52_December 27, 1998 - The Ukrainian Weekly

INSIDE:• “1998: THE YEAR IN REVIEW” – beginning on page 5.THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLYPublished by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit associationVol. LXVI No. 52 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998$1.25/$2 in UkraineUkraine’s new ambassador to U.S.meets Ukrainian American leadersby Yaro BihunSpecial to The Ukrainian WeeklyWASHINGTON – Leaders of theUkrainian American community andUkraine’s new ambassador to the UnitedStates, Anton Buteiko, got a chance tomeet each other and exchange views onissues of mutual concern December 18,during a meeting and reception organizedhere at the Embassy of Ukraine.Before his appointment to Washington,Ambassador Buteiko, 51, was first viceminister of foreign affairs. He arrived heresoon after his predecessor Dr. YuriShcherbak’s departure in late November.He presented his letters of credence to theState Department, but they have not yetbeen officially accepted by the president.The meeting was with leaders of some20 Ukrainian American organizations,among them three umbrella groupings –the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC),the Ukrainian Congress Committee ofAmerica (UCCA) and the UkrainianAmerican Coordinating Council (UACC)– as well as the major women’s, professionals’,medical, academic, scientific andmilitary organizations and foundations.The 90-minute working meeting was offthe record. After the session, however, someof the participants expressed their reactionto the new ambassador and what he said.Without exception, all were positive.The newly elected UWC president,Askold Lozynskyj, who also serves aspresident of the UCCA, said he wasimpressed by Ambassador Buteiko’sapparent “practicality,” “level-headedness”and “professionalism.”“Perhaps I’m biased, but he thinks theway an attorney does, because he is (one),in fact; he has a juridical background,” saidMr. Lozynskyj, who also is an attorney.“Without disparaging or saying anythingnegative about any of his predecessors,” headded, “I think that he is a quality ambassador,in the fullest sense. He’s a pro, and Iexpect great things from him.”“He understands the distinction of beingan ambassador and ... being a representativeof the community,” Mr. Lozynskyjsaid of Ambassador Buteiko. “He understandshow far his relationship with thecommunity should go.”[In an “Open Letter” dated October 30,Mr. Lozynskyj had criticized AmbassadorShcherbak, taking the diplomat to task forhis presentation at a Ukrainian Americanprofessionals conference earlier thatmonth in New Jersey as well as for thework of the Ukrainian Embassy.]He applauded Ambassador Buteiko’sstatement that Ukraine would rather earnfunds abroad through trade than acceptforeign aid.“He is not seeking handouts,” Mr.Lozynskyj added. “He’s looking to createan investment climate and environment inUkraine and a relationship between thetwo countries which will bring in capitalinfusion that will enable Ukraine to developits resources – not by virtue of gifts ordonations but by virtue of investment inUkraine’s resources.”Ihor Gawdiak, the newly elected presidentof the Ukrainian AmericanCoordinating Council, also praised Mr.Buteiko’s businesslike approach.“Most of all, I liked his response to aquestion about why Ukraine is the way itis. He said that they were all taught howto destroy capitalism and not how to buildcapitalism. And so, no one – not only inUkraine but elsewhere in that region –knows how to convert socialism into capitalism,”Mr. Gawdiak said.Mr. Gawdiak also found AmbassadorButeiko’s approach somewhat differentfrom that of his predecessor. “And I say thiswithout any criticism intended,” he added.“They simply are two different individuals.”The UACC president said he expects tosee very good relations developing between(Continued on page 37)Yaro BihunUCCA and UWC President Askold Lozynskyj (right) continues his conversationwith Ambassador Anton Buteiko, during a reception following the new envoy’smeeting with Ukrainian American community leaders.Tkachenko, in Moscow, pushesfor Russia-Belarus-Ukraine unionby Pavel PolityukSpecial to The Ukrainian WeeklyKYIV – During his two-day officialvisit to Russian Federation, VerkhovnaRada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenkosaid Ukraine might joint the Russia-Belarus union and create a new commoneconomic space through a shared currency.Mr. Tkachenko also said creating such aunion is “a necessity” for the three neighboringrepublics of the former SovietUnion and directly supported RussianDuma Chairman Gennadii Seleznyov, whocalled for the tripartite Slavic union duringhis visit to Kyiv this October.As a chairman of Ukraine’s parliamentarydelegation, Mr. Tkachenko met withthe chairman of the Russian State Duma(the lower house of the Parliament), Mr.Seleznyov; Prime Minister YevgeniiPrimakov; vice prime ministers; and thegovernor of Russian Central Bank, VictorGerashchenko.“It was an absolutely successful visit,”Mr. Tkachenko said at a news conferencein Kyiv on December 21.He said the major task of the visit wasto push a ratification of the treaty onfriendship and cooperation betweenby Pavel PolitiukSpecial to The Ukrainian WeeklyKYIV – Less than a year before presidentialelections, Ukrainian PresidentLeonid Kuchma forecast that theywould be a repeat of last spring’sParliament referendum, when Ukrainiancentrist and right-wing parties could notunite and allowed the left to win morethan half the seats in the VerkhovnaRada.“I am sure that the situation withpresidential elections will be analogousto the situation during the Ukrainian parliamentaryelections,” PresidentKuchma told regional journalists duringa meeting on December 15.“Democrats cannot unite themselves,which is to the detriment of Ukraine,” hesaid. “Each sees himself with the bulava”[mace – a symbol of authority].During the past few months Mr.Kuchma several times has called on centristand right-wing parties to unite incollaboration with the president and thegovernment against a front of powerfulCommunist and Socialist politicalforces.But center and right-wing politicalleaders have expressed concerns thatUkraine and Russia, by Russian deputies.The treaty was signed last year byRussia’s President Boris Yeltsin and thepresident of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma.Ukrainian deputies ratified the treaty earlierthis year, while Russian lawmakershave delayed the ratification for months.“My task was to do everything for ratificationof the treaty by two sides,” Mr.Tkachenko said. “And now I can say thatMr. Seleznyov promised me that theDuma is going to ratify the treaty onDecember 25.”“I expect the treaty will be ratified bythe Duma this month,” Mr. Tkachenkosaid. Russian deputies previously declinedto ratify the treaty because the UkrainianParliament would not ratify several agreementsabout the status of Russian BlackSea Fleet in Ukrainian port of Sevastopol.“We agreed that the Duma will hold ratificationwithout regard to fleet issues orquestions about the status of the UkrainianBlack Sea port of Sevastopol,” Mr.Tkachenko said. “We have agreed to solveone problem, and to discuss other issuesafter the friendship treaty is ratified.”The Verkhovna Rada chairman also con-(Continued on page 37)Kuchma predicts unless democrats unitepresidential victory will go to the leftPresident Kuchma is merely trying tocompromise the democratic forces andpull them toward him in the run-up topresidential elections because he has littlechance of obtaining their support otherwise.Few believe that he would benominated by any of the current centeror center-right parties.Analysts say the president is afraid tolose his current status as the only candidatewho is fighting against Communistinfluences in government and is tryingto convince voters that other politicalleaders do not have the power to combatthe leftist threat.Even as President Kuchma criticizedthe lack of unity in the democratic politicalbloc, a move toward coalition hadbegun. Early this month, two strong parties– Rukh, which is led by NationalDeputy Vyacheslav Chornovil and theReform and Order Party of ViktorPynzenyk, a former vice prime ministerin the Kuchma administration – unitedin a pre-election political bloc, creatingthe first potentially powerful electioncoalition.“This is a union of two center-rightwing parties that has a real chance to(Continued on page 37)

2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 52Television documentary focuseson nationalist leader Banderaby Roman WoronowyczKyiv Press BureauKYIV – The first television documentaryon Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainiannationalist hero and by many accounts themost charismatic Ukrainian national figureof the 20th century, aired on Ukrainian televisionon December 20.Bandera led the Organization ofUkrainian Nationalists through the 1940sthat fought against both Soviet and Germanoccupation until his death in 1959 inMunich, Germany, at the hands of a SovietKGB assassin.The film, titled “The Three Loves ofStepan Bandera,” contains rarely seenfootage of Bandera not long after he andhis young followers split from the mainbody of the OUN to form their own organizationof the same name. It also shows thefuneral of the political leader after he wasassassinated with a spray of the poisonousgas, cyanide, by KGB agent BohdanStashynsky.Mr. Stashynsky, who later turned himselfin to West German authorities and was convictedof the murder, stated during his trialthat the assassination had been directed personallyby the head of the Soviet KGB.The producer of the film is YuriiLukanov, a journalist who is already knownin Ukraine for his book on currentUkrainian President Leonid Kuchma.In an interview with The Weekly, Mr.Lukanov said the film’s title is a referenceto the three women that Bandera loved. Hisromances with them roughly paralleled thethree stages of his political involvement:the time to the schism within the OUN thatBandera led; the years of World War II; andthe post-war years spent in Munich.Mr. Lukanov said the idea for the documentarycame after he met with a Germanjournalist, who gave him a book on the lifeof Bandera – a life that he found compelling.“I decided that Ukrainians needed toknow about the life of Bandera,” said Mr.Lukanov. “He lived in a tragic time ofUkrainian history. An awful, awful historicalperiod. Brother killing brother.”He said that Ukrainians too often havebeen prone to destroying and desecratingtheir myths and legends. “The Soviets saidBandera was a bandit; people say thatMazepa was a traitor and that Khmelnytskysold Ukraine to Moscow. People must learnour history. It is a tragic history, but it isours and we must learn from it,” said Mr.Lukanov.Convincing financial backers that thiswas a worthy project was among the moredifficult tasks that Mr. Lukanov undertook.He said that no independent businessmenwhom he contacted wanted to touch theproject after Mr. Lukanov mentioned hissubject matter. “Some were repelled at thesimple mention of the name Bandera,”explained the film’s producer.He had little problem with Ukraine’sgovernment, although at first the ministrythat controls Ukraine’s jail system refusedto acknowledge that Bandera had been confinedin a Lviv jail that Mr. Lukanov wantedto film.Mr. Lukanov obtained much of the originaldocumentary footage from theUkrainian National Museum in London,England, and from Stepan Oleskiw, whowas among the youngest members ofBandera’s inner circle in the immediatepost-war years.“Perhaps this was the hardest thing, Ihad to convince Mr. Oleskiw that I was notout to butcher the legacy of Bandera,”explained Mr. LukanovHe had less trouble convincing the televisionprogram “Vikna,” carried on theICTV channel, which agreed to broadcastthe documentary film. Although “Vikna”declined to finance Mr. Lukanov’s travelsto Munich and London for on-site filming,which took four days, it did agree to providehim a production crew and editingsupport.He said the crew that worked with Mr.Lukanov, a Russian cameraman and aGreek director, gave him a better focus onwhat he wanted to say. “They were lessinterested in the political and ideologicalviewpoint,” explained Mr. Lukanov, “Forthem the subject matter was interesting initself.”For information on obtaining the filmfor broadcast write to: Yurii Lukanov,Prospekt Hryhorenka 36, Apt. 230, Kyiv253141, Ukraine.EBRD report looks pessimisticfor Ukraine’s 1999 GDP figuresEastern EconomistKYIV – EBRD Senior Political AdvisorJoel Hillman and Senior Economist JulianExeter on December 8 presented a reviewof the bank’s Transition Report, focusingtheir attention especially on Ukraine.“1998 was a stress test for reform,” statedMr. Hillman in opening the presentation.He went on to emphasize that countrieswith the strongest reform programs alreadyin place, such as Poland and Hungary, hadsuffered the least economically from the crisisof 1998 and that without additional institutionalreforms any further stabilization ofthe economy in Ukraine would be endangered.Mr. Exeter focused on macroeconomicindicators for Ukraine, citing revised EBRDfigures for real 1998 GDP growth inUkraine of minus 2 percent, with inflationpredicted to run at 22 percent due to the 60percent devaluation of the hryvnia betweenJuly and November of this year.Mr. Exeter also said that despite the similaritiesin the situation in Russia andUkraine, the National Bank of Ukraine hasdone a much better job of controlling thebanking system, and Ukrainian banks themselveshave tended to be less involved in theuse of sophisticated financial instrumentsthan their Russian counterparts.The EBRD advisors’ prescription forUkraine’s economic recovery and healthincluded tight budgetary policies and acceleratedstructural reform, successful completionof the International Monetary Fund’sExtended Fund Facility program, morewidespread privatization of large enterprisesto strategic investors and an increase in thetransparency of the privatization process, aswell as reductions in tax, wage and interenterprisedebts, and the general use ofbarter.In an earlier December 2 briefing on theTransition Report held in Washington byEBRD officials, Risk Management DeputyVice-President Noreen Doyle said of theEBRD’s plans,” Next year is expected to belike this year, but the EBRD intends to continueto provide small business loans forworthy businesses within the CIS.”The Transition Report rates Ukraine farmore favorably for estimated improvementsin general government balances and currentaccount and trade balances than Poland andHungary for both this and next year.Kuchma seeks abolition of death penaltyKYIV – President Leonid Kuchma hasasked the Verkhovna Rada to pass a lawabolishing the death penalty in accordancewith the country’s internationalobligations, the Associated Press reportedon December 19. Ukraine agreed toabolish capital punishment in 1995 whenit joined the Council of Europe; it introduceda moratorium on executions inMarch 1997. This year Ukrainian courtshave sentenced more than 80 people todeath, but none have been executed.(RFE/RL Newsline)Lazarenko returns from SwitzerlandKYIV – Former Prime Minister PavloLazarenko, who has been indicted foralleged money-laundering in Switzerlandbut freed on $3 million bail, returned toUkraine on December 19. ViktorOmelych of the Hromada Party, headedby Mr. Lazarenko, told UkrainianTelevision that Mr. Lazarenko has been“degraded, insulted and completelydestroyed by [Ukraine’s] authorities” and“will be continually working to show the[true] reason for his arrest to the entirepublic.” Meanwhile, National DeputyHryhorii Omelchenko told UkrainianTelevision the day before that Mr.Lazarenko deposited some $200 millionin several bank accounts in Switzerlandover the past three years. (RFE/RLNewsline)Central bank cuts discount rateKYIV – The National Bank ofUkraine has lowered the discount ratefrom 82 percent to 60 percent as ofDecember 21 and ordered commercialbanks to adjust their interest rates to thenew figure, the Associated Press reportedon December 18. The decision came severaldays after NBU Chairman ViktorYuschenko said Ukraine’s currency markethas started to show signs of stabilizationfollowing the onset of Russia’sfinancial and economic crisis. (RFE/RLNewsline)Ukraine opposes strikes against IraqKYIV – Ukraine’s Foreign AffairsMinistry said on December 17 that itcannot agree with U.S. and British militarystrikes on Iraq and expressed regretover civilian casualties as a result ofthose strikes, Reuters reported. “Ukraine,which has consistently advocated resolvingany conflict situations by peacefulpolitical means, cannot agree withforcible methods of tackling this issue,”the ministry said in a statement. Thestatement warns against “unpredictableNEWSBRIEFSconsequences [of the strikes] for theregion and whole world” and expressesthe hope that the United Nations SecurityCouncil will do “whatever is possible toavoid further escalation of tensionaround Iraq.” (RFE/RL Newsline)Ukrainian plane down in war zoneKYIV – A Ukrainian AN-12B plane disappearedover the territory of Angola onDecember 14. According to the Russianconsulate in Angola, that morning Angola’sUNITA rebel groups laid siege to the city ofKuito backed by heavy artillery with antiaircraftcapabilities. According to unconfirmedreports the AN-12B flew out ofKuito airport heading to Luanda. After theplane reached an latitude of 5,200 meters aland-air missile hit the plane. The wreck ofthe Khors AN-12B plane, carrying fivecrew members and several representativesfrom the Angola Armed Forces was discoveredthe next day 12 kilometers north of theairfield. Khors Company ChairVysochanskyi admitted that he doubted thereliability of information about militaryactivities in the region of the airport at thetime the plane took off. Several planes thatbelong to reliable companies had taken offfrom this airport just a couple hours beforethe accident, Mr. Vysochanskyi said in hisdefense. He stressed that Khors has nottransported dangerous loads, except forammunition in the last five years. It is theonly company among Ukrainian airlinesoperating in Angola. (Eastern Economist)Rada to halt energy sector privatization ...KYIV – The Verkhovna Rada onDecember 16 gave preliminary approvalto a resolution imposing a moratorium onthe privatization of the energy sector, theAssociated Press reported. The resolutionorders the State Property Fund to stopselling energy companies until theParliament approves an appropriate law.Deputies argue that many governmentofficials make illegal profits from energyprivatization by selling stakes to companieslinked to them. The Parliament willtake a final decision on the moratoriumnext week. (RFE/RL Newsline)... stops telecommunications privatizationKYIV – The Verkhovna Rada onDecember 15 rejected a government billproviding for the privatization ofUkrtelekom, Ukraine’s telecommunicationsmonopoly. Deputies argued that thebill violates the Constitution and agreedto debate an alternative bill next week.Ukrtelekom and Ukraine’s oil and gaspipeline network are widely believed to(Continued on page 41)THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY FOUNDED 1933An English-language newspaper published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc.,a non-profit association, at 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054.Yearly subscription rate: $50; for UNA members — $40.Periodicals postage paid at Parsippany, NJ 07054 and additional mailing offices.(ISSN — 0273-9348)Also published by the UNA: Svoboda, a Ukrainian-language weekly newspaper(annual subscription fee: $50; $40 for UNA members).The Weekly and Svoboda:UNA:Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 644-9510 Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 292-0900Postmaster, send address Editor-in-chief: Roma Hadzewyczchanges to:Editors: Roman Woronowycz (Kyiv)The Ukrainian WeeklyAndrij Kudla Wynnyckyj (Toronto)2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280 Irene JarosewichParsippany, NJ 07054Ika Koznarska CasanovaThe Ukrainian Weekly, December 27, 1998, No. 52, Vol. LXVICopyright © 1998 The Ukrainian Weekly

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 3FOR THE RECORD: Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow addresses UWCBelow is the text of the speech deliveredby Premier Roy Romanow of Saskatchewanat the Ukrainian World Congress galaluncheon on December 3.... I want to begin by welcoming thoseof you from outside Canada, and to wishyou the very best during your visit to ourcountry. And I certainly extend mywarmest invitation to come and visit usin my native province of Saskatchewan.Come now if you can – but you would bewiser to visit us in summer!I bring you greetings from the governmentof Saskatchewan. And, more personally,I bring you greetings from ourpeople – not only from those who areproud to know Ukraine as their ancestralhomeland, but from all of us, whereverour families originated.For it has been the hard work of allour citizens, toiling together in pursuit ofa common dream, who have built a newand tolerant homeland in this multiculturalnation called Canada.This great and tolerant nation hasallowed people from everywhere onearth, from every ethnic or linguisticbackground, from every circumstance, tolive that dream.The Ukrainian patriot Valentyn Morozonce said: “Canada has created harmonyand cooperation among ethnic groups, andit must take this experience to the world.”I believe Canada has done this.I believe that Canada has taken itsexperience to the world, and that byworking together, we have built a nationthat has been a “shining light” of tolerance,diversity and respect.And although our nation faces challengesin its long journey, we can – andwe will – keep working together to keepbuilding that dream, and this nation. Tobe a model for the world.A model for the world, in proving thatthere is strength in diversity. ValentynMoroz, of whom I spoke earlier, alsosaid: “Ukrainian people in Canada arenot forced to abandon their roots. This isthe message Canada sends to the world.”That is true.Without abandoning our heritage –indeed, while celebrating our roots –Ukrainian Canadians have been instrumentalin building this nation. As a people,we have come from serfdom to freedomin less than a century, from humblebeginnings as small farmers and laborersto positions of influence and renown –sometimes in only one generation.My own father came here in 1928 froma homestead near Lviv. He was a farmer’sson, and he wanted nothing more than tobe a farmer himself. He got here just asthe Dirty ‘30s were starting – Dad’s timingwasn’t the best, I guess! – so, likemany others, he got a laborer’s job, workingfor the Canadian National Railway.It was hard, hard work, but he did it,because he was determined to make a betterlife for his son and his daughter – thelife we enjoy today. To put it another way,we succeeded because he succeeded. Ithink that if there’s a common thread tothe experience of Canada’s immigrants –not just Ukrainian, but all immigrants, it isthis: If we have any success, as second- orthird- or fourth-generation Canadians, thatsuccess is an enduring testimony to theircourage and determination.If we express ourselves with any eloquenceat all, it is because they practicedtheir few words of a new language on theboats and trains that brought them totheir new homeland.If we have any material rewards andcomforts, they are the dividends paid ontheir investment of time, work and optimism.The Saskatchewan folk-singerConnie Kaldor calls our prairie landscape“harsh and unforgiving,” and it can be.But when those Ukrainian emigrantsislatures. Saskatchewan has been a leadingparticipant in this project, and we are currentlylooking forward to a visit in Marchfrom Ukrainian legislators interested in thesocial sector.The second action plan also includescultural partnerships in the areas of publishingand film.Friends, these are exciting developments.A nation’s enduring legacy can befound in its literature, and bothSaskatchewan and Ukraine have strongand distinct literary histories.And since film has been called the “literatureof the 20th century,” and will certainlybe a vital cultural medium in the 21st century,it has a place of importance as well.That’s why Saskatchewan has undertakento support and promote this importantmedium, to encourage our artisticand cultural community to explore filmto tell our stories to our people.Not long ago, in fact, I had the chanceto attend the first showing of a newSaskatchewan film about the Ukrainianexperience – and I was proud to see thatthis story will be told to our people. And Ilook forward to two new film co-productionsbetween film-making partners inSaskatchewan and Ukraine – partnershipsthat again strengthen the bonds of friendshipand cooperation.I sincerely hope that our Canadian partnership,as well as my own province’s projects,will help in building that dream, andcreating opportunity and prosperity for all.Through these projects, and hundreds ofothers, we are forging a respectful andunderstanding partnership with Ukraine.“Respectful” means that we in Canadashould recognize that we have as much tolearn from Ukraine as we have to teach.We can teach our democratic values andthe structure of institutions that have servedus well; and we can learn: new methods ofgovernance, new models of cooperation,new ways to build institutions, indeed newways to approach democracy itself, bywatching the exciting growth of theUkrainian democratic experience.At the same time, “understanding”means that we in Canada must recognizethe enormous challenges involved in suchmajor democratic and economic transitions.We must understand that such changestake time, and must be undertaken carefully.Let us always remember that theseeds of a new economy do not grow easily.They require careful and patient tending.Likewise, the seeds of a new democracydo not grow easily. They require toleranceand faith in the future.Like so many other Ukrainiansawthat land, they didn’t see its harshness.They saw its promise, they sawhome. They saw land that reminded themof where they had come from, and landthat held the hope of a new home theywanted to help build. And help they did.At the national level, we see RayHnatyshyn, who served as the governorgeneralof Canada, the first UkrainianCanadian to represent the Queen in Canada.And we see his father, John Hnatyshyn, asenator. We see such towering figures as thelate Justice John Sopinka, a judge in ourSupreme Court and one of the finest legalminds this nation has ever produced.We see Sylvia Fedoruk and StevenWorobetz, who served as lieutenant governorsof my province of Saskatchewan.In my own government, many ministersare proud of their Ukrainian heritage. Andthough we are proud to be UkrainianCanadians, we always keep in mind thecontributions made by all Canadians, fromall their many backgrounds. We have builtthis nation, made our contributions, not inisolation from our neighbors, not separateand apart from them – but together withthem. The Canadian journalist John Galtonce described how Canada differs frommost other nations in the world. He said,“In older countries, the future was inherited,largely predetermined by their past.Here, if we had the will, we could choosewhat we would become.”We did choose. We chose to become ademocratic nation, based on values andideals. We chose to build what PrimeMinister Wilfrid Laurier called “a partnershipof mutual trust,” based on ourvalues of democracy, freedom, toleranceand respect for diversity.That respect for diversity has been asource of strength for this nation. And Ibelieve the Ukrainian experience inbuild a strong economy: oil and gas,which is key as Ukraine struggles to lessenits dependence on Russia and other foreignsuppliers; agriculture, particularly dry-landfarming technology and equipment as wellas advanced plant and animal genetics,areas in which Saskatchewan has muchexpertise to offer; and construction andbuilding materials.Canada has been at the forefront ofNATO’s work to build a partnership withUkraine, and recently made significantcontributions toward shaping the content ofthe recently initialed NATO-Ukraine relationship.And in January, Prime Minister[Jean] Chrétien will make an historic firstofficial bilateral visit to Ukraine, where hewill meet with President Kuchma, sign agovernance project agreement and meetwith business leaders. This historic firstvisit will further strengthen the bonds ofco-operation between Ukraine and Canada.And those strong bonds, that enduringrelationship between Canada and Ukraineis mirrored in the relationship betweenUkraine and my province of Saskatchewan.Just weeks after being elected as Premierof Saskatchewan in November 1991, Iwatched with fascination the emergence ofan independent and free Ukraine. Ofcourse, like many of the citizens of myprovince with a Ukrainian heritage, it wasimpossible for me to simply watch developmentsfrom the sidelines.My government established a community-basedadvisory committee, and askedit to help design a framework agreementfor expanding formal relations betweenSaskatchewan and Ukraine.A draft agreement was then negotiatedwith Ukraine’s national governmentbefore my own mission to Ukraine in1995. And I can tell you that it was one ofthe proudest moments in my life when IWithout abandoning our heritage – indeed,while celebrating our roots – UkrainianCanadians have been instrumental in buildingthis nation. As a people, we have come fromserfdom to freedom in less than a century, fromhumble beginnings as small farmers and laborersto positions of influence and renown – sometimesin only one generation.Saskatchewan and Canada has demonstratedthis strength for many years. Today,after a century of immigration, there are500,000 Ukrainian-Canadians. This diasporagives Canada a special cultural, linguisticand academic linkage with Ukraine– links that give us both the incentive andthe capacity to build a special governmentalrelationship with Ukraine. And we haveworked to build that relationship, toenhance Ukraine’s status as a member ofthe family of independent nations.From the time that Canada first recognizedUkraine’s autonomy, Canada hasremained a key friend of an independentUkraine. In 1993, Canada pushed to haveUkraine’s delicate economic condition puton the G-7 Naples agenda – at a timewhen other G-7 countries doubtedUkraine’s viability.In 1994, Canada organized theConference on Ukraine in Winnipeg,which consolidated global support forPresident [Leonid] Kuchma’s first comprehensivereform program.At the same time, our federal governmenttried to improve the commercialaspects of Canada’s relationship withUkraine through the bilateral Canada-Ukraine Agreement on EconomicCooperation. Working closely with theUkrainian government, three prioritysectors were selected in order to helpstood with President Kuchma at theMariinskii Palace in Kyiv as we signed theSaskatchewan-Ukraine Memorandum inOctober of 1995. The first plan of actionunder this agreement included very practicalcommercial projects in oil field development,electrical systems renovation,agriculture and the cultural industries.Most of the initiatives in this first plan ofaction have now been completed. So, threemonths ago, our advisory committee recommendeda second plan of actions.I’ll just list a few of the new initiatives:a beef and forage development project atthe Pereiaslav Khmelnytskyi demonstrationfarm, with partners such as the VolhynScientific and Industrial Company, theUkrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciencesand the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture;the Youth for Health project, which isaimed at helping develop a sustainablenational health strategy in Ukraine byassisting with the implementation of youthhealth policies; the Canada-Ukraine Ag-Biotech Regulatory Development project,which is exploring the possibility of a regulatorymemorandum of understandingbetween the Canadian Food InspectionAgency and the Ukrainian Ministry ofScience and Technology; and the Canada-Ukraine Legislative Cooperation Project,which since early 1996 has allowedUkrainian legislators to visit Canadian leg-Andrij Kudla WynnyckyjSaskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow(Continued on page 40)

4 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 52Faces and Placesby Myron B. KuropasA letter to St. NicholasI am a lifelong believer in St. Nicholas.This year I mailed my wish list early. Itwent beyond immediate family and includedthe naughty as well as the nice. Here’swhat I asked for.A wake-up call for America: The UnitedStates has been slowly sliding into a moralmarsh since the 1960s. Yesterday’s abominationshave become today’s celebrations.As a people we are being morally disarmedby soft-core relativists who denounceaccepted norms as a form of “judgmentalism,”what Alan Dershowitz has labeled the“McCarthyism” of the 1990s. In the wordsof William J. Bennett, however: “Withoutjudgment, there can be no common ethic.No standards. No established authority. Norules to govern behavior. No wise counselon how best to live.” And, I might add,there can be no rule of law. We shouldremember that during the 1930s the citizensof Hitler’s Germany were willing to suspendmoral judgment because the economywas good and their leader was popular.Integrity for President Bill Clinton: Thisman’s presidency is akin to a long andpainful Greek tragedy. President Clinton isa man of extraordinary talent, ideas, oratoricalskills, vision and charm; he is hardworking,shrewd and dynamic.He could have been a great president if itwasn’t for a fatal flaw, what the ancientGreeks called hubris, the delusion that oneis god-like. Friedrich Nietzsche, identifiedsuch people as “sovereign individuals”(ubermensch), liberated from the moralityof custom, autonomous, supramoral, unfetteredby the “slave morality” of the masses.President Clinton has also savored the liberatingdraughts of deconstructionism, a postmodernphilosophy that defines rationality,logic and honesty as illusions. Reality isdependent upon what “the meaning of is,is.” In the language of philosopher JacquesDerrida, “the meaning of meaning is infiniteimplication ...” Truth (defined as a linguisticconstruct) depends solely on one’spoint of view at a given time. Will Mr.Clinton do the honorable thing and resign,or are resignations only a Republican phenomenon?The rule of law for Ukraine: This is whatUkraine needs more than anything else.More than billions in loans, more than foreigninvestments, more than NGOs, morethan sister cities. One can hold forums,debate issues, issue proclamations, evenwrite new laws – but it will be empty rhetoricwithout a civil society where the law, notindividuals, not groups, not lobbyists andnot organizations, is supreme. Without therule of law there is no democracy, nohuman rights, no freedom.A backbone for President LeonidKuchma: Mr. Kuchma is coming to the endof his first term, and he has little to show forit. While Ukraine’s robber barons thumbtheir noses at the government, Mr. Kuchmamakes promises and does nothing.Numerous meetings with Vice-President AlGore have produced “nada,” “nits,” “nichevo.”The old-line Bolsheviks are still flyingthe Soviet flag. The economy is in shamblesand getting worse. The education system isin disarray. Intellectuals are fleeing thecountry. The government is riddled withcorrupt officials. Companies such asMotorola and philantropists such as GeorgeSoros are pulling out, shaking their heads indismay. How long will it be before Mr.Kuchma stops talking and starts doing?A conscience for Pavlo Lazarenko: I supposeeven St. Nicholas would find it difficultto provide a conscience for someoneborn into and nurtured by the Soviet elite,but there’s no harm in asking. PavloLazarenko, a billionaire and a former primeminister, is the poster boy for the new generationof nouveau riche in Ukraine. Like somany others, he obtained his wealth not bycreating it; apparently, he became rich theold-fashioned Soviet way – he stole. Hecovets wealth and power with no concernfor the common good. Charged with moneylaundering, Mr. Lazarenko was recentlyarrested in Switzerland. At the time of hisincarceration he was allegedly in possessionof eight different passports, including thePanamanian one he presented at the border.The Hromada Party, which Mr. Lazarenkocontrols, plans to run him for president in1999. God help Ukraine if he gets elected.Even a Communist might be better.Humility for Vyacheslav Chornovil: Mr.Chornovil’s inflated ego continues to standin the way of a united democratic front inUkraine’s Verkhovna Rada. Even thoughthey are in the minority, the Communistsenjoy power and influence because, asalways, they are united and resolute. UnderMr. Chornovil’s leadership, Rukh, the leadingparty of the right, has yet to create astrong and meaningful anti-Communistcoalition. With the 1999 elections not faroff, right and center parties need to consolidatetheir forces – seriously this time – toavoid still another political catastrophe.A reality check for Mykola Plawiuk: Ashead of the increasingly irrelevantOUN(M), Mr. Plawiuk needs to stop posturingas a very important person. Shuttlingbetween Ukraine, where he took up residence,and North America, where heresided for years, he has been living on hislaurels as a former president the Ukrainiangovernment-in-exile, a position he obtainedby default. Despite a history of abysmalfailures in Canada, the United States andUkraine, Mr. Plawiuk continues to pushhimself on stage. Whether one likesOUN(B) head Slava Stetsko or not, shedoes have a constituency (albeit small) inUkraine and she holds a seat in theVerkhovna Rada. Mr. Plawiuk has neither.Focused action for the diaspora: Nothingwill save the Ukrainian diaspora short offocused action. We’ve worried. We’vetalked. We’ve discussed. We’ve analyzed.We’ve suggested. Now we need to act withenergy, focusing on the here and the now.Vision for Askold Lozynskyj: As thenewly elected head of the Ukrainian WorldCongress, Mr. Lozynskyj is in a uniqueposition to unify the diaspora. Much willdepend on the weight of the ideologicalbaggage he brings with him. SomeUkrainians are of the opinion that given hisprevious role as the OUN(B) point (somesay “hit”) man in the United States, Askoldwill remain Askold. Only old St. Nicholasknows what will happen. I have faith.A plan for UNA executives: During thepast 20 years the Ukrainian NationalAssociation has muddled through with novision, no meaningful goals, and no plan. Inthe words of Dr. Bohdan Vitvitsky (whosaid this about some of our communityorganizations), the UNA has been “onautomatic pilot.” Nearly elected (and reelected)executives have a moral obligationto turn things around in the next two yearsor resign. Enough is enough.There you have it: my letter to St.Nicholas. If you believe it’s unrealistic,remember that I’m not asking this of justanybody. St. Nicholas is a saint with a centuries-oldrecord. And he delivers.Myron Kuropas’ e-mail address is:mbkuropas@compuserve.comLETTER TO THE EDITORRecommit yourselvesto cause of free UkraineDear Editor:Now that Ambassador Yuri Shcherbakhas concluded his duties as the ambassadorof Ukraine to the United States, Iwant to take this opportunity to expressmy respect and best wishes for him andto urge Ukrainian American communitymembers to recommit themselves to thecause of a free and democratic Ukraineand to an unquestioned and substantialcommitment by the United States governmentto the cause of democracy andprosperity in Ukraine.Having founded the Ad HocCongressional Committee on the BalticStates and Ukraine during my service inthe United States Congress, I clearlyremember those dark days of Sovietoccupation and persecution when thethought of a free and independentUkraine was a flickering candle of hope.Ukraine is free today because people inUkraine and America kept the faith andcontinued the commitment to that goal.Today, while Ukraine is free, thestorm clouds that threaten its future as anindependent democracy hover on thehorizon.Ambassador Shcherbak providedBOOK NOTEinsightful and determined leadership tothe cause of a strong, strategic relationshipbetween Ukraine and the UnitedStates. I was privileged, working incooperation with the UkrainianFederation of Greater Philadelphia, toarrange personal meetings for the ambassadorwith key members of Congress,including Sen. Arlen Specter, Rep.Benjamin Gilman, Rep. Frank Wolf andothers.It became obvious at these meetings,which I attended with the ambassador,that the need existed to re-establish a“Friends of Ukraine” in the Congress.Working with the ambassador and theUkrainian Federation, we initiated thiscongressional organization under theleadership of our good friend Rep. JonFox of Pennsylvania. Regrettably, thedefeat of Rep. Fox in the recent electionhas been a major loss to the UkrainianAmerican community.Nonetheless, our efforts will continueto ensure that there is a strong and committedpresence in the Congress of anadvocacy group for Ukraine. I look forwardto working with Ambassador AntonButeiko in this endeavor.Charles F. DoughertyPhiladelphiaThe writer is a former member ofCongress.The quest for Ukrainian autocephalyEDMONTON – With the publication of“Between Kyiv and Constantinople” by theRev. Dr. Andre Partykevich, the CanadianInstitute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) at theUniversity of Alberta has inaugurated anew series titled “Church Studies Papers.”The series is published by the ChurchStudies Program at CIUS under the auspicesof an editorial board that includesprogram Director and series Editor-in-Chief Dr. Serhii Plokhy, series ManagingEditor Myroslav Yurkevich, CIUS DirectorDr. Zenon E. Kohut, and Jacyk CenterDirector Dr. Frank E. Sysyn.The Rev. Dr. Partykevich’s book, thefull title of which is “Between Kyiv andConstantinople: Oleksander Lototsky andthe Quest for Ukrainian Autocephaly,”examines a subject of particular importancefor contemporary Ukrainian Orthodoxy:the autocephalous status of the Church andrelations with the Patriarchate ofConstantinople. Central to this theme is thelife and activity of Oleksander Lototsky(1870-1939), an eminent civic and ecclesiasticalfigure in Ukraine and among theemigrate community in Poland.Mr. Lototsky was an active participantin the Ukrainian movement in the RussianEmpire who was instrumental in helpingto lift the ban on the Ukrainian languagein 1905. In 1917, under the influence ofpatriotic Ukrainian circles, he wasappointed commissar of the ProvisionalGovernment for Bukovyna and Pokuttia.Mr. Lototsky became minister of religiousaffairs in the government of HetmanPavlo Skoropadsky (1918) and wasinvolved in the Directory’s proclamationof Ukrainian Orthodox autocephaly inJanuary 1919. In the same year, he wasappointed ambassador of the UkrainianNational Republic to Istanbul, where hedevoted considerable effort to representingthe cause of Ukrainian Orthodox autocephalybefore the Patriarchate ofConstantinople.As an emigrant in Warsaw, Mr. Lototskystudied problems of Ukrainian ecclesiasticallaw and published a fundamental twovolumework, “Autocephaly,” substantiatingthe right of Ukrainian Orthodoxy toindependent development.“Between Kyiv and Constantinople,”the first work on Mr. Lototsky to appear inEnglish, presents a detailed account of thehistory of Ukrainian contacts withConstantinople, a history largely forgotten,but now more important than ever before.The publication of the Rev. Dr.Partykevich’s book was made possible by agenerous donation from the UkrainianOrthodox Church of the U.S.A. The bookitself is dedicated to the memory ofPatriarch Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) on the100th anniversary of his birth.As indicated in the acknowledgments,the suggestion of a work on Mr. Lototskywas made to the author by the late Prof.Bohdan Bociurkiw. It is highly appropriatethat the Church Studies Program, establishedon the initiative of Prof. Bociurkiw,begin its new series with the publication ofthis particular work.The Rev. Dr. Partykevich’s study“Between Kyiv and Constantinople” maybe ordered from the Canadian Institute ofUkrainian Studies, 352 Athabasca Hall,University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta,Canada T6G 2E8. The price of the paperbackvolume is $14.95. Please add $3 forpostage and handling, or 10 percent of thetotal for orders over $30. In Canada, add 7percent GST. Prices for customers outsideCanada are in American dollars.CorrectionA caption to a photo taken of aDecember 3 session at the UkrainianWorld Congress, should have read as follows:Oleksander Rudenko-Desniak, presidentof the Association of Ukrainians ofRussia delivers his report to the UWC seventhcongress in Toronto, December 3.From left are: Stefan Romaniw, Australia;Levko Dovhovych, president, EuropeanCouncil of Ukrainians; Taras Pidzamecky,Canada, congress chairman; VolodymyrShevchuk, congress vice-chairman; AnnaKrawczuk, congress vice chairman.

