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• Pifer, ex-US ambassador, warns Yanukovych.

Page 5 • ISTIL Group set to launch satellite TV business.

Page 6 • Foreign students suffer shakedowns.

Page 8

July 29, 2011

www.kyivpost.com

vol. 16, issue 30

Forgotten Soviet Plans For Kyiv Today’s Kyiv is a hodgepodge of architecture from different eras – czarist, Soviet and modern.

Somehow, it all comes together to form one of Europe’s most beautiful yet bedraggled capitals. However, the Soviet legacy still lingers in aesthetically unpleasing ways. But, as city historians note, the landscape could have been much worse if some Stalin-era plans had been enacted.

Instead of the Lenin statue at left, the Funicular shuttles passengers on the spot where a tram line once ended in the Podil neighborhood.

(Courtesy)

B Y SV I TLA N A TU C H Y N SK A TUCHYNSKA@KYIVPOST.COM

Imagine an enormous statue of Vladimir Lenin with his right arm raised triumphantly instead of St. Michael’s Cathedral in central Kyiv. Visualize a monumental staircase leading from the hills of downtown Kyiv to the River Station on the Dnipro River wharf. Gaze at the 200-meter high twin monuments to Lenin and Josef Stalin erected on a bluff across from the Paton Bridge.

These were not just fantasies, but actually how Soviet architects envisioned the center of the Ukrainian capital in the 1930s-1950s.

“Life in Kyiv changed drastically in 1934 when the capital was moved from Kharkiv to Kyiv. The city needed the gloss and polish of a capital,” said Borys Yerofalov-Pylypchak, an architect and author of a book entitled “Architecture of Soviet Kyiv.” Æ8

Soviet architects during Josef Stalin‘s time wanted to build a towering monument of Vladimir Lenin where St. Michael’s Cathedral stands today. The plans called for a gigantic staircase leading downhill to the Dnipro River station. (Pictured project of Soviet architect Ivan Fomin)

International criticism of As nation readies digital TV switch, Tymoshenko trial grows an obscure firm grabs monopoly as TV coverage ends

BY MA RK RACH KEV Y CH RACHKEVYCH@KYIVPOST.COM

BY OK S A N A G RY T S EN KO GRYTSENKO@KYIVPOST.COM

It’s already one month into the sensational and controversial trial of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, but Kyiv’s Pechersk District Judge Rodion Kireyev has only managed this week to call upon the first batch of witnesses.

It’s not clear how long it will take for the court to reach a ruling that either

Inside:

jails Tymoshenko, convicts her with a lesser charge that still sidelines her from public office or exonerates.

What is increasingly clear, however, is that the international verdict has already been made: the case is widely seen as politically motivated. President Viktor Yanukovych and his democratic credentials are on trial alongside Tymoshenko.

A growing number of inter- Æ2

Once again, another mysterious monopoly has appeared to capitalize on a lucrative sector of the Ukrainian economy – this time in digital television.

Where the controversial RosUkrEnergo held sway for many years in the multibillion-dollar natural gas trade between Ukraine and Russia, and where most recently the opaque Khlib InvestBud horned in

News Æ 2, 8, 16

Business Æ 6, 7

Opinion Æ 4, 5, 9

Lifestyle Æ 10 – 13

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on multimillion-dollar grain exports, an inscrutable private company has suddenly appeared on the digital TV scene at a propitious time.

Zeonbud is the name of the company and, not surprisingly, speculation is running high that people close to President Viktor Yanukovych are behind the company.

Zeonbud arrives on the scene as Ukraine is readying for an October switch of basic access to television, especially important for rural citizens, from analog airwaves to digital.

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When digital arrives, up to 10 million TV households will rely on Zeonbud as the sole operator and provider of 32 channels, 28 of them national. This comes despite the firm’s lack of any track record in the business.

Zeonbud’s monopoly position, including the way it received licenses to build a digital TV network from scratch, has raised more questions than answers.

Zeonbud stands to make close to $2 billion as a provider to national TV broadcasters over the Æ7

JULY 29, 2011 Vol. 16, Issue 30 Copyright © 2011

by Kyiv Post The material published in the Kyiv Post may not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. All material in the Kyiv Post is protected

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2 News

Tymoshenko trial turns into ‘farce’ Æ1 national experts, as well as U.S. and European Union officials, are expressing concern that the trial is an attempt by Yanukovych to sideline his rival from taking part in the upcoming 2012 parliamentary elections.

“The ongoing trial of Tymoshenko has degenerated into farce,” said Steven Pifer, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution.

In an opinion article published in the Kyiv Post [see page 5], Pifer, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 19982000, added: “The virtually unanimous view in the West is that the trial represents nothing more than a politicallymotivated attempt to sideline the opposition leader.”

Back in Kyiv on July 28, tempers continued to flare at the Tymoshenko trial.

Tymoshenko appeared in court during testimony by key witnesses without legal representation.

Her most recent group of lawyers quit days earlier, complaining that Judge Kireyev did not give them enough time to study the case and defend Tymoshenko effectively. Earlier in July, lawmaker Serhiy Vlasenko, a trusted ally of Tymoshenko, was ejected by Kireyev as her legal representative in the trial.

Tymoshenko this week repeated claims that she is not being given the chance to fairly defend herself. Kireyev ignored many of her pleas on grounds that she is merely trying to drag out the trial.

In the trial, Tymoshenko faces the first of three separate charges by prosecutors. She stands accused of exceeding authority while prime minister in brokering the 2009 natural gas agreement with Russia.

Yanukovych claims the investigations are an honest attempt to combat cor-

Then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and current French Ambassador to Ukraine Jacques Faure in Kyiv on Dec. 12, 2008.

(Oleksandr Prokopenko)

ruption by top officials. But critics see the case as persecution and “selective justice,” pointing to numerous uninvestigated allegations of wrongdoing by Yanukovych’s administration.

Once cautious in expressing their concern about the case, ambassadors are starting to speak out.

At a roundtable in Kyiv this week, French Ambassador to Ukraine Jacques Faure said: “I do not want to comment on this trial. But I want to say that there is a perception in France that, unfortunately, the process against Yulia Tymoshenko is grounded far away from the law, but very close to politics. There is a growing question arising: where are the European values that Ukraine’s leadership talks about so often, particularly in discussion between the European Union and Ukraine?”

The case is gaining momentum as the Yanukovych administration wraps up negotiations to ink free trade and asso-

Powerboat races are latest games for rich, powerful

BY O K S A N A FA RY N A FARYNA@KYIVPOST.COM

They are fast, furious and incredibly expensive. Ritzy powerboats – each costing as much as a nice apartment in the capital – will circle the Kyiv Sea north of Kyiv in the Formula 1 Powerboat races on the water on July 29-31. Ukraine doesn’t have a team, or a single boat, to compete in this highprofile event – the Olympics of its kind – with a budget of up to $10 million.

But price has never stopped Ukrainian authorities from having fun.

The F1 H2O World Championship for power boating secured the patronage of President Viktor Yanukovych and was organized with impressive speed. After winning the bid to host the races in the beginning of this year, the host town of Vyshgorod, located 15 kilometers from Kyiv and roughly five minutes from the president’s home in Mezhyhiria, was swept in the frenzy of preparations.

Eight teams from the United States, UAE, China, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Russia and Qatar registered to race for the Formula One Grand Prix of Ukraine and the Cup of the President of Ukraine.

“This is a good opportunity to show ourselves to the world… to attract investors,” said Anatoly Prysyazhnyuk,

www.kyivpost.com

July 29, 2011

the head of Kyiv Oblast Administration adding that budget money won’t be spent on the championship. But he wasn’t completely honest.

In the months leading up to the event, a flurry of repairs transformed the streets of Vyshgorod into a muddy mess and worsened the already bad traffic. This was true particularly on the main route running along the Dnipro River, which was widened from two lanes to four using Hr 39 million from the national government. The project closed a 3.8 kilometer section of the road for more than one month, leading to traffic jams for locals. The road was officially opened five days before the championship.

More money was spent to modernize the town’s hospital and repair roads to the joy of Vyshgorod residents. But why the event, which Ukrainians know nothing about, takes place in home waters escapes even professional sportsmen.

“This is a spontaneous event organized for political reasons,” said Rodion Luka, a silver medalist at sailing in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. “It’s great for the development of our town but this sport is not popular in Ukraine at all. Why didn’t they organize a sailing competition so that our sportsmen could take part?”

President of the Ukrainian Powerboat

ciation agreements with the European Union by the end of this year. But the handling of the Tymoshenko trial, as well as broader concerns about the nation sliding towards authoritarianism, increasingly threaten to derail European integration plans.

“Ukraine continues to backslide on democracy,” Pifer said. “Can the country move closer to Europe at the same time that it moves away from European values?” These and other issues have “already reduced to near zero the prospects of an invitation for Yanukovych to visit Washington,” Pifer added.

Tymoshenko has herself been criticized for misbehaving in the courtroom and employing sensational tactics to draw attention to the hearings after live television coverage was banned earlier this month.

After Kireyev banned TV broadcasts, the trial slipped out of the headlines and television news programs, said Natalia

Ligachova, head of Kyiv-based media watchdog Telekritika. Tymoshenko has also steadfastly refused to stand up before the judge and has consistently interrupted prosecutors and the judge.

On July 27, prosecutors asked the judge to arrest Tymoshenko, who currently faces a travel ban that restricts her movement to Kyiv. The judge refused, calming EU diplomats who feared such a move could deliver a serious blow to Kyiv’s EU integration efforts. “Yanukovych got scared and canceled his order to arrest me under the pressure of the international community and the people of Ukraine,” Tymoshenko said.

Skirmishes between lawmakers loyal to Tymoshenko and police guards broke out this week.

“The authorities have underestimated the difficulty of this case. It has gotten way too ugly,” political analyst Viktor Nebozhenko said, adding that both sides don’t know how to find an exit strategy.

Volodymyr Fesenko, another Ukrainian political analyst, said authorities have fallen into a trap.

Tymoshenko has used their actions to masterfully discredit the trial.

“One possible finish to the trial is that Tymoshenko could get sentenced, but that under pressure from the international community and human rights organizations, Yanukovych will grant her amnesty,” Fesenko said.

Less clear is whether this will allow her to seek a seat in parliament during the 2012 elections as leader her Batkivshchyna Party, which is running close to Yanukovych’s Party of Regions in the polls.

Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Grytsenko can be reached at grytsenko@ kyivpost.com

Participants glide their boats through a man-made lake in the Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship (F1PWC) near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2002. (AFP)

Rodion Luka (Courtesy)

Federation Viktor Shemchuk agrees with yachtsman Luka. His organization wasn’t even involved in the planning of the championship. “I wonder if anyone in Ukraine will actually understand the rules of the races,” he said. “There is more commerce in this project than sports.”

Shemchuk said that in this type of championships, promoters get a good chunk of money for selling the rights to hold the races to a host country.

A dozen sponsors, among them grain trader Nibulon and poultry maker Agromars, carved out Hr 10 million to help organize the event. “We trust local authorities with the project. This

sponsorship is the result of these wellestablished relations,” said Nibulon's general manager Olexiy Vadatursky.

Asked why they agreed to sponsor an unpopular championship in Ukraine, Vadatursky said that every sport needs some help to take off.

Ukrainian authorities added that next year they hoped Ukrainian powerboats would be circling the Dnipro’s waters.

But this isn’t just any type of sport.

