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May 27, 2011
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vol. 16, issue 21
Town Rebounds After Ukrainsk’s two coal mines fell onto hard times, with one closing and the other cutting back production, residents abandoned the town in droves. But an inventive mayor started a campaign to lure people back. He gave away 1,000 vacant and rundown apartments, attracting settlers from all over Ukraine who invested 1.5 million hryvnias into renovations, city officials say. Soon, new businesses started to open and kindergartens filled up with the arrival of up to 2,000 people – pushing the city’s population to an estimated 12,000 residents again.
BY K ATERY NA PA NOVA PANOVA@KYIVPOST.COM
UKRAINSK, Ukraine – A small revival is happening in Donetsk Oblast. Only five years ago, Ukrainsk was an economically depressed coal mining town with empty, dilapidated and almost worthless apartments.
A boy plays badminton outside a formerly abandoned apartment building in Ukrainsk. The town’s mayor lured new residents with promises of free apartments if people would resettle there. (Alex Furman)
Government cancels grain export quotas; will impose duties K Y IV P OS T S TA F F
Grain traders received a brief respite when Ukraine's government this week lifted grain export quotas that have helped drive up global food prices and cost agribusinesses hundreds of millions of dollars. However, the costs to grain trad-
Inside:
ers are not over. The government announced that it would impose export duties on grain, all expected to take force by July. One of the world’s top global grain producers and exporters, Ukraine introduced the quotas to protect domestic food supply amid poor global harvests last season. The quotas, in place Æ8
INSIDE: • American comes up empty-handed in 10-year search for Ukrainian wife. Page 4 • United Media Holding owner talks about Forbes, KP Media. Page 9 • Aside from president, ex-convicts have trouble finding work. Page 10
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Business Æ 6, 7, 8
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Young people were fleeing for jobs elsewhere. The population dwindled to 10,000 residents and an estimated 1,000 apartments became vacant. But now the population is back on the upswing – possibly up to 12,000 residents again. Vacant apartments are hard to find. Former residents are returning and even kindergartens
are overcrowded. Four taxi services are in business and stores that sell construction materials are competing for clients. This happy reversal of fortunes started in 2006, several years after the town’s coal mines fell on hard times. One of them closed, leaving 4,000 people unemployed. In 2002, an Æ11
Tymoshenko faces charges in 2009 deal STAFF A N D W I R E R E PO R TS
Ukrainian prosecutors on May 24 charged former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko with abuse of office for signing a gas import contract with Russia at prices that officials say were too high. Investigators say the 10-year contract signed in January 2009 was ruinous for the Ukrainian economy and that
Employment/Real Estate/ Classifieds Æ 22 – 23
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Tymoshenko did not have Cabinet approval to sign it. Prosecutor General’s Office spokesman Yuriy Boychenko said Tymoshenko’s actions cost the state 3.5 billion hryvnia ($440 million) in damages. He declined further comment on the charges and the possible sentence. The contract was signed amid a bitter pricing war with Russia, in which Russia cut off shipments to Æ12
2 News
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www.kyivpost.ua: дайджест статей РОССИЯ И СНГ: Как Президент Медведев детей демократии учит Наталья Горбань На детской странице сайта Администрации Президента России, который в анимационной форме рассказывает о разных аспектах политики и государства, появился раздел об оппозиции и ее пользе... Но насколько детей информируют в соответствии с российскими реалиями– вопрос Президент Дмитрий Медведев спорный. «Отношения Кремля к оппозиции всем хорошо известно. А верить в то, что этот раздел действительно отражает позицию власти к оппозиции, могут только дети»,- прокомментировал инициативу Кремля политолог Святослав Белковский... УКРАИНА: Гомофобные высказывания парламентария как тенденция в стране Ирина Сандул Одним майским утром доселе неизвестный депутат Екатерина Лукьянова проснулась практически знаменитостью, пускай пока и местного масштаба. Секрет успеха: интервью о глобально заговоре геев и их наступлении на традиционную украинскую культуру и государственность. «Один умный гей на нужном месте может зарубить инициативы пары сотен депутатов», - эта ее цитата - всего лишь одна из немногих, разбивающих все иллюзии существования политкорректности у власти в стране. «Я не считаю, что геи должны занимать ключевые должностя», - заявила Лукьянова Kyiv Post... СТИЛЬ ЖИЗНИ: Из учителя в модного дизайнера. История Федора Возианова Юлия Раскевич Он берет в руки большое меховое яйцо, расстегивает молнию и оттуда проклевывается футболка. Одежку извлекает из такой оригинальной упаковки, а потом пристегивает мохнатую скорлупу на плечи и, безмятежно улыбаясь, говорит, что если новый велосипед изобрести невозможно, то с футболкой можно потягаться. Хотя дай Федору Возианову велосипед, он, наверное, и его достойно оденет...
Topless clowning around Ukraine‘s breast-flashing Femen protesters crashed Europe Day ceremonies on May 21, interrupting a speech to assembled dignitaries by Kyiv City Administrator Oleksander Popov. Valentina Chobotko carries a sign mocking the participants and the event who they say do nothing to embrace European Union values and standards. Using Russian slang, the message essentially means, “Day for Asses”. Chobotko and another Femen demonstrator were arrested and jailed for five days. (Yaroslav Debelyi)
Police clash with Saakashvili critics Федор Возианов
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Georgian riot police beat opposition activists at a rally demanding the resignation of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi on May 26. Riot police with truncheons and water cannon forcibly dispersed protesters outside the parliament building, where they were aiming to block an Independence Day parade to push their demands that the president resign. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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%"! #USTOMS )NDEX IS THE SET OF FIVE INDICATORS REFLECTING THE FLUX OF CUSTOMS PROCEDURESl EVALUATION RESULTS PROVIDED BY PREMIER BUSINESSES AND 3-% THAT INTERACTED WITH THE CUSTOMS IN 4HE SURVEY FINDINGS ARE BASED ON THE FOL LOWING CRITERIA o !VERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS SPENT ON CUSTOMS CLEARANCE OF ONE SHIPMENT o 2ATE OF SHIPMENTS SELECTED FOR PHYSICAL INSPECTION o #USTOMS CLASSIFICATION AND NOMENCLATURE THE PERCENTAGE OF CARGO TARIFFS CHANGE BY CUSTOMS AUTHORITIES
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*O'PDVT 2011 Draft Air Code to Swell the Horizons If Ratified
O
n May 19, 2011 the Draft Air Code (Draft Law No. 7144 dated September 20, 2010) was adopted by the Parliament of Ukraine however currently shelved pending for President’s signature. The necessity to redesign the regulatory framework of the existing Air Code with the adjustment to European practices thus ensuring the proper legal basis for aviation activity and swelling the horizons for airlines was repeatedly voiced by the European Business Association representing country’s premier air carriers. Predating the establishment of the special Working Group under the aegis of the Parliament Committee on Transport and Communications, EBA Travel & Tourism Committee started elaborating its comments on the initial draft text of the Air Code. Since then the EBA has actively taken part in elaboration of the new Air Code defining legal essentials for the aviation in Ukraine. As a result of EBA continued appeals, the actual Air Code, originated in 1993, has undergone significant improvements outlined in the 2011 Draft 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 does express the hope Draft Air Code will be enforced by the President of Ukraine in the near future thus eliminating the institutional imperfections of the current legislative norms, lack of safety controls and obsolete regulations of business activities in the aviation sector.
JULIA Gerasymchuk, )FBE PG *OUFSOBUJPOBM 0SHBOJ[BUJPOT (SPVQ 4USBUFHJD %FWFMPQNFOU %JWJTJPO
AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines Airlines preliminary applaud the final adoption of the new Air Code as it reflects a big step forward in regulating the aviation activity compared to the previous Air Code dating back to 1993. New terminology has been finally developed, although not all proposals submitted by airlines were taken into account. In general, the terminology expanded and moved closer complying with European and international practices. Among the mostly expected strategic benefits of the new Air Code worth to be mentioned are: the creation of strong basis for further development of Ukrainian aviation and the opportunity for step-by-step integration into European common aviation area, joining the Single European Sky, as well as Ukraine’s return to Category 1 according to the U.S. FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requirements. These actions will give the opportunity for airlines to improve the variety and quality of services by increasing the number of flights, opening new routes and becoming highly competitive. Nevertheless it should be noted that this preliminary assessment is based only on the information included into the comparative table placed on the official web-site, but in order to make any certain conclusions the final text of the law signed by the President should be examined.
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Mr. Dejan Bojkovski, Senior Manager of Audit Department, Head of KPMG Office in Donetsk, Chair of EBA Donetsk Branch Finance and Tax Committee shares his insight into Ukraine’s post-crisis economy revival and environmental concerns and advises the potential investors on doing business in Ukraine.
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4 Opinion
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May 27, 2011
Editorials
Bad seeds Farming in Ukraine, home to some of the world’s richest soil and great weather conditions, should be a breeze. It should be very profitable for farmers and traders alike. It should also help feed mouths in Ukraine and abroad. Unfortunately, due to crony state policy, farmers have had a bad taste in their mouths from planting to harvesting. Due to misguided protectionist policies – namely export restrictions imposed last year – and murky insider dealings, it has become increasingly risky for cash-starved farmers to work. Unsure if exports will be sanctioned and if they will be able to sell their crop to grain traders for the highest price, agribusiness has for many in Ukraine become a loss-making venture. With such uncertainty sprouting up instead of more crops, citizens have found themselves spending more on basic foods. It was “too little and too late” when Ukraine’s government announced this week that export quotas on grain will be lifted. The restrictions were unnecessary in light of a reasonabe 40 million ton crop harvested last season. The restrictions also, according to industry estimates, incurred losses of “hundreds of millions of dollars” on domestic and foreign agribusinesses that have invested billions of dollars in past years to help Ukraine reclaim its reputation as the “Breadbasket of Europe.” Looking forward, President Viktor Yanukovych says he will sign into law duties on grain exports ranging from 9-14 percent, and lasting until January 2012. Why is this necessary, in light of government forecasts of an even bigger harvest this year? What purpose did the recent restrictions serve? To find the answer to why such policies exist in Ukraine that damage the interests of the majority, one needs only to follow the money trail to the murky dealings where the minority insiders close to government profit handsomely, and, according to some, corruptly. When will Ukrainian government officials be able to clearly explain why a previously obscure quasi-state company called Khlib Investbud received a large share of export quotas when most companies were left to count losses? Why was this company chosen to buy grain for the state reserve? Why can’t government officials or the company identity their private shareholders? Will it happen again? If it does, a select few may get richer, but the nation won’t stand a chance of attracting the investment needed to realize its agribusiness potential.
Exceedingly sad If anyone needed more evidence of the Yanukovych administration’s descent into authoritarianism, and Prosecutor General Viktor Tshonka as one of the useful tools in the process, they got it this week. Prosecutors charged ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on May 24 with exceeding her authority in not only negotiating natural gas deals with Russia during the 2009 crisis, but in getting a bad price to boot – costing the nation $440 million in losses. Let’s roll back the clock to those fateful three weeks in the winter of 2009, when Russia cut off gas to Europe in another price war with Ukraine. Had the crisis gone on any longer, parts of Europe would have been in critical danger of freezing. Ex-President Viktor Yushchenko and current President (then opposition leader) Viktor Yanukovych were not only no-shows in solving the crisis, there was evidence they played an obstructionist role. How so? Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin may have had them in mind when he talked about interference in the gas talks to preserve the role of controversial intermediary RosUkrEnergo, co-owned by Russia’s Gazprom and Ukrainian billionaire Dmytro Firtash. “Today’s situation highlights the high criminalization of its authorities,” Putin said on Jan. 8, 2009. “What (they) are fighting for today is not the gas price, but a chance to keep their middlemen in order to use the dividends obtained for personal ends and personal enrichment and in order to receive financial resources needed for their future political campaigns.” Of course, with his nemesis Yushchenko safely out of power, Putin rarely resorts to such heated words today about corruption in Ukraine. Whether Tymoshenko reached a bad deal or a good one, she doesn’t deserve to be charged criminally. Tymoshenko is the only Ukrainian politician who showed any leadership back then. She got the gas flowing again and, in a great public service, she got Putin to knock out RosUkrEnergo from the gas trade between the two nations. As for price, Yanukovych and his Party of Regions, who rode to power on promises they can broker better deals with Russia, have given away too much to the Kremlin without getting any big discounts on the price of Russian gas. Moreover, the administration has failed to get Kremlin concessions on the pipelines that bypass Ukraine’s gas-transit network, potentially costing this nation hundreds of millions of dollars each year. A crime? No. Incompetence? It sure looks like it.
