addition, Ms.Casanova’s work and coordination with other writers high-lighted the art of such new notables as photographer andtapestry artist Lialia Kuchma and painter Motria C.Holowinsky.

* * *Unfortunately, The Weekly also was in mourning during

2002 as two people associated with the paper passed away. Zenon Snylyk, former editor-in-chief of the Svoboda

Ukrainian-language daily newspaper (1980-1998), andprior to that editor of The Ukrainian Weekly (1962-1980),died on January 21 at the age of 68. Mr. Snylyk devoted 36years and four months of his life to work as an editor withpublications of the Ukrainian National Association. He splitthat time equally between the UNA’s two papers, and alsowas a member of the editorial staff of the two-volumeUkraine: A Concise Encyclopedia sponsored by the UNAand published by the University of Toronto Press. Mr.Snylyk always underlined that the role of UNA publicationswas to serve the Ukrainian community and the Ukrainiannation, and that these were his “imperatives” as an editor.

He was renowned also as an athlete. He was a three-timemember of the U.S. Olympic Soccer Team (1956, 1960,1964), and captained the 1956 and 1960 Olympic squads.He also played and/or led U.S. soccer teams that competedin the Pan-American Games and in a World Cup tourna-ment, and was twice named an All-American. In addition,he coached and played for seven Ukrainian soccer teamsduring the 1950s and 1960s.

Mr. Snylyk chose to retire in 1998 before Svoboda wastransformed, in accordance with a decision of the UNAConvention of that year, to a weekly newspaper. On June18, 1998, his last day of work at the UNA Home Office,which by then had moved from Jersey City to Parsippany,N.J., Mr. Snylyk was feted at an informal gathering of thetwo UNA newspapers’ editorial and production staffs, printshop and administration. In recognition of Mr. Snylyk’sthree most beloved pursuits, on the occasion of his retire-ment the staff of The Ukrainian Weekly prepared a specialfront page of the paper highlighting his days on the soccerfield, at the editor’s desk and on the tennis court.

Just three weeks after Mr. Snylyk’s death, The Weeklyand the Ukrainian community lost Lydia Wasylenko Smyk,43, a beloved teacher at St. John the Baptist UkrainianCatholic School in Newark, N.J., who died on February 14after a long battle with cancer. During the last three years ofher life Ms. Smyk also worked with the editorial staff ofThe Ukrainian Weekly on its UKELODEON section forchildren and youths. It was Ms. Smyk who came up withthe name for the monthly section inaugurated onValentine’s Day 1999, illustrated the “Mykola Myshka”feature and prepared “Mishanyna,” as well as articles bear-ing her byline. UKELODEON noted Ms. Smyk’s passing,bidding her a final farewell on March 10.

Though she held a degree in English literature and hadjob experience in the fields of advertising and maintenanceof historical archives, Ms. Smyk found her true calling in1991, when she began teaching at St. John the BaptistUkrainian Catholic School. She taught at the parochialschool for 11 years, during that time teaching fourth gradeand kindergarten. A tribute from her students at St. John’sappeared in the April 14 issue of UKELODEON.

* * *Our special features during the year included our second

annual section devoted to Ukrainian debutante balls, pub-lished on March 24; our sixth annual supplement titled “AUkrainian Summer,” contained in our May 5 issue. The lat-ter featured a dramatic photo of Kyiv’s monument toBohdan Khmelnytsky against the backdrop of the St.Michael’s Golden-Domed Sobor that appeared on the frontpage of that 12-page supplement along with the story“Historic Kyiv: a world-class capital city just waiting to berediscovered,” written by our Kyiv Press Bureau chief,Roman Woronowycz.

The original color version of that photo – taken by ourcolleague from the Associated Press, Efrem Lukatsky –took one’s breath away. It was just what we were looking

for to grace the cover of our latest book “Ukraine Lives!” Also during the year, The Weekly focused several issues

on the 50th anniversary of the Ukrainian NationalAssociation’s Soyuzivka resort, culminating in an eight-page photo pull-out that appeared in the November 24 issueunder the heading “Soyuzivka is ... memories.”

Marta Kolomayets, once a member of The UkrainianWeekly’s editorial staff and a former Kyiv correspondentfor the newspaper, and another former colleague of ours,Natalia Feduschak, authored a six-part series of articles onthe “Renaissance of Kyiv,” which was timed to appearbefore the Ukrainian Institute of America gala honoredKyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko as Man of the Year,who is seen as the chief architect of the capital city’srebirth.

We also marked the 69th anniversary of our paper. Oureditorial on that occasion referred to some of the ground-breaking work done by the paper during the nearly sevendecades of its service to our community. It reflected alsoupon the paper’s extremely loyal readership without whomthe paper would not be able to continue its mission, as wellas the crucial role of its publisher.

Subscriptions do not even come close to supporting thework of this newspaper, we explained to our readers. Ouradvertisers and our benefactors do help foot the bill, and sodo the generous donations to The Ukrainian Weekly PressFund and the donations received along with payment forour aforementioned latest book – for which we offer mostsincere thanks. But, frankly, without the financial input ofour publisher, the Ukrainian National Association, neitherThe Weekly nor the Ukrainian-language Svoboda wouldexist. Both weekly newspapers are funded with hefty subsi-dies from the UNA – probably the best concrete example ofthe UNA’s role as a fraternal benefit society that exists tobenefit its members and their community.

Thanks were due also in 2002 to supporters of our“Copies for Congress” program, which provides gratis sub-scriptions to The Ukrainian Weekly for all members of theU.S. Congress based on the premise that this newspaper hasserved as the voice of our community and thus informs ourlegislators about our concerns and spurs them to action onissues important to us. As well, it provides informationabout developments in Ukraine that simply is not availableelsewhere. Plus, The Weekly is the only newspaper thatprovides such information consistently, coherently andaccurately.

The Ukrainian Weekly’s “Copies for Congress” programduring 2001-2002 was supported by eight credit unions,three professional organizations, three community organi-zations and four individual donors. Their contributionstotaled $12,600. Each donation of $1,000 was acknowl-edged with a special sponsor’s box that appeared on page 3of The Weekly.

Finally, we must thank our administration, headed byWalter Honcharyk (still our top candidate for our UnofficialMan of the Year Award); our advertising manager, MariaOscislawski (who still refuses to wear those sneakers sheneeds because of all the running around she does); and oursubscription/circulation manager, Mary Pendzola (whomwe began calling “president” of her one-woman “depart-ment” this year). It’s great working with you all – yourcooperation is much appreciated.

* * *And that, Dear Readers, brings “2002: The Year in

Review” to a close.We hereby extend greetings and wishes of good health,

good fortune and good humor to all of you for the NewYear and beyond. Keep reading and keep in touch!

Oh, just one more thing...The materials in this year-in-review section were pre-

pared by Roman Woronowycz of our Kyiv Press Bureau,Roma Hadzewycz, Andrew Nynka and Ika KoznarskaCasanova of our home office in Parsippany, N.J., YaroBihun in Washington, and our colleague and former stafferDeanna Yurchuk of New York City. We were also assistedby our two summer interns, Peter Steciuk and AndrewOlesnycky, who took some time out of their winter breaksto assist us. (As far as we’re concerned, they can work anyand all seasons they’d like...)

Needless to say (or is it?), the materials in this issue aredependent also on the many submissions from localactivists, regular correspondents and free-lancers whosereports were published in The Weekly during 2002.

Special thanks are due also to our production team parexcellence: the dynamic duo of Markian (“Markianchyk”)Rybak and Awilda Rolon, without whose hard work andgreat spirits, often under trying circumstances, we could nothave released this 48-page issue containing 34 solid pagesof year-in-review material.

Cover of The Ukrainian Weekly’s latest book, “Ukraine Lives!”


At the turn of the year, cultural events in the Ukrainiancommunity dwindle down to a precious few as we goabout celebrating one Christmas or the other (or both) andringing in the new year with traditional “Malanka” festivi-ties.

Yet there still remains much to write about, for the pre-Christmas period of 2002 was well stocked with art exhi-bitions and musical events.

Apart from the Ukrainian Institute of America’s exhila-rating “Renaisssance of Kyiv” events and an excitingUkraine Day at the United Nations (see The UkrainianWeekly of December 15 and January 5, respectively),December had many sugarplums to offer.