A professional powerboat, which can speed up to 250 kilometers per hour, costs 55,000 euro to buy and another 245,000 euro to maintain it and train a team.

To watch the event from the comfort of newly-built VIP zones will cost Hr 8,000. Tickets to less fancy seating zones were distributed to Kyiv Oblast residents for free.

“I would like to stress that Formula-1 H2O is not just a fun event for certain leaders and VIPs,” Prysyazhnyuk was quoted as saying in General Director magazine.

“It’s important to understand that people need more than just bread.

Authorities must give people some fun and holidays,” he added.

Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Faryna can be reached at faryna@kyivpost.com

www.kyivpost.com

3

July 29, 2011 Advertisement

At a Runway New Air Code of Ukraine Takes Effect

A

irlines salute the final adoption of the new Air Code of Ukraine, advancing Ukraine to high grade objective of European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) integration. The President of Ukraine signed the respective bill #7144 on 14 June 2011. New Air Code is a significant gap as regards infrastructure, equipment and regulations of Ukrainian aviation management.

Passage of the Ukrainian laws towards the EU acquis communautaire will put impetus on the political and economic integration of Ukraine to the EU and further robust development of Ukrainian aviation industry.

The necessity to redesigh the legal essentials upholding the local aviation industry has been repeteadly advocated by the EBA, taking into account that Ukraine is a member of European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) since 1999 and EUROCONTROL since 2004.

The new Air Code will ensure high and uniform safety and security standards as well as generally applied competition rules and consumer rights. This harmonisation of standards, especially in the fields of aviation safety and security, will ensure that the public’s growing demand for air services is met adequately, limiting incidents or delays.

As a result of EBA continued appeals, the Air Code, originated in 1993, has undergone significant improvements outlined in the 2011 Air Code, inter alia: - A sophisticated range of definitions, such as exchange of aircrafts and crews, catastrophe and single international transportation document; - Automatic booking systems ensuring the transparent and level playing field for different air carriers; - The obligation of airport operators to notify immediately and in written the authorized state body when the non-execution of airport (airdrome) repair revealed endangers (or could potentially endanger) the safety of flights or passengers; The EBA asked key aviation stakeholders to comment on and share thoughts and ideas on the mostly expected strategic benefits of new Air Code.

KARL Dandler Deputy President,

T

SCAN AND INTERACT Use QR code reader on your smartphone to find out more!

U

ntil the moment of the new Air Code approval in May 2011 aviation industry of Ukraine was regulated by the document adopted 18 years ago, in 1993. No doubt that major changes in international aviation and in state policy occurred during these decades forcing Ukrainian aviation to bring up the issue of improving and updating the basic aviation legislation in accordance with current realities.

Among the mostly expected strategic benefits of the new Air Code are the creation of strong basis for further development of Ukrainian aviation and the opportunity for step-bystep integration to the European Common Aviation Area, joining the Single European Sky, as well as resolving the issue of returning Ukraine to Category 1 according to U.S. Federal Aviation Administration requirements, all of which will give airlines the opportunity to improve the variety and quality of services by increasing the number of flights, opening new routes and becoming highly competitive.

Since Ukraine is a member of Eurocontrol and constantly

SERGIY Dementiev General Director, Wizz Air Ukraine

Ukraine International Airlines

he adopted Air Code is a step forward in the right direction to adopt rules and regulations based on IATA and EU procerures. The advantage for the passenger is the implementation of clear rules and regulations similar to the EU standards in case of inconveniencies like delays or cancellations. It also improves the situation in case of monopoly behavior of infrastructure companies like airports and sets clear rules in case of price dumping.

Single European Sky is a project which could bring further cost-saving benefits for the airlines by streamlining the routings and corridors in the air. It is sensitive, because the sovereign rights of the states towards their air space (and respective incomes from charges for using this air space by airlines) are to be touched and changed. The history of Western Europe shows that a unification, centralisation and modernisation of air traffic control systems is a long journey. Environmental issues now are becoming more and more topical, therefore the process will speed up. There is a clear commitment from the state authorities as well as business community to improve the situation substantially.

Speaking about the prospects of Ukrainian aviation in general, Ukraine is a huge but still underdeveloped market. Euro 2012 needs a lot of efforts to thoroughly improve the infrastructure.

Nevertheless additional efforts are necessary to attract Kyiv as a hub airport for transit passenger.

JULIA Gerasymchuk Head of International Organisations Group, Strategic Development Division, AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines

C

an we start with an overview of your company? How do you position yourselves in the market?

Wizz Air Ukraine is the first and the only Ukrainian low-cost airline licensed by the Ukrainian Civil Aviation Authority. Our airline’s mission is to improve people’s living by making air travel affordable, particularly to those who were deprived of this means of transportation in the past. Since the first flight from Kyiv to Simferopol in 2008, the airline has carried up to 1.23 million passengers. Currently Wizz Air Ukraine is flying to 7 countries offering a network of 10 routes (9 international and 1 domestic). New flights to Valencia and Girona will be opened on 6 September 2011 bringing total number of airline’s routes to 12. Wizz Air Ukraine is a part of Wizz Air Group, the largest low fare – low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe.

Do you have any plans for expansion?

What are your growth ambitions?

We came to this market to stay and grow. Regarding specific Wizz Air Ukraine plans, at the moment we are working on evaluation of many routes and opportunities, both domestic and international. We are continuously applying for new designations, as soon as we have viable designations, we’ll bring to Ukraine as many aircrafts as we need.

What key market drivers are positively impacting your business? What are the main challenges for you to overcome?

Ukraine is a country with great potential. We see that Ukrainians are willing and do like to travel. We are optimistic and see changes, but of course there are still many challenges for us.

First of all, there are external barriers, such as designations for routes, visas for Ukrainian travelers, etc. Then, there is some need for education regarding the low-cost business model as well, both to customers and authorities. Low-cost business model is innovative, allows the customer to customize their travel experience, however does assume some level of independence and maturity from the travelers.

follows the strategy of EU integration, joining the Single European Sky should be one of the strategic priorities, however ensured to involve and be beneficial for all Ukrainian stakeholders ranging from providers of air navigation services to airlines and airports. Single European Sky is the European Commission initiative to improve the design, management and regulation of airspace, which declares its aim to increase the airspace capacity, reduce costs for ATM (air traffic management), reduce average delays and cut emissions.

Airlines of Ukraine are generally supportive to the process of Ukraine joining SES in case this initiative is aimed at: (i) bringing significant improvements to Ukrainian air traffic, (ii) decrease of air navigation charges in Ukraine, (iii) in case it leads to reducing emissions from aircraft, reducing fuel costs, improving punctuality, increasing capacity and (iv) is implemented in line with European Common Aviation Area Agreement.

European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) is another significant integration project in European aviation. ECAA Agreement intends to liberalise air transport through removing all major barriers and creating the single market of aviation services, which includes free market access, free access to air transport infrastructure, freedom of establishment, equal conditions of competition, common rules including in the areas of safety, security, air traffic management, environment and common social rules. Implementation of common rules and practices of passenger services, slot allocation, charges policy, safety and security standards is regulated in the draft ECAA-Ukraine Agreement, which is currently at the last stage of negotiations.

Since the new Air Code is intended to be in line with European and world principles of air navigation, safety, passenger rights etc, the fact of Air Code adoption gives impression of a step forward to the future development of Ukrainian aviation.

Have you launched any new initiatives recently?

We are applying for new routes constantly and generally I would say we developed a good working relationship with the key stakeholders. Regarding the business model, we are expanding our onboard duty free offerings introducing the Wizz Boutique.

Our passengers can truly customize their travel experience with products like Wizz Xclusive Club which offers special fares for the club member; Wizz priority boarding allowing to be the first one board the aircraft and choose the seat; Wizz flex which allows to change the date of travel at lower fees.

How could you see the future for low cost airlines sector in Ukraine? What are the prospects for Ukrainian aviation in general? Can the infrastructure support planned growth?

We welcome free competition, and we are also very confident about our brand and position on the market. Every airline will need to decide for themselves whether they enter a new market or not We are the first low-cost airline in this region and will continue to be committed to Ukraine. Our business model helps us to be highly efficient and competitive, and our goal is to offer truly affordable prices to more and more customers.

We do hope that very soon “open sky” with European countries will become a reality. Both airlines and passengers, and of course Ukrainian aviation market will benefit from this. Free competition on the market will stimulate carriers and airports to use their resources more efficiently. Also it will result in wider variety of services and fares offers for passengers.

Speaking about structure of airport charges - it should enable airlines’ growth and development of the industry. Operational facilities of airports should be improved and be brought to the acceptable standards. Charges in regional airports should be even more competitive in order to provide development of a region and decentralization of air traffic.

As far as improvement of airports’ operational facilities is concerned, due to our low-cost business model it is important to have terminals serving requirements of mass passengers, not only for few

thousands of VIP-clients interested in special services and business lounges.

Which strategic benefits of the newlyadopted Air Code have you mostly expected and why?

Our company did not experience major problems with the previous version of the Air Code. Most of the everyday aspects of airline activities in Ukraine are anyway governed by the set of bylaws commonly referred to as Aviation Rules of Ukraine. We hope that the new Air Code would promote fair competition, give more freedom to the air carriers in their commercial activities, restrict unreasonable interference of the state authorities and bring Ukrainian regulatory requirements closer to European aviation standards.

There is no doubt that new Air Code would have some positive impact on Ukrainian aviation safety and security standards and clarify legal language of key aviation industry definitions. However, we expect some important setbacks as well. For example, the arbitrary right of the Civil Aviation Service officials to unilaterally revoke tariffs which, in their opinion, are too high or too low are incompatible with the market economy principles. Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine already addresses such issues as unfair competition and monopolistic behavior, and it is simply unreasonable to duplicate functions.

Also, our airline was unpleasantly surprised with harsh fines introduced by the new Air Code. Due to ambiguous wording and very general definition of some violations, state officials can use great discretion on whether to levy certain type of fines on a given carrier. In general, such system of governance when the same state authority has right to set up rules, controls compliance with such rules and imposes fines for incompliance, does not fully correspond with the regulatory principles of Ukrainian governance system. Air Code failed to address this.

Overall, I would suggest Ukrainian government to focus on full implementation in Ukraine of widelyrecognized international legislation, such as EU Ops, Regulation (EC) No. 261/2002, etc. rather than creating complex, but not always consistent local pieces of law.

Coming soon Leaders Talk with Mr.Yevgen Treskunov, Executive Secretary at Ukrainian Aviation Group Strategic Alliance, Deputy CEO at AeroSvit Airlines

4 Opinion

July 29, 2011

Editorials

“Eternal shame”

Camera shy Imagine how the U.S. public would have responded if the Watergate hearings from the 1970s, which led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation on Aug. 9, 1974, were not televised? How would the public have been able to judge the fairness of the congressional proceedings or the seriousness of the charges of criminality against a sitting president? They would not be able to, quite simply. Television has proven to be a powerful tool in a democracy, giving entire nations the ability to see their governments at work. Cameras are also now in many courtrooms in America.

Surely, if a television blackout was in place back in 1974, Americans would have had less trust and less insight into a landmark scandal involving a president who broke multiple laws and then engaged in a massive cover-up of the wrongdoing.

Every time an official is not held accountable for misdeeds, corruption inevitably flourishes among other politicians who believe they can get away with crimes.

