#37_1-8

JUNE 14, 2018 ISSUE No. 37 (1169)
Tel.: +38(044) 303-96-19,
fax: +38(044) 303-94-20
е-mail: time@day.kiev.ua;
http://www.day.kiev.ua
By Serhii HRABOVSKYI
The world history of the
last hundred years, that is,
the era of totalitarian and
neo-totalitarian regimes,
has moved in zigzags,
circles, and ellipses which seem
strange to the outside observer.
In fact, it has had a clear
immanent logic with its own rules
and algo rithms. For example,
when the relay race of the
Olympic flame came to Bryansk
on January 15, 2014, having
traveled for a few months across
Russia on its laby rinthine path to
Sochi, the organizers laid out
three towels with a total length of
156 meters; one of them was
made in the city, while two others
were brought from Belarus and
Ukraine. “The unity of the three
Slavic nations’ peoples has
become the leitmotif of the entire
relay race,” the Russian news
agencies said with one voice. And
in the following month, a special
operation was launched to “bring
Crimea back to the homeland,”
followed by the so-called Russian
Spring all over eastern and
southern Ukraine. The slogan “O
sport, you are peace” did not
work as intended...
Interestingly, this was not
the first such case in history. I
say it because the slogan “unity
of the peoples of all the German
states” appeared for the first
time when the Olympic flame
crossed the border between Austria
and Germany in 1936, and
just a year and a half after the
Berlin Olympics, troops of the
Third Reich entered Vienna and
the Austrian Anschluss took
place. After a bit more than another
half a year, the Munich
Agreement surrendered a significant
part of Czechoslovakia
to Adolf Hitler. Another half a
year passed, and the Wehrmacht
entered Prague. Another half a
year later, the war began.
Topic continued on page 3
Playing dirty
Sketch by Viktor BOGORAD
When the slogan “O sport, you are peace” works in the exactly opposite direction

2
No.37 JUNE 14, 2018
Declarationswithoutconsequencesor
DonaldTrump’shistoricachievement?
For the first time in history, the incumbent of the
White House met with the leader of North Korea
DAY AFTER DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day
The meeting between US President
Donald Trump and North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un, which had
faced a real threat of disruption
because of North Korea’s careless
statements, did take place in Singapore
at 9 a.m. local time (4 a.m. in Kyiv) on
June 12. For the first time in history, the
incumbent of the White House met with
the leader of North Korea after seven
decades of hostility that began at the end
of the Korean War.
The Trump-Kim one-on-one talks
lasted exactly 38 minutes and were followed
by extended negotiations involving
advisers and a working lunch, the CNN reports.
In the interval between the sessions,
President Trump shared his impressions
with reporters, saying that the meeting
was going “very, very good.” “We have an
excellent relationship,” he said. When
questioned by journalists whether the
DPRK would relinquish its nuclear
weapons, Kim did not answer. “Well, it
was not easy to get here. The past worked
as fetters on our limbs, and the old prejudices
and practices worked as obstacles
on our way forward. But we overcame all
of them, and we are here today,” he said.
Following the summit, the leaders
signed an agreement in which they committed
to making joint efforts for denuclearization
of the Korean Peninsula in
exchange for security guarantees from
the US, the DW writes. The Politico media
outlet has published the full text of
this four-point document. Firstly, the US
and the DPRK have committed themselves
to establishing new relations “in accordance
with the desire of the peoples of
the two countries for peace and prosperity.”
Secondly, the two countries will
join their efforts to build a lasting and
stable peace regime on the peninsula.
Thirdly, reaffirming the April 27, 2018
Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK
commits to work toward complete denuclearization.
Fourthly, the parties commit
to repatriation of perished POWs’ remains.
Trump announced that denuclearization
on the Korean peninsula
would begin “very soon.”
The leader of North Korea stressed
that this was a historical document and
that “the world will see major change.”
The US president, in turn, said that relations
with that nation would change and
that “people will be amazed and happy.”
Interestingly, the North Korean
state TV channel KCNA broadcast the
summit live, even though footage of
such events is usually shown to North Koreans
only a few days after they occur.
However, the lightning speed with
which North Korean leader Kim has
changed his strategy of action, abandoning
his undisguised hostility in relations
with the US, ballistic missile
launches and caustic verbal confrontation
with President Trump, is astonishing. It
was Trump who called Kim “a rocket
man” and said that the US would respond
to the DPRK’s actions with “fire and fury
like the world has never seen,” while Kim
threatened the US with “the greatest pain
and suffering in history” should it impose
new sanctions against his country. It
seemed that with such rhetoric, a friendly
summit between the leaders of these
nations was a lowest probability event.
Kim’s offer of a meeting was made to
the US leader on March 8. On April 18,
the new US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo met with the North Korean
leader, on April 21, the DPRK announced
its intention to stop nuclear and missile
tests, on April 27, Kim and South Korean
President Moon Jae-in met, and the
DPRK promised to relinquish nuclear
weapons on the same day, on May 9,
North Korea released three Americans
from detention, and on May 10, Trump
announced June 12 as the day of talks
with Kim, The Independent reports.
However, after just two weeks, on
May 24, the occupant of the White House
canceled the meeting due to the “hostile
actions” of the other party, only to announce
on June 1 that the agreement to
hold a meeting was still in force. The media
recently circulated a statement by
Trump’s lawyer Rudolph Giuliani who
said that the DPRK leader Kim “begged”
the US not to cancel the negotiations.
The Day turned to experts asking
them to comment on the significance of
the historic meeting between the US
and North Korean leaders, explain how
important it would be for the US and the
world in general, and why Kim, after
years of open hostility towards the US,
had begun to change tactics.
● “THE SIGNED DOCUMENT
IS VERY IMPORTANT
FROM THE POINT OF VIEW
OF INTERNATIONAL
SECURITY”
Oleksandr TSVIETKOV, Americanist,
professor, Borys Hrinchenko University
of Kyiv:
“This meeting triggered a wave of polar
opposite opinions, ranging from high
expectations of extraordinary results
and to cool opinions that nothing special
would happen. Today [June 12. – Ed.], after
the signing procedure for a comprehensive
declaration (as it was described
by the signers themselves – the American
president and the leader of North Korea),
they agreed that the document
would be expanded to cover the gradual
process of denuclearization in North
Korea, and the world would see a departure
from the past towards a certain degree
of openness and transparency in the
political processes in that country.
“The most important conclusion is
that, in any case, the signed document is
very important from the point of view of
international security. This is due to the
nuclear potential of North Korea. It is still
unclear how open the North Korean side
would be about their nuclear potential,
but the mechanism has been launched.
Subsequent negotiations are likely to detail
this process and will deal more with
verification. In addition to its security importance,
the declaration is also of high
political significance, especially for
Trump and his administration, as they
need to demonstrate to the world that
there has been a major shift on this issue.
It is also important for the domestic
American audience, since after the G7
meeting and the split that has taken
place between Americans and their allies
in that coalition, the situation is quite
tense. If the agreement succeeds, it will
improve the Republican party’s chances
as it competes in the coming midterm elections
in America. Meanwhile, if the outcome
proves to be less successful than the
administration would like, there will be
a decrease in the public interest and
number of assessments of these events.
“However, the very fact of the signing
may somewhat repeat the situation
with Iran, only now applying to this
specific location, which still presents
an extremely acute problem first of all for
its neighborhood, but also for the world
as a whole.
“As for the reasons behind Kim
changing his position, there is a set of factors
in play here. Firstly, the domestic
economic situation in the country. Secondly,
the influence of such an ally as China.
After all, this plan was supported by
the PRC, and they wanted to be part of
this process. Currently, the situation in
Korea will depend on what kind of assistance
China will provide. One can discern
some indirect interest in this situation
on the part of Russia as well, since
there was an initiative to hold a summit
meeting with the Russian leader this fall.
That is, such a step by the North Korean
leader has caused a boom of political interest
in that country, its role and next
steps in the international arena.”
Read more on our website
“Visual journalism of the future”
By Dmytro PLAKHTA, The Day, Lviv
Lviv became the seventh city to be
visited by the exhibition of the
best photos of Den’s 19th International
Photo Contest. From
May 31 to June 10, thousands of
Leopolitans and guests of the city saw
it at Lviv Polytechnic National
University.
● “THANKS TO THESE
PHOTOS, WE GET TO
UNDERSTAND THE VALUE
OF LIFE”
These were 11 really productive
days. This is evidenced by the guestbook
as well, which traditionally accompanies
all the photo exhibitions
held by Den. This is its 10th volume,
marking a major anniversary. All previous
nine books, written by you, our
visitors, are stored in the newspaper’s
editorial office. So, what did the visitors
of this year’s photo exhibition in
Lviv write in it?
“Thank you for the positive (true)
emotions. And the picture The Fragments
of Civilization is an apt characterization
of the state of the modern society!”
wrote lecturer of the management
of organizations department of
Lviv Polytechnic National University
Ihor Hrybyk.
“I thank the photographers very
much! I was moved to the point of being
tearful. I wish you luck in the future!”
Liudmyla Trofimova sincerely remarked.