“It must be solid gold!”
“What an exquisite item!” DO NOT TOUCH
00 00,0 Hr 4
NEWS ITEM: The Donetsk City Council this month bought 10 portable toilets, each worth nearly Hr 400,000. The precious cabins were said to have been bought in preparation for the Euro 2012 football championship, which Ukraine will co-host with Poland. Nashigroshi web portal, which tracks budget expenses, said that each toilet costs “the price of a prestigious imported car.” Donetsk Mayor Oleksandr Lukianchenko defended the result of the tender, saying he considers the toilets to be justified. “I will report back every hryvnia we spent,” Lukianchenko said.
“To jail her, to jail her not…”
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KNEWS ITEM: Ex-Prime Minister and current opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko came close to being arrested by General Prosecutor Victor Pshonka on May 24, but international and domestic pressure evidently persuaded authorities to release her after seven hours of detention. She is accused of exceeding her authority when signing a natural gas deal with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in 2009. Prosecutors allege the deal cost the nation $440 million because she negotiated a price that was too high. The prosecutor has opened three criminal cases against Tymoshenko, all of which she dismisses as politically motivated. Several of her allies remain jailed on allegedly dubious charges, including former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, who is depicted in drawing at left.
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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May 27, 2011
Hungary’s media law should not come here FARYNA@KYIVPOST.COM
Print media in Hungary could be fined up to 180,000 euros and broadcasters could face fines up to 722,000 euros under a new media law adopted by one of Ukraine’s western neighbors. Critics say that the new law could be used as a political weapon by the ruling Fidesz Party to inhibit freedom of speech in the nation of 10 million people. (Oksana Faryna)
Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE’s Representative on Freedom of the Media.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of the center-right Fidesz Party.
said. “Politicians always tend to subordinate press and this struggle will never end.” Like Ukraine, Hungary is also highly polarized and divided, not along pro-Russian and pro-Western lines,
but into left-right splits. While opposition is weak, ruling parties in both nations – the Party of Regions in Ukraine and center-right Fidesz in Hungary – are grabbing power in all public spheres. Æ12
American comes up empty-handed in 10-year search for Ukrainian wife RO G E R W R I G H T
Let me set the table straight: I fully agree with everything Alexandra Matoshko wrote in the May 21, 2010, Kyiv Post (“Stereotypes as superficial as the men who make them”) about Ukrainian women and foreign men. I do not seek a woman to be my wife who needs me or my lifestyle. I seek a woman who wants me for my qualities of character and deems my lifestyle and life goals to be compatible with hers. I am not remotely interested in a woman who is 20 or more years younger than I. For more than 10 years, I have been seeking a quality Eastern European woman to be my wife. I have traveled to Ukraine six times and Belarus once
VOX populi WITH OKSANA MARKINA
What are your plans for summer vacation?
Anna Derkach, advertising manager “I will rest near the sea. I’m going to Odesa. I have relatives there so I’ll kill two birds with one stone: I’ll visit them and rest. I don’t want to go abroad, because I was there during my vacations.”
O K S A N A FA RY N A
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary, a European Union member since 2004 and its current president, has been considered worthy of emulation for Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries trying to shed a communist past and embrace democratic principles. That is why many were alarmed when Hungarian authorities adopted a controversial media law that represents a setback for democratic values. The center-right Fidesz Party, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, introduced the new media law soon after they were swept into power in last year’s elections. All articles of the new legislation will take effect on July 1, despite criticism that it violates European legislation and restricts freedom of press. “The legislation can still be misused to curb alternative and differing voices in Hungary despite modifications adopted following a request from the European Commission,” said Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. Mijatovic said the law allows government to assess heavy fines against media outlets for loosely defined grounds and fails “to guarantee the political independence of public service media.” The law forces all media in the nation to be regulated by a Media Council, whose members are chosen by the ruling Fidesz Party. The head of the council was appointed by the prime minister and, like the members, could serve for at least nine years. All of which means that, even if Fidesz does not win any more elections in Hungary, the party will still exert control over the media. The Media Council is responsible for registration of all media outlets in Hungary, including TV, print and Internet. It also has right to fine media for violating advertising rules and consumer rights. Violations are punishable with fines up to 722,000 euros for TV and up to 180,000 euros for print and online outlets. Judit Bayer, Hungarian media lawyer in Budapest, considers the new law a serious attack on the freedom of press. “At the beginning, the authority will be interested to gain public legitimization and won’t impose high fines,” Bayer said. “But then, for example before the next elections, the Media Council may use the weapon it has in its hands for political purposes.” Gabor Horvath, editor at the Nepszabadsag, a Hungarian national daily, said the lessons of Hungary’s new media law are clear. “The new law proved that governments cannot be trusted and should be controlled in any political regime,” Horvath
Opinion 5
to meet women with whom I had communicated and all said they were interested in marriage and we should meet. I have met eight women in Ukraine with whom I had communicated. Four of the eight women with whom I had “quality” communications had no idea I existed. All their letters had been written by agency people. One of the women had prepared the “perfect” week for my first visit to her. In the first two hours with her, she insisted that I spend more money than I had expected to spend for the entire week, which was a liberal amount. It was obvious (body language and what she wrote was different than what happened) within those first hours she had no romantic interest in me. Not being a complete fool, I left. I spent considerable time with three women (on different trips). Each convinced me they were the perfect match for me, even though only one allowed me to so much as kiss her on the lips. However, as soon as I returned to the United States, none of them wrote a single note, much less a letter, to me. In every situation, the agencies strongly suggested
I be introduced to other women for a fee, of course, when the woman of my choice was not interested in me or was not available to be with me. Every additional woman I met was charming and interesting. With some of them, I had exchanged a few letters. With some of them, I truly felt a strong attraction. None of them remembered any previous communication with me and none of them were interested in any meaningful communication after I returned home. One of them flatly said she had never written any letters to me and had not read any of my letters. Nonetheless, she said it was all right for the agency to scam men because life in Ukraine was difficult. This woman had three university degrees, including a law degree, and was probably the most intelligent person I have ever met. One of the women works for a bank in Kyiv. She told me her best friend had gone to an agency and became a “professional dater” to share the income and benefits from men spending money on her when visiting her. The same woman told me Æ12
Nataliya Ataulova, organizer of seminars and trainings “I’ll go to Egypt. I was there dozens of times and I just love it.”
Elena Davidova, photographerdesigner. “I’ll spend my summer vacations in Crimea, because I really like to make photos of landscapes. And there you can find a lot of picturesque places for photo sessions.”
Atoyan Tagui, florist. “The last three years, I spent my summer vacations in Yalta. I like this place and I don’t want to go anywhere else.”
Eugene Kravchenko, trainer of yoga “I want to go somewhere out of Ukraine, where there are no Ukrainians. In Crimea, I don’t want to have a rest because it is well-known that prices there are so high and quality is often lacking. For the same money, you may organize your own travel tour to some exotic country. And it will cost you less than a vacation in Crimea.”
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.
6 Business
www.kyivpost.com
May 27, 2011
Ownership dispute triggers standoff at Nemiroff
Metal processing center launched at Kyiv university
On May 15, dozens of employees were locked out of the central distillery of Nemiroff, one of Ukraine’s leading vodka producers, after a dispute between shareholders and management. A group of shareholders control nearly 75 percent of the plant and represent Yakov Gribov as well as brothers Anatoly and Viktro Kipishi. They, according to reports, hired a security firm to seize control of the plant, which is based in Nemiriv of Vinnytsia Oblast. Employees and managers affiliated with other owners, including general director Alla Glus and supervisory board chairman Oleksandr Glus, were blocked from the building despite winning a court ruling that sanctioned their right to enter. Production at the plant was temporarily halted. (Ukrainian photo)
Students at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, one of Ukraine’s leading state-run scientific and technical universities, will now be able to get first-hand experience using state-of-the-art machines that use precision-cutting technology to shape and mold construction materials such as metal. The new Haas Technical Educational Center (above) was formally launched on May 26. The metal processing machines were produced by Haas Automation, which claims to be the largest producer of metal processing machines and tools in the Western World. About 45 educational support centers of this kind exist in Europe. The metal processing machines at the Kyiv university cumulatively cost 120,000 Euros and were purchased by Abplanalp Ukraine, which sells and supports metal processing machines. Abplanalp Ukraine opened a similar center in 2007 in Dnipropetrovsk and plans to open another one in Kirovohrad, also at a local educational institution. (Alex Furman)
ÆOn the move OLAF DE BOER has been appointed food procurement and merchandising director at Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine. After first joining Metro Cash & Carry in 2007 as buying and merchandising manager, de Boer was in 2010 appointed regional head of company’s buying and merchandising in Central East Europe. He started his career in the trade business back in 1996 at Ahold, a Dutchbased retailing group. He held various management positions in store operations and procurement & merchandising within the group. De Boer graduated from the University of Twente and holds master’s degree in business administration and technology.
Send On the Move news to otm@kyivpost.com or contact Kateryna Panova 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.
KATERYNA GOZEL joined the
MAXIM METALNIKOV
Kyiv-based operations of American Medical Center as a gynecologist and obstetrician. Prior to joining the clinic, Gozel worked in the Yemen republic. Before that she had a private practice in Ukraine. Gozel speaks English, German and Arabic. Gozel graduated from the Vinnitsa Medical University.
GENNADII ROSCHEPII joined
was appointed logistics director at ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih, the country’s largest metallurgical enterprise. In his new position, Metalnikov’s responsibilities will include creating a shared service structure which will unify the company’s different logistics and customs departments. Metalnikov is also expected to introduce SAP standards and to improve planning. Metalnikov started his career in exporting companies in 1991. From 2005 through 2007, Metalnikov worked at the Moscow representative office of Noble Resources as a councilor on coal and metal exports. He later joined Transgarant, a transportation company, where he was responsible for managing an industrial railcar park. Metalnikov completed an engineering degree at Moscow University of Railway Transportation. He also obtained an MBA from Antwerp University.
Avellum Partners, a Kyiv-based law firm, as a new associate. At Avellum, Roschepii will focus on serving clients on real estate, merger and acquisition transactions. Prior to joining Avellum, Roschepii worked as an associate at the Kyiv office of Clifford Chance, an international law firm. His professional experience also includes working as an associate at Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners, another top ranked law firm in Ukraine. Roschepii graduated from the Economics and Law Faculty of Donetsk National University. He also studied at the post-graduate institute of the same university.
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Business 7
May 27, 2011
Business Sense
Editor’s Note: Business Sense is a feature in which experts explain Ukraine’s place in the world economy and provide insight into doing business in the country. To contribute, contact chief editor Brian Bonner at bonner@kyivpost.com
WITH YEVGEN BOBYK
New privacy legislation must balance interests of individuals, businesses Brocard is Ukraine’s largest perfume retailer in the nation’s $2 billion perfume-and-cosmetics industry. Russia’s Alcor on May 19 won approval to acquire a controlling stake. (Courtesy)
Russia’s Alcor eyes Ukraine’s largest perfume retailer BY M A R K R AC H K E VYC H RACHKEVYCH@KYIVPOST.COM
A Russian company has received clearance from Ukraine’s anti-trust agency to buy Ukraine’s largest perfume retailer. If closed, the acquisition will give Alcor a large chunk of a domestic perfume and cosmetics market that is estimated to be worth $2 billion annually. A Brocard spokesperson said the company won’t comment on the deal until it is finalized by the end of the month. Alcor, which manages the L’Etoile and Bon Joli retail networks in Russia, on May 19 received permission from Ukraine’s Anti-Monopoly Committee to acquire more than 50 percent share of stock in two offshore companies that control Brocard, which has 63 outlets in Ukraine. A Ukrainian analyst valued the company’s value at below $150 million. A deal has been in the works for some time, according to Roman Klym
of business consultancy Rapport Ukraine. “This company was not facing financial problems. This was a money-making venture,” Klym said. “There are some people who make money by developing a business and brand and then sell it. This company was prepped for a sale.” The acquisition symbolizes the growing dominance of Russian business groups on the Ukrainian market. Russia is the fourth largest foreign direct investor in Ukraine, according to the State Statistics Committee. As of Jan. 1, Russia had invested more than $3.4 billion into post-Soviet Ukraine. Ukraine’s foreign direct investment per capita stands at $978, the government agency said, much lower than geographical peers. Russian companies are mostly involved in banking, telecommunications, oil and gas, energy, metals and machine building. Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at rachkevych@kyivpost. com.