Nearly four decades later, across the Atlantic Ocean in Ukraine, the same issues and principles are being tested with the trial of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Given that this is the first time a former top Ukrainian government official has stood trial at home on criminal charges, the transparency and fairness of the proceedings are paramount. Unfortunately, Ukrainian citizens are being let down once again.

The hearings in Kyiv’s Pechersk District court were televised in the first weeks of the trial that started last month, but cameras have been banned in recent weeks.

Public exposure of the trial is not the only problem, but yet another sign that a show trial – not a real trial – is taking place. Tymoshenko is also being denied proper legal counsel to defend herself, an even more serious violation of her rights.

If the government were confident of its case, it would open up the proceedings to scrutiny and afford Tymoshenko’s lawyers ample opportunity for defense. The prosecutor alleges a serious crime was committed, namely that – as prime minister – Tymoshenko broke the law and cost the state millions of dollars in losses through her 2009 natural gas deal with Russia.

The state seems in a hurry to adjudicate this case, in stark contrast to the farcically slow proceedings involving the murder nearly 11 years ago of journalist Georgiy Gongadze – not to mention all the other unprosecuted past crimes from the corrupt, sometimes gangster-like era of ex-President Leonid Kuchma.

But another verdict is being delivered in a court that will matter most for Ukraine – in the court of public opinion. Ukrainians and foreigners alike have largely concluded that the trial against Tymoshenko is a farce, an exercise in political persecution to sideline President Viktor Yanukovych’s top rival. Farce is also a way to describe how many of the nation’s leading, oligarch-controlled television stations cover the case. They are ignoring criticism from world leaders and experts who see the trial as another sign that Ukraine is sliding towards authoritarianism under Yanukovych. At stake is Ukraine’s fraying relationship with the West.

Cameras do not lie. They could reveal all – evasiveness or stall tactics by Tymoshenko, the judge’s fairness, the credibility of key witnesses and, in the end, the legitimacy of the charges.

Libel surprise Just three weeks ago, during one of his rare appearances before journalists, President Viktor Yanukovych again tried to promote himself as a democratic leader who supports freedom of speech.

Eager to create a favorable impression, Yanukovych promised a special commission to investigate any infringement of journalistic freedoms. He pledged to personally intervene should any journalist suffer violations.

It’s all the more disappointing that the same person would sign into law a measure that jeopardizes free and fair journalism in Ukraine. Ignoring appeals by media watchdogs for a veto, Yanukovych signed the Law on Court Fees that enables libel lawsuits against journalists and media organizations for gigantic sums of money.

According to media experts from Kyiv’s Media Law Institute, the new law – which takes effect on Nov. 1 – will make filing a libel lawsuit much easier. For example, to file a Hr 1 million claim – an amount sufficient to shut down many print, online or broadcast media – the plaintiff would have to pay merely Hr 2,880 – about $360.

The new law cancels the existing governmental decree that required the plaintiff to pay a 10 percent deposit on any libel lawsuit that seeks more than Hr 170,000 in damages. This clause was specifically in place to protect media organizations from exorbitant and punitive lawsuits.

The new law, in turn, enables virtually infinite libel lawsuits against media, which will further curtail freedom of speech in this nation, especially considering the notorious lack of transparency and integrity that plagues Ukraine’s judiciary.

In this context, the president’s statements about freedom of speech are empty prattle. The new libel law may mean that free speech is simply a luxury that no journalist or media organization in Ukraine will be able to afford.

Published by Public Media LLC J. Michael Willard, Chief Executive Officer Brian Bonner, Senior Editor Editors: Kostya Dovgan, Katya Gorchinskaya, Roman Olearchyk, James Marson, Yuliya Popova Staff Writers: Alexey Bondarev, Tetyana Boychenko, Oksana Faryna, Natalia A. Feduschak, Anastasia Forina, Oksana Grytsenko, Kateryna Grushenko, Vlad Lavrov, Yura Onyshkiv, Kateryna Panova, Mark Rachkevych, Denis Rafalsky, Yuliya Raskevich Olga Rudenko, Nataliya Solovonyuk, Maria Shamota, Daryna Shevchenko, Svitlana Tuchynska, Nataliya Vasyutyn, Elena Zhuk Photographers: Alex Furman, Joseph Sywenkyj. Photo Editor: Yaroslav Debelyi Chief Designer: Vladyslav Zakharenko. Designer: Anna Belyakovskaya Marketing: Iuliia Panchuk Web Project: Yuri Voronkov Sales department: Irina Gudyma, Maria Kozachenko, Alisa Kyryliuk, Elena Symonenko, Yuriy Timonin, Sergiy Volobayev Subscription Manager: Nataliia Protasova Newsroom Manager: Svitlana Kolesnykova

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“Why aren’t you standing straight? Why are your shoes so cheap?”

NEWS ITEM: Mykhailo Tkach, a journalist from 1+1 TV channel, got insulted by Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Abbot Pavlo after asking the priest about his Hr 1 million luxury Mercedes car, his Hr 50,000 Vertu watch and the use of Hr 2 million the monastery received from the state budget. In response, Father Pavlo criticized the reporter’s appearance, suggested he was suffering from hallucinations and possibly a mental illness. The “holy man” went on to order his guards to throw the camera crew out of the Lavra and wrote an open letter to Channel 1+1 Director Oleksandr Tkachenko.

He asked for an investigation into the journalist’s behavior and threatened to sue the channel for slander. The video report of this conversation was broadcast on the channel’s website and instantly became a hit. Tkachenko replied that he released the report so that the public could make its own assessment of the reporter’s work. See story at http://www.kyivpost.ua/ukraine/article/nastoyatel-lavri-vs-telekanal-10-26093.html

Basic instinct: Deja vu for a newsman MICH A EL WIL L A RD

If we are lucky, we are sometimes confronted by our past in a positive way, one that goes beyond nostalgia for the gauzy good old days. That has been the situation these first few weeks as chief executive officer of the Kyiv Post.

There is a certain deja vu in joining up with Ukraine’s leading English-language publication. My first real job was working city desk for the Orlando Sentinel, back before there was a Disney World in that city. I was 19 (now 66), and it was the mid-1960s.

This was in the waning days of the clanking Linotype, the machine that set hot type, back when news copy was carried from the newsroom to composing room by pneumatic tube.

I once even heard a night editor shout the movie-like line: “Stop the presses.”

On that occasion, a long-sought fugitive had been cornered in a shootout with Orlando police. The paper was held just long enough to get in a hurried 300-word account. It was an exciting night, even – one supposes – for the fugitive, to a point. He was killed.

I remember walking out of the newspaper building around 1 a.m., hearing the roar of the press and taking in the wonderful but acrid aroma of printer’s ink. At the time, we didn’t call ourselves journalists. We were newspaper men and

Æ Kyiv Post will remain a beacon of independent, honest reporting women or reporters.

That scene, however, will never be repeated. Cold type replaced hot type in a bow to technology, convenience and economy. Then came the computer age, and the likelihood was that the printing press would be located far from the newsroom.

If someone were to yell, “Stop the presses” today, they would get quizzical stares. No, more than that, they would be considered delusional.

Time passes. I went on to work for the last afternoon newspaper to increase its price from five cents to 10 cents, the Tampa Times. Soon thereafter, it folded. By that time, I was covering politics and writing a country music column for United Press International in Nashville, Tennessee.

Much later, I went into politics, working as a top adviser to U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Robert C. Byrd, and later for Gov. John D. Rockefeller IV in his successful quest to win a Senate seat.

For most of the last 25 years, I have owned ad Æ9

Feel strongly about an issue? Agree or disagree with editorial positions in this newspaper?

The Kyiv Post welcomes letters to the editors and opinion pieces, usually 800 to 1,000 words in length. Please e-mail all correspondence to Brian Bonner, senior editor, at bonner@kyivpost.com or letters@kyivpost.com. All correspondence must include an e-mail address and contact phone number for verification.

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July 29, 2011

Undemocratic values will isolate Ukraine ST E V E N P I F E R

Western diplomats in Kyiv believe that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych attaches strategic priority to bringing Ukraine closer to Europe, particularly the European Union. But Ukraine continues to backslide on democracy questions. Can the country move closer to Europe at the same time that it moves away from European values?

Yanukovych took office in early 2010 after defeating former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a hotly-contested presidential ballot. At the time, many in Ukraine and the West worried that the supposedly “pro-Russian” Yanukovych would turn Kyiv back toward Moscow. In fact, he has pursued a far more nuanced foreign policy.

True, the president extended the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea and ruled out pursuing membership in the NATO military alliance.

He has made clear, however, his goal of concluding a free trade arrangement with the European Union while fending off Moscow’s persistent entreaties to join a customs union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Military cooperation with NATO continues, as evidenced by the June Sea Breeze exercise.

Yanukovych’s foreign policy goals appear logical.

A free trade arrangement with the European Union would open the door for Ukrainian exporters to the world’s richest common market. Practical cooperation with NATO deepens Kyiv’s link with the leading Euro-Atlantic institution, even if Ukraine does not seek to join.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Russian interests do not always align. They bicker over the price of natural gas – a “zero-sum” game, as any price cut for Kyiv would mean lower revenues for Russian gas giant Gazprom. Moscow has stuck with its plan to build the South Stream gas pipeline under the Black Sea even though there is no new gas to fill it; if South Stream is ever built, it will take gas that would otherwise transit Ukraine.

Deeper relations with Europe and the West make sense in their own right for Ukraine, and they will strengthen Yanukovych’s hand in dealing with Moscow on problem issues. But how far can he develop those relations when he is increasingly viewed in the West as instilling a more authoritarian political system at home?

During Viktor Yushchenko’s presidency following the Orange Revolution, Ukraine’s executive branch missed opportunities and showed itself to be chaotic and often incoherent. But it was democratic.

Over the past months, American and European officials have joined independent observers and Yanukovych’s domestic critics in voicing concern about his retreat from democratic norms. There is little doubt that the space for the independent media has become more constricted and civil society has

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych speaks with the visiting head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso (R) during their meeting in Kyiv on April 18. European Union officials have warned Yanukovych numerous times this year that closer relations hang on adherence to core EU values such as democracy, freedom of speech and rule of law. (Andriy Mosienko)

Æ Tymoshenko trial a farce; seen as plot to sideline political opponent come under pressure.

The Security Service of Ukraine operates domestically in a manner more reminiscent of the KGB than of a modern European security agency. Questions are growing about whether next year’s parliamentary elections will be free and fair – or rigged.

The ongoing trial of Tymoshenko has degenerated into farce. One can certainly question – as many have – the terms and wisdom of the deal that she struck with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to end their January 2009 gas spat. But that hardly makes for a criminal matter. The virtually unanimous view in the West is that the trial represents nothing more than a politically-motivated attempt to sideline the opposition leader.

All this will hinder Yanukovych’s foreign policy goals. The European Union is not just a trade bloc;

it is based on shared values. Continued democratic backsliding will grow the gap rather than build bridges between Kyiv and Europe. Will senior European leaders want to meet with a Ukrainian leader whose domestic policies appear to have less and less in common with those of an aspiring EU state?

Those policies have already reduced to near zero the prospects of an invitation for Yanukovych to visit Washington.

Some Ukraine watchers have suggested that Brussels should slow the conclusion of an association agreement and free trade arrangement. Others ask whether it is time to apply visa sanctions against selected Ukrainian officials. Adoption of such measures now would be premature, but the fact that they have been raised should worry Yanukovych. Such ideas will gain traction if Kyiv continues its current domestic course.