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 51998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWPolitics in Ukraine:the games continueElections to the Verkhovna Rada dominated the firsthalf of the year in the arena of Ukrainian politics.Although the election season officially began amonth before the March 29 vote and should have endedwith the referendum, for all practical purposes it lasteduntil mid-July, because the newly elected nationaldeputies in 19 attempts could not elect a chairman to leadthe parliamentary body. (See related story, “A very longyear of Rada elections.”)Elections aside, the political topics that dominatedwere much the same as those of the past two years,namely, stalled economic reform, corruption and abuse ofpower, controversies in Russia-Ukraine relations and frictionin the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership. There werenational celebrations and demonstrations, and anannouncement that Ukraine’s biggest single private benefactor,George Soros had given up on Ukraine and soonwould cease operations in the country.The year ended and began with the name of PavloLazarenko in the headlines. On December 26, 1997,Procurator General Oleh Lytvak announced he had begunan investigation into the unlawful use and concealment ofcurrency earnings associated with the personal and businessdealings of the former prime minister.Mr. Lytvak said the Procurator General’s Office hadobtained documents that Mr. Lazarenko owned Swissbank accounts into which he had illegally transferredmoney from Ukraine.Mr. Lazarenko rebutted the charges involved in theinvestigation in a sharply worded commentary in thenewspaper Vseukrainskie Viedomosti and called theaction by the public prosecutor a concerted attack againsthimself and the Hromada Party, which he heads, to discreditthem before elections to the Verkhovna Rada.“I want to make it clear that I do not have any kind offoreign currency accounts,” said Mr. Lazarenko in thenewspaper rebuttal.Mr. Lazarenko, who had once been a close associate ofPresident Leonid Kuchma, was dismissed from his postas the president’s prime minister in the summer of 1997for being soft on corruption and slow in moving on economicreforms. He and the president quickly became bitterpolitical enemies.In what appeared to be a protracted government actionagainst Mr. Lazarenko and his followers – and whichseemed to support the theory pushed by Mr. Lazarenko ofa government conspiracy against him – two newspapersassociated with Mr. Lazarenko were shut down by thegovernment in the months prior to elections.First came the January 8 printing ban on PravdaUkrainy for allegedly being improperly registered withgovernment authorities. Then, on March 20, a weekbefore the parliamentary elections, VseukrainskieViedomosti was forced to close after it lost a $1.8 millionsuit filed against it for publishing a story in which it wasstated that a Ukrainian soccer star was soon to leave theteam Kyiv Dynamo and sign with an Italian soccer club.The Kuchma-Lazarenko war continued on and offthroughout the year, reaching varying decibels of shrillnessuntil December 2, when Mr. Lazarenko was arrestedat the French-Swiss border near the city of Basel whileattempting to enter Switzerland on a Panamanian passport.The Ukrainian national deputy was promptly transferredto Geneva, where he was initially detained andheld in a prison cell while an investigative judge traveledto Kyiv to further investigate charges of moneylaundering.Hromada Party supporters claimed the Ukrainian governmenthad asked that Mr. Lazarenko be detained, whileUkraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the situation wascomplicated by the fact that Mr. Lazarenko had presentedhimself as a Panamanian citizen.Ukraine did not request the extradition of Mr.Lazarenko, and the national deputy refused UkrainianEmbassy assistance.The Swiss government remained close-mouthed aboutthe case and would only say that money in Swiss bankaccounts thought to be under the control of Mr.Lazarenko had been frozen after Swiss bank officials hadlaunched an investigation into Mr. Lazarenko’s finances,prompted by more than 20 requests from the Ukrainiangovernment.On December 14 the Geneva Judicial Chamber deniedMr. Lazarenko bail in the amount of $3.5 million, whichPresident Leonid Kuchma was more successful in therealm of foreign policy than on domestic issues.he had requested, because the accused could not provethe money was not part of that held in the now-frozenSwiss bank accounts. It also extended his detention for amonth as the government investigation continued.However, three days later Mr. Lazarenko was released ona bond of $3 million extended to him by an unnamedassociate.The Lazarenko-controlled newspapers were not theonly ones to feel the weight of the government’s ax in1998. On June 14 the local Kyiv newspaper KievskieViedomosti was slapped with a hefty libel verdict. A Kyivcourt ordered the newspaper to pay Ukraine’s InternalAffairs Minister Yurii Kravchenko, a close political allyof President Kuchma, $2.5 million for accusing the ministerof purchasing a $115,000 Mercedes Benz automobilewith money stolen from a fund for the families ofslain policemen.Volodymyr Mostovii, editor of the newspaper ZerkaloNedeli, said the action by the Kyiv district court was “apurely political action directed at closing the newspaper”by forcing it into “an unsustainable economic condition.”In 1997 Kievskie Viedomosti publisher MykhailoBrodsky had become a vocal opponent of the policies ofthe Kuchma administration. Unable to pay, the newspapershut down in November.Mr. Brodsky had already faced prosecutorial ire earlierin 1998. He was arrested on March 10, a little more thantwo weeks before the Verkhovna Rada elections in whichhe was a candidate, and charged with receiving largesums of money in illegal trade activity. He was releasedfrom jail and the charges were suspended only after Mr.Brodsky won a seat in the Verkhovna Rada, which gavehim immunity from criminal prosecution.The strong-handed control of the Ukrainian press bythe Kuchma administration was criticized by severalWestern media watchdog groups, including the EuropeanInstitute for the Media and the New York-basedCommittee to Protect Journalists, which sent a letter ofprotest to President Kuchma in response to the closing ofPravda Ukrainy.“CPJ condemns the shutdown and silencing of PravdaUkrainy by the Ukrainian Ministry of Information as aviolation of all international norms of free expression,”said the organization’s letter.In what many purveyors of the Ukrainian politicalscene considered an attempt by the Lazarenko crowd toextract revenge for the government’s actions against theformer prime minister, the Hromada Party announcedthat its investigation into the lavish government-fundedrenovation of Ukraine’s central concert hall, the UkrainaPalace of Culture, had turned up evidence of financialimproprieties. The project was directed by current PrimeMinister Valerii Pustovoitenko during his tenure as ministerof the Cabinet of Ministers.On January 16, the Verkhovna Rada passed a nonbindingresolution recommending that the prime ministerthey had approved barely six months before be removedfrom office by the president for the theft of some $40million from the Ukraina Palace project.Mr. Pustovoitenko defended himself from the accusationat a press conference during which he said that theEfrem LukatskyPavlo Lazarenko began the year with his name in theheadlines and ended it likewise.cost of the project was in fact $57 million, and not the$80 million cited by some members of the parliamentaryfaction Yednist, which is controlled by Mr. Lazarenko.Mr. Pustovoitenko also said he had forewarned contractorsand subcontractors to detail all costs because he hadforeseen that such charges could be made. PresidentKuchma decided to keep his prime minister, who bySeptember had become the longest serving head of governmentof the four who have held the office duringPresident Kuchma’s tenure.Mr. Pustovoitenko overcame a second attempt by theVerkhovna Rada to remove him later in the year, when heand his Cabinet of Ministers survived an attempt by leftistnational deputies to bring down the government onOctober 13.The Verkhovna Rada action was spurred by theSocialist, Communist and Hromada parties, who accusedthe government of failing to bring the country out of itseconomic malaise and past the financial crisis that hadgripped the country in the fall.Hetman assassinatedAnother politician, respected and admired more thanmost in Ukraine, first failed to get re-elected to theVerkhovna Rada in March and then lost his life to anassassin’s bullet on April 22. Vadym Hetman, the firstchairman of the National Bank of Ukraine and the chairmanof the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange atthe time of his death, who was considered a level-headed,elder statesmen of Ukrainian politics, was killed after heentered his apartment building.The reason for his murder still has not been determined,nor have any arrests been made. Ukrainian investigatorscontend that the killing was due either to hiswork on Interbank Currency Exchange board or to hisprivate business dealings.The assassination of Mr. Hetman – not the first of itskind in Ukraine – along with an ongoing problem withcorruption, promoted the depiction of Ukraine as thewild, wild east of the post-Soviet era. That image wasfurther enhanced by a report by TransparencyInternational, a non-governmental organization that fightscorruption in the business sector, which ranked Ukraineas the 16th most corrupt country of the 85 countries ithad studied.Although the Ukrainian Legal Foundation, whichreleased the report in Ukraine in October, said corruptionin Ukraine was more related to the redistribution ofwealth among the power elites, the fact remained that in1998, with the economy going nowhere, the poor sufferedmost.The ongoing economic crisis, which leaves the governmentunable to pay workers and pensioners nearly 2billion hrv in back wages and pensions, brought strikinggovernment workers to the city’s capital several times.Most active were the coal miners, who organized a 500-kilometer (310-mile) protest march from Pavlohrad,near Dnipropetrovsk, to Kyiv in late May and earlyJune. In Kyiv some 1,000 coal miners said they wouldnot leave the city until they had been paid the wagesand pensions owed them, some of which hadn’t been

6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWpaid in more than six months.After camping on the banks of the Dnipro River forseveral days, they dispersed when the government agreedto a deal in which some money was released to them.The plight of the coal miners, whose working conditionshave never been very good, has drastically worsenedin the last years because money budgeted for coalmine safety and upkeep rarely reaches its destination.Deaths, cave-ins and explosions have become a commonoccurrence Ukrainian coal mining, and this year wasno exception. On April 7, 63 mine workers perished inDonetsk after an explosion caused by a build-up of gascollapsed a tunnel at the Skachinsky coal mine. Minersblamed the government for not ensuring safe workingconditions.Foreign policy also an area of controversyAlthough Ukraine’s foreign policy must be seen as anisland of calm compared to the turbulence of its domesticpolitics, there, too, disagreements and political conflictwere common.Ukraine’s northern neighbor, Russia, officially agreedon the executive level that Ukraine is an independent,sovereign state via the Ukraine-Russia Treaty onFriendship, Cooperation and Partnership signed in May1997 by Presidents Kuchma and Boris Yeltsin. On thelegislative level, however, there was no such agreement.Russia’s State Duma failed to ratify the treaty, whichthe Ukrainian Parliament approved on January 18, and itsleadership called for Kyiv’s reunion with Moscow severaltimes.On March 3, a State Duma legislative committee hearingon the treaty turned into a fiasco when individualmembers and observers began calling for a return of theUkrainian port city of Sevastopol to Russia and theenforcement of Russian minority rights in Ukraine.Bohdan Horyn, a Ukrainian national deputy who hadbeen invited to attend the meeting as part of a Ukrainianparliamentary delegation, called it a provocation orchestratedby the chairman of the committee, GeorgiTikhonov, to embarrass the Ukrainian delegation. Duringthe hearing Mr. Tikhonov presented the Ukrainian delegationa petition calling for the re-union of Ukraine andBelarus with Russia.Several months later, on September 29, the chairmanof the Russian State Duma, Gennadii Selezniov, took histurn to let Ukraine know just what he thought of sovereigntyand independence for Russia’s southern neighbor.Speaking at a general session of the Verkhovna Rada inKyiv, to which he had been invited by ChairmanOleksander Tkachenko, Mr. Selezniov repeated the callfor a Russia-Ukraine-Belarus union. The commentscaused pandemonium on the floor of the Parliament.While democratic forces hooted and hollered in protest,Communists applauded and chanted “friendship.” Mr.Selezniov’s appearance was aborted.Then, to show how little movement was taking placeon ratification by the Russian State Duma of the “bigtreaty,” Sergey Baburin, the assistant speaker of theRussian State Duma, came to Kyiv three months later tosay: “I would not be ready even to say that this treaty isbeing prepared in the political kitchen. Rather it has beenplaced in the refrigerator.” He also called for unionamong the three Eastern Slavic countries.Relations between the leaders of the two countrieswere more cordial by most appearances than relationsbetween legislators, although the matter of turbines forIran and a failed rocket launch did cause some friction.Presidents Kuchma and Yeltsin met outside Moscow atthe Russian presidential dacha on September 18-19 todiscuss the reasons for the drastic reduction in tradebetween the two countries that had begun in 1997, aswell as the financial and monetary crisis the two countrieswere experiencing.President Kuchma returned from Moscow heartenedthat President Yeltsin had agreed to allow Ukraine to payin commodities the massive oil and gas debt the cashstrappedcountry owed Russia.The two leaders, at the official level at least, did notdiscuss the sale of Ukrainian turbines for a nuclear reactorthat Russia was building in the Iranian city ofBushehr, an issue that for all practical purposes wasresolved when U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K.Albright visited Kyiv on March 6.Ukraine had come under increasing pressure from theUnited States to withhold the sale of a giant turbine builtat the Kharkiv Turboatom factory or face denial of thesecond half of a U.S. foreign aid grant worth nearly $100million.At issue was the $800 million that the contract wasworth to Russia, which it badly needed to bolster a quicklycollapsing economy. Ukraine, with its completedependence on Russian oil and gas, did not want to upsetMoscow, but neither did it want to be denied U.S. foreignaid.Ukraine’s decision to halt the sale of the Kharkiv turbineto Russia was announced by Foreign AffairsMinister Hennadii Udovenko while the U.S. secretary ofstate was in Kyiv.In return, Washington allowed Ukraine accession tothe Missile Technology Control Regime treaty, whichallows Ukraine to become a player in the satellite launchindustry, and signed an agreement with Ukraine on thepeaceful use of nuclear technologies, which Ukrainehopes will encourage U.S firms to bid on revampingUkraine’s nuclear power industry. Ms. Albright alsopromised that the U.S would support science and technologyresearch in Ukraine, and coordinate U.S. investmentfor factories like Turboatom.Less than two months later Secretary of State Albrightcleared the way for Ukraine to receive the rest of the$225 million that had been earmarked in the 1998 U.S.foreign aid budget by telling the U.S. Congress thatUkraine had made “significant progress” in resolving disputeswith U.S. investors.Now with international standing to take part in satelliteOne thing that united Ukraine during 1998 was concern about the devastating floods in Zakarpattia. Above,President Leonid Kuchma visits the disaster area in Mukachiv on November 7.launches, Ukraine looked optimistically to the September9 target date for the launch of its powerful Zenit rocket,which would boost into orbit 12 communication satellitesowned by a U.S. consortium called Global Star in thefirst phase of a multi-million dollar project.The attempt failed dramatically when a computer systemmalfunction in the fifth minute of launch ordered theZenit rocket to self-destruct.Russia and Ukraine immediately blamed each otherfor the failure. The Russian Space Agency stated that “thelaunch was considered Ukraine’s responsibility,” whilethe Ukrainian government television station blamed theRussian manufacturer of the second-stage booster rocket.Some in Ukraine even suggested that the explosion was adeliberate Russian action to derail Ukraine’s internationalspace launch program, which includes participation in thedevelopment of an ocean-based launch platform in theAtlantic Ocean called Sea Launch.However, the conspiracy theories fell away at thebeginning of November when Russia admitted that aRussian-produced computer control system defect hadcaused the explosion. On November 8 Ukraine’s nationalsecurity chief said the destruction of the Zenit rocket wasnot due to sabotage.In another project involving Ukraine and Russia, 11countries from the Black Sea basin and NATO, includingthe U.S., took part in joint peacekeeping exercises calledSea Breeze ’98 near the cities of Odesa and Mariupol.This year, unlike 1997 when Moscow strenuously criticizedthe military exercises because the mock scenarioseemed to be targeted at Russia, the source of criticismcame from within the Verkhovna Rada. Leftist forcesattempted to quash the exercises, which began onOctober 26, by introducing a resolution that called theexercises a military threat to Ukraine. But the measurewas voted down by 31 votes after heated debate.NATO, which funds the yearly Sea Breeze exercisesunder its Partnership for Peace program, continued todevelop relations with Ukraine. On November 4President Kuchma approved a specific plan of cooperationwith NATO through the year 2000, which was developedby his National Security and Defense Council andpresented to NATO officials in Brussels by the council’ssecretary, Volodymyr Horbulin.Mr. Horbulin said after his return from Brussels thatthe intensification of NATO-Ukraine relations is a“momentous event” and reported that the program was“well received” by NATO ambassadors. He said therehad been no talk whatsoever of Ukraine’s possible membershipin the defense alliance.The U.S. also continued to develop its relations withUkraine in 1998. Vice-President Al Gore traveled to Kyivin July to review the state of the strategic partnershipbetween the two countries and to attend the second plenarysession of the Kuchma-Gore Commission, formed in1996 to develop the partnership. On July 23, he becamethe highest ranking U.S. government official to ever visitChornobyl.New foreign policy chief takes chargeBorys Tarasyuk, a Ukrainian career diplomat with apro-U.S. and a pro-NATO attitude, took over the reins ofUkraine’s foreign policy in 1998, when he was appointedMinister of Foreign Affairs by President Kuchma onApril 17. In his previous post as ambassador to Belgiumand the head of the Ukrainian representation at NATOHeadquarters in Brussels, Mr. Tarasyuk directed thedevelopment of Ukraine’s relations with NATO.He replaced Minister Udovenko, who announced hisresignation on April 9, as required by law, to take a seat inthe Ukrainian Parliament. Mr. Udovenko, a highly respecteddiplomat who had been elected president of the UnitedNations General Assembly in September 1997 continuedin that position until the end of his one-year term.Amid the rancor and turmoil of political life,Ukrainians, as always, took time to commemorate theirholidays.This year, in addition to celebrations of the seventhanniversary of Ukrainian independence, and the now routinedemonstrations associated with the OctoberRevolution commemorations, Ukraine remembered theUkrainian National Republic and its sister WesternUkrainian National Republic 80 years after they were proclaimed,respectively, in January and November of 1918.Ukraine also officially commemorated the 65thanniversary of the Great Famine of 1932-1933. OnNovember 26 President Kuchma proclaimed the fourthSaturday of each November as National Day ofRemembrance of Famine Victims. This year the Faminewas commemorated on November 28 with a solemnrequiem concert by Ukraine’s National Symphony at the

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 71998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWKyiv Philharmonic Symphony Hall.With all of its political and social divisions, the oneevent, albeit a tragic one, that absolutely brought thiscountry of 50.9 million people together, and which hadno political ramifications, was the disastrous flooding inthe Zakarpattia region that took the lives of 16 individualsand left thousands either injured or homeless.Huge amounts of aid from all the oblasts of Ukraineand international donations from nearly a dozen countrieshelped to clothe and feed the estimated 24,000individuals whose homes were destroyed after some 20dams broke and the rivers Tysa, Latorytsi and Borzhavyoverflowed their banks due to torrential rains onNovember 4-5.The towns of Mukachiv, Khust and Tiachiv, as well as118 surrounding villages were nearly submerged bywater. Power lines were downed, and highways andbridges were swept away, leaving the region nearly cutoff from the outside world.Ukrainian National Guardsmen and border guards, aswell as aid from Hungary, which borders the region, werefirst to arrive. President Kuchma toured the area onNovember 7 and earmarked $10 million hrv fromUkraine’s budget for emergency relief aid. A swell ofmaterial support followed from Ukraine and the world.While charitable and non-governmental aid organizationscontinued to work and expand in Ukraine in 1998,at least one such organization decided that it was time toslowly ease out.On November 11, billionaire philanthropist GeorgeSoros announced he was closing the InternationalRenaissance Foundation in Kyiv. The Ukrainian branchof Mr. Soros’s Open Society Institute will begin to reduceits activities in 1999 with a 50 percent cut in its budget of$10 million and is expected to be out of Ukraine by 2010.Mr. Soros, who admitted while in Kyiv to announce thecuts that they are in part due to the heavy financial losseshe incurred as a result of the Asian and Russian financialcrises, also said that he was disappointed in Ukraine’sreform efforts.“I have given up on Ukraine. Ukraine lacks politicalwill and any kind of leadership,” said Mr. Soros at a Kyivseminar after his decision was announced.While Mr. Soros was beginning drastic cutbacks, otherorganizations were moving forward. The EurasiaFoundation announced on November 18, a week after theSoros decision, that in celebration of its fifth anniversaryin Ukraine it was beginning a new initiative aimed at supportingthe development of small business in Ukraine’ssmaller towns and cities.The Eurasia Foundation, which is a grant-makingorganization that has supported various projects inUkraine ranging from business development and economiceducation to broadcast media and the rule of law,announced that it was investing an initial $1 million intothe new initiative. The foundation has disbursed a total of$18 million in loans and grants in Ukraine since the Kyivoffice opened in 1993.A very long yearof Rada electionsUkrainian politics in the first half of 1998 wasdominated, or perhaps more precisely paralyzed,by elections to the Verkhovna Rada. Even thoughthose elections were held on March 29, the newly electedlegislative body did not pass a single legislative act foranother three months as its eight political factions maneuveredto pick a parliamentary leadership.The Communist Party of Ukraine received nearly 25percent of the vote in Ukraine’s first attempt at forming anational legislature based on a new election law thatcalled for half of its national deputies to be electedaccording to the old majoritarian system and the otherhalf in a vote on a list of political parties.In the old system, also dubbed “first past the post,” theVerkhovna Rada’s 450 seats were filled by candidates in450 electoral districts who received an absolute majorityof the vote in each district. When no one candidateobtained 50 percent plus one, a second round of votingwas held until a candidate received a majority. In the1994 elections this led to a situation in which many electoraldistricts required three or four rounds of voting toelect a parliamentary representative.In some electoral districts, mostly in Kyiv, deputieswere never elected, because after a while voter apathyincreased to the point that not enough voters were turningout to elect anybody.In accordance with the new law, Ukraine’s 450 electoraldistricts were reapportioned to make up 225 districtsfrom which representatives would be directly elected. Acandidate would win his district if he obtained a simplemajority of all the ballots cast.The other 225 seats in the Verkhovna Rada would consistof national deputies appointed from political parties,based on the proportion of the vote that the partyreceived. To claim seats in the Parliament, a party wouldhave to win a minimum of 4 percent of the electoral vote.Each voter made two choices, one for an electoral districtrepresentative, the other for a political party.The Ukrainian electorate was faced with a ratherdaunting selection task because, on average, 28 candidatesappeared on the ballot in each electoral district; inaddition, there were 30 political parties on the party list.The final results, announced by the Central ElectionCommission (CEC) on April 7, showed the Communistswinning 84 of the Parliament’s 225 seats in party voting;followed by the Rukh Party with 32; the Socialist/PeasantParty bloc with 29; the Green Party with a surprising 19;the National Democratic Party, closely aligned withPresident Leonid Kuchma, with a disappointing 17; theHromada Party with 16; and the Socialist DemocraticParty (United) and the Progressive Socialist Party with 14each.When these numbers were combined with the resultsof the single-mandate vote, the Communists had a totalof 123 members elected; Rukh, 46; the Socialist-PeasantParty bloc, 34; National Democratic Party, 28; HromadaParty, 23; Green Party, 19; Social Democratic Party(United), 14; and Progressive Socialist Party, 14.After the vote was in, Communist Party leader PetroSymonenko said that with their new “mandate” theCommunists would begin the deconstruction of Ukraine’smodest democratic and economic reforms, includingchanges to the Constitution, reduction in the powers ofthe presidency, and tightened control over foreign financialaid, the National Bank of Ukraine and commercialbanks.However, international analysts expressed the viewthat the status quo in Ukraine would remain, that theVerkhovna Rada would remain politically rudderlessbecause no party or ideological bloc had a clear majorityto implement its agenda. That theory would prove to bevery accurate as the Verkhovna Rada had much difficultyfulfilling even its first routine task: the selection of achairman.Some national deputies and President Kuchma hadopposed the new mixed electoral system, approved by theVerkhovna Rada in September 1997, because they saidUkraine’s party system was not yet sufficiently evolvedto allow voters an intelligent choice and that the law itselfwas poorly written.It passed constitutional muster to some degree onFebruary 26 when Ukraine’s Constitutional Court allowedthe law to stand even though, in a unanimous vote, itdeclared 21 provisions in the law unconstitutional.Most notably, the country’s highest constitutionalauthority declared that candidates cannot run simultaneouslyin both the single-mandate districts and on nationalparty slates. However, that change would become effectiveonly in the parliamentary elections of 2002.The Constitutional Court sidestepped the most controversialaspect of the law that it was asked to review:whether a requirement that a party must attain at least 4percent of the electoral vote to be represented is constitutionallyacceptable. The court ruled that the issue is apolitical matter for the Verkhovna Rada to decide and leftthe 4 percent threshold in place.The election results caused some controversy as well.Although official observers from such internationalorganizations as the European Commission, theParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe andthe Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europegave Ukraine’s parliamentary elections an overall passinggrade, they noted that the Odesa regional elections weremarred by incidents of violence, arrests and actionsagainst candidates, and abuses of public office.In the key race, in the city of Odesa, Mayor EduardHurvits was defeated by oblast leader Ruslan Bodelan ina contentious election that was marked by the murder ofseveral politicians and charges of financial improprietiesby both sides.Ukraine’s Central Election Commission said it wouldconduct its own investigation into the way elections wereheld in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, where the HromadaParty, led by Dnipropetrovsk-born former Prime MinisterPavlo Lazarenko, received some 37 percent of the electionvote, while mustering only about 4 percent in the restof Ukraine. Several political parties expressed doubtsAnd the winner, finally, in the voting for chairman ofthe Verkhovna Rada was: Oleksander Tkachenko.regarding the political objectivity of the regional electoralcommission of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.In Kyiv as well some election results were questioned,this time by those who went down to defeat. However,the CEC dismissed several grievances, stating thatalthough some infractions of election law might haveoccurred, they were not substantial enough to have affectedelection outcomes.The CEC did invalidate one result: the victory of formerMinister of Justice Serhii Holovatyi, who respondedto the action by proclaiming it “politically motivated.”Mr. Holovatyi had become a pariah in the Kuchmaadministration because of statements criticizing the presidentfor failing to implement an anti-corruption programthat Mr. Holovatyi had formulated as justice minister. Mr.Holovatyi was dismissed from his ministerial post whenthe president appointed Valerii Pustovoitenko the newprime minister in the summer of 1997.Once the general election season was over, the newlyelected national deputies were to get down to the businessof legislating, but first they had to elect their ownleadership – which in this Parliament, with its fundamentallydivided ideological composition, resulted in a secondseason of voting.It took eight weeks of debate and 20 rounds of voting,during which some 90 candidates were presented, beforethe national legislature elected the controversialOleksander Tkachenko of the Peasant Party as its chairman.The biggest hurdle that the Verkhovna Rada had toovercome was the ideological split that divides the legislativebody almost equally between leftist and democraticforces.That the two sides would have a tough time workingtogether should have become evident to all even after thefirst meeting of the newly elected Ukrainian Parliamenton May 12. It took on a circus-like atmosphere whenCommunists, offended by the fact that Slava Stetsko ofthe right-wing Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists readthe oath of office, turned their backs on the podium whilerepeating the pledge and later walked out.Mrs. Stetsko, 78, whose husband was a leader of theOrganization of Ukrainian Nationalists that fought SovietCommunists in an insurgency during and after World WarII, had been given the honor of reading the oath – oneallowed her by the Constitution as the Verkhovna Rada’soldest member.Next, the election of a chairman became mired in controversyeven before the first vote was taken. Four centristpolitical factions, the Rukh Party, the NationalDemocratic Party, the Green Party and the SocialDemocratic Party (United) put forth a proposal that thechairman should be elected in a package with bothdeputy chairs. They declared at the time that, until such aproposal was voted upon by the full parliamentary body,they would abstain from any vote on the chair position.Realizing that it did not have the votes to put one oftheir own in the leadership chair, the temporary centristcoalition hoped to work out a deal with the left in whichit could deny leftist forces a sweep of the three leadershipposts.

8 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWThe parliamentary split between left and right continued into 1998: Above, Communist deputies applaud asVolodymyr Moiseienko hoists a Soviet-era red flag and congratulates Verkhovna Rada deputies on the 82ndanniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.But the left, which included the Communists, theSocialist-Peasant bloc and the Hromada Party, believedthat it could take the chairmanship without the need toagree on a leadership slate and declined to cooperate withthe democratic forces.After six rounds of voting – during which the centristbloc abstained four times, and leftist leaders such asCommunist Party leader Symonenko and Socialist Partyleader Oleksander Moroz, chairman of the last VerkhovnaRada, went down to defeat all six times – it became apparentthat a compromise candidate needed to be found.Although Mr. Symonenko came within five votes ofbeing elected in the eighth round, still no consensus hademerged on how a chairman was to be elected in aVerkhovna Rada split almost evenly along ideological lines.To search for a consensus candidate and to break thelogjam caused by too many nominees, the parliamentarybody did agree to form a conciliatory committee to proposecandidates agreed upon by representatives of theeight parliamentary factions. The legislators decided thata single candidate’s name would be placed into nomination,alternately one from the left and one from the right.The agreement broke down after Mr. Moroz of theSocialist Party was nominated out of sequence tworounds later. Thirteen rounds into the marathon effort themost prominent leaders had been nominated and rejected– many of them repeatedly.On June 18, after seven weeks and 13 attempts to electa Parliament chairman, and with no end in sight to theprocess, President Kuchma announced to the nation in atelevised address that he would take the initiative andwould govern by presidential decree until the VerkhovnaRada untangled itself from its political paralysis and onceagain began to legislate.He said that all of his decrees, which he explainedwould be mostly of an economic character to stem adeveloping economic crisis, would be subject toVerkhovna Rada approval post facto.In the four months since the previous Verkhovna Radahad adjourned, not a single substantial legislative act hadbeen passed. Earlier, the president had alluded to the possibilityof dismissing the Parliament if it did not get itshouse in order, and fast.The political division in the Verkhovna Rada, seeminglyoblivious to critical public opinion, continued as allnominations were either beaten into the ground or withdrawnin six more rounds of voting.Then, on July 7, Peasant Party leader OleksanderTkachenko, who had failed to receive a majority of votesafter having been nominated several times previously,received the support of 232 national deputies to win theelection.Although no one would officially confirm, the generalbelief is that members of the National Democratic Partyand the Social Democratic Party (United) also threw theirsupport to Mr. Tkachenko.Political experts said after the vote that a tacit agreementhad been reached with leaders of the two partiesand the Kuchma administration to end the parliamentaryparalysis and vote in Mr. Tkachenko. The day before Mr.Tkachenko’s election, a Cabinet of Ministers decreeauthorized to restructuring of a $75 million debt thatLand and People Agri-Industrial Association, a companyheld by Mr. Tkachenko, owed to the government. Thedebt was the result of a default of a government-guaranteedloan issued by Citicorp to Land and People in 1993.The debt restructuring in effect canceled whatever thecompany owed the government.Three days later the Verkhovna Rada approved a presidiumand 22 committee chairs as proposed by Mr.Tkachenko. Adam Martyniuk, a member of theCommunist faction, was elected first vice-chairman, andViktor Medvedchuk of the Social Democratic (United)faction was elected second vice-chairman.Ukraine’s economy:staving off collapseUkraine’s economy showed evidence that anupswing might have begun in 1998, after someregions reported an increase in economic activity inmid-year. However, the onset of a financial and monetarycrisis in late August caused by the crash of the Russianfinancial markets killed any expectations that a Ukrainianeconomic renaissance was imminent.The year started with a Kuchma administration prognosisthat Ukraine could achieve a 1 percent growth in GDP(gross domestic product) – the first upward swing of economicindicators since independence in 1991 – if Ukraineheld strictly to austerity programs and kept the budgetdeficit to a minimum.However, a report issued by the United NationsDevelopment Program predicted that the quality of life inUkraine would continue to decline. The annual HumanDevelopment Report, which analyzes living standards, thelabor market and welfare provisions, concluded that lifeexpectancy in Ukraine would continue to fall and educationand public health standards would worsen as the GDP continuedto drop. The study’s human development indexranked Ukraine 95th among the 175 countries it surveyed.At the beginning of 1998, Ukraine was already feelingthe aftershocks of the collapse of Asian markets, which hadbeen spreading slowly around the world since Thailand’seconomy had collapsed in mid-1997.On January 3, Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenkoannounced that his government would focus its efforts in1998 on reducing the shadow economy in Ukraine, whichaccounts for some 43 percent of the country’s GDP andwhich Mr. Pustovoitenko called the major reason for theshortfall in Ukraine’s annual budget receipts.Budget shortfalls had forced Ukraine to borrow moneyon the international bond market for the last two years,treasury notes that would become due in 1998 just as thefinancial crisis hit Ukraine.Mr. Pustovoitenko steered clear of any mention of a newtax reform initiative to reduce the tax burden on businessesthat have caused many firms to hide their profits, butemphasized the need for tighter control over tax paymentsand to holding “chronic tax dodgers” criminally responsible.In 1997 Ukraine collected merely 76.1 percent of itsprojected tax revenues.Mr. Pustovoitenko also called for strengthening antismugglingmeasures, the use of indirect excise taxes, andthe development of trust among corporations and individualsin Ukraine’s banking-credit system.A little more than two weeks later President LeonidKuchma announced an economic austerity program to fendoff tremors from the Southeast Asian economic collapse,after international investors began to quit the Ukrainiantreasury bond market, increasing concerns of a loomingfinancial crisis in the country.The announcement, made on national television, directedthe government to cut expenses to reduce the projected1998 budget deficit from 3.7 percent to 2.2 percent and toreduce the number of government workers by 20 percent.The president said he thought that the two moves, alongwith aggressive tax collections and an ambitious privatizationprogram, would give Ukraine the hard currency itneeded to honor its treasury note obligations.Anatolii Halchynskyi, President Kuchma’s senior economicadvisor, said on January 20: “The financial situationof the state is close to critical.”That same day the chairman of the National Bank ofUkraine, Viktor Yuschenko, announced a new currency corridorfor Ukraine, a fluctuation band for the Ukrainian currencythat the state bank supports and which is supposed toassure foreign investors of the hryvnia’s stability. Theparameters, which had stood at 1.75 to 1.95 hrv per U.S.dollar, were raised to 1.8 hrv to 2.25 hrv after the NBUfailed to support the hryvnia in November 1997 with theonset of panic selling as a result of the Asian market collapse.The president’s administration continued to movestrongly to stimulate interest in Ukraine’s economy, whichhad been all but abandoned by foreign investors in the secondhalf of 1997 and had seen a decline in new businessregistrations by Ukrainian commercial interests. OnFebruary 3 President Kuchma signed a second series ofpresidential decrees to lessen the burden of governmentregulation and audits, and to establish a fixed tax for smallbusiness.U.S. representatives to the Kuchma-Gore Commission,meeting in Kyiv on February 5-6, applauded Ukraine’sefforts to overcome the financial crisis that was threateningthe country. “At a time of international financial instability,Ukraine recognized the need to move boldly,” said JanKalicki, head of the U.S. delegation. However, he notedthat barriers to foreign trade and investment still existed,namely, the need to undergo basic economic structuralreform and to more strongly support the rule of law.Ukraine received some hope that it would be able toobtain the money to stave off economic catastrophe and tore-pay its growing international debt when the InternationalMonetary Fund told a high-level Ukrainian delegation inWashington on January 22 that it was ready to negotiate along-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan program withKyiv. Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister for Economic ReformSerhii Tyhypko said the figure the two sides were consideringapproaches $3 billion and hoped an agreement could beworked out by April.The IMF also agreed to extend to Ukraine a $49 milliontranche of the old stand-by agreement, which had been duein December but held up by the IMF. The stand-by programhad not been working well for Ukraine since its inception inAugust 1997 because the country had failed to meet IMFreform guidelines several times, causing delays in disbursements.On March 14, an IMF delegation again left Ukrainewithout approving an expected $50 million tranche becauseKyiv had failed to maintain agreed-upon financial indicators,which presidential economic advisor ValeriiLytvytskyi said was associated with problems regarding“the implementation of a mechanism to manage spendingand the revival of the bond market.”As negotiations continued with the IMF, and withUkraine for all intents and purposes having abandoned itseffort to receive the stand-by loans, renowned internationaleconomist Jeffrey Sachs said in Kyiv on June 15 that ifUkraine was denied a new loan program by the IMF thecountry would be left in dire financial straits.“The financial situation in this country and the problemsfacing the government are very intricate, and it’s going tobe extremely difficult to draw other funds given the situationthat has emerged on the international markets,” saidMr. Sachs.

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 91998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWThe Harvard University professor explained thatUkraine would have a difficult time meeting the 87 requirementsthat the IMF has listed, and that the internationallender should ease its conditions.While Mr. Sachs spoke, an IMF delegation was meetingin Kyiv with Ukrainian officials on the EFF agreement thatUkraine had requested. Among the sticking points were theIMF’s demands for an accelerated and more transparent privatizationprocess, and wider structural reforms in the economy.A little over six months after negotiations began, theIMF agreed to a $2.26 billion three-year EFF creditarrangement, based on Ukraine sticking to a stringent economicreform program. Among those demands: rationalizethe tax structure and reduce tax burdens on business;strengthen financial and monetary institutions; launchadministrative reform and rationalize the size of the budgetstructure; adopt transparent privatization procedures; reducegovernment intervention in economic activities; reform theenergy and agricultural sectors.On July 31 the IMF mission head said in Kyiv that theeconomic decrees issued by President Kuchma in the firsthalf of 1998 had gone a long way in improving the businessclimate in the country and creating conditions for economicgrowth.Ukraine received a first tranche of $257 million duringthe first week of September, after the IMF’s board of directorsapproved the EFF agreement in Washington.A week later the World Bank, which had made loansworth nearly $1 billion available on the condition that theIMF approve the EFF, announced four loans for Ukraine.In the September 15 announcement, World Bank officialssaid they had committed $949.6 million in loans toUkraine’s economic reform effort — $300 million earmarkedfor continued enterprise privatization and restructuringthe securities market; $300 million for bankingreform; $300 million for coal and agricultural sectorreform; with the remaining money to be dedicated to environmentalconcerns.The first two World Bank loans were loosely structuredto be available for budgetary use and balance of paymentssupport. Ukraine received the first installment of $260 millionthree days later.The European Union followed suit on October 16,extending to Ukraine a $182.5 million balance of paymentsloan and $203 million for the Chornobyl Shelter Fund thatit had promised Ukraine, which had been tied to theapproval of the IMF loan. The loan was offered whilePresident Kuchma was in Vienna to meet with EuropeanUnion leaders and to ask for associate membership forUkraine. EU officials, while proposing closer economic tieswith Ukraine, stopped short of offering associate status.The money from the IMF, the World Bank and the EUcame at a most opportune time for Ukraine as it attemptedto deal with the collapse of the Russian economy in August,which included the need to make immediate payments ontreasury notes that had come due and to contain a dramaticslide in the hryvnia’s value.Since the beginning of September the hryvnia had fallen18 percent against the U.S. dollar and would continue toslide until November when its value would stabilize at 3.42hryvnia to the dollar, a loss of some 75 percent of its valueagainst the U.S. dollar.The same day the IMF approved the EFF, the NationalBank of Ukraine affected a de facto devaluation of thenational currency when the hryvnia was allowed to dropbelow the currency band that had been set in January for1998. The bank’s chairman announced a new band onSeptember 4 that would allow the currency to float between2.5 and 3.5 hrv to the dollar.Ukraine had spent millions in foreign currency trying tokeep the hryvnia stable as first the Asian and then theRussian crises caused the hryvnia to tumble. By September9 Ukraine’s foreign currency reserves, which had stood at$2.34 billion in January, had fallen to between $860 millionand $890 million (U.S.).With the free fall of Russia’s economy, one still closelytied to Ukraine’s, Kyiv prepared for the worst. OnSeptember 7 President Kuchma sent an economic crisispackage of 36 bills to the Verkhovna Rada for immediateapproval. Two days later he called an emergency meetingof his top economic officials to examine the state ofUkraine’s economy and what further measures were neededto avert a meltdown of Ukraine’s economy, as had alreadyoccurred in Russia.On September 14 the government announced two emergencysteps to keep hard currency in the country. First, itdecreed that Ukrainian banks must keep 75 percent of theircurrency holdings in hryvni. Then it announced it wasrestructuring the repayment of matured, short-term governmentdomestic loan bonds to foreign creditors at a 20 percentrate and converting the outstanding debt into long-termtreasury notes. It said that 75 percent of foreign holders ofUkrainian treasury notes had agreed to the deal.After strong protests from Ukrainian banks regarding thefirst decree, the government lowered the required hryvniareserve to 50 percent.On September 23 the president of the Association ofUkrainian Banks, Oleksander Suhoniako, said Ukrainianbanks had lost some $800 million as a direct result of thefinancial and business crisis in Russia, and that the majorfinancial threat in Ukraine was to the country’s bankingsystem.Ihor Yukhnovsky, a national deputy and member ofPresident Kuchma’s Supreme Economic Council, speakingat a separate press conference two days earlier, agreed.“The financial problem in Ukraine is the 1.7 billion hrv thatthe Ministry of Finance currently owes the commercialbanks of Ukraine,” said Mr. Yukhnovsky.With the hryvnia continuing to fall, ChairmanYuschenko of the NBU faced increasing pressure to resign.First, his staunch and protracted support of the hryvniawith scarce foreign reserves was criticized by PresidentKuchma. Then, on October 16, a routine annual report bythe NBU chairman before the Verkhovna Rada turned intoa protracted two-day debate on the bank’s investment procedures,which ended with the formation of a parliamentaryinvestigative commission to look into the matter.The president, stymied repeatedly in his attempt to geteconomic and structural reforms completed and Ukraineout of its financial crunch, turned to the Verkhovna Rada onNovember 19 in a major policy address called a “non-regularstate of the nation address” to get the parliamentarybody to act on the dozens of pieces of legislation that thepresident and the Cabinet of Ministers had sent for approvalin 1998. Many of the bills were part of a bloc of economicdecrees the president had issued beginning June 18 tomaneuver around a Verkhovna Rada frozen by its inabilityto elect a chairman.The president called on the Verkhovna Rada to workwith the executive branch of power to lift the nation out ofthe economic crisis, to refrain from calling for monetaryemission to pay back wages and pensions and to approve arealistic budget.The Ukrainian budget for 1999 had been sent to theVerkhovna Rada in mid-October, only to be rejected andreturned because the economic indicators didn’t reflect thefinancial realities in the country in the aftermath of thefinancial crisis. Upon its return, the Budget Committee,chaired by Yuliia Tymoshenko of the oppositionistHromada Party, rewrote part of the budget and presented abalanced budget that a majority of the national deputiescalled unrealistic. The Budget Committee had raised expenditurelevels over that proposed by the Cabinet of Ministersby 33 percent, while calling for a 5.5 billion hrv monetaryemission to cover shortfalls in the revenue side and balancethe budget.Although the plan was rejected by the full Parliament onfirst reading on December 3, it was subsequently approvedon December 9 and sent back to committee for reconcilia-Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko pledged to focuson the shadow economy and get tough with tax evaders.tion with the Cabinet of Ministers proposal.The IMF, which on November 4, had issued the secondtranche of the new EFF, some $78 million, said in mid-December that because of concerns regarding the 1999Ukrainian budget it would hold off the next scheduledtranche until after it had analyzed the final bill – a process itsaid could be completed by February 1999. MeanwhileVerkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko assuredeveryone that Ukraine would have a budget for 1999 byDecember 25.In an otherwise bleak economic year for Ukraine in1998, a few bright moments did exist.First there was the signing of a 10-year comprehensiveeconomic cooperation pact on February 20 betweenUkraine and Russia, with the goal of doubling tradebetween the two countries by 2007. However, as with anytreaty between Moscow and Kyiv, the agreements broughtwith them criticism. The Ukrainian media and oppositionpoliticians painted the series of agreements as the sellingout of Ukrainian national interests and the first step to reintegrationwith Moscow. National Deputy Serhii Teriokhincalled it “the Belarusification of Ukraine.”Then, on May 9-12, Ukraine successfully hosted theboard of governors meeting and business forum of theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development(EBRD), during which nearly 4,500 guests gathered inDymytriy GavrishA piece of good news on the economic front was that officials of the European Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment came to Kyiv for their board of governors meeting and were impressed with the capital city.Above, President Leonid Kuchma greets EBRD officials at the opening of their meeting on May 11.

10 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWKyiv from around Europe. There were no criticisms ofUkraine – only expressions of delight over the beauty ofKyiv and a changed perception of what Ukraine had tooffer Europe.Ukraine had wanted the convention to be a watershed forchanging investor interest in Ukraine. Therefore, it includedan exhibition of Ukraine’s economic and business potentialin the three-day affair. Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister forEconomic Reform Tyhypko said that Ukraine succeeded inattracting interest. “Many were here for the first time andwere amazed by what they saw,” said Mr. Tyhypko.Ukraine also scored points with the international communitythrough its effort in organizing the Black SeaEconomic Cooperation Organization, an 11-member bodyfor the development of cooperation in the fields of transport,energy, communications and ecology, which was officiallyformed on June 4 in Yalta.Finally, Ukraine maintained high hopes that it couldbecome a player in the movement of oil from the rich fieldsfound in Azerbaijan to Western and Central Europe.Ukrainian officials returned from a two-day conference inthe Azerbaijani capital of Baku on September 8, whereUkraine presented its plan for the transport of oil to theWest, convinced that this was the best plan presented.It would take Azeri oil by rail to the Georgian Black Seacity of Supsa and transport it to the Odesa oil terminal,where the black gold would move via pipeline to theUkrainian city of Brody and then on to Poland, the BalticSea and Western Europe.Azerbaijan, which had said it would decide on which ofthree proposed routing plans it would choose by November,has delayed the decision as an oil glut and depressed priceshave decreased the viability of all the projects.Kyiv reconstructsancient treasuresAlthough Ukraine’s economy and the standard of livingof its citizens continued to decline in 1998, thecountry’s capital experienced a revitalization notseen in decades. Two of the Kyiv’s most historic architecturaland cultural treasures, as well as the city center, werereconstructed, thus bringing the city closer to the standardsof Europe’s great cities.The most dynamic addition to the city’s architecturaltreasure trove was the rebuilding of the historic St. MichaelGolden-Domed Sobor, once at the center of Ukrainian spirituallife, based on computer renderings of the Sobor’s 19thcentury appearance.The 12th century church and neighboring monasterycomplex, which had been destroyed several times throughthe ages, were demolished again in 1936 by orders ofSoviet leader Joseph Stalin as he tried to stifle Ukrainiancultural and spiritual development.Plans to reconstruct the sobor began in 1995 afterPresident Leonid Kuchma issued a presidential decree.Actual construction began in late 1997 after a two-yeararchaeological excavation that turned up much of historicvalue and a few surprises.More than 260 valuable ancient artifacts were discoveredduring the dig. In addition, a portion of the historicchurch still intact was uncovered.The major surprise of the excavation was the discoveryof the remains of another ancient church that stood severalmeters from St. Michael’s. Experts have yet to find any historicalrecord that such a church existed.The bell tower of St. Michael’s was completed first, intime for Kyiv Days celebrations the weekend of May 14.More than 3,000 people were on hand for the official ribbon-cuttingceremony and the blessing of the 46-meter-highstructure, including President Kuchma and Prime MinisterValerii Pustovoitenko.The bell tower, which also holds a chapel dedicated tovictims of the Great Famine of 1932-33 and a museum ofthe history of the church and old Kyiv, as well as the carillons,faces the equally historic St. Sophia Sobor locatedabout 300 meters to the north.To connect the two religious shrines, MykhailivskySquare, located before the bell tower, was enlarged and renovated,and a promenade constructed.Six months later President Kuchma again visited the siteto take part in the ceremonial placing of a two-meterByzantine cross atop the largest of the six golden cupolasthat now cap the church and symbolize the completion ofthe construction phase of the rebuilding of St. Michael’s.Next year experts and artists will paint and adorn theinterior of the church with new frescoes and mosaics, doneaccording to the style and techniques of the 12th century.Much of the historical art works that were saved beforethe church was destroyed are found in Kyiv, at St. SophiaSobor and the Monastery of the Caves (Pecherska Lavra)complex today, but few of those will be moved back intothe new church. Unlike St. Sophia Sobor, which willremain a museum, the new St. Michael’s is planned to be afunctioning church and officials do not want the ancientworks damaged.However, other religious objects that belonged to thechurch, some of which were deposited in the TretiakovGallery in Moscow after 1936, will be returned.New church construction played a major part in thephysical revitalization of Kyiv in 1998. In addition to thesix golden domes of St. Michael’s reappearing on the Kyivskyline, the single dome of the Church of the Assumptionof the Blessed Mother of Pyrohoshcha returned. TheAssumption Church, which also belongs to the KyivPatriarchate, was rebuilt on the site that it once occupied inthe Podil district of lower Kyiv, and opened in time forEaster 1998.The construction of two other churches, one at the centerof Ukrainian Orthodoxy and as ancient as St. Michael’s, theother Greek-Catholic, with a new and controversial design,also was begun in 1998.The 11th century Dormition Cathedral (UspenskiiSobor) in the Monastery of the Caves complex, which wasblown up by retreating Soviet Red Army forces inSeptember 1941, will also be restored to its historic design.On the same day that President Kuchma witnessed the toppingof St. Michael Golden-Domed Sobor with a cross onits highest cupola, he also placed a time capsule in the foundationof the Dormition Cathedral. Both Orthodox churchesare scheduled to be completed in time for the celebrationsin Ukraine of the second millennium of Christianity.Ukrainian Greek-Catholics also finally will have achurch and monastery in Kyiv befitting their status as thesecond largest Christian confession in the country. Groundbreakingfor St. Vasylii Church took place in July 1998,with construction scheduled to be completed by September1999.The non-traditional architectural design of the church,developed by architect Laryssa Skoryk, was the subject ofsome criticism from the Ukrainian diaspora, which has contributedmore than $100,000 to the $600,000 project.Instead of the traditional domes and cupolas, the newchurch will incorporate a series of small roofs over thechurch called “dashky.”The church proper will have room for 400 to 500 worshippers,and the monastery will house about a dozenmonks.Churches were not the only cultural symbols going up inKyiv in 1998. A long overdue memorial to MykhailoHrushevsky, historian, chairman of the Ukrainian CentralRada and president of the Ukrainian National Republic,was unveiled on December 1, the seventh anniversary ofthe Ukrainian referendum that upheld the August 24, 1991,Roman WoronowyczDuring the Kyiv Days celebration in May, historic figures Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olha stand before therestored belltower of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery. In the background is the St. Sophia complex.declaration of independence.The Hrushevsky memorial stands on a new citysquare adjoining the Kyiv Teachers’ Building where theUkrainian National Republic was proclaimed onJanuary 22, 1918.However historic or needed these building efforts were,the one that received the most publicity – and garnered themost controversy – was the renovation of the Kyiv city centerduring the summer months.In a $25 million effort to rehabilitate Kyiv’s main thoroughfare,the Khreschatyk, which hadn’t seen a faceliftsince it was rebuilt after World War II, the street and adjoiningsidewalks were uprooted and repaved, pedestrianunderpasses were reconstructed, new light fixtures wereinstalled above the street and on surrounding buildings anda fountain was built at the entrance to the KhreschatykPassage.Renovation plans began after workers discovered that50-year-old communications and electrical cables buriedbelow the street had deteriorated dangerously. The workwas completed on August 16, in time for UkrainianIndependence Day a week later.Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko told reporters duringa ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of the Khreschatykafter work was completed that the two-month renovationblitz had transformed the historic strip into “a street asbeautiful as any in Europe.”Allthough national deputies in the nation’s Parliamentdid not voice disagreement with the Kyiv mayor’s assertion,some did question the cost of the work at a time whenthe country was experiencing such difficult economic timesand called for an investigative committee to be formed,which has not yet delivered its findings.Kyiv residents also questioned the need for such anextravagant undertaking. While work proceeded on theKhreschatyk the most common statement heard fromKyivans was: “They can’t pay back wages and pensions,but they can put marble in the underpasses.”The revitalization of the Khreschatyk was the secondphase of a general sprucing up that Kyiv underwent in1998. In the spring months, major city arteries wererepaved, half-finished construction projects that had languishedfor years were completed, and many buildings inthe city center were given a new coat of paint.It was all done in preparation for Kyiv’s first major internationalevent: the board of governors meeting of theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development, aconvention of European bankers and businessmen thatUkraine hoped would bring badly needed internationalinvestment.Preparations also included the renovations of severalKyiv hotels to bring them up to world standards.The convention went off without a hitch, and delegatesleft Kyiv impressed with the beauty of the city. At the closingpress conference of the convention, EBRD ActingPresident Charles Frank said, “Kyiv can rest assured that ithas gained many new admirers.”