The protection of personal data was enshrined in law from the start of 2011 by new legislation aimed at bringing Ukraine into line with European Union norms. Instead it resulted in heated debates and misunderstandings among Ukrainian business because of its controversy and inconsistency. The law was adopted to ensure respect for the right of every individual to privacy with regard to the processing of his or her personal data. Every legal entity or private entrepreneur has personal databases, for example of employees, customers and suppliers. The law requires legal entities and private entrepreneurs that use personal data bases to stipulate specific internal regulations and appoint a specific employee to fulfill the requirements set forth by the legislation. Moreover, the owners of personal databases have to obtain unequivocal consent from all individuals whose personal data is included and processed in a database. In addition, such consent has to be given in writing; otherwise it is very hard for the owners of a database to prove that this consent has been obtained. Upon receipt of written consent, it is also required to notify each individual whose personal data are included in a database in writing within 10 days. Can you imagine obtaining individual written consent and notifying in writing each individual whose personal data is included in a database of 500,000 people? Moreover, every single personal database has to be registered with the State Service of Ukraine for Protection of Personal Data following a procedure that has not even been stipulated yet.
Æ Every legal entity or private business has personal databases of customers, employees At the same time, the liability for violating the requirements has not yet been stipulated. Parliament is expected to vote on this within months. The law affects only legal entities and private entrepreneurs that process personal data. Individuals who use personal data for professional purposes – such as journalists and artists in performing their professional activities – are exempt from provisions of the Law. Therefore, if you have a list of contacts in your email account, which is used exclusively for your matters, take it easy, the law will not affect you. What is a personal database? It is a set of personal data in electronic format or in the form of personal data cards. The definition of personal data base is quite broad and at first glance it seems that almost any set of personal data will be considered a personal database, however it is not exactly true. For example, a set of business cards chaotically stored on your desk most likely will not be considered as a personal database, since it is not structured according to certain criteria, has no title and no aim of processing. If you decide to enter all the data from business cards into a spreadsheet, this will be a personal database. However you are still free to use it solely for
individual purposes. But what if the database is then used for commercial activity, such as sending emails, or advertisements? Then such a situation will be covered by the law. The Cabinet of Ministers has been given a six-month period to adopt specific regulations to bring legislation into line with the requirements of the personal data law. Let’s hope that these specific regulations will bring more clarity, which is currently lacking. Meanwhile, business should take the following steps to avoid any complications. First, create internal regulations on the procedure of processing personal data, and appoint a department or person responsible for organization data. Second, request written consent from individuals whose personal data is listed in a database. There is no doubt that new regulations on personal data will be adopted in the near future. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this time Ukrainian legislators balance the interests of businesses with individual rights to privacy. Yevgen Bobyk is an associate with PARITET law firm. He can be reached at yevgen.bobyk@paritet.ua.
Advertisement
Better home, better life
U
DP Company, one of Ukraine’s leading property developers, in May 2011 opened an integrated Central sales office in Kyiv. Over nearly 10 years of work on the Ukrainian real estate market, the Company first showed itself as a consistent supporter of innovations, including innovations in design, in building, and services as well. Now, UDP is introducing an innovation in marketing. Due to its structure and functions, UDP’s Central sales office can rightly be called unique. Previously, no such center existed in Ukraine. This innovation is a result of UDP’s unique position as the builder of a wide range of real estate in different price brackets and in the variety of housing complexes built by one developer. “That’s why our sales office significantly differs from the tested format of the ‘supermarkets of real estate,’ that sell building projects from different developers and have a mass of problems connected with work unsatisfactorily performed or with late completion deadlines. The developers simply do not keep their promises. UDP is the exception, selling its own quality projects and meeting our responsibilities to our buyers,” said Bohdan Kabanets, director of the central sales office. In our sales office, it will be possible to choose and buy accommodation from a wide range of apartments for any taste and budget. Buyers are able to make choices from offerings that range from the economy class priced at $50,000 up to an elite apartment in the center of Kyiv or on the Black Sea coast. In this one place, information about all company projects is gathered. From the opening of our Central sales office, you will be able to buy apartments of two capital housing estates, “Parkove Misto” (recognized as a better housing complex in Ukraine in 2009) and “Novopecherskiye Lipki” (winner in the same category in the All-Ukrainian Contest “Accomodation-2010”). In addition, it is possible to buy apartments in the marine residence, “Maristella,” situated in Odessa. Later, other building projects will be offered, the first of which is expected to be the Kyiv housing estate, “RiverStone”. The infrastructure of the Ukrainian residential real estate market is comparatively undeveloped, a situation that our Central sales office is designed to overcome. UDP sales offices as well as offices of
other Kyiv developers are situated and continue their work directly from territories of construction sites where residential space is being sold. Now, there is no need to visit every building project in turn, since one visit to our integrated sales office will allow you to acquire detailed information on all projects of the UDP Company. Moreover, during a visit you will be given an opportunity to make a comfortable virtual tour of the building project in which you are interested in with the help of our interactive“touch screen”technology. In this way, without leaving the office you may conduct a detailed review of Housing estate “Novopecherskiye Lipki” different perspectives of the overall building site as well as any specific apartment and its location. Our team of real estate professionals will help you make a choice. Every manager knows all information about the projects and can consult on all issues relating to the process of making a choice and buying an apartment. “Every manager who works in our Central sales office is qualified and can reply to any customer’s questions regarding the building process and materials, starting from the brand of bricks used and to the type of radiators that are installed in a particular building,” Kabanets says. The main task of the Central sales office is to simplify the process of choosing and buying an apartment, to reduce expenditures of both time and money, and to assist with the decision making process. This is in line with the philosophy of UDP, which is based on the belief that with a better home a person’s life gets better. “UDP strives to work in such a manner that a better life starts not when a family moves into a new apartment in one of its housing complexes but from the moment when a person crosses the threshold of our sales office,” Kabanets concluded. The Central sales office is situated at address: 2, Taras Shevchenko Blvd. in Kyiv. Link to more information at www.udp-ua.com
8 Business Government to replace grain export quotas with duties Æ1 since October 2010, were cancelled on May 24, Agriculture Minister Mykola Prisyazhnyuk said Hours later, President Viktor Yanukovych said that he’ll sign legislation replacing quotas with export duties ranging from 9 percent for wheat, 12 percent for corn and 14 percent for barley. It remains unclear on which date they will take effect. But they are scheduled to last until January 2012. Global grain prices were shaken in 2010 when Russia and Ukraine, home to some of the world’s richest farming soil, imposed export restrictions. As a result, agribusinesses lost of hundreds of millions of dollars, grain traders and experts said. International agribusinesses that have invested heavily into Ukraine such as, Cargill, ADM and Bunge criticized the restrictions in spite of a healthy harvest last season of nearly 40 million tons of grain. Only 6.2 million tons of grain was allocated for export during the quota period. Business associations have described the quota system as “unjustifiedâ€? and “non-transparent,â€? arguing that a quasi-state company, Khlib Investbud, received the largest share of quotas. The previously little-known company is also the exclusive supplier for state grain reserves. Though the company denies wrongdoing, it refuses to identity its private shareholders. The government’s measure should provide an export restriction-free window for several weeks and could free up millions of tons of stockpiled grain for export before duties are introduced and before harvesting begins this season. Jorge Zukoski, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, hopes Kyiv’s government will introduce export duties later on July 1. “The damage is not irreversible. Allowing old stocks to be exported is a sign that the president understands market concerns and is moving towards a free market system,â€? Zukoski said.
www.kyivpost.com
May 27, 2011
French bank wins ruling to collect BY MARK RACH KEV Y CH RACHKEVYCH@KYIVPOST.COM
After more than a year of legal wrangling in three courts, a French bank in Ukraine received a favorable ruling that paves the way to recovering a $750,000 outstanding loan from a domestic real estate and construction tycoon. In April, the High Commercial Court of Ukraine ruled in favor of CIB Credit Agricole by stating the loan agreement it had with TMM Ukraine, owned by 49-year old multi-millionaire Mykola Tolmachev, was valid and legally binding. On the back of this ruling, Agricole filed another claim on May 4 against TMM with the high commercial court asking it to reverse a lower court ruling
that said the credit agreement had not been concluded. Tolmachev’s TMM said in a press statement that Agricole had improperly drawn up the loan agreement and asked for the nullification as well as repayment of interests and fees. The heated dispute – made public by CIB Credit Agricole – is a rare example of a Western creditor flexing its muscle against an influential domestic businessperson. CIB Credit Agricole stressed that it will fight to the end to collect the debt. “It would have been wiser for Mr. Tolmachev not to enter into such litigation against our bank, a litigation which ridiculed himself, his businesses TMM, Sintal, and that, even if, eventually, he was not successful, tarnished Ukraine,�
Poroshenko could sell brewery to Oasis CIS, a Russian-owned ďŹ rm BY VLAD LAVR OV LAVROV@KYIVPOST.COM
Oasis CIS, a company owned by two Russian businessmen, plans to acquire Radomyshl beer factory from Ukrainian businessman Petro Poroshenko, according to a report by Thomson Financial Mergers & Acquisitions. The Kyiv Post was not able to confirm a sale had taken place. But the acquisition price was estimated by analysts to be below $40 million and could be part of a bigger regional expansion plan on the part of Oasis. Oasis is owned by Yevgeny Kashler and Alexander Lifshits. The Radomyshl brewery is based in Zhytomyr Oblast. Anton Usov, a spokesperson for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Ukraine, said his bank is mulling the possibility of investing into Oasis. But he was not aware of any acquisition targets in Ukraine that Oasis could have closed. Kashler and Lifshits are the founders of Russia’s Ivan Taranov Breweries, which was sold to Dutch beer giant Heineken in 2005 for $560 million. Beer has become increasingly popular in recent years among Ukrainians, even challenging the supremacy
Petro Poroshenko
of the traditional tipple – vodka. Ukraine’s beer market is estimated approximately at $3 billion annually by Pivnoe Delo, a Kharkiv-based industry magazine. With the exception of Obolon, the market is dominated by giant multinational breweries – Sun InBev, Carlsberg Group and SABMiller. Combined, these four market players control over 95 percent of the market. Poroshenko owns a diversified portfolio of assets and serves as supervisory board chairman of Ukraine’s central bank.
said Jacques Mounier, board chairman of CIB Credit Agricole in Kyiv. “We believe that such a judgment is good news for CIB Credit Agricole, but even more for Ukraine, and is a booster for the investment climate.� TMM claims to have offered to settle out of court, only to be met with refusal. But CIB Credit Agricole’s inhouse lawyer, Victor Kolesnik, said a deadline was set for repayment of the principal amount but that TMM didn’t honor it. CIB Credit Agricole is Ukraine’s 37th largest bank with $607 million in net assets as of April 1, according to Ukraine’s central bank. Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at rachkevych@kyivpost. com.
Mykola Tolmachev
Russian natural gas diversion plans to weigh on Ukraine Reuters – Russia’s plans to redirect 20 percent of natural gas it transports through Ukraine to the new Nord Stream pipeline threatens to deprive Ukraine of $700 million in transit revenues and raises questions over future volume cuts. Interfax news agency reported that Alexei Miller, CEO of Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom, said on May 26 during a gas meeting in Brussels that around 20 billion cubic meters of gas would be diverted from transit to Europe via neighboring Ukraine to Nord Stream, which will run under the Baltic Sea to Germany and is slated for launch later this year. “You, my friends, understand everything,� he told reporters, when asked whether Russia would divert gas from the Ukraine transit network to Nord Stream. He then clarified that the volume would be about 20 bcm, or just under one-fifth of what the country transported to Europe last year. The statement of volume diversion comes just three months after Miller assured Ukraine and fellow ex-Soviet gas transit country Belarus that Nord Stream would not threaten their gas transit volumes for which they receive transport revenue. Last year Ukraine transited 95.4 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe, and at current rates, Mikhail Korchemkin of East European Gas
Analysis estimates that Ukraine stands to lose $700 million if Russia cuts 20 bcm. By 2015 Nord Stream will transport up to 63 billion cubic meters to central and south Europe. Gazprom owns 51 percent of the project with German companies Wintershall and E.ON each with 15.5 percent and France’s GDF Suez and the Dutch Gasunie each with 9 percent. “I estimate Ukraine’s 2015 transit volume at 50-55 billion cubic meters,� Korchemkin said, who added that lower volumes also means Ukraine will need less gas for its compressor stations. This is far below the 112 bcm that Russia and Ukraine agreed would be transited over the next 5 years through Ukraine during a meeting in Kyiv last December. “We have a transit agreement, but Nord Stream is still a major threat to us. The same goes for South Stream,� said a Ukrainian diplomatic source close to gas pricing talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Kyiv and Moscow, currently engaged in gas pricing talks, have a long history of pricing disputes that have disrupted gas deliveries to Europe. Russia is also forging ahead with plans to build a second major pipeline, South Stream, that would also bypass Ukraine to transport up to 63 bcm under the Black Sea to central and southern Europe.