Included among these were “A Royal Christmas,” atouring show starring Julie Andrews and ChristopherPlummer, and featuring principal dancers of the KyivBallet and the Shumka Ukrainian dancers of Edmonton; aduo-piano recital by Kyiv-born Valentina Lisitsa and herhusband, Alexei Kuznetsoff; a Symphony Space concertheadlined by master bandurist Julian Kytasty and virtuosopipa (Chinese lute) player Wu Man; and a gig by the wildGogol Bordello ensemble at the Knitting Factory.

Dovzhenko films took the spotlight for two weeks atthe BAM Rose Cinemas in Brooklyn. Capturing interestin Manhattan were exhibits by artist Inka Essenhigh andphotographer Joseph Sywenkyj. Highbrow cartooning

Inka Essenhigh, the progeny of a Ukrainian mother andan English father, has been making waves for severalyears as a stylish up-and-coming painter, but her Englishsurname concealed her from “Dateline” until aConnecticut reader tipped us off to her part-Ukrainian lin-eage. Turns out Ms. Essenhigh enjoyed sudden fame fouryears ago, when critics and New York art dealers first dis-covered her “trendy” art.

Michael Kimmelman, who wrote about her latestexhibit in the November 17, 2002, issue of The New YorkTimes, referred to her early work as “skillfully drawn, sin-uous and decorative,” populated by “humanoid techno-blobs that looked slightly sinister but also loopy.” He saysher new work, shown in tandem at 303 Gallery inManhattan in December and at the Victoria Miro Galleryin London, reveals a new phase in her still youthfulcareer: she has evolved her own distinctive realm of“highbrow cartooning in a kinky style that is lush andlouche.”

Ms. Essenhigh’s art, says Mr. Kimmelman, tests thealways fine, fascinating line between beauty and bad tasteas she “flirts brazenly with kitsch.” One of her eight paint-ings at 303 Gallery showed a long-lashed vixen in delicatepink-striped harem pants, fanned by buglike slaves, reclin-ing on a gigantic platform bed shaped like a tiered wed-ding cake. Another work focused on lovers shooting laserbeams into each other’s eyes while morphing into ArtNouveau entanglements of vines and budding flowers.

In her earlier work, Ms. Essenhigh used enamels thatleft a flat, glossy surface on the large canvases she uses;this past summer she switched to oils for a richer, tactilesurface. Andrea Scott (Time Out New York) says the off-key palette and the imagery that hints at Mughal minia-tures and Japanese ukiyo-e prints are still recognizablyMs. Essenhigh’s, but she feels that old-fashioned paintand more familiar pictorial conventions constitute a bravemove for a young artist who’s garnered so much attention.

Writing in the November issue of ArtReview, VioletFraser notes that Ms. Essenhigh’s paintings omit facialdetails, as in the visually epic work “Rearing Horse andRider” (2002). She says character and experience aregiven definition by the rodeo-style salute, the big bootfirmly planted in a foregrounded stirrup and the drama ofthe rearing horse, swathed in streams of cloth and flyingmane.

Steven Vincent wrote in Art & Auction that Essenhighpaintings such as the 2002 “Personal Planet” and “Arrowsof Fear” strike our sensibilities “less as examples of hip‘90s art and more as insightful ruminations for anxioustimes.” He feels that Ms. Essenhigh’s evolution toward amore confident, painterly style should solidify her reputa-tion as a significant debut de siecle artist.

Most critics agree that Ms. Essenhigh’s large paintingsare vibrant, violent and shiny. The public must like them,for the work on view at the Miro Gallery was sold (at$30,000 to $35,000 a canvas) even before the exhibitopened.

Born in Belfont, Pa., Inka Essenhigh was namedIvanka by her parents, Anna (Kobrynskyi) and RobertEssenhigh, and affectionately dubbed Inka by her grand-mother; the nickname stuck. She attended Ukrainianschool in Ohio and worked at Soyuzivka in the 1980s

DATELINE NEW YORK: Holiday happenings in retrospect by Helen Smindak

(“I’m very conscious of my heritage,” she told“Dateline.”) Her art studies took her to the ColumbusCollege of Art and Design in Ohio and New York’sSchool of Visual Arts, from which she graduated in 1994.

In the next few years, Ms. Essenhigh tried variouspainting styles, realist and abstract, before settling on astyle of her own, one that was influenced by artists likeDali. At the time, she was designing Sears boxer shorts onwhich images of simplified, generic space ships, cocktailglasses or aliens floated in front of flat monochromegrounds. The clear, bold language of the textiles appealedto Ms. Essenhigh and she tried to achieve that clarity anddirectness in her paintings, eventually developing her castof heavily outlined, headless mutants, set in enigmaticscenarios before neutral fields of paint.

At 29, she shot to fame in 1998 after some criticallyacclaimed shows in New York. There were scads ofreviews in leading art publications and the general printmedia. Her surreal canvases were snapped up by theWhitney Gallery and MoMA in New York, the TateLiverpool in England and Hollywood mogul MichaelOvitz, among others. A profile in Vanity Fair magazineestablished the petite, live-wire painter as a celebrity.

Now 33, and lately married, Ms. Essenhigh continuesto work in her East Village studio, while her Londonexhibit travels to Edinburgh and the New York show goeson to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami. Criticsare waiting to see what she’ll come up with next. SaysMs. Essenhigh, “I think about (my paintings) as beingabout America: fake, fun, pop, violent but also quiteattractive.”An open door

Joseph Sywenkyj, a young photographer who graduat-ed from the School of Visual Arts with an Honors B.A.degree in photography last spring, has a mission: he wantsto raise awareness of Ukraine’s growing epidemicsthrough photographs, searching at the same time for truthand hope in its various forms.

To this end, he has returned repeatedly to Ukraine, theland of his ancestors, to photograph Chornobyl radiationvictims and citizens of Ukraine suffering from HIV/AIDSand tuberculosis.

“I think of the camera as an open door to bring mecloser to the people I photograph,” he says. “I am veryconcerned with fostering social change but work to repre-sent the people in the images not only for who they areand how I see them, but for how they would prefer to beseen and represented.”

Mr. Sywenkyj’s exhibition “Joseph Sywenkyj Ukraine:Verses of Faith and Disease,” opened at the Visual ArtsGallery in November and ran through December 14,2002. Included were some 35 photographs taken inUkraine over the past two years, among them shots of 6and 7-year-old Chornobyl victims who seemed to carrythe weight of adulthood on their faces, and photos fromlast summer’s trek to several TB hospitals.

Guest curator W. M. Hunt, director of photography atRicco/Maresca Gallery in New York, told opening nightattendees that “Joseph Sywenkyj is the real thing: he has a

good eye as a photographer, his sense of color and compo-sition are remarkable, and he has enormous heart as ahuman being.”

While Mr. Sywenkyj’s striking exhibit covered thespread of tuberculosis, the centerpiece was his story aboutAIDS and its impact on Odesa residents Ira and Sasha andtheir newly born fifth child, Maria. Resisting despair, heincluded images showing the preciousness and vitality oflife – Maria’s sisters, Nadia and Tanya, skipping rope.

Mr. Sywenkyj’s work is currently seen in a travelingexhibition “Pandemic: Imaging AIDS,” which includes100 works by major award-winning photographers andartists representing 50 countries, documenting 20 years ofAIDS. On view in the United Nations Visitors’ Lobbythrough January 20, the exhibit has already been seen inthe Netherlands, South Africa and Spain, and will travel toWashington in the spring. The “Pandemic: ImagingAIDS” project includes a book that carries two of Mr.Sywenkyj’s photos.

Mr. Sywenkyj’s photojournalistic work, which hasearned him several prestigious awards and grants, hasbeen carried in U. S. News & World Report, Newsweek,Fortune, Guitar World, The Ukrainian Weekly and otherpublications. That’s entertainment!

At Symphony Space in early December, bandura maes-tro Julian Kytasty joined Wu Man, a virtuoso performeron the pipa (Chinese lute) for an evening of extraordinaryand beautiful music. Ms. Man, who has performed andrecorded with Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project and theKronos Quartet, performed an opening solo set of tradi-tional Chinese material. Then she and Mr. Kytasty com-bined talents (as well as a variety of banduras and flutes)in some newly arranged duets that drew on both Chineseand Ukrainian sources. Mr. Kytasty’s colleagues from theExperimental Bandura Trio, Michael Andrec and JurijFedynskyj, came in for the finale, creating a foursome thatproduced unusual rearrangements of three numbers fromthe EBT Songbook.

