The Kiev Times /April 2013/

UKRAINIAN POLITICIANS IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

SNOW TROUBLE

MINES ARE CORNERED

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International information and analytical edition | Ukraine | The Kiev Times | April 2013

DMITRY VYDRIN: PARLIAMENTARY CRISIS: FAILURE OR CATHARSIS?

TRY NOT TO PARDON

I don’t know why, but the events in the Verkhovna Rada have scared even me, an experienced person who got used to any unexpected turns and the most prodigious bends in the Ukrainian politics.

I discovered the reasons of my unexpected fear, or even fright, late at night, when because of insomnia, clicking remote control buttons, I accidentally get to «Discovery» channel. I have no idea what the program was about, but I grabbed the last phrase with the edge of my sleepy consciousness: «Any person is instinctively afraid of the fission reaction».

After more than 20 years of Independence, Ukraine is now rushing to the EU: to May 2013 the EU has given Ukraine time to show itself by reforms with the purpose to sign and join the stipulated Free trade zone agreement. For the moment, Ukraine political culture falls behind the European standards.

Some series of escalated reforms in the penal, fiscal or electoral rights, as well as reforms in the economic field have been anticipated. Otherwise the term of signing of the Free trade zone agreement will be postponed for an undetermined date...

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GOOD NEWS FOR LUTSENKO: NOT A WORD ABOUT RELIGION Photo Ukrainian News

ELECTRONIC REVOLUTIONS: COLORLESS, TASTELESS, AND ODOR-FREE

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THE US EXAMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: REJECT THE EASTERN «MOTHER» AND GET SANCTIONS FROM THE WESTERN ONE FOR THIS! Read page 6

ADRIAN SEVERIN: I DON’T THINK THAT UKRAINE MUST FEEL IN DANGER

Ukraine-Romania relations have firmly died away on a freezing point for about several years, now.

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RAINER LINDNER: UKRAINE CAN HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

The trouble of today’s generation of Ukrainian diplomats is that they still believe in the possibility to revive the notorious multivector character of Leonid Kuchma epoch. And really, everything worked right up to 2004! The story about the smart calf «sucking from two mothers» has become a practical reference for many Ukrainian politicians and foreign policy experts.

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FROM A SHORT COURSE OF REAL GEOPOLITICS: UKRAINE IS SELLING OFF ITS «SHAGREEN SKIN» While the whole world experiences the raging desperate struggle for survival, Ukraine sales its «shagreen skin», daily loosing its possibilities and wasting opportunities.

Ukraine could become the most important part of a promising geopolitical center, namely the Eurasian one.

POLAND-UKRIANE: (UN)PROBLEMATIC NEIGHBOURHOOD Poland is Ukraine closest neighbor and the relationships between the two countries have never been unclouded. Nowadays, Kiev and Warsaw build their dialogue on «a new page» but historical offences continue to impact.

THE VERKHOVNA RADA: THE GREAT MIGRATION

President Viktor Yanukovych pardoned Yuriy Lutsenko, the former Minister of Interior, the former Minister of Ecology Heorhii Filypchuk, and four other prisoners.

Europe applauds, and the opposition is triumphant.

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, thanked the mission of Pat Cox and Alexander Kwasniewski for their efforts towards the release of Lutsenko. The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt called the release of the former interior minister and other prisoners «a good first step», after which a lot more needs to be done.

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ANATOLY TOLSTOUKHOV: WHEN ANY UNION IS LIKE PRESS…

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Curiously enough, Kiev has taken a convenient position for Warsaw, concerning many facts that are undoubtedly objectively worth of history. Poland attitude towards Ukraine has to be examined in the light of Polish-Russian relations.

Ukraine itself and its culture have never been of great value for Polish geopoliticians.

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On April 4, after the opposition blocked the Verkhovna Rada, there was a tremendous split in the Parliament: – the MPs held a meeting outside the Rada building. The parliamentaries gathered in a conference hall on Bankova street, making the Ukrainians remember the events of 2000 (a similar situation occurred when the progovernment majority held its meetings in the Ukrainian House during the «Velvet revolution»).

Can we assume that the alternative meeting of Rada on Bankova street is legitimate, and the decisions will have the status of laws? There is no simple answer to this question. But it is clear that things are moving ahead, and Ukraine is going to have another drama in its political arena.

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Going ahead, we constantly catch up the past; and if we start stumbling and ticking over, it catches us up. Today it is already not our necks that the 1914, 1917 and the 1918-20-ies breathe down, but our faces. And there is a hint in this breath: at least up to the beginning of the twenties we will be politically shaken as a plane in a turbulence zone.

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POLITICS

THE KIEV TIMES | APRIL, 2013

PARLIAMENTARY CRISIS: FAILURE OR CATHARSIS? I don’t know why, but the events in the Verkhovna Rada have scared even me, an experienced person who got used to any unexpected turns and the most prodigious bends in the Ukrainian policy Dmitry Vydrin

I discovered the reasons of my unexpected fear, or even fright, late at night, when because of insomnia, clicking remote control buttons, I accidentally get to «Discovery» channel. I have no idea what the program was about, but I grabbed the last phrase with the edge of my sleepy consciousness: «Any person is instinctively afraid of the fission reaction».

In an instant it was all clear to me! Formerly our physics and chemistry teachers tried to drum into our foolish heads that almost any fission chain reaction ends with explosion. Therefore, when they sounded information that the Verkhovna Rada has begun «to split into pieces», obviously the old school directive has worked.

Moreover there are circulating rumors about further fission chain reactions.

authorized А. But he is afraid of the deputies. Yes, there is another A. high-status one. But he can’t talk with the deputies. Yes, there is the experienced and resourced authorized К. But he is too tired to talk to the deputies»…

Shortly, the process of deterioration hasn’t started yet but is already close to.

In order to more deeply contemplate the essence of the situation, I re-read expressions of famous politicians about essence, specificity and peculiarities of parliamentarism. The heading intellects clarified something for me.

For example, let me quote the following sentence by a great thinker: «If you are in the minority – speak, if you are in the majority – vote». Immediately I understood why the majority has left the plenary hall of the VR, and

There is a majority, which isn’t prevented to vote and enact any laws, and there is a shrill majority, whose angry shouts are temporarily stifled by the VR’s «thermos» cupola For instance, they insist that opposition would split to several fractions and groups. There are plans to create some intermediate fraction like the Regions of Batkivschina between the hostile parties. Presumably, there will be Regional Udar (Punch) etc.

In the ruling majority everything isn’t too quiet. Many VIP–deputies are extremely dissatisfied that they are diverted from real business to the ephemeral personal voting. Others are discontented by lack of a constructive dialogue between the parliamentary majority and the government.

Yesterday I had a short conversation about this with some of my former students who are deputies today. When they began to complain for the lack of a constant effective dialogue that is the basis of a balance between executive and legislative power in all civilized countries, I perplexedly rejoined them: «As far as I know in such negotiations there are three people, who constantly participate, from the executive power». And they answered me: «Yes, there is an

moved to the small and modest hall on the Bankova. That’s because it is more convenient for the majority to execute its basic functions in this nook – to vote (nobody hinders to). And it is more convenient for opposition to speak-speak-speak under the dome (because there is great acoustics). That’s why everything seems logic, if to rely on the classics, but there some bad taste or even sediment remains.

Because any parliament has to be not only effective and legal but look morally blameless in front of people.

Let me quote another sentence: «The Parliament is an instrument that can be played only by

block, ban or mark it). For the majority this instrument is too difficult, and they want to replace it with something simpler, where there are no complex buttons for master fingers and there are no tribunes (guest balconies) that blame you for false notes.

I’m reading the following sentence: «When the Parliament is sitting, the entire country has a feeling, like if a child would play with a hammer». And I am automatically touched by this famous author’s naivety – what would he say if child played not with hammer but with a chain saw or angle grinder? Or if a child starched to «matches» – smoke and termite barrels?

I’m more surprised by the naivety of famous parliamentarism experts of the past, when reading the following: «None of drunken sailors spends money as quickly as a sober deputy». Geniuses of the past are so hung back! Today any of our sober deputies can spend money quicker than drunken sailors of the whole small fleet!

I looked through advices of one experienced parliamentarian of the past. Advice number one: never ask question from tribunes, if you don’t know the answer.

Advice number two: don’t ask questions that don’t harm the government’s reputation I’m surprised how quickly our Rada «progresses». For three months, from the very new cadence, nobody asked questions form tribunes. And if somebody miraculously asks a question, they don’t try to impair the reputation and the government but the society and even themselves.

And finally I can’t avoid to quote one more sentence: «Deputies make the best sort of

Chief editor Alexandra Pogorila Acting Director Yuri Rakovsky Issuing Editor Dmitrii Zahoruiko Designer Alexander Liubeznov Photo editor Roman Grabezhov Staff Olga Medvedeva Dmytro Zaborin Zinoviy Kurdov Alexander Lobanov Viktoria Vlasenko

I have a whole thesis about this.

Today’s situation, like any crisis, can end in destruction (at least, of the parliamentarism) or catharsis, rebirth and radical renovation.

I’m absolutely sure that today we have a unique chance. The situation itself has given it to us. There is a majority, which isn’t prevented to vote and enact any laws, and there is a shrill majority, whose angry shouts are temporarily stifled by the VR’s «thermos» cupola.

In this situation the majority can instantly, pointwise and without any problem, vote for the laws that will be enthusiastically accepted by the country and that will become a start for the society’s renovation and rebirth.

First law: Final cancellation of the parliamentary immunity, by which the oligarchs and their representatives forced their way to the Verkhovna Rada.

And which has brutally split the

Renaming of the «Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada» into «Ukrainian Parliament», in order to let the future deputies – at least through the name – feel the entire extent of their responsibility towards the society and the world perfect musicians, because it is too sophisticated and fancy».

I immediately understood the hidden action of both the majority and opposition. This instrument is out of the opposition’s strength so they just want to break it (to

citizens that can be bought for money». But that’s the essence! If we can’t buy something better for money, maybe it’s time to invent the way how not to buy, but to find, bring up and elect perfect legislators.