“Your work is inspiring, while the
art of photography touches the heart
and moves the soul and consciousness.
Thank you, Ms. Ivshyna!” one of Lviv
Polytechnic’s students addressed
Den/The Day’s editor-in-chief.
“Thank you for an hour of emotional
saturation, compassion and admiration
for our best people,” writes
graduate of the Lviv Polytechnic
Z.B. Lototska. “I am captivated, moved
by the photo exhibition and the Den
newspaper as a whole,” another graduate
of that university added in an unsigned
entry.
“Thank you very much for the wonderful
photos! Thanks to these photos
we get to understand the value of life,”
students of the Institute of Humanities
and Social Sciences of Lviv Polytechnic
wrote in a collective entry.
“Thank you for the exhibition!
These strong photos make us remember:
the war is going on, but our life is
going on as well,” Iryna from Lviv
stressed in her comment.
“My favorite newspaper Den! Dear
Ms. Ivshyna! Thank you for existing!
Thank you for the Word, thank you for
the exhibition! I wish you energy and
strength in your service to Ukraine!”
wrote Halyna Poliuva.
What did Den’s Days get Leopolitans to think about?
These are just a few of the written
impressions. There are many more in
the guestbook. Each review is unique,
as is its handwriting, as well as the
inimitable emotions experienced by
each of the visitors of the photo exhibition
while looking at this or that image.
Traditionally, many tourists visited
the exhibition in Lviv. In particular,
a few short reviews were written by
guests from abroad.
● “THIS IS A UKRAINIAN
PHOTO-DIMENSION,
A PHOTO PORTRAIT
OF ME AND YOU”
Natalia ULYNETS, Slavske joint commune
council member, manager of the
Dyvys.info news agency:
“I am saying it without pathos,
but Den’s photo projects are a kind of
Ukrainian photo-dimension, a photo
portrait of me and you. Literality and
metaphoricity, emotions and events,
strength of spirit, energy of nature and
people, voices, circumstances, and
challenges – this is what I saw in the
works of this year’s exhibition.
“Frankly, I confess that it is not
enough to visit Den’s exhibition just
once, passing along the corridors and
past the stands. Some photos focus
one’s attention for a long time and
strike a chord seriously and deeply.
These photos reflect history, moments
and processes of national significance,
because this is the experience
of Ukrainians in the fullest sense of
the word.”
● “DEN OFFERS A DISCUSSION
WHICH HELPS US GROW”
Yosyp LOS, professor, head of the department
of foreign press and information,
Faculty of Journalism, Ivan
Franko National University of Lviv:
“I call Den’s Photo Exhibition a display
of the visual journalism of the future.
Why do I call it this? The fact is
that recording episodes of life, and especially
people, leaves a major legacy
for the future generations, because
one gesture, one look at the pictures can
often say a lot, often much more than
other formats. Hundreds of books have
already been written that deal in detail
with these peculiarities of masterfully
made photos.
“Den is an activist newspaper. It
not only reflects life, but also looks for
new forms of realization of the whole
worldview sphere. It includes book
publishing, photo exhibitions, and
other projects of the publication. It is
important to get people interested
through photos and photography art
in reading high-brow literature, to encourage
them to take interest in such
individuals and their positions as are
worthy of attention in the modern
world. It is, for example, about such
people as Yevhen Sverstiuk and other
great figures who left us in their
writings great examples of highly effective
journalism.
“The Den newspaper tries to
change all aspects of life for the better.
This is not a form of self-affirmation,
but a specific mission to
change the world for the better.
Giuseppe Mazzini, the most prominent
figure of the19th-century Italy,
whose ideas united the country, spoke
about such a duty. These positions are
still extremely relevant today.
“For instance, I like Den’s idea to
celebrate the Centennial of Pavlo Skoropadsky’s
Hetmanate very much. I
have read all the contributions on this
topic in your publication. This is a real
encyclopedia, the ideas of which are
extremely relevant for Ukraine today.
“We must look for great individuals.
The Den newspaper deals with
this task as it seeks the positive features
in our figures who made the
right choices, contributed and are
still contributing to the development
of the Ukrainian state. The publication
acquaints its readers with such
people, analyzes their examples, and
explains their ideas. The Den newspaper
offers a discussion that helps us
grow. I regularly read each issue and
tell all my students about it. I have
just published and presented to the editor-in-chief
of the newspaper Larysa
Ivshyna a three-volume collection of
my journalistic works, where Den is
mentioned every two, three, or ten
pages. The ideas of the newspaper
are constantly being used.
“The Den newspaper is a club of
new ideals and ideas based on our
heritage that gives us an opportunity
to remember ourselves, to believe in
ourselves, and to be ourselves. Den is
looking for and offers variants of
new guidelines of the 21st century,
since the commercial manipulative
civilization is so passe. We must move
on to a civilization where a person will
be a true phenomenon, not a social animal,
or simply a cog in a large economic
or production mechanism. The
humanity is destined for a better fate.
Den’s contributors give these issues a
thought and analyze them all, starting
with the nature that the humanity destroys,
and ending with an organic
way of life.”

By Mykola SIRUK, The Day
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
Ukraine pinned high hopes on
the G7 summit which took
place in Canada on June 8-9.
There were two reasons for
this. Firstly, it was to be
chaired by Canada, which has traditionally
supported this country. And
secondly, it was precisely Canadian
efforts that saw Ukraine invited for the
first time to a meeting of foreign
ministers, which took place in Toronto
last month.
Den has already covered (in the article
“Alone against Everyone Else,”
https://day.kyiv.ua/uk/article/denplanety/odyn-proty-vsiha)
the first
takeaways on the summit.
We asked Ambassador of Ukraine
to Canada Andrii SHEVCHENKO to
tell us whether this country’s hopes for
the summit were fulfilled, in light of
Donald Trump’s controversial statements
about the possibility of letting
Russia to rejoin the G7, and his revocation
of his signature under an already
agreed-upon communique.
“I think that the summit was turbulent
and difficult, but for Ukraine,
its results are positive.
“First of all, I think we have to
thank our G7 partners for holding a
serious debate on the Ukrainian and
Russian issues, both at the ministerial
meeting in Toronto and in Charlevoix.
“Secondly, I think we should not
underestimate the final document. The
communique on the outcome of the
summit is extremely important. Its
text was agreed upon by all the participants.
And the wording we see in this
document shows the seriousness of
our partners’ intentions. All the things
that we asked our partners for have
been included there. And it is very
good that they are transparently and
clearly articulated there. This also applies
to the fact that the G7 is ready to
expand sanctions or sees it as a possibility,
or in other words, it is ready to
increase pressure on Russia to make it
pay a higher price for violating international
law. Another statement confirms
support for reforms in Ukraine,
as well for the territorial integrity of
Ukraine. In other words, all those important
and meaningful things that are
definitely essential for us have been included
there. I think that, having seen
them in the text of the communique, we
should have no doubt that this is indeed
the position of our partners.”
● “CANADA WAS THE FIRST
NATION TO RESPOND VERY
FIRMLY AND CLEARLY TO
THE IDEA OF LETTING
RUSSIA TO REJOIN THE G7”
“In my opinion, several specific
developments should be highlighted.
“Firstly, I mean the extremely important
British initiative to create a
group that has to interact in counteracting
the Russian Federation. And it
seems to me that this is very important
when we see at the institutional level
our key partners creating the tools to
contain the Russian threat.
“Ukraine is now in a situation
where we need to tell the G7 that we are
ready to work with this club. This is explained,
above all, by the fact that we
offer added value to the G7 in containing
Russian aggression. And we
need to use it, and that is the contribution
we can provide to make the
world safer.
“Secondly, I would also highlight
Canada’s position on Trump’s initiative
to invite Russia back to the G7. Canada
was the first country to respond very
firmly and clearly to the idea of letting
Russia to rejoin the G7.
“It shows that we have very firm
and principled allies. And this is extremely
important for us. Therefore, it
was very important for me as Ambassador
of Ukraine to Canada to see that
Canada provided a good and confident
leadership as it chaired the G7 and
demonstrated a clear position on the exotic
idea of Russia’s return to the G7.
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day
Britain was the first to resolve to boycott the
2018 FIFA World Cup, doing so in March
this year. The reason for this was the
Kremlin’s failure to respond to a British
ultimatum that demanded to explain how the
Novichok nerve-paralytic agent came to Britain,
where it was used to poison ex-spy Sergey Skripal and
his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Prime Minister
Theresa May stressed during a speech in the
parliament that there would be no ministers or
members of the royal family attending the Russian
World Cup, although Prince William is president of
the Football Association of England and previously
attended similar events. After that, leaders of
Iceland followed the UK’s lead.
In May, the Human Rights Watch non-profit organization
also joined the initiative, appealing to
world leaders to boycott the opening ceremony of the
World Cup until Russian President Vladimir Putin
takes steps to protect Syrian civilians. The executive
director of the organization Kenneth Roth said
that world leaders “should signal to President Putin
that unless he changes track and acts to end atrocities
by Russian and Syrian forces in Syria, they
won’t be in their seats in the VIP box with him on
opening night.”