With the “Sound of Music” co-stars Julie Andrews andChristopher Plummer heading the line-up, the touringshow “A Royal Christmas” came to Nassau Coliseum inUniondale, Long Island, for a one-night stand inDecember. The supporting cast included the 16-year-oldWelsh soprano Charlotte Church and a slew of interna-tional choir singers and ballet and folk dancers, amongthem the world-renowned Shumka Dancers, an ensemblethat’s been compared to big-time Riverdance. The nostal-gic Yuletide show featured three acclaimed ballet dancersfrom Kyiv – principal dancer of The Royal Ballet IvanPutrov and principal dancers of the Kyiv Ballet OksanaStorozuk and Olena Filipeva – who performed beautifulballet pieces from “The Nutcracker Suite.”

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall resounded with aSchubert piano duet and Chopin études on December17, 2002, as Kyiv-born Valentina Lisitsa and her hus-band, Alexei Kuznetsoff, teamed up in a duo-piano

Performers of the show “A Royal Christmas.” including the Shuma Dancers, take a bow


Sulyma Productions


GLEN COVE, N.Y. – The Order of St.Basil the Great has officially authorizedSteve Ircha to conduct fund-raisingactivities on its behalf. The purpose ofthis campaign is to support of vocationsto the monastic life, which includes themonastic priesthood.

The Order of St. Basil is seekingdonations because the expenses involvedin the education of seminarians and theupkeep of various educational facilitieshas depleted the order ’s resources.Checks for the support of the order’svocational work should be made out toOrder of St. Basil the Great and sent to:Steve Ircha, 6 Gramatan Court,Bronxville, NY 10708. His work phonenumber is: 1 (800) 221-4947 and hishome phone number is (914) 395-3777.Donations may also be sent directly to:Order of St. Basil the Great, c/o St.Josaphat Monastery, East Beach Drive,Glen Cove, NY, 11542.

The American Province of the Order ofSt. Basil the Great ministers to UkrainianCatholic faithful in the United States. Theorder administers parishes in New York,Michigan and Illinois. This includes St.George Ukrainian Catholic Parish inManhattan, along with St. George ele-mentary and high schools; ImmaculateConception Ukrainian Catholic Parish inHamtramck, Mich., along with its ele-mentary and high schools; St. JosaphatResidence and Ukrainian Catholic Parishin Warren, Mich.; Nativity of the BlessedVirgin Mary in Palos Park, Ill.; HolyCross Ukrainian Catholic Parish, LongIsland City, N.Y.; St. Mary’s UkrainianCatholic Parish, Bronx, N.Y.; and St.Josaphat Monastery and Novitiate, GlenCove, N.Y.

Basilian Order taps activist to serve as fund-raiserU.S. and Canadian censuses.

Table 1 shows a list of selected nationali-ties in 2001, and provides a comparisonwith the 1989 census data. Ukrainians com-prised 77.8 percent of the total population(about 37.5 million), while the percent forRussians was 17.3 (about 8.3 million). Thelast column of Table 1 shows the relativeincrease (or loss) in absolute numbers foreach nationality, between 1989 and 2001.The number of Ukrainians increased by 0.3percent between 1989 and 2001, while thenumber of Russians decreased by 26.6 per-cent during this period. Two factors arelikely to account for this loss: 1) out- migra-tion of Russians from Ukraine; 2) andUkrainians who declared Russian as theirnationality in 1989 and switched toUkrainian as their nationality in 2001. Theavailable data does not allow us to estimatethe relative weight of these two factors.

Ukrainians and Russians comprise morethan 95 percent of the total population ofUkraine; thus the size of other nationalitiesis quite small. The third largest nationalityin Ukraine is Belarusians, with 0.6 percent(276,000), followed by Moldovans,Crimean Tatars and Bulgarians, withbetween 205,000 and 259,000. The sizes ofthe other nationality groups are muchsmaller.

It is interesting to note the changes in thesizes of these nationalities between 1989and 2001 (see last column of Table 1). Onlythree nationalities experienced increases intheir absolute numbers during this period;all others showed losses. Georgians andAzerbaijanis showed the largest increases,with 45 and 22 percent, respectively.Although their absolute numbers are quitesmall, this is a trend worth monitoring. Theonly other nationality with positive growthwas the Romanians, with 12 percent.

The largest loss was experienced byJews, with a decline of almost 79 percent intheir absolute numbers between 1989 and2001. This is consistent with the large emi-gration of Jews from Ukraine during thisperiod, which started in the later part of the1980s. Belarusians and Poles also showedlarge losses, 37 and 34 percent, respective-ly. Here again it would be interesting to seeif this was due largely to out-migration or tochanges in declared nationalities between1989 and 2001.

The distribution of Russians is veryuneven across Ukraine. They are heavilyconcentrated in the eastern and southernoblasts, while their numbers are quite smallin western oblasts. Table 3 presents datafrom selected oblasts in these two cate-gories, as well as the relative changesbetween 1989 and 2001 in their proportionswithin the oblast’s total population.

First, we note that overall the proportionof Ukrainians has increased between 1989and 2001, while the proportion of Russianshas decreased. The proportion ofUkrainians has experienced a gain of 7 per-cent, while the proportion of Russiansexperienced a loss of 22 percent (last col-umn of Table 3). This could be interpretedby some as a positive trend.

The Crimean Autonomous Republic andthe city of Sevastopol are the only areaswhere Russians constitute the majority ofthe population: 72 percent in Sevastopoland 58 percent in Crimea. In the case ofCrimea, the proportion of both Russiansand Ukrainians has experienced a lossbetween 1989 and 2001, but this is due tothe influx during this period of Tatars, whowere allowed to return to their homeland. Itis interesting to observe that in Sevastopol,despite the overwhelming proportion ofRussians, between 1989 and 2001 the rela-tive size of the Ukrainian population hasincreased from 20.1 to 22.4 percent, whilethe relative size of the Russian populationhas decreased from 74.9 to 71.6 percent.


(Continued from page 1)2001 Census...

Fund-raiser Steven Ircha, Fathers Philip Sandrick, and Mauricio Popadiuk, of the Basilian Order and Andrij Szul, attorney.

In addition to the student seminariansin Glen Cove, the American Province ofthe Order of St. Basil the Great has semi-narians studying in schools in OrchardLake, Mich.; Edmonton; Rome, Italy;Curitiba, Brazil; and Peremyshl, Poland.

The Order of St. Basil also conductsparish missions (spiritual renewals) inUkrainian Catholic parishes throughoutthe United States. The order runs a retreatcenter in Glen Cove, where couples con-templating marriage are given a weekendof instructions by competent marriedcouples and clergy.

Currently 10 student seminarians arebeing educated for the American Province

of the order. To cover the expensesinvolved in training these seminariansand to conduct the other religious servicesmentioned above, the order seeks to raise$3 million. Donations to the order for thispurpose are tax-deductible.

Mr. Ircha, along with his wife, Jane,and sister Suzanne have already success-fully raised thousands of dollars for theOrder of St. Basil the Great. Steve Irchais the senior managing director of theinvestment firm McLaughlin, Piven,Vogel Securities Inc. and has been alongtime friend of the order. Mr. Irchaand his three sisters all attended St.George Elementary School in Manhattan.

Roman and Katheria Hirniak Millington, N.J.

Nadja Zubrik Miami Beach, Fla.

Bohdan Knianicky Mira Loma, Calif.Steven Kostiv N. Attleboro, Mass.Roman Kucil Rochester, N.Y.Julian Kulas Parkridge, Ill.Walter Lesiuk Santa Monica, Calif.Maria Oharenko Redondo Beach, Calif.Wolodymyr Pylyshenko Rochester, N.Y.

Michael Cham Netarts, Ore.Christine and Alexander Hladky Orland Park, Ill.

Nicholas Kotow Bethel Park, Pa.