Senior Western officials reportedly have been very direct in cautioning the Ukrainian president that democratic backsliding will have consequences for his foreign relations, including for direct high-level engagement. He should take the message to heart.

If not, he could find Ukraine’s relations with the West sinking, his hope of drawing closer to the European Union fading, and himself an increasingly lonely player on the world stage.

Steven Pifer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer. He served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 1998-2000.

Kyiv Mohyla Academy suffers cuts M A R TA FA R I ON

Ukraine’s Ministry of Education, Science, Youth and Sports on July 8 took aim at one of the nation’s most respected universities, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. Other progressive educational institutions also came in for cuts in the government’s budget next year.

The proposed budget slashes funding by 43 percent to 50 percent for several Kyiv Mohyla departments, including philosophy, economic theory,

finance and the law school. It also terminates stipends for students in journalism and social work in the master’s programs.

Kyiv Mohyla Academy was singled out for particularly harsh treatment. University president Serhiy Kvit said “we are troubled by the actions of the ministry and their impact on the education of our country’s young generation.”

Kyiv Mohyla’s Alumni Association declared support for its alma mater by announcing a stipend program and scholarships to compensate for the cuts to the master’s programs.

The proposed budget cuts in higher education are controversial in several respects.

First, higher education appears singled out for the lion’s share of government spending cuts. While government announced reductions to its national budget

for education, it increased expenditures for government officials dramatically, especially in law enforcement, security service and public prosecutors.

Second, the proposed cuts have not been uniformly applied to all of the country’s universities.

Although most Ukrainian universities had their budgets reduced, funding for Kyiv Mohyla Academy and the universities in western Ukraine was cut back disproportionately. In addition, deeper budget cuts were targeted at Kyiv Mohyla Academy’s specific fields of study.

An analysis of law school funding by Andriy Meleshevych, dean at Kyiv Mohyla Law School, shows that law schools in western Ukraine had disproportionally high cuts while law schools in the Donetsk region had increases for the same programs.

At the same time, budgets for law depart- Æ9

Opinion 5 VOX populili WITH A ANASTASIA FORINA

How are you saving for retirement?

Mykhailo Digai, engineer “I do not trust any banks or private pension funds.

However, I can’t reckon on a pension provided by the state – not now and not in Ukraine. I’m investing in my children, in their education. When I retire, they will support me as I do now with respect to my parents.”

Anna Druzhyna, personal assistant “Of course I do care about my pension. I keep an account in Ukrsibbank.

It is one of the oldest Ukrainian banks, so it’s considered to be the most reliable. But I’m still looking for a better way and sure method to save money.

The major problem is that there is too little information about pension planning opportunities.”

Valentyna Mayatska, retiree “I have been officially retired for a couple of years already, but I keep on working. I’m lucky to have a good job and good children as well.

My daughters help me a lot. Of course I have a state-provided pension but it’s not enough to live on.”

Artem Kulyk, designer “I do not care about it. I even do not know the size of the state pension and I hope I won’t need to use it at all. It’s not my business as I work for myself. I think it’s high time to concentrate on your own work and career, but not on the financial problems of our country.”

Anna Korotkych, seller “I haven’t ever thought about it.

It’s impossible to think about the future even about the next day when you live in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian government is doing anything for the people. I have an official job, which means I will receive a state pension when I retire.

But I expect that this money will be enough to live on bread and water.”

Vox Populi is not only in print, but also online at kyivpost.com with different questions. If you have a question that you want answered, e-mail the idea to kyivpost@kyivpost.com.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TNK-BP IN UKRAINE

6 Business

July 29, 2011

ISTIL Group will launch satellite TV business

BY M A R K R AC H K E VYC H RACHKEVYCH@KYIVPOST.COM

A new player – Xtra TV brand – is entering Ukraine’s fast-growing yet embryonic pay satellite TV market.

ISTIL Telecom, part of the ISTIL Group of companies owned by United Kingdom citizen Mohammad Zahoor, has approved a budget of $50 million to launch a pre-paid card system in September. The company’s service will allow satellite TV households to access content not available on free-to-air platforms.

Less than 3 percent of satellite households, or 93,000 households, pay for satellite TV as of June, according to GfK Ukraine, a leading market researcher. The remaining 3 million satellite households use free-to-air satellite TV. “We’ll offer high quality channels at low, affordable rates across Ukraine,” said Jim Phillipoff, ISTIL Group’s media and telecom director who is leading the project. Phillipoff was previously the chief executive officer of the Kyiv Post, which is also part of Zahoor’s ISTIL Group.

Existing and new satellite TV users

Æ Prepaid card will give customers flexibility to receive only packages they want will able to purchase monthly pre-paid cards in five different thematic packages that total 39 channels. Each package has, on average, eight channels. Prices for one card will start at Hr 29 (below $4) while the full package of channels will run for Hr 89 ($11). Discounts will be offered on multiple packages.

The categories include universal, sports, children’s, movies and knowledge, all of which will be available

Satellite reception mode % of TV households 22

21

20

2007 2008 2009 H1'2010

15

22

16

15

14

12 10

10

10

7

6

5 3

Urban 50 th.+

Urban 50 th. –

Rural

All Ukraine

Source: GfK Ukraine TV panel establishment survey Satellite television is becoming more popular in all parts of Ukraine, from cities with more than 50,000 people to rural areas.

Mohammad Zahoor

Jim Phillipoff

on Russian-language audio tracks and, when available, English-language audio tracks.

Phillipoff said the pre-paid cards offered under the Xtra TV brand will be made available via the existing satellite network of dealers and distributors, as well as through post offices, banks and other outlets. He said the business will offer several advantages to customers.

“Under this pre-paid model, there are no lock-in contracts or agreements.

Customers are free to choose and pay for each package as they wish,” Phillipoff said. Moreover, the New York native said, the cards will work with most existing decoders in free-to-air satellite TV. Satellite TV households have been growing at 2-3 percent annually, GfK’s senior market researcher Tetyana Ilyashenko said. There is nationwide digitalized satellite TV coverage.

Currently, cable TV is the largest pay-for-TV platform in Ukraine with 30 percent of household subscribers, or 5.1 million households, according to GfK Ukraine. Volia Cable, owned by private equity firm SigmaBleyzer, is the largest cable TV provider with roughly 1 million subscribers.

GfK’s Ilyashenko said the timing of Xtra TV’s rollout is ripe but cautioned the market is very concentrated.

“The market is ready but the question is how much are people ready to

pay and for which channels…but this move puts them into the top 10 providers,” added Ilyashenko.

Phillipoff said much market research was conducted. He noted that they’ve found a “right price” point.

“Our business model is centered on the fact that there are low entry fees, low monthly rates [for the cards] and good content,” said Phillipoff.

Ilyashenko said the fastest growth of satellite TV households are located in rural areas where 50 percent of existing satellite TV users are located and where terrestrial TV signals are weak with no cable TV available.

NTV+ Ukraine and VisionTV, known under the Viasat brand, are currently the two pay satellite TV companies operating in Ukraine’s market.

GfK wouldn’t provide a financial estimate of the pay satellite market citing its miniscule size.

This is ISTIL Group’s second foray onto the satellite TV market. Its first experiment ended in disappointment last year when the company wrote off Zahoor’s $58 million investment into the Poverkhnost digital TV project.

Phillipoff cited “corporate culture problems” with partners for the failed project, saying that it “wasn’t the right formula.”

Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at rachkevych@kyivpost. com.

www.kyivpost.com

Ukraine harvest up, Russia boosts exports (Reuters) – Ukraine raised its 2011 grain harvest forecast by over 10 percent on July 28 and analysts said Russia exported record volumes in July to free up storage as favorable weather boosted Black Sea grain producers.

After a catastrophic drought which prompted Russia to close its borders to grain exports and Ukraine to introduce a quota system, the Black Sea grain powerhouses appear poised to return to world markets in force with cheap grain and plentiful supply. Russia exported a record 2 million tons of grain in July after the government lifted a ban on foreign deliveries, which was imposed last year during a catastrophic drought, SovEcon think tank said.

Ukraine’s second-ranking agriculture official, Mykola Bezugly, said the former Soviet republic would harvest 51 million tons of grain this year against 39.2 million in 2010, updating the previous official forecast of 46 million tons. “We will harvest 51 million tons this year,” Bezugly said.

A 51 million ton harvest could be the second largest in the history of independent Ukraine after 53.3 million tons threshed in 2008. Analysts and weather forecasters, however, said that the latest official figure was overstated and the crop would not exceed 45 million tons. Farm Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said last week the 2011 grain harvest would total “no less than 47 million tons,” while exports could total 23 million tons after roughly 12 million in the previous season.

While U.S. maize yields are falling because of scorching heat during the pollination period in the top world exporter’s main growing regions, the bulk of Ukraine’s harvest upgrade is likely to be attributable to rising maize yields.

Maize is a key export for Ukraine, if not for Russia. In the first 11 months of the 2010/11 season Ukraine exported 4.46 million tons of maize and is expected to export 7.7 million tons this year.

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Business 7

July 29, 2011

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TNK-BP IN UKRAINE

Same story, different industry: Officials bless murky company Æ1 next decade, the duration of its licenses, according to Oleksandr Pivnyuk, a technical consultant in the TV business. Until March, Pivnyuk was vice president of the state-owned Broadcasting, Radio Communications and Television Concern.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, TV broadcasters and media watchdogs have all questioned Zeonbud’s monopoly position. Its privileged status appears to run counter to the goals of enhancing plurality of opinion, increasing access to information and loosening up the nation’s highly concentrated media market.

“Zeonbud will control the [TV] market with its prices,” said Mariana Zakusylo of media watchdog Telekritika. “The biggest risk…is the absolute non-transparency of what is happening…the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council selected a company whose owners hide in offshore [zones]…”

At present, 20 TV channels belonging to three media groups rake in approximately 90 percent of Ukraine’s annual $350 million terrestrial TV advertising market. This market will be further diluted once additional channels are made available, since digital TV compresses to make room for more frequencies.

TV broadcasters and media watchdogs in particular are concerned about possible links between Zeonbud and high-level government officials, some of whom are media barons. They also allege that the nation’s broadcasting regulatory body and anti-monopoly committee don’t have enough authority or will to hold Zeonbud accountable for its actions.

The Independent Association of Tele-Radio Broadcasters has already sent a notice to the government’s anti-trust body stating that Zeonbud is abusing its monopoly position.

In December, Zeonbud, which is cloaked behind Cyprus-based Planbridge Limited, bested another unknown company to obtain four licenses to develop a digital TV network from scratch. The other bidding company, Kyiv-based Mobilnyi Kanal, didn’t bother to attend the Dec. 8 winning bid announcement by the

National Television and Broadcasting Council.

Moreover, bidders had to provide proof they received a Hr 1 billion ($125 million) bank guarantee to build the digital network. Zeonbud secured its loan from state-owned Ukreximbank and paid nearly Hr 8 million – or Hr 1.9 million each – for the four licenses.

This has only fueled suspicions that Zeonbud has high-level connections in government.

“This is a way for people with heavy political influence to convert this project to money once the digital network is launched,” said Valentyn Koval, technical director of StarLightMedia, a media holding controlled by billionaire Viktor Pinchuk, son-in-law to former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.