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 111998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWAn agonizing returnto Perm Camp 36The last remaining and most severe political concentrationcamps of the former USSR were located in the village ofKuchyno, Chusovskyi raion, Perm Oblast, located in theUral Mountains of the Russian SFSR. The camps were dismantledon December 9, 1987. It is on this last site, a grim reminder of arepressive system, that the human rights group Memorial andPerm Oblast officials have decided to build a museum, TheMemorial Museum Perm 36, so that in the future people couldunderstand what was meant by the Gulag Archipelago.On August 29 of this year two former political prisoners andinmates of Perm Camp 36, Ukrainian human and national rightsactivists Lev Lukianenko and Yevhen Sverstiuk, returned to witnessthe museum’s founding.Human rights activists in the USSR were sentenced for variousforms of “anti-Soviet” activity and were sent to the same prisoncamps as were rapists, murderers and other dangerous criminals.The term “zek” refers to the inmates of these camps, at the root ofwhich is the slang term in Russian for prisoner.According to Mr. Sverstiuk, going back to Perm Camp 36 was“going back to hell, where demons of various ranks waited foryou at the entrance.”In an account of his return to Perm he wrote:“In the first two months they tried to find out your most vulnerablepressure points. KGB agents used systematic pressure tomorally break an individual so he was forced to bend to the system.To break down was to turn against friends and go over to theside of the police. The individual who didn’t break was beatendaily ... punished in other degrading ways.“... I gasped when I walked down the corridor that led to thecell in which Vasyl Stus was incarcerated and died. [Stus was sentencedin 1980 to 10 years of strict-regime labor camp and fiveyears of exile. He died on September 4, 1985, at Camp 36.] Howdark and cold it seemed. I felt as if I were touching the tools ofmurder.“... In the Gulag Archipelago this (museum) is the only testamentto past crimes, to the half million graves in Semipalatinsk, to thegraves in Norilsk, Vorkuta and Komsomolsk. Almost all of the constructionin the north [of the Russian SFSR] is built (with forcedlabor) on the bones of zeks. ...Western journalists look for traces ofthese camps and find only rotting barracks among tall weeds. Westernhuman rights activists have decided to help the Russians preservetheir history ... are appropriating funds to aid Memorial. Only twozones are left to represent the colossal empire of the gulag. In the early‘90s there was an attempt to destroy even these last traces.“Young people also are taking part in establishing the museumin Perm. Student volunteers are reconstructing the barbed wirearound the camp.“Why do Western Europeans come to Perm to initiate a memorialmuseum? Why do the Japanese go to the graves of theirancestors? Why do the Germans continue to look for the graves oftheir soldiers? Perhaps they want to bring peace to their souls, totheir consciences. Perhaps they feel a responsibility for a historicalprocess. Man begins from this. Otherwise we will never cut thecord of past terror and inhumanity. Each individual must cultivatepeace in his soul. Otherwise, weeds will grow there.”The guard tower at the edge of the “The Prohibited Zone,” which encircled the camp, outside whichthe prisoners were not allowed. The zone was criss-crossed with barbed wire and high-voltage wiresand patrolled by ferocious guard dogs called “black wolves” by the prisoners.Rotting barracks that once housed the prisoners.Yevhen Sverstiuk stands beside the open lavatory in the prisoners’ barracks.Human rights activists and former Perm Camp 36 inmates (from left) LevLukianenko, Yevhen Sverstiuk, unidentified man and Serhii Kovalev.

12 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWOur Churches:good news, and badInter-confessional and intra-confessional conflicts, andeven violence, which were evident during the late 1980sand early 1990s, all but disappeared as Ukraine enteredits seventh year of independence. The U.S. StateDepartment’s annual human rights report, released inJanuary, notes that 1997, like 1996, was basically stable inUkraine in the sphere of religious activity, except for occasionalincidents of religious conflict on an individual basis.The report does criticize the government for onerousregistration and reporting requirements mandatory for religiousorganizations, especially for those defined as “nontraditional,”that is, Protestant. Various Ukrainian, Russianand Western sources cite the growing phenomenon ofProtestant churches in Ukraine, a traditionally Orthodoxcountry in which the Orthodox faithful remain split in theirloyalties to Ukrainian patriarchs and the Moscow patriarch.Religious property issues, a topic of much heated debatebetween government authorities and religious groups, aswell as between confessions, have subsided. In fact, 1998was notable for the amount of renovation and new constructionon religious buildings, both in the diaspora and inUkraine. (See “Kyiv reconstructs ancient treasures” and“Survey on culture and the arts.”)At a roundtable held at the Embassy of Ukraine inWashington on January 15, the chief rabbi of Ukraine,Yaakov Bleich, stated that the Jewish community is faringbetter in Ukraine than in any of the other of the new independentcountries of the region. However, he also warnedthat the welfare of Jews is tied to the general welfare ofUkraine. He stated that though there was no official, or government-supportedanti-Semitism, there are numerous anti-Semitic incidents and publication of anti-Semitic articles,most notably in certain newspapers in western Ukraine. Henoted the satisfactory resolution of the issues of theBrodsky synagogue in Kyiv and the Jewish cemetery inLviv.In an interview with Mustafa Jemilev, the political leaderof the Crimean Tatars, who are returning to the Crimeanpeninsula after having been deported to Central Asia byStalin after the second world war, the main problems facingthe Muslim Tatars are economic and political, including theissue of Ukrainian citizenship, and not religious issues.Orthodox ChurchIn the diaspora, there was increased tension within theOrthodox Church this year. The 1995 decision by the hierarchsof the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. toaccept the omophorion (protection) of the Patriarchate ofConstantinople continued to cause tension among theparishes and faithful in America, many of whom do notsupport the decision to accept the jurisdiction ofEcumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Several parishesthreatened to leave the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of theU.S.A. and on May 29, the Kyiv Patriarchate under theleadership of Patriarch Filaret accepted four U.S. parishesunder its jurisdiction, a decision that received harsh criticismfrom the hierarchs in the U.S.On May 27, Patriarch Bartholomew arrived in Canadafor a pastoral visit (he had visited the U.S. in the fall of1997). Ukrainian Orthodox, along other Orthodox faithfulin Canada, hosted the patriarch in Winnipeg, on the campusof St. Andrew’s College and at the Ukrainian OrthodoxCathedral of the Holy Trinity. The event helped mark the80th anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian OrthodoxChurch of Canada. The UOC-Canada accepted theomophorion of the ecumenical patriarch in 1990.The Sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of theU.S.A., held October 13-19 at the Consistory in SouthBound Brook, N.J., – which began with apprehension overthe issues of Constantinople, proposed changes to theChurch Constitution and the prospect of additional parishesleaving – ended in an uneasy calm as the changes to theConstitution were postponed and the Sobor accepted threeresolutions: to contact the ecumenical patriarch with arequest for written clarification of the relationship betweenConstantinople and the UOC-U.S.A., including commitmentto an Autocephalous Church in Ukraine as the MotherChurch for all Orthodox Ukrainians; to continue discussionswith both Patriarchs Filaret and Dymytrii aboutChurch unity in Ukraine; and, to confirm that only the ecumenicalpatriarch can grant autocephaly to a Church inUkraine and that the Church in the U.S. will never belongto any Church controlled or influenced by Moscow.Metropolitan Constantine of the UOC-U.S.A. stated duringthe Sobor that if there is an independent, united autocephalousOrthodox Church in Ukraine, one that is not controlledby Moscow, then the UOC-U.S.A. will go under thePatriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church –Kyiv Patriarchate during a visit to Brunswick, Ohio.omophorion of the patriarch in Kyiv, one that is recognizedby the ecumenical patriarch. This position reassured manySobor delegates.In accordance with the second motion, hierarchs of theUOC-U.S.A. met with Patriarch Filaret on October 23,shortly after his arrival in New York. The patriarch traveledto several cities on a pastoral visit to his parishes during histhree weeks in the U.S.Catholic ChurchPope John Paul II on April 6 granted the title of “venerable”to Josaphata Hordachevska, co-founder of the SisterServants of Mary Immaculate. Sister Josaphata is the firstUkrainian woman to be going through the process of beatification-canonization.Also, in April, a letter from Cardinal Angelo Sodano inRome to the bishops of Poland stated that married clergycould not serve in Poland, and that all married Byzantine-Ukrainian Rite clergy should return to “their diocese of origin”in Ukraine, though many had no such diocese andwere Polish citizens. This letter caught most UkrainianCatholic Church hierarchs offguard and to many observers,appeared like a throwback to the dark days prior to VaticanII. The letter was immediately criticized by representativesof the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ukraine and in theWest, as well as by Latin Rite bishops, including the bishops’conference in Australia, and Asia, as well as thoseattending an ecumenical conference in Washington in June.Cardinal Sodano made a trip to Kyiv in June where he metwith Greek-Catholic hierarchs. Though no official responserevoking the letter has come from Rome, the issue appearsto have subsided.During the weeks of August 23 through September 10,both a Sobor and Synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Churchwere held in Lviv, the metropolitan see of the Church inUkraine. The Sobor discussed the role of the faithful in theChurch and prepared a final document for publication laterthis year. The Sobor is an advisory body to the Church hierarchscomposed of laity and clergy; and this was the secondconclave of several planned over five years.The Synod of Bishops discussed the role of theUkrainian Catholic Church within the Universal Church.Both bodies announced preparations for celebrations of thesecond millennium of Christianity.In Canada, the Eparchy of Toronto, which celebrated its50th anniversary this year, saw the installation of BishopCornelius Pasichny on September 24 as its new eparch. Hisappointment ended a nine-year standoff with the Vatican,which began when Bishop Isidore Borecky refused toresign in 1984, after he was requested to do so by PopeJohn Paul II. Present at Bishop Pasichny’s installation wererepresentatives from the Vatican, as well as BishopBorecky, who had agreed to retire. Bishop Roman Danylak,who had been in dispute with Bishop Borecky, was given anew assignment in Rome.Cardinal Edward I. Cassidy, who is the head of thePontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, called forthe resumption of Catholic-Orthodox dialogue, a programthat had been suspended in 1990. He cited the 1995 apostolicletter on Christian unity by Pope John Paul II. Theresumption was announced at a conference in Washingtonon June 9-12, “Orientale Lumen II,” where relationsbetween Churches and confessions were discussed, includinga discussion of the Vatican letter that banned marriedByzantine Rite priests from serving in Poland. CardinalCassidy, who stated that he had no prior knowledge ofCardinal Sodano’s letter to the Polish bishops, suggestedthat the American bishops change their position (which,since 1929, bans the ordination of married men in the U.S.)as an example for Poland to follow.In November Bishop Lubomyr Husar, who has assumedthe daily responsibilities for the primate of the Church,Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky, confirmed that discussionsbetween the government of Ukraine and theVatican are under way to plan a papal visit to Ukraine, possiblyfor late 1999.Other notables• More than 6,000 pilgrims received sacraments this yearduring the Feast of the Dormition during their pilgrimage tovisit the icon of the Mother of God of Zarvanytsia in westernUkraine.• The sisters of St. Basil the Great held groundbreakingceremonies for the new Holy Trinity Chapel and BasilianSpiritual Center in Fox Chase Manor, Pa., on May 10.• Archbishop Antony, head of the Consistory of theUOC-U.S.A., celebrated 25 years of priesthood on January17.• Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, widely considered to bethe architect of the Holy See’s policy of rapprochementwith the Communist East, as well as a supporter ofCatholics living under repressive Communist regimes inEastern Europe and the Soviet Union, including the undergroundUkrainian Catholic Church, died during the week ofJune 7 in Rome at the age of 83.• On May 17, the UOC-U.S.A. commemorated the100th anniversary of the birth of Patriarch Mstyslav, and thefifth anniversary of his death with a daylong commemorationat the Church’s Consistory.• At the UOC-U.S.A. Sobor in October, it wasannounced that Bishop Vsevolod had been elevated to archbishop.• Sister Augustine, 93, who entered the convent of theBasilian Sisters in 1923, on August 28, celebrated 75 yearsof service to the Ukrainian Catholic Church.Bishop Lubomyr Husar, auxiliary to the primate of theUkrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Cardinal MyroslavLubachivsky.

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 131998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWU.S. and Ukrainecontinue as partnersRelations between Ukraine and the United States –now being called a “strategic partnership” – weretested and continued to develop in 1998. Therewere high-level meetings and visits, frank discussions,agreements, resolutions of disagreements, cooperation,assistance and, through all of it, an apparent sense ofnormal relations at work.The year began with the changing of the guard at theU.S. Embassy in Kyiv. Ambassador William GreenMiller, who spent more than four years in Kyiv helpingestablish the strategic partnership, returned toWashington and was replaced by Steven Pifer, a careerdiplomat who last served at the National SecurityCouncil.Ukraine would change its ambassador in Washingtonin November, when Dr. Yuri Shcherbak concluded hisfour-year term and was replaced by Anton Buteiko, firstvice minister of foreign affairs. For both countries, itwould be the third exchange of ambassadors since theyestablished diplomatic relations after Ukraine’s independence.The U.S. State Department’s annual human rightsreport, released in late January, noted that “Ukraine continuedthe process of building a law-based civil society”in 1997. The report, which covers countries that receiveU.S. foreign assistance and all countries that are membersof the United Nations, noted that instances ofhuman rights violations in Ukraine “remained at thesame low level as in 1996.” The latest annual report onUkraine noted (as it did in 1996) that in many casesshortcomings result from holdover practices and personalitiesfrom the Soviet era, the absence of constitutionallymandated enabling legislation and enforcement, aswell as the worsening economic situation in Ukraine.The report cited continuing problems with trial delaysand beatings in the unreformed legal and prison systems,and in the army. While noting progress in ensuring theindependence of the judiciary under Ukraine’s newConstitution, the report added that “political interferencecontinues to affect the judicial process.” Also, though itno longer criticized Ukraine for working under a Sovietstyleconstitution, as it did in previous reports, the StateDepartment report pointed out that “the efficacy of the1996 Constitution and the safeguards that it provides forhuman rights depends on enabling legislation, most ofwhich has not yet been passed.”Much of the bilateral activity during the year revolvedaround Ukraine’s need to secure sizable long-term creditsfrom the International Monetary Fund to shore up itsdwindling reserves as well as continued U.S. economicassistance. Both were contingent on Ukraine followingthrough on President Kuchma’s government program ofstructural and other economic reforms which werestalled before the election to the Verkhovna Rada andappeared threatened altogether following the leftist gainsin the election.There were numerous trips to Washington by VicePrime Minister for Economic Reform Serhii Tyhypkoand other members of the Ukrainian government’s topeconomic team, culminating in the first visit toWashington by Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko.That came one month after the IMF had approved the$2.22 billion, three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF)program for Ukraine and the World Bank followed withmore credits and grants totaling $950 million. Mr.Pustovoitenko’s visit in October coincided with theannual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank, whosecontinued support became even more urgent when theUkrainian economy came under pressure from theworldwide financial crisis – and especially the crisis inRussia.High U.S. officials traveled to Kyiv as well to discusseconomic and other U.S. concerns, such as nuclear nonproliferation.Among them were the State Department’sambassador-at-large for the new independent states,Stephen Sestanovich; the administration’s special advisoron aid to that region, Richard Morningstar; Secretaryof State Madeleine K. Albright; and Vice-President AlGore.The U.S. government was concerned both aboutUkraine holding the line on reform and about convincinginternational financial institutions, the U.S. Congressand private investors that Ukraine was worthy of support.Indeed, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbottwrote an article in the Washington Post two weeks afterthe Verkhovna Rada election, appealing for the contin-ued support of Ukraine despite the leftward shift in theRada and pointing out that Ukraine’s stability and security“matter profoundly to Europe and the United States.”Secretary Albright was directed by Congress to “certify”that Ukraine was making progress in economicreforms and in resolving disputes with U.S. investors.Otherwise, Ukraine would forfeit almost half of the $225million in U.S. foreign assistance funds for 1998. Ms.Albright ultimately announced her certification in April,albeit with a small hedge of holding back $10 million to15 million as pressure for further progress.In the 1999 U.S. foreign assistance budget passed byboth houses of Congress in October, Ukraine was slatedto receive $195 million, and all of it is subject to theSecretary of State’s certification – within 120 days of thebill’s enactment – “that Ukraine has undertaken significanteconomic reforms additional to those achieved infiscal year 1998.”While in Kyiv in March, Secretary Albright also gotUkraine’s assurance that it would not sell turbines for aRussian nuclear reactor project in Iran, which,Washington feared, could be used to develop nuclearweapons. This agreement paved the way for Ukraine toenter into a peaceful nuclear energy cooperation programwith the United States and to join the MissileTechnology Control Regime, giving it the opportunity toEfrem LukatskyDuring his July 22-23 visit to Ukraine, U.S. Vice-President Al Gore looks at the Chornobyl nuclear power plantand its sarcophagus from his helicopter.participate in such potentially lucrative internationalcommercial space projects as Sea Launch and GlobalStar. The United States also agreed to assist in the economicdevelopment of the Kharkiv region, where theturbines were being made.Vice-President Gore traveled to Kyiv in July for thesecond plenary session of the U.S.-Ukraine BinationalCommission. Commonly called the Kuchma-GoreCommission, it was established in 1996 to turn the ideaof the “strategic partnership” into reality. It conducts itswork though four committees, dealing with foreign policy,security, trade and investment, and sustainable economiccooperation.The U.S. vice-president praised President Kuchma’sdecrees on economic reforms, and expressed his supportfor the IMF’s EFF credits for Ukraine and Ukraine’s proposalto transport oil from the Caspian Sea to WesternEurope through a pipeline across the southwesternregion of Ukraine, from Odesa to Brody, and thenthrough to Poland. In August, the United States providedfunds for a feasibility study of that route, but inDecember, it announced its support of another pipelineroute through Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea.The U.S. Congress continued to play an importantrole in supporting the further development of U.S.-Ukraine relations. The Congressional Ukrainian Caucus,Official White House PhotoUkrainian American community leaders at a White House meeting with Vice-President Al Gore on the eve ofhis visit to Ukraine.

14 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWwhich now numbers 25 U.S. representatives, in manyways took the lead by organizing briefings on Ukrainianissues, supporting U.S. aid for Ukraine, meeting withvisiting Ukrainian officials, sponsoring legislation –including the recent resolution marking the 65th anniversaryof the Great Famine – and the annual UkrainianIndependence Day reception in Congress.There was cooperation also in the arena of internationalcrime. Noting that “democracy is under siege from ruthless,well-financed, well-organized criminal organizations,”Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) convened an April21 hearing by the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations ofthe Senate Appropriations Committee to focus on internationalcrime programs. Testifying before the subcommitteewere FBI Director Louis Freeh and Gen. Ihor Smeshko,director for strategic planning and analysis on the NationalSecurity and Defense Council of Ukraine. (Gen. Smeshkowas Ukraine’s first military attaché in Washington.) Thehearing focused on the Russian mafia operating throughoutthe new independent states and in the U.S.In comments about Ukraine, Director Freeh said,“Gen. Smeshko and his agency are one of the severalorganizations in Ukraine that are direct beneficiaries ofthe training and institution-building programs that arethe focus of this hearing ... Their presence here todaystands as a testimony to the commitment by the governmentof Ukraine to develop modern law enforcementagencies that are based upon the rule of law.”Gen. Smeshko reported that “the level of crime isincreasing” in Ukraine; he pointed to money laundering,which is “like a vacuum cleaner,” and the resale ofresources such as energy. He also noted that the “level ofcorruption of some government bodies is very high.” Heattributed the increase to the struggle for power betweenthe left and right as well as the privatization of enterprises.U.S.-Ukrainian cooperation was evident in other areasas well in 1998. One of the most active areas of U.S.-Ukrainian cooperation is reputed to be between thearmed forces of the two countries, through frequent contactsand visits, training and military exercises. InNovember, Defense Minister Oleksander Kuzmuk camefor his second official visit to Washington. This time hereferred to his talks with U.S. Defense Secretary WilliamCohen as a “meeting of friends.”U.S. and Ukrainian officials have also been cooperatingin efforts to preserve the cultural heritage of minoritiesin both countries. In connection with this, Ukrainianrepresentatives at two recent meetings in Washington –of the U.S.-Ukraine Cultural Heritage Commission andthe Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets –asked the United States for assistance in obtaining thereturn of a collection of drawings by 16th centuryGerman artist Albrecht Dürer, which were removed fromLviv’s Stefanyk Library by the Nazis in 1941 and laterfound their way into American and other countries’museums.Trafficking in women was another problem area inwhich Ukraine and the United States cooperated in 1998.During first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s briefing inFebruary about her trip to Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Russiaand Ukraine in November 1997, she underscored theneed for action on this problem to which she was alertedwhile visiting Lviv. A month later, at a special WhiteHouse ceremony marking International Women’s Day,President Clinton outlined the U.S. plan of action, whichincluded an expansion of U.S. efforts on behalf ofwomen at home and abroad, and the convening of aninternational conference to develop strategies to combatthe problem.The Embassy of Ukraine had played a role in helpingbring this issue to the fore, following reports about theproblem in the Western media, including The UkrainianWeekly. Ambassador Shcherbak had asked the first lady,in a follow-up meeting after her visit to Lviv, to push theU.S. to raise the issue to an international level.The Ukrainian Embassy had also been active in fosteringunderstanding of developments in Ukraine as wellas its history and culture through various programs. Itheld a roundtable discussion with Kyiv-based RabbiYaakov Bleich about the state of the Jewish communityin Ukraine, a commemorative evening for Ukrainianhuman rights activist Ivan Svitlychny and a presentationof Ambassador Shcherbak’s book, “The Strategic Roleof Ukraine: Diplomatic Addresses and Lectures (1994-1997),” published by the Harvard University UkrainianResearch Institute.As the year drew to a close, Ukraine’s new ambassadorto the United States, Mr. Buteiko, organized a meetingat the Embassy with the leaders of major UkrainianAmerican organizations, to brief them about his agendaand listen to their ideas and concerns.Canada-Ukraine:exchange of envoysCanada and Ukraine had exchanged new ambassadorby year’s end, but otherwise 1998 marked oneof the less eventful years for relations between thetwo countries.Given the volatility in global markets, particularlytheir effect on Russia, a planned “Team Canada” trademission to be led by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (hisfifth) early next year to that country and to Ukraine wasdowngraded to an official visit by the PM.Still, 1998 began on an upbeat note, with the Torontobranch of Canadian Friends of Ukraine announcingplans to help establish a Canada-Ukraine ParliamentaryResource Center at the Verkovna Rada in Kyiv, whichwould house Canadian federal and provincial laws, aswell as regulations concerning various agencies andquasi-governmental institutions. Leonid Kravchuk, formerpresident of Ukraine, agreed to serve as the project’shonorary patron in Ukraine.Perhaps the center’s resources would include informationon Canada’s immigration rules, which cameunder fire from the Canadian Ukrainian Immigrant AidSociety.According to the society’s president, BohdanMykytiuk, “recent [Canadian] internal ImmigrationDepartment documents indicate[d] that there is in fact aquota system for visa offices and that Ukrainians arenear the bottom of the targeted groups.” While theannual visa limit for Ukraine is 750, it’s 22,000 for theUnited States, he said.Calling the process discriminatory, Mr. Mykytiukblamed much of the problem on the downsizing ofthe immigration staff at the Canadian Embassy inKyiv.In October the 19th triennial convention of the UCCalso raised the issue of Ukrainian immigration toCanada and resolved to demand a review of administrativeprocedures at the Canadian Visa Office in Kyiv toensure equitable and timely visas, and address the allegationsof bribes being taken by Ukrainian citizensworking for the Embassy of Canada.Meanwhile, the Canadian government announced itwould send 10 observers to monitor Ukraine’s March29 elections to the Verkhovna Rada. Earlier in themonth, Canada’s minister for international cooperation,Diane Marleau, spent two days in Kyiv and later toldThe Weekly that she had expressed Canada’s concernover the “slow pace of economic reform” occurring inUkraine.“My message to them was that if they make it impossiblefor us to help, then help becomes impossible,” saidMs. Marleau, who is responsible for the CanadianInternational Development Agency (CIDA) that overseesCanada’s financial assistance program to Ukraine.In July, that much-anticipated Team Canada trade tripto Russia, Poland and Ukraine was announced by PrimeMinister Chrétien. He said that, by visiting the threecountries, “we are making sure that Canadian businessescan explore the opportunities offered by these growingeconomies.”While Canada’s Embassy in Kyiv geared up for theprime minister’s visit, they also had cause to celebrateone of their own. Toronto-born Roman Waschuk, acounselor at the Embassy, was one of four members ofCanada’s 4,000-strong diplomatic corps to receive thisyear’s Foreign Service Award, presented annually bythe Professional Association of Foreign ServiceOfficers.Mr. Waschuk, 36, was recognized “for his personaland distinctive contributions to the advancement andclose relations between Ukraine and Canada.”Meanwhile back at home, Dmytro Ostapenko,Ukraine’s minister of culture and arts, joined his colleaguesfrom 20 countries at a cultural summit inOttawa hosted by Canadian Heritage Minister SheilaCopps in early July. While in Canada, Mr. Ostapenkodiscussed the establishment of a bilateral cultural agreementbetween Canada and Ukraine, which PrimeMinister Chrétien is expected to sign when he visitsUkraine next month.On July 15, Canada named a new ambassador toUkraine, veteran diplomat Derek Fraser, who hadrecently represented the country in Greece. Predictingthat Ukrainian trade “should grow naturally,” Mr. Fraserassumed his duties in Kyiv in late August.His expectations for Ukraine’s performance hadsome merit when, in early September, officials of Lviv’sElectron Bank signed an agreement with their counterpartsat the Buduchnist Credit Union to facilitate the“easy exchange of funds between individuals and companiesin each country at reasonable rates.”As the year wound down, Ukraine’s third ambassadorto Canada, Volodymyr Furkalo, 45, left for his newposting in Yugoslavia after serving in Ottawa for threeyears. He was replaced by one of Ukraine’s formervice ministers of foreign affairs, VolodymyrKhandogiy, 46, who presented his diplomatic credentialsto Canadian Governor General Roméo LeBlanc inearly December.While Mr. Khandogiy was hobnobbing with his hostsat his official welcome-to-Canada event, his Canadiancounterpart in Kyiv created a minor furor back homeover remarks he made to the Kyiv-based newspaperDen (Day) about the Ukrainian Canadian community’srequest for an apology from Ottawa over the internmentof some 5,000 Ukrainian Canadians between 1914 and1920. In a December 1 news release issued by theUkrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association,Ambassador Fraser was quoted as having said that“there were no camps for Ukrainians as such in Canada,[the] camps were for enemy aliens, including Austriancitizens.”Andrij WynnyckyjUkrainian Canadian Congress President Evhen Czolij (center) and UCC Past President Oleh Romaniw (right)present Volodymyr Furkalo, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada in 1995-1998, with a token of the community’sappreciation at the 19th triennial Congress of Ukrainian Canadians in Winnipeg on October 11.

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 151998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWThe UCCLA communiqué added that Mr. Fraser saidthat what had occurred during World War I is now“ancient history.” In response, UCCLA Chairman JohnGregorovich chastised the Canadian ambassador forbeing “clearly unaware of the facts” and suggested Mr.Fraser “should probably be better briefed on this subjectbefore he publicly pronounces on it, embarrassingCanada in Ukraine by revealing his ignorance of thisunfortunate episode in Canadian history.” The UCCLAplanned to ask Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister LloydAxworthy for both an explanation and apology fromMr. Fraser.At year’s end, it turned out that provincial primeministers would not be heading east to Kyiv andWarsaw with their federal colleague. According toPrime Minister Chrétien, the events of the second halfof 1998 made it clear “that what Russia needs now isnot a large-scale trade mission.” Nor did it appear thatRussia needed a visit by the Canadian PM, based onlate-October reports that ailing Russian PresidentBoris Yeltsin had told Mr. Chrétien to effectively stayat home.So, come January, the prime minister is scheduled tomake his first trip to Ukraine and Poland – alone.Our diaspora:news at the UWCThe Ukrainian World Congress held its seventhcongress on December 2-6, and elected AskoldLozynskyj, head of the Ukrainian CongressCommittee of America, as its president, after a sixmonthscramble to find candidates who would stand forthe post.Ukraine’s ambassadors to the United Nations andCanada, respectively, Volodymyr Yelchenko andVolodymyr Khandogiy, addressed the congress, as didSaskatchewan’s Premier Roy Romanow. Not only weredelegates from Slovakia (Lev Dovhovych) and Russia(Oleksander Rudenko-Desniak) officially representedfor the first time in the congress’s history, they played akey role in focusing debate on relations betweenWestern and Eastern diasporas, on the issue of “autocthonous”Ukrainians versus diaspora Ukrainians, andon the need for the government in Kyiv to take astronger stand in defending the interests of Ukrainiansabroad.One discussion panel addressed issues of the diaspora’sself-definition and the challenges it faces (“TheUkrainian Diaspora in the New Era,” i.e., post independence)and another dealt with questions of “TheDiaspora and Ukraine” (in terms of what forms of assistanceshould flow in which direction.)Delegates’ even-handed approach to questions ofinteraction with the “mother country,” whether withregard to relations with the Ukrainian WorldCoordinating Council and its president, Ivan Drach (heattended the congress), or the government in Kyiv, suggestedthat the post-independence blush of euphoria iswell off the rose.Commemoration of the 1932-1933 famine was againseen as a crucial focus for work at both the local leveland the international arena – efforts to prompt U.N. resolutionscondemning the use of famine as an instrumentof coercion and enshrining the right to food were considered.Religious concerns were also central, at the UWCconclave, notably the disunity in the Orthodox Churchin Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate’s invasive presencethere and its actions against the KyivanPatriarchate’s Archbishop Adrian.The congress was again marked by the near totalabsence of young delegates, although the presidiumchairman, Taras Pidzameckyj, was the most visiblesymbol of the inclusion of younger activists in positionsof influence, and the incoming executive is relativelyyoung.Happily, internal UWC conflicts over the issue ofrelations with the UWCC appeared to have been sufficientlyaired prior to the congress, and so the variousrecriminations aired during the year concerning a UWCdelegation’s attendance at a UWCC plenum in May didnot surface in the proceedings.At a presidium meeting on February 20-21, a strongmajority in the UWC hierarchy had finally had enoughof UWCC’s inconsistent approach to by-laws, unwillingnessto face questions of conflict of interest and theneed to operate at arms length from the Ukrainian gov-ernment, and half-hearted repudiations of the UkrainaSociety’s anti-diaspora past. It had resolved to discontinueformal meetings until these questions could be satisfactorilyresolved.An April 6 meeting of the UWC executive gave conditionalapproval for the delegation’s trip to Kyiv, but thiscaused a rift in the world umbrella body by the time of thea plenary meeting of the UWC’s secretariat on June 5-6.At the congress in December, President-electLozynskyj said Mr. Drach had agreed to make a statementrepudiating and renaming the Ukraina Society thatwas acceptable, and that this would serve as a point ofdeparture for improved relations.Around the world• Just as 1997 was ending, on December 31 at about7 p.m., a 400-year- old church on long-term lease to theUkrainian community in Tallinn, Estonia, since 1993,was destroyed by fire.• Ukrainians in Austria marked the 225th anniversaryof their presence in that country with the issue of astamp depicting Vienna’s St. Barbara’s UkrainianGreek-Catholic Church.• In January, following seven years of hardship in theaftermath of the war in former Yugoslavia, Ukrainiansbegan returning to Vukovar, Croatia, and the effort toreconstruct the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Christ theKing was begun.• The Plast Ukrainian Youth Organization held itsinternational jamboree in Manitoba from July 29 toAugust 6, with close to 700 members arriving fromCanada, the U.S., Argentina, France, Germany, Poland,Slovakia and Ukraine.• On September 17-19, the World Congress ofUkrainian Lawyers convened in Lviv, with jurists fromNorth America and Europe participating, and issued astatement honoring the victims of the 1932-1933Famine-Genocide and marking the tragedy’s 65thanniversary.• The third congress of the League of UkrainianPolitical Prisoners was held in Toronto on October 16-18 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center. At the gala banquet,remains of those who died in a Nazi concentrationcamps in Flossenburg were accepted by Ukraine’sConsul General in Toronto Volodymyr Kyrychenko, forsuitable interment in Ukraine.• The World Federation of Ukrainian Women’sOrganizations celebrated its 50th anniversary inJenkintown, Pa., with an address by Dr. ZoyaKhyzhnyak of the National University of Kyiv-MohylaAcademy, on October 25, and then, during the annualmeetings of its executive in Toronto on October 30-November 1, with former Helsinki Monitoring Groupmember Iryna Senyk arriving for the gala banquet onOctober 31 after being chosen as one of the “World’s100 Heroines” by an international women’s rightsagency in Rochester, N.Y.• The European Congress of Ukrainians convenedYaroslav KulynychTwo Ukrainian World Congress presidents: newly elected Askold Lozynskyj (left) and outgoing Dmytro Cipywnyk.its third meeting of leaders of European nationalumbrella organizations in Kosice, Slovakia, onNovember 20-21. Representatives from Germany,Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom met withobservers from Bosnia, Croatia and the CzechRepublic, and formally accepted applications for membershipin the ECU from organizations based inBosnia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary,Latvia, Poland, Slovakia.• On November 27, Ukraine’s prime minister, ValeriiPustovoitenko, lent a higher profile to the opening of aUkrainian culture center in Moscow which is to “concernitself with the needs of the several millionUkrainians living and working in Russia.”The Great Famine:a reassessmentSeventy years ago, momentous changes began tooccur in Ukraine. Let us recall that at that timeUkrainian lands were divided between severalcountries. Most of western Ukraine was under the ruleof a newly restored Polish state, with small areas controlledby Czecho-Slovakia and Romania. EasternUkraine, a larger area was under Soviet rule. However,for five to six years the Soviet authorities had introduceda policy that permitted non-Russian republics todevelop governments that were “national in form,socialist in content.” Ukraine had made significantprogress in the development of national culture. In1928, this was about to change.In the 1920s a power struggle took place in the USSRduring which Lenin’s successors waged a non-publicizedbattle for control. This struggle was won by theGeorgian Iosif Djugashvili, better known as Stalin,“man of steel.” Stalin was a man paranoid by nature,trusting no one, with an almost overwhelming suspicionof the peasantry. He had cast off his Georgian backgroundlike an old shoe that he no longer wished towear. Instead, he adopted the outlook of a GreatRussian, disguised as internationalism, whereby anymanifestation of one’s national culture – in a non-Russian form – could be labeled “national deviationism.”But Russification was only one goal. The major questionsfor Stalin were how to ensure that the mass of thepopulation was pacified, and how to feed a growingindustrial workforce harnessed to his First Five-YearPlan. Could there be a guaranteed supply of food?Lenin had advocated an alliance between the workersand the poor peasants that would lead to class warfarein the countryside. Throughout the period of the civilwar, harsh grain requisitions had been extracted fromthe farms through the Committees of the PoorPeasantry. The policy was an abject failure that resulted

16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWin mass hunger, drought and eventual famine. In March1921, this policy was exchanged for the New EconomicPolicy (NEP), which replaced requisitions with a flattax and allowed the peasants to sell their excess grainon the open market. It was, in brief, a return to capitalismin the village.NEP undoubtedly worked for a time, but the moreideological Communists resented what seemed to be areturn of capitalist practices to the village. Also, pricesfor industrial goods were generally higher than those foragricultural products, and what was termed a “scissorscrisis” developed, making it economically inexpedientfor the farmer to sell grain at continued low prices. Itwas often better for him to store the grain in anticipationthat grain prices would eventually rise.Stalin, who had but a single experience of this practiceduring a visit to a farm in the Urals, called this“hoarding.” To him it was a signal that the peasantfarmer would never willingly give up grain to the state.If the USSR was to become a powerful industrial countryand to catch up with the capitalist nations of theWest, it would not only have to industrialize, it wouldhave to ensure that food reached the growing industrialworkforce. And like his mentor Lenin, he believed inthe use of coercion and an artificial class warfare in thevillages, particularly in grain-growing republics such asUkraine.The beginning of collectivizationStalin’s answer was mass collectivization – a policythat was intended to divide the peasants among themselves,to outlaw the richer peasants, and form allianceswith the poorest and the middle. In reality the regimewent much further than this: by 1928, the concept of arich peasant was alien to the average village. Evenaccording to Soviet statistics, only 5 percent of all peasantscould be termed rich. Thus, the mass of middlerankingpeasants also were targeted. They all wereencompassed by the general term “kulaks,” who wereeither executed as criminals, arrested or deported toSiberia and other remote regions.Stalin demanded that the kulaks be “liquidated as aclass.” The result was wholesale expropriation of landand property, and the deportation of families under theharshest of conditions. This was the prelude to collectivizationand included about 5 million peasants.Collectivization was imposed from above. Outsidersusually came into a village. They were given blocks of10 houses and had the task of “persuading” the heads ofhousehold of each one to agree to form a collectivefarm. This entailed giving up one’s land, livestock andimplements, and being permitted only a small kitchengarden on which to grow crops privately. Those peasantswith little or no land or livestock were naturally thefirst to join since they had little to lose. The richer farmersrarely joined such farms willingly.Collectivization was imposed first in grain-growingregions, foremost of which was Ukraine. In Stalin’smind, if grain was to reach the towns, then the grainproducingpeasantry had to be completely subjugated.Left to himself, he believed, the peasant would not willinglyproduce a large surplus of grain; and even if hedid, he would not sell it to the state at the sort of pricesintroduced in the 1920s. What was required was a classwar, during which the kulaks were arrested and executedor exiled from the native villages. This policy wasfirst evident in Kazakstan where the farmers werenomadic. In 1930-1931 it is estimated that one-third ofall peasants lost their lives as a result of a famine inKazakstan, a casualty figure of around 1 million. Thiswas a foretaste of things to come.Ukraine was collectivized faster than most otherregions. Rather than give up their livestock to whatseemed a hopeless enterprise, many families shot andate them. Between 1929 and 1932 there was a drasticreduction in the number of dairy livestock, sheep andhorses. Collective farms would spring up and collapseovernight, as soon as the Soviet authorities left the villages.In March 1930, Stalin tried to slow down theprocess, publishing an article in Pravda that claimed hisofficials in the countryside were “dizzy with success.”They had been over-zealous and violated the voluntarynature of the process of collectivization. It was time tocall a temporary halt. In this way the blame for theabuses perpetrated were shifted from the Soviet leaderto the regional bureaucracy. Given an opportunity, thepeasantry abandoned the collectives in droves.With the help of fanatical Communists from the newtowns – they were called 25,000ers, after the total numbereventually chosen for the task – collectivization wasrenewed in the fall of 1930. A grain quota was then setGrain is delivered to the Soviet government authorities. This photo and the two on the next page are reproducedfrom “1933: The Famine,” a memorial book published in 1991 in Ukraine in memory of the millionswho died in the Great Famine. The volume, compiled by Lidiia Kovalenko and Volodymyr Maniak, containstestimony by 1,000 persons who survived the famine, period photos, commentaries and archival materials.by the state and had to be given up before peasant familiescould feed themselves. The quota in Ukrainereached one-third of the total output. When the harvestwas bad, as in 1931, no reserves were left. The stateofficials took any surpluses of grain that was destinedfor export or to feed the Red Army in the Far East. Thepeasant farmers themselves, the grain producers,received last priority. After the disastrous harvest of1931, when it was evident that Ukraine could not meetits quota of grain, the state provided aid to avert a crisis.One year later, however, these policies were rejectedas too lenient and the harshest measures were imposedfor failure to meet the quota. In January 1933, the formerparty boss of the Kharkiv region, Pavel Postyshev,became second secretary of the Communist Party ofUkraine and Stalin’s local plenipotentiary. His job wasto reverse the mild policies hitherto embraced by theleadership of the Communist Party of Ukraine.Both Viacheslav Molotov and Lazar Kaganovich,two of Stalin’s closest associates, made frequent visitsto Ukraine at this time to ensure that the state quota wasbeing fulfilled. The grain was confiscated or stored, andthe majority of collective farmers in the regions of easternUkraine were not paid for their labor; generally theyreceived this payment in kind rather than in wages.Famine broke out in Ukraine in 1932 and continuedthroughout 1933. The peasants ate their domestic pets,or bark off the trees. Every living thing was consumed.Before long it was common to see the dead lying fordays in the streets.The Western reactionMany myths abound about that Famine. It wasdenied by the Soviet authorities for the next 54 years.Those westerners who visited the Soviet Union in theseyears – George Bernard Shaw and the Fabians Sidneyand Beatrice Webb are the classic examples – weretaken to see model farms and returned home glowingwith praise for what they had seen. Propaganda moviesshowed villages loaded with grain, happy villagerssinging for joy. But in Poltava, Kharkiv and otherregions, the peasants were starving.What causes a famine? It is not a natural event.Drought may occur naturally but famine requires theintervention of the human hand. In Ukraine’s case itwas an official silence in response to the cries of millions.They were not allowed to leave their villages tofind food because of the official passport system, andthere was no one to whom they could appeal. ThoseUkrainian party leaders who made known to theMoscow officials what was happening were regarded asdangerous subversives, as putting Ukrainian interestsabove those of the party. Virtually all these people wereto perish in the purges over the next several years,including the archetypal Stalinist Postyshev himself.The world remained preoccupied with the socialeffects of the Great Depression, but was also duped by acombination of Soviet duplicity and the collusion of theWestern media corps in Moscow, several of whom werenot willing to provide an accurate portrayal of what washappening in the Famine regions. Walter Duranty ofThe New York Times, who won the Pulitzer Prize forhis reports from the Soviet Union, was the principal culprit,reporting in his bold prose that there were indeedfood problems in the Soviet utopia, but no famine. Indispatch after dispatch he refused to use this word.It should be noted, however, that even those whoaccused Mr. Duranty of one-sided reporting, such asWilliam Henry Chamberlin and Malcolm Muggeridge,were at one time or another admirers of the Soviet experiment.To them, it seemed that a great economic transformationwas taking place by means of which the USSRwould avoid the massive depression that capitalism hadbrought elsewhere in the world. They were not anxious toexpose such a system as fraudulent. In addition, manyfeared that they would lose their accreditation as Moscowcorrespondents if they were too critical of the system.One consequence of such misreporting was the diplomaticrecognition of the USSR at the end of the Famineyear of 1933 by the United States.It was possible for the authorities to conceal theeffects of the Famine also because those suffering hadno means to alert outsiders as to their plight. The mediawas under state control. The party authorities could onlyreport to Kyiv, and in turn to Moscow. Very few foreignerswere able to travel to these areas. Some foreigncorrespondents witnessed starving peasants at railroadstations but it was often hard to gauge the massive scaleof the problem.In general it is fair to say that many outsiders regardedpeasants in the former Soviet Union as passive andsomehow used to suffering. If one reads these accountsfrom Moscow correspondents today, they seem bothcallous and unperceptive. They speak of Russian peasants– never Ukrainian, the concept of a distinctiveUkrainian peasant was alien to them – who had longaccepted their difficult fate, who continued as always tolive in deplorable conditions and who had barelyadvanced from the medieval age (in spite of the abolitionof serfdom some 70 years earlier). If this was theattitude of correspondents, one can presume that it hadfiltered to government circles also.To take this perspective one step further – for it isvery significant when analyzing Western perceptions ofwhat was occurring in the USSR – the Soviet governmentwas attempting to transform the situation with agreat experiment. Many western technicians and specialiststraveled to the USSR in the early 1930s to lendtheir expertise and assistance to the Soviet regime. Theysoon became disillusioned, but their personal predicamentsdid not alter fundamentally the attitude of theirgovernments or intellectual circles. One recalls that inthis period also, the Cambridge economist MalcolmDobb began recruiting agents for the Soviet cause: Guy