WHEN ANY UNION IS LIKE PRESS… Anatoly Tolstoukhov

If we don’t work jointly for our future, the past comes back…

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nd this, as our history shows, is inevitable. Going ahead, we constantly catch up the past; and if we start stumbling and ticking over, it catches us up. Today it is already not our necks that the 1914, 1917 and the 1918-20-ies breathe down, but our faces. And there is a hint in this breath: at least up to the beginning of the twenties we will be politically shaken as a plane in a turbulence zone. Unlike passengers of a plane, who know the take-off and landing time, we live as if out of time and space. But this doesn’t free us from the necessity to make a real choice: where to land – in the EU or the CU? And in contrast to aviation, while one «airport» gives permission, the other one refuses.

And vise versa…

The natural question arises: why? Those, who know history and keep abreast of politics, won’t seek for an answer long. Even the high and mighty, making their

Ukrainian society into the cast of untouchables and the cast of vulnerables.

Second law: Non-admission of the previously elected deputies to participate in the next elections, as they are people who didn’t

way to the new world order, can not escape from a captivity of the 20th century, where Ukraine was a cherry on the cake for the two uncompromising worlds – capitalism and socialism. In Moscow and western capitals it was the question of the questions.

And today the old centers of war and future world order offer us an algorithm «either or» but not «and-and». The agenda of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century turns out to be a test, to which we have got prepared worst of all. Both the power and the society. Any integration turn, except the choice, can become a heavy political and economic blow.

And this means: if there is no civil opposition, one should not expect peace between the citizens. I’m for the CU, somebody is for the EU; and any union is like a press…

Ukraine – CU – EU (10 saying on integration) 1. Ukraine – CU – EU are three trees like a whole forest. (The popular wisdom: lose one’s way in broad daylight (in Russian literally: to get lost in three pines)) 2. We’re offered to make the old choice: To the West or to the East, This means making a big detour again. And if we mind – they knock us off our feet...

3. They say: you look bad, try harder. And smile to one of us.

confirm their professional qualification and civil liability.

Third law: Dissolution of parliamentary parties that hadn’t been able to provide any continuous and effective work of the parliament and who never brought up good staff and actually lost their connections with the society. Fourth law: Creation of a mechanism of simple, quick and effective recall in future parliament – by non-government associations and spontaneous groups of electors – of the deputies who hadn’t coped with their parliamentary work. Fifth law: Renaming of the «Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada» into «Ukrainian Parliament», in order to let the future deputies – at least through the name – feel the entire extent of their responsibility towards the society and the world.

Sixth law: Voluntary dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada as an institution that has lost people’s trust (according to the last sociological survey, only 1% of electors trust the Verkhovna Rada and this is an absolute world record!).

So, if this simple agenda had actually one day to be executed, the next day we would wake up in a different country, with different possibilities, different future and different type of relations between established power and authorities.

4. The conclusion inevitably comes to mind. If you’re bad for everybody, the best thing is to take good care of yourself.

5. Risk. If this is above your bend, the public is not going to like you.

Don’t wait for freedom; wait for a punch and the nightmare of revolution. (a play on the names of the opposition parties, Svoboda («freedom») and UDAR (can be translated as «punch»).

6. Impression. On the face of it, everything is so democratic that it looks indecent. And they’d tear us apart, but so far we can’t be torn on the inside…

7. Advice. Let’s join our hands, and we’ll be free from sorrow. We need the CU, the EU, and a new weight of neutrality. It is dangerous to start tearing into pieces again the things that used to be in the ruin for centuries…

8. Statement. We can’t do without the CU; somebody can’t do without the EU. We’re on the crossroads, highly stressed. Three trees like a whole forest…

9. A way out. Let’s ask the people, what kind of sandwich they want.

We’ll butter the bread with the butter they recommend.

10. Advice. The days to come will make everything clear, And we’ll see whether our choice was the best…

Let’s stop playing with fire, So that we don’t regret it later.

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POLITICS/INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

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THE US EX-AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: REJECT THE EASTERN «MOTHER» AND GET SANCTIONS FROM THE WESTERN ONE FOR THIS! The trouble of today’s generation of Ukrainian diplomats is that they still believe in the possibility to revive the notorious multi-vector character of Leonid Kuchma epoch. And really, everything worked right up to 2004! The story about the smart calf «sucking from two mothers» has become a practical reference for many Ukrainian politicians and foreign policy experts

Photo UNIAN

Vladimir Kornilov, Director of the Ukrainian branch of CIS Countries Institute

W

hen in 2010 some diplomats returned to their MFA cabinets after five years of forced opposition, many of them pleasantly rushed to create that very multi-vector policy according to the precise image and likeness of Kuchma epoch.

And to their great surprise found out that the world has considerably changed in those five years!

Now from every quarter Kiev receives quite clear and unambiguous signals that to fall

between two stools or use two «mothers», like it was before, is no more possible. And pay attention that this subject is talked over more and more clearly and frankly not by the Kremlin but by the West. More and more frequently the officials from Brussels and Washington call Ukraine to decide on the vector of its foreign policy and even foreign economic aspirations.

Another similar signal was received the other day from

the USA. The former American ambassador in Ukraine, John Herbst, has published an article in the «New York times» with more than an expressive title: «Ukraine Can’t Have It Both Ways».

It’s hard to say, whom this column was addressing first of all: maybe this is an appeal to Washington to more intensively induce Ukraine to reject its integration with Russia, or an appeal to Brussels to sign the Agreement of association with Ukraine as quickly as possible, or an appeal to Ukrainians to decide as soon as possible on their «only true way» of choosing the vector, of course the Western one.

Anyway, in his argumentation Mr. Herbst resorts to several deliberately false massages.

Thus, the Ambassador writes that the integration of Ukraine with the Customs Union is supported by «the country’s minority that really looks to the past». Mr. Herbst is an extremely experienced diplomat, who for many years specialized in research of the post-Soviet area and, of course, Ukraine. I don’t have any doubts that he is perfectly informed about moods in the Ukrainian society and is acquainted with the results of different sociological researches that are indicative of absolutely opposite attitude – that the relative majority of the Ukrainian population in truth supports any kind of integration with Russia, including the integration with the Customs Union.

I could cite many surveys confirming this fact. Let me cite the freshest one: according to the survey of the Kiev International Institute of Sociology conducted in March 2013, the admission – of Ukraine to the Customs Union with Russia is supported by 51,25% of the Ukrainian residents who have already decided on their vectors, meanwhile the Agreement of association with the EU is supported by 48,75% of them. So, how Mr. Herbst came to the conclusion that these 51% of Ukrainians are «the minority»?

We can talk about the collision

UKRAINE CAN HAVE IT BOTH WAYS The future of Ukraine is in a free trade zone with Russia and the EU Rainer Lindner, Chairman of the Eastern Committee of German Economy

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fter more than 20 years of Independence, Ukraine is now rushing to the EU: to May 2013 the EU has given Ukraine time to show itself by reforms with the purpose to sign and join the stipulated Free trade zone agreement. For the moment, Ukraine political culture falls behind the European standards.

Some series of escalated reforms in the penal, fiscal or electoral rights, as well as reforms in the economic field have been anticipated. Otherwise the term of signing of the Free trade zone agreement will be postponed for an undetermined date.

Through free trade zone, Ukraine joins Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. Bilateral trade with Russia makes more than 1/3 of

the entire Ukrainian trade. The most important gas pipelines as well as essential arteries for Russia economy export, the ways of Ukrainian and European gas supply, pass through Ukraine. At the moment Ukraine, is discussing about the creation of a new joint consortium for gas transit with Russia.

The Customs Union with

far from reality to ask Kiev for a termination of its economic ties with Russia. But the EU and Russia now are asking President Victor Yanukovych to take one or the other decision – either to enter the free trade zone, or to enter the Customs Union. The German business interests in Ukraine consider this requirement wrong. Ukraine requires

Bilateral trade with Russia makes more than 1/3 of the entire Ukrainian trade Kazakhstan and Byelorussia, that was initiated by Russia and in the long term has to grow into the Eurasian Union, owing to the ties with Ukraine, would ensure the long-lasting perfect future for us. That’s why it is naïve and

energetic cooperation and trade with Russia, as well as requires entering the EU market. European enterprises, including German concerns, would take well to participate in the modernization of the pipelines and huge gas

of two tendencies, about the presence of a definite dualism in our society, but to attribute followers and opponents of Eurointegration to deliberate minority is more than inappropriate.

I repeat that I have no doubt about the qualification of this experienced diplomat and his knowledge of the subject. Does this mean that the Ambassador is openly misleading his American readers? And if yes, then, why does he do that?

To solve the «Ukrainian problem» Herbst calls Europe to sign the Agreement of association with Ukraine, simultaneously imposing sanctions against Ukrainian officials and oligarchs (whom the diplomat rather undiplomatically calls «barons-

about affordance of «Cyprus model» for solving of similar problems in other parts of the EU. Herbst proves that the signature of the Agreement

the «Act of Magnitsky» for the representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, he forced at last both – the officials representing the Ukrainian authorities, and

By writing his column Herbst unintentionally did the Ukrainian Euro-integrators a bad turn of association and the establishment of a free trade zone with Ukraine is beneficial, first of all, for the European Union, and there is no doubt about that. But the American diplomat somehow casually touches upon the benefits, which can be brought by the signature of this agreement to Ukraine itself. In his opinion, this «benefit» comes exceptionally

those people who Herbst calls the «barons-brigands» – to think about a simple question: why actually do they need this agreement and this Association under such conditions?

The economic losses for Ukraine from the possible signature of the agreement have been proved by Ukrainian economists long ago. And if the elites wanted this signing, they

More frequently the officials from Brussels and Washington call Ukraine to decide on the vector of its foreign policy and even foreign economic aspirations

material. Or maybe he thinks that after the «great Cyprus expropriation» the Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs can be scared by some temporary sanctions?