When asked to explain why a state bank gave such a big loan to a littleknown company, an Ukreximbank spokesperson said in an emailed message: “Due to a number of internal banking nuances, we are unable to provide you with a response.”

Registered in 2008 in Kyiv, Zeonbud was until October owned by KPN, according to Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The Kyiv-based limited liability company was, in turn, owned by Omni International Ventures Ltd., registered in the British Virgin Islands, notorious as an offshore tax haven. It is also a popular place for concealing links to companies.

Until 2006, Omni International Ventures had a 17 percent share in regional electricity supplier Donetskoblenergo and today still owns a 15 percent stake of coking coal producer Zaporizhkoks, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

The news agency also claims that Omni has also figured in the recent purchase of Kyiv’s centrally located Tsum shopping center by System Capital Management, the holding company of Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man and a backer of President Yanukovych.

But today Zeonbud is owned by Cyprus-based Planbridge Limited.

Zeonbud company representatives have said that a “consortium of private investors” is behind Planbridge Limited.

ÆOn the move ROB SHANTZ has joined PwC Ukraine as a partner and head of legal services.

Shantz is a U.S. attorney with more than 23 years of experience, including approximately 15 years in Central and Eastern Europe. Most recently, he worked several years as a tax and legal partner with another Big Four firm in Ukraine. Prior to that, Shantz also worked in Romania and Poland, including three years in PwC Poland. Before relocating to the CEE region, Shantz practiced for several years with corporate law firms in the U.S. Shantz received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Alma College, USA, and is a 1987 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. He is also a member of the Florida Bar Association.

Valentyn Koval of StarLightMedia.

“This is a way for people with heavy political influence to convert this project to money once the digital network is launched,” said Koval. (telekritika.ua/Yana Novoselova)

The company’s former director in 2010 promised to disclose Zeonbud’s real owners if it won the digital licenses.

Its new director appointed in June, Viktor Halych, told the Kyiv Post that he doesn’t know who the real beneficiaries are. Halych spoke briefly with the Kyiv Post over the phone, but later cancelled an interview, citing health reasons.

Mykola Kniazhytsky, general director of TVi, one of the few television channels in Ukraine with hard-hitting news coverage, suspects that the Yanukovych administration has put Zeonbud under the control of trusted associates in order to further strengthen the already dominant grip loyal oligarchs have over Ukraine’s media airwaves.

Kniazhytsky said that he suspects Zeonbud to be linked with the interests of Ukraine’s top spy – Security Service of Ukraine chief Valeriy Khoroshkovsky.

Khoroshkovsky is also a billionaire businessman who owns Ukraine’s largest television group, U.A. Inter Media. His partner in the television business has reportedly been billionaire Dmytro Firtash.

Close to Yanukovych’s inner circle, Firtash is co-owner along with Russia’s Gazprom of RosUkrEnergo, the controversial Swiss-registered natural gas trader which monopolized the supply of Russian and Central Asian gas to

Ukraine in prior years.

Experts and foreign governments have long questioned the transparency of such murky middlemen companies, including the activity this year on Ukraine’s grain market of Khlib Investbud, a partially state-owned company whose private shareholders remain a mystery. Critics say decisions by government officials to dole out monopolistic and lucrative roles to such obscure companies smacks of corruption.

Kniazhytsky also raised suspicions that Akhmetov could be involved in Zeonbud.

Kniazhytsky asked why Zeonbud has been granted monopoly control over the terrestrial television business, who its owners are and if they are “linked with the RosUkrEnergo and [Akhmetov] SCM groups, and the president’s family?”

A spokesperson for Akhmetov’s holding company denied any links to Zeonbud. Khoroshkovsky’s U.A. Inter Media has also denied any links to Zeonbud.

Ukraine is a signatory of Geneva 2006, which compels it to upgrade to digital broadcasting along with 103 other countries by 2015. According to Zeonbud’s latest plans, the upgrade should be completed by October of this year.

The countries that have already finished or are upgrading usually have done so through multiple public-private partnerships or by hiring a company to make the switchover under transparent conditions.

In Zeonbud’s case, it has a 10-year concession before its licenses expire.

The company has set non-negotiable rates to TV broadcasters regardless of their channels’ audience size.

And Zeonbud has eschewed face-toface contact with TV companies, opting instead to communicate via electronic and postal mail through a post office box when concluding agreements or contracts.

“This is the first time in Ukraine that contract conditions and tariffs were dictated to TV companies on non-negotiable terms,” said Koval, of StarLightMedia, Viktor Pinchuk’s media holding.

Koval added that neither he nor anybody in the TV broadcasting industry have ever heard of Zeonbud prior to it winning the digital upgrade bid.

Zeonbud has yet to disclose its pricing policy and formula to TV companies.

Moreover, broadcasters with existing nationwide analogue TV networks had to competitively reapply for digital licenses with Ukraine’s broadcasting regulatory body, another practice that contradicts European practice.

“This contradicts recommendations of the OSCE-led guidebook,” said Andrey Rikhter, who co-authored OSCE’s Guide to the Digital Switchover.

“If carried out properly, the digital switchover can safeguard human rights, including freedom of the media and the right to access information…

Governments must believe that providing their citizens with pluralistic information can only strengthen their democracies,” reads an excerpt of the guidebook.

Mysteriously, the government’s broadcasting regulatory body forced digital TV bidders to sign legally binding agreements with Zeonbud as a precondition before applying for digital broadcasting licenses.

“This is strange that a state agency forces TV companies to sign a contract with a private company as a prerequisite to receive a broadcasting license,” said TVi’s Kniazhytsky.

Zeonbud estimates that 1.5 million households will purchase digital TV sets this year and an additional 1.5 million in 2012. This leaves 6.5 million households that will have to purchase decoders or digital receivers, which cost some $40 per unit.

Zeonbud estimates that 3.5 million households will purchase the decoders while 2 million will receive government subsidized decoders and the remaining 1 million on preferential terms.

Neither the broadcasting regulator nor Zeonbud have outlined clear plans for how this will be carried out.

Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at rachkevych@kyivpost. com.

Send On the Move news to otm@kyivpost.com or contact Oksana Faryna at 234-6500. Items should include a photograph of the individual who has recently been appointed to a new position, a description of their duties and responsibilities, prior experience as well as education. Note: The Kyiv Post does not charge for publishing these notices or any news material.

ROSTYSLAV KULCHYKOVSKY has joined the offices of investment bank Renaissance Capital in Ukraine and Central and Eastern Europe as a chief administration officer. He will report to Peter McNulty, co-chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Kulchykovsky came to Renaissance Capital from Concorde Capital, a Kyiv-based investment bank, where he worked as chief operating officer since 2006. In that role he set up and managed the financial operations of the company, implementing a management reporting system, performing budget and risk management functions. Kulchykovsky started his career in 1997 at the Ukraine offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and later gained more valuable experience at international companies including Raiffeisenbank and MTS. Kulchykovsky is certified by The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He graduated from Kyiv State Linguistic University.

IVANNA KHONINA has been hired as a senior associate within the corporate law department of Ukrainian law firm Kuzminsky & Partners.

Prior to joining Kuzminsky & Partners, Khonina worked as a lawyer at other Ukrainian law firms.

Khonina specializes in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and has provided legal support for share-purchase of securities and assets. She has experience in conducting legal due diligence, corporate restructuring for leading companies in diverse business areas. Khonina has substantial skills in competition law, as well protection of intellectual property right against unfair competition.

She has been dealing also within banking and financial law.

Khonina has a master degree in international law and English language interpreting from the Kyiv International Institute of Foreign Affairs, a part of Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University.

FEDOR OGARKOV has been appointed general director at Media Group Ukraine, the media holding of leading Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov, which includes television channel TRK Ukraine.

Ogarkov’s main task within the company will be strengthening its management team and providing long-term goals. His responsibilities also include asset management, strategy development, business planning and control over group activities.

Prior to this appointment, Ogarkov was chief executive officer at Pronto-Moscow, a leading Russian publishing, advertising and information company. Earlier, he held management positions at Kampomos, RUSAGRO, Borjomi Waters, Polaroid and Wrigley.

Ogarkov graduated from Leningrad State University in 1993.

8 News

www.kyivpost.com

July 29, 2011

Mercifully for skyline, Soviet schemes nixed Æ1

The city would undergo a big change in the early-to-mid 20th century with new construction projects that would bring a central stadium, a central department store, the first trolleybus lines, a subway and a new residential district – Darnytsya on the left bank of the Dnipro River.

Naturally, a discussion centered on how to create a showcase city center.

Curiously, Khreshchatyk Street and Maidan Nezalezhnosti were not the obvious choices. Some of the early ideas included a part of Pechersk (now near the Park of Glory), Lypky (now near the Parliament), European Square on Khreshchatyk and Mykhailivska Square.

Some of these options were discarded due to remoteness, proximity to the landmark armory Arsenal and other reasons. Soon, planners embarked on the idea of joining Sofiyska and Mykhailivska squares.

In the 1930s, this part of the city looked very different from today. Where building number 19 on Sophiyivska Square stands now was a six-story baroque building, designed by noted architect Pavlo Alyoshyn. Of course, the Hyatt Regency hotel was not there.

St. Michael’s Cathedral, then a monastery, was surrounded by a tall wall. The place now occupied by the towering Ministry of Foreign Affairs had only a couple of small buildings. And a tram line ended where the funicular is now located, said Kyiv historian Mykhailo Kalnytsky.

The face of the future square

Æ “Kyiv has this almost magical ability to absorb tasteless buildings with really beautiful ones.”

– Borys Yerofalov-Pylypchak changed in 1935, when the monastery was blown up on the orders of Josef Stalin’s government. The resulting empty plot was joined with Sophiyivska Square, renamed Uryadova Square (Governmental Square) and was designated as the new capital’s center and parade grounds.

A competition for the best future project took place, joined by dozens of architects. Most of them, including Yakiv Shteinberg, suggested a huge Lenin statue on the plot where St. Michael’s Monastery once stood. Near the base of the statue planners wanted to construct a huge staircase descending towards the banks of the Dnipro River.

The square itself was planned as a rectangle with huge governmental buildings on the perimeter. Four pillars were planned with statues of workers, peasants and revolutionaries with flags standing on them.

No wonder the monument to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the 17th century hetman who led an uprising for independence, and St. Sophia Cathedral posed a prob-

lem to such grand Communist Party plans. Some architects even suggested removing the monument and 11th century cathedral.

These bizarre ideas haunted Soviet architects and bureaucrats even in the 1950s. Some of the weirdest plans included erecting twin monuments of Lenin and Stalin, nearly 200-meters tall each, just opposite the Paton Bridge on the Dnipro River hills. Later these plans were changed and the steely monument of Motherland was built on the spot.

Experts say Kyiv was very fortunate that most of grandiose Soviet plans never became reality.

“Architects slowly came to realize that the hilly landscape of right-bank Kyiv does not allow massive imperial style constructions,” said architect Georgiy Dukhovychny. Secondly, the country lacked money needed for ambitious construction in the 1930s- 1950s.

But some projects succeeded.

“Among those implemented Soviet plans are Khreshchatyk Street and

Another of the discarded proposals for a government square by Dmytro Chechulin in 1935. The view is from Dnipro River.

Maidan (Independence Square), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Parliament, the Motherland monument, the National History museum and some residential buildings,” Dukhovychny said. “Neither of them fit the landscape properly and could easily win the title of the ugliest Soviet buildings in Kyiv.”