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 171998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWBurgess, Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Anthony Bluntand company. Stalin did not merely hoodwink his ownpublic; foreigners were anxious to believe in his utopia.Several Moscow embassies filed information aboutthe Famine back to their governments, but the latterwere reluctant to take action against the Soviet regime.The results of the FamineIn 1932-1933, between 4 million and 7 million peoplein Ukraine, the Kuban region and the North Caucasusdied of starvation. The exact number may never beknown because there was no census taken of the Sovietpopulation between 1926 and 1937. For Ukraine the horrorof this period is hard to measure. So-called rich farmershad already been banished from their homes, thepurges were just four years hence. Stalin told Churchillcurtly during a World War II discussion that 10 millionpeasants had died during the upheavals of the 1930s.The Ukrainian population fell by more than 3 millionbetween the censuses of 1926 and 1939 (and we nowknow from the research of S.G. Wheatcroft and othersthat the latter census was doctored), whereas the populationof Russia increased by 16 million over the sameperiod.The Famine, then, was part of a series of calamitiesthat befell the Ukrainian republic in this decade. Butwhat caused it precisely?The scholarly debateToday, 65 years later, we are only beginning to comprehendthese issues. Historians continue to debate thereasons behind the Famine, whether Stalin had turned onUkrainians specifically, peasants in general, or whetherhe decided to sacrifice the villages in order to feed thecities. No definitive answer has emerged thus far, but thescholarly debate has been extensive. Until the mid-1980sthere were no academic Western monographs on theFamine and, naturally, none from the Soviet Union.However, in the 1960s, Ukrainian historians tried manfullyto highlight the true state of affairs without goingso far as to mention the fact of the Famine.In the West, a notable article by Dana Dalrympleappeared in the British journal Soviet Studies in 1964but did not attract much attention. Classic works on collectivization,such as “Russian Peasants and SovietPower,” written in the 1960s by University ofPennsylvania historian Moshe Lewin, made no referencespecifically to a major famine in Ukraine.In 1983, on the 50th anniversary of the Famine, aHarvard University Project was already under way,headed ultimately by Robert Conquest, a British literaryhistorian based at Stanford University, and his assistant,James E. Mace, a native of Oklahoma. Dr. Conquestwas well-known for his work on the Stalin purges, buthe had also made himself a reputation as an outspokenanti-Soviet ideologue, as evident from the title of one ofhis books, “What To Do When the Russians Come.”The result of his labor was “The Harvest of Sorrow,” abook that was widely acclaimed as providing the bestaccount of the Famine to date.That book did not satisfy everyone, however. Severalcritiques appeared. One alleged that Dr. Conquest reliedon sources that were unreliable, such as the collection,“The Black Deeds of the Kremlin: A White Book,”which had been compiled by anti-Soviet activists.Another noted that not all the photographs in the bookwere authentic, as many were extracted from collectionsportraying the Famine of 1920-1921 in Ukraine andother regions. Westerners had received appeals from thenew Soviet government to respond to that Famine – aresult of seven years of world war and civil war, andalso excessive grain requisitions – and numerous photographshad been taken. The same criticism was also leveledat a film produced in Montreal and eventuallyshown on the PBS network called “Harvest of Despair.”The Communist sympathizers in North America werealso quickly on the attack: in the summer of 1987, aWinnipeg schoolteacher and Communist called DouglasTottle published a book with Progress Publishers ofToronto called “Fraud, Famine and Fascism,” whichalleged that the new details about the Ukrainian Faminewere a myth propagated by Ukrainian nationalists todivert attention from their collaboration with theGerman occupants of Ukraine during World War II.This astonishing claim was soon undermined by noneother than the dour archetypical Communist Party boss inUkraine, Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, who acknowledgedthe existence of the Famine for the first time in a speechof December 1987, likely under pressure from Moscow.This speech opened the floodgates for Ukrainian scholarsto delve deeper into the subject, led by the indefatigableKyiv historian, Stanislav Kulchytsky.By this time the U.S. government had established aCommission on the Ukraine Famine, led by Dr. Mace,assisted by Walter Pechenuk and others, which conductedinterviews with dozens of elderly eyewitnesses andpublished the results in a three-volume collection.Further research was carried out from 1983 onwardby the Harvard-based Ukrainian demographer,Aleksandr Babyonyshev, whose careful calculationsestablished irrefutably that the number of deaths was atleast 3.5 million.But has this research helped us determine the exactcause of the Famine? There are several schools ofthought. That of Dr. Mace, who is now based in Kyiv,supports the notion that the Famine was an act of genocideagainst the people of Ukraine. This school ofthought, to which also subscribe most historians of theInstitute of History of the Ukrainian Academy ofSciences, cites the fact that the borders were closed, thatthere was no famine in Russia or Belarus, that theFamine coincided with an assault on national deviationismled by Stalin’s henchman, Kaganovich, and that theintention was to suppress potential national oppositionto the Stalin regime in Ukraine. Writing in the prestigiousscholarly journal Slavic Review, Mark B. Taugerattempted to refute this claim by producing figures thatpurported to show that the harvest of 1931-1932 wasmuch poorer than recognized hitherto, and that theauthorities faced an acute shortage of grain over whichthey had little control. Dr. Tauger’s article, whichappeared in 1991, sparked a furious exchange with Dr.Conquest in future issues. One can say that even ifTauger’s theory is correct, then one would have derivedthe cause of grain shortages, but not necessarily famine.My own perspective is that the chief cause of theFamine was excessive grain requisitions from theUkrainian villages, a failure to pay farmers adequatewages or food, and an acute shortage of machinery ordraught animals on the new collective farms. The latterwere often run by people chosen more for theirCommunist sympathies than for farming ability; oftenthey were outsiders to the village. The situation in thecountryside east of Kyiv was one of absolute chaos.Genocide seems unlikely for several reasons. [Thegenocide question is complex. I take genocide to be thepremeditated attempt to physically exterminate a groupon racial grounds. There is no evidence in this case ofany premeditation or that Stalin made any particulardistinction on racial or ethnic grounds between the differentnationality groups of the Soviet empire. –Author’s note.] The Famine affected only certain areasof Ukraine (an Alberta doctoral scholar, Colin P.Neufeldt, recently demonstrated conclusively that therewas no famine in the southern regions of Ukraine inhabitedby some 80,000 Mennonites, for example).Moreover, the known famine territory extended to theNorth Caucasus and the Kuban and Don regions. Also,the hunger was ended by the decision of the authoritiesto supply grain from outside Ukraine in 1934.Thus there was no long-term plan against Ukraine asA hungry child at the time of the famine.a region of the USSR. Stalin was a vindictive and neurotictyrant who was suspicious of everyone. His suspicionsof Ukraine reached a culmination in the secondworld war, but prior to that there are few indications ofa prejudice against Ukrainians per se. ParadoxicallyStalin had probably treated the Georgians the worst ofany Soviet nationality group in the period of the CivilWar. He could never forgive the presence there of aMenshevik government.Stalin was nonetheless prepared to sacrifice Ukrainianfarmers in order to fulfill his quotas of grain. In this, asnoted earlier, he was following a policy initiated by Leninduring the period of so-called War Communism in 1918-1921. He was also fomenting a civil and class war. Stalinand his close associates were responsible for the onset ofthe Famine. There is moreover no proof either that collectivizationprovided a safeguard for industrial develop-A wagon on which bodies of famine victims are carted away.

18 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWment, or that more grain reached the towns after collectivizationthan before. The Stalin regime chose the mostextreme of all alternatives. To paraphrase Stalin’s ownwords, one could not make an omelette without breakingeggs. Yet even the Central Committee of the CommunistParty of the Soviet Union began to show signs of rebellion.At the 17th Party Congress, Stalin no longerreceived the most votes from the membership. The situationin the countryside, particularly in Ukraine, had horrifiedeven his most loyal followers.ConclusionThe period 1929-1933 has been termed the SecondBolshevik Revolution, and it was one that produced farmore victims than the first, even if one includes theperiod of the Civil War. Whatever the cause, theUkrainian peasants were the victims of a policy sotyrannical that it almost defies belief: those who fed thecountry were not permitted to feed themselves. Graincould rot in barns rather than be used to make bread tofeed ravenous families. After August 1932, a peasantcould be executed for the theft of a single ear of grainfrom land that he had cultivated himself.The Famine remains as one of the 20th century’smost lasting monuments of humankind’s inhumanity toits fellows. It occurred under Stalinism, a system thateven today has not acquired the stigma that it deserves,a system that showed not an ounce of feeling or remorsefor the suffering that it induced.It is important in my view for historians to reach aconsensus about the Famine. It is not taught rigorouslyin schools, and it lacks both the publicity and the horrorelicited by events such as the Jewish Holocaust. In partthis problem may be a consequence of Ukraine’s unfortunatehistory during the Soviet period when one eventran into another: the Famine, purges, the losses of WorldWar II and the more recent catastrophe at the Chornobylnuclear power station. But the other significant reasoncannot be escaped, which is sympathy of some sort forthe Soviet system by scholars, writers, and the mediafrom the 1930s until the darkest years of the Cold War.Not until 1990 did a Western historian, Alan Bullock,take the obvious step of comparing Stalin with Hitler.The newly independent Ukrainian state, moreover, hasyet to establish a new school of historians freed from theideological guidelines of the Soviet system. This has notbeen an easy transformation and is reflected in the regularitywith which Ukrainian historians prefer today to citeWestern secondary sources in their works rather than primarydocuments. The Soviet perspective has been discredited,but there has been nothing with which to replaceit other than emulation of the West.What is needed is an objective consensus on whatcould or did cause the Famine, the number of deathsand the like. Instead the focus has been on the proverbial:Who is to blame? Further, the difficult economicconditions in today’s Ukraine, the corruption endemicin society and the struggle for subsistence in some ruralareas have precluded the diversion of funds for somethingas frivolous as academic research. Professors inUkraine cannot even make a living from such pursuits.This situation is particularly problematic when so manyquestions pertaining to 20th century Ukraine merit moreprofound investigations. There are too many “blankspots” in Ukrainian history.As for Western historians, there is no Famine schoolas there is on other atrocities of this century. One cansay that at best the topic is marginalized, despite thetremendous interest in contemporary Ukraine. What issorely needed is work based on Soviet archives inMoscow that reveals some of the discussions held at thehighest levels of the Soviet bureaucracy.But the picture is not universally gloomy.Independent Ukraine has survived for seven years –longer than any other time in its history. Thus, while wecommemorate today the millions of silent, innocent victims,men, women and children, we should alsoacknowledge the spirit of the people of these lands,which was not cowed by the persecution of Stalin orHitler, but which preserves the memory of lost relativesand friends and has the courage to face a future thatmay be no less difficult than the Stalinist past.Our communityrecalls 1932-1933The year 1998 marked the 65th anniversary of theGreat Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, andUkrainians around the globe recalled this genocide,which killed between 7 million and 10 million of theirbrothers and sisters. The Famine was not a natural disaster,but a man-made atrocity, a heinous use of food as a weapon– in this case used by Stalin and his henchmen to destroy anation.Many communities took advantage of the anniversary toincrease public awareness about the Famine and its ramifications.Montreal led the way with a series of commemorativeevents in the spring. On May 9, over 500 people attended aMontreal march in memory of the millions who died duringthe artificially created Famine. Other events in Montrealinluded a lecture at McGill University by Prof. RomanSerbyn and a screeing of Slavko Nowytski’s “Harvest ofDespair,” as part of the second annual conference on 20thcentury genocides organized by Armenian students; segmentsabout the Famine on the Ukrainian radio program inMontreal, special classes in the city’s Ukrainian schools;and an exhibit at the Université du Québèc à Montreal.In the Canadian capital the Ukrainian community held amemorial manifestation, plus a memorial service on June14. A week earlier, about 200 people had gathered at theAssumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary UkrainianOrthodox Cathedral in Ottawa to remember Famine victimsthrough prayers, poetry and speeches.The Ottawa community took a pragmatic approach tothe solemnities. A scholarship fund was launched to supportresearch into the politics of famine and a “soup kitchen”fund was established to feed the hungry in Ukraine today.As well, community members are pushing for a section onthe Great Famine in Ukraine to be included in the federalgovernment’s plans for a Holocaust or genocide museum inthe National Capital Region.In Toronto, on October 4, more than 2,500 gathered atthe Ontario Provincial Parliament buildings at Queen’sPark, then marched to Nathan Philips Square at Toronto’sCity Hall. The keynote speaker at the event was Dr. JamesMace, an adjunct professor of history at the NationalUniversity of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, former director ofthe U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine and formerresearch associate of the Ukrainian Research Institute atHarvard. The commemorations had been unofficiallylaunched with an educational program hosted by theUkrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Center(UCRDC), at its headquarters in the St. Vladimir Institutenear the university, which presented materials to elementaryschool children from various local schools on the afternoonof September 26.An exhibit, “The Famine-Genocide, Ukraine, 1933,”prepared by the UCRDC and sponsored by Media WatchUkraine and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Torontobranch, was on view in the Rotunda of City Hall fromSeptember 30 until October 9. The exhibit featured documentsimplicating senior Soviet officials in issuing lethalprocurement orders, coverage of the Famine that appearedin the Ukrainian and international press at the time, statementsread out earlier in the year in Canada’s House ofCommons in commemoration of the Famine, and a continuousscreening of the video “Harvest of Despair.”As part of the agenda of the opening day of its 19th triennialconclave held in Winnipeg on October 9-12, theUkrainian Canadian Congress commemorated the victimsof the Famine with a wreath-laying ceremony atWinnipeg’s monument to the Famine. UkrainianAmbassador to Canada Volodymyr Furkalo and UCCPresident Oleh Romaniw performed the honors.Similar events were held in the U.S., with major commemorationsheld in New York, Washington and Chicago.Ukrainian Americans of metropolitan New York commemoratedthe 65th anniversary of the Great Famine at St.Patrick’s Cathedral on November 8 – designated as“Ukrainian Famine Days of Remembrance” throughout theUnited States – with a “panakhyda” (memorial service) forthe Famine victims concelebrated by Bishop RobertBrucato, auxiliary bishop of the Roman CatholicArchdiocese of New York; Bishop Basil Losten, eparch ofthe Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Stamford; and the Rev.Andrei Kulyk from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of theU.S.A.In his greeting to the participants, President Bill Clintonwrote, “... the Famine still evokes strong feelings of griefand anger. We have a solemn obligation to keep alive thememory of the innocent victims who suffered and diedbecause of Stalin’s attempt to crush Ukraine.”Messages from New York Gov. George Pataki and NewYork Mayor Rudy Guilliani, as well as the text of theCongressional Resolution that had been approved by bothhouses of the U.S. Congress, were read at the commemoration.Addresses were delivered by Ambassador WilliamGreen Miller, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and byUkraine’s permanent representative to the U.N., VolodymyrYelchenko.The cathedral, which seats 4,500, was filled to capacity.In Washington on November 8, the Ukrainian communitygathered at the Church of the Pilgrims (opposite theTaras Shevchenko monument). Executive proclamationsfrom the states of Maryland and Virginia were read, as wasa proclamation issued by Washington Mayor Marion Barry.Speakers for the early evening commemorative observanceincluded Carlos Pascual, director of the National SecurityCouncil’s bureau for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia; Dr. YuriShcherbak, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S.; andVolodymyr Zviglyanich, adjunct professor at GeorgeWashington University.At the conclusion of the program, Famine survivors proceededto the altar of the church, where the clergy assistedthem in lighting the “Candle of Freedom.” A candlelightprocession from the Church of the Pilgrims to the TarasShevchenko monument followed.In the Chicago area on September 20, nearly 1,000Ukrainians gathered at St. Andrew’s Ukrainian OrthodoxChurch in Addison, Ill., for a moleben offered by Orthodox– Dr. David R. MarplesThe writer is professor of history and director of theStasiuk Program on Contemporary Ukraine at theCanadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University ofAlberta. He delivered this paper to the CalgaryUkrainian Professional and Business Club, at theUniversity of Calgary, on November 19.Children of Ukrainian schools and youth organizations participate in Montreal’s memorial march recallingthe Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine.

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 191998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWand Catholic clergy, a procession around the church, awreath-laying ceremony at the foot of the monument to victimsof the Great Famine, and a formal program in thechurch auditoriumOther commemorations of the Great Famine’s 65thanniversary were held in Parma/Cleveland (June 28 andNovember 8), Warren/Detroit (October 27), San Diego(November 7), Newark, N.J. (November 13), Philadelphia(November 21) as well as in many other communities.In Ukraine, President Leonid Kuchma issued a presidentialdecree proclaiming the fourth Saturday of eachNovember as National Day of Remembrance of FamineVictims, and Ukraine officially commemorated the 65thanniversary of the Great Famine of 1932-1933 onNovember 28. A program at the Kyiv NationalPhilharmonic Hall recalling the millions who perished featureda program by Ukraine’s National Symphony, precededby an address by Vice Prime Minister Valerii Smolii.“That the Famine was artificially induced is a historicalfact,” said Mr. Smolii. He called the Famine part of the“deliberate criminal policies of the Communist regime.”World governments ignored reports and the world knewlittle about the forced starvation and genocide of millions ofUkrainians engineered by Soviet leaders to force the peasantryonto collective farms and under Soviet servitude, evenas reporters such as Malcolm Muggeridge of theManchester Guardian attempted to focus attention on theman-made tragedy. But, as Mr. Smolii explained, others didnot forget what happened – especially the Ukrainian diaspora,whom he thanked for keeping the memory alive.“Ukrainians abroad consistently rang the bell,” said Mr.Smolii. “Even those who traveled across the ocean from theterritories of western Ukraine, which were under Polish ruleand did not experience the Famine, felt it a matter of honorand national dignity to let the world community know thetruth about the unparalleled Stalinist crime. They puttogether titanic efforts so that all would realize: theUkrainian Famine of 1933 stands on the level of theArmenian Genocide of 1915 and the Jewish Holocaust.”President Kuchma attended another official commemorationheld earlier in the day during which he, along withPrime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko and Second Vice-Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Viktor Medvedchuk, laidflowers at the monument to the victims of the GreatFamine, located on Mykhailivskyi Square, at the foot of thebelltower of the newly rebuilt St. Michael’s Golden-DomedMonastery.Also participating in that ceremony was the Rukh Party,which had attempted for over a year to have November 7 –still celebrated either officially or unofficially in most formerCommunist countries as October Revolution Day –transformed into a national day of mourning for victims ofCommunist terror, including those of the Great Famine.For our part, as a public service on the occasion of thesolemn anniversary, we at The Ukrainian Weekly created aspecial section on our official website (http://www.ukrweekly.com)featuring information about the Great Famine.The Ukrainian Weekly Archive is home to the Internet’slargest collection of materials about the Famine. (See “AtThe Weekly, life goes on ...”)Ukrainians in U.S.:looking to the futureWill there be a North American UkrainianDiaspora in the year 2020, and does it matter?That was the principal theme and just one ofthe questions posed on October 10-11 at The Year 2020Conference sponsored by the Ukrainian AmericanProfessionals and Businesspersons Association of NewYork and New Jersey.The conference was opened by Bohdan Vitvitsky, anassistant U.S. attorney in the Frauds Division, Districtof New Jersey, who is a founder of the UAPBA and itscurrent president. Dr. Vitvitsky, who guided the conferencefrom its germination as an idea to its conclusion,set the stage for the four panel presentations that wereto follow. He offered that “there are three views of ourcommunity”: the first says “don’t worry, we’re on automaticpilot”; the second that “only Ukraine matters”;and the third, which he referred to as “the sky is falling,the sky is falling” view, is that “we as a diaspora aredoomed to near immediate extinction.”“I and some of my colleagues do not subscribe to anyof these views. And, it is in part our disagreement withall of these views that has prompted us to organize thisconference,” he explained. “I believe that there are stillfar too many of us who care about what we have inher-Yaro BihunNewly elected UACC President Ihor Gawdiak (standing) shares some of his ideas with Ukraine’s new ambassadorin Washington, Anton Buteiko (left), as UCCA and UWC President Askold Lozynskyj listens (extreme right).ited to allow our community to disappear,” he stated. “Itdoes matter a great deal whether there is a diaspora inthe year 2020, and the reasons it does are numerous.”Among the reasons Dr. Vitvitsky cited were: “thediaspora is a transmission belt for a rich and distinctivecultural, religious and intellectual heritage created overcenturies on two continents”; the diaspora serves as a“counterweight to the vulgarity and moral imbecility ofso much that passes for popular culture in NorthAmerica today”; the Ukrainian ethos is “an endangeredspecies”; Ukraine still needs our help; and, finally, “weowe it to ... the millions upon millions of Ukrainians ...who fought and died to preserve that which was handeddown to us – to stay the course and keep our blood- andtear-soaked heritage and traditions alive both for ourchildren and grandchildren.”Dr. Vitvitsky exhorted his listeners: “we must collectivelycommit ourselves to the community’s continuity”and that requires an “investment of time, imaginationand money.”It was a topic that concerns – or should concern – allsegments of our Ukrainian American community. Andthat is why this newspaper devoted ample space andserious coverage of the conference panels. As well, TheWeekly published the full text of Dr. Vitvitsky’s seminaladdress.Questions addressed at the conference includedwhether an independent Ukraine helps or hinders thediaspora; what institutional infrastructure it needs tosurvive; and what is necessary for the diaspora’s retentionof language and culture, as well as its religious,educational, cultural and financial institutions.Additional panels were devoted to the younger generation’sviews and perspectives on the future, developmentsin Canada and the relationship between theAmerican and Canadian diasporas, and the role of therecent “Fourth Wave” of immigrants to North America.Conference speakers included Weekly columnist Dr.Myron Kuropas, Harvard Ukrainian Research InstituteDirector Prof. Roman Szporluk and Ukraine’sAmbassador to the U.S. Dr. Yuri Shcherbak.Prof. Szporluk provided a world historical perspectiveon the times in which the diaspora came into beingand is likely to continue to flourish, while Dr.Shcherbak, soon to conclude his term as ambassador tothe U.S., outlined future areas of cooperation betweenUkraine and the diaspora that would ensure their commonwelfare. The ambassador also read out a “thankyou list” for diaspora efforts in support of Ukraine(including a mention of the UNA’s Ulana Diachuk,Eugene Iwanciw and The Weekly’s Editor-in-ChiefRoma Hadzewycz “for publishing a thoroughly modernnewspaper that prints interesting materials about the lifeof Ukraine and the diaspora”). Dr. Kuropas provided acontext in terms of continental immigration history andoffered a summary of the conference’s conclusions.Our community’s future was also a focus of thefourth convention of the Ukrainian AmericanCoordinating Council as it met in Warren, Mich., onNovember 21-22. A special panel discussed “TheUkrainian Diaspora in the 21st Century” and how itrelates to independent Ukraine.But perhaps the most significant theme at the UACCconvention was change: in the community and its leadership,and in Ukraine. The Ukrainian umbrella organization– one of two in the U.S. – elected a new president,Ihor Gawdiak, to a four-year term. Ulana Diachuk,who held the office for two terms, did not seek a thirdterm as UACC chief.In his first interview after the convention, Mr.Gawdiak, who previously served as chairman of theUACC’s National Council and director of the organization’sWashington office, pledged to engage the “newgeneration” of Ukrainian Americans to build a new civilsociety in Ukraine. As well he expressed his satisfactionthat the convention had approved his proposal to nameR.L. Chomiak as the UACC’s Washington bureau headand to move that office to Washington, thus addinganother voice in support of Ukraine.A word is in order here about the other UkrainianAmerican umbrella organization, the UkrainianCongress Committee of America, headed by AskoldLozynskyj. The UCCA continued its work during theyear on all its usual projects, like the annual celebrationof Ukrainian Independence Day held in Washington.This year’s event was organized jointly with the UACCand the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.The UCCA also ran a program aimed at encouragingthe youth of Ukraine to vote in the March elections toThe cover of the program for The Year 2020Conference, which asked “Will there be a Ukrainiandiaspora in North America in 2020?”

20 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWIrene JarosewichBidding their farewells to the U.S.: Ambassadors Hennadii Udovenko and Yuri Shcherbak.the Verkhovna Rada. In mid-January the UCCAannounced that it had been awarded a $175,461 grantby the United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment through the Eurasia Foundation for a civiceducation project called “Focus Ukraine,” whose goalalso was to increase the participation of Ukraine’s youthin the parliamentary elections. Later that projectreceived an additional $35,000 grant from the NationalEndowment for Democracy. “Focus Ukraine” employedwhat it called “town hall” meetings in central, easternand southern Ukraine, television programs, public serviceannouncements, public polling and informationalbrochures.Another get-the-vote-out program was implementedby the Coordinating Committee to Aid Ukraine(CCAU), which said in February it was dedicating$100,000 to a public awareness campaign. According tothe UACC President Wolodymyr Wolowodiuk, the programdid not take any political position to avoid anysuggestion that the organization is involved in the internalpolitical affairs of a foreign country. One part of thecampaign targeted youth, who tend to be most apoliticalin Ukraine. Wolowodiuk said that part of the fundingwent for a series of ads to be placed in local newspapersthroughout Ukraine calling on Ukrainians to simplyvote.During Christmastime, the CCAU announced anotherprogram to aid Ukraine: a fund to help the country’sneedy intellectuals – writers, artists, scholars and others,who in today’s harsh economic times find it difficult tosurvive. The CCAU called on Ukrainians to supportthese members of the intelligentsia by becoming supportersof stipends for these individuals. The organizationplans to coordinate a program of 200 stipends for1999.Of late, negotiations between the UCCA and UACCabout reuniting into one Ukrainian American centralorganization have not been taking place, as first theUCCA (in 1997) and then the UACC prepared to holdtheir respective conventions. However, the UACC saysit still is ready to talk about unity if there is parityamong member-organizations of the UCCA, the UACCand non-aligned organizations. Thus, the split thatoccurred at the 1980 convention of the UCCA continuesinto its 19th year.In other community news, the Children of ChornobylRelief Fund completed its 20th airlift in November. Theshipment arrived at Boryspil Airport on November 11,and volunteers and staff worked into the night in a drivingsnowstorm on November 12 to unload more than 70tons of medical cargo designated for 20 hospitals innine cities of Ukraine. The airlift delivered more than$3.4 million of humanitarian aid that included antibiotics,analgesics, surgical supplies, diagnostic equipment,children’s multivitamins and neonatal technology.Eleven containers holding more than $400,000 worthof medical supplies were especially set aside for clinicsand hospitals in the Transcarpathian regions that hadbeen devastated by massive flooding a week earlier.In addition to the relief shipment for flood regions,the CCRF assigned large amounts of aid to hospitals inVinnytsia, Svitlovodsk, Lutsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetskand a small amount for Lviv. Since 1990 CCRF hasdelivered more than 1,200 tons of aid valued at morethan $40 million to Ukraine.1998 was also the year that a major institution in ourcommunity, the Ukrainian Institute of America, celebratedits 50th anniversary. More than 325 people gatheredat a luncheon on May 31 in the elegant grand ballroomof the Plaza Hotel to celebrate that anniversaryand to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the landmarkbuilding that is the UIA’s home. President WalterNazarewicz, speaking about the future of the UIA andthe diaspora, explained how the board of directors, inorder to ensure the future success of the UIA, wasactively seeking the involvement of younger membersof the Ukrainian American community to pass along theheritage and responsibilities of the institute.Founded in 1948 by engineer and renowned inventorWilliam Dzus, an immigrant from Ukraine, to promoteUkrainian heritage and culture, the institute was originallylocated in the Parkwood Mansion in West Islip,Long Island, near the Dzus family home. In 1955, theFletcher Mansion, located on Museum Mile onManhattan’s Upper East Side, was acquired by the UIA.Commissioned by banker Issac D. Fletcher – and immediatelyprior to its purchase by the UIA, owned by thedescendants of New York’s Gov. Peter Stuyvesant – theFrench Gothic limestone mansion was designed byarchitect Charles H. Gilbert and completed in 1898.In honor of its dual jubilee the UIA established theCrown Jewel Fund to raise a $5 million endowmentfund during the next five years for the restoration of thelandmark mansion.The saga of “The Ugly Face”Yaro BihunA major news development in 1998 was theUkrainian community’s victory in the latest round of itsbattle with the CBS network over “The Ugly Face ofFreedom” segment on the popular newsmagazine “60Minutes.”The United States Appeals Court for the Circuit ofthe District of Columbia heard oral arguments in thecase of Serafyn v. FCC on January 23 – three years andthree months after that segment was broadcast.A three-judge panel, having reviewed legal briefsfrom attorneys representing appellant AlexanderSerafyn of Detroit, appellee the FederalCommunications Commission and intervenors (legalesefor a non-party interested in the outcome of litigation)CBS, Infinity Broadcasting Corp., WestinghouseElectric Corp. and WPGR Inc., heard arguments fromMr. Serafyn’s and the FCC’s attorneys. At issue was thepropriety of the FCC’s decision not to grant Mr. Serafyna factual hearing on the question of whether the controversialsegment constituted an intentional distortion ofnews and a violation of the federal requirement thatbroadcasters serve the public interest.[A number of actions originally were brought againstCBS, its affiliates, and, later, Westinghouse Electric, byvarious plaintiffs, among them Mr. Serafyn, theUkrainian Congress Committee of America and OlegNikolyszyn of Providence, R.I. All these cases werelater combined into one action, insofar as they allstemmed from the same event, broadcasts of “The UglyFace of Freedom,” and the relief sought by the variousplaintiffs was closely related.]According to Mr. Serafyn’s attorney, ArthurBelendiuk of the Washington-based firm Smithwick andBelendiuk, all three justices subjected FCC attorneyBarry Posh to considerable pressure relating to theFCC’s position denying that the appellant had “failed topresent extrinsic evidence of intentional news distortionso as to raise a substantial and material question of factsufficient to require the FCC to designate a hearing onthe issue.”The judges were especially troubled by the FCC’srejection of what the appellant argues are “CBS’s egregiouslinguistic mistranslations”; CBS’s portrayal ofUkrainian boy scouts as an anti-Semitic organization;and alleged CBS misuse of a German wartime propagandafilm to impute Ukrainian, as opposed to German,responsibility for the rounding up and destruction ofthousands of Jews in western Ukraine.The August 11 ruling was a significant victory for theUkrainian community. The U.S. Court of Appeals forthe District of Columbia found that there are seriousquestions about whether CBS intentionally distortedinformation in that news report aired on October 23,1994, and it ordered the Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC) to revisit the case. Thus, it appearedthat the network’s journalistic integrity was on the line –along with its broadcast licenses.The federal appeals court ruled that the FCC “actedarbitrarily and capriciously” in denying a petition for ahearing on the issue of whether CBS engaged in newsdistortion when it broadcast the segment, which purportedto uncover rampant anti-Semitism in Ukraine.The FCC made its decision “without analyzing moreprecisely the evidence” presented, therefore, the courtdecided to vacate the FCC’s decision and ordered thatfederal agency to review the matter.Significantly, the appellants, Serafyn et al, showedthat CBS did not have a policy against news distortion.As noted in the appeals court’s decision, “Serafyn alsosubmitted evidence that ‘60 Minutes’ had no policyagainst news distortion and indeed that managementconsidered some distortion acceptable.”Proof that the network considered some degree ofdistortion admissible consisted of articles published inthe press in which both longtime “60 Minutes” reporterMike Wallace and the program’s executive producer,Don Hewitt, reflected on deception as a tool used by“60 Minutes.” The court found that the FCC “failed todiscuss or even to mention this evidence,” and that this“failure to discuss Serafyn’s allegation relating to CBS’spolicy on veracity is therefore troubling.”The court also referred in its decision to CBS’s misrepresentationof the views of Rabbi Yaakov Bleich,chief rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine, “when it broadcast hisstatements without making clear the context in whichthey were spoken and without including the qualificationsand positive statements that accompanied them”;as well as to the broadcaster’s misrepresentation tointerview subjects of the segment’s intent, as “for example,Cardinal [Myroslav Ivan] Lubachivsky [primate ofthe Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church] charged that theproducers misled him as to the nature of the show.”It referred also to the mistranslation of the word“Zhyd” (Jew) as “kike,” noting: “when the word chosenby the translator is an inflammatory term such as ‘kike,’the licensee could be expected to assure itself of the accuracyof the translation; if it does not do so, the commissionmay appropriately consider that fact in reaching a conclusionabout the broadcaster’s intent to distort the news.”“The inaccuracy of a broadcast can sometimes beindicative of the broadcaster’s intent,” the court pointedout.“Since the FCC’s decision was vacated, we’re nowback to square one,” said Mr. Belendiuk. “They [CBS]have never lost a case like this – image is everything tothem – so it’s got to sting.” Furthermore, he said; “theappeals court had some pretty harsh words for the FCC,they said their reasoning was muddled, that they did nottake the steps required in handling this petition.”Asked for his reaction to this legal victory, Mr.Belendiuk said, “This is the best we could get out of thecourt. The court overturned the FCC’s decisions and saidit was improper, not based on the evidence or the facts; itsaid you [the FCC] have to look at this petition more seriously.”What the Ukrainian community got out of thecase was “a full voicing of our concerns that this report[‘The Ugly Face of Freedom’] looks like distortion.”

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 211998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWThe FCC now has three options, according to Mr.Belendiuk: rework its decision, call for more evidence,or call a full-scale hearing on the matter.Mr. Belendiuk concluded: “It’s not easy to get a decisionof this type. This is the first time that CBS has losta case like this; this is the first news distortion case everoverturned on appeal – a milestone case.”“The court’s decision has put it out for all to see:CBS seems to find some level of distortion acceptable,”Mr. Belendiuk underlined in an interview with TheWeekly published on August 16.A Ukrainian Pavilion for EPCOT?There was news regarding Ukrainians at anothermajor corporation also during 1998. In January correspondentNatalia (Dmytrijuk) Warren reported thatTaras (Jason) Harper, president of the Ukrainian ProjectFund and an employee of Walt Disney World, had beengiven the green light by EPCOT Vice-President GeorgeKalogridis to spearhead the EPCOT MillenniumCelebration – Ukraine Initiative. The only problemappeared to be a February 1 Disney-imposed deadlinefor a letter of intent and a security deposit from all corporationsthat will be sponsoring pavilions. The earlydeadline was to enable Disney’s producers, engineersand architects to partner with the various sponsors indesigning the pavilions.Readers will recall that Mr. Harper and his colleaguesare pushing for a Ukrainian pavilion to be constructed atthe EPCOT theme park, part of the 44-square-mile WaltDisney World complex. From October 1999 untilJanuary 2001, EPCOT will host an enormousMillennium Celebration with the educational entertainment(“edu-tainment”) theme of “Hope for a BetterWorld.” Joining the current display of countries inEPCOT will be dozens of new pavilions that will showcasethe many different aspects of each nation in supportof the overall theme. The pavilions, which willaverage approximately 3,000 square feet and willinclude food, entertainment, artisans, and audio-visual,architectural and interactive displays, are estimated tocost between $800,000 and $2 million each.“Ukraine is the only former Soviet bloc country thathas been approached to participate in EPCOT’s millenniumcelebration,” noted Mr. Harper. “Our dancing surpassesthat of virtually every other ethnic group. Wehave beautiful folk art and a distinctive cuisine. Ourhomeland and our culture would be interesting to peopleeverywhere, and this is a wonderful opportunity forthe Ukrainian people to put on a display for the entireworld,” he added. An estimated 400 to 500 million peoplewill be exposed to the pavilion structures.In February, it was reported that the deadline hasbeen extended until the end of the month. There wasalso news that at least three Ukrainian architects hadcome forth as willing participants in the pavilion project,and that contacts with corporate sponsors werebeginning to look promising.In March, upon receiving a $10,000 deposit, GeorgeKalogridis, vice-president of EPCOT, granted Mr.Harper a 60-day extension to find sponsorship for theEPCOT Millennium Celebration – Ukraine Initiative.The $10,000 was delivered to Mr. Harper from theoffices of a prominent Ukrainian American businessmanwho had been considering partial sponsorship of theUkrainian pavilion since he was contacted about theproject in January. At the time, the businessman wishedto remain unidentified.And, Mr. Harper noted, more individuals and organizationshad become involved in finding major sponsors.Among the people who had expressed interest in helpingwas Mr. Lozynskyj of the Ukrainian CongressCommittee of America, who met with Robin Chapman,director of creative development at EPCOT, to discussthe possibility of Ukraine’s participation in Disney’sMillennium Celebration. “This is an absolutely tremendousopportunity to showcase Ukraine, its culture andit’s people,” explained Mr. Lozynskyj after the meeting.“I think the companies that are working in Ukraine, andthe community in general, are going to get very excitedabout this project,” he added.In order to facilitate the dissemination of informationabout the EPCOT Millennium Celebration and theUkraine Initiative, Mr. Harper worked closely withThe Buffalo Group, the professionals’ and businesspersons’association in western New York State,which recently set up a Ukrainian Pavilion website(http://www.cerg.com/upf/pavilion/index.htm). “Wedecided to put together a website because we thought aplace where people could find additional informationabout the EPCOT pavilion would really help get theword out and answer some questions in more detail,”noted George Hajduczok, an assistant professor ofphysiology at the University of Buffalo who is presidentof The Buffalo Group.In April there was more good news. After three daysof meetings with EPCOT executives, both theChopivsky Family Foundation, represented by GeorgeChopivsky Jr., and American Friends for Ukraine, representedby Vira Goldmann, agreed in principle to supportthe construction of a Ukrainian pavilion at EPCOT.Even the scholarly world became excited about theUkrainian pavilion’s potential. The Harvard UkrainianResearch Institute came forward with a considerableshow of support for the Ukrainian pavilion project, asExecutive Director Dr. James Clem offered the HURI’sin-kind services as a research consultant. With endowedchairs in Ukraine history, literature and language atHarvard, the HURI has on its staff some of the leadingexperts in these fields. “This is a chance to tell millionsof people about Ukraine, and we want to help make surethat the message we convey is right,” noted Dr. Clem.Mr. Harper, who wholeheartedly welcomed Dr. Clem’soffer, explained that “having an educational institutionlike Harvard on board as a research consultant will givethe Ukrainian pavilion tremendous credibility.”But the major funding remained elusive ...At year’s end, it was learned that Mrs. Goldmann hadinexplicably pulled out her support. But, there still washope as a Disney spokesperson revealed that sponsorshipwas being discussed in December with a major corporationfrom Ukraine.Perhaps the potential of the Ukrainian pavilion wasbest summarized by Mr. Kalogridis himself in an interviewwith Ms. Warren: “I think we are going to have anopportunity for 15 months to do something that is going toconnect very much on an emotional scale with our audience.... We will make sure that when a guest leavesEPCOT at the end of the day during this 15-month periodthat they are going to feel good about where we, as aworld, are going and that there are in fact great things happeningout there. Hopefully Ukraine will be one of thesethings. A guest will walk out of here and know somethingabout Ukraine, and before they came they probably didn’teven know where it was, much less anything about it. Andthey didn’t know why it’s important and why an emergingdemocracy is important to maintaining a free world in thefuture. And how important that is.”Ukraine’s diplomats are bid farewellDuring 1998, it should be noted, Ukraine’s ambassadorto the U.S., Dr. Yuri Shcherbak continued his practiceof hosting meetings with leaders of the Ukrainiancommunity. He also met separately with the leadershipsof both the UCCA and the UACC.Ambassador Shcherbak’s principal message to theUkrainian American community was that he and thegovernment of Ukraine understand and appreciate thework that the Ukrainian American community carriesout on behalf of Ukraine. He called on the Ukrainiandiaspora to continue to inform Congress and theAmerican public at large of the critical importance ofUkraine’s independence and territorial integrity, itsefforts to be integrated into the European communityand its commitment to maintaining a strategic partnershipwith the United States.During his four-year tenure, Ambassador Shcherbakhad cultivated strong contacts with the UkrainianAmerican community. Therefore, when it came time forDr. Shcherbak to move on to his next assignment inKyiv as foreign affairs adviser to President LeonidKuchma, Ukrainian communities in various metropolitanareas, including Washington (October 25) and NewYork (November 3), bid him a fond farewell.Another Ukrainian diplomat who had forged strongcontacts with our community was Hennadii Udovenko,a man who began serving in 1959 in the Foreign AffairsMinistry of the Ukrainian SSR and ended his diplomaticcareer on September 8, with what he termed “my finaldiplomatic address” as president of the United NationsGeneral Assembly. Walter Baranetsky, former presidentof the UIA, reminded guests at a farewell reception atthe institute of Mr. Udovenko’s quiet patriotism onbehalf of Ukraine at the U.N., even during the Sovietera. In turn, he pointed out to the Udovenkos that theUkrainian community will always remember them withgreat fondness.At year’s end, leaders of the top Ukrainian Americancommunity organizations and institutions traveled onDecember 18 to Washington – this time for a specialmeeting convened by Ukraine’s new ambassador to theUnited States, Anton Buteiko.Canada’s Ukrainians:facing serious issuesThe Ukrainian Canadian community’s battle withthe federal government over its approach to handlingalleged war criminals dominated the newsin 1998. The year began with Olya Odynsky calling fora fair trial for her 74-year-old father, Wasyl, of Toronto,who was targeted by the Canadian government fordeportation as one of two suspected Nazi war criminalswho arrived in Canada allegedly without informingimmigration authorities about their pasts. Mr. Odynskyarrived in Halifax in 1949 after having lived in arefugee camp following his arrest by the Nazis when hewas 19, wrote his daughter an op-ed piece in TheWeekly. “He is not a murderer, nor was he ever a Nazi,”she insisted.In early February, Ms. Odynsky told a gathering inToronto at the St. Vladimir Institute about the stress herfamily endured in 1997 after he became the object ofdenaturalization and deportation proceedings. “[Themedia] came to my mother’s door with hidden microphonesand cameras, then showed her picture andplayed her comments, every hour, on the hour,” shesaid. “They announced my parents’ street address andtelephone number on the air.”Ms. Odynsky’s member of Parliament is former federaljustice minister Allan Rock who kicked Canada’swar crimes process into high gear. In June, she went toUkraine looking for witnesses who could corroborateher father’s story and his innocence.Meantime, the Ukrainian Canadian Congressannounced in late January that it would challengeCanada’s Justice Department in court over its decisionto denaturalize and deport 14 citizens suspected of warcrimes. “In order to combat what [the UCC] regards tobe a grossly unjust course of action by the governmentagainst its own citizens,” a special committee to dealwith the issue was struck earlier in the month.Winnipeg-based immigration lawyer John Petryshynbecame chairman of the Justice Committee onDeportation and Denaturalization.He said the committee would pursue everything fromintervention on individual cases based on technical mattersthrough the immigration process, to challenging theconstitutionality of the government’s “civil not criminal”approach.Plans were afoot to create an educational researchfund on the issue as well.Federal Court Justice William McKeown ruled in lateFebruary that 88-year-old Toronto resident WasilyBogutin “concealed that he was a collaborator duringthe Nazi occupation of Ukraine” (assisting in such tasksas “the round-up of young girls”). The judge also saidthat Mr. Bogutin lied to Canadian immigration officialsAndrij Kudla WynnyckyjNewly elected Ukrainian Canadian Congress PresidentEvhen Czolij (left) is congratulated by his predecessor,Oleh Romaniw.