The Australian official delegation, which will also
be absent from the championship, has joined the
call, the SBS News reports. That resource says that
Australia has repeatedly protested against human
rights violations in Russia and its breaches of in-
DAY AFTER DAY No.37 JUNE 14, 2018 3
AmbassadorofUkrainetoCanadaAndriiSHEVCHENKO:
“We offer added value for the G7
in containing Russian aggression”
“Thirdly, the presidency of Canada
in the G7 does not end with this summit.
There is a meeting of the energy
ministers ahead.”
● “THE OPPORTUNITIES
PRESENTED TO US BY THE
CANADIAN PRESIDENCY
ARE BEING USED TO THE
FULLEST EXTENT”
“Of course, we wanted Ukraine
and the Ukrainian issue to be discussed
at a separate session in Charlevoix, but
it became clear in the beginning of the
year that Canada, as the presiding nation,
had chosen the state of the oceans
and environment as the summit’s
themes.
“I think that Ukraine has made
the most of the opportunity that presented
itself at the meeting of foreign
ministers in Toronto, where there was
a full session on Ukraine, and where
minister Pavlo Klimkin had the opportunity
to discuss with other ministers
all our proposals and all our scenarios
that we are working on for the
future behind closed doors in a very select
company.
“Consequently, in my opinion,
the opportunities presented to us by
the Canadian presidency are being
used to the fullest extent, both at the
summit level and at the level of cooperating
with the Canadian Embassy
in Kyiv, which is coordinating
the other embassies of the G7 countries
very well. So, I think that this
has been very important and very
valuable year for us. And that is why
I have a very positive impression of
the communique of the summit as well
as the positive atmosphere and information
that we get from behind
closed doors.”
How have Canada’s media, experts
and politicians commented on
Trump’s idea of letting Russia to rejoin
the G7?
“The reaction of Canada came instantly,
and it was very clear and fast.
Moreover, it was a consolidated position
of the entire political class, stating that
the return of Russia to the G7 and getting
back to ‘business as usual’ were out
of question. That is why we are very happy
with this very good and clear, fast,
transparent reaction of Canada. And
this is exactly what we expect from our
friends and this is what it was. The reaction
of other countries participating in
the G7 summit was also encouraging. It
seems to me that this is a good guarantee
that the return of Russia to this format
will not be discussed again in the
near future. Therefore, if someone wanted
to test this idea, check it out, then it
seems to me that the consolidated reaction
of other G7 countries has shown that
this idea will not be accepted, in fact.”
● “NOW AS NEVER BEFORE,
WE NEED OUR ALLIES TO BE
UNITED AND ACT AS A
UNITED FRONT”
And how should we perceive
Trump’s idea of creating a free trade area
between the G7 member countries?
“It is now important for us to see
how the situation with the trade war
will develop, which America on the one
side, and Canada and our European
partners on the other, are now effectively
plunging into.
“Firstly, this is not an alien story
for us. It is important to us because it
is a threat to unity between our Western
allies, even as we need our allies to
be united and act as a united front, now
as never before.
“Secondly, for us as a country
which adheres to the principles of free
trade, it is very important that these
principles dominate and prevail in international
politics. Therefore, we desire
strongly that our allies find a common
ground and work under a good and
friendly cooperation regime.”
And how justified is Trump’s accusation
that the trade regime between the
US and Canada is unfair on America, in
particular with the duty on American
milk being 270 percent, as the resident
of the White House has stated?
“I think that it is the approach to
calculating that figure that matters
here. Possibly, subsidies were also taken
into account. But I think this is the
case when one plus one is not always
equal to two. Everything depends on
who counts, on what side they do it and
how they do it.”
Is there some progress in our efforts
to get Canada to help Ukraine not
only by training our armed forces to oppose
Russian aggression, but also, for
example, by supplying weapons or establishing
joint production of certain
types of military equipment?
“We are working on some projects
that have to do with weapons, and this
is a delicate area that does not like publicity.
But I can assure you that we have
very interesting cooperation opportunities
ahead. And as for the Unifier,
which is a training mission, it is also
now being modified and changing geographically.
If earlier it was held in Yavoriv
and Kamianets-Podilskyi, now it
has moved to Odesa, Kyiv, and Desna
in the Chernihiv region. And this mission
is changing in terms of its content
and essence as well, the training process
itself is changing. Therefore, the Unifier
mission is intensifying and evolving,
and this is a very good sign.”
#BoycottWorldCup2018
Who has stood firm
and ignored the opening
of the World Cup in the
Russian Federation?
Sketch by Andrii YERMOLENKO
● “FOR THE ENTIRE CANADIAN
POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT,
IT IS ABSOLUTELY OBVIOUS
THAT PUTIN IS NOT
INTERESTED IN A NORMAL
DIALOG”
I saw Twitter discussions among
Canadian politicians, in particular opposition
ones, where they opined that
Justin Trudeau had finally realized
that one could neither deal nor reach understandings
with Vladimir Putin.
What do you know about this?
“We have recorded no public discussion
of this topic. The truth is that
Trudeau and his government has undergone
a very serious evolution over
the years. When Trudeau became prime
minister, he had a noble idea, as it
seemed to him, to resume dialog with
Russia. And it seems to me that Russia
did not take full advantage of Canada’s
offer to establish a normal civilized dialog.
And now, both for Trudeau and for
the entire Canadian political establishment,
it is absolutely obvious that
Putin is not interested in a normal dialog.
It took some years for them to understand
this thesis. The visit of
Trudeau to Ukraine, a very powerful effort
of the Ukrainian diaspora here in
Canada, which explained literally to
every MP what was actually happening
in Ukraine – all this has brought a
very good result. We now have a very
clear and complete understanding by
Canada of what is happening in our
country, what role Russia is playing,
and it seems to me that our two nations
have established a complete understanding
on this issue.”
ternational law, including the annexation of Crimea.
In addition, 27 Australian citizens were on board of
the Malaysian Airlines aircraft which was shot
down over the Donbas.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Finland Andrii Olefirov
tweeted that the country’s leadership would not
attend the soccer event either. “It is a common senseinspired
decision, not something due to my efforts.
Each of us is doing their part at their station. However,
let us bring #BoycottWorldCup2018 to the top
of Twitter, since we are present there,” he said. The
boycott of the World Cup’s opening ceremony was
also announced by leaders of Poland and Canada.
At the same time, Germany’s position is not so
clear. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview
with the ARD TV channel this week that she
did not see any fundamental reasons for refusing to
travel to the World Cup in Russia. She neither confirmed
nor denied her attendance at the opening ceremony
of the event and said that the trip would depend
on how packed her schedule would be, more so
since it could be combined with political negotiations
as well. President of France Emmanuel Macron has
also refrained from supporting a clear boycott. During
a visit to St. Petersburg, the French leader promised
that he would come to Russia if the French team
reaches the semifinals, despite appeals from human
rights watchdogs not to do so, Reuters reports.
British singer Robbie Williams, who will sing at
the opening ceremony of the competition, was also
criticized. William Browder, an investor and one of
the initiators of the Magnitsky List, wrote on Twitter:
“There’s lots of ways to make money @robbiewilliams,
but selling your soul to a dictator
shouldn’t be one of them. Shame on you. This message
is on behalf of Sergei Magnitsky, Boris
Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya, Natalia Estemirova,
victims of MH17, 10,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers...”

4
No.37 JUNE 14, 2018
TOPIC OF THE DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Ivan KAPSAMUN, The Day
The list of those who plan to take
part in the upcoming pre-sidential
and parliamentary elections
is expanding. Former Security
Service (SBU) chairman Valentyn
NALYVAICHENKO, who has been at the
head of the civic political movement
Justice in the past few years, told The Day
he is running for the presidency. What
does the ex-chief of the special service
think of the latest events in Ukraine,
particularly the Arkady Babchenko story,
Putin’s statements, the likelihood of the
aggressor’s activation, the necessity of
establishing the Anticorruption Court,
and the election campaign? The guest
came to Den/The Day’s editorial office
after meeting Hugues Mingarelli, Head of
the EU Delegation to Ukraine. This is
what we began our conversation with.
● “THERE IS NO
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
TO REBUILD THE RUINED
INFRASTRUCTURE”
“Mr. Mingarelli and I discussed two
important items on our agenda. One is
the Ukraine-EU summit which will find
out at last what the Ukrainian leadership
has done in the past four years, receiving
considerable Western assistance.
The other is a very embarrassing situation
caused by the government’s resistance
to a free unification of communes.
The worst situation of this kind is in
Transcarpathia, where three territorial
communes have been barred from merging
for 18 months.”
Why?
“The root cause is in the payment of
taxes by entrepreneurs who work on the
territory of these communes. After they
unify, most of the money will remain behind
locally – this is why the central government
opposes this. The neighboring
Slovakia has built an up-to-date hospital
near the border, but the Ukrainian side
cannot do the same because all the money
goes to Kyiv. Communes what to
fund a lot of social projects in order to develop
their territory, but they are barred
from doing so. The EU ambassador and
I examined the map of Ukraine and saw
that the largest blank spot, i.e., the
place with the smallest number of united
territorial communes, is precisely in
Transcarpathia, a region that requires
special attention in order to ward off any
manifestations of separatism and social
unrest.