Vasyl Luchkiw New City, N.Y.Alexandra Allen Fort Myers, Fla.Lydia Baltarowich Warren, Mich.Andrij Buhel Mississauga, OntarioJohn Cherniawsky Astoria, N.Y.Orest Deychakiwsky Beltsville, Md.Paul Dzul Grosse Pointe, Mich.George Forys Leetsdale, Pa.Nadia Haftkowycz Wethersfield, Conn.Lusia Halunko Richmond, Va.Olga Hayetskyj Bronx, N.Y.Mary Horbay Oakville, OntarioStefania Katamay Philadelphia, Pa.Maryanne Kmit Las Vegas, N.V.Natalia Lonchyna Raleigh, N.C.Ludmyla Doroshenko-Slobidsky Elkhorn, Nev.

Walter and Stephanie Majkut Dover, Mass.

Andrij Makar Sunnyside, N.Y.Olga Manasterski Aliquippa, Pa.Marian Maslak Lakewood, Colo.Irene Nakoneczna Richmond, Va.Marijka Narewycz Phoenix, Ariz.Jurij and Marta Ozga Naperville, Ill.O. and L. Polon Penn Yan, N.Y.Ihor Sydor Cos Cob, Conn.Peter Sztyk New York, N.Y.Stephania Tatchyn Timonium, Md.Bohdan Trylowsky North Vancouver, British ColumbiaLuba Turkevich Potomac, Md.George and Maria Walchuk Annandale, N.J.Wolodymyr and Stephania Terleckyj Philadelphia, Pa.Wolodymyr Wolowodiuk Chatham Township, N.J.Wolodymyr Wronskyj Greenlawn, N.Y.Michael Zaparyniuk Lake Worth, Fla.Marie Zarycky Warren, Mich.

$35.00

$50.00

$100.00 Y. Zaviysky Clark, N.J.

Oksana and Volodymyr Bakum Highland, N.Y.

Jaroslaw Chypak Wayne, N.J.Edward Rokisky North Port, Fla.Chrystyna Sarachman Philadelphia, Pa.

Evhen Baczynskyj Parma, OhioElfrozena Boyczuk Milford, Conn.Roman and Natalia Kuzyk Trenton, N.J.Maria Liteplo Carlisle, Mass.Markian Pawluk Lansdale, Pa.Olga Pishko Monessen, Pa.Valentina Poletz Minneapolis, Minn.Andrew Zaderej South Bend, Ind.

John Babak Dearborn, Mich.Roman Chaws Windsor Locks, Conn.Olga Drozdowycz Poughkeepsie, N.Y.Mary Fischer Miami, Fla.Stefan Glut Flanders, N.J.Romana Jachtorowycz Chicago, Ill.Luba Keske Woodland Hills, Calif.Roman Kowcz Monroe, Conn.W. Kramarczuk St. Anthony, Minn.Agnes Palanuk Dickinson, N.D.Dan Schwartz Moraga, Calif.Olga Semeniuk Amherstburg, OntarioOrest Shegda St. Catharines, Ontario

Ihor Pacholuk Burlingame, Calif.

J. Aroniw Barrie, OntarioWilliam Barna Marlboro, N.J.John Choma Brooklyn, N.Y.Zenon Franko Conyers, Pa.John Petro Garbera New York, N.Y.Wolodymyra Kawka Drexel Hill, Pa.Maria Klos Diamond Point, N.Y.Teodor Klowan Franklin, Mass.Zenon Lebed Mississauga, OntarioChrystyna Lysobey Cherry Hill, N.J.Irene Matvienko-Dean Mount Vernon, MaineWilliam Mokey Watervliet, N.Y.Eugene Nykyforiak Warren, Mich.Stephan Saldan Niles, Ill.Alexander Sokolyszyn Port Charlotte, Fla.George Wesely San Francisco, Calif.J. Wynnyckyj Etobicoke, Ontario

Total $1,971.00... AND A SPECIAL THANK-YOU

The donations listed above to The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund werereceived during the month of November along with payments for “Ukraine Lives!”

$5.00

$10.00

$15.00

$20.00

$6.00

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$85.00

THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY PRESS FUND: A SPECIAL REPORT


Table 1.- Population by Selected Nationalities: Ukraine, 2001 and 1989 Census Data

2001 population % gain/lossNATIONALITIES (in 1,000s) % of total 2001/1989Ukrainian 37541.7 77.8 0.3Russian 8334.1 17.3 -26.6

Belarusian 275.8 0.6 -37.3Moldovan 258.6 0.5 -20.3Crimean Tatar 248.2 0.5 NABulgarian 204.6 0.4 -12.5Hungarian 156.6 0.3 -4.0Romanian 151.0 0.3 12.0Polish 144.1 0.3 -34.2Jewish 103.6 0.2 -78.7Azerbaijani 45.2 0.1 22.2Georgian 34.2 0.1 45.3German 33.3 0.1 -12.0

Source: Ukraine's 2001 Census.

Table 2.- Ukrainian and Russian Nationalities in Selected Oblasts:2001 and 1989 Census Data

2001 pop. % in Census Year: % Gain/loss inNATIONALITY (in 1,000s) 2001 (a) 1989 (b) relative size *

UKRAINE: Ukrainian 37,541.7 77.8 72.7 7.0%Russian 8,334.1 17.3 22.1 -21.7%

OBLASTCRIMEA (auto. rep.) Ukrainian 492.2 24.3 26.7 -9.0%

Russian 1,180.4 58.3 65.6 -11.1%SEVASTOPOL (city) Ukrainian 84.4 22.4 20.1 11.4%

Russian 270.0 71.6 74.9 -4.4%DONETSK Ukrainian 2,744.1 56.9 50.7 12.2%

Russian 1,844.4 38.2 43.6 -12.4%ODESA Ukrainian 1,542.3 62.8 54.6 15.0%

Russian 508.5 20.7 27.4 -24.5%KYIV (city) Ukrainian 2,110.8 82.2 72.5 13.4%

Russian 337.3 13.1 20.9 -37.3%LVIV Ukrainian 24,771.0 94.8 90.4 4.9%

Russian 92.6 3.6 7.2 -50.0%VOLYN Ukrainian 1,025.0 96.9 94.6 2.4%

Russian 25.1 2.4 4.4 -45.5%RIVNE Ukrainian 1,123.4 95.9 93.3 2.8%

Russian 30.1 2.6 4.6 -43.5%POLTAVA Ukrainian 1,481.1 91.4 87.9 4.0%

Russian 117.1 7.2 10.2 -29.4%

* % [(a)/(b)]-1


Table 3.- Selected Nationalities by % of Declared Mother Tongue: 2001 Census

Declared Mother Tongue (%)Own

NATIONALITY nationality Ukrainian RussianUkrainian 85.2 NA 14.8Russian 95.9 3.9 NA

Polish 12.9 71.0 15.6Hungarian 95.4 3.4 1.0Romanian 91.7 6.2 1.5Gypsy (Roma) 44.7 21.1 13.4Moldovan 70.0 10.7 17.6Crimean Tatar 92.0 0.1 6.1Tatar 35.2 4.5 58.7

Belarusian 19.8 17.5 62.5Jewish 3.1 13.4 83.0Greek 6.4 4.8 88.5German 12.2 22.1 64.7Georgian 36.7 8.2 54.4Azerbaijani 53.0 7.1 37.6


For illustrative purposes, Table 3 showsdata for two oblasts with a significant pro-portion of Russians: Donetsk with 38 per-cent and Odesa with 20 percent. In bothcases we see that between 1989 and 2001the proportion of Ukrainians hasincreased, while the proportion ofRussians has decreased. In the case ofDonetsk, for example, Ukrainians experi-enced a 12 percent increase in their rela-tive proportion, while Russians experi-enced a 12 percent decrease in their rela-tive proportion. The gain for Ukrainians inOdesa was even higher, while the loss forRussians was larger.

Table 2 also presents similar data forfour oblasts where Ukrainians constitutemore than 90 percent of the total popula-tion, and the percent of Russians variesbetween 2 and 7 percent. In all four casesthe proportion of Ukrainians has increasedbetween 1989 and 2001, while the propor-tion of Russians has decreased. The relativedecrease in the proportion of Russians inthese oblasts varies between 29 percent inPoltava and 50 percent in Lviv.