Currently only the most insane of them keep their deposits in the Euro-zone countries, considering broad hints of Euro-officials

True, by writing his column, Herbst unintentionally gavethe Ukrainian Euro-integrators a bad turn. It seems that the former US ambassador in Ukraine even didn’t think that by his offer to connect the signature of the Ukraine-EU agreement with the analogue signature of

just hoped for a continuation of the «genius» policy connected with the «two mothers». Now by the mouths of the western diplomats and experts they openly say: not only you must categorically reject your eastern «mother», but even pay for approaching the western one by sanctions against you, your European accounts and your children you wish so much to send to Oxford! And tell me please, what is a stimulating motive for these officials then? It turns out that it is their interest not to sign any agreements with the EU! It seems to me that, after such frank appeals, the Ukrainian officials and businessmen must at last renounce to the multivector direction (that’s actually what John Herbst is calling for) and choose those vectors of integration, by which they and Ukraine in general are not threatened by sanctions and delivered by humiliating ultimatums. That vector, which is actually supported by the majority. Although relative, still the majority of the Ukrainian population. No matter how the US ambassadors wish differently…

holders. Moreover, the investors are anticipated by the projects of energetic effectiveness or agrarian projects. Ukraine, as the largest agrarian country entirely located in Europe, together with the countries with mid-level economic development such as Turkey, Indonesia or Mexico, belongs to the important future markets of the German economy, after four BRICS countries.

The year 2013 is fateful for Ukraine. By principle, the preliminary decision in favor to the EU is already made.

In February the Ukrainian parliament, by the majority of votes, again approved the approach to the EU. President Victor Yanukovych was continually looking for the possibility of legal pardon for the opposition politicians Julia Timoshenko and Yuri Lutsenko.

For the EU, this is the most important pre-condition term to the purpose of a possible accession to the Free trade zone agreement, during Vilnius summit in November 2013.

It’s necessary to find the way to provide Ukraine with the possibility of its integration with the EU market without forcing it to take a decision against its strong economic ties with Russia.

This would be possible if the EU simultaneously intensifies its trading communications with Russia and the Customs Union, and integrates its ties with Ukraine and the other countries of the region into the free trade zone. The key of the Ukrainian future is not only in Kiev, but also

in Brussels and Moscow. Therefore the EU doesn’t want to offer Ukraine to extemporary become an EU member. It has to join the EU as a reinforced country. The question is put to three parties.

The chairman of the Eastern committee of German economy.

brigands»). To the Ambassador’s opinion, the introduction of sanctions for the representatives of Yanukovich environment like those provided by the «Act of Magnitsky» in relation to the Russian officials, will strengthen the democracy in Ukraine.

The «New York times» readers get the explanation that an Ukrainian official keeps his money in western banks and likes sending his children to Oxford and to the Sorbonne, and that’s why he will very painfully react to the introduction of such sanctions. Oxford is Oxford but Mr. Herbst has undoubtedly missed something about western accounts when writing his

to the «increase of chances that Ukraine will accomplish necessary political and economic reforms». «Increase of chances» and that’s it?

But considering how casually Herbst hints at these delusive chances, we can conclude: he’s not worried about the fortune of the democracy in Ukraine and not even in Europe; first of all, he’s worried about an hypothetic strengthening of the Russian role, in case of the accession of Ukraine to the Customs Union.

This is the possibility that is so passionately opposed by the Ambassador. Actually, his article’s title says about this very expressively.

The readers of the «New York Times» get an explanation that Ukrainian official keeps his accounts in western banks and likes sending his children to Oxford

UKRAINE/EVENTS

VERKHOVNA RADA: THE GREAT MIGRATION n April 4, after the opposition blocked the Verkhovna Rada, there was a tremendous split in The Parliament: – the MPs held a meeting outside the Rada building. The parliamentaries gathered in a conference hall on Bankova street, making the Ukrainians remember the events of 2000 (a similar situation occurred when the progovernment majority held its meetings in the Ukrainian House during the «Velvet revolution»).

«This is the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada deputies willing to work», – said Volodymyr Rybak, the Speaker of the Parliament, announcing the beginning of the offsite work of the Parliament. The Speaker noted that the regulations allow the Parliament to hold its meetings on other premises if approved by the majority of the 450 MPs.

There were over 240 Ukrainian MPs in the hall, and they all supported the decision to go to work. The Party of Regions and the Communists, ignoring the opposition, adopted about twenty laws, including those relating to the Customs and Tax Codes, government procurement, and the medical reform.

According to the political analysts, the government has finally showed the opposition who is the real boss. Such a radical move was welcomed by the Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who expressed his approval of the offsite meeting of the majority.

«The decision adopted by the majority of the MPs, who have managed to have at least one working day, is, of course, correct, and the government welcomes it», said – the prime minister on his Facebook page.

The opposition, happily blocking the parliamentary tribune, was not ready for such step from their opponents. The MPs from the opposition parties, who were staying in the session hall of the parliament building at 5 Hrushevskoho str., first made a number of statements on the unconstitutionality of holding the session in other places, and then announced the launch of an «alternative Rada» and opened their own meeting. The opposition also immediately informed the ambassadors of the European Union about the current situation. The opposition’s actions were harshly criticized by the political science experts. Mykhailo Pohrebinsky, the director of the Kiev Center of Political and Conflict Studies believes that the statement made

by Arsenii Yatseniuk, leader of

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s previously reported, the opposition held a rally near the Verkhovna Rada on April 2, demanding a date for the elections in Kiev to be set.

The rally, according to various sources, gathered from 3 to 10 thousand people, who came up with a most interesting activity: throwing snowballs at the members of the Parliament.

During the opposition rally, a group of activists staged a snow attack against the People’s Deputies from the pro-government parliamentary majority. Among the targets were Yuliia Liovochkina and Iryna Horina, MPs from the Party of Regions. Horina later stated that the activists were throwing dirt and ice blocks at the Deputies, and said that she received a head injury. In addition to the people’s deputies, the president counselor Maryna Stavniichuk also became a victim of the attack.

Iryna Horina assures the media that what happened was an actual assault attempt. In particular, the journalist Dmytro Hnap managed to reach Horina in the hospital where she was examined.

According to Hnap, Horina complains of continuous vomiting and a bad headache, because she was «hit with the snow with ice and dirt in it». «There probably was a stone in the dirt.

he Annunciation is celebrated as the day when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Blessed Virgin Mary and told her the good news about the future birth of a son, who will be the Savior of the world. On this day, people release birds from cages: this Christian tradition

The dirt was all over me, do you understand? They wanted to kill me! They wore dark jackets and medical masks», – Hnap quoted Horina on his Facebook page. The victim is currently undergoing treatment at Feofaniia hospital with a diagnosis of a «closed head injury and concussion». The document to evidence this has been published by the press office of the pro-government political force. On April 5, Iryna Horina said she was at the hospital

receiving IV infusions and, according to the doctors, will stay in the medical facility for two or three more weeks.

It can be noted that the press office did not released the medical certificate evidencing Horina’s diagnosis at once. At first the an article «Iryna Horina: Today thousands of Ukrainian citizens, including those who voted for me in Kharkiv expressed their support for me and outrage at the actions of the opponents

symbolizes the liberation of the soul from sin and holiness of thoughts. The first step has been made: President Viktor Yanukovych pardoned Yuriy Lutsenko, the former Minister of Interior, the former Minister of Ecology Heorhii Filypchuk, and four other prisoners.

Europe applauds, and the opposition is triumphant. Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, thanked the mission of Pat Cox and Alexander Kwasniewski for their efforts towards the release of Lutsenko. The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt called the

Czech Airlines presents

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results of the referendum. After that the presidential elections can be held», said Viktor Baloha.

However, neither the opinions nor predictions can give a clear understanding of what is happening: the lawyers are yet to look into the legality of Deputies’ actions. What we have so far is a situation where Kiev actually has two Parliaments, and each of them threatens the second half with all sorts of punishments.

THE SNOWBALL FIGHT: WE’VE GOT MEDICAL

GOOD NEWS FOR LUTSENKO: NOT A WORD ABOUT RELIGION T

4, the Parliament will have to go into voluntary dissolution, and the opposition will have to start the protest rallies in the streets. What is happening in the Ukrainian parliament now is one of the preparatory steps of the authorities for the forthcoming presidential elections. «Step one is to discredit the Parliament, step two is a referendum, and step three is a ‘reboot’ of the entire legislative branch based on the

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(video, photo, document)» included only a video showing what Horina described as a young man in a red hat throwing a lump of dirt at her. Photos and documents were attached to the material later.

Naturally, such a gracious informational occasion snowballed quickly. Olena Bondarenko, the people’s deputy from the Party of Regions, urged the residents of Kyiv not to let their children go to the opposition rallies, as the parents are at risk to find their offspring in the morgue with a hole in the head. Bondarenko said this at Shuster LIVE radio and TV show. According to Bondarenko, opposition forces are not responsible for the people who take part in their meetings.

And the beating of the Party of Regions deputies with snowballs had been planned in advance.

Vitalii Nemylostyvyi, who withdrew from Batkivshchyna, was also curious about the

snowball fights. He believes that the snow attack was directed at specific people. «Actually, I’m an expert on security and defense, and when I examined the photos of the incident, I came to the conclusion that it was a pure provocation, which can lead to bloodshed. These boys were sent to attack specific people», said Nemylostyvyi.

At the same time, Oleh Lyashko (who himself was hit with a snowball under the eye) said that he considered the snow attack a positive trend. According to him, he is grateful to the people who threw snowballs at him in the parliament. «The damned Rada deserves to be hit with napalm, not just snowballs. I enjoyed watching the frightened faces of the Party of Regions deputies who fled through a tunnel... If the people are ready for radical action, it is a good trend showing that our country is going to be different, and that a stronger civil society is developing in it», said

release of the former interior minister and other prisoners «a good first step», after which a lot more needs to be done. The Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that the release of Lutsenko is a reassuring message to the summit of the Eastern Partnership, which will be held in late November in Vilnius. In turn, the expert of the European Policy Centre Amanda Paul is confident that the decision on Lutsenko clears Ukraine’s way to the signing of the Association Agreement. «This is fantastic news everybody has been waiting for, and this demonstrates that Kiev is finally listening. This paves the way for Ukraine to sign the Association Agreement in Vilnius», – said the European expert.