22 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWthat he was a “Romanian national” when he applied fora entry visa to Canada in 1951. It was the first Canadiancourt case focusing on the denaturalization and deportationof accused war criminals since Ottawa abandonedits criminal-court-approach to such cases in 1995.Though Judge McKeown dismissed allegations thatMr. Bogutin participated in Nazi-led executions in theSelydove area between 1942 and 1943, the elderlyman’s 40-year-old Canadian citizenship became illegalbecause of a civil court’s decision that he was a collaborator,which is an accusation of criminal behavior.According to a section of the Canadian ImmigrationAct, Mr. Bogutin could not appeal Judge McKeown’sdecision.Nevertheless, then-UCC president Oleh Romaniwcalled on Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to reject anyrecommendation to deport or denaturalize the elderlyUkrainian Canadian man.In late August, Canada’s Justice Minister AnneMcLellan told the Canadian Bar Association’s annualmeeting that Canada’s newly merged Extradiction Actand Fugitive Offenders Act would “enable Canada tomeet its international obligations to hand over suspectedwar criminals to an international tribunal, such as that inthe Hague, or to the new international court, whichCanada played a very key role in creating.”Canada’s attorney general also highlighted a fivefoldincrease in funding of the war crimes effort to the tuneof $46.8 million (about $33.4 million U.S.) over thenext three years. She said it would “strengthen Canada’sability to bring to justice those responsible for warcrimes, crimes against humanity and other reprehensibleacts in times of war.”Meanwhile, Ms. McLellan’s war crimes consultant,Neal Sher, the former director of the U.S. JusticeDepartment’s Office of Special Investigations, lashedout at his critics, including those from the UkrainianCanadian community, during a late-January speech at aToronto synagogue. “They’re not doing any service totheir communities by circling the wagons to protectsome in their community who are guilty.”But Mr. Sher’s appointment as a consultant to theCanadian Justice Department’s Crimes AgainstHumanity and War Crimes Section came under scrutinyat a late-April Canadian parliamentary StandingCommittee on Justice and Human Rights. OfficialOpposition justice critic Jack Ramsay of the ReformParty requested the meeting in response to protests overMr. Sher’s hiring – and because of the heavy volume ofcorrespondence he received complaining about theOSI’s handling of no less than the case against retiredCleveland autoworker John Demjanjuk.Assistant Deputy Attorney General John Simsdefended Mr. Sher, who also appeared as a witnessbefore the committee, saying the U.S. attorney wasretained by the Canadian government as “an advisor”and not as “boss of the war crimes unit.” Mr. SimsMykhailo LiakhovychJohn Petryshyn, chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Justice Committee on Denaturalization andDeportation, addresses a workshop on the issue. From left are: workshop panelists John Gregorovich, chair,Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association; Orest Rudzik and Nestor Woychyshyn, defense counsel onfour cases before Canadian federal courts; UCC Toronto Branch President Maria Szkambara; and U.S.-based defense attorney Paul Zumbakis.added that Canada’s war crimes efforts were “in thesame league” as those of the OSI.In his own defense, Mr. Sher said his OSI reputationwas that of a “tough prosecutor but a fair one.” Heacknowledged allegations that the Soviet regime (theKGB in particular) supplied Nazi hunters with phonyevidence but explained that he never encounteredinstances of such. Furthermore, Mr. Sher suggested thatdespite the Israeli death sentence being overturned onMr. Demjanjuk, the Ukrainian American could face newprosecution based on “non-Treblinka evidence.”However, he conceded that “mistakes were made that Iwish hadn’t been made” over the OSI’s handling of theDemjanjuk case – considered a “fraud on the court” bytwo U.S. judges.The UCC also was unhappy over Mr. Sher’sDecember 1997 appointment and the OSI-Demjanjukcontroversy, and it launched an information campaigndirected to government officials about both concerns.The Canadian Jewish Congress issued its own communiquéthat “strongly reaffirmed its endorsement ofOttawa’s choice of Mr. Sher.In early August, the Ukrainian Canadian Professionaland Business Association stepped up the campaignagainst Mr. Sher’s appointment and filed a request forinformation under Canada’s Access to Information Actto obtain information about his hiring. Outgoing UCCOttawa Branch president Dr. Walter Shelest, however,thought UCC national should have been the organizationinitiating the request.And the Ukrainian Canadian Civil LibertiesAssociation entered the fray when it protested a July 23cartoon appearing in the national edition of The Globeand Mail depicting a hand decorated with a swastikaand raised in a Nazi salute. The accompanying captionread: “All those opposed to increased funding for warcriminaldeportation, please raise their hand.” UCCLAchairman John Gregorovich called the cartoon defamatoryand “hate-mongering that should be dealt with verysternly.”Earlier in the year, Mr. Gregorovich expressed hisorganization’s opposition to a proposed Holocaustmemorial at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Sucha gallery would better be called a “genocide gallery,” hetold the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs inFebruary. Mr. Gregorovich also accused war museumofficials of not consulting other ethnic groups beyondthe Jewish community – and singled out the museum’sthen-director, Vic Suthren, of focusing solely on theNazi killing of Jews. The war museum later announcedthat no Holocaust gallery would be installed there.Much later in the year, the UCC was heartened by commentsmade by Jules Deschênes, the Quebec SuperiorCourt judge who headed the Commission of Inquiry onWar Criminals in the mid-1980s, when he publicly supportedbringing alleged war criminals to justice in criminalcourts rather than through the civil deportation anddenaturalization process.In other news, two plaques – one on the grounds ofToronto’s Canadian National Exhibition, the other nextto the Shevchenko monument at Manitoba’s legislativegrounds in Winnipeg – were unveiled to commemorateUkrainian Canadians interned during a national operationthat ran from 1914 to 1920. The UkrainianCanadian community has yet to receive any acknowledgmentof injustice or monetary restitution fromOttawa.Immigration was a key issue for several UkrainianCanadian groups that were highly critical of a review ofCanada’s citizenship and immigration policies releasedearlier in the year. Among several recommendationsraised in the review was the highly sensitive issue ofrevocation of citizenship and deportation when an individualis suspected to be a war criminal.This year Statistics Canada reported that Canadiansof Ukrainian origin ranked ninth (1,026,475, or about 1in 30 Canadians) in terms of total number among ethnicgroups in Canada; 41,085 reported speaking Ukrainianat home. A quarter-century earlier, Ukrainian hadranked fifth as a home language behind Italian andGerman.In a March lecture at the St. Vladimir Institute inToronto, University of Toronto sociologist WsevolodIsajiw said that Ukrainian Canadians have difficulty insustaining their influence on the country’s society as awhole. The reason: much of their activity is “expressive”(preserving and promoting) rather than “instrumental”(organizing to achieve political and economicgoals).And it was tough to be Ukrainian, or part of anyother non-francophone group for that matter, in Quebecin light of remarks made by Quebec’s deputy premier.Bernard Landry opined that requiring anything morethan a simple 50 percent majority in a future referendumon independence would give the ethnic communitya de facto veto, and, “that can’t be done,” said Mr.Landry.Several ethnic groups, in turn, suggested the deputypremier was out of line as the incident remindedCanadians of former Quebec Premier JacquesParizeau’s attack against “money and the ethnic vote”for contributing to the defeat of his “Yes toSovereignty” campaign in the 1995 referendum.At the UCC’s 19th triennial meeting in Winnipeg onOctober 9-12, the UCC’s national vice-president,Montreal lawyer Evhen Czolij, was elected president ofthe UCC, which renamed its presidium a board of directors.The so-called Big Six organizations (UkrainianCatholic Brotherhood of Canada, Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada, League of UkrainianCanadians, Ukrainian National Federation, Council ofUkrainian Credit Unions of Canada, and the UkrainianCanadian Professional and Business Federation) lostmost of their power in vetoing decisions. However, thegroup retained some clout in being able to send a maximumof 50 delegates to a congress – twice as many asother non-Big Six organizations. Also new was the presenceof simultaneous translation (Ukrainian andEnglish) at the four-day conclave.Mr. Czolij – at 39, the youngest UCC president in its48-year history – didn’t wait to flex some muscle.During the triennial meeting, he threatened to resignaffective immediately if a convention resolution callingfor the resignation of Canada’s attorney general andsuggestions for making the denaturalization and deportationof suspected war criminals the Congress’ mainpriority weren’t dropped. They were, though the latterissue remained a priority. The new UCC boss also hintedthat national headquarters could be moved from itsWinnipeg base.The UCC also passed resolutions supporting a “united”Canada and increasing opportunities for Ukrainianimmigration to Canada. Some delegates accused theCanadian Embassy in Kyiv of being inept in handlingapplications from would-be immigrants. Some improvementwas seen in new immigration agreements betweenthe federal government, provinces and territories inwhich Ottawa wouldn’t be the sole arbiter of determiningquotas.Other UCC congress activities included the establishmentof a Youth Leadership Award of Excellence andthe presentation of Shevchenko medals to 29 activistsincluding the late Supreme Court of Canada JusticeJohn Sopinka – the first Ukrainian Canadian appointedto the country’s highest court.On October 29-31 the Ukrainian-Canadian Programat the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies and theRobert F. Harney Professorship and Program in Ethnic,

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 231998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWImmigration and Pluralism Studies at the University ofToronto held a conference titled “Cross-StitchingCultural Borders: Comparing Ukrainian Experience inCanada and the United States,” at which a mix of establishedscholars and senior graduate students from acrossNorth America examined major issues of identity thatdistinguish the two communities.Co-organizers Prof. Frances Swyripa (University ofAlberta) and Prof. Isajiw elicited presentations and discussionswhich achieved their respective goals. ForProf. Swyripa, it was to show that the border betweenCanada and the U.S. is a very real psychological andcultural barrier (with the historical experience of arrivaland mainstream integration also differing radically) andyet, on many occasions Ukrainian communities of bothcountries have managed to interact as if it were not eventhere. For Prof. Isajiw, it was to refocus scholarly intereston local diaspora concerns, to begin to fill the gapinghole in studies on the life of Ukrainians in the U.S.,and to provide an outline of the changes the diaspora onthe continent is undergoing.On a different note, the Toronto-based Petro JacykEducational Foundation initiated the nomination ofUkraine’s President Leonid Kuchma for the 1998 NobelPeace Prize “for his outstanding contribution to globalsecurity” early in 1998.Later in the year, Canada’s Foreign Affairs MinisterLloyd Axworthy bid adieu to outgoing UkrainianAmbassador to Canada Volodymyr Furkalo at a luncheonat which Mr. Axworthy noted the “real progress in[the] bilateral relations between Canada and Ukraine.Mr. Furkalo was reassigned to Belgrade as ambassadorto Yugoslavia; he was replaced in Ottawa by one ofUkraine’s former vice minister of foreign affairs,Volodymyr Khandogiy.In the meantime, Mr. Axworthy’s hometown,Winnipeg, elected a new mayor – the first openly gaymayor in Canada. Glen Murray also happens to haveUkrainian roots: his maternal grandmother was born inUkraine. Joining him in Winnipeg’s city council weretwo Ukrainian-Manitoban councilors. Eleven of the 29community members also won trustee spots in localschool divisions.And, as the year wound down, the war crimes issueagain made headlines when Justice Minister McLellanconfirmed that Ottawa had not uncovered any evidencethat would initiate court proceedings against any memberof the Ukrainian Galicia Division – confirming theconclusions reached by Judge Deschênes during hisinquiry.In response, UCCLA’s Mr. Gregorovich expressedhis hope that “this would bring to a close media reportsabout the alleged presence of thousands of Nazi warcriminals hiding in Canada.”Academia: markedby anniversariesMajor anniversaries were the hallmark of thisyear’s scholarly events and publicationsschedule: the 125th anniversary of theShevchenko Scientific Society, 200th anniversary of thepublication of Kotliarevsky’s “Eneida,” 350th anniversaryof the Khmelnytsky uprising, 100th anniversary ofthe publication of the first volume of Hrushevsky’s“Istoriia Ukraiiny-Rusy” were among the dates notedthis year.AnniversariesFounded in Lviv on December 11, 1873, ShevchenkoScientific Society (NTSh) has a history of survival andcommitment to scholarly excellence during more than acentury of dramatic international turmoil and upheaval.Twice shut down, in 1914 and in 1939, its archives andproperty appropriated in 1940 during the Soviet occupationof western Ukraine, the NTSh was resurrected in1947 in post-war Munich, and later its European basemoved to France. By the 1950s, Ukrainian emigres hadset up autonomous society chapters, not only in Europe,but in the U.S., Canada and Australia as well. An executivecouncil was established in 1978, and the NTSh wasreactivated in Lviv in 1989. (At present, NTSh has morethan 1,200 members and 15 active chapters throughoutUkraine.)Commemorative events for the 125th anniversary,which included major conferences, banquets, seminarsand artistic programs, were held in Canada onSeptember 19, in the U.S. on October 2-4, and in LvivAndrij WynnyckyjDuring Canadian celebrations of the Shevchenko Scientific Society’s 125th anniversary, Dr. Oleh Romaniv (left),general secretary of the NTSh World Council, presents NTSh-Canada President Dr. Wolodymyr Mackiw withhonorary membership in the World Council, as the council’s president, Dr. Leonid Rudnytzky, looks on.on October 23-25. A roundtable discussion at theAmerican Association for the Advancement of SlavicStudies (AAASS) conference September 26 in BocaRaton, Fla., also was devoted to the organization’sanniversary.One hundred years younger than NTSh, theUkrainian Research Institute at Harvard nonetheless celebrateda milestone anniversary this year: its 25th. Thefirst chair in Ukrainian studies, the Mykhailo S.Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History was fundedin 1968, however, fund-raising continued in the communityuntil funds were gathered not only for two morechairs, but for an endowment to establish the researchinstitute as well, which opened its doors on June 4,1973. The institute commemorated its anniversary withan exhibit of “Ucrainica at Harvard,” a display of rarebooks and manuscripts from Harvard’s collection, thelargest collection of rare Ukrainian publications outsideof Eastern Europe. Among the items displayed was aunique 1798 edition of Ivan Kotliarevskyi’s “Eneida,”the epic-poem in vernacular Ukrainian that was firstpublished 200 years ago. The edition is part of the permanentcollection of the university’s Houghton Library.Also at HURI, the Ukrainian literary critic and scholarTamara Hundorova, visiting scholar at The HarrimanInstitute, Columbia University, spoke on the topic of“Eneida” as a national narrative, against the backgroundof its Roman model by Virgil.Also in honor of the 200th anniversary of the poem’spublication, a facsimile edition of one of the earlyreleases of “Eneida” was printed in Lviv.The Khmelnytskyi uprising (1648-1649) was a definingmoment in the histories of the Ukrainians, Russians,Jews and Poles. On May 18-20, at a conference inIsrael, “Gezeroit Tah-Tak/Eastern European Jewry in1648-1649: Context and Consequences,” marking the350th anniversary of this period, three scholars, Dr.Zenon Kohut, Dr. Frank Sysyn and Dr. Serhii Plokhyfrom the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies(CIUS) made presentations.Later in the year, at the AAASS conference, a specialsession was held on the topic of Khmelnytskyiand the Jews, and in the fall, Dr. Kohut, who is thedirector of the CIUS, held a seminar before a capacityaudience at Yale University on the topic “TheKhmelnytskyi Uprising, the Image of Jews and theShaping of Ukrainian Historical Memory.” The seminarwas co-sponsored by the Ukraine Initiative at YaleUniversity, along with the Council on Russian andEast European Studies and the Department of JudaicStudies – the first time in the history of the universitythat all three programs have jointly sponsored anevent.The first volume of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s “IstoriiaUkraiiny-Rusy” was first published in 1898. To commemoratethis 100th anniversary, a book launch washeld on August 24, the seventh anniversary ofUkraine’s independence, for volume 1 of the Englishtranslation “The History of Ukraine-Rus’,” which ispart of the multi-volume Hrushevsky TranslationProject funded by the Peter Jacyk Center. The launchwas held at the Teachers’ Building in Kyiv, the samebuilding where the Central Rada, chaired byHrushevsky, met during 1917-1918 and the site of theproclamation of the Ukrainian National Republic, ofwhich Hrushevsky was president.Through it was reported in early 1998, theConference on Ukrainian Orthography was held in Kyivat the end of 1997, on December 12-13. Organized byUkraine’s National Committee on Orthography, theShevchenko Scientific Society and the NationalAcademy of Sciences of Ukraine, the conference wasconvened to mark the 70th anniversary of the All-Ukrainian Conference on Orthography held in Kharkivin 1927, which resulted in a modern and unified set ofrules of orthogrpahy and grammar for Ukrainian – standardsthat are still in use by many publishers in the diaspora,though they were greatly modified by the Sovietgovernment.Conferences and lecturesFor the second year, the Harvard National SecurityProgram was held at the John F. Kennedy School ofGovernment. The first program, held December 1-12,1997, and focusing on the topic of development ofcivil-military relations and strategic planning inUkraine, was such a great success that a second sessionwas held this year on November 29-December 9,with the topic expanded to include economic reform.Coordinated in part by the Ukrainian ResearchInstitute at Harvard, speakers included economistsJeffrey Sachs and Marshall Goldman; military advisorMaj. Gen. Nicholas Krawciw, U.S. Army (ret.); aswell as security advisors Sherman Garnett andZbigniew Brzezinski. Approximately 30 participantsfrom the U.S. military, Ukrainian military and securityservices, as well as Ukrainian parliamentariansattended.This year, the annual Vasyl and Maria PetryshynMemorial Lecture in Ukrainian Studies was given atHarvard’s Ukrainian Research Institute by JohnArmstrong, professor emeritus of political science,University of Wisconsin-Madison, on March 12 onthe topic “Independent Ukraine in the World Arena:Prospects for the Republic and Implications forStudies.” Prof. Armstrong focused on the need forregional alliances such as Georgia-Ukraine-Armenia-Moldova (the so-called GUAM group) and Ukraine-

24 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWA “Symposium in honor of George Y. Shevelov”was sponsored by the Harriman Institute, ColumbiaUniversity, on October 2 at the university’s Schoolof International and Public Affairs. Prof. Shevelov(above), a renowned linguist and literary critic, celebratedhis 90th birthday this year. Paying tribute toa lifetime of achievement, speakers praised Prof.Shevelov as “phenomenal,” “every inch a scholar”and providing “insights into Slavic languages ...findings that are truly impressive and won him apermanent place among Slavists.” The daylongsymposium was divided into two sessions, themorning devoted to linguistics, chaired by Dr.Alexander Motyl of the Harriman Institute, and theafternoon to literature, chaired by Dr. Danylo HusarStruk of the University of Toronto. Prof. Shevelovwas also honored at another New York event thatsame weekend, on October 4, as the guest of honorat the Shevchenko Scientific Society’s 125thanniversary banquet.Poland relations as essential to Ukraine’s independentdevelopment. Prof. Armstrong is the author of theclassic work “Ukrainian Nationalism, 1939-1945,”and other influential works on the study of nationalism.An April 24-25 conference at Yale University,“Institutional Reform in Ukraine: Implications forEmerging Markets,” drew approximately 150 participantsfrom Europe and North America. The conferencewas the fourth in a series of the multi-year UkraineInitiative established at Yale with funds from theChopivsky Family Foundation to enhance Ukrainianstudies at the university. The conference was bracketedby two unexpected developments in Ukraine, the murderof Vadym Hetman, head of Ukraine’s InterbankCurrency Exchange, and a court decision to invalidatethe results of the election to parliament of SerhiiHolovatyi, former minister of justice. Mr. Holovatyi, aspeaker at the conference, heard of the results while atYale.Both events underscored points made by manyspeakers about the monopolistic tactics and “financialclan” struggles that are strangling the development ofUkraine both politically and economically. Besides Mr.Holovatyi, the speakers included former U.S.Ambassador to Ukraine William Green Miller; NationalDeputy Serhii Teriokhin; Prof. Robert Kravchuk,Indiana University ; Scott Carlson, president, WesternNIS Enterprise Fund; Morgan Williams, president,Ukrainian Agricultural Development Company; Prof.Louise Shelly, American University; and BohdanKrawchenko, vice-rector, Ukrainian Academy of PublicAdministration.The Chair of Ukrainian Studies at Ottawa Universityhosted the second “Towards a New Ukraine” conferencein the Canadian capital on October 3-4, with thisyear’s proceedings unfolding in a more pessimistic castthan the conference last year. The tone was set by thekeynote address on the opening day of the conferencedelivered by Dr. James Mace, currently a lecturer at theNational University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, andbrought to a powerful conclusion by former dissidentYevhen Sverstiuk, the final speaker of the conference,who spoke about Ukraine’s moral crisis.Economists, including Anders Aslund andVolodymyr Lanovyi, jurists, including former Ministerof Justice Holovatyi, and several political scientists allcontributed to a rather gloomy portrait of the sevenyear-oldstate. Surprisingly, cultural-philological panelistsMykola Ryabchuk, Michael Naydan and NataliaBerezovenko offered the most reason for optimism,offering an image of an ever more linguistically andculturally rich and complex environment in the country,rather than the simply “lumpen” and Russifiedstagnation that is often described.Publications• The CIUS Journal of Ukrainian Studies published aspecial double issue this spring on Ukrainian writer andphilosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda. The papers includedin this volume were presented at a conference in 1994to mark the 200th anniversary of the philosopher’sdeath.• Schiffer Publishers released “Galicia Division: TheWaffen-SS 14th Grenadier Division 1943-1945,” a comprehensiveaccount of the short and intense history ofthe 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian NationalArmy, authored by military historian Michael O.Logusz.• Prof. Omeljan Pritsak’s “The Origins of the OldRus’ Weights and Monetary Systems,” was publishedby the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard. Prof.Pritsak, former director of the institute, surveys theweights and monetary systems extant in Eurasia in theseventh to 11th centuries; the publication is the mostthoroughly researched and documented English-languagestudy of this subject.• “Between Kyiv and Constantinople: OleksanderLototsky and the Quest for Ukrainian Autocephaly” bythe Rev. Dr. Andre Partykevich, published this fall byCIUS press, analyzes the little-known period ofUkrainian Orthodox Church history, the unsuccessfulattempt by Oleksander Lototsky, writer, scholar andUkraine’s minister for religious affairs under HetmanPavlo Skoropadsky, to gain recognition of the autocephalyof the Ukrainian Church from the Patriarch ofConstantinople.• In September, Harvard Ukrainian Studies publisheda special volume on the topic “Ukraine and the World:Studies in the International Relations and SecurityStructure of a Newly Independent State,” which incorporatedpapers from the 1996 conference in Washingtonof the same title, with additional articles and documents.Renowned international specialists examine thedevelopment of Ukraine’s foreign policy and externalrelations after 1991, its role in rapidly changing regionalsecurity arrangements, and the country’s path to denuclearization.This volume also appeared as a separatepublication, under the same title, in the series HarvardPapers in Ukrainian Studies, edited by Dr. LubomyrHajda.• This fall, the Peter Jacyk Center published“Dokumenty do Istorii Zaporozkoho Kozatstva, 1613-1620,” the first volume of documents from Russianarchives on the history of the Ukrainian Kozaks,including many documents that remained largelyunknown to scholars of this topic and shed new light onrelations between Russia and Ukraine in the early 17thcentury.• “Crisis and Reform: The Kyivan Metropolinate,The Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Genesis ofthe Union of Brest,” by Rev. Dr. Borys Gudziak,explains and re-evaluates the controversial Union ofBrest (1596). It was published by the Harvard Series inUkrainian Studies.Scholars and their supporters• In July 1998, Dr. Hajda, associate director of theUkrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, wasalso appointed editor of the journal Harvard UkrainianStudies.• Dr. Kohut was the first visiting professor to beinvited to Yale University as part of the UkraineInitiative program, which is sponsored by theWashington-based Chopivsky Family Foundation. Hewas a visiting professor in history during the fall 1998semester.• Through a gift from the Canada-based Petro JacykEducational Foundation, the Petro Jacyk DistinguishedFellowship in Ukrainian Studies was established at theUkrainian Research Institute at Harvard University.Also with funds received from the Canadian foundation,the Harriman Institute at Columbia University this yearannounced the establishment of the Petro Jacyk VisitingProfessor of Ukrainian Studies. Both programs willbegin in 1999.• Longtime supporters of the CIUS, Daria andMichael Kowalsky established an endowment of $1million for the Kowalsky Program for the Study ofEastern Ukraine. The program will give grants to scholarsand sponsor seminars dealing with problems relatedto Ukrainian identity in Eastern, Southern and CentralUkraine, support museum development, award a literaryprize for historical novels for young people, as well asfund other projects.• The University of Alberta recognized Ukrainianstudies as one of its centers of excellence in researchwithin its university system and noted the role of theCIUS in providing support for Ukrainian scholarship,including programs in Ukrainian history, literature, languageand culture, through its contacts with scholarsworldwide.• The first recipient of the Dr. Robert FranklinClark Graduate Fellowship in Ukrainian Languageand Literature, a yearly fellowship of $15,000 to begranted to a graduate student pursuing a master’sdegree or doctorate in Ukrainian language or literatureat the University of Toronto, is MarkoAndryczyk, 29. Mr. Andryczyk holds a master’sdegree from LaSalle University in Philadelphia andhas spent a substantial amount of time in Lviv, wherehe has been working on a paper on that city’s undergroundliterary movement in the 1970s. He met andbefriended many of today’s literary figures inUkraine, and has reported on the Lviv cultural scenefor The Ukrainian Weekly.Survey on cultureand the artsAmong significant cultural developments, the outstandingevent of 1998 was the rebuilding inKyiv of two of Ukraine’s historic religious landmarks– the 12th century St. Michael’s Golden-DomedCathedral and the 11th century Uspenskyi (Dormition)Cathedral. (See “Kyiv reconstructs ancient treasures.”)These are perhaps the most visible manifestations ofthe numerous initiatives taking place throughoutUkraine: to rebuild or restore churches and monumentsdestroyed by the Soviet regime, or to build new onesthat aim to recover repressed or forgotten moments ofUkrainian culture and history.Worthy of mention are:• the erection of a new church and a museum inhonor of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky (1865-1944)in his home village of Prylbychi;• a museum-memorial complex to honor Cardinaland Patriarch Josyf Slipyj (1892-1984) built in the cardinal’snative village of Zazdrist in western Ukraine;• a new memorial at the historic Lychakiv Cemeteryin Lviv, commemorating the Ukrainian Sich Riflemenwho died in the Ukrainian-Polish war of 1918-1919;• a new shrine to the Mother of God of Zarvanytsia, apilgrimage site in western Ukranian which is to be completednext year;• the renovation of Kyiv’s historic Askolda Mohyla(Askold’s Tomb), used by local Greek-Catholics as St.Nicholas Church (the church was later attacked byarsonists and defaced; an investigation is pending).Another important development was the beginning ofconstruction of the long-awaited church and monasterycomplex of St. Vasylii – the first major church forUkraine’s Greek-Catholics in Kyiv. The modernisticproject, overseen by the Order of St. Basil the Great inLviv, was designed by Ukrainian architect LarysaSkoryk.On a totally different note, the December issue ofArchitectural Digest carried a story on the renovation ofthe Soviet-era “dacha” built outside Kyiv for the formerhead of the Ukrainian Communist Party, VolodymyrShcherbytsky. The lavish project was undertaken by aUkrainian-born American businessman who emigratedwith his parents after the war, and after Ukraine’s independence,began to do business with his homeland.Music: anniversary celebrationsAmong highlights of the musical season were the60th anniversary celebrations of two prominent com-

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 251998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWposers – Virko Baley, founder, and for many years conductorand music director, of the Nevada SymphonyOrchestra and guest conductor in Ukraine, andMyroslav Skoryk, longtime professor of composition atthe Lviv and Kyiv conservatories and head of the Lvivbranch of the Union of Ukrainian Composers.The yearlong international salute on the occasion ofthe 60th birthday of Maestro Baley began in Februarywith Mr. Baley leading the Cleveland ChamberSymphony in his Symphony No. 1, and continued inNew York’s Merkin Hall when the new music ensembleContinuum performed a selection from his 40 years ofcomposing. The concert premiered his new operaticwork “Klytemnestra,” after Ukrainian poet OksanaZabuzhko’s poem of the same name.A series of anniversary concerts for Maestro Skorykwere performed in Australia, the U.S., Germany andUkraine. The world premiere of the composer’s latestwork, Piano Concerto No. 3, was performed by theLeontovych String Quartet, and the composer, on July12 at Music Mountain in Connecticut, where it receivedan enthusiastic reception. The anniversary concert forMaestro Skoryk opened the summer concert series heldat the Grazhda in Jewett Center, N.Y., with subsequentconcerts held in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago,Philadelphia and Washington with the LeontovychString Quartet and pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky. Thefinal concert, featuring three new works – Partita No. 6for String Orchestra, Partita No. 7 for Wind Quintet,and Piano Concerto No. 3 for Piano, String Orchestraand Drum – took place on December 12 at theUkrainian Institute of America in New York with theMATI Chamber Orchestra and Maestro Baley, conducting.During his stay in Ukraine, Maestro Skoryk was presentedan award by President Leonid Kuchma and wasnamed “Man of the Year” of his native city of Lviv forpromoting Ukrainian music abroad. Concerts ofMaestro Skoryk’s music were held at the opera housesin Kyiv and Lviv, and a five-day all-Skoryk music festivalopened at the Lviv Opera on November 3 and continuedat various venues throughout the city.• Also celebrated this year was the 95th anniversaryof the doyen of Ukrainian music Mykola Kolessa, distinguishedprofessor emeritus at the department of operaand symphony conducting at the Mykola Lysenko LvivState Music Institute.• Nick Czorny-Dosinchuk, founder of the New YorkSchool of Bandura and one of the major forces in thepropagation of the bandura in Ukrainian communitiesworldwide, was honored with a concert by the All-Ukrainian Union of Kobzars on May 28 at the TarasShevchenko Museum on the occasion of his 80th birthday(April 20).• After being banned during Soviet times and neverseriously honored after Ukraine’s independence, thelegendary Lviv composer of popular music VolodymyrIvasiuk – who was found brutally murdered in 1979,amidst allegations of KGB complicity – was honored ina memorial concert held on May 29 as part of the annualKyiv Days celebration.Music: performances• The Kiev [Kyiv] Camerata, a virtuoso orchestra of32 soloists under the direction of Maestro Baley andfeatured pianist Mykola Suk, set off on its first U.S.tour, which began in Baltimore on October 25, includeda performance at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall onOctober 26 and ended at the Yale School of Music onNovember 1.• Seven young winners – from Ukraine, Israel, Japan,and the U.S. – ranging in age from 12 to 22 – of the first(1995) and second (1997) International Competition forYoung Pianists in memory of Vladimir Horowitz showcasedtheir talents in a program of virtuoso piano repertoirein concerts held at New York’s Weill Recital Hallon April 9, with subsequent appearances in Chicago,Columbus, Cincinnati and Cambridge, Mass.• Soprano Oksana Krovytska received criticalacclaim in reviews by New York Times critics AlanKozinn and Anthony Tommasini for the sensitivity andcredibility of performance that she brought to the titlerole in two different productions of Puccini’s “MadamaButterfly” at the New York City Opera in March andNovember.• The “Music at the Institute” concert series, with Mr.Suk as artistic director, and Dr. Taras Shegedyn, executivedirector, continues to be an important artistic presencein the New York metropolitan area, marked by variedand interesting programs featuring acclaimed musiciansas well as renowned guest performers.The reconstructed St. Michael Golden-Domed Cathedral.• Similarly, the summer concert series held at theGrazhda, under the auspices of the Music and ArtCenter of Greene County, with Ihor Sonevytsky asmusic director and Mr. Vynnytsky, pianist, as artist-inresidence,continued to gain recognition for the caliberof its performances.• The New Jersey Youth Symphony, under the directionof Adrian Bryttan, performed the complete filmscore in conjunction with the screening of the 1927silent film classic “Flesh and the Devil,” starring GretaGarbo and John Gilbert. The first-of-its-kind event washeld at the John Harms Center for the Arts inEnglewood, N.J. on February 27 and 28.• Pianist Alina Kabanova, 16, from Crimea, receiveda top prize at the London Piano Competition held April8 at the Harrow School.• The internationally known Canadian musicians,pianist Christina Petrowska, and opera star baritoneLouis Quilico appeared in recital at Merkin ConcertHall in New York on March 30.• Concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky, member of thepiano faculty of the Dana School of Music ofYoungstown State University in Ohio, was on his fifthconcert tour around the world, playing recitals fromJune 10 until August 5.• The piano duo of Luba and Ireneus Zuk, representingCanada, performed a recital of piano works byUkrainian and Canadian composers, at the 20thInternational European Piano Teachers AssociationConference, held in Nicosia, Cyprus on October 1-6.• Winnipeg singer and recording artist Alexis Kochanand third-generation bandurist Julian Kytasty appearedin a program of contemporary stylings of Ukrainian ritualisticsongs and Hryhoriy Kytasty’s 20th centurycompositions at the Ukrainian Institute of America inNew York on May 2. In November, the group Paris toKyiv, featuring Ms. Kochan and Mr. Kytasty, with violinistRichard Moody, multi-instrumentalist MartinColledge and percussionist John Wyre, participated inthe Canada Council’s showcase of Culturally Diverseand First People’s Artists held at the Du MaurierTheater at the Harbourfront Center in Toronto.Music: new releasesRoman Woronowycz• Ukrainian Musical Elements in Classical Music” byYakov Soroker, a publication of the CIUS Press, is thefirst comprehensive account of the influence ofUkrainian motifs on the classical music of Europe andRussia from the 18th century through the first half ofthe 20th.• A collection of art songs by the late UkrainianAmerican pianist-composer Wadym Kipa (1912-1968)was published by Muzychna Ukraina in Kyiv.• The monograph “Myroslav Skoryk: A Creative

26 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWTwo 60th anniversary celebrants: composers Virko Baley (conducting the Kiev Camerata during a concert in Kyiv) and Myroslav Skoryk.Portrait of the Composer as a Reflection of Our Times”by Liubov Kyyanovska appeared in Ukrainian as a publicationof Lviv-based Spolom Publishers in October.• The new international label Troppe Note/CambriaRecordings, with Maestro Baley, producer, signed anagreement with the Kiev Camerata to release a series ofrecordings over a three-year period, which will placespecial emphasis on Ukrainian music and performers.• The acclaimed Cheres ensemble, under the directionof Andriy Milavsky, released its first solo CD –“Cheres: From the Mountains to the Steppe.”Art and exhibitsAmong a host of interesting events and outstandingexhibits held during the year:• The international exhibition “Treasures from theUkrainian Steppes,” a joint effort of the Institute ofArchaeology of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences andhost museums in Canada and the U.S., had its worldpremiere in Montreal at Pointe-à-Callière, where itopened on October 7. The exhibit, which gives a representativeoverview of the history and archaeology of theUkrainian steppes from the Paleolithic era to late antiquity,presents some 350 highly significant pieces,including many that have been recently discovered. Theexhibit will travel to museums in the U.S., where it willbe on view through the year 2001.• The exhibition “Jacques Hnizdovsky: SelectedPortraits,” curated by The Ukrainian Museum DirectorMaria Shust, with most of the work on display from theprivate collection of the late artist’s wife, Stephanie,opened at the Ukrainian Institute of America in NewYork on September 24.• An exhibit of socialist realism paintings fromUkraine from the late 1940s through the 1960s was heldat the Georgetown Art Guild in Washington (May 19-July 31), while recent paintings and works on paper byUkrainian artists, Oleh Nedoshytko, RomanRomanyshyn and Roman Harasuta, as representative ofhighly personal painting and artistic styles formerly forbiddenunder the Soviet regime, were simultaneously onexhibit at the Alla Rogers Gallery in Washington (May19-June 17).• Daria Dorosh’s exhibit of digital prints, titled“Scraps and Shadows” was on view at the A.I.R.Gallery in New York in May.• Christine Holowchak Debarry’s watercolors werefeatured in the September issue of American Artist andin the fall/winter issue of Paelagram, the magazine ofthe Pastel Society of America. The artist also conductedworkshops at the Flying Colors Workshop in Acapulco,Mexico, in March.• Among significant art exhibits held at TheUkrainian Museum in New York were: an exhibition ofthe works of noted Ukrainian-born artists VolodymyrMakarenko, a resident of Paris, and sculptor PetroKapschutschenko, a longtime resident of Argentina andnow the U.S., held October 11-25; and an exhibit oflinoprints forming the series “Symbols and Emblems”by noted Ukrainian artist Bohdan Soroka, chairman ofthe department of graphic design, Lviv Academy of Art,which was held in November. As part of a series ofexhibitions titled “In Celebration of Private Collectors,”the museum presented an exhibition of lithographs byAlexander Archipenko (1887-1964), as well as oilpaintings and watercolors by Alexis Gritchenko (OleksaHryshchenko, 1883-1977), which opened on December6. The works displayed were from the collection ofZenon and Olena Feszczak of Philadelphia and are nowa part of the museum’s fine arts collection.• An exhibition of The Woskob Collection, primarilypromoting the work of young artists from Ukraine, washeld at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New Yorkon November 14-December 27. Honored guest at theexhibition opening was Patriarch Filaret of theUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate. Workson exhibit were from the private collection of Alex andHelen Woskob of State College, Pa.• The group exhibition “New Figures, New Faces,”curated by artist Petro Lopata, with a focus on figurativeart, showcased the work of young, mostlyCanadian, artists of Ukrainian heritage. The exhibitopened at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation inToronto on December 27.Dance and ballet• The Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company ofUkraine, under the direction of Myroslav Vantukh, wason tour of North America from April 24 through July 1,performing in 38 cities across Canada and the U.S. incelebration of its 60th anniversary. The performancesreceived excellent and enthusiastic reviews.• In their annual celebration of Central and EastEuropean folk music and dance, the DuquesneUniversity Tamburitzans appeared in concert at theFashion Institute of Technology in New York onOctober 17.• Vladimir Malakhov, principal dancer with theAmerican Ballet Theater and Maxim Belotserkovskyand Irina Dvorovenko, principal soloists with the company,performed in major roles during the season atLincoln Center in New York, continuing to be commendedby audience and critics.Theater• The Les Kurbas Theater of Lviv, under the directionof Volodymyr Kuchynsky, returned to the U.S. to presentperformances from its current repertoire, as well asto conduct lectures and workshops. The theater premieredLesia Ukrainka’s classic Don Juan play“Kamianyi Hospodar” (The Stone Host) in Maplewood,N.J., in March on the 30th anniversary of the play’soriginal American premiere.In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the theaterrevived one of the first works from its repertoire, LinaKostenko’s historic verse novel “Marusia Churai,”which was presented in New York on February 22. Alsopresented were a program dedicated to the memory ofthe late literary critic and political dissident IvanSvitlychny in Washington on February 24; and a specialprogram of the works of the Ukrainian poet BohdanIhor Antonych (1909-1937) that was held at theUkrainian Institute of America in New York on March28. In addition, workshops and lectures were held atuniversities and educational institutions along the EastCoast, including the performance of HryhoriiSkovoroda’s 18th century philosophic dialogue “GracegivenErodii” at Yale University on March 3.• As part of the “Week of European Culture” held inLviv this spring, the Les Kurbas Theater hosted theatersfrom Austria, Denmark, Georgia, Latvia, Sweden,Switzerland and Ukraine in “Yarylo’s Games,” an eightdayinternational theater festival devoted to the themeof use of music in theater.• The Yara Arts Group, under the direction of VirlanaTkacz, in collaboration with the artists from the BuryatNational Theater of Siberia, presented “Flight,” an allsungwork featuring the music and legends of theBuryat people that was staged at the Buryat NationalTheatre in Ulan Ude in summer and at La MaMaExperimental Theatre in New York on April 24-May 3.Yara conducted its 11th annual theater workshops forthe Harvard Ukrainian Summer Studies in July. Thegroup also did a poetry presentation in October at TheYear 2020 Conference on the future of the Ukrainiancommunity. Yara’s work with poetry was praised inUkrainian papers in Crimea and North America.• The English-language version of UkrainianAmerican author’s Yuriy Tarnawsky’s one-act play “NotMedea,” from the play cycle “6x0,” was staged on June6 and 7 at Mabou Mines in New York, under the directionof internationally known actor and director GregoryHlady with actors Tania Mara Miller and Laila Salins.The Ukrainian-language book of plays, which appearedas a publication of the Kyiv-based Rodovid publishinghouse, was officially presented to the reading public atthe Writers’ Union building in Kyiv on October 14 andat the Shevchenko Scientific Society in New York onDecember 19.• Mr. Hlady, who currently resides in Montreal, wasin Kyiv in October at the invitation of the Les KurbasCenter where he ran a series of workshops with actorsselected from all over Ukraine. As part of the workshop,Mr. Hlady staged the Ukrainian-language version ofMykola Hohol’s story “The Terrible Revenge” onOctober 1-10 at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.• Kyiv-based TheatreClub’s production of “The OldWoman,” an avant-garde interpretation of the Slavicabsurdist tradition in the manner of Hohol, was on tourof Canada’s Fringe Festivals, beginning in Toronto inearly June and continued westward until late September.The play, directed by Oleh Liptsyn, was premiered inKyiv in 1995 and subsequently performed acrossEurope.• The Ukrainian Stage Ensemble, under the directionof Lydia Krushelnytsky, presented the drama-montage“Zhinka Kriz Viky” (Woman Through the Ages), basedon the works of the poet/playwright Lesia Ukrainka, atthe Fashion Institute of Technology on June 6. Theensemble also gave a stage presentation of the humorousand satirical writings of Edward Kozak and thehumorous play of Wasyl Sofroniv-Levytsky in a programtitled “In a Crooked Mirror – HumorousAnecdotes,” on November 22.Film and film industry• The film “Assassination: An Autumn Murder inMunich,” directed by Oles Yanchuk, was shown at the