LanguageThe structure of the language question

was as follows. Your language characteris-tics: a) mother tongue (note); b) if yourmother tongue is not Ukrainian, note if youspeak Ukrainian (yes or no); c) do youspeak another language? (note).

So far, the only language data releasedby the Ukrainian Statistical Committee is atable which relates part a) of this questionwith the nationality of the individual. InTable 3 we list selected nationalities by per-cent of persons who declared their mothertongue to be that of their own nationality,Ukrainian or Russian. (With the exceptionof Gypsies, or Roma, referred to as“Tsyhany,” the percent with another mothertongue was very low for all nationalities).

The percentages in the first column ofTable 3 can be interpreted as measures ofthe degree of language retention of therespective nationality. Thus, Russians havea high degree of language retention, with 96percent of them declaring that Russian istheir mother tongue. Hungarians andCrimean Tatars also have a very highdegree of language retention, while thisindicator for Ukrainians was 85 percent.Jews have the lowest value with 3 percent,followed by Greeks with 6 percent,Germans with 12 percent and Poles with 13percent. It is rather surprising that such asmall percentage of Poles in Ukrainedeclared that Polish was their mothertongue.

Data in the second and third columns ofTable 3 show that, for most nationalities, ahigh percentage consider Russian as theirmother tongue. First, one should note thatalmost 15 percent of Ukrainians declaredthat Russian was their mother tongue, whileonly 4 percent of Russians consideredUkrainian as their mother tongue. This maycome as a surprise for persons who fearedthat a much higher percentage ofUkrainians would consider Russian as theirmother tongue, although in some oblaststhis percentage is likely to be higher.

Poles have the highest percentage of per-sons with Ukrainian as their mother tongue,71 percent, while 15.5 percent of themdeclared Russian as their mother tongue.Also Gypsies (Roma), Hungarians andRomanians have higher percentages withUkrainian than with Russian mothertongue: 21.6 and 3 percent, respectively.The nationalities with the highest percent-ages with Russian mother tongue are theGreeks and Jews, with 88.5 and 83 percent,respectively. Belarusians, Germans,Georgians, Azerbaijanis and Tatars alsohave large percentages with Russian mothertongue (more than 50 percent in all casesexcept Azerbaijanis).

In sum, Ukraine’s 2001 Census has doc-umented an alarming trend of a decline inthe population of Ukraine, especially in theeastern, northeastern and central oblasts,with losses between 8 and 12 percent inthese oblasts. The relative percentage ofRussians has decreased between 1989 and2001, and this is observed in all oblasts,including those with high percentages ofRussians. Ukrainians and Russians com-prise about 95 percent of the total popula-tion; thus the other nationalities are relative-ly small at the national level. (There aresome local exceptions, as in the case of theCrimean Autonomous Republic, whereCrimean Tatars constitute 12 percent of thepopulation; and Zakarpattia, whereHungarians constitute 12 percent of thepopulation).

Most nationalities have decreased in sizebetween 1989 and 2001. There was a verylarge out-migration of Jews during this peri-od, and Belarusians and Poles also experi-enced significant reductions. Only threenationalities experienced significantincreases: Georgians, Azerbaijanis and

Romanians.The fact that more than 85 percent of

Ukrainians declared Ukrainian as theirmother tongue is probably a pleasant sur-prise for some people, and seems to bodewell for the future of the language inUkraine. The degree of language assimila-tion among Poles in Ukraine was quite sur-prising, as was the fact that most of themdeclared Ukrainian as their mother tongue.However, for most of the other nationalitiesRussian is the predominant mother tongue.Among Greeks and Jews, more than 80percent declared Russian as their mothertongue, and for Belarusians, Germans,Georgians and Tatars this figure was morethan 50 percent.

The nationality and language data seemto be positive overall from the perspectiveof Ukrainian nation-building. If the trendsdocumented for the 1989-2001 period con-tinue, they provide a solid foundation forUkraine’s future as a nation, but the processis likely to be a long one.

Oleh Wolowyna is president ofInformed Decisions Inc. based in ChapelHill, N.C. A demographer, he has writtenpreviously for The Ukrainian Weeklyabout the U.S. Census and Ukrainians inthe United States.

(Continued from page 40)2001 Census...


upon the [parliamentary] majority and itsgovernment,” Mr. Kuchma said. Headded that he has great expectations forthe coming year: “All political conditionshave been created to improve the eco-nomic situation of every Ukrainian; toput it simply, [to enhance] the prosperityof each of you.” (RFE/RL Newsline) Microsoft Ukrainianizes operating system

KYIV – Microsoft has released a freecomputer application allowing conver-sion of the Russian-language version ofthe Windows XP operating system into afull-fledged Ukrainian-language version,UNIAN reported on January 4, quotingthe BBC Ukrainian Service. (RFE/RLNewsline) NBU to be tough on money launderers

KYIV – Newly appointed NationalBank of Ukraine Chairman SerhiiTyhypko has threatened to use toughmeasures against Ukrainian banksinvolved in money laundering, UNIANreported on January 3. Mr. Tyhypkopledged to issue official warnings tobanks suspected of money launderingand to withdraw their licenses if they failto heed such warnings. He did not nameany banks suspected of facilitatingmoney laundering. (RFE/RL Newsline) President signs 2003 budget

KYIV – President Leonid Kuchmasigned into law the 2003 deficit budgetadopted on December 26, 2002, by theParliament, UNIAN reported on January

5. In a letter published on his official web-site (http://www.president.gov.ua), howev-er, Mr. Kuchma appealed to lawmakers toamend the 2003 budget in order toincrease the level of social-security pro-tection for poorly provided-forUkrainians. The president also signed aminimum-wage bill to increase the mini-mum monthly wage by 28 percent – from185 hrv ($34) to 237 hrv – on January 1.(RFE/RL Newsline)Russia ends Peace Corps agreement

MOSCOW – The Kremlin’s decisionin late December to end a 1991 agree-ment with the United States on the workof Peace Corps volunteers in Russiaseems to be the latest manifestation of“spy mania” among high-ranking officialsin the Federal Security Service (FSB).The announcement came just days afterpresidential envoy to the SouthernFederal District General Viktor Kazantsevdeclared that representatives of the RedCross assisting displaced persons fromChechnya are also engaging in espionage.Throughout 2002, the Kremlin waged acampaign aimed at chasing out the PeaceCorps that combined numerous publicstatements complaining about the profes-sional capabilities of volunteers with bothgeneral and specific allegations of spying.During a meeting with journalists onDecember 15, 2002, FSB DirectorNikolai Patrushev foreshadowed the abro-gation of the Peace Corps agreement bysaying that two volunteers were accusedof espionage in 2002 and that 30 volun-teers were denied visa extensions inAugust for the same reason. When thevisa decision was announced, officialshad declined to specify the reason for themeasure. (RFE/RL Newsline)

(Continued from page 2)Newsbriefs

topic of the Eaglets Cemetery in Lviv. Adispute has raged for the past two yearsover how to represent the Polish soldiersburied there who died in the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1919-1921. Lviv resi-

dents have stiffly resisted attempts by thecemetery to memorialize the dead sol-diers as heroes.

Prime Minister Miller said he believedthat his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr.Yanukovych, was “interested in settlingthe issue,” which has affected Polish-Ukrainian relations and stalled the offi-cial opening of the cemetery.

(Continued from page 1)Ukrainian prime minister’s...

Celebrate Ukraine’s historic achievement:the rebirth of its independence

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published by The Ukrainian Weeklytransports you back to the time of perebudova

and the independence regained in 1991, and gives you an overview of the first decade

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THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLYVisit our archive on the Internet at: http://www.ukrweekly.com/

ARLINGTON, Va. – UkrainianNational Association Vice-PresidentEugene Iwanciw was recently elected asPresident of the Inter-Service ClubCouncil (ISCC) of Arlington, Va. The

ISCC is an umbrella organization of 32service clubs in Arlington, including theOptimist, Kiwanis, Rotary and Lionsclubs, as well as the Chamber ofCommerce, Jaycees, American Legionand Salvation Army.

Prior to taking over the organizationon January 1, Mr. Iwanciw served as theISCC vice-president for the past year. Hehails from the Optimist Club ofArlington. As vice-president, he presidedover the 48th Annual ISSC Luncheon inNovember which featured SpecialAssistant to the President RonaldChristie as the keynote speaker and wasattended by over 200 individuals, includ-ing county board members.