The Head of the united opposition Yatsenyuk believes that Lutsenko’s release to be his personal victory and is sure that the former minister is committed to return into politics. According to Vitali Klitschko, the chairman of UDAR faction, the redemption of Lutsenko will encourage the opposition to struggle on, and is a sign that the opposition has influence in the state.

While the former minister is adapting to his freedom, the social networks and the media are filled with political consultants and experts’ opinions regarding his pardon. The political strategist, director of Berta Communications, Taras Berezovets made the following post on his Facebook page: «Actually, I predicted that the decision to release Lutsenko

would be made before Easter. The reason for this, of course, not in sentiments to the ex-minister.

And not so much that it will remove a barrier to the EU», – he said. The logic of the government is a little bit different. «By releasing Lutsenko, they are trying to create a big problem for the opposition. Relations in Yatseniuk-Tiahnybok-Klitschko triangle aren’t too unclouded.

The pro-government forces rely on Yurii Lutsenko’s tendency to controversies well-known and his a moral right («you weren’t imprisoned, and I was!») to dictate his vision, he will turn the entire opposition inside out,», said the expert said.

The release of Lutsenko is a good signal, which demonstrates a positive trend in dealing with selective justice, said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst.

«Lutsenko has been released today, when the opposition planned its rally. Of course, the opposition is going to call it their victory, but it also shows that Yanukovych is not particularly afraid of the current opposition, at least in his view it does not pose any threat», said Fesenko.

He noted that the intention was to have Lutsenko released by the decision of the president and not that of the judges.

However, Iryna Herashchenko, a member of parliament, believes that the president’s decree pardoning Yurii Lutsenko is not sufficient to restore justice.

«Hurrah! But this should not have been pardon, but exoneration!

He did not do anything wrong, except for being an opponent to

Lyashko. The snowball story even reached Yuliia Tymoshenko. The former prime minister appealed to the united opposition asking to do everything possible to find the people who attacked the female MPs. «We are decent and moral people. So do not just find the guilty parties, but also appeal to the people not to use violence against their opponents at the rallies», said the former prime minister in her statement.

Tymoshenko also apologized to the MPs who suffered injuries during the civil protest campaign.

According to the preliminary data, the guilty persons were found in the ranks of the Svoboda party. The Ukrainians have already requested Tiahnybok to respect women: by the arrival of the Svoboda leader in Zhytomyr, citylights saying «Tiahnybok, learn to respect women». It seems that the little snowball has the potential to grow to a large size, even despite the forecasted spring warming.

Photo UNIAN

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the Batkivshchyna» party, about an «alternative Rada» shows the need to replace the faction leader.

«This is just clown age! What kind of an «alternative parliament» can a minority have? Yatsenyuk simply went beyond his level of competence. Yatseniuk’s negative ratings are going wild, and inside the Batkivshchyna the calls to replace the leader are heard more and more often.

I believe there is a chance of this happening before the summer vacation», said the analyst in conclusion. Can we assume that the alternative meeting of Rada on Bankova street is legitimate, and the decisions will have the status of laws? There is no simple answer to this question.

But it is clear that things are moving ahead, and Ukraine is going to have another drama in its political arena. The offsite meetings can be considered the final knockdown blow for the opposition. In particular, MP Baloha expressed the following opinion in an interview

by Svoboda radio station: if the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych signs the decisions made by the majority on Bankova street on April

Photo UNIAN

THE KIEV TIMES | APRIL, 2013

Photo Ukrainian News

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Yanukovych», she wrote on her Facebook page. «The next stage should be a suite filed with the European Court of Human Rights to prove that the accusations against him were baseless and fictitious», writes Vladimir Ariev in the social network.

Lutsenko himself speaks little about his nearest political plans.

«I never withdrew from politics, so I am not going back. I have been in politics and will stay in politics», he said immediately after the release, promised to stay among the people. First of all, however, the ex-minister is going to improve his health. This seems logical, as the opposition already has enough sick people in its ranks.

Page prepared by Olga Madvedeva

COVER STORY

www.thekievtimes.ua

5

MINES ARE CORNERED In a country where talks about crisis are continuous it’s difficult to take seriously the information that one of the sectors of our economy is just about to be struck by final and inevitable collapse, especially given the fact, there again, that the sector we are going to talk about, has been dying for several years, however, at the same time it manages to feed a number of people and create millionaires

I

’m referring to the coal sector, which, according to the officials, analysts, experts and the colliers themselves, is experiencing the deepest crisis. Mostly this crisis has affected state mines and associations as well as private owners, who are not members of large financial and industrial corporations. During 2013 the information about arrears of wages in the coal-mining industry repeatedly came out. Besides, it was found out that the accounts

occurrence is very large, gas pollution is high, technology of extraction and equipment (especially at the state mines) are out of date. New mines with rich deposits have been privately owned for the most part or have been put in a longterm concession; currently the state has in its charge only the enterprises that require subsidies.

And in Ukraine the subsidies automatically imply large-scale corruption. Thus, this year the

Such «reformation» of the sector must evoke mass social protests: from 70 to 100 thousand of miners will become unemployed of 127 coal enterprises were arrested and about 300 thousand of miners were at risk to be fired.

In Donetsk Coal Energy Company the situation is so critical that the main office has been shut off from electricity for non-payment. What is the reason of the crisis and who must be responsible for what is happening today to the coal mining industry?

Stakhanov rates?

First problem we’re facing when analyzing the coal sector situation is a surplus coal production. More than seven million tons of coal lies dormant stored in warehouses of the State Enterprise Ukrainian Coal («Ugol’ Ukrainy»), while the government debt to the mines has already exceeded 450 million hryvnyas.

level of subsidies in the coal industry is the second highest in the world – the state budget allocates 10, 161 billion dollars to unprofitable mines. And the share of subsidies to the coal sector is growing – beginning from 2008 the direct expenses of the budget for the coal sector have increased from 19% to 23%. It isn’t difficult to guess how such corruption schemes work in this situation; however, in order not to without proof, we asked a question to Mikhail Volynets, a leader of the Independent union of miners.

He claims that directors of mines overstate prime cost of the coal sold to the state, and the officials of the State Enterprise Ukrainian Coal («Ugol’ Ukrainy») are well aware of this and simply keep to themselves a larger share of

Thus, this year the level of subsidies in the coal industry is the second highest in the world – the state budget allocates 10 161 billion dollars to unprofitable mines Not everybody can explain what caused such problem and not least because coal surplus carries not only negative consequences but no less negative prerequisites.

Thus, the main factors of coal surplus are intensification of economic austerity policy (in connection with general slipping of Ukraine down to the economic crisis) and active work of illegal mines – so called «kopankas», where the volumes of coal production have exceeded million of tons per year. And while the prime cost of such coal is much lower, it is always difficult for them to compete with the legal mines. Though officially «kopankas» undermine the sector existence, their owners breach the law and people die regularly there, nothing seriously threatens their existence. Not only the law enforcement authorities and local authorities know about these mines but the majority of local residents who often complain about illegal coal mining that harms their houses, roads and considerably harms ecology.

However even the European publicity (this situation was described in the movie «Mine No.8», which was shown at many festivals of documentary film and won many awards; National Geographic wrote reports about the Donetsk «kopankas», the journalists of «france 24» TV channel shot episodes about them) didn’t succeed to stop illegal coal mining – slave labor is extremely advantageous today.

But although the coal from «kopankas» is purchased even by the state mines (in order to sell it to the state-owned enterprise as its own), its quality is extremely low and there isn’t any possibility to control it. So, the cost of coal starts prevailing over its quality.

Who feeds the breadwinners?

By the way, the cost of Ukrainian coal represents a large problem itself – extraction of this fuel in Donbass is very costly because the coal layers of developed mines are generally thin (1.2 meters), depth of their

subsidies allocated for purchase of such unprofitable fuel. Volynets is sure that mutual protection that prevails in the coal sphere results not only into the million kickbacks from the subsidies, but also into fictitious replacement and repair of equipment carried out by pocket firms belonging to the same officials, who win tenders from the state from year to year. So, the money allocated for reconfiguration of the mines disappears in somebody’s pockets, capitalization of the enterprise continues to reduce due to the equipment’s worn-out state, which leads to the growth of coal prime cost and hence the state allocates more money for subsidies which are being stolen again. The plan is more than advantageous – money out of thin air, from the coal dust.

True, the sector is dying, but have Ukrainian officials ever been worried about such a trifle?

Accounts of 127 coal enterprises were arrested and about 300 thousand of miners were at risk to be fired

Liquidation under cover However amid idle talks about the necessity to destroy corruption and conduct reforming of the coal sector, the Government has made an unexpected decision about liquidation of the State Enterprise Ukrainian Coal («Ugol’ Ukrainy») no later than in 2015. Liquidation is entrusted to the Ministry of energy and coal that must provide the debts relief to the enterprise (for instance, the Donbass company of fuel and energy owes the enterprise 89.2 million hryvnas) and not to allow increase of debts of the State Enterprise Ukrainian Coal («Ugol’ Ukrainy») itself, taking into account that just two years ago the State Enterprise Ukrainian Coal («Ugol’ Ukrainy») took out a loan of 1 million hryvnas for technical reconstruction of mines.

Nevertheless, 83 mines out of 113 of the state-owned mines need reconstruction with total annual production capacity of 51.6 million tons. In March 2013, in spite of the moratorium, the enterprise signed a contract with the Subsidiary bank of Sberbank

won’t be necessary to have such structure as the State Enterprise Ukrainian Coal («Ugol’ Ukrainy») because there won’t be state mines at all.