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 271998: THE YEAR IN REVIEW1997-1998 Freedom Film Festival during its LosAngeles run in February 27-March 3.• The film “Eternal Memory: Voices From the GreatTerror,” a historical documentary treatment of Stalinistpurges and terror in the former USSR during the 1930sand 1940s, was screened at the 1998 Human RightsWatch International Film Festival at Lincoln Center’sWalter Reade Theater on June 17, 19 and 23, followedby subsequent screenings for the Ukrainian community.The film was directed and produced by David Pultz forNew York-based Wellspring Films, with narration byMeryl Streep.• Marian Rudnyk of Monrovia, Calif., formerastronomer and planetary photogeologist with NASA,free-lance science writer and cartoonist, worked on specialvisual effects and digital animation in JamesCameron’s blockbuster hit “Titanic.” (See “The noteworthy:people and events.”)• Yar Mociuk, a 43-year veteran of the film industryand president of Filmtreat International Corporation,received an Emmy Award and was honored by theNational Academy of Arts and Sciences for OutstandingAchievement in Technical Advancement, PioneeringDevelopment of Film Scratch Removal Systems forTelecines, at a ceremony held October 12 at the MarriotMarquis in New York.Photography• The show “Ukraine: A Photo Exhibit,” featuring thephotography of nationally recognized American photographerWilton S. Tifft, was held at the UkrainianCatholic Shrine of the Holy Family in Washington onMarch 14-29.• “Simply Ukraine” (“Prosto Ukraina”), a collectionof some 200 photographs spanning more than 30 yearsby photographer Tania Mychajlyshyn-D’Avignon, waspublished in Kyiv by Artex Management.Literary events• The memory of Ivan Svitlychny, literary historian,critic and poet at the center of the 1960s“Shestydesiatnyky” movement of national revival inUkraine, was honored on February 24 at the Embassy ofUkraine in Washington. Leading the commemorationwere Ambassador Yuri Shcherbak, Mr. Svitlychny’s sister,Nadia Svitlychna, and five actors from the LesKurbas Theater of Lviv.• An evening of poetry by the Ukrainian poet OlehLysheha, currently a Fulbright scholar at Penn StateUniversity, was hosted by the Yara Arts Group at theMayana Gallery in New York on April 29. Mr.Lysheha read his poetry in Ukrainian and members ofthe Yara Arts Group read translations of his work inEnglish.• The Mayana Gallery, under the direction of SlavaGerulak, continues to serve as an informal forum forUkrainian writers and artists to present their works to aninterested public in New York.• Pen New-England’s Freedom-to-Write Committeepresented its first annual Vasyl Stus Freedom-to-WriteAward to Kurdish poet and publisher Recep Marasli onMay 17 at Radcliffe College.• The publication of Yuri Andrukhovych’s carnivalesquetale “Recreations,” first published in Ukrainianin 1992 and now available in English in an edition publishedby the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies,(with translation by Dr. Marko Pavlyshyn), coincidedwith his appearance at this year’s prestigiousInternational Festival of Authors in Toronto on October22-29. He subsequently appeared in a number of EastCoast cities in the U.S., including Boston, New Yorkand Philadelphia. “Recreations” has establishedAndrukhovych as a sophisticated, comic writer withpenetrating insight into the contradictions of post-SovietUkrainian society.• Literary evenings hosted by Lviv poet and writerViktor Neborak of the Bu-Ba-Bu group, are heldmonthly at Lviv’s Museum of Ethnography. The program,which has existed since December 1995 and isbroadcast by a local TV channel, serves as an independentforum where Ukrainian writers can meet withan interested public to read and discuss their works.Among this year’s participants were: Kyiv-based poetVasyl Herasymiuk, poet and former Suchasnist editorialboard member Moisei Fishbein, Harvard Universityliterature professor George Grabowicz, New YorkGroup poet Mr. Tarnawsky and the poetry groupLuHoSad.• The book ”The Magic Egg and Other Tales fromUkraine,” a re-telling in English by Barbara J. Suwyn oftraditional Ukrainian tales, came out as a publication ofLibraries Unlimited, Englewood, Colo. Edited byNatalie O. Kononenko, the book is supplemented withan overview of Ukraine’s history, an introduction toUkrainian folk literature, and other background information.Literary scholarship• Oleh S. Ilnytzkyj’s “Ukrainian Futurism, 1914-1930: A Historical and Critical Study,” published bythe Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute last year, isthe first major monograph in English devoted to thisvibrant literary movement and its leader, MykhailSemenko. (Its release was noted in The Weekly during1998.)• Two Ukrainian-language anthologies of modernUkrainian drama edited by Dr. Larissa Onyshkevych,“An Anthology of Drama of the Ukrainian Diaspora:The Twins Shall Meet Again,” (Kyiv/Lviv: Chas publishers,1997) and the CIUS publication “An Anthologyof Modern Ukrainian Drama” issued in Kyiv by TaksonPublishers were both presented this fall at the IvanFranko Lviv State University and subsequently at theShevchenko Scientific Society in New York and inPhiladelphia.• An anthology of Ukrainian Canadian andUkrainian prose in translation, “Two Lands: NewVisions,” edited by Solomea Pavlychko, researchassistant, Institute of Literature at the UkrainianAcademy of Science and editor-in-chief, Osnovy publishers,and Ukrainian Canadian writer and scholarJanice Kulyk Keefer, was published by Coteau Booksof Regina, Saskatchewan. The launch was held inToronto on November 1.Petro HritsykAndriy Milavsky, Tania Vilkha and Lilia Dlaboha of Cheres during a New York City performance.The world of sports:Ukrainian, that isOlympic years place the athletes who competewith the world on a special pedestal. This year,the 18th Winter Olympiad was held in Nagano,Japan, and Ukraine managed to string together a competitivecontingent, despite the financial constraints thatwere making themselves strongly felt.Just as it did prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta, the first at which the nascent country had a separatedelegation, the Ukrainian government gave itscompetitors a gala send-off in Kyiv on January 28,attended by Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko. Alltold, a team of 56 athletes represented Ukraine inNagano, along with 47 trainers, competing in 10 of the14 Olympic winter events.Stan Haba, veteran fund-raiser and head of theCanadian Friends of the National Olympic Committeeof Ukraine (NOC-U), attended the gala, and was grantedthe honor of marching into Minami Stadium inNagano together with the delegation led by flag-bearerAndriy Deryzemlia.Ukrainian Canadian contributions went toward thepurchase of athletic equipment, booking of hotel roomscloser to practice and competition sites, and walkietalkiesfor the biathlon team.Team Ukraine’s only medal winner was OlenaPetrova, who brought home the silver in the 15-kilometerbiathlon, but the story of the games were the fourwhirling teens of the freestyle aerial skiing event.Tetiana Kozachenko, 16, Alla Tsuper, 18, and OlenaYunchyk, 15, and Yuliia Kliukova, 16, all qualified forthe finals of the women’s competition and stayed in thetop 10 to the last jump.The very last competitor in the event knocked Ms.Kozachenko off the podium into fourth place, just aheadof Ms. Tsuper. Ms. Kliukova finished eighth, while Ms.Yunchyk was 10th – astounding placings for a countrywhose program in the sport was essentially non-existentbefore Ski Lacroix of Switzerland decided to sponsorTeam Ukraine at the Lillehammer Games in 1994.As it turned out, they were also one of the fewUkrainian athletes who benefitted from the spotty TVcoverage, thanks largely to the fact that U.S. aerialistNikki Stone was vying for the gold medal. Kyiv-basedfigure skater Yulia Lavrenchuk managed to make it ontothe small screen thanks only to an IBM commercial inwhich she was featured. Ironically, the spot was titled“Watch for me.”Otherwise, Iryna Taranenko Terelia, a veteran of thecross-country skiing circuits, came closest to winning amedal – she garnered two fourth-place finishes, missingthe bronze in the 10-kilometer free pursuit race by 2.7seconds.On the way home, the Olympians had to endurebizarre difficulties in their flight from Japan (reroutingaround China, doors on their plane which wouldn’t sealproperly), but were honored once again by their sportsmadprime minister on February 24 at the Institute ofPhysical Culture. Ms. Petrova was given thePresidential Medal, Mr. Taranenko Terelia also was recognized,while Ms. Yunchyk was held out to be theexample of Ukraine’s future potential.In a heartening story, Ukrainian paraplegic athletestaking part in the Paraplegic Olympic Games inNagano, did considerably better than the UkrainianWinter Olympic team. The paraplegic team won severalmedals – Petro Kardash from Kharkiv won the 5-kilometerclassical ski race, while Olena Akopian fromDnipropetrovsk and Tamara Kulinych won silver in thebiathlon. Olha Kravchuk and Svitlana Tryfonova camein second and third, respectively, in the 2.5-kilometerski race.Also at the Olympics, but in Canada’s red and whitecolors, were Ukrainian Canadian hockey players JudyDiduck and Kim Ratushny who took home silvermedals.SoccerAmong the main headline-grabbers this year, thanksto the World Cup in France, have been soccer teams.Kyiv Dynamo and Ukraine’s national team have provenno exception. Last fall, the nationals finished second intheir qualifying group behind Germany to earn a playoffberth, but had the misfortune to draw eventual WorldCup third-placer Croatia, which knocked them out in agame played with ruthless efficiency in Kyiv. TheDynamisty drove to the quarterfinals of the UEFA

28 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWMembers of Ukraine’s team for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, at a send-off celebration at the Ukraina Palace of Culture on January 28.Champions League Cup competition, shocking PSVEindhoven and other powerhouses, only to draw theEuropean No. 1 Juventus.On March 4, in front of 40,723 of Turin’s Italianfaithful, they faced an unbelievable barrage from a teamof world all-stars (Zinadine Zidane, Alessandro DelPiero, Edgar Davids, Filippo Inzaghi), and defendedlike lions in front of goaltender OleksanderShovkovskyi, keeping Europe’s big guns off the scoreboard. Then, at the 57th minute, a bad clearance from aJuventus defender allowed Andriy Gusin to score.Ahead of Juventus?!This did not last. Juventus regained composure, tiedthe game in the 76th minute and continued to pressrelentlessly, although the tally remained at 1-1 at thefinal whistle.Sprinter Zhanna Pintusevych, the second fastest womanin the world.The pressure did not let up in Kyiv in the follow-upmatch on March 18. In fact it was ratcheted higher, andDynamo proved to be no match for 1998’s eventualchampions. Mr. Inzaghi exploded for three goals, andMr. Del Piero added another for good measure. Finalscore: 4-1 (Serhiy Rebrov scored for Ukraine).Dynamo suffered a let down, and in May appeared tobe succumbing to Shakhtar Donetsk’s drive for top spotin Ukraine’s premier division. Things had settled downby June however, and, with a victory against ZirkaKirovohrad, Dynamo locked up first place and anotherberth in the European championships.This fall’s campaign began with an uneven ridethrough the preliminary round. Dynamo first crushed ahapless Barry Town team from Wales 8-0, then stumbled0-1 against Spartak Prague at home before salvagingthe situation with a shoot-out-decided decision,to qualify for group play.Beaten by Panathinaikos of Greece in the first match2-1 (September 16), Dynamo played Lens of France(September 30) and Arsenal of England (October 21) toidentical scores of 1-1. Things picked up in a 3-1 drubbingof Arsenal on November 4, and then Dynamoexacted a measure of revenge on the Greek team 2-1 onNovember 25 to put itself in a position to take firstplace in the very evenly matched Group E. Dynamo didso with a convincing 3-1 victory over Lens onDecember 9.The momentum of Dynamo’s march to the playoffshas been more sustained of late and the team earned a14th place ranking in Europe, but they face a dauntingtask in the next round. Once again, Dynamo has drawnthe European No. 1 team. This year, it’s Real Madrid.The first match is scheduled to take place in Spain onMarch 3.The National Team launched its campaign to capturea European Championship in 2000 by scoring a historicvictory over Russia on September 5 in Kyiv. It was historicbecause this was the first time the two sides facedoff in senior international play since Ukraine gained itsindependence, but it proved anticlimactically one-sided.Ukraine was ahead 3-1 in the dying moments of thegame, a score that could have been even more disproportionate,when some carelessness allowed Viktor Onopko(actually a Ukrainian playing for Russia) to score, briningthe final tally to 3-2. Subsequent matches haveinvolved group doormats Andorra (October 10) andArmenia (October 14), but produced only 2-0 victorieson each occasion, a factor that could prove sticky later.The real test will come on March 27 next year, whenthe blue-and-yellows travel to play World ChampionFrance at home.Ukraine’s footballers have also headlined on this sideof the Big Pond. On December 14, The New YorkTimes carried a story about the contributions made byDema Kovalenko, Yuri Lavrinenko and Aleksei Korolto the efforts of the best college soccer team in the U.S.Efrem Lukatsky– Indiana University’s Hoosiers. It was headlined:“Hoosiers’ Title: From Ukraine with Love.”The previous afternoon, Indiana had beaten Stanford3-1 in Richmond, Virginia, to claim the NationalCollegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) title. Mr. Korolwas voted the outstanding player of the tournament andscored the third “backbreaker” goal in the dying secondsof the first half of the NCAA final. Mr. Kovalenkohad opened the scoring at the seventh minute, with his15th goal of the season, on a cross from Mr.Lavrinenko. Then the three Ukes combined to set up agoal by Mr. Lavrinenko 12 minutes later.According to the Times item, over the last two years,the trio have helped Indiana compile a 46-3 record, with148 goals for and 25 against, and in this year’s NCAAtournament the team scored a record seven goals, themost tallied since St. Louis netted 10 in 1963.Goodwill Games (and other athletic highlights)The other major sporting event of the year took placein New York City – the Ted Turner-sponsored GoodwillGames, which featured 1,500 athletes from 66 countries(Ukraine’s contingent included 29 athletes, coaches,judges and other sports officials), competing in 15sports for 15 days and for $5 million in prize money.Ukrainian sprinter Zhanna Pintusevych claimed hershare on the opening day, July 19, by placing second inthe 100-meter dash, behind this summer’s untouchableforce – Marion Jones of the U.S., who is billed as thefastest woman in the world. The next day Ms. Jonestook another gold and Ms. Pintusevych another silver,in the 200 meters.World champion Olena Vitrychenko went home asthe all-around silver medalist in rhythmic gymnastics,but also captured gold in the rope individual apparatusevent and bronze in the hoop, and placed fifth in bothclubs and ribbon.Her compatriot Tamara Yerofeyeva came in sixthoverall, and was acknowledged as a rising star for placingfourth in the clubs, tying for sixth in both the hoopand the ribbon, and coming in seventh in the rope.Olha Teslenko claimed another silver medal forUkraine, in the gymnastics’ beam event, beaten for thegold medal in that event by a mere .05 points by KristinMaloney of the United States. Ms. Teslenko also finishedsixth in the women’s individual all-round gymnasticscompetition, sixth in the uneven bars, and sixth inthe floor exercise.Roman Zozulia finished fourth in the individualmen’s gymnastics all-around competition, seventh in theindividual floor exercise and seventh again in the ringsevent.Teslenko and Zozulia hooked up for the mixed pairscompetition and made it through the first two qualifyingrounds (they even finished on top in the first rotation ofthe competition), but in the end did not reach the podium.Pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka was off last year’s world

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 291998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWchampionship form. He was disappointing at theGoodwill Games and no-heighted, once again bedevilledby the newly introduced 90-second rule that forcesvaulters to clear their heights within the stated timelimit. He’d started the year off well enough – unlike lastyear, he won the ninth edition of the annual Pole VaultStar International Competition he organizes in Januaryin his home town of Donetsk. Enthusiasts can onlywonder if the record-breaker’s career will be brought toan end by this technicality.At the Goodwill Games Anzhela Balakhanova tiedfor the bronze medal in the women’s competition, thusearning Ukraine some pole vaulting hardware after all.Earlier in the year, on February 28, Ms. Balakhanovabroke the women’s indoor record at the EuropeanIndoor Championships in Valencia, Spain (although hermark was eclipsed a week later).Valentyna Fediushina of Crimea won bronze in thewomen’s shot put, while in the men’s event YuriiBilonoh came in fourth. At the EuropeanChampionships in Bucharest on August 18, he took thebronze behind a gold medal performance by compatriotOleksander Bohach.Olena Zhupyna and Svitlana Serbina took silver in10-meter platform synchronized diving. Ms. Zhupynapaired with Olha Leonova came in fifth in the threemeterspringboard synchronized diving, and in the 10-meter platform Ms. Zhupyna, the world champion inthat event, finished fourth, just out of the medals.A more powerful display in the pool was shown byDenys Silantiev, who set games records in the 100- and200-meter butterfly.Oddly, in addition to summer sports, this year’sGoodwill Games featured competition in figure skating.Ice dancers Olena Hrushyna and Ruslan Honcharovtook the bronze medal. In men’s figure skating,Yevhenii Pliuta placed eighth.In toto, Ukrainians took home six silver medals, fourbronze and one gold from the Goodwill Games, placingtheir country in a tie for eighth in the overall count.SwimmingAt the World Swimming Championships in Perth,Australia, held on January 8-18, Ukraine’s entrants Ms.Zhupyna and Ms. Serbina won a gold medal each, andthe country’s synchronized diving team took homeanother.Joanne Malar, the Ukrainian Canadian phenom fromHamilton who was hyped prior to the Atlanta Gamesand then suffered from disappointing performances,bounced back this year. At the nationals she claimed her20th Canadian swimming title by winning the women’s400-meter freestyle.The comeback got better at the CommonwealthGames in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 12,when she finished five lengths ahead of her nearestcompetitor in the 400-meter individual medley final,and less than an hour later helped the Canadian 4x200-meter team capture the bronze medal, and later earnedthree more medals. Kelly Stefanyshyn of Winnipegadded a gold (in the 100-meter backstroke) and a silver(behind Ms. Malar in the 400-meter medley).There was an explosion of Ukrainian power fromboth sides of the Atlantic at the amateur (FINA) WorldCup in Edmonton on November 27-28. Ms. Malar wonone gold, one silver and two bronze, Ms. Stefanyshyntook four silvers, while Mr. Silantiev arrived fromZaporizhia to claim a gold and a silver for Ukraine.Fellow Zaporozhian Dmytro Kraevsky competed, butdid no better than fifth in the 100-meter breastroke.Michael Mintenko of Canada (a native of Moose Jaw,Saskatchewan) won bronze in the 50-meter butterfly.Figure skatingIn February, a reader admonished us to “stop focusingon Oksana Baiul” because of the embarrassmentsthe embattled former world champion figure skater wascausing herself and because the hard-drinking competitorhad the habit (seemingly brought on by “Oprah”appearances) of referring to herself as “Russian.” Well,we tried to resist...Ms. Baiul checked in for treatment for alcoholism onMay 7, and cancelled a summer’s worth of appearanceswith the Champions On Ice tour. On November 16, on“Oprah,” she bared her soul about her experiences inrehab. Ms. Baiul also announced that she will make abid to get reinstated for Olympic competition in 2002.Although she again professed to be “Russian,” VictorPetrenko’s erstwhile protégé did not say for whichcountry she intends to compete. On November 18, Ms.Baiul finished second to reigning Olympic ChampionEuropean super-heavyweight boxing championVitalii Klychko.Tara Lipinski in a televised “Ice Wars” skate-off.In the amateur world, Ukraine showed that while itlacks an Oksana Baiul who will dazzle the field, it doeshave a full complement of top-10 competitors in allevents. At the European Championships in Milan, Italy,held on January 11-18, Olena Liashenko finished fourth,and Yulia Lavrenchuk flirted with the top five beforefalling back to 12th. 1996 European ChampionViacheslav Zahorodniuk finished seventh, and 1993winter Dmytro Dmytrenko came in eighth. IrinaRomanova and Ihor Yaroshenko, familiar to those whofollow the sport as one of the more consistent tandemson the circuit, also finished eighth in the ice dance. Inthe pairs, Yevgenia Filonenko and Ihor Marchenko weresixth, ahead of youthful compatriots Yulia Obertas andDmytro PalamarchukIn Nagano, Filonenko and Marchenko were 11th,actually buoyed by some disastrous skating in the ranksabove them. Mr. Zahorodniuk ran into trouble early andcouldn’t rise higher than 10th. Mr. Dmytrenko was alsoprone to falls and finished 14th. Romanova andYaroshenko turned in typically workmanlike performanceand earned a ninth spot.At the World Championships in Minneapolis onMarch 29-April 5, Mr. Zahorodniuk improved to fourth,Mr. Pliuta came ninth, Ms. Lavrenchuk was seventh,and Ms. Liashenko finished one spot ahead of her compatriot.On November 14 in Kamloops, British Columbia,Ms. Liashenko shocked No. 1 seed Irina Slutskaya ofRussia to take the Skate Canada competition, the secondinternational win in her career.On November 25, Obertas and Palamarchuk (age 14and 18, respectively) successfully defended their WorldJunior Championship.Other sporting notes• Vitalii Klychko, brother of Olympic ChampionVolodymyr, won the European super-heavyweight boxingchampionship (the first Ukrainian to do so) onOctober 25 in Hamburg, Germany, over local favoriteMario Schiesser. The victory, the 22nd by knockout inhis career, earned him a shot at the World BoxingOrganization’s world champion Herbie Hide. The fightis tentatively scheduled for the summer of 1999.• This tennis season found Greg Rusedski solidifiedhis status as a top-10 player and on December 16, hewas ranked fifth in the world, building on havingreached the 1997 U.S. Open final. His best performance,which the Montreal-born Ukrainian Canadiancalled “the highlight of my career,” was a straight-set 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over No. 1 ranked PeteSampras of the U.S. in the finals of the Paris Open onNovember 8.This year he was a finalist in the Croatian IndoorsTournament in Split, Croatia (losing to local championGoran Ivanisevic), the Champions Cup at Indian Wells,California (losing to Marcello Rios, who almostdethroned Mr. Sampras as No. 1 at the end of the year)and the Toulouse Open (losing to Jan Siemerink), andwon the European Community Championship inAntwerp, Belgium.• For Andrei Medvedev it wasn’t an entirely disastrousseason, since he had a Swedish Open final (lost toMagnus Gustafsson) to his credit, and he acquitted himselfwell in Davis Cup play, but he finished well downin the rankings (61st), and seems unlikely to threatenfor the top again.• In the summer, Kyiv correspondent RomanWoronowycz asked “Baseball on Independence Day:Could this be Kyiv?” As his report attested, it was. Afocus on Coach Dmytro Matsulevych of the Kyiv-basedAtma Sports Club and his young charges, it gave somebackground on the history of the sport in Ukraine. Thenin the fall, The Weekly carried the second “BaseballJournal” as recorded by Coach Basil Tarasko, recountingthe triumphs and tribulations of “Ukraine Baseball”– Ukraine’s cadet, junior and senior teams. This year,his under-16 charges came to the U.S. for the first time,to play in the AA Youth World Baseball Championshipsnear St. Louis. While mostly overmatched against teamssuch as Chinese Taipei and Korea, they won a gameagainst South Africa to win 11th place in the tournamentand watched Mark McGwire of the Cardinals hit, notone, but two home runs. The cadets finished fourth inthe Pool A European Championships – no medals, butnot a bad performance. The seniors finished fifth inPool B, but U.S.-based schools and scouts (other thanMr. Tarasko) are beginning to sit up and take notice.Aleksiy Gluhiy of Symferopol became the firstUkrainian baseball player to receive a U.S. baseballscholarship (host institution: Lexington College,Kentucky).• Matt Kuchar of Winter Park, Fla., the 1997 U.S.Amateur Champion wowed the golf pros at the Mastersin Augusta, Georgia, in April, kept pace with TigerWoods for a time, and earned a return invitation for nextyear’s tournament. In June he finished 14th overall inthe U.S. Open in San Francisco, attracting intense pressureto turn pro.• In September, Atlanta’s indefatigable popularizer ofUkraine’s Olympic movement, Laryssa BarabashTemple, was appointed by the National OlympicCommittee of Ukraine as its special attaché to theorganizing committee of the Salt Lake City WinterOlympiad in 2002. At the seventh Ukrainian WorldCongress on December 4, Ms. Temple was elected chairof the UWC’s Sports Commission, succeedingVsevolod Sokolyk.For the UNA,a convention yearCertainly the top story for the UNA during 1998was its 34th Convention. For the first time in its104-year history, the Ukrainian NationalAssociation held its convention in Canada. The gatheringin Toronto on May 15-19 – which brought together 227delegates representing UNA branches from across theU.S. and Canada – promised to be one of the most significantin the history of this exemplary fraternal organization.The local Convention Committee, chaired by the Rev.Myron Stasiw, an advisor of the UNA, began meetingback in December of 1997 to make plans for the quadrennialconvention. But the bulk of the work, to be sure, wasat the Home Office in Parsippany, N.J. In February theprocedure of electing delegates was explained in theUNA’s two official publications. In April, The Weeklyand Svoboda published the convention program, as stipulatedin the UNA By-Laws, announced the members ofthree convention committees that are active before theopening gavel (credentials, financial and by-laws), andlisted the names of all delegates and alternates elected bytheir branches as representatives to the convention.The Auditing Committee – composed of StefanHawrysz, William Pastuszek, Stefania Hewryk, AnatoleDoroshenko and Iwan Wynnyk – concluded its weeklongpre-convention review of the fraternal organization’sfinances and activity on March 27 at the UNA CorporateHeadquarters. They were to report their findings to the34th convention.The Auditing Committee’s report was published inThe Weekly on May 31; copies were not made availableto delegates at the convention. In addition to the usual,

30 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWalmost perfunctory, review of the UNA’s various departmentand subsidiaries, the auditors said they were “troubledby the fact that the Executive Committee did notconsider the ramifications of the five-year contract signedin November 1996 with Director of Insurance OperationsRobert Cook, whose annual salary is more than$100,000. The contract does not specify the requirementsof his job.” As well, they reported that the deficit of theUNA’s Canadian office were as follows: 1994 – $314,984; 1994 – $399,022, 1996 – $536,010; 1997 –$412,089. As regards the UNA’s official publications andSoyuzivka, the auditors reported that the deficits for 1997were, respectively, $488,162 and $546,585.Also in the run-up to the convention, in March theUNA’s publication printed the full texts of merger agreementswith the Ukrainian National Aid Association ofAmerica and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association. In thecase of the UNA-UNAAA merger, the documents weresigned by Ulana Diachuk, president, and Martha Lysko,secretary, for the UNA; and Wolodymyr Okipiuk, actingpresident, and Odarka Roberts, secretary, for theUNAAA. As far as the UNA-UFA proposed merger wasconcerned, the UNA president and secretary were the signatories,while UFA officers did not sign the agreement.The 34th Regular Convention of the UNA was a peculiarconclave, foreshadowed in an op-ed piece by Dr.Bohdan Vitvitsky in the March 22 issue of this newspaper.Dr. Vitvitsky noted that it was a mere two monthsbefore the UNA was to convene in Toronto – where delegateswould be electing “the most important officers ofone of the most important institutions in our community”– and “we do not even know who is running.”“Nor do we know the qualifications – and in particular,the managerial qualifications – of those who are running.We know nothing about their views and analyses ofthe current state of the UNA, and, most importantly, weknow nothing about their platforms or their visions forthe future,” he wrote.Indeed, once the convention began, the answer was noclearer. As the primary election – a write-in procedure –was about to take place, the delegates demanded to knowwho was running for what post. As candidates made theirannouncements, delegates learned that the current president,Mrs. Diachuk, would not run for a third term, andthat at least one serious candidate who was expected tobe announced, Auditor Doroshenko, also was not running.That left one candidate for president, and a darkhorse at that, Advisor Roma Hadzewycz, who opted torun only after Mr. Doroshenko declined at the lastminute, who privately cited back-room maneuverings notto his liking.However, as the delegates were filing out of the hall tovote, supporters of Mrs. Diachuk spread the word thatdelegates should write in her name for president after all.Mrs. Diachuk later said she took the write-in tally of 104votes in the primaries as a vote of confidence in her presidencyand reconsidered her decision not to run.The Ukrainian National Association emerged from its34th Convention, the last of this century, with a mandateAndrij Kudla WynnyckyjHonorary Member of the General Assembly Stephen Kuropas Sr. administers the oath of office to the newlyelected General Assembly. Seen from left are: First Vice-President Stefko Kuropas, President Ulana Diachuk,National Secretary Martha Lysko, Second Vice-President Anya Dydyk Petrenko, Treasurer Stefan Kaczarajand Auditor Stefan Hawrysz.to merge with two other Ukrainian fraternal organizations,but with its flagship daily, Svoboda, reduced to aweekly publication, and its Soyuzivka resort’s seasonshortened to only the summer months.The convention voted overwhelmingly to accept theterms of the contracts under which mergers with the UFAand the UNAAA would take place (196-22 in the case ofthe UFA and 192-25 for the UNAAA), but rejected theproposal that the UNA change its name to the UkrainianNational Fraternal Association in order to accommodateUFA demands. In doing so, the convention dismissed suggestionsby Executive Committee members who hadnegotiated the contracts that a refusal of the name changewould endanger the merger. The name change was acceptedby 137 delegates (61.2 percent), and rejected by 87(38.8 percent), thus falling short of the two-thirds majorityrequired to effect a change to the UNA By-Laws.The convention also voted in several by-laws changes,including a provisions stipulating that the UNA secretarywill be referred to as national secretary; an amendmentthat permits questions requiring approval by a conventionto be voted on by mail between regular conventions (suchvotes are to be conducted by a third party to ensure privacyof balloting); and a requirement that all members ofthe General Assembly and all branch secretaries mustsubscribe to one of the UNA’s official publications,The front page of the first issue of the new SvobodaUkrainian-language weekly dated July 3.Svoboda or The Ukrainian Weekly.The most far-reaching proposal passed was the following:“That the General Assembly of the UNA elected atthis convention is hereby directed to prepare a referendumto amend the Charter and By-Laws of the UNA toprovide for a governance structure consisting of an 11-member Board of Directors to be elected by the 35thConvention to conduct the business of the UNA betweenconventions. The Board of Directors shall meet no lessthan quarterly, and shall have the authority to hire theExecutive Committee in such manner as it shall determine.This referendum shall be completed no later thanDecember 31, 1999.”On May 18, the Financial Committee issued its report.The committee was composed of John Gawaluch, chairman,Nicholas Fil, Larissa Hwozdulych, Gloria Paschenand Yaroslav Zaviysky. Aided by the acting treasurer,Stefan Kaczaraj, the committee made several suggestionsto cut the budget. The budget for 1998 submitted inNovember 1997 (which predicted an income of$10,774,000 and $11,024,000 in expenses, resulting in adeficit of $250,000) was submitted for substantial modification,which would take into account the restructuringand downsizing of the UNA’s operations as agreed at theconvention. It was indicated that $300,000 could besaved by shortening the Soyuzivka season to June 1through September 15, and that the deficit created by thedaily Svoboda could be reduced substantially, if not eliminatedtotally, if the newspaper were transformed into aweekly. The Financial Committee’s report, which alsoproposed extending the halt on payment of dividends,engendered the most emotional debate of the convention.On the morning of May 18, delegates voted to rejectthe Finance Committee’s recommendation to makeSvoboda a weekly, by a margin of 121-62. However, laterin the day, the Financial Committee’s request for a reconsiderationof the vote was permitted. Another vote wastaken and the Elections Committee recorded 138 votesfor, 47 against, and 10 abstentions to making Svoboda aweekly. The convention also unanimously voted to adjustSvoboda’s subscription rate to $50 annually for nonmembersand $40 for members, with a provision to creditcurrent subscribers to the daily for the difference in rates.The Ukrainian Weekly’s rate also was adjusted to$50/$40. The changes went into effect on July 1.The Soyuzivka debate also was extensive. The votewas taken, but the numbers were not recorded by theElections Committee, as the chair deemed that a sufficientmajority had indicated they were in favor of themotion to cut the UNA estate’s season to three and a halfmonths. The change was to go into effect for the 1999season.[It should be noted that later in the year, however, theUNA Executive Committee, having taken a serious lookat the figures, decided to keep Soyuzivka open for thebulk of the year, closing it down only in the periodbetween February 1 and April 15.]On May 19, the final day of the conclave, delegates reelectedMrs. Diachuk to a third term as president of thefraternal organization, turning aside a strong challengefrom Advisor Hadzewycz. The vote was 122 for Mrs.Diachuk and 99 for Ms. Hadzewycz.In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Diachuk said, “at theoutset of the convention I was 100 percent certain Iwould not be a candidate [for re-election] ... but only atthe last minute when I saw your desires, your support andyour confidence in me, I decided to continue to lead thisorganization.” The UNA president expressed hope that allin attendance would look back in four years’ time and beproud of what was accomplished at the convention andconfident in the difficult decisions made.Also returning to office were Anya Dydyk-Petrenko,as second vice-president, and Mrs. Lysko as national secretary,both elected by acclamation. Treasurer Kaczaraj,who assumed the office as acting treasurer whenAlexander Blahitka went on medical leave in November1997, was confirmed by acclamation as treasurer.Two-term incumbent Nestor Olesnycky declined tostand for another term as vice-president, making way fora newcomer. Chicago’s Stefko Kuropas was elected firstvice-president to the Executive Committee. At age 33 heis one of the youngest candidates to ever be elected tothis top post and a staunch advocate of refocusing on theUNA’s 104-year fraternal traditions, as well as a vocalcritic of his predecessor.The Rev. Myron Stasiw, chairman of the convention’sorganizing committee, was acclaimed as director forCanada.Mr. Pastuszek, Mr. Hawrysz, Alexander Serafyn, Mr.Zaviysky and Michael Groch (representing Canada) wereelected to the Auditing Committee. However, either Mr.

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 311998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWGroch or Mr. Zaviysky were to step aside when or if theproposed merger with the UFA went through, as the contractof merger stipulated that the UFA would require oneauditor and three advisor positions on the GeneralAssembly.Alexander Chudolij and Taras Szmagala Jr., were thetop vote-getters in the election for the GeneralAssembly’s advisors and both were re-elected. Canada’sTekla Moroz was elected to her seventh consecutiveterm. Also re-elected as advisors were Nick Diakiwsky,Walter Korchynsky and Stephanie Hawryluk.Newcomers were Halyna Kolessa, Dr. Wasyl Szeremetaand Andre Worobec. Albert Kachkowski of Canada wasassured of a place as the UNA By-Laws require twoCanadian advisors, while the newly elected EugeneOscislawski, Barbara Bachynsky and Andrij Skybawould be excused if the merger with the UFA was completed.One month after the UNA convention, the UkrainianFraternal Association concluded its 24th Convention onJune 18, voting against merger with the UkrainianNational Association and re-electing Ivan Oleksyn aspresident. According to the June 25 issue of NarodnaVolya, the weekly newspaper published by the UFA, theproposed merger between the two Ukrainian fraternalorganizations was one of the most important mattersbefore the four-day convention, which was held at thefraternal’s Verkhovyna Resort Center in Glen Spey, N.Y.Narodna Volya reported: “Because the 34thConvention of the UNA, which took place earlier inToronto, rejected the proposed and agreed-upon additionof the word ‘fraternal’ to the name Ukrainian NationalAssociation, which was the most important prerequisitefor the merger of the two fraternals, the 24th Conventionof the Ukrainian Fraternal Association did not approvethe merger with the UNA by a vote of 22 for and 53against; however, the convention did not preclude thepossibility that our fraternal organizations could merge inthe future.”The UNA Executive Committee announced in theJune 5 issue of The Weekly that payment of dividends for1997 was suspended, while underlining that all membersof UNA would continue to receive the guaranteed intereston the accumulated cash value of their certificate, and thecash value will continue to grow as provided by the certificate.Seniors, however, got a special break from theUNA as its was also announced that more than 2,000members who are age 79 or older but continue to paypremiums for their life insurance would receive a fraternaldonation equal to the amount of their annual premium.The due date of their payments was to be posted to ayear after their current date.At the end of June, 22,000 letters were sent from theHome Office to all members who have life insurancepolicies with the UNA. The letter briefly informed themembers about convention resolutions regarding theincrease in fraternal dues and the decrease in subscriptionprices for the UNA’s two newspapers. In the same mailingthe UNA introduced a new membership package,called the UNA Heritage Program, that combines lifeinsurance (with Blue and Gold options that offer $3,000or $10,000, respectively, of life insurance coverage) withaccidental death and membership coverage and a discountcard that entitles holders to special prices on servicessuch as car rentals, hotel accommodations, dental andvision care, etc.The first post-convention meeting of the newly electedExecutive Committee of the UNA was held on Saturday,August 8. President Diachuk greeted and congratulatedthe newly elected executive committee, including Mr.Kuropas, first vice-spresident; the Rev. Stasiw, directorfor Canada; Mrs. Lysko, national secretary; Mr. Kaczaraj,treasurer; and the chairman of the Auditing Committee,Mr. Pastuszek. Ms. Dydyk-Petrenko, second vice-president,was unable to attend.Even before the UNA convention, there were significantchanges at the Svoboda Press. The Svoboda printshop in Jersey City, N.J., was permanently closed downon Thursday, April 16. The decision was announced onFriday, April 10, just as The Weekly’s April 12 issue wasgoing to press.This paper printed a brief notice in the April 17 issue:“This issue of The Ukrainian Weekly is the first to roll offthe presses of a print shop that has been contracted by theUkrainian National Association’s Executive Committeeto print the fraternal organization’s two official publications,Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly. Previously,both newspapers were printed by the UNA-ownedSvoboda Press, whose print shop was located at the fraternal’sformer headquarters building in Jersey City, N.J.The changeover to an outside contractor was announcedRoma HadzewyczGeneral Assembly members, with executive officers seated in the front row, during their extraordinary meetingat Soyuzivka in November.by UNA President Ulana Diachuk on Friday, April 10. Asof Wednesday, April 15, Svoboda and The Weekly arebeing printed and mailed by Redmond Press, located inDenville, N.J. The Svoboda Press print shop has beenclosed down.”Colleagues bid farewell to Svoboda Editor-in-ChiefZenon Snylyk on June 18, who retired effective June 19after more than 36 years of service to publications of theUkrainian National Association –18 years at each of itstwo newspapers – and work on the two-volume Ukraine:A Concise Encyclopedia. Present at the informal gatheringwere Mr. Snylyk’s fellow editors at the Ukrainianlanguagedaily newspaper, members of The UkrainianWeekly editorial and production staffs, the Svoboda printshop and administration.Mr. Snylyk also bid farewell to Svoboda readers andhis co-workers in the Saturday, June 20, issue ofSvoboda: “This is the last time that my name appears aseditor-in-chief of Svoboda in the masthead atop this page.... My retirement is the result of the decision of the 34thConvention of the UNA to change Svoboda to a weekly.Therefore, I do not have the unpleasant duty of writing anepitaph on the gravestone of the Svoboda daily. However,I am obligated to express my thanks to all of you for yoursupport and loyalty during my 36 years and four monthsat the Svoboda Publishing House.”“I extend my sincere thanks for your loyalty, dedicationand cooperation, for your suggestions, advice, supportand readiness to work together in the defense andpopularization of Ukrainianism,” he concluded.The first issue of the Svoboda Ukrainian-languageweekly rolled off the presses on July 1 (bearing the dateof July 3) with a new format and layout, as well as newfeatures. The tabloid bears a new flag (the nameplate atopthe front page), that incorporates the typeface used bySvoboda in 1914-1920. The paper’s editorial referred tothe proud 105-year-old legacy of Svoboda, which weatheredmany difficult times and persevered, continuing topublish out of love for Ukraine and the Ukrainian heritage.Addressing readers, it stated: “Placing into yourhands the first issue of the Ukrainian-language weeklySvoboda, we believe that you will accept it as a worthysuccessor to the daily, that you will support it and willencourage others to do likewise, and that you will ensureits future with your subscriptions.”The new Svoboda weekly’s editorial board comprisedSerhiy Myroniuk, acting editor, and staffers (in alphabeticalorder) Petro Chasto, Chrystyna Ferencevych, HalynaKolessa, Olha Kuzmowycz, Volodymyr Romaniuk andRaisa Rudenko. Mr. Myroniuk was chosen by his colleaguesas their coordinator after Mr. Snylyk hadannounced he was retiring. Mr. Myroniuk, 28, had been amember of the Svoboda editorial staff since 1995. He is asenior majoring in journalism at Rutgers University inNew Brunswick, N.J.Then, in September, a new editor took charge ofSvoboda after Mr. Myroniuk announced that he would nolonger be able to continue as acting editor due to his universitystudies. Soon thereafter, just before Thanksgiving,he left the Svoboda staff. The new Svoboda chief isRaissa Galechko, editor of the humor magazineVsesmikh, based in Toronto. President Diachuk reportedto the UNA General Assembly in November that Mrs.Galechko would soon be signed to a two-year contract.The General Assembly met at an extraordinary sessionat Soyuzivka on November 7-8. As this was a specialmeeting of the 25-member Assembly elected in May, theagenda included only three items: review of UNA operationsfor 1998, approval of the 1999 budget, and reviewof organizing results for 1998 and plans for the comingyear. (During convention years, regular annual meetingsof the General Assembly are not held; the next annualmeeting will take place in November 1999.)Leading off the discussion about UNA operations, Mrs.Diachuk focused on the UNA’s publications, noting thatexpenses for Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly hadbeen reduced by $141,780 during the first nine months ofthe year, while income also was down by $162,877, mostlydue to a decline in subscription income from Svoboda,which was a daily through the end of June and with itstransformation to a weekly lowered its subscription prices.Subscription income increased for The Weekly, however.As regards the number of subscribers to the UNA’s weeklies,Mrs. Diachuk reported that both had now gained subscribersin the period of July through September, after losingreaders during the first half of the year.Mr. Kaczaraj provided a quick overview of the UNA’sbudget for 1999, which foresees income of $6,187,433,disbursements of $6,123,429 and a net profit of $64,004.Certain expenses were not included in the budget provided,he explained. The treasurer forecast a loss on theUNA resort’s operations of $311,747 and emphasizedthat “Soyuzivka will have to save some more money.”Regarding the UNA’s publications, he stated that the conventionhad decided the UNA subsidy to its publicationsshould be $100,000, and added, “We have to stick tothat.”As presented, the budget had allocated $25,000 for theUNA Scholarship Program in 1999. However, afterGeneral Assembly members voiced concern about such alow figure, the sum was upped to $35,000. Another pointof concern was the amount budgeted for salaries ofemployees (not including executive or publications personnel),which was listed at $512,000, down from theprevious year’s level of $1 million. Other issues discussedincluded losses on the UNA’s Toronto sales officeand the UNA’s investments.UNA news in 1998 also included the following.• The theme of the 1998 Ukrainian NationalAssociation Almanac was the 200th anniversary of thepublication of Ivan Kotliarevskyi’s “Eneida,” an eventthat heralded the use and acceptance of Ukrainian as a literarylanguage. The 228-page almanac contained essays,poems, photographs, calendars and advertisements organizedin six sections with several dozen different entries,including articles on the Fourth Universal, the battle ofKruty, Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the diaspora andthe national awakening in Ukraine.