Despite that, architects say Kyiv preserved about 70 percent of more than 1,000 buildings built during 1907-1914, the pre-Bolshevik revolutionary era in the waning days of the czarist Russian empire.

“Kyiv has this almost magical ability to absorb even the most tasteless buildings among the really beautiful ones, in baroque and classical style. Somehow it all works out in the end. So, despite many controversial and even illegal construction projects in the city now, Kyiv will survive and preserve its unique atmosphere,” architect YerofalovPylypchak said.

Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at tuchynska@kyivpost.com

Foreign students get shaken down

BY S V I T L A N A T U C H YN S KA TUCHYNSKA@KYIVPOST.COM

If Nigerian student Kenneth Onojeta had not turned to lawyers, he would have been deported from Ukraine $3,000 poorer and without a degree or an explanation why.

A student at the Medical University in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine since 2007, Onojeta said he was expelled from college last year after missing classes, but reinstated after agreeing to retake some courses. But having paid $3,000 in advance for a year of study and handing in his passport to receive a visa extension, he was called in by the local police, taken to court and handed back his travel document with a deportation stamp inside after refusing to pay a bribe.

Only with the help of lawyers was he able to overturn the decision.

Rights activists claim that Ukraine’s messy legislation and corrupt education, law enforcement and judicial systems are making life miserable for people like Onojeta, one of a growing number of students from China, India and countries in Africa who want a good education at a price cheaper than in Europe or the U.S. Many of the 45,000 foreign students in Ukraine pay agents to arrange their studies, but end up getting ripped off.

Halyna Bocheva from the human rights group No Borders, which is helping Onojeta, said his case is typical of universities, migration authorities and the study agency trying to squeeze money from a student by threatening him with deportation.

“I spoke to some African students from the National Aviation University who paid their agent for a year of study, but the agent gave only half of that money to the university and disappeared with the rest,” said Nina Vyshnevska, head of Antal Agency, which recruits students from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Many universities do not take money from students and work just through intermediaries. Everyone is connected,” said a Kyiv Post source in law enforcement, speaking on condition of anonymity because this officer is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. He added that education of foreigners is a “real mafia business in Ukraine.”

Students detail a culture of bribery that pervades the whole process of studying in Ukraine.

“Usually if you are expelled from the university, the agency asks for around $5,000 so that your visa will be extended anyway. Next semester, the university takes you back and forges

Kenneth Onojeta, a Nigerian student at a Ukrainian medical university, is one of the few foreign students to take his fight against alleged extortion to court. (Yaroslav Debelyi)

the documents and grades as if you were never even gone,” said a secondyear student from China who studies in Kyiv and is too afraid of retribution to be quoted by name.

Students also say that a deportation stamp, like the one Onojeta received, can be “revoked” for $3,000.

Onojeta decided instead to fight his deportation in court, which ruled that he did not violate any law and the deci-

sion to order him deported was illegal.

However, his troubles may not be over.

A deputy head of the Migration Service, Oleksandr Plyots, said the agency will not revoke its decision as Onojeta had no legal reason to be in Ukraine after being expelled from university on July 16, 2010.

The head of Luhansk Medical University, Valeriy Ivchenko, said the

Nigerian student was expelled only on Nov. 1, 2010.

“Kenneth is not at fault for what happened. He was expelled from university for no reason, then he was taken back, he paid for his study and was to re-sit one subject,” said Bocheva from No Borders.

Inspired by Onojeta, another foreign student in Ukraine, Biantoussa Tadi Colombe from Congo, is considering suing her college and migration authorities. She arrived in 2010 to study at the College of Communications in Kyiv, and her problems started when it became known that she was pregnant.

Colombe said college authorities asked her to pay Hr 11,500 ($1,500) for medical insurance, although she was already covered by a student policy as required by law. When she refused, she got her passport back with a deportation stamp. According to Colombe, nobody even explained what the stamp was about [it was in Ukrainian] and that she was already expelled from college.

The head of the foreign students department at the college, Tatyana Kalugina, said she wanted no responsibility in case something happened to the student: “She had no money and she needed to have insurance that would cover her pregnancy.”

Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at tuchynska@kyivpost.com.

www.kyivpost.com

Opinion 9

July 29, 2011

Farion: Punitive budget cuts put higher education at risk Æ5 ments of both universities in the Donetsk region rose significantly.

Mariupol State Humanitarian University increased by 28 percent and Donetsk National University’s law budget increased by 12 percent. By contrast, Kyiv Mohyla Law School’s budget for the upcoming academic year was reduced by 50 percent.

Interestingly, appropriations for some other universities actually increased.

For example, the National Aviation University and Donetsk National University enjoyed an increase in government support.

In 2010, the country witnessed the introduction of a controversial law that would have rolled back advances in higher education, returning to a discredited Soviet-era model of central government control. The proposed draft law presented a threat to the gradual gains forged in the essential areas of autonomy and academic freedom since the nation’s independence in 1991. Eventually, the proposed “reform� law was defeated. But new proposals to erode these fundamental rights in education may be forthcoming, as government attempts to regain control of higher education under the guise of economic necessity.

Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk has a long history of derogatory statements about Ukraine’s people, language and culture, often aimed at western Ukrainians. Tabachnyk plays a divisive role and his record speaks for itself. Access to education at top universities and western Ukrainian universities was significantly reduced over the past year. Government financing of schools with lower admission standards increased. Corruption is at pandemic levels in higher education institutions throughout Ukraine.

Based on the Education Ministry’s selective funding choices, it is reasonable to infer a deliberate policy to weaken the system of higher education. A weakened higher education system reduces Ukraine’s global competitiveness, impedes the development of future leaders and puts Ukraine within

Æ Some universities in Donetsk had their budgets increased the isolationist, controlled sphere of influence of the country’s neighbor to the east.

Ironically, it was President Viktor Yanukovych who declared 2011 as the “Year of Education.� If those words were not merely a verbal “Potemkin Village,� then there are steps the president should take to achieve his stated goals.

It is time to heed the call of the recent Freedom House report, “Sounding the Alarm: Protecting Democracy in Ukraine,� that issued the following recommendation to Yanukovych: “Dismiss Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk, arguably the most polarizing official in the Cabinet, for sowing unnecessary and dangerous divisions within Ukraine over issues of identity, language, and education.�

The question must be asked whether the education minister is pursuing a policy of crippling opposition by weakening those who want to accelerate Ukraine’s transition into a democratic, transparent nation with a participatory civil society.

In spite of the recent financial pressure, Kyiv Mohyla Academy continues to fulfill its mission and educate Ukraine’s future generations of leaders.

But it needs equitable treatment by the Education Ministry and increased private funding.

With the support of friends, donors and grantors in Ukraine and throughout the world, Kyiv Mohyla Academy has been able to rebuild itself after the fall of the Soviet Union. The

People clash with police as they try to block traffic on a road during a rally in front of Ukraine’s Cabinet of the Ministers in Kyiv on March 22. Some 5,000 Ukrainian school teachers, lecturers and professors demanded a salary increase and more financing for education. (AFP)

achievements of its students, graduates and faculty are a testament to the university’s role in leading educational reforms and Ukraine’s integration with the world.

The current conflict has become a topic of national discussion over fundamental principles of freedom, equal access to education and national

Willard: My goal is to make newspaper greater, profitable Æ4 and PR firms. Today, the news business is functionally much easier than when I started out, yet far more demanding.

Where once you had deadlines, the electronic age has brought a deadline every millisecond, 24 hours a day. It made UPI's slogan: “A deadline every minute� sounds quaint.

It also brought competition from anyone with access to a modem.

Personally, I want my news brought to me by a real journalist, one who can separate fact from fiction, and who is sufficiently responsible to present both sides of opposing discussions. I don’t want or need armchair philosophy.

I also want honesty, and this is what the Kyiv Post has represented over these 15 years – refusing to take

reform. Kyiv Mohyla Academy is in a position to continue providing leadership. Equitable and transparent reform must take place and Kyiv Mohyla Academy can play an indispensible role in this process.

Marta Farion is an attorney living in Chicago, Illinois. She is the president of Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America, a

non-profit organization whose mission is to provide assistance to National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy.

She served as chairperson of the ChicagoKyiv Sister Cities Committee for 13 years and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Chicago Mayor’s Office of International Relations – Sister Cities International Program.

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money for stories, refusing to go on press junkets, and upholding a key word in its motto – independence.

Will there be changes in the Kyiv Post? The short answer is yes. My charge from publisher Mohammad Zahoor is to make a great newspaper even greater and to make it profitable.

I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive, and neither does Zahoor.

Over a relatively short period, I will make recommendations to Zahoor after thoroughly looking at all aspects of the publication, and after discussions with senior editor Brian Bonner, former CEO Jim Phillipoff, the Kyiv Post staff and its readers.

As for Willard, the company, it is in good hands with Olga Willard as CEO (now for more than a year), with

veteran Tania Spiridonova excelling as president of advertising, and with the very creative Scott H. Lewis as managing director of training. I remain chairman, but with no day-to-day management responsibilities.

How can a news guy, turned political guy, turned PR and ad guy go back to being a news guy?

It’s not that difficult: Just put one foot in front of the other, and head for home.

Michael Willard was appointed CEO of the Kyiv Post on July 18. The veteran marketing, public relations and advertising executive will also remain chairman of The Willard Group, a Kyiv-based public relations and marketing firm with offices in Moscow and Istanbul. He can be contacted at willard@kyivpost.com.

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Lifestyle

Formula 1 powerboat racing takes place in the town of Vyshgorod, 15 kilometers from Kyiv, on July 29-31.

Details ls at www.f1h2oukraine.com.ua.

July 29, 2011

Play | Food | Entertainment | Sports | Culture | Music | Movies | Art | Community Events

Cherchez la France on Kyiv’s old streets

A saleswoman arranges pastries and breads in Boulangerie bakery on Yaroslaviv Val Street.

(Andrey Kravchenko)

BY MA R I YA M A N Z HOS

Oscar Wilde once said: “When good Americans die they go to Paris.�

Luckily, you do not have to be a good American, or die, to experience a little bit of joi de vivre in Kyiv. Here is some advice for having a perfect day of French indulgence.

In the morning, head over to the Boulangerie bakery on 21 A Yaroslaviv Val Street for the timeless French breakfast of cafĂŠ au lait and a crispy croissant.

Opened in 2010, the bakery is a favorite of Kyiv’s French expats, and generously displays its vast selection of pastries and breads. Besides the requisite baguette, Boulangerie also offers quiche, palmier

(a pastry in a palm shape), chausson (turnover), crepes, cheesecake and excellent soups and sandwiches. They taste pretty authentic as 70 percent of the ingredients come directly from France and all the products are made according to strict French culinary standards. So grab a table and enjoy the smell of fresh baked bread subtly mixing with the sounds of coffee machine and classic French tunes. Oh, and the vast windows are perfect for enjoying the French national pastime – people watching.

Next, bring out your inner child with a walk along Peizazhna Alley, home to a whimsical public park where nothing is as it seems. Giant animal

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heads become benches, walls turn into elongated cats, and solid towers appear on the verge of a tottering collapse. Fittingly, the park is also home to a statue of the Little Prince, the diminutive hero of Antoine de SaintExupery’s beloved tale. Presented as a gift of the French Cultural Center to the Ukrainian children, the sculpture was destroyed by vandals at the beginning of the year. Luckily, that didn’t stop the sculptor Konstantin Skretutsky from rebuilding it. Dressed in blue mosaic and holding a rapier, the Little Prince stands confidently as though he is personally guarding the carefree dreamland of children.