Despite the fact that this year the moratorium for bankruptcy of mines with the state share of not less than 25% (to 1 of January 2015) has been extended again, unprofitable enterprises will be liquidated one way or another. According to the data of Mikhail Volynets, the feasibility study for closing of 70 mines is already drawn up on the Ministry basis, 35 of which will be closed for dry conservation and 35 for reconstruction; and there is no money allocated for reconstruction in the budget (in 2012 no money was allocated for reconstruction of the profitable Bazhanov mine (Makeevugol), although the funds for this were provided for by the State budget).

Such a feint of the government is simple and clear: first, the closure of the mine can provoke greater disturbances in the region, which is basic for the Party of Regions, than its closure for reconstruction; second, the

of Russia on attraction of the credit line of $47 million.

A reasonable question arises: how an enterprise with such financial liabilities can be liquidated and will an entity to take over the responsibilities of the State Enterprise Ukrainian Coal («Ugol’ Ukrainy») be created?

There is no answer to the first question, besides the fact that the debts are likely to be repaid by the state with the help of the Ministry of energy and coal, but the answer to the second question is much more interesting. To all appearances, after 2015 there

closure of the mine is a very expensive procedure (a closure of one mine costs 100-200 million hryvnas). The transfer of a mine to the dry conservation mode or reconstruction as allegedly implies a chance to return to production, however, being realistic about the economic situation in the mining towns and villages of Donbass, we have all the reasonable grounds to suggest that all mining equipment will be ransacked by the yesterday’s miners as scrap metal within a year and the only compensation they will be offered is the work in

«kopankas».

Such «reformation» of the sector must evoke mass social protests: from 70 to 100 thousand of miners will become unemployed (many families have the only breadwinner – the father-miner), but the authority’s representatives are unlikely to be confused by such perspective though it coincides with the Presidential elections in 2015.

This is quite clear, because it is the teachers and doctors who work at the polling stations, but not the miners.

As for a few profitable mines (or the mines that can become profitable under investments), they will undergo privatization.

By the end of 2014 only in Donetsk region more than 30 mines are to be privatized.

According to the Law «On peculiarities of privatization of the coal mines» there are two possible forms of the sale of mines: at the auction or by means of investment proposals contest, in other words, the State Property Fund transfers the mine to the ownership of those who are ready to invest large funds to increase

extraction effectiveness and to improve the miners’ working conditions.

Children get the best!

That’s how privatization and division of the sector will end. It is quite logical: there are almost no state-owned TPP’s (and soon they will disappear at all) that are one of the major consumers of domestic coal, as well as Mineral processing plants, coke plants and steel plants. Given the fact that all production facilities interested in coal are private-owned, the existence of state mines and

unions really looks a kind of archaism that covers corruption schemes. Now those people who have created them are in power, and have no intention to give money to the local princelings.

However, one cannot ignore the fact that the absence of state control over the coal sector threatens the already illusory energy independence of the state, and the capitalization of the sector has a number of costs. So, as a result of current processes of purchase of the enterprises, their transfer to concession and bankruptcies, there are actually only two large players in the market. This is the DTEK (Donbass Fuel-Energy Company) and DRFTS (Donbass settlement and financial center).

For nearly three years the DRFTS and Vostokuglemash Trading House (of the same owner) have been winning all conceivable tenders from the state, and their orders from the state coal companies, according to the Forbes, amount to billions.

Besides, the DTEK regularly gets considerable discounts from the state and manages public funds at its own discretion so that it has even provoked indignation of the Control and revision administration, however, rejected by the Ukrainian court. As a result of such redistribution the profitable private mines and numerous enterprises involved in servicing the mines, but don’t enter the pool of majors, are affected in the first place. The conditions incompatible with financial survival are being created for them – the majority of them don’t have working assets enough not only to compete with the giants, but even just to work with them.

While it’s extremely difficult to predict all the consequences of redistribution of the coal sector’s in Ukraine, today it is already possible to predict largescale social crisis in the east of the country and mass actions of the miners that are likely to end up with the government’s recommendations to whimper less and grow cabbage. And although nobody wants to be a Capitan of Obviousness, we are tempted to remind that the lack of fair competition, equal possibilities and clear rules of play are incompatible with the market economy, the reforming of which is being so eagerly implemented by the President and the Government.

Photo UNIAN

Matviy Levin

6

GEOPOLITICS

THE KIEV TIMES | APRIL, 2013

ELECTRONIC REVOLUTIONS: COLORLESS, TASTELESS, AND ODOR-FREE First known cases of massive application of electronic communications as a mean of pressure on the power and of overthrowing it: Philippines, Spain, Moldova, Lithuania, Iran, and Thailand. And this is far from a full list Alexander Dudchak, Candidate of Science in Economics

P

rotests in the capital of Philippines, Manila, on the 17th of January 2001. Residents of Philippines capital – organized with the help of electronic correspondence for a short period of time, having exchanged 7 million electronic massages – managed to attract about a million people to the street in actions of protest. They were discontented that the country’s parliament, owing to some senators – the followers of the 13th president Joseph Exersito Estrada, blocked his impeachment procedure. The parliament couldn’t resist the pressure of the organized crowd and yielded to the demands of the protesters.

Estrada has been removed from his position as President.

Removal of the Prime-Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar, in 2004. Probably, not the last factor that influenced the decision of Aznar’s removal organizers, about the conduct of protest actions, was the fact that he is one of the few European politicians who supported the Russian Federation policy in Chechnya. The protesters were organized with the help of electronic mail. According to this scheme, they formed the public opinion of the world community, and exerted pressure on the management of Iran elections on 2009, and Thailand in 2010. In Libya, of course, they also couldn’t do without «twitter» technologies.

UNO was attracted to their promotion there.

During the elections of 2009, Moldova found out to be a perfect ground for «twitter» technologies and a model for the demonstration of every kind of NGOs interaction. .

Such organizations like NDI (National democratic institute) and IRI (International republic institute) actively worked in those

(SPA). Hyde Park Organization realized its activity as the main fighter against the government legally elected in 2009, thanks to the funds assigned by USAID. On this NOG’s web-site, it could be found the following text: «This site has been placed in the Internet for free, inside the program network «Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) of the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the US State Department, created with the support of «Freedom Support Act» (FSA) company». The US State Department financed also the «Moldova Citizen Participation Program».

How simply it works The US State Department directly took part in financial, technical, and organizational support, education and coordination of global opposition youth movements– in t Middle East, in Northern Africa, in Latin America, and in some countries

the cost of high-speed Internet.

But in this case it’s necessary to thank the US government for supplying of smart-phones, communicators and access to the Internet, the politically active citizens of Moldova in the financial network, according to the IATP program. By confession of one of the organizers of the Moldavian events-2009, Natalia Morar, member of the initiative group «I’m not a communist», the association ThinkMoldova and the organizations HydePark, «Twitter», «VKontakte» and other social networks, helped her group of 6 people for several hours to mobilize crowd of 15 thousand people in Kishinev.

In October 2007 they signed an agreement with the Libyan government, according to which every Libyan schoolboy received one budget notebook. The deal, that cost 250 million dollars, included the delivery of 1.2 million cheap portable computers

of the former USSR. This was openly announced on the 24th of November 2008. James Glassman, the State Secretary Assistant for national diplomacy and public affairs, and Jared Koen, the representative of the Department of political planning of the State Department, during the briefing for American and foreign journalists, told about the initiative of creating the global Alliance of youth movements.

Partners of the State Department in the creation of the global Alliance of youth movements were Facebook, Google, YouTube, MTV, AT& T, and JetBlue.

Training didn’t end by the financing. To have the possibility

and several thousand servers – one per school (considering the amount of Libyan population of that time, that made about 6 million). The team of specialists for the accompaniment and support of the equipment arrived in Libya. Besides, in the country’s territory appeared a satellite access to the Internet, and this helped to arrange the disturbances at the beginning of 2011.

Computers were installed in the network of UNO program «One Laptop Per Child». Since February 2006 OLPC was headed

by Nicolas Negroponte. Earlier, in 1985, he found and headed the Media Labs in the Massachusetts

to apply knowledge in practice, and realize the given problems, to «widen the mobilization abilities of NGO and groups of citizens», it is necessary to technically provide trained «groups of citizens». An average worker of Moldova can’t afford the cost of telephone sets, supporting the necessary options for these operations, as well as

Technological Institute. In 1995 he formulated the concept of Electronic Economy. From 2005 he is the initiator and leader of an educational project called «2b1».

The head of the program for Libya provision of computer equipment has interesting ties of relationships. His blood brother – John Negroponte – is one of

to keep secret its agreements with Google.

NSA has unlimited access to the data of Windows users, as it directly collaborated with Microsoft in the development of Windows 7. And this was officially acknowledged on the 17th of November 2009 by Richard Sheffer, the NSA Director for the Informational Security Provision.

In 2013 they will build a center for a processing and storage of data downloaded in the Internet all around the world, for a processing of the data accessible for NSA. The area of this center will be of 93 thousand square meters. The center is being built in the mountains, in the State of Utah, not far from Salt Lake City. The cost of the project is about 1.5 billion dollars. In the nearest future NSA will be able to intercept, keep, decrypt, and analyze all the messages, all around the world: one of today’s purposes of NSA is also checking the possibility to decrypt AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) codes. This cryptographic algorithm currently defends financial agreements, electronic mail of transnational companies, economic agreements, and international diplomatic mails.

It is hard to imagine what a mass of information for analysis can be provided by the access to the personal computers of the most active part of the population – those who already have a certain experience and a secondary or higher education diploma, and who know a foreign language to the extent of getting an education in it.

From the point of view of the «color» revolution’s organization in the country: if the access to any social network in the Internet or to any certain site can be restricted in the interests of the state security, how is it possible to restrict any access to education?

According to the opinion of the co-founder and co-chairman of one of the largest educational Internet-platforms, Coursera Daphne Koller, panelist at the 6th Circular Table about problems of charity RevolutiOnline.edu, that took place in Davos on the 24th of January 2013, the main advantage of online-education is the free access to education for all people, independently on their economic conditions, nationality, place of living, and state of health.