The ISCC was organized in 1940 as aliaison between the various service clubsin Arlington. Recent surveys indicate thatthese service clubs contribute over100,000 man-hours yearly of volunteertime (the equivalent of 50 full-time work-ers) in addressing the unmet needs ofyouths and adults within the community.In addition, the service clubs raise andcontribute close to $1 million annuallyfor various programs in the community.

In taking over the organization, Mr.Iwanciw said he plans to increase thevolunteer work and membership of serv-ice clubs through the creation of a web-site and recruitment through the USAFreedom Corps.

NOTES ON PEOPLENOTES ON PEOPLE

UNA VP takes onnew responsibility

Eugene Iwanciw

Notes on People is a feature geared toward reporting on the achievements of mem-bers of the Ukrainian National Association. All submissions should be concise due tospace limitations and must include the person’s UNA branch number. Items will bepublished as soon as possible after their receipt, when space permits.


by Matthew Matuszak

LVIV – Taras Kozbur, a retired archi-tect in the Los Angeles area, and hiswife, Oksana, have donated $50,000 tothe Ukrainian Catholic University inLviv (UCU). Mr. Kozbur, long-time headof the Greater Los Angeles PatriarchalSociety, and his wife visited the UCU atthe end of September 2002 and weregiven a tour by the rector, the Rev. BorysDr. Gudziak.

“We had a good visit with Dr. Gudziakin Lviv,” said Mr. Kozbur, “and we areimpressed with the kind of institution heis building out there.”

Inaugurated during the summer of2002, the Ukrainian Catholic Universityhas great plans for the future, and so hasgreat needs. Half of the Kozburs’ gift willbe used to establish an endowment forneedy students and half will go towardsthe building fund.

Illya Labunka, associate director at theUkrainian Catholic EducationFoundation, said, “As an architect, Mr.Kozbur realizes the need for more build-ing space, but, at the same time, he alsobelieves in investing in people.” It wasMrs. Kozbur who initially suggested the50/50 building/scholarship allotment thatthe couple eventually decided on.

Mr. Kozbur said he was particularlyimpressed with the new construction

work that is continuing on to the fourthfloor of the university’s main building.Previously the domain of pigeons, thearea now houses numerous offices, minilanguage classrooms and a large lecturehall with a balcony. The universitylibrary plans to eventually open a newwing on the south side of the fourth floor,which is still under construction.

Another section of the university thatmade a big impression on the architectwas the Institute of Church History,which records and disseminates informa-tion on the underground life of theUkrainian Greek-Catholic Church in the20th century.

“We are inspired by your plans and thevision of your predecessors, MetropolitanAndrey and Patriarch Josyf,” wrote theKozburs in a letter to the Rev. Gudziak.“You have taken this vision upon yourown shoulders and you carry it worthily.”

Prof. Jeffrey Wills, vice-rector at UCU,noted that “Mr. Kozbur’s generous dona-tion will be particularly significant as theuniversity begins its capital campaignnext year. The example of such generousleaders should give others greater confi-dence to invest in Ukraine’s future.”

The major thrust of the first stage of thebuilding campaign to begin in 2003 will bethe Theological Center, which will be on anew campus located near Lviv’s Sykhivneighborhood. Seminarians of the Lviv

Los Angeles couple donates $50,000 to Ukrainian Catholic University

TORONTO – In the autumn of 1999,staff at the Toronto Office of the CanadianInstitute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) initi-ated a project to develop an InternetEncyclopedia of Ukraine (IEU) as themost comprehensive web-based resourcein English on Ukraine and Ukrainians.This project was conceived as a successorto the five-volume Encyclopedia ofUkraine (University of Toronto Press,1984-1993), a joint venture of the CIUSand the Shevchenko Scientific Society inWestern Europe that was generously sup-ported by the Canadian Foundation forUkrainian Studies (CFUS).

The IEU website was established in2001. It is maintained and is being expand-ed by a team of scholarly and technicaleditors at the CIUS Toronto Office headedby Roman Senkus, managing editor, andMarko Stech, project manager.

This immense learning resource isbased on the contributions of hundreds ofdedicated specialists from around theworld who have contributed to theEntsyklopediia Ukrainoznavstva since thelate 1940s and the Encyclopedia ofUkraine since the late 1970s.

Owing to the complexity and labor-intensive nature of the work on the InternetEncyclopedia of Ukraine and its website(www.encyclopediaofukraine.com), how-ever, only a fraction of the vast body ofknowledge that will become available iscurrently accessible to Internet users.Entries are being written, edited and updat-ed daily. But the rate at which informationcan be added to the site will depend greatlyon the availability of financial resources toengage additional qualified editorial andweb personnel to work on the project.Additional, ongoing financial support fromindividual and organizational benefactorsis crucial if the project is to achieve itsgoal.

Earlier this year, the Rev. Marian andDr. Roman Curkowskyj Foundation sig-nalled its support for the IEU project witha grant of $15,000. The foundation consid-ers the IEU to be of particular importanceto Ukrainians worldwide, and it encour-ages individuals and organizations, partic-ularly in Canada and the United States, to

provide financial backing for this historicundertaking. “We consider the InternetEncyclopedia of Ukraine to be one of themost crucial undertakings in Ukrainianscholarship and education,” said Dr.Roman Curkowskyj, president of the foun-dation. “This project fits well with themain goals and priorities of theCurkowskyj Foundation,” explainedChristine Curkowskyj, the foundation’ssecretary.

Established in 1990 in Toronto andfunded primarily by endowments from Dr.Roman Curkowskyj and, more recently,Roman K. Inc., the CurkowskyjFoundation has directed its resourcestoward supporting the advancement ofeducation and the study and writing ofworks in Ukrainian history. It has estab-lished an endowment fund at the CFUS toencourage and promote higher educationand career mentorship for UkrainianCanadian students; and it has providedfinancial support for the construction ofthe Youth Center at the St. DemetriusUkrainian Catholic Church in Toronto andfor the Ukrainian Canadian Care Center inToronto.

The Curkowskyj Foundation has alsobeen active in Ukraine: it has donatedbooks to educational institutions andlibraries in Kyiv and Lviv; provided schol-arships to students attending the Greek-Catholic Lviv Theological Academy andits successor, the Ukrainian CatholicUniversity; and awarded several publica-tion grants.

The CIUS noted that benefactors areencouraged to create endowments desig-nated for the IEU project as a whole or forany area of study that will be featured inthe IEU. All donations will be gratefullyacknowledged, and receipts for tax purpos-es will be issued.

Donations (payable to CIUS –Encyclopedia of Ukraine) may be sent to:Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies,450 Athabasca Hall, University of Alberta,Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E8, Canada.

For further information readers may call(780) 492-2972; fax (780) 492-2972; or e-mail [email protected].

Curkowskyj Foundation supports Internet encyclopedia

Bishop Ihor Vozniak blesses the new library wing for the Ukrainian CatholicUniversity. UCU Rector the Rev. Dr. Borys Gudziak (in background) assists.

Archeparchy, religious from various ordersand lay theology students will study there.The new campus will be in the heart of thecity, so urban pastoral programs, includinghospital and prison ministry will be animportant part of the students’ practicum.

For further information on theUkrainian Catholic University, contact theUkrainian Catholic Education Foundation,2247 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL60622; phone, (773) 235-8462; fax, (773)235-8464; e-mail, www.ucef.org.

one-time assistance is envi-sioned in cases of extremefinancial hardship.

So far, complete and well-documented records have beenreceived on the disbursementof the scholarships in the years2000 and 2001. The awards inthe amount of $200 per studentwere presented in the year2000 to: Volodymyr Napera,Oksana Putsylo, Vira Hlynska,Lubov Sheshurak, NataliaProkopovych, Natalia Kuzma,Svitlana Druz and LiliaVezdenko. In 2001 awardswere given to: Vasyl Skoropad,Iryna Sharadovska, NataliaKuzma, Stanislav Chornyi,Ola Bas, Yuriy Rostotsky andVitaliy Kucherenko. For theyear 2002, the names of tworecipients are known thus far:Lubomyr Shlomsky andNatalia Hural.