“We also discussed the necessity to
go on fighting corruption, above all, to
expose offshore deals, no matter when –
during Yanukovych’s or Poroshenko’s
presidency – they were made. Another
direction is security cooperation and
the EU’s support for Ukraine’s defense
industry. There are no orders from the
Ukrainian leadership.”
It was reported recently that the
governments of Ukraine and France
had signed a contract on supplying
55 cutting-edge Airbus helicopters to
boost the police fleet.
“I support reequipping the Ukrainian
police with up-to-date machines. It is
very important for the Special Response
Forces which need helicopters. For when
Russia committed aggression, neither
the SBU nor the police had at least a single
helicopter. And those belonging to
the Armed Forces of Ukraine are in poor
repair. We’ve been wasting time for
four years, instead of restoring the production
of Ukrainian helicopters – for
example, at the factory in Konotop,
Sumy oblast. We should have brought
back the French investor or set up a repair
facility based on European technologies
long ago. We are quite capable
of doing so.
“Speaking of cooperation with the
EU, we have no joint programs of helping
forced migrants: it is about employment,
the right to elect, daycare facilities,
schools, and social security. As of
today, it is only the Red Cross and target-oriented
aid from some countries,
such as Japan, Switzerland, and Lithuania.
There is no comprehensive plan to
rebuild the ruined infrastructure, although
it should have been drawn up and
submitted to the Ukraine-EU summit. I
think the European Commission would
have backed this plan.”
What is the agenda?
Valentyn NALYVAICHENKO: “We should take advantage of the nearest
Ukraine-EU summit and apply in writing for European Union membership”
● “BEFORE SPEAKING
OF PEACEKEEPERS,
WE SHOULD HAVE
PERSUADED THE UN
SECURITY COUNCIL TO
MONITOR THE SITUATION”
Did you watch Putin’s latest interview
for the Austrian ORF TV channel?
“Yes.”
What do you think?
“Neither Putin himself nor his regime
has changed. But we must think, above all,
of our national interests: integration into
the EU and NATO must remain on the
agenda every day. We should take a serious
attitude to this, for Russia has not
toned down its criticisms and threats.
Putin’s interview is another proof of this.
And the absence of an action plan on our
part makes us vulnerable.”
What could be expected from the aggressor,
for Russia has been more activate
lately in the Donbas and the Sea of Azov?
“Russia will continue the aggressive
war against Ukraine. It is very good that
we have at last, four years later, entrusted
the professional military to supervise the
operation in the east. But what the United
Forces lack in this operation is support
from the defense complex which must
work day and night on supplying the military
with all the necessary equipment:
safety modules, artillery radars, armored
vehicles… The main tactical goal is to
avoid losses of our servicemen. The next
goal is to restore the country’s defense capability
and liberate the occupied territories.”
President Petro Poroshenko spoke
again the other day about a UN peacekeeping
mission in the Donbas. To what extent
is it realistic?
“Kurt Volker, US Special Representative
for Ukraine, is showing activity in
this field, whereas the Ukrainian side is
falling short of its target. First of all, it is
necessary to set things right on the line of
disengagement, particularly to do away
with corruption. Next: before speaking of
peacekeepers, we should have persuaded
the UN Security Council to monitor the situation
long ago in order to identify the nature
of this operation on the spot. The mission’s
mandate should comprise clear-cut
conditions – regaining peace and security
on the Ukrainian-Russian border. There
should be fewer general words and publicity
and more concrete things. The mandate
itself should be on behalf of Ukraine, for
it is our territory. Moreover, we are a UN
founding member.”
● “I ADVISE ALL OF OUR FANS
NOT TO TRAVEL TO RUSSIA
FOR THE FIFA WORLD CUP”
What attitude do you think Ukrainians
should take to the FIFA World Cup in
Russia?
“I think it would be quite right for our
soccer fans and state to boycott this championship.
Although neither the government
nor the Soccer Federation of Ukraine
worked on the international level, ordinary
people and athletes took a principled stand.
I advise all of our fans not to travel to Russia.
Firstly, for security reasons because
you are unprotected there – there is neither
a consul nor the consular law. The cases of
Sentsov, Kolchenko, Klykh, Karpiuk, and
other political prisoners confirm this. Secondly,
we should show that we are ready to
free our people instead of traveling to
watch soccer and drink beer.”
Now about the Anticorruption Court.
There are two viewpoints of lawyers and
experts: some say this court is needed to
cleanse the system, others argue that it is
not needed and it would be better to reform
the existing courts so they could try corruptionists.
What do you think?
“I am convinced that Ukraine needs an
independent anticorruption court, as well
as two legislatively-enshrined crucial
things: no statute of limitations for crimes
of corruption and a mechanism for recovering
and returning the stolen money to
Ukraine. The No. 1 thing is to begin punishing
and confiscating what officials, including
the president, stole regardless of
when they were in power. For this purpose,
there should be an anticorruption court,
with judges elected by an independent
commission composed of both Ukrainians
and foreigners.”
● “THE LEADERSHIP WAS TO
HAVE FORMED THE SBI
AND DELEGATED
INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTIONS
TO IT AS LONG AS TWO
YEARS AGO”
The Law on the State Bureau of Investigations
(SBI) was passed several
years ago, but this institution is still to be
established. Is it going to be the same with
the Anticorruption Court, even if the relevant
law is passed?
Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
“It is inactivity of the leadership. It
was to have formed the SBI and delegated
investigative functions to it as long as two
years ago. But the president and the prosecutor
general are blocking this reform
and, hence, must be held responsible.
There is so much talk now about Arkady
Babchenko, but let us recall real highprofile
murders in the past few years.
There were four of them – two by means of
a car bomb and two by means of firearms.
These are acts of political terrorism. Where
are the results of investigation? There
are none. The point is we don’t have an independent
facility. The leadership could
have recruited independent specialists,
furnished information from other lawenforcement
bodies, supplied them with
special technical and other equipment,
and placed them in touch with international
investigative bodies long ago. But this is
not being done.”
● “ONLY A LEGAL TRIAL
CAN SAVE THE BABCHENKO
CASE NOW”
What do you think of the Security Service’s
special operation to allegedly ward
off the murder of Arkady Babchenko?
“When I headed the SBU, I did not allow
this kind of operations. The main
thing in the work of the SBU and other lawenforcement
bodies is legality. So, as far as
the Babchenko case is concerned, I urge the
authorities to restore legality in law-enforcement
bodies. The principle of responsibility
towards the Ukrainian people,
enshrined in the law, in no way means intimidating
people, particularly by the socalled
‘list of 47.’ The appearance of the latter
is nothing but an attempt to present
journalists as targets and the state as a
shooting gallery. They had better investigate
the assassinations of Pavlo Sheremet,
Amina Okuyeva, and Military Intelligence
Colonel Maksym Shapoval. Now only a legal
trial can save the Babchenko case,
where, on condition of having ample evidence,
the Ukrainian counterintelligence
should be the main party of prosecution. If
the process has begun, it should go on. This
is the way I acted when Russia downed the
Malaysian MH17 Boeing. It took us
24 hours to name the organizers and perpetrators
of the crime.”
Recently, when the international investigation
of this tragedy in fact put
the blame on Moscow, French President
Emmanuel Macron was visiting Moscow.
Many criticized his weak position and behavior
in front of Putin. Shortly before
this, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
had come to see Russia’s president in
Sochi. What does this line of European
leaders mean?
“Indeed, we can conclude that the latest
political decisions of the president of
France, the chancellor of Germany, the premier
of Bulgaria, and the president of
Turkey do not take into account Ukraine’s
interests at all. I mean Nord Stream 2 and
South Stream, as well as active contacts of
European leaders with the Russian leadership
in general. This in turn means that
both the president of Ukraine and our
Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed to convince
the Europeans. We must work more
actively, otherwise we will lose. For example,
we should take advantage of the
nearest Ukraine-EU summit and apply in
writing for European Union membership.”
● “WE MUST TELL THE PEOPLE
FRANKLY THAT ALL
ELEMENTS OF THE
DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION
ARE MOVING SEPARATELY”
Ukrainians will be electing the president
in less than a year’s time and parliament
another six months later. Do you
plan to take part?
“The Justice movement’s team and I
have resolved to contest elections separately.
Our political proposal in the presidential
and parliamentary elections is as
follows: renewing the country, liberating
the occupied territories, fighting corruption.
Who are we running with? With
those who have shown their position. With
professionals, volunteers, medics, war
veterans, and patriots, who have never betrayed
Ukraine and will never do so while
in power. I’ve made a personal decision to
run for the presidency and, with the Justice
team, for a parliamentary seat. I remain
in political partnership with Yulia Tymoshenko,
especially in the matters of
corruption control.”
Viktor Chumak, who is also running
for the presidency, told Den recently that
all of democratic oppositionists can, if they
wish, actively campaign for themselves.