The Deal that cost 250 million dollars, included the delivery of 1.2 million of cheap portable computers and several thousand servers – one per every Libyan school established. During his active participation in Central America, the «death squadrons» stole and killed (including people stolen from Nicaraguan territory and killed in Honduras) not less than 75 thousand people. In 19891993 John Negroponte was the US ambassador in Mexico and offered assistance to the country’s government in the struggle against the rebel-Zapatistas in Chiapas State. His knowledge and

The official budget of the Operation Earnest Voice program, at the beginning of 2010, was of 200 million dollars. The program has already been used in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Middle East

The US State Department directly took part in financing, technical, and organizational support, education, and coordination of global opposition youth movements Moldavian events, directed to the cancellation of the elections results, which were not suiting USA. They distributed assets (in Moldova’s case, very considerable assets) received from the State Department of USAID for the financing of a program called «Strengthening Democratic Political Activism in Moldova»

the most qualified «invisible front soldiers». In 1981-1985 John Negroponte was the US ambassador in Honduras. At those times, Honduras military assistance increased from 4 million to 77.4 million dollars per year; close ties between USA special services, Honduras army, and Nicaragua contras were

Byelorussian authorities refused the realization of this project.

Besides, the netbooks Classmate PC of the Intel Company, which should be provided for the Byelorussian schoolchildren, by no means couldn’t be called the newest equipment. Similar equipment was delivered to the poorest countries several years before.

Supplies of electronic means of communication and social networks have been successfully used long ago by the United States Central Command – USCENTCOM. In the program network «Operation Earnest Voice» created for psychological struggle in the Internet against the troops of coalition in Iraq, Ntrepid Corporation, by the contract with USCENTCOM, developed a mechanism of creation of false onlinepersonalities, so called bots. They created an «online-personality control system» that allows an official of the special American subdivision managing 10 (and more – up to 50) different persons all around the world. With the help of this system, USCENTCOM officers have the possibility to impose and distribute their ideas under the mask of «one of us» and manipulate debates on informational resources, bring these discussions to a false agreement, spam undesirable opinions, and change massages that don’t coincide with the interests of the US Ministry of defense. The official budget for the «Operation Earnest Voice» program at the beginning of 2010, was of 200 million dollars.

The program has already been used in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Middle East. Its traces can be seen on news and discussion sites in the post-Soviet states, where they skillfully play off visitors of the Internet-pages and implant international hostility.

In the last few years the USA Ministry of Defense conducted more than ten team-staff trainings, for the practicing of informational war tasks. Their analysis results were took as the basis for the informational war conception’s improvement, and were clearly seen in the events occurring in Northern Africa and Middle East, from the beginning of 2011.

According to this conception, the provision of operations with

experience in the organization of the «death squadrons» in Latin America helped him to create similar detachments in Iraq, where in 2004-2005 Negroponte headed the US diplomatic mission.

In January 2007 John Negroponte, leaving his position as National Intelligence Director to the State Department, accepted for the employment into his new staff 1,500 intelligence employees, close to the big business structures, and connected with the Middle East. And it wasn’t in vain, as it was found out in 2011. His brother’s wife, Diana Negroponte, is an employee at the Freedom House, another «office», participating in all «color» revolutions.

Similar program had to be realized in Byelorussia too. In August 2011, the Byelorussian High Technologies Park (HTP), the Byelorussia Ministry of Education, and the American corporation Intel, signed a cooperation agreement. However, by then the experience of Libya and the other countries was at the disposal of Byelorussian state bodies, responsible for the state security.

In contempt of the conducted advertising campaign, the

the application of informational weapons involves all systems of management, communications and intelligence of space, air, sea, and ground locations of all kinds of armed forces. For their actions’ coordination, the new automated system of management of informational war combat’s operations, as well as its conduct of strategic plans – Integrated Operation Plan – is being currently developed.

National Security Agency + Google and Microsoft For a long time, the collaboration of the Internetgiants with American special services was no secret.

Particularly, the collaboration of Google and the National Security Agency (NSA). The official purpose of this collaboration is the disclosure of the weaknesses of Google, in its struggle against pirates and hackers, the assessment of their complexity, and the detection of the taken protective measures’ adequacy.

Almost from the very beginning of its appearance, Google was providing a data transfer about its users to the US intelligence Services. And this is quite legal.

According to American laws, Google, as any other company, is obliged, in correspondence with the «anti-terrorist law» Patriot Act, to provide data about its users to the authorities, in particular to the Agency of National Security.

In contempt of the complaint filed to the court by the Electronic Privacy Informational Center (EPIC) and the requirement to publish the agreements between Google and NSA, in view of the fact that the citizens have the right to know that they are watched, the Washington Court of Appeal ruled that, because of its special status, NSA was allowed

It is obvious that there is no reason to oppose such ideas.

The more so, any action in this direction will be accompanied by a «soft» but aggressive pressure from both international organizations and governments of «democratic» countries, and from the local NGO, representatives of «democratic» parties, and «freedom-loving» community.

Deliberate coincidence In the first part of 2012, NSA began to create the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE), on the basis of US universities. Their purpose is to increase the level of cyberspace security. NSA program will supplement 145 existing centers of CAE, which allow providing scientific researches in the area of cyber-security provision under the control of NSA and the Department of Homeland Security.

Obviously, many of our fellow citizens will soon enthusiastically accept their feasible participation in this project. Without even suspecting their participation in it.

We live in the post-Soviet world of melting possibilities.

Having lost the cold war, we didn’t manage to respond to that defeat with dignity. Even in Russia and the CU countries it is impossible to completely stop these processes of degradation and destruction of human, scientific-technical, and cultural potential. And Ukraine hastens its movement to the abyss. In order to have a Future, we need to consolidate a self-sufficient territory with our resources and create an alternative currency-financial system. It is necessary to learn to oppose Jesuitical technologies of «soft and fluffy» power. We have all the necessary ingredients.

www.thekievtimes.ua

UKRAINE/JUDICIAL SYSTEM REFORM

7

TRY NOT TO PARDON On April 11, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych called the pardon of the former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko impossible, till the end of the trials of her cases. «…Till the trials of Tymoshenko cases aren’t over, it’s impossible to consider the issue of pardon». Viktor Yanukovych emphasized that the Ukrainian court must be open and free from political pressure. The suggested article is a newspaper version of the scientific article of First deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Renat Kuzmin and is fully dedicated to «defamation», a well-known phenomenon to Western legislation but thoroughly jammed by politicians-manipulators and their clients in Ukraine.

Defamation (Latin diffamatio – calumny, slander) is a public dissemination of real or invented data that humiliate honor, dignity and reputation of a citizen or organization

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riminal liability for defamation is provided by the penal codes of Austria (Article 111), Belgium (Chapter V of the Penal Code), Italy (Article 595), Portugal (Article 180), Croatia (Articles 199, 199-2, 200-1, 2002), Finland (Chapter 24, Articles 9, 10), Denmark (Article 267), Norway (Chapter 23, Articles 246, 247,248), Brazil (Article 139) and many others. The liability for defamation in France legislation is provided by the Press Law in 1881: «Any allegation or imputation of fact striking a blow to the honour or the public consideration of a person or a body to which that fact is imputed, is defamation».

Article 186 of Germany Penal Code envisages liability for defamation to any person who asserts or disseminates a fact related to another person, which may defame him or her, or negatively affect the public opinion about him or her, unless this fact can be proved to be true.

Chapter V of Sweden Penal Code defines the penalty for pointing out someone as a criminal or as «having a reprehensible way of living», or of providing information about him or her «intended to cause exposure to the disrespect of others».

Article 212 of Poland Penal Code reads: «Whoever imputes to another person, group of persons, institution or organizational unit not having the status of a legal person, such conduct or characteristics that may discredit them in the face of public opinion or result in a loss of the confidence needed to a given position, occupation or type of activity shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or the penalty of deprivation of liberty up to one year.

The Divine nature of this judiciary law is also noted in the Holy Scripture: «You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good».

The Bible speaks about the fairness of justice: «Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence...»

Absolutely new forms of pressure on court have recently appeared in Ukraine – rally law or the law of «maidan» (square), MPs’ law and mass media pressure.

At the same time, in the USA, in order to ensure the protection of the jurors from public opinion, they are isolated till the end of a trial and the announcement of their verdict. Jurors aren’t allowed to watch TV reports about the given case, and they are brought to the courtroom and from the courtroom by special buses with covered windows.

The methods of pressure on court and investigation, all of them based on defamation, are described below.

Crowd effect Gustave Le Bon considered a crowd as a special social formation. The crowd used to be and will be the most important resource of attainment of power.

Crowd is a disposable mechanism and that is why it requires big but one-time expenses.

Once, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, influenced by the crowd,

decided to hold the re-voting of the second round of the elections for the Ukraine President.

Actually, the Supreme Court made Yushchenko the President.

Tymoshenko trial is attempted to be subject to the influence of the crowd, accompanied by public appeals to the non-execution of the judicial judgment, and street rallies, instigation of people to illegal actions.

At the same time the American judicial system is capable of resisting any pressure on the court, in particular by the use of the crowd effect and the intrusion of influential politicians.

Threats, intimidations, murders The murder of judge Trofimov and his family’s members, the murder of judge Zubkov, the threats against judges and prosecutors made by Y.Tymoshenko during the trial are directed to the demoralization of the participants to the process.

Violating not only juridical, but logic laws as well, some European politicians threatened the state with sanctions, unless judges and prosecutors comply with their request of releasing the convicts Tymoshenko and Lutsenko.

President of the European People’s Party Wifried Martens stated in 2011 that any further Ukraine cooperation with the European Union is possible only under the condition that Tymoshenko is released.

EPP – in its resolution on Ukraine adopted on December 7, 2011 – warned that no elections in Ukraine will be considered fair, unless the leaders of opposition, particularly Yulia Tymoshenko and Yurii Lutsenko are released, despite their judicial judgments.