32 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEW• The Gregory Hrushka Award, the UNA’s highesthonor, was presented to several UNA’ers during 1998.Yaroslawa Zorych was presented the award at the UNAConvention in recognition of her role as chief agent inCanada and longtime secretary of Branch 432. The otherHrushka laureates honored at the convention (all inabsentia) were Andrew Jula, former UNA advisor andbranch secretary of Pennsylvania’s largest branch,Branch 161; Helen Olek-Scott, former UNA advisor andformer secretary of Branch 22 in Chicago; Akron, OhiobasedGenevieve Zerebniak, former UNA vice-presidentessand former secretary of Branches 180 and 295;Roman Prypchan, former Branch 399 secretary inChicago; Atanas Slusarchuk, former Branch 174 secretaryin Detroit; and Taras Slevinsky, former secretary ofBranch 59 and district chairman for Connecticut.• The 24th Conference of UNA Seniors was held atSoyuzivka on June 14-19 and the current slate of officers,headed by Dr. Anna Chopek, was unanimously re-elected.The highlight of the week was a trip to the UNAHome Office in Parsippany, N.J. The seniors were cordiallywelcomed by UNA execs and had an opportunityto meet with The Ukrainian Weekly and Svoboda staff, aswell as employees of the UNA. During their conferencethe seniors raised $1,000, which was earmarked forSoyuzivka projects and sent to the Ukrainian NationalFoundation. Next year the UNA Seniors Association willcelebrate its 25th anniversary.• On June 21 the UNA celebrated its 14th annualFathers’ Day at Soyuzivka. Some 500 guests visitedSoyuzivka during the weekend and about 400 filled theVeselka auditorium. The concert featured two acts fromMontreal, the Troyanda Ukrainian dance ensemble andflamenco guitar soloist Andrey Kutash, as well as LiubaShchibchik, lyric soprano from Kyiv, accompanied bypianist Oksana Revliuk Protenic.• The Ukrainian National Association’s ScholarshipCommittee awarded the 1998-1999 UNA Scholarshipstotaling $52,550 to 195 undergraduate students.Meeting on June 29, the committee reviewed 237 applications.The grants to 195 students – among them sixspecial memorial scholarships and five scholarshipsfunded by the Ukrainian National Home Corp. ofBlackstone, Mass. – were allocated as follows: one at$2,000, five at $750, nine at $500, 13 at $400, 102 at$300 and 65 at $100. A special issue of The UkrainianWeekly devoted to the 1998-1999 UNA scholars waspublished in December.• Soyuzivka, the UNA’s upstate New York resortkicked off its 44th summer season during theIndependence Day weekend, July 3-5. The seasonincluded the usual complement of camps ranging frompre-schoolers’ day camps (“Tabir Ptashat” run by thePlast Ukrainian youth organization and Chemney’s FunCenter) to tennis camp, boys’ and girls’ camps, and aUkrainian dance workshop. As well there were sportscompetitions in tennis and swimming – including thenational championships held during the Labor Dayweekend.• Miss Soyuzivka 1999 was selected on August 15.She is 23-year-old Renata Kosc of Cleveland, an activemember of Plast and the Orlykivtsi Plast group. Shedirected her own radio program geared towards promotingUkrainian culture to non-Ukrainians. Miss Kosc is aRhodes Scholar finalist, took part in the InternationalHumanitarian Law Competition and is an honors graduateof Case Western Reserve University in economics andpolitical science. If the Kosc name sounds familiar, it’sbecause her sister Tanya was Miss Soyuzivka 1997.Runners up were Daria Loun and Marianna German, whotied for second place, and Martha Tatarevich who tookthird place.• The Ukrainian National Association’s EnglishTeachers for Ukraine Program and Summer Institute onCurrent Methods and Practices in TESOL (Teachers ofEnglish to Speakers of Other Languages) continued in1998, marking their seventh and sixth anniversaries,respectively.• The UNA once again published Christmas cards aspart of its fund-raising campaign for the UkrainianNational Foundation, a tax-exempt non-profit corporationcreated by the UNA to support educational, charitable,religious and scholarly projects. This year’s traditionalChristmas theme was chosen from among originals submittedto the Home Office in response to an ad inSvoboda. Original works selected for this year’s cards areby 10 contemporary artists from Ukraine, Canada and theU.S.: Marta Anna, Petro Holovatyi, Danylo Koshtura,Zenowia Kulynych, Vitaliy Lytvyn, Luba Maksymchuk,Natalka, Myron Ruzhyla, Yurij Trytjak and IreneTwerdochlib.The noteworthy:people and eventsSome major happenings and achievements defyeasy categorization, ergo this section, the noteworthy– people and events – of 1998 (listed inchronological order).• Manor Junior College celebrated its 50th anniversarybetween September 1997 and May of this year. TheUkrainian sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Greatfounded the college in 1947 as St. Macrina College.Their goal was to establish an institution of higher educationthat would reflect Basilian educational teachingsand offer a place where young Ukrainian women couldobtain an education while preserving their Ukrainianculture. Today, Manor Junior college has some 650 fullandpart-time students. The college offers career-oriented,two-year associate degrees, as well as transfer programsfor the purpose of obtaining a baccalaureatedegree through its three divisions: Liberal Arts; AlliedHealth, Science and Math; and Business. In all, thereare 14 programs with 13 majors leading to associatedegrees, six certificate programs, one diploma programand a transfer program. The Professional DevelopmentDepartment supports the non-traditional student byoffering part-time day, evening and summer classes aswell as non-credit and professional development workshopsand seminars geared to the community needs.Manor Junior College maintains a Ukrainian HeritageStudies Center that promotes Ukrainian heritage andarts through its academic programs, museum collectionand archives.• After his historic flight aboard the U.S. space shuttleColumbia, Ukrainian cosmonaut Leonid Kadenyukand his back-up, Yaroslav Pustovyi, visited Ukrainiancommunities in Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia,Houston, New York and Newark, N.J., in early 1998.Independent Ukraine’s first space-faring cosmonaut,Col. Kadenyuk, flew aboard the Columbia fromNovember 19 to December 5, 1997, as a payload specialist.While in space he conducted various experimentsto study the effects of microgravity on plantgrowth. His 16-day flight aboard the American spaceshuttle has been hailed as a symbol of the expandingstrategic partnership between the United States andUkraine. Col. Kadenyuk told the audience gathered atSt. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School whathe took into space aboard the shuttle: a Ukrainian flag;a portrait of Ukraine’s greatest poet, TarasShevchenko, and a copy of his Kobzar; and recordingsof Ukrainian songs sung by famous Ukrainian artistssuch as Anatolii Solovianenko, Dmytro Hnatiuk, SofiaRotaru and others; as well as a recording of theUkrainian national anthem, “Sche Ne VmerlaUkraina.” Dr. Pustovyi emphasized, first of all, that“Ukraine and the cosmos have always been connected.”He listed three Ukrainians who made immeasura-ble contributions to space exploration: MykolaKybalchych (1853-1881), an inventor, foresaw spaceflight and developed the idea of jet propulsion; YuriiKondratiuk (1897-1941/1942), a scientist and inventor,was a pioneer in rocketry and space technology whocame up with the concept of multi-stage rockets;Serhii Korolov (1907-1966), an aeronautical engineer,designed the first Soviet guided missiles and spacecraft.He also noted that Pavlo Popovych, a Ukrainian,became the USSR’s fourth cosmonaut in 1962. Thus,he said, it can be said that Ukraine always was aspace-faring country. This space shuttle flight by Col.Kadenyuk, he continued, is “Ukraine’s return to thecosmos.”• Longwood College senior Raissa Czemerynski, atherapeutic recreation major, was one of 20 studentsnationwide selected to USA Today’s 1998 All-USACollege Academic First Team. Nearly 1,200 undergraduatesnationally were nominated for the 1998 awards.The winners were invited to an awards luncheon onFebruary 13 at USA Today headquarters in Arlington,Va., and were featured that day in a two-page color sectionof the newspaper, “saluting the best and the brightest.”A check for $2,500 and a trophy were presented toeach student. Ms. Czemerynski was accompanied byher parents, and several professors. Ms. Czemerynski,21, is a Longwood Scholar; a member of the college’shonors program, Phi Kappa Phi national honor society,and Mortar Board, an honorary leadership society; and aformer president of the Therapeutic RecreationOrganization. Ms. Czemerynski organized and partlyfinanced a three-week internship last summer at LvivRegional Specialized Children’s Hospital in Ukraine toconduct therapeutic recreation activities with childrenage 8-10 who suffer health consequences as a result ofthe Chornobyl nuclear disaster.• John Demjanjuk regained his U.S. citizenship,thanks to a February 20 ruling by a federal judge whoreversed his 1981 denaturalization, citing fraud on thepart of U.S. government prosecutors. Judge Paul R.Matia of the U.S. District Court for the NorthernDistrict of Ohio, Eastern Division, wrote that attorneysof 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 evidence to the Demjanjukdefense. Ed Nishnic, spokesman for the Demjanjukfamily, said: “We are thankful for the court and its rulingfor reinstatement of Mr. Demjanjuk’s citizenship.We’re carefully reviewing this decision and decidingon what our next steps will be.” Mr. Nishnic, who is ason-in-law of Mr. Demjanjuk, also said: “This is welcomenews to the family. This has been a 21-year legalnightmare, and when we got word of the decision itwas like waking up after the nightmare. Now we areback to an even playing field.” Judge Matia cited aNovember 1993 ruling in the extradition portion of theDemjanjuk case, in which the 6th Circuit Court ofAppeals held that “the OSI attorneys acted with reck-Among the noteworthy in 1998 were a Ukrainian cosmonaut,Leonid Kadenyuk (left), who visited severalcities in the U.S. in 1998 following his late 1997 flighton the U.S. space shuttle, and a Ukrainian Americanastronaut, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper (above), whoawaits her turn to go into space.

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 331998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWless disregard for the truth and for the government’sobligation to take no steps that prevent an adversaryfrom presenting his case fully and fairly. This wasfraud on the court in the circumstances of this casewhere, by recklessly assuming Demjanjuk’s guilt, theyfailed to observe their obligation to produce exculpatorymaterials requested by Demjanjuk.” Referring tonew examples of evidence not disclosed to the defense– information that was revealed in this proceeding –Judge Matia wrote, “this behavior constitutes furtherfraud upon the court.” The new information includesdocumentation referring to a February 1980 interviewwith Jacob Reimer, an ethnic German who served as aclerical official at Trawniki, and the DorofeevProtocols received from the USSR in 1980, whichinclude the statements of five Soviet citizens whoserved at Trawniki. In vacating the denaturalizationorder of June 23, 1981, Judge Matia also consideredwhether any sanctions should be applied. There weretwo possibilities: dismissing the case with prejudice, ordismissing it without prejudice. Judge Matia chose todismiss the case without prejudice, which means thatthe U.S. government could reopen a case seeking torevoke Mr. Demjanjuk’s citizenship. If he had dismissedthe case with prejudice, the government wouldhave been prevented from reopening any denaturalizationproceeding against Mr. Demjanjuk.• Ukraine’s new permanent representative to theUnited Nations, Volodymyr Yurievych Yelchenko, waswelcomed at the Ukrainian National Home on February22, during an informal dinner given by the Ukrainiancommunity to greet and honor him as ambassadorextraordinary and plenipotentiary of Ukraine. Mr.Yelchenko said that much work still needs to be done bythe Ukrainian representation at the U.N. during theGeneral Assembly’s present session, including the creationof favorable conditions for Ukraine’s election tothe Security Council as a non-permanent member forthe years 2000-2001, which will be voted on during theGeneral Assembly’s 54th session. Ukraine has been anon-permanent member of the Security Council twicebefore – in 1948-1949 and 1984-1985 – years when thepossibilities for independent activity on the part ofUkrainian diplomats were restricted, explainedAmbassador Yelchenko. At age 39, Mr. Yelchenko isserving his second tour of duty with the PermanentMission of Ukraine to the United Nations. He served assecond secretary of the Ukrainian Mission from 1986 to1992. Mr. Yelchenko became the permanent representativeof Ukraine to the U.N. last October, succeedingAnatolii Zlenko, who was named Ukraine’s ambassadorto France.• The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UnitedNations commemorated its 40th anniversary on March27 at an afternoon reception at the Mission for 150guests, including U.N. diplomats, representatives of theU.N. Secretariat, U.S. businesspeople and representativesof Ukrainian American organizations. AlthoughUkraine was one of the 51 original member-nations tothe United Nations and a signatory on the UnitedNations Charter at its founding conference in SanFrancisco in 1945, the government of Ukraine did notestablish its Permanent Mission at the U.N. headquartersuntil March 24, 1958. At a press conference heldon March 13, Ukraine’s 10th ambassador to the U.N.,Mr. Yelchenko noted Ukraine’s consistent participationin U.N. activities, beginning with the efforts ofUkraine’s first delegation, headed by DmytroManuilsky, towards drafting the U.N. Charter, to thepresent day, when Ukraine’s Minister of ForeignAffairs Hennadii Udovenko holds the top post at theU.N. General Assembly. During its 52 years as a member-stateof the U.N., Ukraine has belonged to manykey U.N. committees and currently has membership innearly 100 U.N. bodies, specialized agencies and committees.Since proclaiming its independence in 1991,Ukraine consistently has been among the top countriesto participate in U.N. peacekeeping missions aroundthe globe, sending 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers to participatein nine out of 17 U.N. missions. Last yearUkraine’s U.N. contribution totaled more than $28 million,making Ukraine the 12th largest contributor to theorganization.• Elected on March 29, Roman Zvarych became thefirst member of the Ukrainian Parliament, theVerkhovna Rada, to have been born in the U.S. Earlierhe had scored another first when he became the firstAmerican citizen to take Ukrainian citizenship, whichhe did in 1995. Mr. Zvarych, 45, whose parents wereborn in Ukraine but were forced to move to the Westduring World War II, was born in Yonkers, N.Y., in1953, and lived in the New York area until 1990, whenhe moved to Ukraine. He renounced his U.S. citizenshipin 1993. Mr. Zvarych, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy,taught at Columbia University and was an active memberof Ukrainian Liberation Front organizations whilehe lived in New York. In Ukraine he headed the Centerfor Democratic Reform before being elected a nationaldeputy. He is a member of the Rukh faction in theVerkhovna Rada.• St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral School inParma, Ohio, celebrated its 50th jubilee with a dinnerand ball held at the Astrodome, the parish hall, onSaturday, April 25. Over 500 alumni and guests attendedthe beautifully appointed affair. A tribute to theschool was presented by three eighth grade students,after which guests joined in singing “A Hymn to St.Josaphat.” Bishop Robert Moskal presented plaquesexpressing appreciation to the Rt. Rev. MichaelRewtiuk, who as pastor is sponsor of St. JosaphatUkrainian Catholic Cathedral School. Special recognitionwas granted by Bishop Robert to the Rev. AndrewHanowsky for his accomplishments as administrator ofSt. Josaphat School and to Sister Miriam Claire OSBM,school principal.• When asked what they aspire to do in the future,few 36-year-old women reply “I want to do a spacewalk.” Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper, however, is an exceptionto the rule. In April, Ms. Stefanyshyn-Piper completedtwo years of training and evaluation at theJohnson Space Center in Houston and is now officiallya NASA astronaut. Ms. Stefanyshyn-Piper currentlyserves as a member of the Astronaut Support PersonnelTeam at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Sheeagerly awaits a flight assignment, and hopes to completea space walk with a division of the EVA (ExtraVehicular Activities) at the International Space Station,a new orbiting space station that is being funded by theU.S. and built by Russia. The space station will bereceiving its first astronauts in the summer of 1999.Since Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, Ms.Stefanyshyn-Piper has been fascinated with the prospectof space exploration. Initially, however, she did nothave plans to become an astronaut. At theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, where sheearned her B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering,she joined the Naval ROTC in the hopes of becoming ajet pilot. A failed eye exam prevented her dreams fromcoming to fruition and led to a career holding variousposts in Navy salvage and diving operations. Ms.Stefanyshyn-Piper was born and raised in St. Paul,Minn., where she belonged to St. Constantine UkrainianCatholic Church. She was a member of Plast and a localUkrainian dance ensemble.• Cmdr. Stephen L. Szyszka of the U.S. Navyassumed the duties of commanding officer of the USSHenry M. Jackson as of June 26. Prior to his command,Cmdr. Szyszka completed a two-year assignment as theU.S. naval attaché to Ukraine (1995-1997), as executiveofficer of the USS Henry M. Jackson (1993-1994), asexecutive officer of the USS Henry L. Stimson (1992-1993) and as combat systems officer on the USS Dallas(1988-1991). The USS Henry M. Jackson is the fifth ofthe Navy’s 18 nuclear-powered Ohio-class submarines.The Ohio class, at 560 feet long and almost 19,000 tonsdisplacement, is the largest submarine ever built by theUnited States and is capable of speeds of over 20 knotsand depths of more than 800 feet. The crew consists ofapproximately 157 officers and enlisted sailors. Each ofthese ships is capable of carrying up to 24 submarinelaunchedballistic missiles (SLBMs). Cmdr. Szyszka, anative of Buffalo, N.Y., is active in Plast and its OrdenKhrestonostsiv fraternity.• Behind the Blue Sky-VIFX (FOX) special effectsstudio doors, Marian Rudnyk, 32, spent a year and ahalf creating convincing illusions of a world-famousshipwreck. In James Cameron’s “Titanic,” simulatedbreathing, depiction of the ship’s immense engine room,and the creation of an astronomically correct sky wereamong the special effects that utilized Mr. Rudnyk’sexpertise, we reported in our July 5 issue. Visual effectsand digital animation aided in the authentic portrayal ofthe fateful night of the ship’s sinking. Perhaps the mostappropriate project aboard the “Titanic” for Mr. Rudnykwas the research and precise recreation of the sky thatappeared on April 14, 1912. He was well-equipped toperform the historical research of the stars due to hisvaried past career experiences. Prior to his work in specialeffects animation, Mr. Rudnyk had worked as anastronomer and planetary photogeologist at NASA’s JetPropulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. During his 10 yearsat NASA, Mr. Rudnyk charted and named over 200Leaders of the “Discover Ukraine” yachting expedition:Dmytro Birioukovitch (right) and Roman Maliarchuk.asteroids. He named the first asteroid he discovered“4601 Ludkewycz,” in honor of his mother, whosemaiden name is Ludkewycz. Following federal budgetcuts in 1994, Mr. Rudnyk’s days at NASA ended and hebegan cultivating his artistic talents by taking classes atthe American Animation Institute. In January of 1997,Mr. Rudnyk enrolled in a federal program to retrain displacedaerospace workers to enter the entertainmentfield; the next thing he knew, his career had movedfrom asteroid hunting to special effects animation inwhat was to become the blockbuster hit, “Titanic.” Mr.Rudnyk was born and raised in Monrovia, Calif., wherehe attended Ukrainian school and was a member ofPlast. Marian’s grandfather, Evhen Ludkewycz, was thefounder of Plast in California.• On July 15 the Ukrainian American BroadcastingCo. (UABC) announced that DIRECTV, America’slargest direct satellite system provider, had begunbroadcasting Ukrainian television programs over its network,and that an agreement had been signed for distributionof the Ukrainian Broadcasting Network (UBN).“For Ukrainian Americans, this agreement means thatmembers of our community can for the first time watchtelevision programs from Ukraine and about Ukrainianson their home television sets at any time they wish,”commented Ihor Dlaboha, general manager of the UBN.The Ukrainian Broadcasting Network also offers a 24-hour-per-day daily Ukrainian Radio Service, featuringprograms of the National Radio Company of Ukraine,as well as original radio programming reflecting the lifeof the Ukrainian diaspora. Mr. Dlaboha noted that byproviding television and radio programs from bothUkraine and the diaspora, the UABC “hopes to becomethe primary medium of Ukrainian information andentertainment on the North American continent.”UABC is an affiliate of the Ethnic-AmericanBroadcasting Co., the leading distributor of foreign-languageprogramming in North America, as well as a producerof such programming.• After 30 years in the military, Col. Donald W.Hrynyshyn retired on July 17, at which time he was promotedto rank of brigadier general. Brig. Gen. DonaldW. Hrynyshyn was awarded the Legion of Merit medal(among other awards) at his retirement ceremony. Brig.Gen. Hrynyshyn began his military career as a secondlieutenant in June 1968 upon receiving his commissionthrough the Reserve Officer Training Corps program atthe University of Delaware. He served in various positionsin the United States and Korea, and most recently

34 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEW“The Founding of Kyiv,” Ukraine’s first ever Europa entry, was awarded the 1998 Heorhiy Narbut Prize forbest philatelic design of 1997.was director of personnel and deputy commander of theState Area Command in Delaware. Brig. Gen.Hrynyshyn is the son of the Very Rev. and Mrs. PaulHrynyshyn. The Very Rev. Hrynyshyn is pastor of Ss.Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church inWilmington, Del.• In August The Weekly reported on an excitingyachting expedition dubbed “Discover Ukraine,”which would take a crew of sailors and some VIPguests on a round-the-world voyage on two 25-meteryachts, one the schooner Batkivschyna and the otherthe brigantine Pochaina. Dmytro Birioukovitch, 59,who owns the two vessels, and his partner, RomanMaliarchuk, 34, who owns a travel agency in Kyiv,decided that they could let the world know aboutUkraine and further their own sailing interests by sailingaround the globe in Mr. Birioukovitch’s two vesselsand acting as goodwill ambassadors for Ukraine.The expedition plans 90 ports of call during its fiveyearjourney. At each port, crew members will set up apavilion with information on Ukraine, its history,geography, natural resources, industries, investmentpossibilities and agricultural potential. Mr. Maliarchuksaid the emphasis will be on getting information aboutUkraine out to the general public. “The governmentsof the world may know about Ukraine, but the averageperson doesn’t,” said Mr. Maliarchuk. Mr.Birioukovitch, who will captain the voyage of the twosailing vessels, is a civil engineer and master yachtsmanin Kyiv. Along with his two older brothers, hasbeen building ships with Ferro-cement hulls since1960. The planned voyage has received the support ofUkraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will clearthe way for entrance into the territorial waters of thecountries and ports at which the two vessels will makecalls, and the Embassy of Argentina in Ukraine, whichhas already extended a formal invitation for a visit bythe Discover Ukraine expedition, whose ambassador istracking the development of the effort. If all goes well,i.e., if funding is in place, Mr. Birioukovitch plans tobegin his journey in May of 1999. “We would like tobe in the United States for a major sailing regatta tomark U.S. Independence Day in the year 2000,” hesaid.• At a reception at the Embassy of Ukraine inWashington, held on the occasion of UkrainianIndependence Day on August 24, in the presence ofU.S. officials, diplomats, businesspeople and membersof the Ukrainian American community, AmbassadorYuri Shcherbak also honored a longtime executiveofficer of the Ukrainian National Association,Wolodymyr Sochan, with the Ukrainian President’sAward for Merit medal. Presenting the award,Ambassador Shcherbak noted that it was in recogni-tion of Mr. Sochan’s “personal contribution in promotingUkrainian-U.S. cooperation and his activities inUkrainian American institutions for many years.” Mr.Sochan, now an honorary member of the UkrainianNational Association General Assembly, retired fromthe fraternal organization’s Executive Committee in1994 after 45 years of service at the UNA, including28 years as supreme secretary. He is a former memberof the Secretariat of the Presidium of the UkrainianWorld Congress and was a member of the initiativegroup that laid the groundwork for the establishmentof the World Congress of Free Ukrainians. Mr. Sochanis also a vice-president of the Ukrainian AmericanCoordinating Council and is member of the board ofdirectors of the Coordinating Committee to AidUkraine, which he helped found. Mr. Sochan was theUNA representative at the World Forum of Ukrainiansheld in Kyiv in 1992 and 1997, and, somewhat earlier,was the UNA’s representative to Ukrainian CongressCommittee of America.• The 53rd session of the United Nations GeneralAssembly convened on September 9, electing Dr.Didier Opertti of Uruguay as the new president of theGeneral Assembly and ending the one-year term ofUkraine’s diplomat, Mr. Udovenko. The new presidentpraised Mr. Udovenko’s tenure as one in which greatprogress had been made in implementing U.N. reforms,a goal that Mr. Udovenko had set for himself at thebeginning of his term. Similar praise was offered byU.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Mr. Udovenkohad given his closing remarks at the final plenary of the52nd session on September 8. Ukraine’s PermanentMission to the U.N. hosted a farewell reception for Mr.Udovenko at the Mission on September 16. Ukraine’sambassador to the U.N., Mr. Yelchenko, saidAmbassador Udovenko, who is greatly admired by hisdiplomatic colleagues, received numerous accoladesduring the reception for his efforts in pushing forwardthe U.N. reform process.• A Crimean Tatar activist, Mustafa Jemilev, 55,received the 1998 Nansen Medal in recognition of hisoutstanding efforts to help Crimean Tatars reintegrate intheir native Ukraine. United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata presentedthe medal to Mr. Jemilev “for his commitment to theright of return of the Crimean Tatar people” at anOctober 5 ceremony in Geneva at the Palais desNations. In 1961, at the age of 19, Mr. Jemilev joinedthe Union of Young Crimean Tatars and the peacefulstruggle for recognition of the rights of the deportedCrimean Tatar population. His name is also inextricablylinked to the Soviet dissident movement. In 1969, withAndrei Sakharov and other human rights activists, heco-founded the Initiative Group for the Defense ofHuman Rights in the USSR. For 20 years between 1966and 1986, he lived alternately under surveillance, inhard-labor camps, in forced exile and in Soviet prisons.While still in exile, Mr. Jemilev committed himself todefend the basic rights of his people. In 1987 he waselected to the Central Initiative Group of CrimeanTatars, and in May 1989 he was chosen to head thenewly founded Crimean Tatar National Movement. Thatsame year he returned to Crimea with his family, spearheadingthe return of more than 250,000 Tatars to theirhomeland. As president of the Council of CrimeanTatars (the Mejlis) and as a member of the UkrainianParliament, Mr. Jemilev has worked tirelessly side byside with UNHCR to help tens of thousands of Tatars toresettle in Crimea, to obtain Ukrainian citizenship andto uphold their basic rights. The Nansen Medal, awardedfor exceptional service to the cause of refugees, isnamed after the Norwegian diplomat and explorerFridtjof Nansen, the first high commissioner forrefugees under the League of Nations. The prize wasestablished to focus attention on refugees and to rallyinternational support for the plight of forcibly displacedpeople. The Nansen Committee, which is chaired byHigh Commissioner Ogata, consists of representativesof the governments of Norway and Switzerland, theCouncil of Europe, and the International Council ofVoluntary Agencies.• For four days, on October 6-9, 74 Ukrainian golfersfrom the U.S., Australia, Great Britain and Canada competedin the Inaugural Ukrainian World Golf Challengeon four of South Florida’s best courses in the FortLauderdale area. The 28-man Australian contingent wasvictorious, defeating the U.S. by a wide margin on thefinal day. Forty golfers represented the Ukrainian GolfAssociation of America; three each came from Englandand Canada. This was the third competition between theU.S. and Australia, which began in the early 1990s afterstories appeared in The Ukrainian Weekly and telephonecontact was made by the officials of both organizations.Four years ago the golfers met in Hawaii,where the Australians were victorious. Two years agothe U.S. group visited Australia and won the cup. Nowthe competition has become a worldwide event.England will host the Ukrainian World Golf Challengein 2001.• The 1998 Heorhiy Narbut Prize for the bestUkrainian philatelic design of 1997 went to Ukraine’sbold stamp design for its first ever Europa entry.Europa issues are special annual releases of one or afew stamps produced by most European countries on aspecific topic. Last year’s theme was “History andLegends” and Ukraine’s entry, in the form of a twostampsouvenir sheet, depicted “The Founding ofKyiv” by the siblings Kyi, Schek, Khoryv and Lybidas related in the chronicle “Povist Vremennykh Lit”(Tale of Bygone Years). Europa issues as a souvenirsheet are a bit unusual, but Ukraine Post went a stepfurther and reproduced the entire founding legend inmicroprint as a design feature along the sheet border.The inspired portrayal by winning artists V. Taran andO. Haruk also depicts scenes from the Povist chroniclealong the top and bottom, and intricate design motifsalong the sides. Dr. Ingert Kuzych is the prize initiatorand donator of the monetary gift that accompanies theaward, presented annually since 1993. A news storyabout this year’s Narbut Prize appeared in our October11 issue.• The Ukrainian Technological Society on November28 presented its 1998 Ukrainian of the Year Award toDr. Lubomyr T. Romankiw, IBM fellow and head of theCenter for Electrochemical Technology andMicrofabrication at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson ResearchCenter, in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Dr. Romankiw has47 patents and 130 published inventions, and has writtenfour book chapters and more than 130 scientificpapers. One of his major technology applications is thereader head that makes it possible to store and accessvast quantities of information on any computer harddrive. As a member of the Ukrainian community, Dr.Romankiw was elevated to the position of chief scout ofPlast, the highest honor bestowed by this Ukrainianyouth organization. Dr. Romankiw fostered participationof Plast in the World Organization of the ScoutMovement based in Geneva. Dr. Romankiw is a memberof the Shevchenko Scientific Society (where he hasserved on the executive board since 1989) and of theUkrainian Engineering Society. In 1995-1998 he was amember of the board of directors of the EnvironmentalEducation Technology Transfer Program, which hehelped organize between the University of Connecticutand Ukraine.

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 351998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWWe mourntheir passingDuring 1998 we mourned the passing of bishopsand clergymen, scholars and artists, leadingmembers of the community, and other prominentindividuals. Among them were the following.• The Rev. Protopresbyter Volodymyr Bazylevsky,94, longtime pastor of St. Volodymyr UkrainianOrthodox Cathedral in New York – December 22, 1977.• Zynoviy Sokoliuk, 72, prorector and dean of theUkrainian Free University, and former officer of theUkrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – Munich, Germany,January 2.• Valentina Pereyaslavec, 90, prima ballerina ofmajor theaters of opera and ballet in Ukraine, choreographer,faculty member at the American Ballet TheatreSchool in New York, and coach and teacher to worldrenowneddancers – Woodside, N.Y., January 4.• Maria Savchak, 78, former president of theUkrainian National Women’s League of America, andmember of the executive board of The UkrainianMuseum in New York, Ukrainian community activistwho held various important positions at the UkrainianNational Association – Brooklyn, N.Y., January 8.• Dr. Rosalie Waskul-Kapustij, professor of historyand Ukrainian community activist, former president ofthe Ukrainian Graduates of Detroit and Windsor, instrumentalin organizing the national Federation ofUkrainian American Business and ProfessionalOrganizations – Sterling Heights, Mich., January 14.• William Boytchuk, 75, Toronto city councilman andcommunity activist – Hallandale, Fla., January 22.• Sister Mary Jerome Roman, 88, a Sister of theOrder of St. Basil the Great, former educator and firstpresident of Manor Junior College – Fox Chase Manor,Pa., January 27.• Bishop Paisiy, former bishop of South America andbishop emeritus of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church ofthe U.S.A. – Minneapolis, February 3.• Marie Halun Bloch, 88, former economist with theU.S. Department of Labor and award-winning author ofbooks for children – Cambridge, Mass., February 7.• Dr. Zenovia Sochor Parry, 54, scholar and leadingexpert on Ukrainian politics; professor of governmentand international relations, Clark University; researchassociate at the Ukrainian Research Institute and theDavis Center for Russian Studies of Harvard University– Southborough, Mass., February 9.• Neonila Steckiw, 77, Ukrainian community activistin area of cultural affairs and director of the RidnaShkola, the school of Ukrainian studies, in Buffalo –Sarasota, Fla., March 10.• Anne K. Dubas, 80, accountant and banker, and formerUkrainian National Association Advisor – LanokaHarbor, N.J., March 26.• Kvitka (Kacey) Cisyk, 44, popular singer ofUkrainian folk songs and voice for commercial spotsfor leading U.S. products and institutions – New York,March 29.• Bishop Teodor Majkowycz, 66, the first bishop ofthe Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Wroclaw-Gdansk,Poland – May 9.• Dr. Teodozia Sawyckyj, 80, social worker and communityactivist, honorary member of UkrainianNational Women’s League of America – Riverside,Conn., May 9.• Dr. Bohdan Struminski, 68, Harvard-based scholar,specialist in Ukrainian, Polish and Old Slavic historicallinguistics; editor and translator; scholarly consultant tothe Hrushevsky Translation Project and translator of thethird and seventh volumes of the “History of Ukraine-Rus’ ” – Arlington, Mass., June 23.• Claudia Olesnicki, 92, social worker and leadingmember of the Ukrainian National Women’s League ofAmerica – St. Louis, Mo., July 2.• Dr. Oleksandra Kopach, 85, pioneer in Ukrainiainsecondary school education in Canada, writer andscholar – Toronto, July 12.• Mykola Lebed, 88, top-level leader of theOrganization of Ukrainian Nationalists of the inter-warand war period, and general secretary of the ExternalRepresentation of the Ukrainian Supreme LiberationCouncil – Pittsburgh, July 19.• Walter Klawsnik, past national commander of theUkrainian American Veterans, and former president ofUkrainian National Association Branch 325 – Bayside,N.Y., July 24.• Nina Strokata, 72, microbiologist, noted activist ofthe Ukrainian human rights movement and a formerSoviet political prisoner – Baltimore, August 2.• Jaroslaw Padoch, 89, lawyer and leading member ofthe Ukrainian American community who held top positionsin the Plast scouting organization, the UkrainianNational Association and the Shevchenko ScientificSociety in the U.S. – New York, August 28.• The Rev. Petro Borys Tereshkovych Bilaniuk, 66,prominent Ukrainian Catholic theologian and clergyman,leading authority on the theology and history ofthe Eastern Christian Churches; professor at the departmentof theology and religious studies, St. Michael’sCollege, University of Toronto – Toronto, September 8.• Dr. Bohdan R. Bociurkiw, 73, distinguished scholar,specialist in Soviet and post-Soviet politics, with a specialinterest in Soviet religious policy, particularly inUkraine; author of “The Ukrainian Greek-CatholicChurch and the Soviet State (1939-1950),” published in1996; professor of political science and founding director,Institute of Soviet and East European Studies, atCarleton University; and one of the founders of theCanadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies; member of theCanadian Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee in theDepartment of the Secretary of State (1973-1979) andconsultant to several ministers of state for multiculturalism– Ottawa, October 1.• Bohdan T. Hnatiuk, 83, aeronautical engineer andconsultant, professor emeritus at Drexel University,auditor of the Ukrainian National Association and honorarymember of the UNA General Assembly – MerionPark, Pa., November 28.• Irene Czajkowskyj, 81, honorary member of theUkrainian National Women’s League of America, activemember of the Plast scouting organization, in westernUkraine (Vykhovna Spilka Ukrainskoyi Molodi) andsubsequently in the U.S., member of the Ti Scho HrebliRvut Plast Sorority – Clifton, N.J., December 6.At The Weekly,life goes on...When last we wrote, The Ukrainian Weekly wasa mere 64 years old. This year we turned 65.Certainly an age considered respectable ...It was a year full of departures and new beginnings, adifficult year for those of us who remained on theabbreviated staff of The Ukrainian Weekly – and stillmanaged to put out issues each and every week containingan amazing 1,406 articles.We bid farewell to our colleague Khristina Lew onJanuary 23, her last day with the UNA’s English-languagepublication. Ms. Lew resigned from TheWeekly’s editorial staff to take on the position of directorof public relations for “Focus: Ukraine,” a get-thevote-outeffort in Ukraine led by the UkrainianCongress Committee of America and funded by theU.S. Agency for International Development through theEurasia Foundation. Ms. Lew had joined The Weeklystaff on November 26, 1990. Three months later shewas named an assistant editor at the paper. In theNovember of 1991, while on a three-week leave fromThe Weekly, Ms. Lew participated in the “Aktyv Voli”campaign in Ukraine’s eastern oblasts, which wasaimed at promoting support for Ukrainian independencein preparation for the December 1, 1991, referendum.Ms. Lew served three tours of duty at the UkrainianNational Association’s Kyiv Press Bureau: Augustthrough October 1992, July through September 1995and mid-July through August 1997.Due to cutbacks mandated by our publisher, we werenever allowed to fill the vacancy created by Ms. Lew’sdeparture. Thus, we were down to two and a half staffersin Parsippany, one in Kyiv and one in Toronto.Our April 12 issue was the last in a long line ofWeeklies published at the UNA’s Jersey City facility,located in what was once the Ukrainian NationalAssociation’s headquarters building; it was the last to beprinted on the UNA’s own Goss offset press. The firstrun off that press was The Weekly’s November 15,1975, issue – then still a four-page broadsheet edition –soon after the press had been installed in the UNA’sthen new headquarters building at 30 Montgomery St.Later, the Ukrainian-language Svoboda began to beprinted daily on that press. (It wasn’t until May 26,1976, that the editorial staffs of Svoboda and TheWeekly moved into the new 15-story building from theprevious UNA building located a few blocks away atFront page of The Ukrainian Weekly’s 65th anniversaryissue dated October 4, 1998.81-83 Grand St.) Those same offset presses were theones that printed The Ukrainian Weekly’s first 16-pagetabloid issue dated July 4, 1976. Later, with the installationof a third Goss unit on December 17, 1991 (our giftthat year from St. Nicholas, we mused in our yearendissue), that press printed our first 20-page issue datedFebruary 2, 1992, and the first 24-pager dated May 17,1992.But the shutdown of the Svoboda print shop for uswas also a story of the people who worked there formany years – in particular the four employees of theprinting and expedition operations who were laid off asa result of the closing. We wrote: “The shutdown of theSvoboda Press print shop marks the end of an era.Therefore, it is fitting that we say a quiet thank you tothe many hard-working and dedicated employees whosaw to it that the UNA’s publications were printed andsent to faithful readers around the globe.”1998 was also the year we marked the sad demise ofthe Svoboda Ukrainian-language daily newspaper, up tothen prestigiously known as “the oldest and largest continuouslypublished Ukrainian-language daily in theworld.”As we explained in our June 28 editorial, “as of July1 the Svoboda daily is no more. The reasons for itsdemise are complex. The easiest way to explain thedecrease in its frequency from a daily (published fivetimes per week) to a weekly is to simply cite the decisionmade by the recently concluded 34th RegularConvention of the Ukrainian National Association. Itwas claimed that the main financial drain on the UNAwere its publications; that due to financial considerationsthe UNA could no longer sustain a daily.”As Svoboda stood on the threshold of a new beginning,we took a look back at that newspaper’s unparalleledrecord of service. From its very inception onSeptember 15, 1893, Svoboda was a builder and initiator.As one former editor-in-chief, Anthony Dragan,wrote: “In the beginning was the word.” Indeed,already in its fourth issue, Svoboda, which billeditself as the people’s newspaper, called for the establishmentof a national organization to serve as theprotector and benefactor of our community. Less thanfour months later the Ruskyi Narodnyi Soyuz (whichlater became the Ukrainskyi Narodnyi Soyuz) wasborn.Svoboda also was an enlightener. It promoted educationamong the people, encouraged their politicalinvolvement in American life and raised their nationalconsciousness. It was Svoboda, according to immigrationhistorian Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, that forged theUkrainian national identity in America.The paper was a crusader as well. It promotedUkrainian national aspirations and fought for Ukraine’sindependence, revealed the truth about the GreatFamine, spoke out for displaced persons followingWorld War II and defended the independence newly

36 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 521998: THE YEAR IN REVIEWregained during this decade. It spearheaded the campaignsfor a Taras Shevchenko monument inWashington and the establishment of Ukrainian studiesat Harvard University, and it was an advocate forrepressed and persecuted Ukrainian activists for human,national and religious rights.And, as our communities lost their geographic cohesiveness,Svoboda became our network. It kept us intouch with one another. It kept us informed about developmentsboth in Ukraine and in our diaspora, as well ascloser to home. It gave us a forum to share our achievementsand losses, our good news and bad.Svoboda Editor-in-Chief Zenon Snylyk, who retiredafter 18 years in that position and 18 years prior to thatas editor of The Ukrainian Weekly, understood full wellthe great import of the Svoboda daily. He knew thatSvoboda’s role was to serve the community and theUkrainian nation, and that these were his “imperatives”as its editor-in-chief. He knew that the Ukrainian-languagedaily was a fraternal benefit crucial to the UNA’svery identity as a fraternal organization, that Svobodawas its public countenance, that in the eyes of the publicSvoboda and the UNA were one and the same. He alsoknew what his illustrious predecessors knew: thatthrough Svoboda the UNA supported our communityand our nation.As the Svoboda daily completed its last press run onJune 30, we bid it adieu.As the new Svoboda weekly appeared on July 1,marking a new phase in the life of this proud newspaper,we wished our sister publication well.At The Weekly we tried to introduce some innovationsthis year. For example, we started off the year witha series called “Doing Business in Ukraine” written byRoman Woronowycz of our Kyiv Press Bureau. Sensingthat there still was not enough in our paper about thebusiness world, in October we introduced a new featurewhich we dubbed “Business in Brief.” On December 13we introduced a new monthly column, “Focus onPhilately” written by Dr. Ingert Kuzych.As this year was a year of parliamentary elections inUkraine, Mr. Woronowycz filed a series of candidateprofiles in an attempt to depict the diversity of the politicalspectrum that existed at that point in time inUkraine. He and our colleagues Yarema Bachynsky,R.L. Chomiak and Marta Dyczok filed reports on theelections from places as far-ranging as Kharkiv,Symferopol, Lviv and Radekhiv.Our second annual pre-summer supplement, “AUkrainian Summer” published on June 7, gave our readerssome ideas about “where to go, what to do ...,”including a new tourist destination being billed as“Kalyna Country” in western Canada.In August, we celebrated the seventh anniversary ofUkraine’s independence along with the rest of theUkrainian world. Our special issue on that occasiontook a different approach this year, publishing personalreflections on independent Ukraine as well as focusingon the Ukrainian public’s perceptions.Our Toronto bureau, in the person of AndrijWynnyckyj, was especially busy in the last quarter ofthe year, what with the Ukrainian Canadian Congressconclave in Winnipeg in October and then the seventhconvocation of the Ukrainian World Congress inToronto in December. (We think Andrij is still diggingout from under his papers ...)Meanwhile, at the home office, we kept IreneJarosewich busy on the Church beat. covering majorChurch events, doing interviews, and gathering news onthe Sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of theU.S.A. (because no press was allowed to be present atthe sessions) ... besides all her regular duties. IkaKoznarska Casanova, kept busy as our arts editor.Thank goodness for our stalwart production staff:Awilda Rolon and Serge Polishchuk. (Pity they nolonger give Stakhanov awards ...)And then, of course, there are our loyal regular correspondents:Yaro Bihun in Washington, Chris Guly inOttawa, our columnists (Dr. Kuropas, AndrewFedynsky, Orysia Paszczak Tracz, Helen Smindak, IhorStelmach) and commentators, and numerous freelancersand community activists who have a specialconnection to this newspaper. What would we do withoutthem?Proof that Weekly editors never really leave TheWeekly came repeatedly during the year. And that ishow we gained a Disney World correspondent, NataliaWarren, who kept us posted concerning developments atEPCOT over the proposed Ukrainian Pavilion. Ms.Warren, then Ms. Dmytrijuk, was on The Weekly staffin 1984-1985.Since this was our 65th anniversary year, we prepared atwo-page spread in our October 4 issue to mark that milestone.We published an editorial headlined “Continuing themission 65 years later”; focused on the founding of TheWeekly in our “Turning the pages back ...” feature; reprintedUNA Supreme President Nicholas Murashko’s statementthat announced the premiere issue of The Weekly onOctober 6, 1933; announced the unveiling of The Weekly’scollection of materials about the Great Famine located onour official website, (http://www.ukrweekly.com/); andprinted The Weekly Questionnaire, which asked for readersto evaluate the newspaper’s contents and performance.(More on the questionnaire in early 1999 when weannounce the results of our tabulation of readers’responses ...)Soon thereafter Editor-in-Chief Roma Hadzerwyczreceived an anniversary greeting from Ukraine’sambassador to the United States, Dr. Yuri Shcherbak,who stated: “Thanks to the professionalism of youreditors and reporters, you are the first to report onmany events in the life of the Ukrainian community inthe United States and Canada. Through its effectiveand analytical work, your publication attracts theattention of officials of the U.S. administration andCongress. You have established strong communicationswith representatives of the Ukrainian governmentat the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington. Thepages of The Ukrainian Weekly publicize profounddiscussions of the most significant topics in the historyof the Ukrainian nation, both in the homeland andabroad. ... The newspaper has earned for itself manytrue friends, who at any moment could be organizedinto a Society of Friends of The Ukrainian Weekly.For the future, we wish The Weekly much creativesuccess, a high level of authoritativeness and a greaternumber of readers – not only in North America butalso in Ukraine.”Getting back to our website, The Ukrainian WeeklyArchive was originally unveiled with 3,300 articles onApril 6. On August 21 we announced that our site on theWorldwide Web, then containing 3,853 articles, had movedto its new official site at http://www.ukrweekly.com/.The website, which now contains more than 4,000articles, is dedicated to archival materials published inthe newspaper since its founding in 1933, among themThe Ukrainian Weekly’s inaugural issue dated October6, 1933, two issues devoted to the 1960 visit of NikitaKhrushchev to the U.S., the special issue published onthe occasion of the 10th anniversary of the UkrainianHelsinki Group (1986), and special issues dedicated tothe 50th (1983) and the 60th (1993) anniversaries ofThe Ukrainian Weekly and the centennial of theUkrainian National Association (1994).Year-in-review issues of The Weekly from the years1976-1997 (and the “Decade in Review” published atthe end of 1979), as well as issues reporting on theChornobyl accident (1986), Ukraine’s declaration ofsovereignty (1990), its proclamation of independenceand national referendum on independence (both 1991)also are found on the archive site. The archive also containsexcerpts of top stories published each week in1998, and full texts of all issues published in 1996 and1997. All sections of the site are searchable. The site isprepared by the newspaper’s editorial and productionstaffs.As already mentioned, the website was expanded onthe occasion of our 65th anniversary to include a specialsection on the Famine – the largest collection ofmaterials on the Internet dedicated to the Great Famineof 1932-1933 in Ukraine. The special section includesa chronology of the Famine years, eyewitnessaccounts, editorials, media reports, stories about observancesof the Famine’s 50th anniversary in 1983,scholarly articles, interviews with journalists whoreported on the Famine, transcripts of testimony on theFamine commission bill ultimately passed by the U.S.Congress, texts of statements before the U.S.Commission on the Ukraine Famine, references andother documentation, as well as the full text of TheUkrainian Weekly’s special issue on the Great Faminepublished on March 20, 1983.In addition to our anniversary, another milestone thisyear was our first 28-page issue, published onNovember 8. But that pales in comparison to this issue– the largest we’ve ever printed at a whopping andweighty 44 pages!Dear Readers: You may wonder at this point why wewould even want to produce such a huge issue given thesmall size of our staff. The answer is to be found in our65th anniversary editorial. Simply stated, the paper wasborn with a dual mission: “to keep Ukrainian AmericanCover page of “A Ukrainian Summer,” supplement toThe Ukrainian Weekly’s June 7, 1998, issue.youth involved in the Ukrainian community and to tellthe world the truth about Ukraine.” That mission hasbeen expanded through the years, but its core is thesame: commitment to our communities in the UnitedStates and Canada, and to Ukraine.As we explained to readers on the occasion of ouranniversary:“We pride ourselves on the fact that we have beenfaithfully serving readers for 65 years by covering newsand issues of concern to our community, and serving asa forum for the exchange of ideas and as a newspaper ofrecord. ... During the course of six and a half decadesour community and its members have undergonetremendous changes, and The Weekly has grown andmatured with them. It has changed to meet the needs ofnew generations – all the while continuing to work forthe Ukrainian commonweal.”During this anniversary year we asked: “Where dowe see ourselves at 65 and beyond?”And we answered without hesitation: “Continuing asthe voice of our community and as a purveyor of informationabout Ukraine and Ukrainians wherever theymay be. As long as there’s a Ukrainian community, TheUkrainian Weekly will have a raison d’être.”* * *P.S.: As in past holiday seasons, this year, at thetime of the writing of this mammoth yearend issue,we received a special delivery from Bill and DoziaPastuszek. Our sincere thanks to them for providingsustenance to the hard-working staffers at TheWeekly. Thanks also to our faithful readers and correspondentswho took the time to send us Christmasgreetings.Now we would like to take some time to thank all ofyou, Dear Readers, for being there, for reading, forcommenting on our paper.May your Christmas season be joyous and may theNew Year, 1999, bring you good fortune, good healthand good news!Author, authorThe materials in this special end-of-the-year sectionof The Ukrainian Weekly were prepared by oureditorial staff at our home office in Parsippany, N.J.,Editor-in-Chief Roma Hadzewycz, and Editors IreneJarosewich and Ika Koznarska Casanova; EditorRoman Woronowycz of our Kyiv Press Bureau;Editor Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj of our Toronto PressBureau; our Washington correspondent, Yaro Bihun;and our Ottawa correspondent, Christopher Guly. Ourregular contributor Dr. David R. Marples of theUniversity of Alberta provided an analysis of theGreat Famine of 1932-1933.