Then it will be necessary to gauge the ratings
and support the leader who will run
further as a single candidate. Do you accept
this approach?
“We must tell the people frankly that
all elements of the democratic opposition
are moving separately now. It is true. Let
the people finally decide because the main
indicator for me is their trust rather than
artificial ratings and the money of oligarchs.
One should unite around a joint
platform. Incidentally, I can say after my
latest trip to Washington that our US
partners have resolved to monitor fairness
at the Ukrainian elections. Nobody will allow
rigging the elections.”
● “WE MUST AT LAST BREAK
THE OLIGARCHIC LINE OF
UKRAINIAN POLITICS”
As long as there is neither the new
Central Election Commission nor the new
electoral law, the instruments of rigging
still remain.
“Unfortunately, the leadership is not
exactly willing to form a new Central Election
Commission, let alone reform it from
a bureaucratic Soviet body into a European
technical entity that will obey the law
rather than instructions ‘from above.’
Besides, there is no political will to set the
clear-cut rules of fair play, i.e., a new electoral
law. Moreover, those who defected
from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc are already
in the constituencies, ‘sowing them with
money.’”
You say it is possible to unite around
a joint platform. Who can be your allies?
“I am against an alliance with corrupt
politicians, party projects, and those who
had a lot of chances when they were in power
but betrayed the people.”
You were in power, too.
“Yes, but I am ready to answer for each
of my actions – when I was the SBU chief
and an MP.
“I welcome the alliance of honest civic
organizations that represent veterans,
corruption fighters, journalists, volunteers,
et al. They are the heart of Ukraine.
Politicians must not impose an agenda on
people – the case should be the other way
round. We must at last break the oligarchic
line of Ukrainian politics.”

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
TOPIC OF THE DAY No.37 JUNE 14, 2018 5
By Maria PROKOPENKO, The Day
At the start of 2018, Japan
simplified the visa regime for
Ukraine. As a result, the number
of Ukrainian tourists to this Far
Eastern country has increased by a
quarter. Over the past year, about 7,000
Ukrainians visited Japan for various purposes.
Thus, there is a room for growth
overall.
For the last 15 years, Japan has been
actively developing tourism. By the way of
comparison: while the country admitted
5.2 million tourists in 2003, the figure stood
at almost 28.7 million last year, which, in
turn, is 19 percent more than in 2016.
Currently, Japan’s declared goal is to admit
up to 40 million tourists in 2020. Considering
that Tokyo will then be the capital of the
Summer Olympics, the goal is quite
achievable. Another detail: Japan ranked
fourth among 141 countries in the 2017
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report
prepared by the World Economic Forum.
Most tourists come from the Asian region, but
there are also many travelers from the US,
Britain, France, Germany.
Japan is always surprising. Almost all of
us have heard about its parks, palaces,
temples, and robots. Meanwhile, it turns
out that according to last year’s data, Japan
has become the country with the largest
number of Michelin three-star restaurants (it
is the highest mark available from the
renowned guide). France has 25 such
establishments, while Japan can boast as
many as 29.
The Japan National Tourism Organization
(JNTO) promotes Japan as a tourist
destination. It has offices on several continents
and opened a branch office in Moscow
in 2016 which serves, besides Russia,
Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Georgia, etc.,
totaling 15 countries. The Embassy of Japan
in Ukraine also helps promote travel to the
Land of the Rising Sun. It was there that we
learned about some peculiarities of this kind
of tourism and its most popular destinations.
● ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
Even after the visa regime has been
simplified, Ukrainians still need a certain
package of documents to visit Japan.
However, the visa will be issued free of
charge, and can come as soon as after five
working days.
There are currently no direct flights
from Ukraine to Japan, which is a major
problem for Ukrainian tour operators. There
are many connecting flights available, but
they are quite expensive, because, as director
general of the Tsentr tour operator Svitlana
Vitkovska explained, there are no special
tariffs for connecting flights with package
tours, which is normally practiced when a
certain destination is actively developing.
Often Ukrainian tourists fly to Japan via the
Finnish Helsinki Airport or Qatar. To make
the situation clear, the minimum ticket price
to Qatar stands at 900 dollars. When arriving
in Japan, Ukrainians land in Tokyo or Osaka.
● WHERE TO STAY
As for accommodation, there are plenty
of hotels in Japan, both traditional and
Western-modeled ones, which Europeans are
familiar with. However, hotels belonging to
international chains are usually located in
large cities. By the way, the famous physicist,
Nobel laureate Richard Feynman recalled a
funny story from his trip to Japan for an
international convention of theoretical
physicists, held in the early 1950s (it can be
found in the book Surely You’re Joking,
Mr. Feynman!). The American delegation was
accommodated in a European-style hotel,
but the scientist really wanted to experience
authentic Japan. So he moved to a Japanese
hotel, which left him incredibly pleased.
However, this is clearly a matter of taste.
Those who want to experience the local
way of life even deeper can rent a room in a
home occupied by a Japanese family. Some
options involve even a stay in a Japanese
monastery, enabling the guest to take part in
its life.
● CHERRY BLOSSOMS AND
MAPLES
Most tourists come to Japan for the
cherry blossom and maple seasons, which
occur, respectively, in the spring and fall.
Japanese weather forecasters annually create
a map of the cherry blossom blooming or
maple leaf fall, predicting when and in what
area this will happen. These maps often
Ukrainians are
increasingly
discovering for
themselves
the Land of the
Rising Sun.
What attracts
them there?
Finding one’s own Japan
guide tour operators’ decisions. But, of
course, forecasts do not always come true. For
example, this year, the cherry blossom
blooming started 10 days early.
“Do not be upset. The cherry blossom
blooming is followed by the wisteria blooming
season, which lasts till the end of May,”
Vitkovska noted. “Meanwhile, summer tours
can include beach holidays as well. But one
must take into account the high humidity
prevailing in the summer, which is especially
important for people with cardiovascular
conditions.” One can even come to Japan for
skiing, so that country is interesting all year
round.
● TO SEE THE EMPEROR
By the way, it is in winter that the
Imperial Palace in Tokyo is particularly
interesting for tourists. This is because
outsiders can visit its inner gardens and see
the emperor with his family going out to greet
people only twice a year: on January 2,
immediately after the New Year, and on
December 23, the birthday of Emperor
Akihito. On other days, provided no
additional restrictions are imposed, one can
access the Imperial Palace East Gardens
only.
● WITH A FRENCH ACCENT
Japan has several sights that bring to
mind Paris. Firstly, the Tokyo Tower is
similar to the Eiffel one, but, as regional
representative of the Japanese tour operator
Japan Air Travel Marketing in Ukraine
Natalia Supriianovych added, the Japanese
structure is a bit taller and lighter. The
height of the tower exceeds 332 meters, it
occupies 12th place among the 29 highest
structures listed by the World Federation of
Great Towers. This broadcasting tower was
built in the late 1950s.
“The tower is painted in orange, which is
important for aviation. In winter it is
highlighted in orange, and in the summer it
uses lighter and cooler colors,” Supriianovych
told us. Of course, the tower has had
observation decks installed as well, and one
of them, which has an altitude of 150 meters,
includes a section with transparent floor.
On the artificial island of Odaiba, which
is connected to Tokyo with the Rainbow
Bridge, there is the Statue of Liberty, a
quarter-size replica of the famous US
monument (the latter, let us remind our
reader, was a gift of the French, for which they
received a smaller replica of the original from
the Americans). “This statue was installed
during the Year of Paris in Tokyo. It was
funded by Japanese businesses, including the
company Fuji Television. Initially, they
intended it to stand for just a year, it was made
out of the desire to advertise this particular
company, because the monument stands with
its office in the background. When the Year of
Paris in Tokyo ended, the statue was removed.
But its memory remained, and people began to
request her return. Therefore, it was installed
again, and has become a permanently displayed
exhibit,” Supriianovych said.
REUTERS photo
Elsewhere, the main building of the
Tokyo City Hall resembles a futuristic Gothic
cathedral, sometimes called the “Japanese
Notre-Dame de Paris.”
● MEETING THE FUTURE
The just-mentioned island of Odaiba
houses the Miraikan, the so-called museum
of the future. This museum is dedicated to
the latest technology and scientific developments,
and is led by the first professional
Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri. “This
astronaut really wanted people on Earth to
see what the planet looks like from outer
space. Therefore, the Miraikan has an interactive
model of the Earth. Geolocation is
transmitted directly from space, and this
model allows one to monitor clouds and
weather changes on the planet online,”
Supriianovych said. “Plus, this museum
lets one learn a lot about astronautics in general.
Also, the humanoid robot Asimo performs
for visitors several times a day as it
walks, dances, greets people, and talks in
several languages.”