Hillary Clinton wrote in a letter to convict Tymoshenko: «…

You should be immediately and unconditionally released, as well as other former members of your government».

The U.S. Senate also attempted to exert pressure on the Country by means of a resolution regarding Ukraine #466 (S.RES.466), which mentioned sanctions against some persons implicated in Tymoshenko’s imprisonment.

Discrediting judicial and lawenforcement systems «You’re a monster…», «a marionette…», «… a master of the trial», «…I will not stand up before this mafia in gowns», «he… received instructions from Bankova /Administration of the President of Ukraine/», «…be aside this organized criminal grouping…», «fascists», «prosecutor resembles more a hangman…», «…prosecutor’s boorishness…». These are Tymoshenko’s quotes from the courtroom.

Grigorii Nemyria, Sergei Vlasenko and Yevgenia Tymoshenko managed to attract the attention of Western politicians by the help of defamation, and to discredit the Ukrainian justice by their hands in every way, on international level.

Let’s recollect how Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, commented about my speech in the framework of the 9th Yalta Annual Meeting entitled «Ukraine and the World: Overcoming Tomorrow’s Challenges Together»: «He (prosecutor) looked like a gangster, behaved

like a gangster and talked like a gangster». It was an unreasoned but emotional statement. It is also a good example of defamation.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer distinguished himself in analogous comments.

Are such expressions casual?

Aslund used to work, and Pifer is still working at the Brookings Institution, where Viktor Pinchuk is a member of board of trustees.

The whole world accuses Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Pinchuk’s fatherin-law, of Gongadze’s murder.

The General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine investigates on a case where the version of the implication of Leonid Kuchma in this ordered murder is being checked. The logic is extremely simple. Aslund and Pifer are dealing with a direct discrediting of the prosecutor in order to influence the investigation in favor of Kuchma’s interest.

The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament Elmar Brok recently stated that «Kuzmin could prove that Tymoshenko is responsible for the spots on the moon as well… We will have to take measures against those who systematically ruin the principles of the state governed by the law».

Using Brok’s habitual methods, it might be publicly asked how he managed to evade criminal liability in 2010, when German law-enforcement authorities sent a request to the European Parliament for the waiver of his MP’s immunity, due to charges for tax evasion. But professional ethics doesn’t allow prosecutors to stoop to rhetoric and actions of such a low level.

Public opinion The protest actions «Free Yulia», molding the society’s contempt for the whole judicial branch of power, and the politicians’ tries to influence the results of the trial, are bright examples of illegal pressure on court and prosecution service. The purpose is simple – the taking of decisions in Tymoshenko’s interest by the Court.

The Anglo-Saxon system of law envisages a criminal liability for contempt of court which Tymoshenko’s defence is demonstrating all the time.

Premature publications in the press, negotiations with jurors, pressure on parties and witnesses, disrespectful behavior in the court, disobedience of court order – all this may be considered as contempt of court.

The British Contempt of Court Act in 1981 introduced «the strict liability rule», whereby a person is responsible for intrusion into administration of justice, regardless of any intent to do so.

According to the U.S. federal law (U.S. Code, Title 18, Chapter 21) the court punishes with fine or arrest, any contempt of court.

Tymoshenko’s defense tried to make Tymoshenko’s trial as more public as possible, which means subject to influence of the crowd.

However, before the trial started, Tymoshenko’s defense attorney asserted that «it’s inadmissible for the public to directly participate in the proceedings», «that «chance audience» no matter how large it may be, can’t bring substantial benefit…». That «the court isn’t the place for debates and rallies, that’s why the use of posters, banners, slogans by public is also inadmissible…». In

Photographer Alexander Lobanov

Based on the materials of Renat Kuzmin’s article «Defamation as Means of Illegal Influence on Court and Investigation in the Criminal Proceedings in Ukraine»

practice, the words of the defense attorney developed into posters, banners, rallies and debates, that pursued the aim to wreck the hearing and exert pressure on the court. And here is the direct speech of Tymoshenko’s lawyer, Sergei Vlasenko, in the magazine Korrespondent (#10, dated on March 15, 2013): «I haven’t met a single decent judge in these several years, be it Kirieiev (passed sentence on Tymoshenko in gas case), Tsarevych (presiding judge in the case of Y. Shcherban’s murder) or judges of the Higher Specialized Court (which confirmed Tymoshenko’s sentence in gas case). Unfortunately, I have to say that they are selected riffraff. They are people without morals and conscience.

Mishchenko who is the Head of the Higher Specialized Court is a beast. And it is a soft definition for a person, who confirmed

the absolutely farfetched Tymoshenko’s sentence without a blink of an eye».

In conclusion, it’s necessary to mention that recently a new kind of defamation appeared in Ukraine in the form of politicians involvement in the judicial proceedings. Such type of defense leads to political methods of exerting influence on the court and endangers the general efficiency of the justice system functions. It is predominantly connected with the decriminalization of the articles on liability for libel and insult, when the new Criminal Code of Ukraine was approved in 2001, in pursuance of commitments taken before the Council of Europe, set forth in Resolution 1239 (2001) «Freedom of expression and functioning of the parliamentary democracy in Ukraine» and Recommendations

1513 (2001) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe «Honoring of obligations and commitments taken by Ukraine during its accession to the Organization». The main reason for decriminalizing libel was ensuring the implementation of Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, that envisages the right to the freedom of expression. After all, I will remind the European skeptics that Ukraine was among the first states – together with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova – that decriminalized libel in due time.

Together with it, despite the condemnation by the Council of Europe, OSCE, UN relevant norms, it still exists in the penal codes of the majority of states, including such states as the USA, Germany, France, Italy and others.

POLITICS/INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

THE KIEV TIMES | APRIL, 2013

POLAND-UKRIANE: (UN) PROBLEMATIC NEIGHBOURHOOD Poland is Ukraine closest neighbor of and the relationships between the two countries have never been unclouded. Nowadays, Kiev and Warsaw build their dialogue on «a new page» but historical offences continue to impact. Curiously enough, Kiev has taken a convenient position for Warsaw, concerning many facts that are undoubtedly objectively worth of history Vladislav Gulevich

language doesn’t divide people into manors and peasants. An integral part of Polish culture is the myth that Polish gentlemen are descendants of the ancient Sarmats, who came from the east.

The Sarmats were warriors, who despised labor and stood higher than simple peasants in every moral and cultural relation.

Under this Sarmatism influence, the Poles’ attitude towards the Western Rus’ (modern Byelorussia and Ukraine) has formed. During the pre-Sarmat period Poles considered Rus’ as something dark, barbarian and unexplored.

With the appearance of the Sarmatism theory there was a growth of cultural stereotypes

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he great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche – whose genealogy, by the way, comes from the Polish gentlemen Nietzkis resettled from Germany – in his work «On the use and abuse of history for life» warned about any excessive burdening of the present by the load of a dark past. «Uncompromising hostility, old complaints are like a cobblestone in your stomach», wrote Russophile German Walter Schubart, attributing this sin to Europe in its relationships to the nations outside its estern boarder.

This «cobblestone» prevents normal vital «digestion» and forces your carrier to be writhing with pain.

Poland attitude towards Ukraine has to be examined in the light of Polish-Russian relations.

Ukraine itself and its culture have never been of great value for Polish geopoliticians. The pen of one of these politicians, Wlodzimierz Bonckovski, produced an article «We are not Ukrainofiles» and his affirmation that «if there has’t been any Ukrainian nation but only an ethnographic mass, one should help the latter to achieve a national consciousness. Why and what for? In order not do not have business with 90 million Great Russians on the east, plus 40 million Little Russians who are nationally united… A Ukrainian deprived of his Ukrainian temper is the political Russian!» clearly reflects the sense of Warsaw interest in pro-Western Ukraine existence.

Poland always considered Ukraine as a field for playing against Russia. That’s why Warsaw always supported cultural-humanitarian initiatives favoring the world-view moving of the Little Russians (Ukrainians) away from the Great Russians (modern Russians), thereby tearing the single body of esternorthodox civilization into pieces.

The same approach can be traced in the Polish policy at the present day. To bind Kiev tighter and dig insurmountable ditch between Russians and Ukrainians is the top priority task of the Polish political thought. The last and the brightest attempt to concentrate attention on this, has become the 150-years anniversary of the Poland unsuccessful antiRussian revolt in January 1863

that falls just in 2013. This year has been announced by Warsaw as the Year of January 1863 Revolt. All around Poland there were mourning events under the conventional motto «Glory to the defeated!». Polish MFA tried to maximally involve Polish diaspora in CIS countries as well as Vilnius, Kiev and Minsk, to this process.

With Vilnius everything went off swimmingly. Lithuania and Poland are historical allies and NATO allies , and the irrational anti-Russian rhetoric for them is a visiting card to the «civilized family of the European nations». With regard to Minsk, everything went off partially, because Byelorussian authorities are annoyed by Warsaw tactics using the Byelorussian Poles as a «democracy ram» (Byelorussian opposition mostly consists of Poles and orthodox Byelorussians).

But everything went off perfectly with Kiev. The

The Polish revolt 1863: two views of one event The subject of Poland’s division by Prussia, Austria and Russia is a prevailing subject of every Poland patriotic discourse about revolts in 1794, 1830 and 1863. The Poles don’t pay much attention to the fact that Russia didn’t take part in Poland’s division and didn’t occupy the Polish ethnic territories. Prussia and Austria did this quite successfully. Part of the ethnic Polish lands went to Russia only in 1815 by a decision of the Vienna Congress (sometimes it is called the Fourth division of Poland), when the leading world states – Great Britain, Prussia and Austria – were restoring order in post-Napoleon Europe. By their approbation part of Poland, as former ally of the «Corsican monster» that enslaved half of Europe, went under the Russian empire’s jurisdiction.