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News 9
May 27, 2011
Lozhkin: Moscow editor a big key to Forbes’ early success in Ukraine BY I R I N A S A N D U L SANDUL@KYIVPOST.COM
Boris Lozhkin, one of Ukraine’s bestgroomed businessmen, is so attentive and soft-spoken that it’s hard to see a tough and calculating media tycoon in him. Nevertheless, the 39-year-old owner of United Media Holding, is just such a tycoon. His empire includes 50 media brands. Among them: Telenedelya, the popular television guide; the Ukrainian versions of two Russian dailies, Komsomolskaya Pravda and Argumenty i Fakty; Focus and Money magazines; and eight radio stations. In 2010, the holding revenue of $113.7 million had a net profit of $4.15 million. A crowning acquisition is proprietorship of Forbes in Ukraine, which launched in March with billionaire Viktor Pinchuk on the cover. The first print run of 30,000 copies sold out quickly, leading to a second run of 5,000 copies. Also recently, Lozhkin teamed up with Ukraine’s chocolate king, Petro Poroshenko, to acquire the popular news magazine Korrespondent, news website Korrespondent.net and internet portal Bigmir.net, reportedly for up to $18 million in the sale of KP Media by its American owner, Jed Sunden. Lozhkin is noticeably proud of his achievements. An electronic display in his office notes that “the combined revenue from one issue of Focus and Forbes can buy two hamburgers for every dweller of Simferopol� and that “Boris Lozhkin is 18 centimeters taller than [media tycoon] Rupert Murdoch. Despite the comparison with Murdoch, Lozhkin shows the traits of a controlling Ukrainian businessman.
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Lozhkin spoke with the Kyiv Post about his expanding media empire, his editorial policy with Korrespondent magazine, the future of Focus magazine and the prospects for financial success with Forbes. KP: Recently you and Petro Poroshenko bought Korrespondent magazine. How many shares do each of you have? BL: We don’t make this information public. KP: What will you be responsible for and what will be Poroshenko’s responsibility? BL: Petro and I are traditionally responsible for management and financial results of all our joined projects [including radio stations Nashe Radio, NRJ è Retro FM]. KP: Why does Poroshenko need Korrespondent? Maybe he has some presidential ambitions and he needs a political platform for the presidential elections in 2015? BL: I don’t think that Korrespondent can serve as a political platform for any buyer. Journalistic traditions of Korrespondent will not allow any owner, in my opinion, to use the magazine as a political platform. Any attempt to use it as a political platform will lead to a drastic loss of the market position of this publication. KP: Coming back to Poroshenko, does he have presidential ambitions? BL: I have never discussed this topic with him.
KP: Do you have any political ambitions? BL: No. KP: What is the area of your ambitions? BL: Media. KP: Focus is unprofitable. Now you have two competing news weeklies: Focus and Korrespondent. How will they get along with each other on the market and will this lead to closing Focus? BL: Focus is already an operationally profitable magazine in certain months. Secondly, this is a good question for us. We are working on differentiating positions of Focus and Korrespondent now. There is no final answer to this question yet. They are direct competitors to a big extent. I think that we will need two or three months to understand in what way they should be different from each other. KP: So, you plan to leave both magazines on the market? BL: Yes. KP: Nevertheless, with Focus being not the most successful magazine from a financial point of view, is it possible that the same thing happens to it that has happened to Gazeta Po-Kievski, when debts and the economical component were used by its management to put pressure on journalists and their freedom? BL: Firstly, I wouldn’t call Focus an unsuccessful project because it develops pretty much in accordance with the business plan that has been put into it ‌ We are not going to close this proj-
Boris Lozhkin’s United Media Holding empire is expanding with the launch of the Ukrainian version of Forbes magazine and the purchase of KP Media, which publishes Korrespondent magazine. (Andriy Kravchenko)
ect. And naturally we are not going to use any economic issues as a means of putting pressure on the editorial staff. KP: There are rumors that you personally are going to take an active part in Korrespondent’s work. And even that you will visit editorial meetings. Is this information correct? BL: No. Call [Vitaly]Sych [chief editor of Korrespondent ], ask him. I met Sych only once, after the deal with Jed was done. And this was a meeting that was not directly connected to Korrespondent. We simple informed him and other top managers of KP Media that the deal had taken place. KP: Let’s talk a little bit about Forbes. So far this is one of the most successful projects in Ukraine. What is the reason? BL: I think there were several components to it. The first one was that today we have gathered the best team for an economic publication, which includes, in my opinion, the best editor of all economic publications in the country. Unfortunately, we had to bring him along from Moscow. Unfortunately, the level of such people
is higher in Moscow. Thus we received quality content, which today, as for me, is a head higher than those that many business publications in Ukraine have. Secondly, in my opinion, we have conducted a competent PR campaign of the project. Thirdly, it is certainly the effect of the name Forbes. KP: Do its profits already cover the expenses? BL: Operationally, yes. KP: Why have you decided to issue Forbes in the Russian language in Ukraine? BL: Because today the major business audience, as far as we understand this market, speaks Russian. KP: There have been some loud projects in Ukraine, like National Georgaphic magazine, that didn’t last long. Can this happen to Forbes as well? BL: I don’t think that Forbes’ project has the same perspective. Judging by the beginning, I think that Forbes can only have problems if business activity in the country falls down drastically. Kyiv Post staff writer Irina Sandul can be reached at sandul@kyivpost.com
10 News
www.kyivpost.com
May 27, 2011
Ex-ambassador Ukrainian official cites Gaddaffi, bin Laden in of India: Ties book critical of America with Ukraine can be stronger in many areas BY Y URIY ONYSH K IV ONYSHKIV@KYIVPOST.COM
BY S V I T L A N A T U C H YN S KA TUCHYNSKA@KYIVPOST.COM
In pursuing stronger relations with China, Ukraine may be overlooking another Asian tiger – India. Vidya B. Soni, the ambassador to Ukraine from 1997-2002, spoke to the Kyiv Post about gaps in Ukrainian-Indian relations, visa difficulties and problems with China. He is currently the chairman of the Overseas Infrastructure Alliance, an Indian-based project development and management company with offices in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sudan and Benin. Kyiv Post: Ambassador, how would you describe current relations between Ukraine and India? Vidya B. Soni: The trade volume has quadrupled in the last ten years or so. However, there is still a big gap in business, economical and scientific cooperation which needs to be closed. First of all there is acute lack of knowledge about each other. Indians still think about Ukraine as a part of Russia, even though 20 years since you gained independence have passed. Meanwhile Ukrainians still think that India is a poor, over populated, and basket case country. I was meeting more than 200 students of Kyiv National University yesterday and I have to say the level of their ignorance about India is amazing. Now, I do not deny India has its share of problems but, as you know, in the last 10-15 years India became the fourth largest economy in the world and overtook the German economy just a few years ago. Our GDP is $1.3 trillion and we grow 9 percent every year. Our countries have a lot to offer to each other and this needs to be acknowledged. KP: What opportunities for cooperation between the two countries do you see? VS: Our steel mills were made by people from Ukraine in the 50s and 60s. They need renovation now. Who better to do that? However, the cooperation in this sphere is not happening to the extent that it should. Turn to the defense sector: 90 percent of our defense supply came from the U.S.S.R., where Ukraine had a big share. For us, the price was good and the quality was good. Aircraft – a lot of them need renovation. Instead of buying expensive aircrafts from the West … who else can cooperate with us in this sphere if not you? India is very strong in information technology and Ukraine needs to catch up on this one. We can help. While you have excellent engineers and technologies, you lack entrepreneurial skills and marketing. There are Indian businessmen in Ukraine, but how many Ukrainian businessmen in India? Very few. KP: I know it is very difficult for Indians to get visas to Ukraine. Meanwhile, it is very easy for Ukrainians to obtain a
Vidya B. Soni
visa to India. Why do you think the imbalance exists? VS: There was a problem before when Indian immigrants were coming, using Ukraine as a transit country to the West. Perhaps there was certain pressure from the European Union on Ukraine because of that. Also there is a fear of immigrants in Ukraine. However, now reverse migration is starting as thousands of well-established wealthy Indians are returning to India, as business and job prospects are improving back home. Similarly the number of expatriate foreign employees working in India is on the rise. Developed countries are now transferring most of their operations to India. So you must understand Indians are now traveling a lot more because they have money ... There are also many places in Ukraine that the Indian movie industry can use for shooting. They constantly need new locations and in Ukraine it would be much cheaper than, say, Switzerland. But even they are discouraged because of this Ukrainian visa policy. KP: While Ukraine is largely ignoring India, cooperation seems to be developing with China. Are they better in promoting their country? VS: We are not in competition with China at all, they do not bother us. The world is dazzled by what China has been able to do, but people do not recognize it is a democratic, slow process that India is taking. It is an inclusive process which is driven by the private sector. In China, it is driven by the state. Perhaps they are also more generous in doling out gifts. KP: Many Chinese people say India is aggressive. In your opinion, what is the future of India -China relations? VS: The image of an aggressive India is the one Chinese authority might be interested in promoting. But I think the world knows what role India is playing. Definitely our trade relations with China are going ahead but politically there will be a long time of differences. Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at tuchynska@kyivpost.com
In a book approved as a university textbook, a deputy Ukrainian education minister defends his criticism of the United States by citing Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and recently slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In his book entitled “Globalistika,” Yevhen Sulima quotes both men who are considered as mass murderers by most people, but inspiring leaders to their followers. Bin Laden and Gaddafi portray America as a bullying global power that seeks to divide and conquer by exploiting religious divides, extremists and through other means. Sulima works under the leadership of Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk, criticized for his alleged pro-Russian and Ukrainophobe views. President Viktor Yanukovych has long been pressured by opposition forces and allies within his own Party of Regions camp to oust Tabachnyk, but has so far refused to do so. Sulima co-authored the text book with Maksimilian Shepelev, a university teacher from Dnipropetrovsk’s Oles Honchar National University. The authors wrote: “It is worth noticing that Osama bin Laden made certain changes to the concept of clashes between civilizations when he said that American civilization in its fight with Islam is not a genuine Christian civilization in the real meaning of this word. It is actually a Judaic civilization
under the cover of old and worn out Christian clothing.” They go on to quote Gaddafi, who “appropriately points out that global politics, based on hypocrisy and double standards, is a favorable environment for terrorism battles.” According to Sulima’s book, the “U.S. did everything possible to radicalize Islam, to strengthen its extremist movements, only to later exploit this against all global competitors … against the U.S.S.R. in Afghanistan, against Europe in Yugoslavia” and against China and India by reinforcing separatists movements. “Now they (the U.S.) are trying to pull Eurasia into a conflict between Christianity and Islam. This is, foremost, directed against Russia and is potentially dangerous for Ukraine,” the authors conclude. In his response to Kyiv Post interview questions, Sulima calls his book “a systematic educational publication” and defended his references to Gaddafi. In the book, the deputy Ukrainian education minister takes a pro-Russia view on history when he and his co-author delve into the sensitive historical relations between Ukraine and Russia. They suggest that Russia, not Ukraine, is the principle descendant of the 1,000 year old Kyivan Rus Empire which had its capital in modern-day Kyiv. According to the authors, Orthodox Christianity is pursuing a global mission of uniting mankind, ending the
Yevhen Sulima
divisions based on distribution of wealth. And on page 509 of the book, they argue that Russia, as the true historical descendant of “Rus,” should lead this mission. The authors are accused of plagiarizing some pieces of the book. Olesia Orobets, a lawmaker in the Our Ukraine Self Defense faction, published in her blog May 17 several excerpts from the book that were previously published by two Russian authors and were copied in the “Globalistika” textbook without proper citation. Sulima said he saw no need to reference the source when using a word-for-word quote from one Russian author because the source “did not say anything original and is not an authority in scholarly circles.” Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at onyshkiv@kyivpost. com
With one notable exception, ex-convicts can’t find work BY IRINA SA ND UL SANDUL@KYIVPOST.COM
In Ukraine, which is run by a president who was twice-convicted, ex-prisoners often can’t even find jobs as street cleaners. According to the State Penitentiary Service, some 37, 000 ex-convicts left various places of confinement last year, and few found jobs. “They don’t have either a place to live or a passport or a penny to live on,” said Lina Polyasna, president of the nongovernmental organization Kyiv My Native Home. Polyasna said the lack of state help, coupled with the unwillingness of employers to hire ex-convicts, “simply pushes them to commit a crime” and return to prison. Vitaly Omelchenko, a 43-year-old lawyer and ex-police officer, spent eight years in prison. Authorities freed him two years ago. Since then he has been unsuccessfully looking for a job. All in all he visited about 50 companies asking for a chance. “At some of them, it was good that they didn’t throw me out into the window,” Omelchenko said. “I even asked a supermarket manager to let me wash the floors there. They told me: ‘Get lost.’’’ The lack of people willing to offer jobs means that ex-convicts, if they are among the lucky ones, are forced to rely on relatives and friends. Human rights workers say that it is easy to understand why employers don’t want to hire those who have been