No. 52Tkachenko, in Moscow...(Continued from page 1)firmed that in Moscow he had called for acommon economic space with Russia andBelarus. However, he categorically deniedhe had spoken about reviving the USSR.“When I talk about a common economicspace [with Russia and Belarus] this iscompletely different from another SovietUnion,” Mr. Tkachenko said.He added that he is sure the people ofthe three Slavic nations will support theidea of a common economic space, aswell as a common currency. “I am surethat Russians and Ukrainians would supportthe common economic space and thecreation of a common currency,” he said.In Moscow Mr. Tkachenko also hadpromised Mr. Seleznyov that theUkrainian Parliament in January will jointhe Interparliamentary Assembly of theCommonwealth of Independent States(CIS), despite very strong oppositionfrom the centrist and right-wing factionsin Verkhovna Rada.“That is correct – Ukraine will join theInterparliamentary Assembly in January1999. I spoke with President LeonidKuchma and Prime Minister ValeriiPustovoitenko before the visit and theypromised to support this idea,” Mr.Ukraine’s new...(Continued from page 1)the Ukrainian American community andMr. Buteiko. “But they will be more businesslike,with less camaraderie,” he said.Mr. Gawdiak said there was nothing inwhat Ambassador Buteiko said thatevening which would suggest anyimpending problems between him andthe Ukrainian American community.UNA President Ulana Diachuk said she,too, expects good relations between theUkrainian American community and thenew envoy. “But we have to understand onething,” she added. “He represents the interestsof Ukraine, and we represent the interestsof Ukrainian Americans. And we do nothave to agree with him on every point.”As for Ambassador Buteiko’s presentationand responses to questions, she said,“We could subscribe to everything that hesaid tonight. But there may be instances inthe future when we will disagree with theTHE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 37Tkachenko said.But right-wing and centrist Ukrainianparties and their parliamentary factions havedeclared that any ideas about a union orjoining the Interparliamentary Assemblywill never be supported by their deputies.They said such proposals are dangerousfor Ukrainian independence and threatenUkraine’s sovereignty, pushing Kyiv todependence on its northern neighbors.Leaders of most Ukrainian democratic,centrist and right-wing parties, such asRukh, the Reform and Order Party, andthe National Democratic Party, signed astatement condemning anti-Ukrainianideas and demanded that he be replacedas Rada chairman.Commenting about Ukraine’s membershipin the Interparliamentary Assembly,Roman Besmertny, President Kuchma’srepresentative in Parliament, said that Mr.Tkachenko’s declarations could destroycooperation among President Kuchma, hisgovernment and the Verkhovna Rada.Oleksander Iliashkevych, a member ofthe Hromada faction in Parliament, said,“Mr. Tkachenko is running very resolutelyfor president, using his post [as Radachairman]. ...I think President Kuchmahas already understood he made a mistakein accepting Mr. Tkachenko as thechairman of the Parliament.”position of Ukraine, which he represents.And we have to accept that fact,” she added.The UNA president said she liked thepoint he made about how the younger generationgrowing up in Ukraine today iscompletely different from the older generationand that, ultimately, this new generationwill raise Ukraine to its heights.“In the meantime, we have to persevereas the older generation, which isholding back political and economicprogress in Ukraine, slowly is replaced,”Mrs. Diachuk said.Representing the largest UkrainianAmerican professionals organization, TheWashington Group, President OrestDeychakiwsky described Mr. Buteiko as a“very impressive figure, ... one of the chiefarchitects of Ukraine’s pro-Western policy.”He said the new ambassador’s firstexchange with Ukrainian American leaderswas productive. “We got a sense ofhow he approaches issues, how hethinks,” Mr. Deychakiwsky said.Air UkraineÄ‚¥aΥ̥fl ì͇ªÌËTHE ONLY NON-STOP SERVICE BETWEENNORTH AMERICA AND UKRAINETUESDAY, FRIDAY AND SUNDAY FLIGHTS TONew York – KyivNew York – Lviv – Kyiv• Flying time is 4 hours faster than any other airline• Highly qualified pilots• Excellent service with traditional Ukrainian hospitalityand great meals on board• Day-time and evening flights from JFK-New York1-800-UKRAINE (1-800-857-2463)or contact your travel agent.For arrival and departure informationcall (718) 656-9896, (718) 632-6909Air Ukraine551 Fifth Ave., Suite 1002, 1005New York, NY 10176Cargo Shipping:Air Ukraine - Cargo2307 Coney Island Ave. (Ave. T), Brooklyn, NY 11223tel.: 718-376-1023, fax: 718-376-1073Are you still reading your mother’s copy ofThe Ukrainian Weekly?Kuchma predicts...(Continued from page 1)win the presidential elections next year,”said Mr. Pynzenyk, who quit the governmentlast year after accusing it of not beingtruly dedicated to economic reform.Ivan Zayets, a leader of the Rukh Party,added at the press conference announcingthe union that it is open to other democraticallyoriented political parties.Taras Stetskiv, head of Lviv branch ofthe National Democratic Party, whosebest-known member is Prime MinisterValerii Pustovoitenko and which sides withPresident Kuchma on most issues, said hisparty is discussing the possibility of joiningthe Rukh-Reform and Order coalition.“The union of Rukh and the Reform andOrder Party is an extremely positive eventfor Ukraine, and I expect that a few othercentrist parties, including the NationalDemocratic Party, might join the union,”said Mr. Stetskiv. “This coalition is the realopponent to the left’s re-entrenchment inUkraine – not Kuchma,” he added.President Kuchma faces uncertain timesbecause both left- and right-wing politicalparties blame the him for the country’sunsuccessful economic policies. Both sidesaccuse the president of doing too little tosteer the former Soviet republic out of itsprolonged economic slump – one that hasbeen aggravated by the spill-over effects ofthe crisis gripping neighboring Russia.Some leftists have resisted attemptingto topple the current government beforepresidential elections to avoid sharing theblame for the economic situation.President Kuchma has said that he wouldinvite Communists to form a governmentif the current Pustovoitenko-led Cabinetof Ministers is forced to resign.The president and his government facegrave problems, including payment ofmore than $2 billion in arrears to workersand pensioners who have gone withoutpay for months, and finding a way torepay domestic and foreign debts. Averagemonthly wages are equivalent to $60,while pensions range from $15 to $17.President Kuchma also suggested at thepress conference with regional press representativesthat the president’s constitutionalright to issue economic decrees – a temporaryprovision in the 1996 Constitutionthat is to expire in June 1999 – should beextended for another five years.The president said he is considering callinga national referendum to make the neededconstitutional change and other possibleamendment. “I do not see any other way inthe future but to hold an all-Ukrainian referendumon major articles of Ukraine’sConstitution,” said Mr. Kuchma.Among the amendments he proposed is aprovision to replace Ukraine’s single-chamberVerkhovna Rada, whose Communistledleadership has blocked much ofPresident Kuchma’s economic reform legislation,with a bicameral body.How adult of you.For $40 a year, you can have your own.Then your children will have something to read.SUBSCRIPTIONNAME: __________________________________________________________________________________NAME: (please type or print)ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________________________CITY: _______________________________________________ STATE: _________ ZIP CODE: _____________PHONE NUMBER (Optional) ____________________________________________❏ UNA member subscription price — $40.00/yr.UNA Branch number _________________________Mail to: Subscription Department,The Ukrainian Weekly,2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280,Parsippany, NJ 07054❏ Non-member subscription price — $50.00/yr.

38 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLYC A L L ( 9 7 3 ) 2 9 2 -Ukrainian ProjectInternational Development Corporationproudly presentsthe Shezabi collection OnlineUNIQUE ARTCRAFTS FROM UKRAINELIMITED EDITION AND ORIGINAL BATIK PAINTINGS14K GOLD AND STERLING SILVERCUSTOM HANDMADE UKRAINIAN JEWELRYPETSKYSVisit our unique and exciting website:www.Ukrainianproject.comFIRST QUALITYUKRAINIAN TRADITIONAL-STYLEMONUMENTSSERVING NY/NJ/CT REGION CEMETERIESOBLASTMEMORIALSP.O. BOX 746Chester, NY 10918914-469-4247BILINGUAL HOME APPOINTMENTSFOR SALE13.60 acres above Soyuzivka,picturesque view,ready to build.Call (302) 378-5353Need a back issue?If you’d like to obtain a back issue ofThe Ukrainian Weekly, send $2 per copy(first-class postage included) to:Administration, The Ukrainian Weekly,2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280,Parsippany, NJ 07054.Planning a trip toUKRAINE?PersonalizedTravel Service atReasonable Rates•VISAS•HOTELS•MEALS••TRANSFERS•GUIDES••AIR TICKETS••CARS WITH DRIVERS••INTERPRETERS••SIGHTSEEING•LANDMARK, LTDtoll free (800) 832-1789DC/MD/VA (703) 941-6180fax (703) 941-7587FLOWERSDelivered in Ukraine1-800-832-1789Landmark, Ltd.FOR SALE1.75 acres wooded lotwith lake privilegein Glen Spey, N.Y. near Verkhovyna.Call (302) 378-5353“New Figures, New Faces”exhibit to open in Torontoby Yuriy DiakunchakTORONTO – The art exhibit “NewFigures, New Faces” will open at theUkrainian Canadian Art Foundation inToronto on December 27 and runs untilJanuary 27, 1999. The exhibit, curated byToronto artist Petro Lopata, will showcasethe talents of young, mostly Canadian,artists of Ukrainian heritage.According to Mr. Lopata’s missionstatement, the show is an attempt to takethe pulse of contemporary figures and portraiturebeing created by young Ukrainianartists. It reads: “This may give us aglimpse, albeit in embryonic form, of whatto expect in the art of the early portion ofthe new millennium.”Mr. Lopata has been working on gettingyoung artists together, in fits and starts,over the past few years. In 1997 he helpedorganize an exhibit titled “Young Art:Lviv-Toronto” at the UCAF, which showcasedartists from Canada and Ukraine. Healso participated in “Rising Stars ofUkraine and Canada” in Charlotte, N.C.that same year, and other group shows inearlier years.“‘New Figures, New Faces’ has beengerminating in the back of my head for awhile now because of the other shows thatI have done,” said Mr. Lopata in a recentinterview. “One of the defects of previousshows I put together was this lack of acommon thread running through theworks, other than that the artists wereyoung and Ukrainian,” said the 25-yearoldMr. Lopata.“One thing that bugs me about groupshows is when they lack a thematic consistency.It turns into a store setting, whereeverything is ‘commodified.’ There’s nopoint to the show except to sell stuff. ‘NewFigures, New Faces’ not only connects thetheme of the show, but also describes thepeople participating,” Mr. Lopata said.As the title of the new show suggests, itwill focus on the human face and figure.“The figure has been a source of inspirationsince the Venus of Willendorf 30,000years ago,” the curator said. “Running allthrough art history there is this thread offigurative art ... from the Scythian “baby”[found in the Ukrainian steppes] – all theway to the New Realists in the 1990s,”said Mr. Lopata.According to its organizer, the show’sname has a double meaning. It serves as ageneral description of the art to be shown,but also refers to the artists themselves.Most of them will be new to many galleryvisitors. “One thing I was trying to achievewith this show is find those people notknown to the Ukrainian art-going public inToronto,” Mr. Lopata said. “In a way I ambringing them back into the fold.”In part, the “New Faces” curator seesthe show as a response from youth to thequestion of the future of the Ukrainiancommunity in the coming millennium, atopic currently being debated in NorthAmerica. “I can say for Toronto, we aredoing okay. You don’t have to worry aboutUkrainian art dying out here,” he noted.Mr. Lopata said he hopes the show willhelp strengthen the community as a wholeby supporting emerging talent, at the sametime he hopes to give the artists “firm footingwithin the profoundly uncertain artbusiness ... by providing them with exposureto the public at large ... and the potentialfor financial reward.”Mr. Lopata began organizing thisshow by mailing out some 700 pamphletsto galleries, art schools, museums andUkrainian organizations across NorthAmerica. Half of the pamphlets went tonon-Ukrainian organizations in the hopeof reaching young Ukrainians who arenot actively involved in the community.He received responses from as far awayas Brazil.Only one artist from the United Stateswill be at the show, which narrows thefocus of the show to a mostly Canadianexhibit. “To be honest with you, I was hopingfor a better response from the States,”the organizer said. “I haven’t gotten manyresponses, even though most of my informationpackets went there.”Other problems included initial hostilityfrom the the UCAF board. “As soon as Iapproached UCAF to do this, there wasalready some of the older generation saying‘Oh, look at the big curator!’ ” But thatsentiment passed quickly and now Mr.Lopata said these erstwhile critics wanthim to join their organization, theUkrainian Association of Visual Artists ofCanada, to inject some fresh blood.Mr. Lopata also said he worries hisshow may fall victim to the UCAF boardfour-person Art Committee’s recent proposalto reserve final say over any paintingsincluded in exhibits at the UCAF.The curator is worried that a piece bymulti-media artist Roman Lysiak maydraw the ire of the committee. RomanLysiak’s untitled mixed media work – abox with five slides on metal runners –requires its audience to interact with thework by pulling the slides out. “Instead ofthe normal, static dialogue with a work ofart, in which the only physical occurrenceis the viewer’s bombardment with patternsof light and color,” Mr. Lopata explained,“the viewer becomes an actual kinetic participantin the process of the work’sunfolding and is met with a startling finalimage that breaks down notions of prejudiceand comments on the frailty of humanexpectations.”That said, he fears the committee willfind the piece inappropriate for the gallerybecause it is so far removed from the typicalvisual art displayed there.Though Mr. Lopata provided $500 ofhis own funds to start the mail-outs, he hassince received a $2,200 grant from theShevchenko Foundation through theUkrainian Canadian Congress Torontobranch. The grant money will be used toprint a catalogue of the works exhibitedand will include biographical sketches ofparticipating artists.Artists whose work is slated to appearin the show include Mr. Lysiak, holographistMiroslawa Betlej, painter MarkoKoropecky, print maker OksanaMovchan, photographer Terry Pidsany,woodworker and painter Ihor Polischuk,photographer Vitali Pozdniakov, painterMarina Pribytkov and painter ChristinaYarmol, all from Toronto. Also participatingwill be painter Andrij Korchynskyfrom Philadelphia, textile artist BarryGoodman from Montréal, painter JanetPrebushewsky-Danyliuk from Saskatoonand painter Nazar Hrytzkiv currentlyfrom Prague.Messrs. Hrytzkiv, Pozdniakov,Korchynsky and Polischuk, Ms. Movchanand Ms. Pribytkov are originally fromUkraine. Ms. Betlej is originally fromPoland.Give the gift that will last a whole year.Order a gift subscription to The Ukrainian Weekly.For information please call: (973) 292-9800 (Ext. 3042)

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 39Drama anthologies presented in Philadelphiaby Dr. Jaroslaw ZalipskyPHILADELPHIA – A presentation oftwo anthologies of Ukrainian drama,compiled and edited by Larissa M.L.Z.Onyshkevych, was held on October 17 atthe Ukrainian Educational and CulturalCenter.The event was sponsored jointly bythe Philadelphia chapter of theShevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh)and Branch 43 of the Ukrainian NationalWomen’s League of America.The two anthologies, published inUkrainian are “The Twins Shall MeetAgain: An Anthology of Ukranian Drama inthe Diaspora” (Kyiv/Lviv, Chas publishers,1997) and “An Anthology of ModernUkrainian Drama” (Edmonton, CanadianInstitute of Ukrainian Studies, 1998), whichgives an overview of Ukrainian drama fromthe turn of the century up to the 1990s.The program was opened by AnnaMaksymovych, president of UNWLABranch 43, who introduced Dr.Onyshkevych and briefly spoke of the significanceof her work, while Svoboda editorOlha Kuzmowycz, who chaired the program,spoke of Dr. Onyshkevych as anNTSh and Plast activist.Prof. Leonid Rudnytzky of LaSalleUniversity and NTSh president, spoke ofDr. Onyshkevych’s scholarly achievementsand the significance of the 1997anthology. Prof. Hanna Chumachenko ofthe Kherson Pedagogical Institute, currentlya Fulbright scholar at the HarrimanInstitute, considered the two anthologiesin terms of their significance for the studyand understanding of Ukrainian literature.The last presentation was by Dr.Onyshkevych, who in discussing theUkrainian drama of the disapora, gave anoverview of the three waves of playwrights,the main attributes of theirplays, and the balancing factor they providedto literature in Ukraine by beingattuned to current Western literary trends.Dr. Onyshkevych also referred to themodernist and post-modernist aspects ofthe plays in both anthologies.Dr. Onyshkevych, a graduate of theUniversity of Pennsylvania, is past presidentof the Princeton Research Forum andexecutive vice-president of the ShevchenkoScientific Society. She is the author ofnumerous articles and reviews onUkrainian literature, especially drama;author and editor of five books, amongthem “Existentialism in Modern UkrainianDrama” and “Lytsar Neabsurdnykh Idei:Borys Antonenko Davydovych”; and coeditorof five compilations, including achapter on Ukrainian poetry in “ShiftingBorders: East European Poetries of the1980s” (Rutherford, N.J., FairleighDickinson University, 1993) and “Essayson Ukrainian Orthography and Language”(New York, NTSh, 1997).As a Fulbright senior scholar she taughtlast fall at the Ivan Franko Lviv StateUniversity, where her anthology ofUkrainian drama in the diaspora was presented.The work was received with widespreadinterest and acknowledgment as animportant contribution to the field.Taking part in a musical interlude to theliterary program were Prof. YaropolkLassowsky of Clarion University and Dr.Daria Lassowsky Nebesh.Ludmyla Chaikowska, organizer of theentertainment program, took the opportunityto introduce to the public formeractors of the Ukrainian stage who werepresent in the audience.The program was closed by Dr. JaroslawZalipsky, president of the Philadelphiabranch of NTSh.(For the New York presentation of Dr.Onyshkevych’s anthology of drama of theUkrainian diaspora, see Tania Keis’s articlein the April 5 issue of The Weekly.)Established 1893 Established 1933Advertising Contractwith SVOBODAwith THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLYTHE UKRAINIAN WEEKLYPUBLISHED BY THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION INC.2200 Route 10, P.O. 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40 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 52NORTHERNNEW JERSEYDISTRICT OF THEUKRAINIAN NATIONALASSOCIATION, INC., ★ INVITESAll children with their family and friendsto a traditional “YALYNKA” – CHRISTMAS PARTYOn ★ Saturday ★ January 16, 1999 ★ 3:00 p.m.At the new corporate headquarters of theUKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION★ 2200 ROUTE 10 ★ PARSIPPANY ★ NJ ★JOINAPROGRAMOFCAROLSSNACKSSURPRISESFree admissionSaskatchewan Premier...(Continued from page 3)Canadians, I have such a faith in thefuture of Ukraine.Our nations, though they are separatedby vast distances of land and sea, arejoined – by the bonds of history andshared experiences. And our futures arelikewise joined, by bonds of commonaspirations, our shared dream.We know very well that the Ukrainianpeople have always been able to makethings grow, as they’ve proved from timeimmemorial. They’ve done so in Ukraine,they’ve done so in Canada – and everywhereelse they have had the chance to putplow into soil. And just as that Canadiansoil was sown with hope and dreams ofUkrainian immigrants, so too canUkrainian soil be fertile ground for theseeds of tolerance, freedom and respect –the seeds of hope and democracy!Ukraine faces challenges, of course.But the truth is that all countries aroundthe world are subject to stresses andstrains, and Canada has its share.On Monday of this week, a separatistprovincial government was re-elected inthe province of Quebec.It is a testament to the strength ofCanadian democracy – and to the fundamentalstrength of the unity of this country– that this can happen in the calm,serene manner that it did.It is also a testament to the continuingattachment of Quebeckers to Canada that57 percent of them voted for parties whodo not favor any more referendums on separation.The overwhelming majority ofQuebeckers confirm this view in publicopinion polls. A healthy and growingmajority indicate they would vote to keepCanada united if a referendum was held.Provincial governments outlined whatwe mean by this in a declaration signed byall federalist premiers in Calgary a yearago. The first phase to implement theCalgary Declaration is to affirm andstrengthen Canada’s social union – thesocial programs through which we expressshared Canadian values of compassion andcommunity. It’s time to get back to work.It’s time for serious, good-faith negotiationsbetween the federal government andthe provinces over the social union. It’stime for real, forthright negotiationsinvolving appropriate give-and-take.Here is what we should not do.We should not be boxed into a rigid,inflexible negotiating posture designed tofail. Nor should we be boxed in to a rigid,inflexible timetable designed to fail.Canada is one of the world’s greatachievements. I have every faith that wewill find the road through our distempersand our disputes, in the quiet, incremental,consensus-building way this countrywas built.I believe we can do it.I believe that we can collectively createthe winning conditions for Canada.To me, that means building a better,stronger, more cooperative federation, inwhich all governments work together inthe interests of citizens. And we can startby successfully completing our negotiationson the new social union for Canada.And I have faith that the resilient,hard-working people of Ukraine canmeet and beat their own daunting challengesto become a prosperous andpeaceable member of the democraticcommunity of nations.I believe we can do it – and I believeUkrainians can do it. Friends, PrimeMinister Laurier once advised Canadians,“to let hope in our future be the pillar offire to guide us.” In Ukraine, you haveused hope as your torch throughout thistumultuous decade.I believe in the future. I believe in thefuture of the Canada-Ukraine partnership.And I believe in the future of a free, democraticand proud Ukraine. Thank youvery much. God bless Ukraine, and Godbless Canada.YEVSHANDistributor of fine Ukrainian products - Cassettes, Compactdiscs - Videos - Language tapes & Dictionaries - Computerfonts for PC & MAC - Imported Icons - Ukrainian Stationery- Cookbooks - Food parcels to UkraineCall for a free catalog1-800-265-9858VISA - MASTERCARD - AMEX ACCEPTEDFAX ORDERS ACCEPTED (514) 630-9960BOX 325, BEACONSFIELD, QUEBECCANADA - H9W 5T8WEST ARKA2282 Bloor St. W., Toronto, Ont., Canada M6S 1N9GiftsUkrainian HandicraftsArt, Ceramics, JewelleryBooks, NewspapersCassettes, CDs, VideosEmbroidery SuppliesPackages and Services to UkraineA. CHORNYTel.: (416) 762-8751 Fax: (416) 767-6839TO ALL MEMBERS OF UNA BRANCH 127As of January 1, 1999, the secretary’s duties ofBranch 127 will be assumed by Ms. IreneWaszczak. We ask all members of this Branch todirect all correspondence regarding membershipand insurance, as well as their membership premiumsto the address listed below:Ms. Irene Waszczak248 Towers BlvdCheektowaga, NY 14227(716) 668-1618TO ALL MEMBERS OF UNA BRANCH 126Please be advised that Branch 126 will mergewith Branch 161 as of January 1, 1999.All inquiries, monthly paymentsand requests for changesshould be sent to Mr. Nicholas Diakiwsky.Mr. Nicholas Diakiwsky2065 Ridge Rd. Ext.Ambridge, Pa. 15003(412) 251-9266Insure and be sure.Join the UNA!To The Weekly Contributors:We greatly appreciate the materials – feature articles, news stories, press clippings, lettersto the editor, and the like – we receive from our readers. In order to facilitate preparationof The Ukrainian Weekly, we ask that the guidelines listed below be followed.® News stories should be sent in not later than 10 days after the occurrence of a® given event.® All materials must be typed (or legibly hand-printed) and double-spaced.® Photographs submitted for publication must be black and white (or color with good® contrast). Captions must be provided. 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No. 52Newsbriefs(Continued from page 2)be the only state assets that could attractlarge-scale foreign investments into thecountry. According to Ukrtelekom officials,Ukraine could raise some $2.4 billionby selling a 25 percent stake in thecompany. (RFE/RL Newsline)Rada rejects Crimean ConstitutionKYIV – The Verkhovna Rada onDecember 15 voted 210-89 to approvethe new Constitution of the AutonomousRepublic of Crimea, but fell 16 votesshort of the required majority of 226votes, the Associated Press reported.Lawmakers from the pro-governmentNational Democratic Party criticizedCrimea’s basic law for containing “separatistprovisions,” in particular thoseallowing Crimea to engage in economicactivities abroad and the Crimean parliamentarychairman to sign internationalagreement and treaties. The oppositionRukh, Hromada, and Green partiesopposed the provision stipulating thattaxes collected in Crimea are to be channeledonly to the autonomous republic’sbudget. They added that the documentfails to ensure the official status of theUkrainian language and to provide forthe rights of Crimean Tatars. TheVerkhovna Rada has set up a commissioncomposed of Crimean Tatar and Kyivlegislators to examine the disputed provisions.(RFE/RL Newsline)Tax breaks for completion of reactorsKYIV – Ukraine’s legislature onDecember 16 approved three-year profittax breaks for companies financing thecompletion of two nuclear reactors at theRivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear powerplants. A member of the VerkhovnaRada’s Nuclear Safety Committee toldthe Associated Press that the reactors are80 percent finished and the bill on taxbreaks will allow construction to be completedwithin two years. Ukraine wantsthose reactors to compensate for the lossof electricity after the planned closure ofthe Chornobyl nuclear power plant in2000. (RFE/RL Newsline)Udovenko at non-proliferation summitKYIV – National Deputy HennadiiUdovenko participated on December 16in a Tokyo forum on nuclear disarmamentand the non-proliferation of nuclearweapons, sponsored by the HiroshimaInstitute of Peace. The forum aims to preparerecommendations on non-proliferationinitiatives, concentrating particularlyon the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests.Mr. Udovenko stressed that Ukrainians,who experienced awful results of theChornobyl disaster, understand the realdanger of nuclear weapons. (EasternEconomist)Luhansk miners halt six-month picketKYIV – Following the attemptedstorming of the regional administrationbuilding in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, bypicketing miners, the Coal MiningMinistry has transferred 1.4 millionhryvni ($400,000) to pay back wages,Ukrainian Television reported. Somestriking miners in the Luhansk Oblastwill receive payment only after a month,however. In the meantime, miners haveTHE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 41dismantled a tent camp where they hadlived for nearly six months in order topicket the Luhansk administration buildingto demand the payment of wagearrears. Some 200 miners had attemptedto storm the regional administration onDecember 16. Police managed to stop theminers after they pushed down iron barriersin front of the building. The incidentoccurred two days after one of theprotesting miners set himself on fire.Ukraine’s miners are owed more than 2billion hryvni ($580 million) in backwages. (RFE/RL Newsline)Pustovoitenko signs agreements in TbilisiTBILISI– Meeting on December 7 inthe Georgian capital, Ukraine’s PrimeMinister Valerii Pustovoitenko andGeorgian Minister of State VazhaLortkipanidze signed a 10-year agreementon economic cooperation, as well asaccords on trade, banking, culture andtransportation, Interfax and Caucasus Pressreported. The two leaders discussed coordinatingefforts to prevent a further devaluationof their countries’ currencies. Mr.Pustovoitenko also held talks withPresident Eduard Shevardnadze,Parliament Chairman Zurab Zhvania andForeign Affairs Minister IrakliMenagharishvili. The Ukrainian leader toldMr. Menagharishvili that Ukraine is willingto host talks between Georgian and Abkhazrepresentatives on confidence-buildingmeasures in order to expedite a settlementof the Abkhaz conflict. Mr. Pustovoitenkoalso inspected the oil terminal under constructionat Georgia’s Black Sea port ofSupsa and again affirmed Ukraine’s interestin exporting via its territory Caspian oilshipped by tanker from Supsa to Odessa,Interfax reported. He also visited Batumi,where he discussed the prospects for bilateralcooperation with Adjar SupremeCouncil Chairman Aslan Abashidze. A railferry service between Batumi, Poti andIlichevsk was to begin operating onDecember 19 after several postponements.(RFE/RL Newsline)Kuchma signs World Bank dealKYIV – President Leonid Kuchmasigned a draft law on a $200 millionWorld Bank loan to upgrade Kyiv’s heatingsystem, the Associated Press reportedon December 9. The deal must be ratifiedby the Verkhovna Rada and is still subjectto the International Monetary Fund’sapproval of the government’s reform program.The money would be used to modernizethe city’s power plants. (RFE/RLNewsline)The human cost of coal miningKYIV – Each ton of coal extracted inUkraine costs the lives of five minersthrough accidents on the job. As ofDecember 1, 344 miners died in Ukraine,which is 90 more than in 1997, reportedthe State Labor Protection CommitteeChairman Stanislav Tkachuk. In 1998 thenumber of miners had decreased and theamount of coal extracted was reduced.(Eastern Economist)Dynamo star signed by LisbonKYIV – Benfica of Portugal has signedUkrainian defender Oleh Luzhnyi, 30, to athree-and-a-half year contract fromDynamo Kyiv, according to the Lisbon soccerclub’s president, Joao Vale e Azevedo.(Eastern Economist)~ IMPORTANT NOTICE ~to UNA members and Soyuzivka patrons:SOYUZIVKA will be closed from February 1 to April 15, 1999, ONLY.The main building will be open all year.For information and reservations for the 1999 season, please call:Tel: (914) 626-5641 ´ Fax: (914) 626-4638 ´ e-mail: SQSS@aol.com ´ Web: www.soyuzivka.com

42 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 52Wishing you a joyousChristmas, and a healthyand prosperous New YearNatalka and Ihor GawdiakUkrainian Dancers of Miamito celebrate 50th anniversaryMIAMI – In honor of their goldenjubilee season, the Ukrainian Dancers ofMiami will be holding a traditionalMalanka celebration on January 15-17,1999, at the Sheraton Fort LauderdaleAirport Hotel in Dania, Fla.The Saturday night dinner-dance willfeature the popular Canadian band Buryain its last public performance. The threedayevent also includes a Friday eveningcocktail reception and a Sunday brunchand comedy show with “Barabolya.” Fortickets and event information, visit the webat http://www.1phone.com/udofm/, call(305) 635-6374, or fax (954) 434-5105.The Ukrainian Dancers of Miami is agroup of youthful Ukrainians, ranging inage from 2 to 40+, who learn and performtraditional Ukrainian folk dance.They perform year-round across the stateof Florida at festivals, cultural programsand many other shows.Rooted in the dances and techniquesof Vasyl Avramenko, the man who iscredited with bringing Ukrainian folkdance to North America, the UkrainianDancers of Miami continue to performmany of his classic works, in addition tomore updated pieces choreographed bycurrent dancers and other contemporaryUkrainian dancers.Like the corporation that overseesthem, the dancers are dedicated to thepromotion and perpetuation of theUkrainian culture through its music, songand dance.The Ukrainian Dancers of Miami wasfounded in the summer of 1949 by agroup of young Ukrainians led by TarasMaksymowich, Kay Hodivsky and OlgaMaksymowich.By 1961, the group began sendingdancers to cultural workshops atSoyuzivka, which eventually were strictlyfor dance, and those who participatedreturned after the summer with renewedenthusiasm, greater skill and fresh ideas.By the 1970s Mr. Maksymowich and Ms.Hodivsky began delegating instructionand choreography responsibilities tothese dancers, most notably TarasHodivsky, Yurko McKay, Hanya Lotocky(nee Maksymowich), and the group’scurrent artistic director, DonnaMaksymowich-Waskiewicz.Today, the dancers include more classicaldance elements in their work, whileretaining the character of the traditionalUkrainian folk dance. The group’s repertoireincludes its eight-minute-long signaturepiece, Hopak. Since the birth of theirannual concert, “A Ukrainian Montage,”the group has presented several modern,more interpretive pieces, as well as reintroducedseveral traditional dances thathad not been performed for many years.The Ukrainian Dancers of Miami haveperformed at Epcot Center’s WorldShowcase in Walt Disney World, nationallytelevised Junior and Senior OrangeBowl Parades, the Miami InternationalFolk Festival, the Orlando Arts Fest, theSt. Petersburg International Folk Fair andthe 1992 UNICEF Tribute to Children.They perform at city-, county-and statesponsoredevents, and can be seen at variousevents throughout the year in SouthFlorida.The Ukrainian Dancers of Miami Inc.is a not-for-profit organization, and allfunding and services are achieved solelythrough donations and volunteer work.Merry Christmas and Happy New Yearto our relatives and friendsfromDr. Bohdan and Mrs. Valentina Nowakiwskyand their childrenLisa Nowakiwsky and Dr. Theodore and Klaudia NowakiwskyNEUROLOGY and PSYCHIATRY7500 Tonnelle Avenue, No. Bergen, NJ(201) 869-7009; (973) 762-7840ÇÖëÖãàï ëÇüíêßáÑÇÄ ïêàëíéÇéÉéÚ‡ôÄëãàÇéÉé çéÇéÉé êéäì— · ‡ Ê ‡ π —Ó‰Ë̇ äéáßñúäàï, ‚·ÒÌËÍËDunwoodie Travel BureauÒ‚ÓªÈ Ó‰ËÌ¥, ÔËflÚÂÎflÏ Ú‡ ÍÎ¥πÌÚ‡Ï.燯‡ ٥χ Á 27-Î¥ÚÌ¥Ï ‰ÓÒ‚¥‰ÓÏ ÔÓÔÓÌÛπ ̇È͇˘¥ ÒÓÎ¥‰Ì¥ÔÓÒÎÛ„Ë ‚ ÔÓ‰ÓÓʇı ÔÓ ˆ¥ÎÓÏÛ Ò‚¥Ú¥ ÔÓ Ì‡È‰Â¯Â‚¯Ëı ˆ¥Ì‡ı.❄ èÓ‰‡πÏÓ Í‚ËÚÍË Ì‡ Î¥Ú‡ÍË, ÍÓ‡·Î¥, ÔÓªÁ‰Ë❄ á‡ÏÓ‚ÎflπÏÓ „ÓÚÂÎ¥ Ú‡ ‡‚Ú‡❄ èÓχ„‡πÏÓ Á Ô˪Á‰ÓÏ ¥‰Ì¥ Á ì͇ªÌËíÂÎÂÙÓÌÛÈÚ ̇ ˜ËÒÎÓ: (914) 969-4200 ‡·Ó (800) 550-4334771A Yonkers Ave., Yonkers NY 10704Happy Holidaysfrom theHouse of UkraineBalboa Park,San Diego, California 92101(619) 291-0661 (phone)(619) 452-9759 (fax)sunnyukes@aol.com (e-mail)THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLYVisit our archive on the Internet at:http://www.ukrweekly.com/

No. 52THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998 43

44 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1998No. 52PACKAGES TO UKRAINEas low as $ .65 per LbNEWARK, NJ698 Sanford AveTel. 973-373-8783DNIPRO COPHILADELPHIA1801 Cottman AveTel. 215-728-6040*Pick up service availableCLIFTON, NJ565 Clifton AveTel. 973-916-1543PREVIEW OF EVENTSThursday, December 31CHICAGO: The second annual New Year’sEve Charity Ball, sponsored by St. JosephUkrainian Catholic Church, will benefit threedifferent charities: the Ukrainian Orphan AidSociety, the Ukrainian Catholic EducationFoundation (for the Lviv TheologicalAcademy), and St. Joseph Charities (to benefitthe needy of the Chicago area with a foodpantry, gas vouchers, etc.) The ball will beheld in the church hall, 5000 N. CumberlandAvenue. Music will be by the Good Times.There will be a liturgy celebrated at 6:30 p.m.The ball will commence with cocktails (cashbar), at 7:30 p.m.; followed by dinner at 8:30p.m. and dancing at 10 p.m.. Tickets: $60;$45, seniors and students; $20, dance only.For tickets and reservations, contact MotriaDurbak, (773) 625-4805 or Areta, (847) 823-0430.PASSAIC, N.J.: The Ukrainian Centerinvites all to a New Year’s Eve celebration.Admission for the two-floor gala is $25 andincludes a dance featuring the energeticZahrava orchestra from Toronto in the ballroomand DJ dancing at the downstairs bar.With a full sit-down dinner, the cost is only$40. Happy hour with half-price drinks is at8-9 p.m. and dinner will be served at 8:30p.m. Tickets may be purchased at theUkrainian Center, 240 Hope Ave., or by calling(973) 473-3379, or (201) 323-1703.Saturday, January 9, 1999HARTFORD, Conn.: The traditionalUkrainian New Year’s Eve Dance – Malankawill be held at the Ukrainian National Homeof Hartford, 961 Wethersfield Ave., at 9 p.m.Dance to the music of Zorepad. Donation:adults, $20; students, $15. For ticket and tablereservations, call the Ukrainian Gift Shop,(860) 296-6955.Thursday, January 7, andSaturday January 16, 1999SAN FRANCISCO: St. Michael’s UkrainianOrthodox Church will celebrate UkrainianOrthodox Christmas on January 7 with a liturgyat 10:30 a.m., to be followed by supperand caroling in the church hall. On January16, the parish will hold a traditional UkrainianNew Year’s celebration (according to theJulian calendar). The malanka dinner/dancewill begin at 7 p.m. in the church hall, withmusic by the Anatoli Orchestra. TraditionalUkrainian dishes will be served. For reservationsand more information call the parish,(415) 863-0237. St. Michael’s is located at345 Seventh St., (between Folsom andHarrison streets, south of Market); it is accessibleby Muni Bus 27, 42, and is a short walkfrom the Civic Center BART Station.Friday, January 15, 1999TORONTO: St. Vladimir Institute will hostits traditional Ukrainian New Year’s Malankaat the institute, 620 Spadina Ave. Delight inthe performances of the Arkan DanceCompany as they lead you into a magical andenchanting evening of Ukrainian folklore tothrow out the old year and welcome the new.Dine with Peter Ochitwa of Mad Apples;dance to the music of Solovey. The all inclusiveprice of admission is $80 per person;$45, students. Cocktails are at 7 p.m., followedby dinner at 8 p.m. Reserve tables andtickets early by calling (416) 923-3318.Friday, January 22, 1999NEW YORK: The Harriman Institute atColumbia University together with theUkrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences inthe U.S., the Shevchenko Scientific Society,The Lypynsky Institute, and the UkrainianHistorical Association present “The SecondConference on the Ukrainian Revolution: TheHetmanate.” The conference will be held inRoom 1512, School of International andPublic Affairs, Columbia University, 420 W.118th St., at 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more informationcontact Prof. Mark von Hagen, (212)854-6213.ADVANCE NOTICESaturday, February 6, 1999WHIPPANY, N.J.: The Plast Ukrainianyouth organization, Newark Branch, is holdingits Debutante Ball at the HanoverMarriott. Music will be by Tempo and Luna.Cocktails are at 6:30 p.m.; presentation ofdebutantes at 7:30 p.m., followed by dinnerand dance. Tickets: dinner and dance; $75;dance only; $40; $20, students under age 25.For tickets and reservations call MariaWelyczkowski, (973) 514-1846.Selfreliance UA Federal Credit Unionë‡ÏÓÔÓÏ¥˜ ì͇ªÌÒ¸ÍÓ-ÄÏÂË͇ÌҸ͇ ä‰ËÚÓ‚‡ ëÔ¥Î͇734 Sandford Avenue, Newark, NJ 07106• Tel. (973) 373-7839 • Fax (973) 373-8812 •2200 Route 10 West, Parsippany, NJ 07054• Tel. (973) 451-0200 • Fax (973) 451-0400 •• http://www.selfreliance.org •BUSINESS HOURS:Tue & Fri - 12:00 noon to 7:00 PM • Wed & Thurs - 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM • Sat - 9:00 to 12:00 noon • Mon. - Closed