● FAMOUS LOCATIONS
AND THOSE UNKNOWN
BY TOURISTS
There are 21 UNESCO Heritage sites in
Japan. Legendary Mount Fuji was added to
the World Heritage list relatively recently,
namely in 2013. “When we rode the
Shinkansen [a high-speed rail system whose
trains run at speeds of up to 300 kilometers
per hour. – Author] on a trip from Tokyo,
I was struck by the Japanese’ attitude
towards this mountain,” Supriianovych
shared her thoughts. “We were sitting and
talking, knowing that we would soon see
Fuji. Then, an employee of the Shinkansen
went by, saw the foreigners and showed us
that ‘Fuji will be visible soon,’ explained
from which side we could look at it, what
was the best way of doing it. I have not met
with such a tender attitude toward nature
and the nation’s holy places in any other
country.” Incidentally, there are
10 observation platforms on Fuji, but
beginners must stop at the fifth, as only
experienced people may go further.
Actually, this may be the reason to come to
Fuji again for some people.
“Now the main tourist flow sticks to the
so-called ‘Golden Route,’ including Tokyo,
Mount Fuji, Osaka, and Kyoto. Therefore, if
you are in Kyoto, there is the Monastery of the
Golden Pavilion [Kinkaku-ji. – Author] there
which is chock full of tourists, and authentic
Japan seems to be just absent,” chief of the
JNTO’s Moscow office Airi Motokura mused.
“But there is, for example, the city of
Kanazawa, known as the ‘little Kyoto,’ or the
island of Kyushu in the southern part of
Japan. These places are not known to foreign
tourists so far, so there is authentic Japan
there. Hence, we want to include them in
tourist routes. Of course, one has to look at
the Golden Route sights, but if you include
these unknown locations as well, it will be
more interesting.”
From Ukraine – for
allpeopleoftheplanet
About a child prodigy from the Vinnytsia region who
received job offers from leading international IT
companies, but still opted to come home
By Olesia SHUTKEVYCH,
Vinnytsia region
For residents of the small town of
Lypovets, the Vinnytsia region,
Maksym Bevza is a true legend.
He is an example for his former
school’s students, and his
successes are passed down to each
successive class. The lad showed brilliant
results in the External Independent
Evaluation (EIE), having scored
200 points in physics and mathematics
and 194 in the Ukrainian language.
Knowledge opened up fantastic
opportunities to him. He chose to study
at one of the most prestigious
universities and became a highly soughtafter
employee for the best IT companies
in the world. However, after a few
internships abroad, Bevza returned to
Ukraine. Now, he says, he has a dream
job that allows him to combine science
and the IT, and most importantly,
achieve complete self-fulfillment.
“At school I was actively involved in
the science Olympiad movement, participated
in competitions at different le-
vels on several occasions. When attending
grade 11, I won the first place in computer
science, physics, and astronomy,
the second one in mathematics, and the
third one in economics. That is, I held
five prize positions at the regional
Olympiads. It was my father who instilled
in me the love for the exact sciences,
as he is a physicist by training and
has had programming as a hobby
throughout his life. It was he who started
to train me when I was 10, and I entered
my first Olympiad in computer science
before I studied it at school. I do not
remember if I won a prize position then,
but it captivated me. Therefore, it is my
dad who gave me an impetus to start programming,
although now I have already
overtaken him by a large margin,” Bevza
told us with a smile.
After finishing school and receiving
brilliant results at the EIE, Bevza had
every Ukrainian university offering a
place to him. He chose the one that he had
long dreamed about – Taras Shevchenko
National University of Kyiv. He admits
that had he not worked to improve his
marks and win the Olympiads, he would
have had no realistic chance to enter the
university, since admissions were insanely
competitive.
“During my first and second years,
I continued to take part in the Olympiads,
only competing with college students
now. These intellectual competitions
help to structure one’s knowledge and
quickly navigate unknown situations. We
had to work as a team, and this experience
was also useful. After the second year, I
went abroad for my first internship.
Overall, I had four of them – thrice with
Google and once with Facebook,” Bevza
continued. “The internships enabled me
to practically apply my skills and abilities.
That is, I could develop a specific product,
which allowed one to feel how the IT
professionals work. The first job offer
came from Facebook after the third year,
followed by another from Google. But at
that moment, I still did not understand
what I really wanted to do, because I was
still studying and interested in not just
the development of IT products, but precisely
its scientific component.”
After graduating with a master’s
degree, Bevza has found a job that allows
him to combine science and the IT.
He works for a Ukrainian company
that develops innovative IT products in
the field of artificial intelligence and
machine learning. Bevza himself works
on improving a globally popular service
for checking English spelling, in other
Photo courtesy of Maksym BEVZA
words, he creates algorithms that prevent
us from making mistakes when
writing in English. The company is
founded by Ukrainians, conditions and
compensation are as good as beyond the
ocean. Bevza says that the comfort of
employees and creative freedom are
the top priorities there: they can work
or sing, whatever suits them best. The
main thing is to believe in what you do,
then you will work in good faith and
comply with deadlines.
“Had I stayed abroad, I would have
been one of a thousand of employees,
and my contribution to the overall effort
would have been one thousandth.
In the company for which I work today,
we have approximately 150 people.
That is, my contribution is one hundred
and fiftieth, and this increases my responsibility
manifold, because my products
are more valuable and in demand
with people throughout the planet,”
Bevza summed up. “Now Ukraine has
a unique chance to become an active
player in the IT market. Ukrainian
specialists are very competitive, and because
of this we have the supply, demand,
and popularity of this profession.
But as for those who dream of succeeding
in this field, the first steps
must be taken while still at school, because
it is then that you have a lot of
free time that needs to be used well. As
you sow, so shall you reap.”

6
No.37 JUNE 14, 2018
CLOSE UP
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Ivan KAPSAMUN, The Day
US President Donald
Trump’s policy does not
exactly fit in with the
established rules in the
world. This gradually
changes traditional relationships in
geopolitics, of which the latest G7
summit in Canada is a graphic illustration.
A problem of partners’
unity has emerged in the Western
camp. This cannot help but play in
the hands of Russia which is
waging a war against Ukraine. The
latest visits of German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and French President
Emmanuel Macron to Russia
is Putin’s success. The same can be
said about Trump’s call for Russia
to be readmitted to the G7. All
this should be a matter of serious
analysis in Ukraine. How is
Ukraine to behave in the US-
Europe-Russia triangle? We are
interviewing Kostiantyn HRY-
SHCHENKO, Ukraine’s Minister of
Foreign Affairs in 2003-05 and
2010-12.
Ukrainian political prisoner
Oleh Sentsov, whom the Russian
authorities imprisoned for 20 years
on a trumped-up charge, has been
on a hunger strike for almost a
month. What can be done to have
Sentsov freed?
“There must be a more active political
communication on this matter,
which means that releasing
Ukrainian political prisoners should
be put on the agenda of the negotiations
the US president and European
leaders are holding with
Moscow. Naturally, Ukraine
should, above all, constantly broach
this problem in the world. But there
is no guarantee that we will get the
expected response. Sentsov’s deteriorating
health and a real danger
to his life are serious factors of influence,
but I don’t think Moscow
will readily take them into account.
It is unlikely that somebody can offer
a clear plan that could produce
a concrete result.”
Will the EU stand united
against Moscow?
“I think it is the reaction to the
policies of US President Trump
rather than the Kremlin’s merit.
Unwillingness to heed the opinion
of European politicians and ignoring
their national interests causes
EU leaders to seek an alternative.
They seem to be unable to see any
other alternative but Moscow, although
it is, of course, inadequate.
Europe’s disappointment over failure
to influence the US and the resulting
search for an opportunity to
act independently, particularly to
build bridges with the Kremlin, is
a reaction to what irks Europe very
much. Besides, the Americans do
not suffer much from anti-Russian
sanctions, as the main burden is being
shouldered by the Europeans
who are more and more thinking
over whether or not it is worthwhile
to continue the current policy.”
What is the logic of Trump’s
policy towards the EU – is it about
purely economic interests or something
more than this?
“The logic of Trump’s policy can
be discussed in general, but no one
has given an answer so far. The behavior
of not even the US administration
but of Trump personally
is a serious subject for examining
the psychology and policy of making
decisions based on the desire to
“Unpredictability
has become a norm”
Diplomat Kostiantyn HRYSHCHENKO on changes in geopolitics
and Ukraine’s place in the US-Europe-Russia triangle
ation of new jobs by way of encouraging
US companies to resume
production in the US, and other advantages
for Americans). Moreover,
the advice and opinion of
highly professional experts, including
advisors from Trump’s inner
circle, are not being taken into
account. Therefore, entirely new
criteria should be formulated and
applied here. The logic that worked
under previous administrations
works no more.”
What impact does Trump’s policy
have on the established rules in
global geopolitics?
“It is very unusual to live in the
conditions when unpredictability
has become a norm. This used to be
a rare exception, but today everybody
must reckon with the fact that
neither the personal relationships between
Macron and Trump, nor the
importance of commercial and economic
ties between the US and Germany,
nor the level of traditional
trust between the US and the UK are
decisive factors now. But nobody has
found out so far what should be decisive.
Nobody can explain Trump’s
position and implementation and,
what is more, on the attitude of US
and European corporations to this.
So we are living in a world where nobody
but Trump himself can seriously
influence the events. And the
more this unpredictability embraces
new regions, the more unable he
himself will be to stop the course of
certain events. This considerably
complicates the work of diplomats of
any state.”