Vitaly Omelchenko (Courtesy)
in prison. “Giving a job to such people will not profit employers in any way,” said Alexander Kudinov, head of Verkhovenstvo Prava, a Donetsk- based human rights organization. According to another human rights activist, Alexander Betst from Vidrodzhennya (Renaissance) Fund, job centers should not discriminate against people with convictions. Forty three-year-old Victor Kandishur from Mariupol has spent 27 years in prison and has had no luck in finding a job. He lives with his wife and motherin-law. “The answer from employers is always the same: ‘We don’t need anyone like you,’” he said. He even sought help from the ruling Party of Regions. “They promised to help. I have been waiting for their help for 1.5 years already.” Registration centers for homeless peo-
ple are required to help people, including ex-convicts, receive their passports and registration – needed to be registered as job seekers with state centers. Frustration sets in and some commit crimes just to return to the life they know – as prisoners. The president, in contrast to most who have lived behind bars, is faring much better than most ex-convicts. Yanukovych was convicted in Yenakieve in 1967 for theft and assault, spending 18 months in jail. Then he was convicted of assault in 1969, and spent the next three years in prison. Ukrainians who elected him as president on Feb. 7, 2010, evidently didn’t see his long-ago convictions as reasons enough to keep him from holding the nation’s highest position. Kyiv Post staff writer Irina Sandul can be reached at sandul@kyivpost.com
www.kyivpost.com
News 11
May 27, 2011
Town gives away apartments, lifting it from depression Æ1 explosion at the other coal mine in town killed 35 people. The mine never returned to full production. For many towns, setbacks to the two largest employers might have spelled doom. But not for Ukrainsk, which is only 40 kilometers west of Donetsk. Many trace the town’s revival to its former mayor, Vitaly Neshin, a boxer and sports coach who headed the mine’s security service. He was elected as mayor in 2002 and, despite his surprising success, dumped by voters when he stood for reelection in 2010. In 2006, four years after taking office, Neshin came up with a plan that could be a recipe for success to Ukraine’s many other down-and-out small towns that cannot count on government help and that are starved for private investment. Neshin actively started offering the city’s stock of vacant and boarded-up apartments for free if people would make them habitable with required investment. The Ukrainsk experience is such a rare feat that Valentyna Poltavets, executive director of the Ukrainian Small Towns Association, hadn't even heard of it. The group represents 100 cities with populations under 40,000 people. “I have not heard anybody do that before,” Poltavets said. “Small-town mayors in Ukraine are indeed crisis managers. His practice is worth adopting in the ghost towns across the region.” Neshin traveled the area, promoting his repopulation project to journalists and on national TV, convincing disbelievers and skeptics. “People were laughing at me when
Ex-Ukrainsk Mayor Vitaly Neshin talks to one of the town’s residents. (novynar.com.ua/Alexandr Kuzmin)
I first came up with the idea and was told only Chinese migrants would come,” Neshin said. “First 20 people came, then 30. Finally, we gave away 1,000 apartments.” Young families with children came from as far away as western Ukraine. The settlers were willing to start a new life. Igor and Olga Shlifish lived in southern Ukraine’s Kakhovka, when they saw a TV newscast about free apartments in Donetsk Oblast. They quickly decided to take a road trip to Ukrainsk and see for themselves. Although the couple was in their 40s and had two kids, they had no money to buy property but were light on their feet. Igor Shlifish, a veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, had grown tired of waiting for the government to fulfill its promise to provide the family with housing. They got a three-bedroom apart-
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ment in Ukrainsk right away, just as the town mayor promised. Still, it was tough at first. “Our kid thought that there was a war in Ukrainsk just recently,” Olga Shlifish recalls of the dilapidated buildings, poor roads and ghost-town atmosphere. But they had no regrets. “We had nothing to lose,” Igor Shlifish said. “And we were entrepreneurs, could start up anywhere.” Things soon got better – for the Shlifishes and Ukrainsk. The family and others like them installed doors, windows, water and electric meters – all conditions for acquiring ownership of the flats. Altogether, the city estimates that the new settlers invested 1.5 million hryvnias into their dwellings. Not all in town, however, are sure how many of the 1,000 apartments given away are inhabited now. But, within a year after relocating, the Shlifish family bought a cottage on the outskirts of town for $2,000. They learned how to grow fruit and vegetables because of high food prices. Igor Shlifish is now a taxi driver. His wife runs two small shops, one selling knickknacks and the other gravestones, in town. Their children attend a free art school. However many people arrived, the new blood has transformed the town, picking up moods, commerce and energy levels.
Only four years ago, the coal-mining town of Ukrainsk in Donetsk Oblast looked like a ghost town (top). Then the city lured new residents by giving away 1,000 vacant and publicly owned apartments. (Top photo: Novynar/ Alexandr Kuzmin; bottom photo: Alex Furman)
Nikolai Novikov, born and raised in Ukrainsk, returned to the town in 2008 after spending 10 years in Donetsk, the capital of Ukraine’s most populous oblast. “I came here and civilized this place,” Novikov joked. He did not take one of the free apartments. Instead, he bought several apartments cheaply and resold them, then opened a real estate agency. Now he sells apartments for at least $2,000. He also expanded his businesses by opening a drinking water delivery service and an outdoor advertisement agency. Novikov claims to live in “the most expensive real estate in town” – a two-floor apartment he bought for Hr 50,000. He also brought from Donetsk his greatest pride – his bride, “a model and a beauty,” he said. Thanks to the enterprising settlers like the 29-year-old Novikov and the Shlifish family, the town is enjoying
a mini-boom. A window production plant, a prepared food plant and a concrete/asphalt plant are among the businesses that opened recently. With such a track record, one might have expected Neshin to win reelection as mayor easily. But it didn’t happen. Instead, during last year’s local elections, the pro-presidential Party of Regions fielded a candidate, Viktor Komar, who beat the incumbent by less than 200 votes. Less than a third of voters came to the polls. “The bosses told me that I have worked enough,” Neshin said. Townspeople say he went into a depression after his election loss, and so did some of them. “That is a pity,” Olga Shlifish said. “He is a boxer with a big heart who wanted to do everything for the people. But people are often ungrateful.” Kyiv Post staff writer Kateryna Panova can be reached at panova@kyivpost.com
12 Opinion/News
www.kyivpost.com
May 27, 2011
Wright: Looking for love, I found fraud in agencies, among women Æ5 her lovely daughter had been recruited by an agency to be a professional dater. In hindsight, I see she was telling me she was also a professional dater. I have extensive documentation of the fraud that is being perpetuated by several agencies. I continued for all these years to use some of the agencies as I thought there has to be at least one Eastern European woman who truly seeks a high quality American man for a husband. But, alas, I have not been able to find her. I suspect no quality Ukrainian woman would use an agency as all quality women in Ukraine know what a sham the agencies are. Is that true? I see that several of these agencies advertise on the Kyiv Post website. Thus, it is quite counter-productive for you to investigate and report the fraud I am claiming. For the most part, the media in this country does not bite the hand that feeds them, no matter how corrupt they are. I would not be surprised if you view the situation the same way. As Oksana said, life in Ukraine is difficult ... I have a scoop for you; life in the United States is also difficult. Yes, of course, I have shared my frustration with all the agencies. Of course, all of them tell me that all 12,000 women listed with their agencies have certified they are seeking a foreign husband. Some of the women’s photos posted today were on the
Æ Perhaps you know a better way to conduct a search for a wife? agency’s website ten years ago. I attached a photo so you can see I am not a typical American overweight man. Likewise, I have no interest in the typical American woman. Love is not on their list of things American women seek in a marriage. Is it different in Ukraine? Thanks for letting me vent my frustration that, after 10 years of dedicated searching, I cannot find one Eastern European woman seeking a quality foreign man. Perhaps you know a better way to conduct a search for the one. I am certain your readers would find it interesting to read a human interest story of the life of a professional dater. I have a lot of tips for how they can be more successful. Roger Wright is an American living in Urbana, Ohio.
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko leaves the Prosecutor General’s Office in Kyiv on May 24. Ukrainian prosecutors charged Tymoshenko with abuse of office for signing a natural gas import contract with Russia at prices that officials say were too high. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
Tymoshenko, others call charges political Æ1 Ukraine. Government officials say the contract commits Ukraine to pay prices for natural gas that are higher than many other European countries. Tymoshenko, who has also been charged in two other cases, refutes this claim. She denies any wrongdoing, saying the contract helped end the gas war and resume supplies to Ukraine and the rest of Europe. According to her, the charges are part of a campaign by her arch-foe President Viktor Yanukovych to crush opposition. About a dozen senior members in her former cabinet have been charged or investigated for corruption, and some are in jail, including Tymoshenko’s ally former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, who remains in detention since late December 2010. On May 24, when Tymoshenko showed up to the prosecutor’s office for questioning, her allies claimed she was under the threat of being arrested. The prosecutors obtained a Pechersk District Court of Kyiv ruling on May 23
to detain Tymoshenko in order to take her to court to arrest her for hampering probes into charges of abuse of power. Tymoshenko denies it, saying that she missed visits to the investigators only when she was sick. She said that she learned about plans to arrest her from sources in government and even prepared a video address to the people of Ukraine. During seven hours of testimony, Western ambassadors in Ukraine met with the Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka. They discussed the investigation into Tymoshenko, the general prosecutor’s press service reported on May 24. No further details were provided. First Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin said on May 24 that investigators would not arrest Tymoshenko because the probe had finished. “I am absolutely convinced that they dropped the idea of arresting me only under severe pressure from [the people of] Kyiv, who spontaneously began to gather near the prosecutor’s office, honest journalists and the reaction by the
international community,” Tymoshenko said on May 26. Ukraine wants to sign an association agreement with the European Union this year and aspires to become a fully-fledged member. But Brussels has expressed concern that probes into Tymoshenko and her allies could be political persecution. “The EU will continue to underline to the Ukrainian authorities the need for respect for the rule of law, incorporating fair, impartial and independent legal processes,” reads a May 26 statement issued by a spokesperson for European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton. “We stress the importance of ensuring the maximum transparency of investigations, prosecutions and trials,” the statement reads. This statement was another reminder from the European Union about the need for Ukraine to also stick to democracy and rule of law if the country wants an association agreement and free-trade zone with the EU.
Faryna: A media law not worth emulating After getting 53 percent of Æ5 votes in the parliamentary election in April 2010, Fidesz formed a coalition that commands two thirds of the votes in parliament. It enables the party to change any law in Hungary, including the Constitution, changes to which were passed in parliament last month. Critics say that Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, has already taken control over the executive, legislative and judicial branches in the nation – much like the Yanukovych administration has done in Ukraine. Orban’s next step would be to control the so-called “fourth estate” of power – the media. It is clear that both nations are finding the path from communism to democracy a rough one. “Everybody had illusions back in 1989
that if today we change our political regime then tomorrow we will change our ‘Zhyhuli’ for a ‘Volkswagen.’ Life, however, turned out to be more complicated,” said Gabor Horvath, deputy editor-in-chief of the Nepszabadsag, or People’s Freedom, a Hungarian daily. According to Horvath, authorities in Hungary have been making unkept promises to the nation of 10 million people for years. After Hungary joined European Union in 2004, the country received millions of euros for roads construction and other infrastructure projects. But the expected economic miracle never came. Besides two giant rivers that cut through the two nations’ capitals, Budapest and Kyiv also share economic problems in shedding their communist pasts. In 2008, Hungary received
$28 billion from the International Monetary Fund and other lenders to avoid bankruptcy. Ukraine also is a heavy borrower from the IMF, with a $16 billion line of credit. Beggars and homeless people still can be seen in downtown Budapest as well as in the center of Kyiv. Both nations were hit hard by the economic crisis and many young people started looking for jobs or educations outside their native countries. Both nations are living examples that progress doesn’t always happen in straight lines. This is one media law Ukraine should not emulate. Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Faryna can be reached at faryna@kyivpost. com. (Editor’s Note: Faryna's trip to Hungary was funded by the European Commission.)