Grab a copy of Saint-Exupery’s book

Editorial staff: +380 44 234-65-00 news@kyivpost.com

$PNJOH 4PPO 4XJU[FSMBOE August 5, Confederation Day

and immerse yourself in “The Little Prince’s� wondrous adventures on one of the benches.

Don’t get too comfortable though, because it’s time to visit the ultimate hub of all things French in Kyiv: The French Cultural Center, or Institut Français. Located near Pobedy Square at 84 Honchara Street, you can find a feast of cultural offerings: French language classes, film screenings, musical and theatre performances, art exhibitions and even wine tastings. The center also hosts “literary teasâ€? with contemporary French writers, poets, filmmakers, and artists, such as Arno Rikner, Tierry Esso and even Juliette Binoche. Æ13

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(FSNBOZ September 23, Oktoberfest "VTUSJB October 28, National Day

To be an advertising partner for World in Ukraine, please contact advertising@kyivpost.com or call 234-6503

www.kyivpost.com www kyivpost com m

Food Critic WITH NATALIA A. FEDUSCHAK

Pagan recipes alive in Kult Ra on St. Andrew’s ancient descent Sometimes, a restaurant begs to be visited again and again. Kyiv’s Kult Ra, a Trypillian-themed eatery, is just such a place.

It combines great food and ambiance, with a lesson in ancient culinary customs, be it food or drink. It appears to be achieving something other restaurants in Ukraine have been unable or unwilling to do – carving out its own unique identity.

Keeping true to its name, Kult Ra focuses on Ukrainian food, but not of the generic kind. A cabbage and mushroom varenyk (dumpling) is an experience, while a mushroom dish conjures up the feel of smoky Carpathian Mountains and a more distant era when nature was celebrated for its bountiful gifts.

For this review, I was accompanied by family that had traveled to Ukraine from Canada. My cousin in particular is a fierce culinary critic. Several nights before, we had dined at a Polish restaurant in Krakow and she had given the waitress a gentle earful for serving frozen pyrogies, rather than freshly made.

First looking at Kult Ra’s uniquely-designed menu – it is adorned by pagan symbols and script reminiscent of Kyivan Rus – I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Personally, I have never been a fan of Ukrainian food in Ukrainian restaurants; few have been able to live up to the tasteful standards of the many women from my childhood who labored for hours making varenyky and holubtsi for church functions in my hometown of Denver, Colorado.

Yet the name of the dishes beckoned: Black Sea Salad, Ruskiy Borscht, Ragu from Summer Vegetables. After savoring the menu for many minutes, my cousin chose a mlynets (pancake) with chicken and mushrooms (Hr 26.50) and another with mushrooms and cabbage (Hr 21.50). My aunt had varenyky with cabbage and mushrooms (Hr 57), while my mother decided on a mlynets with berries (Hr 43). I ordered a Carpathian mushroom soup with noodles (Hr 47), fried mushrooms (Hr 67) and beef in herbs (Hr 95).

Because there was so much food – the portions were generous – we shared our dishes. Simply put, all were delicious. I particularly liked the berry mlynets. Served with a berry sauce, it was not too heavy and just as easily could have been a desert.

The mushroom soup was truly one of the best I have had in Ukraine. The fried mush- Æ13

July 29, 2011

‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ night party (virginmedia.com)

Saturday, July 30

If you’ve seen this movie, you should remember those entirely sweet and cute cartoon characters that needed to be saved: Roger Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and others. In “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” live action is interlaced with animation so vividly, you almost wish you were a child again.

It’s time to relive the dream, don a silly outfit (a bunny costume, for example) and head to Crystall Hall to dance with cartoon characters. Get 50 percent off on the Long Island Ice Tea before 1 a.m.

Saturday, July 30, 11 p.m., Crystall Hall, 1 Dniprovsky Uzviz St., 288-5069. No entrance fee.

Kazantip: Sunny republic of dreams in Crimea This 20-year old festival was born on the sunny Crimean beaches in the same year the Soviet Union fell apart. Like Ukraine in general, it has a turbulent history. Now this festival is better known globally than its home country, at least among music lovers.

Sea, beach and sun are permanent residents in Kazantip – the raving world-of-its-own, located not far from Yevpatoria.

Top-class DJs frequent the stages, while 30 bars and restaurants and two open-air cinemas welcome those who want a break from music.

You can dance in the pools, sleep on the beach or start your day with an ice cold Martini - do whatever you want or do nothing at all for the whole of August because that’s what Kazantip is all about. (kazantipa.net)

July 30-Aug 27

Entertainment Guide 11

Festival revives ancient times of Kyivan Rus

July 30-July 31

Kyivan Rus was christened 1,023 years ago. On this occasion, you’ll see many public festivities held around the city but we recommend heading outside of Kyiv for a more authentic celebration.

Prince Volodymyr, who first brought Christianity to Ukraine, will be honored in Kyivska Rus Park with a great medieval show, traditional games and a lot of food. Fair knights and ladies will perform scenes from the life of ancient Kyiv, competitions in archery and horse riding will be held.

Learn a new game or freshen up your memory playing gorodky, which looks like ancient bowling where sticks are used instead of balls, and lapta – an old-fashioned type of baseball.

Saturday-Sunday, July 30-July 31, Park Kyivska Rus, Kopachiv village, buses available from metro Vydubychi, www.parkkyivrus.com/index.php?lang=en, 461-9937. Tickets: Hr 20-40. (parkkyivrus.com)

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Music and delicacies Three times a week, Arbequina restaurant treats visitors with a southern mix of Spanish guitar and song. Enjoy authentic Spanish live music along with a fresh crisp salad, olives and jamon in the center of Kyiv.

Wednesday-Friday, July 29, Aug 3-5, 8 p.m., Arbequina restaurant, 4 Borysa Grinchenka St., metro Maidan Nezalezhnosti, tel. 223-9618.

Ivan Denysenko plays covers of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, among others in clubs and pubs around Kyiv. They will go well with beer and sausage in Porter pub on Friday, July 29, 9 p.m.,13 Spaska St., tel. 425- 0223.

Belgian pub Le Cosmopolite breaks the pattern of a Friday-night-only tradition of after-work parties. It appeals to many visitors specifically for being cosmopolitan every day of the week. The sounds of live piano, double bass and guitar daily, except Sundays, relax business diners, add romance to dates or just fill in uncomfortable silences. Monday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Le Cosmopolit, 47 Volodymyrska St., tel.

278-7278.

No food but plenty of quality music in Master-Klass center that luckily doesn’t break for the summer. Maryna Kramarenko & Friends will present a jazz night “Goodbye But Not Forever”on Wednesday, August 3,8 p.m. Cultural center Master-Klass, 34 Mazepy St., metro Arsenalna, www.masterklass.org/eng, 594-1063. Tickets: Hr 40.

July 30-Aug 27, village Popovka, buses from Yevpatoria and from Simferopol in Crimea, www.kazantiprepublic.com/ Tickets: EUR 60-160.

Compiled by Elena Zhuk

And on Friday, tune in for the famous opera arias from Bellini’s “Capuletti and Montecchi,” Puccini’s “La Boheme” and Bach’s “Dies Irae,” among others, on Friday, July 29, 8 p.m., Cultural center Master-Klass, 34 Mazepy St., metro Arsenalna, www.masterklass.org/eng, 594-1063. Tickets: Hr 30.

12 Entertainment Guide Movies

Live Music ART CLUB 44 44B Khreshchatyk St., 279-4137, www.club44.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 8 – 10 p.m.

July 29 Carte Blanche, Hr 50 July 30 Orkestr Che, Red Rocks, Hr 50 July 31 Soiuz 44 Jam Session, free admission August 1 Exotic Erotica, free admission August 2 Blues Tuesday: Pirata Band, free admission August 3 Smola, Lezo Terezy, free admission August 4 TyGyDym Party, free admission DOCKER’S ABC 15 Khreshchatyk St., 278-1717, www.docker.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9:30-10 p.m.

July 29 Antitela, Mr. Och, Hr 70 July 30 Numer 482, Partizanskie Vytivky, Hr 70 July 31 Karnavalnaya Zhara, free admission August 1 Nochnoy Kvartal, free admission August 2 Animals Session, Hr 20 August 3 Rockin’ Wolves, Hr 30 August 4 Tex-Mex Company, Hr 30 DOCKER PUB 25 Bohatyrska St., metro Heroyiv Dnipra, www.docker.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9:30-10 p.m.

July 29 Tabula Rasa, Partizanskie Vytivky, Hr 70 July 30 Strong Time, Tres Deseos, Hr 70 July 31 Foxtrot Music Band, free admission August 1 Gera and Second Breath, free admission August 2 Vostochny Express, free admission August 3 The Magma, free admission BOCHKA PYVNA ON KHMELNYTSKOHO 4B-1 Khmelnytskoho St, metro Teatralna,

www.kyivpost.com

July 29, 2011

390-6106, www.bochka.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9-10 p.m.

July 29 Beefeaters, free admission July 30 Bravo & Zhanna Aguzarova Cover Party: Lucky Band, Alena Lvova & Macintosh, DJ 47, Hr 40 PORTER PUB 3 Sichnevogo Povstannya St., 280-1996, www.porter.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 7:30 p.m.

July 30 Crazy Train July 31 Yuhym Dym JAZZ DO IT 76A Velyka Vasylkivska St., 289-56-06, http://jazz-doit.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 8:30 p.m.

July 29 Jazz Inside July 30 Elena Nikolskaya August 3 Alexander Marchenko Other live music clubs: GOLDEN GATE IRISH PUB, 15 Zolotovoritska St., 235-5188, http:// goldengatepubkiev.com/ TO DUBLIN IRISH PUB, 4 Raisy Okipnoi St., 569-5531, http://www.to-dublin.com.ua/ PIVNA NO.1 ON BASEYNA, 15 Baseyna St., 287-44-34, www.pivna1.com.ua DRAFT 1/2 Khoryva St., metro Kontraktova Ploshcha, 463-7330 KHLIB CLUB 12 Frunze St., www.myspace. com/xlibclub CHESHIRE CAT 9 Sklyarenko St., 428-2717 O’BRIEN’S 17A Mykhaylivska St., 279-1584 DAKOTA 14G Heroyiv Stalinhrada St., 4687410 U KRUZHKI 12/37 Dekabrystiv St., 5626262.

Named after Che Guevara, ‘Orkestr Che’ will play art-rock in Art Club 44 on July 30. (orkestrche.com)

Compiled by Svitlana Kolesnykova

Actor James Franco gets stuck in the mountains for more than five days. See what happens next in ‘127 Hours.’ (filmobay.com) truly touching. Watch it until the end, it’s a true masterpiece.

Editor’s note: Although Kyiv theaters rarely show films in the original language, there are other ways of getting hold of movies without irritating dubbing or subtitles. Buy a film at an online video shop (some of them deliver to the door) or pick up a movie in DVD stores across Kyiv. Here’s a list of the latest releases.

TRUE GRIT USA 2010 Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin Genre: Western Where to buy: Yakaboo, Hr 69 http://www.yakaboo.ua/ru/catalog/all/ true-grit-184745 A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn young woman track down her father’s murderer. That’s what trailers say about “True Grit,” and while it’s not a lie, this blurb is definitely an understatement of the latest movie by the Coen brothers.