Can we say that Russia is benefiting
from the situation of partial
chaos?
“It would be an exaggeration to
say that they are benefiting because
they have to pay a very high
price for this. The impression of
strength or certitude they are trying
to demonstrate in the world
costs them very much: limitation of
economic possibilities, reduced access
to loans, unwillingness of
many banks to deal with them, etc.
This will remain a burden for a long
time. While the Donbas situation
can be theoretically settled in the
long term, Russia will have to
shoulder the Crimean burden for a
be liked by the basic electorate.
The slogan that all global policies
are in fact domestic, local, policies
has already been brought up to the
highest denominator. And, as
Trump’s basic electorate has a very
simplified idea of international relations
and the US’s role in them,
he is fulfilling his promises (support
for the domestic market, creunusual
affection for Putin because
this does not seem to give him any
obvious political advantages. Although
the US as a state is pursuing
a tough policy, imposing new sanctions
against Russia, the president’s
role is extremely important. For
example, he cannot cancel or ease
sanctions at any moment, but he can
surely exert influence on their imvery
long time. I don’t think the
sound-minded Russians are happy
about what happened. Yes, Russia
is deriving certain tactical benefits
today – owing not so much to its efforts
as to the ongoing processes.
Trump’s decisions, for example,
on the ‘Iranian question,’ caused
additional tension or an increase of
tariffs for US partners.”
Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
Still, will Europe remain
united?
“There will be a conflict of
two tendencies. Euroskeptics and
populists will be rocking the boat,
but they are so far unable to offer
an alternative. Europe cannot afford
centrifugal tendencies if it is
to meet competition with such
players as the US and China. And,
as we can see, the alliance of
France and Germany has only
strengthened lately. They are Europe’s
topmost economies. There
may be a lot of debates, but nobody
is prepared to renounce the
euro. I am convinced that Europe
will stand its ground. I personally
feel positive about Britain’s
withdrawal from the EU. It has
never considered itself part of
Europe. Of course, there is a position
of Hungary, Poland, and
Italy… Incidentally, many are
pleased with Italy’s electoral
choice. This experience is most
likely to bring back more experienced
and easy-to-grasp forces
which will not be making unnecessary
waves in Europe.”
Do you think it is possible to
stop Nord Stream 2?
“Poland has already exhausted
its potential, while Ukraine simply
did not have any. Today, the US is
the main barrier to carrying out
this project. Should any sanctions
be applied against German companies
(which can, incidentally,
create more problems in trans-Atlantic
cooperation), this project
will be shelved. The attempts of
German politicians to assure us
that Ukraine will preserve its role
as transporter is even worse that
the Budapest guarantees.”
The main question is what policy
Ukraine should pursue under
these circumstances.
“Unfortunately, we are getting
back again to Trump’s principle: all
policies are local. First of all, we
should have a government in which
both Ukrainian society and foreign
partners trust. I don’t mean
the West alone – practically nobody
trusts the current leadership. I
don’t know even a single person
who is not taking a negative attitude
to the way the government is
fulfilling its declarations and promises.
This is No. 1. Secondly, today
everybody is already waiting for
Ukrainian election results. Of
course, there will be ritual meetings
with and requests to kings and
crown princes to help with peacekeepers,
and they will be saying
‘yes’ with pleasure, but, in the last
analysis, we will hardly get anything.
This is why the main thing
now is to keep stability, which does
not mean that we should not offer
new ideas.”
What changes should we expect
after the elections?
“I won’t be guessing about the
spectrum of political forces that
will come to parliament, for most of
the present-day political wild
schemes are based on a fluid situation,
when things can change quite
radically. The leadership may
change, but this depends on many
factors. It is high time we introduced
some kind of strategic planning,
for we cannot adopt budgets
on a yearly basis only. There must
be strategic planning for at least
three to five years because otherwise
we will never stop repairing
potholes, will be unable to build
bridges, social facilities, etc. The
government purges or filters professional
personnel and then wonders
why nobody fulfills its decisions.
This must be put an end to.
We must know how to defend our
positions from anybody: the IMF,
the EU, the US, Russia…”
Are you personally planning
to take part in the elections?
“It will be worthwhile to do so
when we have a proportional system
and you are part of a team that
puts forward a professional program
instead of dishing out food rations
or window-dressing. A political
force should propose real
changes and nominate people who
can offer at least something to society
as a whole. I do not rule out
participating in the elections, but
I’ll make a decision shortly before
the vote. I hope changes to the
election law will be adopted well before
this. These changes will enable
political forces to be independent
from concrete sponsors, and the
very system of pre-election rivalry
will be oriented to a real program
rather than to populism.”

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
SOCIE T Y No.37 JUNE 14, 2018 7
By Alla DUBROVYK-ROKHOVA, The Day,
Kyiv – Stockholm – Kyiv
Photos by the author
Early this year, the Swedish
government decided to repay
25 percent of the purchase
cost of electric bicycles,
tricycles, and ATVs to its
citizens. The total amount of the
subsidy is projected at 350 million
Swedish kronor, or 40 million dollars
a year.
Any Swedish citizen who has purchased
a light vehicle with an electric
motor after September 20, 2017 has
the right to get 25 percent of its cost
repaid by the state.
In this way, the Swedish government
will stimulate the transition
of citizens to electric transportation.
In addition, the Swedish
authorities will monitor manufacturers
and sellers of electric bicycles
to prevent an automatic price increase
offsetting this discount.
Thus, Sweden is steadily moving
towards the achievement of one of the
Sustainable Development Goals, namely
Goal No. 7, which reads “Ensure access
to affordable, reliable, sustainable,
and modern energy for all.”
About 67,000 electric bicycles
were sold in Sweden last year. “Studies
show that electric bicycles are replacing
cars,” Swedish Minister for the
Environment Karolina Skog said.
“The market has begun to develop, and
we have a good selection of models.”
Sweden is one of the world leaders
in the field of electric transport promotion.
Last year, the Swedes
launched a test electrified road stretch
near Stockholm that can charge cars
equipped with a special current collector
on the move. The cost of one
kilometer of such a road is one million
euros (about 30 million hryvnias).
In the small city of Eskilstuna, visited
by participants of the UNDP
Ukraine-organized educational tour
for experts and government officials,
which was devoted to studying Sweden’s
experience in achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals, the municipality
is developing a network of
public transport stops that double as
recharging stations. By the way, the
city’s electricity is produced at waste
processing plants. While passengers
take their seats, the “green” bus is being
recharged.
In general, public transportation
is well developed in Sweden. Firstly, it
is comfortable and convenient. Secondly,
in this way, the Swedes follow
one of their principles, which we
talked about in the first part of the
present series (“Swedish Approach to
Sustainable Development,” The Day,
June 7, 2018), namely “reasonable
consumption.” And thirdly, the personal
car in Sweden is a luxury good,
because the state has imposed on each
car owner not only annual taxes on the
use of the car, but fees for its daily use
(some sort of checkpoints have been installed
on all roads with a certain interval
between them; they look like
high bar frames as long as the road is
wide, and sensors and cameras are
mounted there that record every vehicle
coming through). In this way,
each car owner pays for their comfort
(by the way, the fee depends on the size
of the car). Meanwhile, owners of
gasoline-powered cars pay so-called
eco-taxes on the top of that as well.
The Swedish railway is considered
one of the most technologically
advanced in the world. Ferries offer a
great way to travel around Scandinavia,
and the domestic air services in
Sweden are comfortable and fast (it
takes less than an hour in the air to
reach any destination).
How the “transportation arteries”
of a healthy nation look like
The Swedish approach to sustainable development. Part 2
The Stockholm Subway deserves
particular attention.
The Stockholm Tunnelbana (that
is exactly what the Scandinavians call
their subway) has gained world fame
due to its unusual style. The pragmatic
Swedes have turned the public transportation
system of their capital into
a... museum. “The longest artistic
gallery of the world” is a well-deserved
title of the Stockholm Subway.
When traveling along the Stockholm
Subway, one feels like getting into
the fascinating world of history.
More than 90 out of the system’s
100 stations are decorated with sculptures,
mosaics, paintings, and engravings.
The subway was built in 1950,
but the first exhibits appeared there in
1957. The combined length of all lines
of the Stockholm Subway is about
110 kilometers. About 150 artists
created the works displayed there.
No station is like another: some are
decorated with stained-glass windows,
others with elements of ancient
palaces. Some subway stations feature
pictures of video game episodes. Meanwhile,
when descending an escalator on
the red line of the subway, it seems
that one is exiting a monster’s lair, for
everything is very unexpected and
exciting there. It is not for nothing
that many tourists visit the Stockholm
Subway as if it was an excursion.
The subway in Stockholm, like all
trains in Sweden, goes in the opposite
direction to the one we are used to.
They run on the left. There are historic
reasons for it, the motor vehicle traffic
switched to driving on the right on
September 3, 1967. However, the
trains have kept running as before.