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May 27, 2011
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Director Maryna Vroda (L) poses with Belgian filmmaker Wannes Destoop after winning the Best Short Film award for her movie ‘Cross’ at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22. (AFP)
BY A L I N A S H U MOVA
CANNES, France – The camera shows a trail in the forest, then follows a train moving slowly through the woods before cutting to a group of schoolchildren who start running on their coach's order without a whistle. They keep at it for the next 15 minutes. These are all scenes from the short Ukrainian film, “Cross,” which was done well enough to win the Palme D’Or for its category at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 23. For Ukraine, it’s the second victory in the same category since 2005. Young Ukrainian director Maryna Vroda screened the cross country run, remembering her physical education lessons. But the film, which touched
the acclaimed jury, digs beyond a high school routine. It’s a story of a teenager who ditches class in the forest and has to face different protrusions of adult life on his own. Trying to catch up with the group, he meets two young mothers with babies in carriages. Nonchalant, one woman puffs on a cigarette as the other complains of being worn out and in need of a good rest. “And I would like a beer,” adds the smoker. The teenager wants to bum a cigarette from one of the mothers and gets slapped on the face in return. He falls down. As he gets up, his classmates are out of sight but he accidentally notices two men beating somebody to the ground. The assailants notice the boy, so he has to run even faster to avoid more trouble.
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This plot would be painfully familiar to a post-Soviet audience but its meaning to a foreign viewer is a subject to debate. During the opening in Cannes, some people in the cinema spotted incongruities: “Why aren’t they dressed in sports uniforms and why does the coach have no whistle?” But Vroda and Ukrainians know this isn’t a slip-up. The absence of whistles and matching uniforms is a reality in Ukrainian high schools. But it’s not the point, said the filmmaker. “I am Ukrainian and I film my environment. So what you see is a background and it will always be there. Everybody is looking for justice, but I don’t believe in it,” said Vroda, flashing a sad smile. Despite drinking mothers and a beating in the woods, Vroda said that her film had nothing to do
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with social issues. Instead, “its poetry in motion, in the ball on the water and in the train” leads to another conclusion. “Running with the herd hurts an individual, but on the other hand, takes away the fear of independent thinking,” she said. The young director also had to act independently. She struggled to get Ukrainians finance her film, which cost only 4,000 euros to produce. Shot with a digital photo camera, it was finally put together thanks to French sponsors. And so Vroda, just like her lead character, proved that the Ukrainian film industry can finally win even if it’s running behind the group of champions. Alina Shumova is a freelance journalist; story translated by Nataliya Horban
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ROME – Visiting Rome for the first time can be overwhelming. How can you see all of the treasures from its 2,700-year history when you only have a few days? Temples, monuments, museums, galleries, squares and bridges – all of their global significance and reputation could send you running from one place to another in a constant race with other tourists to get to the front of never-ending lines. Or worse, you could follow a boring tour trip all day long. None of these options struck me as much of a holiday, so I tried something a little different. Sitting in a cafe with a cappuccino on my first morning in Rome, I closed my eyes and tried to remember places in the city I had seen before – in my favorite movies. I then took a map of the city and marked the most memorable places, which then became my two-day tour plan. I started exploring Rome from Palatine Hill, where wealthy Romans used to live in the ancient city. Views of the ruins of the Forum, the Coliseum and other significant sites open up from this point, allowing you to compare them with the famous scenes from “Ben Hur” to the more recent “Gladiator.” Then you can descend and walk to the ruins of Rome’s former splendor toward Trajan’s column. A 15-minute walk north from the column you’ll find beautiful Trevi Fountain, the scene of the famous kiss between an Italian gossip columnist and an American movie star in Fellini’s timeless “La Dolce Vita.” You might struggle to get close to the fountain through the crowds of tourists taking photos or throwing coins to make a wish. There are numerous gelaterias nearby, offering large scoops of delicious ice cream. But I’d recommend holding off until you have worked another 15 minutes north to Piazza di Ispania. Sitting with the ice cream on the famous Spanish Steps you’ll feel like Princess Ann, played by Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday.” I started the next day at Piazza del Poppolo, an oval square perfect for a quiet morning. After seeing this odd place, you can better understand a character of Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho,” who regarded the square with a big surprise after waking up there (this guy was waking up in unexpected places throughout the entire movie). While relaxing on the square, spot the difference between nearly identical Æ16
June 1 – June 23
(Courtesy)
Mexican art exhibit Oceans apart, Ukrainians rarely get a taste of authentic Mexican culture. To mend this gap, the indigenous ethnic group from western Mexico, Huichol, will present more than 30 sculptures, embroidery and rugs of psychedelic colors, which they use mainly for religious needs. Most Huichols retain traditional beliefs in nature and its forces. There are some 26,000 Huichol people in Mexico. They are farmers seeking autonomy for their land. From 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 1, till June 23. Opened Wednesday- Monday, 10 a.m. -6 p.m. 21 Mazepy St. Entrance fee: Hr 20.
May 27 – May 29
(kiev-photo.livejournal.com)
www.kyivpost.com
May 27, 2011
Concerts of the week
(3.bp.blogspot.com)
14 Entertainment Guide
• Weekend, May 28-29: choir “Oriana” from London will perform European spiritual music at 3 p.m. on Saturday in St. Basil Church, 7 Voznesinsky Uzviz and at 7 p.m. on Sunday, in St. Catherine Church, 22 Luteranska St. www.londonoriana.com. Free admission. • Saturday, May 28: a concert of the chamber ensemble Kyiv Soloists with pieces by Boyce, Purcell, Mara and Bach at 8 p.m., Cultural center Master-Klass, 34 Mazepy St., metro Arsenalna, www.masterklass.org/eng, 594-1063. Tickets: Hr 50. • Sunday, May 29: a concert of Turkish singer Sertab Erener, winner of Eurovision 2003 at 8 p.m., National Music Academy, 11 Khreshchatyk St., metro Maidan Nezalezhnosti, 279-1242. Tickets: Hr 450-1500. • Friday, Saturday, June 3-4: classical and modern ballet from leading artists of Russian Bolshoi and Mariinski theaters and Kyiv National Opera at 7 p.m., National Opera, 50 Volodymyrska St., 279-1169, www.opera.com.ua. Tickets: Hr 50-2000.
Night at the museum Six well-known art galleries and museums pop their doors open for all night owls out there. Organized by Pinchuk Art Centre, the venues will gear up for a sleepless night with fun programs. Expect a cocktail of short films on fashion, a lecture from eccentric artist Illya Chichkan and a cup of tea with famous musician and gallery owner Pavlo Hudimov, among many other gigs inspired by modern art. The bus will start cruising every 30 minutes from 9 p.m. free of charge till late at night. A full program is available on www.pinchukartcentre.org/en.
(blog.meta.ua)
Saturday, May 28, 9 p.m.- 3 a.m., Pinchuk Art Centre, 1/3-2, Velyka Vasylkivska St., 4904806.Free admission.
Kyiv’s birthday This weekend Kyiv will turn into one massive party. Celebrating 1,149 years this summer, Kyiv is an old fellow and deserves a big celebration. Here are a few highlights: Friday and Saturday, May 27-28: festival “I Love Kyiv” will bring together electro music, graffiti, fashion shows and even workshops on how to cook vegan food at Lavra gallery, 1 Lavrska St., 280-0290. Tickets: 100-150. Saturday, May 28: a volleyball tournament at 10 a.m., metro Hidropark, beach Venetsia. Free admission. Sunday, May 29: 20 fashion collections from young Ukrainian designers at 5 p.m., Khreshchatyk St. Free admission. Sunday, May 29: fireworks and a laser show, followed by the concert of Tanok na Maidani Congo band will mark the end of Kyiv Day at 9 p.m., near Richkovy Vozkal, metro Poshtova Ploshcha. Free admission. A full schedule: www.kmv.gov.ua (in Ukrainian only)
Compiled by Nataliya Horban
Saturday, May 28
www.kyivpost.com
May 27, 2011
Movies
Entertainment Guide 15 Live Music
Iranian women decide that it’s time to go into politics whatever the cost in ‘Women Without Men.’ (www.avclub.com)
Sean Carr (C) and his band DVS will hit Art Club 44 on June 2. (vertifest.org. ua)
Women without men Germany 2011 Language: English with Ukrainian subtitles Directed by Shirin Neshat Starring Shabli Toloui, Arita Shahrzad Neshat is a famous photographer from Iran but in this film, she tried herself as a director. It tells a story of four women living in Tehran in 1953 when the CIA-backed revolution brings the monarchy back to the country. As their lives change, ordinary women start to understand that they can’t stand aside from politics even though in this Muslim country this role has always been reserved for men. The Game of the Hanged Person Spain, Ireland 2011 Language: English with Ukrainian subtitles Directed by Manuel Gomez Pereira Starring Clara Largo, Alvaro Cervantez One of the most talented comedy directors in modern Spanish cinema, Pereira tries to break out of his comedy box. This movie is a well-crafted thriller, which begins as a love story in the 1970s in Spain. A girl and a boy commit a crime during an innocent game. They live their
lives trying to keep their secret. But no mystery can survive when it comes to solving problems between a grown up woman and a man. Essential Killing Poland 2010 Language: English with Ukrainian subtitles Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski Starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuel Seigner A Taliban terrorist is captured in Afghanistan after killing three American soldiers. Americans transfer him to a European prison for interrogation but he manages to escape. He is lost somewhere in Poland in the middle of winter. American troops are hunting for him and it seems he has no chances to survive. But then a strange Polish woman gives him shelter... A Polish director cast American and French actors to tell the story about NATO forces hunting for an Afghan terrorist in Eastern Europe. A truly international movie that got a Special Jury Prize in Venice last year. Definitely worth seeing.
Compiled by Alexey Bondarev
The Searchers USA 1956 Language: English with English subtitles Directed by John Ford Starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter A Civil War veteran returns home hoping to find love and peace with his family. But then a Comanche tribe attacks his home and he has to go after them to rescue his niece. He spends years in the relentless pursuit until he becomes so obsessed that his motivation becomes questionable. A true masterpiece. One of the movies you should definitely see before you die.
MASTERCLASS CINEMA CLUB 34 Mazepy St., 594-1063. The Searchers June 2 at 7 p.m. KYIV CINEMA 19, Chervonoarmiyska (Velyka Vasylkivska) St., 234-7381. Essential Killing May 28 7:00 p.m. The Game of the Hanged Person June 1 at 5:00 p.m. Women without men June 2 at 7:00 p.m.
ART CLUB 44 44B Khreshchatyk St., 279-4137, www.club44.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 8 – 10 p.m. May 27 Kiev Day Party, Hr 50 May 29 Soiuz 44 Jam Session, free admission May 30 Mother Funka, free admission May 31 Spring Jazz Night Vocal Battle: Laura marti vs. Shura Rusanova, hr 50 June 1 ZarJa, Bahroma, Hr 40 June 2 DVS, Hr 50 DOCKER’S ABC 15 Khreshchatyk St., 278-1717, www.docker.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9:30-10 p.m. May 27 DrymbaDaDzyga, Red Rocks, Hr 70 May 28 Antitela, Partizanskie Vytivky, Hr 70 May 29 Vostochny Express, free admission May 30 Gera and Second Breath, free admission May 31 More Huana, Hr 20 June 1 Tex-Mex Company, Hr 30 June 2 Crazy Train, Hr 30 DOCKER PUB 25 Bohatyrska St., metro Heroyiv Dnipra, www.docker.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9:30-10 p.m. May 27 Tabula Rasa, Animals Session, Hr 70 May 28 Grazhdanin Topinambur, Karnavalnaya Zhara, Hr 70 May 29 Foxtrot Music Band, free admission May 30 Animals Session, free admission May 31 Chill Out, free admission June 1 The Magma, free admission June 2 Karnavalnaya Zhara, free admission BOCHKA PYVNA ON KHMELNYTSKOHO 4B-1 Khmelnytskoho St, metro Teatralna,
390-6106, www.bochka.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 9-10 p.m. May 27 Hot Guys, Carte Blanche June 2 Lucky Band PORTER PUB 3 Sichnevogo Povstannya St., 280-1996, www.porter.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 7:30 p.m. May 27 Riders May 28 Dikie Liudi May 29 Portmen JAZZ DO IT 76A Velyka Vasylkivska St., 289-56-06, http://jazz-doit.com.ua Concerts traditionally start at 8:30 p.m. May 27 Tatiana Arefieva May 28 Majestic Duo 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.