The Lviv State Institute ofPhysical Culture is an institu-

USCAK provides scholarshipsto physical education students in Lviv

Myroslav Hertsyk, the president of LSIPC (left),in his office in Lviv with Dr. Orest Popovych, arepresentative of the Ukrainian Sports Federation

of the U.S.A. and Canada.

tion that is remarkable in two respects.One is its emphasis on fosteringUkrainian patriotism among its studentsand faculty. Even the awarding of theUSCAK scholarships is generally sched-uled to coincide with a patriotic event –the anniversary of the founding of theWestern Ukrainian National Republic inLviv on November 1, 1918. TheNovember anniversary is celebrated bythe institute with a traditional long-dis-tance run, in which the entire studentbody and faculty participate. The scholar-ships are presented immediately followingthe race.

Another notable characteristic of theLSIPC is its admirable transparency whenit comes to the disbursement of the schol-arship money. Not only are the awardsscrupulously documented for the benefitof USCAK, but the names of the scholar-ship recipients are also prominently dis-played in a main hallway of the institute.

by Dr. Orest Popovych

NEWARK, N.J. – The Ukrainian SportsFederation of the U.S.A. and Canada(USCAK) has provided $2,000 a year forstudent scholarships at the Lviv StateInstitute of Physical Culture (LSIPC) forthe years 2002 and 2003. This award repre-sents another installment in the ongoingfive-year scholarship program that waslaunched in August 2000 with a signedagreement between USCAK PresidentMyron Stebelsky and Myroslav Hertsyk,the president of LSIPC. USCAK agreed toestablish a scholarship fund of $10,000, ofwhich $2,000 annually would be distributedamong several deserving students in theyears 2000 through 2004.

The scholarships are designed to providefinancial assistance and encouragement tothose LSIPC students who exhibit the qual-ities of Ukrainian patriotism and excel aca-demically as well as in sports. In addition,


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recital. Ms. Lisitsa, who earned a schol-arship to complete her studies at thefamed Kyiv Conservatory at the age of 7,and her husband have won numerousprizes, among them the Lysenko PianoCompetition and the Ukrainian ChamberMusic Competition. Now a U.S. resident,Ms. Lisitsa has been enjoying a fast-growing solo career since making herU.S. debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival.She continues to collaborate with herhusband, appears frequently with numer-ous chamber groups and has recorded

seven disks for the Audiofon label. Topping off their first North American

tour, the giddy punk rock ensemble GogolBordello and its Ukrainian frontman,Eugene Hutz, returned to the KnittingFactory in lower Manhattan for the pleas-ure of fans who saw them kick off thetour at the Factory back in September2002. Says Mr. Hutz: “Gogol Bordello isthis thing where I can do acting andmusic writing and music performing andjust really plain freaking out. Our musicis radical and risky, but I think that’sexactly what needs to be done now.”

Helen Smindak’s e-mail address [email protected].

(Continued from page 39)Dateline...

because money was a scarce resource.Benefactors and payments from hostcities of Operation Sail helped fill theship’s till and set the stage for the sec-ond leg of the Batkivschyna’s voyage,which took it into the Great Lakes, thendown the mighty Mississippi River andinto the Gulf of Mexico to St.Petersburg, Fla., during 2001. Theschooner spent the winter there with thehelp of local benefactors. The Childrenof Chornobyl Relief Fund of ShortHills, N.J., co-sponsored the GreatLakes portion of the second leg.

Money still remained in short supply,but crew members became an evenscarcer commodity during the secondleg of the journey. Most of the originalcrew had returned to Ukraine afterOperation Sail was completed. CaptainBiriukovich attempted to pick up sailorsand even simple “wannabes” along theGreat Lakes route, but often the crewconsisted only of his wife, the cook andthe mechanic. They made it to theirwinter destination all the same.

This past spring the Batkivschynabegan the third leg of its trans-globaljourney by heading south from Floridainto the Caribbean and towards CentralAmerica. Their first stop was Cuba,where the members of the DiscoverUkraine expedition paid a visit to thechildren’s hospital for Chornobyl vic-tims, which is co-sponsored by the gov-ernments of Ukraine and Cuba.

They brought toys and candy for thechildren, courtesy of a collection effortby Ukrainian Americans Luba Misyk,Yevhenia Lyktyj and Anatoly Lysyj.

“Ukrainian Ambassador ViktorPaschuk was amazed and delightedwhen he saw what we had brought,”explained Mr. Biriukovich.

After that the Batkivschyna took onthe warm water ports of the CaymanIslands, Montego Bay and Curacao,with their white sand beaches and cock-tail-sipping tourist crowds, as part ofthe Americas Sail Festival. The fees theexpedition received for its participationpaid for its further journey, which tookthe vessel across the Panama Canal andinto the Pacific Ocean.

By the t ime the Batkivschynareached the Panama Canal, a crew ofsix had dwindled to two. Undauntedand determined to proceed, CaptainBiriukovich took the ship through thelocks with his cook and three-year part-ner, Leonid Deriugin, and then sailedup the Mexican and U.S. coasts toSeattle to begin a series of Pacific Coastsailing events under the auspices of theAmerican Sail Training Association(ASTA) that would bring the schoonerback down to San Diego by the fall.

At the various stops, including SanFrancisco, Los Angeles and San Diego,the Ukrainian sailing vessel and itscrew met with representatives of theUkrainian American communities in

those locales. Captain Biriukovich saidthat many people went out of their wayto help the expedition in any way theycould. He specifically mentioned LubaKyhychak and her husband, a sea pilotwho helped them navigate aroundSeattle, as well as Anna Shalauta of the Los Angeles-based CaliforniaAssociation to Aid Ukraine and IhorHankiw of the Ukrainian CulturalCenter there.

But it was in San Diego that the cap-tain met Ken Kling, a non-UkrainianAmerican whom he called his “guardianangel.”

“He took care of us beyond ourwildest expectations,” explained thecaptain of the Batkivschyna.

Mr. Kling, a sailing enthusiast, was avolunteer member of the crew of thetall ship, the Pilgrim, who took a likingto the Ukrainian schooner and offeredto find money and a place to dry dockthe boat for the winter. He convincedthe Ocean Institute in Dana Point,Calif., the Batkivschyna’s last sched-uled stop in 2002, to offer needed finan-cial support and found a winter harborin Long Beach.

“I really believe God helped us herebecause we had no place to put the shipand no money to proceed,” explainedMr. Biriukovich.

Today, the Batkivschyna captainexplained, his duty is to make sure theexpedition finishes the journey it begannearly three years ago. To do so, Mr.Biriukovich must assure himself twonecessities that remain scarce: a crewand financing.

He is counting on the Marit imeMuseum in Honolulu, where theBatkivschyna has scheduled a stop nextJune on its way to Australia, as well asthe San Pedro Museum in Los Angelesfor financial support. He believes hehas found an answer to crew problemsat the Maritime Merchant Academy inKyiv, where he hopes to pick up fiveyoung and able sea cadets willing togain real-time experience.

Captain Biriukovich was scheduledto leave Kyiv and return to Long Beachin the first part of January and is set tobegin the 3,200-mile trek to Hawaii inMay, when Pacific waters are calmest.Then i t is on to New Zealand andAustralia in the fall (which is spring inthe southern hemisphere) via thePolynesian Islands.

Captain Biriukovich hopes to dock inNew Zealand by December. He hasalready received an invitation to a sail-ing festival on the Australian island ofTasmania scheduled for early 2004. Healso would like to meet with Ukrainiansliving in Australia and is currently look-ing for contacts there.

“After that we will be homewardbound,” explained the captain.

He said his initial plan for the finalstage is to stop in India before movinginto the Red Sea and the Mediterraneanand finally up the Dardanelles into theBlack Sea.

(Continued from page 1)Batkivschyna...


NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – A small butdedicated group of parishioners at St.Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church hasbeen steadily at work over the past 11years sending clothing, food and medicalaid to Ukraine. To date, the Bundles forUkraine group, financed by parishionerdonations, has sent over 120,000 poundsof aid.