These filmmakers became legends in Hollywood many years ago, and they still manage to produce top-notch movies.

Based on the novel of the same name, “True Grit” got 10 Oscar nominations in 2010. Matt Damon matured from his usual ex-CIA agent appeal for the role of Texas Ranger. And Jeff Bridges, now 61, as the tough Marshall tastes as good as an aged supreme wine.

Reviews by Alexey Bondarev

127 HOURS USA 2010 Directed by Danny Boyle Starring James Franco Genre: Thriller Where to buy: Yakaboo, Hr 61 http://www.yakaboo.ua/ru/catalog/ all/127-hours-183055 What would you do if you were stuck in a cave for 127 hours and had to cut off your right arm to get out? Perhaps, risk it and then celebrate your birthday twice a year.

That’s exactly what the lead character of the latest Danny Boyle movie did.

“127 Hours” is based on the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston who got trapped in an isolated canyon in Utah for five days. He cut off his arm that was stuck under a fallen stone, climbed up a 60-foot wall and walked eight miles before he was rescued.

Actor James Franco is on his own in this cinematic ordeal. The camera is on him most of the time. “127 Hours” is much better than Boyle’s previous “Slumdog Millionaire.” It is sincere and

NO STRINGS ATTACHED USA 2011 Directed by Ivan Reitman Starring Minka Kelly, Leighton Meester Genre: Stupid romantic comedy Where to buy: Yakaboo, Hr 66 http://www.yakaboo.ua/ru/catalog/all/ no-strings-attached-215741 Natalie Portman is a serious actress, but sometimes she takes a break and stars in movies like “No Strings Attached.”

She plays a woman absorbed by her work and career and has no time for a serious relationship. So she chooses tall, handsome and stick-thin Ashton Kutcher as a "friend with benefits."

Soon, however, the couple will evolve into something more than occasional flirts and sex.

It’s one of those romantic comedies that men hate and women like a lot. The film instructs viewers to start looking for a serious relationship. And that’s what women want, not men, right?

Anyhow, Portman is as good as always, and Kutcher is traditionally boring. Some funny scenes and a couple of nice jokes make up for a boring train ride or an evening at home.

2011

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Lifestyle 13

July 29, 2011

Wild mushrooms in Kult Ra reminscent of the Carpathians Æ10 room dish was a medley of

A young woman strolls on the expensive shopping strip in Pasazh, near Khreshchatyk.

(Andrey Kravchenko)

French shops, films, cafes buzz in Kyiv Æ10

Mediateque is the Center’s true jewel. An enormous collection d, visual and electronic of printed, materials will satisfy the curiosen the most inquisitive ity of even le. With an easy Francophile. n, you can borregistration, row any CD, movie or book you’d like n access to and gain ng world of the alluring French history, literature and poetry, fashion, ama, cinema and music, drama, politics. Don’t speak French? m. The center has No problem. helves of books several shelves translated into Ukrainian as part off the Center’s annual contest for the best translated works of French philosophers,, through Skovoroda” the “Skovoroda” program.

Now it’ss time to relax the French

way – shopping. Mak Make your way to Passage (15 Kh Khreshchatyk Street) where you wil will find yourself surrounded by su such glamorous French brands as Chanel, Dior and Lou Louis Vuitton.

Treat yourse yourself or your loved one with a gift from the Bo Bonjour bouwhic carries a tique, which wide range of luxury perfumes aand cosmetics, including Lancôme, Guerlain, Yves Sai Saint Laurent and La Prairie. M Maybe you’ll find that perfect something F or, like most French, you mo fun just might have more shoppi window shopping.

Since you you’ve surely The statue of ‘Little Prince’ stands proudly in the sculpture park at Peyzazhna Alley.

worked up your appetite, go about 30 meters down Andriyivsky Uzviz until you see the sign for Café de Paris.

Inside, the interior is replete with red tones and black and white photos of Paris. As with any good Parisian bistro, there is a wide variety of adventurous delicacies such as frog legs in “Henry IV” sauce and grape snails. But, of course, you can always go for a less exotic meal, such as their exceptional steak, pasta or a fish dishes. Or, if you prefer something lighter, choose the French classic Croque Monsieur, a slice of bread topped with ham and melted cheese.

Wine connoisseurs will be pleased with the extensive wine selection, predominantly featuring French imported white and dry wines. You may get lucky to get a table on the small summer terrace where you can watch the sun reflect off the domes of St. Andrews Church, and perhaps, for just a moment, imagine that you are gazing upon Notre Dame.

porcini, champions, oyster and chanterelles with a smokey taste. It was that dish that reminded me of the woody Carpathians.

As for the beef in herbs, let’s put it this way: With this particular dish, Sam’s Steakhouse now has a true competitor. And I don’t say that lightly since, for years, Sam’s has been a favorite place for beef.

Our meal was washed down with water (Hr 20), which the restaurant brings in from the village of Staike, Kyiv Oblast. It is unique in taste, and while it is not a water I would drink every day, it enhanced the taste of the dishes.

While it is admirable that Kult Ra is trying to remain true to the Ukrainianess of its dishes and menu, there is one suggestion I would make: Add to the wine list. The restaurant offers two exceptionally good beers, Mukolynets (Hr 20) and Tern (Hr 30), but its wines leave something to be desired.

The menu is heavy in Massandra products, which, with the exception of its desert wines, are not good. I went to Kult Ra with long-time friends the day after my first visit – the beef dish was even better and the cherry varenyky (Hr 57) were awesome – but the Massandra Aligote (Hr 180) was a disappointment.

Ukraine just can’t compete with Italy, France, Chile or even Georgia when it comes to wine. Give customers a wider variety because a bad wine can spoil a really great meal.

A word must be said about the presentation of dishes and interior.

The culture of the pagan Trypillian civilization that inhabited Ukraine some 7,000 years ago is making a comeback, and Kult Ra has certainly understood that.

The restaurant offers some of the most interesting tableware I have ever seen in Ukraine. Dishes are presented on tableware featuring Trypillian designs, as well as mugs and bowls that mimic the culture’s traditional shapes. The interior is adorned by the pagan god, Dazhboh, as well as pagan goddesses, which were painted by hand. Kult Ra also has a book store, tableware, jewelry, organic products and other knickknacks. All of these components come together organically, creating an environment where one can spend hours with the hopes of returning again.

Staff writer Natalia A. Feduschak can be reached at feduschak@kyivpost.com.

Kult Ra 4 Volodymyrska St. Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. tel. 331-5948, 067-231-8016 www.kultra.org

Cafe and restaurant Kult Ra serves food inspired by Trypillya civilization.

(Alissa Ambrose)

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УКРАИНА: Украинцев “слушают” много и безнаказано Светлана Тучинская В то время как в Великобритании незаконная прослушка заставила старейшую газету закрыться, часть редакции сесть в тюрьму, а издателя-миллиардера униженно краснеть в парламенте, в Украине она процветает безнаказанно и без перспектив к изменению. Аппаратура для прослушивания Каждый год спецслужбы "слушают" около 25 мобильных телефонов. тысяч украинцев – в разы больше, чем в США и Франции, где цифры, соотвественно, составляют 1400 и 1000 человек в год. При этом над прослушкой в Украине фактически нет никакого контроля, а у прослушанных – доказательств, поэтому правоохранители, как правило, даже не возбуждают дела, чтобы разобраться... БИЗНЕС: Украинский Хэппи Мил не получит яблок Ольга Руденко Американская сеть ресторанов фастфуд «Макдоналдс» объявила об изменениях в меню: теперь знаменитое детское меню Хэппи Мил будет включать в себя яблоки. Однако программа по постепенному улучшению пищевых качеств продукции «Макдоналдс» не имеет отношения к украинским ресторанам сети. «Мы уже вносили изменения в Хэппи Мил, - говорит директор по связям с общественностью «Макдоналдс Украина» Михаил Шуранов. – Уже более трех лет наши гости могут вместо картофеля выбрать морковные палочки. Правда, это сезонный продукт. Достать морковь в нужном нам качестве, да еще и вырощенную на открытом грунте – это принцип компании - можно не всегда». Фруктов в украинском «Макдоналдс» нет вовсе, и пока их появление в меню не ожидается... УКРАИНА: Українські геї перестали бути статистикою Світлана Тучинська Українська міліція та Державний комітет статистики більше не ведуть облік людей із нетрадиційною сексуальною орієнтацією. Проте самі геї кажуть, що в районних РОВД на кожного з них є досьє. Виявилось, що дані про геїв не збираються з 2008 року. Проте виявили це тільки зараз, коли перший заступник голови державної служби статистики України Вадим Піщейко повідомив про це у листі до "Гей-форуму України", недержавної організації, яка опікується правами людей з нетрадиційною орієнтацією. "Облік геїв вівся з радянських часів, відповідні картотеки велися в міліції", розповідає лідер "Гей- форуму України" Святослав Шеремет. Гей спільнота України неодноразово зверталась до міліції, Держкомстату, який збирав дані, із вимогою припинити збір інформації, адже це суперечить статті 32 Конституції України, яка захищає особисте життя громадян... Украинские геи празднуют маленькую победу,

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Ukraine shows signs of opening energy sector to investors

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Ukraine’s Vanquished Jews: Wounds still sore 70 years after Holocaust

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Kyiv Cricket Club gladly welcomes teams participating in the Kyiv Cricket League: KCC, BUCC, Seniors, Friends, Kagarlyk, Combined XI & EverGreen XI The League’s competition begins on May 28 through August 14, 2011 with games at the Voskhod Stadium at 6 Pryvokzalna Street, Kyiv.

You are invited with family, friends & colleagues!

Cold beer & snacks available to beat the heat & enjoy watching the game.

2011 iv Ky Cr

Next weekend matches:

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July 30 Saturday

BUCC vs Friends Kagarlyk vs Seniors

09:30 AM 04:00 PM

July 31 Sunday

EverGreen vs Friends Kagarlyk vs Combined

09:30 AM 04:00 PM

Results of Kyiv Cricket League held on July 23-25, 2011:

July 23 Saturday July 24 Sunday July 25 Monday

Kagarlyk vs Friends

Friends won by 112 runs Man of the Match: Rashid

BUCC vs Seniors

Seniors won by 8 wickets

KCC vs Combined

KCC won by 9 wickets

Seniors vs BUCC

Seniors won by 9 wickets

Seniors vs Combined

Seniors won by 6 wickets

Friends vs Combined

Friends won by 42 runs

Man of the Match: Zahid Man of the Match: Puneet Man of the Match: Naomi Man of the Match: Zahid Man of the Match: Rashid

Kagarlyk: 77 runs/All out Friends: 189 runs/4 wickets BUCC: 91 runs/20 overs Seniors: 91 runs/2 wickets KCC: 81 runs/1 wicket Combined: 78 runs/All out Seniors: 90 runs /1 wicket BUCC: 85 runs/All out Seniors: 123 runs/4 wickets Combined: 122 runs/20 overs Friends: 202 runs/4 wickets Combined: 160 runs/8 wickets

Thanks to everyone involved in the Kyiv Cricket League!

Please let us know if you would like to play. To register please contact Mr. Wayne, KCC, at +380 50 358-88-49 or Mr. Shailesh, KCC, at +380 50 355-61-16 For more information please visit kyivpost.com/projects/cricket

CRICKET