Compiled by Svitlana Kolesnykova
TEN H G I BR THEIR RE FUTU
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First nursery school teaching in English, French and Ukrainian Classes for ages 2 through 7 years All teachers native-speakers of English or French
• Call soon; class size limited Located near Maidan Nezalezhnosti 5/24, Irynynska street. Kyiv • Tel.: +(38) 050 448 46 46
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16 Lifestyle
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May 27, 2011
Online poll sheds light on soccer fans' expectations
A scene from ‘Roman Holidays’ on the Spanish steps in Rome. (kinopoisk.ru)
B Y M A R K R AC H K E V Y C H RACHKEYVCH@KYIVPOST.COM
Little time in Rome? Tour scenes from famous films Æ13 churches on one side of Piazza del Poppolo. There are also a few fountains and the Egyptian obelisk in the center of the square to enjoy. No wonder that people as varied as Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and father of the Indian nation Mahatma Gandhi called this place their favorite in Rome. Next, climb the steps from Piazza del Poppolo for a picturesque view of the Vatican City. Walk east from the square to the Tiber River, cross over the bridge and head along Via Cola di Rienzo directly to the Pope’s residence. The Pope’s realm has been screened in countless movies, but St Peter’s Cathedral reminded me of “Angels and Demons,â€? the movie of Dan Brown’s bestselling novel. The Hollywood thriller was hardly a masterpiece, but something about it made me want to catch a glimpse of the sites where it was filmed. Go east from St Peter’s Cathedral
and you’ll see Castel Sant Angelo, the castle where historically Roman Popes escaped from the Vatican in case of danger (in the movie a villain secretly tortures the candidates for the papacy there). Then cross Ponte Sant Angelo with beautiful Bernini sculptures, under which Princess Anna and the American journalist, played by Gregory Peck, danced in “Roman Holiday.� Then go some 15 minutes south-east and you will get to Piazza Nanova with another Bernini masterpiece – a Fountain of the Four Rivers. Take your time exploring all the details of the fountain and then look deep into its water, where brave Professor Layton saved a future Roman Pope in “Angels and Demons.� Good triumphed over evil, and Rome was saved again. Viva the Eternal City! Kyiv Post staff writer can be reached at grytsenko@kyivpost.com
A view from the Palatine Hill over the ruins of Roman Forum, a marketplace that was for centuries the center of public life in ancient Rome. (Oksana Grytsenko)
A famous scene from ‘Dolce Vita’ in Trevi fountain in the center of Rome. (kinopoisk.ru)
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Ukraine will advance beyond the group stage in next year’s European soccer championship, at least that’s what a majority of Internet-using soccer fans said. Although the Ukrainian team doesn’t know who their Euro 2012 group opponents will be – the final draw doesn’t take place until December – an April online study of adult soccer fans conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology said that 66 percent of respondents believe their team will advance. They have most of history on their side. Only once has a host country not advanced past the group stage of the European soccer championship ever since it was first held in 1960. And that was in the previous tournament in 2008 when neither co-hosts Switzerland, nor Austria moved ahead. “Soccer fans are fiercely patriotic, they always believe to the end,� said Oleksandr Krasnovsky, development manager of KIIS’s InPoll online research project. Yet despite the upbeat outlook of the study’s respondents, 65 percent in the same poll assessed Ukraine’s performance in the last six months as “mediocre� or “mostly poor.� But one expert pointed out that the survey was conducted before Oleh Blokhin was re-appointed as team manager. The former golden ball holder and Dynamo Kyiv legend took the Ukrainian side to the 2006 World Cup quarterfinals, the farthest any post-Soviet team has advanced on the world stage. “Blokhin is maximalist, Ukraine’s chances with him have increased significantly – plus we’ll have the moral advantage of playing on home turf with the support of fans,� said Valentyn Shcherbachov, TRK Sport Ukraina’s director. He added that the goal of advancing past the group stage is the goal of every host nation. “If Blokhin can patriotically fire up his team, then they’ll pull through but prospects get foggy after that.� Oh, and roughly a third of soccer fans who use the internet are women, something marketers should think about.
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May 27, 2011
Sailors carry their yachts to the water.
Wind masters
From left: Defense Minister Mykhailo Yezhel, the head of Youth and Sport State Service Ravil Saffiulin and President of the Sailing Federation of Ukraine Vasyl Gureev. Sports boat ‘Gamma 2’ comes in fifth.
Ukrainian sportsmen gear up for the contest.
A man checks a yacht before the launch.
Æ
One of the most notable sailing competitions in Ukraine, WindMaster Regatta, finished in Kyiv on May 22. More than 40 boats competed during four days in the waters of the Dnipro River. Kyiv has always been a sailor’s dream, with Ukrainian yachtmen still getting top awards at Olympic events since the Soviet era. Among contestants, politicians and businessmen featured prominently saying it doesn't cost much to learn the ropes. (Alex Furman)
Paparazzi 17
18 Lifestyle
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May 27, 2011
Patipa nightclub crowded, fun
Has New Zealand contest winner found a Ukrainian girlfriend? B Y N ATA LI YA H O R B A N HORBAN@KYIVPOST.COM
ALI N A C H E R N YS H
Whether you are a foreigner staying in Kyiv, or a local who has lived here for years, when it comes to night life there are certain places considered as the best, the hottest and the coolest. Kyiv gives you a rich variety of places to satisfy your needs, depending, of course, on the needs themselves. If you’re a foreigner in Kyiv for a short visit, you may probably ask your cab driver to take you to the best nightclub in Kyiv. You are most likely to end up at D’lux, Arena or Patipa – the unofficial cab drivers’ favorites. Once we went to Patipa with my Dutch friends, but would have rather gone some other place. We were stuck in the entrance line for 30 minutes. This is how it works here, no matter whether you have paid the cover charge or not. Angry-looking face-control men in black will carefully look your group over before letting you in. As for the dress code, officially you’re supposed to wear fashionably neat clothes and shoes, but that’s not always the case. It’s like the face-control guys have gone blind. After an hour of pushing, kicking and people walking on your feet, you finally get to the dance floor and meet your friends. Music in Patipa is always great. Professional DJs make the guests want to rock the dance floor. But it is impossible to really enjoy the music while people are walking on you! In order to dance for at least half an hour, it is reasonable to arrive earlier, by 11 p.m. After midnight, the place will already be packed with regular Patipa fans – Turkish guys and Ukrainian girls, including those who don’t really care who they party with. Western Europeans and Americans end up in Patipa almost by accident. You might meet a lot of teens here who miraculously pass face control and enjoy countless drinks in the absence of parents. However, there are some “parents� who occasionally enjoy Patipa fun, meaning older men in search of modernity. Basically, you meet all kinds
Young women enjoy themselves in the early hours of the night at Patipa night club. (Joseph Sywenkyj)
Æ MCs with poor English and oil-covered girls in bikinis on ultra-high heels are waiting for you. of people here, from 16 to 60. My Dutch friends were a little stumped with all the pushing in Patipa, but had to admit the place looks nice. Indeed, the flammeous lights, chic furniture and trendy decorations are fashionable enough. While every party has its theme, most center on sex and nudity. Some party names: “SEX and SADO‌â€?, “Rich Bitch,â€? “Topless Nightâ€? etc. No matter which day you choose – Tuesday with a discounted bar, Wednesday with 20th century disco, Thursday/Sunday with R'n'B and Friday/Saturday with house music– MCs with poor English and oilcovered girls in bikinis on ultra-high
heels are waiting for you. I guess this is what people are most interested in nowadays. When you finally feel like leaving this place, you will pass the packed bathroom, which has flooded onto the dance floor before. So, rather than making its mark as a glamorous top club, Patipa has become the place people simply got used to. And romances sometimes start there. One happy couple met in a Patipa’s unisex restroom and, one year later, the man proposed to his girl in the very same bathroom. Weird or not, these people found each other here. So you never know where you’re going to meet your significant other. Now that you know what to expect, it’s your turn to decide whether a night of packed and noisy fun is for you. Alina Chernysh works for the ISTIL Group since January 2010. PATIPA night club 10, Muzeinyi Provulok, www.patipa.com Hours: Tue-Sun, 10 p.m. till the last client Entrance fee: ranges from Hr 50 to Hr 150
“Win a Wife,� a controversial radio contest held in New Zealand in February, made winner Greg Morgan a happy man and once again nourished a stereotype of Ukraine as the world’s bride basket. Winemaker Morgan won roundtrip tickets to Ukraine and 12 nights in Zaporizhzhya to meet a woman of his dreams, but after bad publicity surrounding the sexist competition, he reportedly refused to make the trip. The New Zealand Labour Party was outraged: “It is a reminder that there is still an attitude towards women in New Zealand that is deeply troubling – that they are commodities to buy and to own,� Carol Beaumont wrote in her blog in February. But just when Ukrainian feminists and New Zealand politicians sighed with relief, photos of Morgan with a playful blonde posing in front of yellow curtains in a radio station’s t-shirt popped up online. “Greg has met Irina and she plans on coming down to New Zealand when she finishes university, haha, go Greg,� reads the message on the Rock FM’s Facebook page. It looks like Morgan rescheduled the trip to get his prize and tricked Femen, a popular women’s movement who protested topless against Morgan’s visit on March 1. Young women promised to disrupt the kiwi’s y appearing pp g visit to Ukraine by rport on in Donetsk airport hedthe day of his scheduled arrival. “We will do ever ything possible to make sure he takes his suitcase and flies back,� said Anna Hutsol, Femen’s leadn er. But Morgan ked apparently sneaked d cuspast the naked
Is Greg Morgan seeing a college student named Irina? (www.therock.net.nz)
toms patrol and met with a student called Irina. Bypassing vigilant Femen, Morgan proved a persistent fellow. This wasn’t his first attempt to find a Ukrainian bride. In his radio profile online, he mentioned that he had already tried to meet a woman from Ukraine but two days before his depa departure she alleged ditched him. edly Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Horban can be reached at horban@kyivpost. com A kiwi winemaker poses with a Ukrainian woman. (www. therock.net.nz)
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Paparazzi 19
May 27, 2011
Singer Ilya Lagutenko from band Mummy Troll
Chef Aram Mnatsakanov (C) welcomes his guests.
Æ
Hell’s Kitchen in the Garden
A head chef from the famous TV franchise “Hell’s Kitchen“ took over the pans in restaurant “Sad,” or a garden in Ukrainian, and called for a big party. On May 21, Russian and Ukrainian celebrities and businessmen came to meet restaurateur Aram Mnatsakanov in the restaurant’s garden. The place resembles a boat with plank decks for the floor and steely sails for a roof. Mnatskanov runs a few successful restaurants in Moscow and has recently moved to Kyiv to grill Ukrainian cooks in the program. Judge his culinary art at 2 Bankova St. next to the Presidential Administration. (Alex Furman) Guests enjoy a cool summer evening at the restaurant’s spacious terrace.
Soccer player Oleksandr Shovkovsky with his wife, Olha Alenova.