In the Stockholm Subway, mobile
phones are operating between stations
as well. Escalators are turned on
automatically when people are approaching
them. Even here, the
Swedes’ ceaseless concern about the
nature and conservation of electricity
is evident. Many escalators look out of
service at first glance: but once you
step on one, the mechanism starts
working, speeds up, and brings you up.
There is another peculiar feature
of the Stockholm Subway. Subway
trains do not have rear view mirrors.
At each station, the driver leaves the
train to monitor passenger traffic
and announce via a microphone that he
is about to close the doors.
A subway ticket can be purchased
at a vending machine at any
station or from a cash desk. The
city is divided into three zones, and,
accordingly, the price of a one-way
pass varies and can reach more than
70 kronor (approximately 210 hryvnias).
But there is a system of discounts
for various multi-tickets, so
purchasing them is a much better
deal. It should be noted that tickets
in Stockholm, both one-time ones
and multiple day or weekly passes,
are valid for all modes of transport.
The bus system is working very
smoothly in the Swedish capital,
and such a pass allows one to use the
water crossing as well. This is usually
a 10-minute trip, which residents
of the capital are used to, but
it is still a great opportunity for
tourists to have a look at Stockholm
from the Baltic Sea.
P.S. The Day is grateful to the
UNDP Ukraine for providing us with
the opportunity to cover for our readers
Sweden’s experience in achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals.

8
No.37 JUNE 14, 2018
TIMEO U T
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
Tobacco pipes as artworks
...And elements of lifestyle
(a tour of the Lviv Museum of Ethnography)
By Tetiana KOZYRIEVA, Lviv
“It was quiet again, except for
Grandpa Panko puffing his faika” (Ivan
Franko, Collected Works, Vol. I, 1955,
p. 289, short story The Lower Depths).
This quote is for those who do not know
such an ancient Ukrainian word as faika.
And now, with the help of the classic
writer, it has become entirely clear to
everybody that it is a “smoking accessory.”
I will now list a few synonyms on
this occasion: liulka, tsybukh, nosohriika,
tsupechka (because it is short), cherpianka
(literally “sherdy” because it is
made of clay). They are beautiful!
By Oleksandra KLIOSOVA,
Halych – Kyiv
The picture gallery of the Ancient
Halych National Sanctuary is
hosting an exhibition “Galician
Old Printed Church Books of the
17th-20th Centuries,” which will
last until July 7. The exposition reflects
the work done by the religion studies
expeditionary search party comprising
employees of the Ancient Halych
National Sanctuary’s research and
education department and holdings
Photo by Roman BALUK
An exhibition of 17th-20th-century old
printedchurchbookshasopenedinHalych
department. The organizers of this event
intended it to mark two anniversaries at
once: 1,120 years since the first written
mention of Halych and 715 years since
the establishment of the Galician
Metropolitanate.
The core exhibits include church
liturgical books illustrated with Renaissance
and Baroque engravings created
by famous masters of the engraving
art: Brother Ilia, Brother Dorofei, Vasyl
Ushakevych, Yefstafii Zavadovsky,
Yosyf and Adam Gochemskys. To highlight
the most important ones, I would
Photo by the author
There are few faikas in the collection
of the Lviv Museum of Ethnography
and Handicrafts (MEH). The total
holdings amount to 70 exhibits. Of
them, 10 early-19th-century pipes are
on display permanently. The Day
learned it from head of the MEH’s exhibition
department Andrii Kolotai. He
added that the faikas were made of various
materials (bone, hardwood, artistic
metal, porcelain). All of them are
luxuriously decorated. Each of them
has some unique style features. The ceramic
one is so light and weightless, as
if made of paper. These smoking “implements”
were created by skillful
peasants as well as professional craftsmen.
“These exhibits cannot but impress
and make us admire them, because
they are very interesting,” the
museum employee told us.
The collection has been cataloged
and repeatedly exhibited in dedicated
events, both at the MEH and elsewhere.
The MEH inherited its pipe collection
from the Municipal Industrial
Museum, founded in Lviv in 1874.
It is known to have purchased pipes at
exhibitions, auctions or in antique
shops in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, and
other European cities. “The purpose of
these quests and purchases was to
teach Galician craftsmen to make
pipes emulating best examples of decorative
and applied art of that time,
the pre-World-War-I era,” Kolotai
said. He then added that the museum
expanded its holdings also after World
War II, as private collections were being
liquidated or reformed.
On that occasion, we also discussed
with Kolotai the fact that
pipes attracted not only men. Let us
recall the well-known 1926 photo by
Mykola Senkovsky, called An Elderly
Hutsul Woman, that won the Grand
Prix in Paris in 1931. Subsequently,
I searched for information about the
subject of the old picture. And I found
it! Her name was Maria Krechuniek.
Born on April 26, 1836 in Yaseniv Horishnii,
the Verkhovyna raion, she
lived to be 100. Always, even when
very old, she was smartly dressed.
Krechuniek sang well. The neighbors
called her Chukutykha, because she
was married to Yosyp “Chukut,” with
whom she lived for half a century
and had five children.
...At the end of the faika tour, I
once again thought that I had gone to
the museum with a specific purpose in
mind, but found a lot more. Please, visit
museums, as there is a lot to see there!
like to mention the Apostle of 1639, the
Gospel of 1644 (published by Mykhailo
Sliozka), and the Gospels published by
the Lviv Brotherhood in 1670 and 1690
and the Pochaiv Monastery in 1780.
Among other holdings, there are valuable
publications of the Kyivan Cave
Monastery, the Univ Monastery, and the
Przemysl Cathedral on display.
“The idea to create such an exhibition
occurred to us two years ago during
an expedition to churches of the Halych
raion. Then one of the priests, Father Vasyl
Zaverach, handed over to the sanctuary
two old printed books, copies of the
Gospel of 1670 and the Gospel of 1780.
After a detailed study of the sacred objects,
we discovered donor inscriptions
of the early 18th and the first third of the
19th century, respectively, on the pages
of these books. At the same time, the
first inscription, as well as the book itself,
was linked to a church that does not
exist anymore (St. Epiphany in Zalukva
neighborhood of Halych),” Candidate of
Historical Sciences, head of the Ancient
Halych National Sanctuary’s research
and education department Andrii
Stasiuk told me.
The organizers say that the exhibition
has a dual purpose. Firstly, it
is intended to demonstrate the cultural
wealth hidden from the eyes of
the laity, which sometimes just gathers
dust in churches. Secondly, the old
printed books also have an important
historical value, because their margins
frequently bear donor inscriptions
as well as records of historical
events or even harvests and natural
disasters. Apart from it, researchers
take interest in the engravings on
these texts’ pages: at times, an image
may be older than the book by several
decades, and even a whole century
on some occasions.
“Sacrum” of Hanna-Oksana Lypa
The retrospective exposition has gone on display in five
rooms of the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv
By Tetiana KOZYRIEVA, Lviv
Photos by Andrii KUBIAK
“Hanna-Oksana Lypa is an artist
with a semantically rich thinking,”
opined historian of art, professor,
vice-rector of Lviv Academy of Arts
Roman Yatsiv. “Her tendency to engage
in archetypal modeling is the result
of well-developed intuition, deliberate
penetration into dense layers
of cultural memory. The methodology
she has developed absorbs not only an
irrational search for form and image,
but also a systematic logical and rational
work. This creator can interpret
the aesthetic nature of her works from
the standpoint of spiritual practices.
Symbolic elements that are included in
certain structures of ceramics and
painting are derived from science.
Therefore, the morphology of her compositions
is connected with the transcendental
perception of place and
time. The artist works with the concept
of ritual, transforming it into a mechanic
of aesthetic self-identification.
Such complicated ‘procedures’ affect
the spiritual and formative integrity of
Lypa’s oeuvre, singling her out among
those modern Ukrainian artists who
represent a new quality of understanding
ethnic traditions.”
The artist herself told The Day that
the concept of the exhibition “Sa rum”
had to do with “matter and spirit,” that
eternal matter which infinitely replays
itself in the new generations.
“This exhibition is devoted to my
bloodline and this land where I was
born, to my family, which not only
raised me, but also guarded our cultural
values,” Lypa said. “Honore de
Balzac said that extreme necessity is often
a great spur to action. So, my exhibition
is devoted to that spirit, the
male element of sword which must
protect us. In particular, it must protect
our cultural values. For we will be
respected by the world only when we
are strong.”
The artist said that it was important
for her to show the return of the
sacred space, the light in the souls, for
people do evil precisely under conditions
of godlessness! She also noted that
she wanted to show the path of the
artist which one had to endure in a land
of distorted mirrors while keeping
one’s soul pure. She also recalled Kobo
Abe’s parable novel The Woman in the
Dunes, because it was there that she
discerned that in any mental wilderness,
in any emotional trap of tragic
loneliness in the absurd nonsense of
life, one still could find life-giving
moisture. “We live in a beautiful place
called Ukraine. We must be able to tolerate
others and at the same time to be
self-sufficient and strong,” the artist
said, and added she was creating a Cosmic
Edifice through her artistic images,
because our land has a sacred
meaning – it is holy, bestowed on us by
God as inheritance. And we must love
and defend it at the same time.
The retrospective exposition will
run until July 8.
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