In addition, each year the group col-lects toys, candy, cookies, cocoa andchildren’s clothes/shoes to send as giftsfor the children for the feast day of St.Nicholas. Thanks to the support ofparishioners and friends, boxes totalingover 3,900 pounds were sent this year to71 locations in Ukraine. These include 69parishes where the Orthodox priest dis-tributes the gifts to the children, anorphanage in Oleshu in Kherson Oblast,and a school in the village of Synne inthe Kharkiv Oblast.

In addition to the gifts, the Bundles

group supports the purchase of bread andmilk for the lunches of the 70 children inthe village school.

The 10 parishioner-volunteers meetevery Thursday without fail to sort thedonations and to pack the boxes. Theyare Alise Andrusia, Andrew Buszko, AnnHattis, Kay Kerelejza, Helen Kocha-nowski, Sylvia Lindgren, Mary AnnPilgrim, Helen Prestash and JuliaStepanczak. In addition, John Petruniwsupplies all the boxes, and DymitriShafran translates all the letters the groupreceives. Dr. Joan D. Kerelejza is chair-person of the project.

Since the project barely survivesfinancially from year to year, the Bundlesfor Ukraine group appreciates monetarydonations. These may be sent to: Bundlesfor Ukraine, c/o Dr. Joan D. Kerelejza,50 Ellsworth Blvd., Kensington, CT06037. For more information about theproject e-mail [email protected].

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New Britain parishioners send aid to Ukraine

Volunteers (from left) Sylvia Lindgren, Julia Stepanczak, Helen Kochanowski and Alice Andrusia sort clothing bound for Ukraine.

Clifton parish hosts visit of St. Nicholas

CLIFTON, N.J. – December 15, 2002, marked an important accomplishment forSt. Mary Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church parishioners here as St. Nicholasvisited this growing community for the first time in approximately 30 years. Due togrowing parish membership and frequent attendance by children, the generoussaint couldn’t pass up an opportunity to check on everyone’s behavior for the year,as well as deliver gifts and treats. A pleasant time was had by all. Pictured aboveprior to St. Nicholas’ arrival, are St. Mary Church’s greatest asset, its children,together with the Very Rev. Michael Zemlachenko.

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The next edition of UKELODEON will appear in our January 19 issue.

JENKINTOWN, Pa. – Manor Collegerecently hosted the visit of the general supe-rior of the Basilian Sisters, Sister Alphonsa,OSBM, and the Enlarged Council of theSisters of St. Basil the Great. Thirty repre-sentatives of the entire international com-munity visited and toured the campus.

The Manor College visit followed thesisters’ international meeting in the UnitedStates for the first time in recent history,where they explored issues facing the orderafter the fall of communism in EasternEuropean countries.

The Byzantine Ukrainian Sisters of St.Basil the Great, who celebrated their 90thanniversary in 2001, were founded in the4th century by St. Basil the Great and hissister, St. Macrina. In 1947 the order estab-lished Manor Junior College on the groundsof the Basilian Motherhouse in Fox Chase.

Today, Manor College is a private, two-year, co-ed, independent institution of high-er education, located at 700 Fox ChaseRoad in Jenkintown, offering programs inallied health/science and mathematics, busi-ness and liberal arts.

International delegation of Basilian Sistersvisits Manor College in Pennsylvania

During a visit to Manor College (from left) are: Sister Marcella from Romania;Sister Basilia from Ukraine; Sister M. Alphonsa Danovich, general superior;Chrystyna Prokopovych, curator of Manor’s Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center;

Sister Mary Cecilia, Manor president.

number of less prominent Donetsk busi-nessmen affiliated with the IndustrialUnion of the Donbas were killed, and inJuly 1996, Yevhen Shcherban, at the time amember of Parliament, was killed, alongwith his wife and bodyguard, at theDonetsk airport. A car filled with peopledressed as police officers drove up to hisplane as Mr. Shcherban was exiting the air-craft. The men jumped out and opened firewith automatic weapons, then walked backto the car and drove off at a leisurely pacewithout any difficulty.

The real killers have never been foundin any of the cases named above, but ear-lier this year, Ukrainian ProcuratorGeneral Sviatoslav Piskun stated that for-mer Prime Minister Lazarenko was theperson who ordered the contract hit onYevhen Shcherban. This revelation cameat the same time that rumors began circu-lating that Mr. Lazarenko had decided tocooperate with the prosecution inCalifornia and was naming some veryimportant people in Kyiv as participantsin his criminal dealings.

Let me close with a reflection on thepeople in this room. You truly have theopportunity to shape your own future, aswell as the future of this country. You arealready doing so. Just in the past year, Ihave seen significant growth of the civilsociety and of Ukrainian citizens takingon the responsibility for their own future.We saw this in the high level of involve-ment of NGOs and citizens’ groups in theparliamentary elections in March, and inthe election results themselves, whichshowed that politics in Ukraine has

(Continued from page 3)Ambassador Pascual’s... moved to the center, rejecting extremes of

left and right. We see it today, in theactions of courageous journalists who arefighting for media freedom.

I am inspired by the actions of ordinaryUkrainians and it makes me optimisticabout Ukraine’s long-term future.

You are helping to form the next genera-tion, the next set of leaders, whether it be inbusiness or in government. Set an example,because the youth of this country will fol-low you. You are building Ukraine’s civilsociety. Challenge these young Ukrainiansin your care to maintain their rights. That’sa tremendous responsibility, but at the sametime it’s an enormous opportunity. Thefuture of your country is in your hands.

(Continued from page 2)The clan...


Friday, January 17

EAST HANOVER, N.J.: The area’s sec-ond “Ladies’ Night Out” will take place atthe Ramada Hotel on Route 10 (west-bound) beginning at 7:30 p.m. The get-together initiated last October byUkrainian women of New Jersey is achance for informal interaction and meet-ing old and new friends. The Januaryevent is also a fund-raiser for the VovchaTropa Plast Camp in East Chatham, N.J.Cost is $50 per person; menu includeschicken Marsala or baked salmon, pluswine, beer, soda, appetizers, dessert andcoffee. For information or to RSVP sende-mail by January 14 to: [email protected] [email protected]. (Please indi-cate your entree selection.)

Wednesday, January 22

WINNIPEG: McNally-Robinson andAlpha Omega Alumnae, with RodovidPublishers of Kyiv present the booklaunch of “Ukrainian Antiquities: Folk Artof the Hutsul and Pokuttia Regions inPrivate Collections,” translated by OrysiaPaszczak Tracz of Winnipeg. The launchwill begin at 8 p.m. at McNally-RobinsonBooksellers, Grant Park Shopping Center.Admission is free. Lida Lykhach, the pub-lisher and editor, will also be in atten-dance. The book was published in Englishand Ukrainian editions in Kyiv in August2002; the Ukrainian edition is titled:“Ukrainska Starovyna iz PryvatnykhZbirok: Mystetstvo Hutsulschyny iPokuttia.”

PREVIEW OF EVENTS

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Being Ukrainian means:

o Malanka in January.

o Deb in February.

o Sviato Vesny in May.

o Wedding of your roommate in June.

o Tabir in July.

o Volleyball at Wildwood in August.

o Labor Day at Soyuzivka in September.

o Morskyi Bal in November.

o Koliada in December.

If you checked off more than one of the above, then you know what you’re doing to your brain cells.

Now, how about doing something for your mind?

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PREVIEW OF EVENTS GUIDELINESPreview of Events is a listing of Ukrainian community events open to the

public. It is a service provided at minimal cost ($20 per listing) by TheUkrainian Weekly to the Ukrainian community.

To have an event listed in Preview of Events please send information, inEnglish, written in Preview format, i.e., in a brief paragraph that includes thedate, place, type of event, sponsor, admission, full names of persons and/ororganizations involved, and a phone number to be published for readers whomay require additional information. Items should be no more than 100 wordslong; longer submissions are subject to editing. Items not written in Previewformat or submitted without all required information will not be published.

Preview items must be received no later than one week before the desireddate of publication. No information will be taken over the phone. Items will bepublished only once, unless otherwise indicated. Please include payment foreach time the item is to appear and indicate date(s) of issue(s) in which theitem is to be published. Also, please include the phone number of a personwho may be contacted by The Weekly during daytime hours. Informationshould be sent to: Preview of Events, The Ukrainian Weekly, 2200 Route 10,P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054.

The Ukrainian Weekly 2003, No.2

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Transcript of The Ukrainian Weekly 2003, No.2