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20 Lifestyle
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May 27, 2011
Politics, poverty and literature defined life of great Ivan Franko BY N ATA L I A A . F E D US C HAK FEDUSCHAK@KYIVPOST.COM
LVIV, Ukraine – If one didn’t know where to look for it, a person could easily miss a simple dwelling that served for nearly 15 years as home to Ivan Franko - one of Ukraine’s most important writers and political thinkers. Perched at the edge of a busy, winding cobblestone road, this modest home in Lviv houses many items that Franko used. Among them are solid wooden desks decorated with leafy motifs, delicate quill pens and a net used for catching fish, which the author wove himself. Yet perhaps the most outstanding feature of the home is its quietness. It is here where Franko found the peace he needed to continue to write and reflect on a substantial life that had sometimes pitted him against the lethargy of his own people. Ukrainians will commemorate the 95th anniversary of Franko’s death on May 28. Roman Horak, who along with another writer won this year’s prestigious Shevchenko Award for a 10-volume work on the author’s life, said Franko’s countrymen have yet to grasp his significance. “If Taras Shevchenko was the person who raised Ukrainians from their eternal sleep…Ivan Franko was the father of Ukrainian statehood,” said Horak, who is also a director of the Franko
Ivan Franko
Memorial Museum, which is located in the author’s home. “He was the founder of the [idea] that people should feel they are owners of their nation.” Franko was born in 1856 in the village of Naguievychi, outside Drohobych, where he attended school. He studied Ukrainian language and literature at Lviv University and published his first literary works in the student magazine “Druh.” The writer was arrested in 1877, which would be the first of several detentions, along with other writers, for spreading socialist propaganda. He
spent eight months in prison, and upon his release, returned to his previous political and publishing activities. Franko made his living primarily as a journalist. He was the founder of “Svit,” an 1881 publication, in which he wrote over half of the material, excluding unsigned editorials. When that publication closed, he moved to “Dilo,” the paper that would eventually become the leading voice for Ukrainians in the territory that makes up contemporary western Ukraine. When other foreign publications wanted analyses of what was happening in the region, they turned to Franko. Franko was pushed out of the paper because of his political viewpoints. He had little patience for his era’s ruling elite; political activism was in his blood. He shared a long-time relationship with Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Drahomanov – the two would co-found a radical political party in 1889 that never won an election. He later, however, considered his radical socialist views a youthful dalliance and became a firm anti-Marxist. Franko moved so many times in the early years that the man who transported his belongings said he couldn’t wait until the author moved into his own home. That desire was fulfilled in 1902, when students and political activists purchased the home for him because he lacked the finances.
Ivan Franko Museum’s curators clean the writer’s monument in his native village Naguevichi in Lviv Oblast. (UNIAN)
By the time Franko moved into the abode, he had already written some of his most seminal works – the historical novel “Zakhar Berkut,” the play “Ukradene Shchastiya,” and the beloved children’s story “Lys Mykyta.” His greatest poem “Moisey” was penned here in 1905. Throughout the course of his life, Franko wrote more than 6,000 works, translated numerous texts by leading writers, including Goethe and Shakespeare. Franko’s health began to deteriorate in 1909, but that did not stop his political activities. He was neighbors with the historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky, whose home he visited frequently. The two were closely involved in the Shevchenko Scientific Society, which was devoted to the promotion
of Ukrainian language literature. Through his and Hrushevsky’s efforts, by the eve of World War I, the society became analogous to an academy of sciences. Franko, who had four children, died in poverty 95 years ago but his poems and novels still resonate as if they were written today. Kyiv Post staff writer Natalia A. Feduschak can be reached at feduschak@ kyivpost.com. Ivan Franko Memorial Museum 150-152, Ivana Franka St., Lviv Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except for Tuesday. Entrance: Hr 5 The National Museum of Literature 11 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St., Kyiv It has a few original works by Ival Franko on display.
www.kyivpost.com
May 27, 2011
Dancer Dwi Hariyanto (M) with models Aditya Novikasari and Wahyuning Puri.
Photo Story 21 Son of the Nigerian ambassador, Daniel Kasai (L), learns how to paint with wax.
Goddess of science Dewi Saraswati
Indonesian wax drops
Indonesian Ambassador Nining Suningsih Rochadiat (C)
On May 23, the Indonesian Embassy organized a colorful show devoted to the art of batik, an elaborate technique of hand-painting with wax. In Indonesian language, the word batik means a wax drop. It originated in the 13th century and is now recognized by UNESCO as Indonesian cultural heritage. Apart from an elaborate process, batik now signifies any dress or a souvenir that has been colored with wax in this special way. During the presentation in the President Hotel, diplomats and guests enjoyed a fashion show and a batik-inspired dance. Master classes in wax painting were held for visitors eager to draw their own picture on fabric. (Serhiy Zavalnyuk)
22 Employment
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May 27, 2011
Kyiv Post Job Fair expected to draw thousands amid signs of brighter economic times
Visitors attend the Kyiv Post Employment Fair in Kyiv on Nov. 6, 2010. At last fall’s fair, more than 3,000 people visited the booths of 32 leading companies while 1,700 applicants were invited to job interviews. Hiring has picked up considerably since the 2009 economic recession. (Yaroslav Debelyi) WHAT: Kyiv Post Employment Fair WHEN: June 4, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 33 Velyka Zhytomyrska St.
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As Ukraine’s economy improves and Euro 2012 looms larger in the thinking of many, the Kyiv Post Employment Fair, scheduled for June 4 in the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 33 Velyka Zhytomyrska Street in Kyiv, will provide an opportunity for employers and job seekers to match hiring needs and job skills. After weathering the worst of the economic downturn that began in 2008, many employers are now rebuilding or expanding staff. This bodes well as several thousand recent graduates and seasoned professionals converge on the fair to meet the recruiters for such companies as KPMG, Cargill, and Myronivsky Hliboproduct. Not only is the improving economy important, Ukraine’s emergence as a major player in meeting world food security demands means that some of the country’s largest agro industrial holdings will be actively seeking top agriculture and agribusiness specialists to fill an expanding numbers of vacancies. In addition to a number of fair participants in the fields of banking, law, and investment banking who have participated in a number of previous fairs,
there are several new participants that include a major UK university, a printer of guidebooks, and a major international confectionary manufacturer. Add to that a number of recruiting firms representing other areas of interest and you have opportunities for job seekers in almost every field of endeavor. Over its history, the Kyiv Post Employment Fair has proven to be not only the best place to look for a job, but also the best place to hire qualified personnel and young promising professionals. In this one day of intensive activity by employers and job seekers, as many as 3,000 persons are able to pursue career opportunities. The profile of the average Employment Fair visitor shows them to be mostly young, ambitious male and female professionals, knowledgeable of at least one foreign language and highly motivated to seek a better future. In addition to full-time employment, the Fair opens doors for soon-to-be university graduates interested in finding internship opportunities and gaining first experience. No matter what your field of expertise, we believe you will find the Kyiv Post Employment Fair the place to open doors to your future.
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MONITORING JOURNALIST, BBC MONITORING BBC Monitoring is part of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It monitors opensource foreign media from over 150 countries throughout the world in more than 70 languages. We provide news and information to the BBC and UK government. BBC Monitoring has a central office in the UK and international offices all over the world, including Kiev. You will work in a centrally-located office in Kiev on a full-time basis and will monitor and select news and information from local source material - from TV, press, internet and social media. You will translate, edit and write copy accurately and quickly using clear idiomatic English and in line with customer requirements. Shift work - including late evenings and weekends - is an essential feature of the job. As a BBC Monitoring staff member, you will also be expected to work in other BBCM offices all over the world from time to time. You will have an excellent knowledge of international affairs, especially in relation to Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Europe and Latin America. You will have excellent English, Russian and Ukrainian. Ability to understand and translate to/from another foreign language would be an advantage. Journalistic experience and knowledge of social media would be an advantage. Good typing and IT skills are also required. We offer competitive pay and extensive training opportunities. You will be hired on an initial one-year contract, subject to further extension if both parties agree. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to sit a test. For an application form or further information please email: bbcmon.kiev@gmail.com Applications must be received by 5 June.
Cossacks & Co Attorneys At Law is now looking for highly qualified, energetic, proactive and experienced professionals for positions of
JUNIOR LAWYER and ASSOCIATE LAWYER:
Key requirements: Relevant work experience as an associate in an international or reputable local law firm (1+ year – Junior Lawyer, 3+ year Associate Lawyer) Outstanding academic credentials from a top Ukrainian law school An LLM or similar degree from a US or UK law school is an advantage Excellent spoken and written English (including legal drafting), Ukrainian and Russian are a must (fluency in other foreign languages is a welcome) Ability to work under pressure Strong time management and organizational skills Strong analytical, legal writing and research skills What we offer: Competitive salary Excellent career growth opportunities Challenging experience and a team-spirited environment
Only candidates matching the above criteria will be considered. Applications should be sent to:
hr@cossacksandco.com.
NEWS EDITOR
Please send CV, three writing or editing samples and an explanation of why you want to work for the Kyiv Post, one of Ukraine’s top news sources, to:
Brian Bonner, chief editor, Kyiv Post at bonner@kyivpost.com
Director Production/Sales (CEO) MINI
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THE IDEAL CANDIDATE SHOULD: Have fluency in English, Ukrainian and Russian. Show good news judgment and have the ability to work quickly under deadline. Have experience in news editing.
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COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR We are searching for a dynamic, energetic leader who will oversee the advertising, marketing, web development and distribution divisions of the news organization to maximize revenue. This person will work in partnership with the editorial staff of the Kyiv Post to ensure that the organization retains its high level of trust and credibility in the community. This person is essential to ensuring that the news organization serves its readers and advertisers well. We are searching for a go-getter with business development experience who: Is well-connected and respected in Kyiv; Has experience in selling advertising online and in print, and in negotiating deals and agreements; Has the personal skills to lead, train and motivate the staff; Understands the competitive market for journalism in Ukraine; Has fresh ideas for monetizing journalistic content; Stays on top of fast-changing trends in the media industry.
Please send CVs, motivation letter and business proposal to Brian Bonner, senior editor of the Kyiv Post, at bonner@kyivpost.com
for the print media
Conditions: Location: 22B Prorizna street, courtyard Time: full-time job We offer: stable and on-time competitive wage; medical insurance Responsibilities: Create, review and assemble advertising and marketing layouts, graphics for special projects and price lists Create Employment/Classifieds section layouts according to the approved design concept of the publication
Requirements: Expert experience in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, In Design Strong understanding of publication design standards and specifications (Style Book) Knowledge and Experience with publishing work and printing technology Adobe Flash, ability to create a flash banner is an advantage English is an advantage Personal qualities: Responsibility Creativity Ability to work as a part of a team
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Get more information about Kyiv Post at www.kyivpost.com/newspaper/ Please submit your resume with the desirable salary to hr@kyivpost.com indicating the name of the vacancy "Designer" in the subject line.
is hiring:
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Lifestyle Reporters The ideal candidate is an enthusiastic journalist who knows Kyiv well and revels in the capital's cultural life -- from nightclubs to galleries and film festivals -- and then can engagingly write it all up by day. We are looking for a person who enjoys the celebrity scene and who thrives on telling stories and writing blogs about the latest trends in the cultural and social scene. We are looking for candidates with fresh ideas and lively writing styles! To apply, send CV, three story ideas and a letter explaining why you want to work for the Kyiv Post, to: Yuliya Popova, Lifestyle Editor, at popova@kyivpost.com
Internationale Anwaltskanzlei in Kiew sucht zum nächstmÜglichen Zeitpunkt
BUCHHALTER (M/W) IN VOLLZEIT Ihre Aufgaben: •Gemeinsam mit der Chefbuchhalterin bearbeiten Sie die Buchhaltung unseres Standortes Kiew. •Sie sind verantwortlich fßr die Kassenfßhrung. •Sie bearbeiten Bewirtungs- und Reisekosten (Ukraine und Ausland) •Sie koordinieren und administrieren die urlaubsbedingten Abwesenheiten •Sie erledigen die Lohnbuchhaltung fßr ca. 30 Mitarbeiter. Ihr Profil: •Abgeschlossene Ausbildung im Bereich Buchhaltung sowie mindestens drei Jahre einschlägige Berufserfahrung •Sehr gute Kenntnisse in der ukrainischen Finanz-, Steuer-, und Lohnbuchhaltung •Erfahrungen mit 1 C Version 7.7 sowie sicherer Umgang mit MS-Office •Gute Deutsch- und Englischkenntnisse •Selbständige und sorgfältige Arbeitsweise sowie Fähigkeit, Fristen einzuhalten •Team- und Kommunikationsfähigkeit Wir bieten: •Angemessenes Gehalt •Private Krankenversicherung •WeiterbildungsmÜglichkeiten •Gute Arbeitsatmosphäre Haben wir Ihr Interesse geweckt? Dann schicken Sie Ihre vollständigen Bewerbungsunterlagen in deutscher oder englischer Sprache (Anschreiben, Lebenslauf und Zeugnisse) per E-Mail an Tamara Zapok (tamara.zapok@noerr.com) Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Bewerbung und stehen Ihnen bei Rßckfragen gerne zur Verfßgung.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE KYIV POST
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