The aggravation of the anti-Russian atmosphere concerning the rebel of 1863 is used only with political purposes, because this is mainly the business of the opposition clerical and conservative party of late president Lech Kaczynski «Law and justice» («LaJ»). The «LaJ» fights for the hearts of the electors against the ruling party «Civil platform» («CP»), which includes the current head of the Polish state Bronislav Komorowsky and Polish premier Donald Tusk. The administration of Tusk tries to build balanced relations with Berlin and Moscow, tries to include Warsaw into the geopolitical axis Berlin – Moscow to let it not to stand aside of the participation in making the main decisions in the European policy. That’s why the administration of Tusk, not belittling the history of January revolt in the eyes of the Polish patriots, tries to cancel its anniversary more reservedly, without Russophobia that off-scales all reasonable extents, quietly, on the local level, not giving this date international perception. The Polish community ambiguously accepts the idea to proclaim 2013 the Year of the January revolt. The majority of Poles undoubtedly consider their ancestry’s aspirations to occupy the Western Russian lands to be fair. But some of them express bewilderment concerning the insistent wish of the authorities to lavishly celebrate the 150-years anniversary not of the victory but of the defeat.

Ukrainian ambassador in Poland, Markijan Malski, on the 22nd of January 2013 took part in the commemorative events at the Povonzki cemetery in Warsaw, where – together with the Poland president Bronislaw Komarowski

never belonged to the ethnic Poles. And this is the essence of the misunderstanding between the Poles and the followers of the triunity of the Russian people (Great Russians, Little Russians, Byelorussians).

about Western Rus’ and its people, and Western Rus’ itself was taken as a vital theory.

Not only the gentlemen are descendants of the Sarmats who lived on the east of Poland, and therefore have right to come back

It wouldn’t be a bad thing for the Ukrainian government to commemorate those who were killed by the Greater Poland soldiers – Russian soldiers, Little Russian peasants and orthodox priests – but they didn’t do that

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gentry. As Nemenskiy has neatly noted, for the Poles of that period the boarder between Poland and Rus’ weren’t a boarder between country settlements but between two peoples. To 1863 the Poles size in the Russian Empire didn’t exceeded 6%, and in spite of this the January revolt is called the liberation one, and those 6% required the other 94% to perform a cardinal reconstruction of the western boarders of the state.

Meanwhile, by no means all Polish peasants supported the rebel impulse in 1863. When the Polish Secretary of state Nikolay Milutin proposed to allot the Polish peasants with land, the level of the peasants’ support to the rebels reduced even more.

Moreover, the peasants even kissed Milutin’s hands, the tsarist official! For that reason, the Polish gentlemen who were brought up in the Sarmatism spirit contemptuously called him «the chairman of the «villein» government» and a communist.

A series of defeats of Poles by Russians is also a psychological trauma – «wild barbarians» overpowered the proud gentlemen-Sarmats of high moral standards. There need to be found the origins of Poland pathological unwillingness to get rid of continuous historical complaints to the most powerful eastern Slavonic state – Russia.

This caused Warsaw opposition to any integration processes in the Eurasian space, because they gather the «Rus’-Sarmatia» into one geopolitical organism that won’t be dependent on Poland.

When building UkrainianPolish relationships, it is worth taking the abovementioned details into account. An Intensification of the economical ties between Kiev and Warsaw will undoubtedly do good for both thecountries, but it isn’t worth the plunging into the political adventures initiated by the Polish authorities. These can include both the project of Eastern partnership meant for Kiev,

and the representative of diplomatic missions of Lithuania, Latvia and Byelorussia – lit a candle in memory of the Polish rebels, who demanded to join Little Russia to Poland and dreamt about the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth «from sea to sea».

It wouldn’t be a bad thing for the Ukrainian government to commemorate those who were killed by the Greater Poland soldiers – Russian soldiers, Little Russian peasants and orthodox priests – but they didn’t do that.

Ukraine European aspiration distorted historical sympathies: touching speeches and candles to Polish insurgents; complete oblivion to the congeners, killed to the glory of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth.

Meanwhile, the famous Polish writer Stanislaw Cat-Mackiewicz considered that «all Polish revolts of XIX were conducted under the motto «restitutio in integrum» of all we lost in XVIII century».

And Poland lost its Lithuanian and Western Russian lands, that

The matter is that Polish and Russian cultures differently interpret the notion of «people».

This historiographic aspect has been commented by the Russian expert Oleg Nemenskiy after he had known that in Russian culture «people» is almost equivalent to the notion of «the common people». The highest social levels, that often suffer with westernism, weren’t excluded from the notion «people». That’s why the Russian intellectuals of XIX called the upper classes to «go to people», «seek the truth in people» who are the carriers of the orthodoxy and the Russian traditions and values. Such populism is unknown and alien to the Polish culture.

In Polish culture the concept of «people» is a narrowly class conception. The common people that means «villeins» weren’t reckoned among «people». People were considered the catholic gentry – the highest social levels. Polish language has the expressions «gentry people» and «villein people». The Russian

to their «historical homeland» Rus’-Sarmatia, but also this «historical homeland» is settled not by people but by «villeins».

Western Rus’ belongs to the Polish people i.e. the catholic

Minsk, Kishinev, Tbilisi, Baku and Yerevan approach to Warsaw, and the idea of the PolLitUkrbrig creation – a mixed LithuanianPolish-Ukrainian brigade, which in two years should achieve the full alert for performance of tasks eventuallyset by UNO, the European Union and NATO. An article by one of the Polish writers Marek Kozubal about this subject has been entitled – «Into the battle with Lithuania and Ukraine». But against whom Ukraine is going to march into battle, together with Vilnius and Warsaw, and in addition under the aegis of the EU and NATO?

PolLitUkrbrig: Is Ukraine prepared for confrontation with Russia and Belarussian?

The geography of military conflicts in the world is widening and it is quite possible that, under the cover of a peacemaking operation, the Ukrainian servicemen will have to take part in the enslavement of another «democracy enemy».

The Polish part of the PolLitUkrbrig has been already formed (300 people). It included the military personnel of formerly dissolved 3d mechanized brigade dislocated in Lublin. There, in Lublin, the headquarters of the PolLitUkrbrig are located. Polish servicemen from the brigade’s composition participated in operations in Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan and continue strenuously training.

Polish specialists don’t hide that one of the main purposes of the PolLitUkrbrig’s creation is assistance to Kiev’s approach to NATO. Warsaw, possessing the largest military potential among countries of Central and Eastern Europe, tries to «sew» the geostrategic space between Russia and Poland, to glue the military and political triangle Poland-Lithuania-Ukraine with anti-Russian orientation. That’s why Lublin has been chosen as the PolLitUkrbrig headquarters – as a city located in close proximity to PolishUkrainian and Polish-Byelorussian boarder.

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GEOPOLITICS

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ADRIAN SEVERIN: I DON’T THINK THAT UKRAINE MUST FEEL IN DANGER Ukraine-Romania relations have firmly died away on a freezing point for about several years, now. The materials about massive issuing of Romanian passports to Ukrainian citizens and about committed assimilation of the Ukrainian minority in Romania, which from time to time appear in mass-media, as well as a sudden zeal of the neighbors to widen the mouth of Dniester not far away from Ukrainian island Maykan, that can change the line of national boundary, undoubtedly don’t favor the flowering of any friendship. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania and present Deputy of the European Parliament Adrian Severin knows the reasons why Kiev and Bucharest have stopped to communicate in a neighborly way – simply and sincerely Interview by Victoria Vlasenko

which are not very friendly to Ukraine. Do you understand what I mean? And if this doesn’t feed the Ukrainophobe moods of Romanian foreign policy, it for sure has stopped any positive development and approach in our policy to Ukraine. And foreign capitals, where Romanian politicians have found support for their ambitions, are also guiding the Ukrainoskeptical approach of their foreign policy. I consider this situation fundamentally wrong and I hope it will change. And in Kiev, although its domestic policy picture is better, there is an uncoordinated ruling elite and the political atmosphere is impregnated with hatred. Some leaders in Ukraine (I don’t want to give their names but they are

the same rights. Somewhere the representatives of ethno-cultural communities have more rights than the representatives of ethnic minority. But I’d say that this is a positive discrimination. And today our goal can be formulated the same way – to see all Romanians within one State. But this State won’t be called «Romania» anymore, but «the European Union». This is our modern dream, which doesn’t harm anybody, but on the contrary corresponds with the period’s challenges. Because the time of national States has passed. This doesn’t mean that nations will disappear, but their boarders will be rather spiritual than material.

And foreign capitals, where Romanian politicians have found support for their ambitions, are also guiding by the Ukrainoskeptical approach of their foreign policy our two countries has never had such serious conflicts to perniciously affect public opinion or institutional dialogue. We don’t have historically hard common memories, like for example with several other neighbors, with whom we experienced rather conflictual situations in the past. Oddly enough, Romanian relations with these countries are more dynamic or, we can even say more successfull than their relations with Ukraine. Besides, the strategic interests of our countries are very similar, our foreign policy doesn’t contain controversial strategies. Ukraine and Romania can Melt into an important common market and this would favor the mutual trade and the economic development of both the countries. Romania is interested in helping Ukrainian integration into the European Union by all available means.

To my opinion, this is just the common vital interest of both the countries. I’m sure that Romania and Poland are going to become the best friends, supporters and attorneys of Ukraine in EU. At the light of all these aspects, the fact that our relations are not on the level they could be, looks quite strange. But if we try to find an explanation for this, we’ll find out that this is connected with the domestic policy situation of both our countries. These domestic political realities prevent politicians from moving to the necessary direction, when the matter comes to relation between Ukraine and Romania.

First of all, I am referring to the situation in my country, where the President is in a condition of daily confrontation with the government, and that’s why they can’t develop a consistent foreign policy. This political confrontation, in addition to economical difficulties generated by the global financial crisis, pushes some Romanian political leaders to nationalistic approaches. But they mustn’t affect our relations with Ukraine at all, because there are no problematic issues between our countries significant enough to provoke nationalistic moods.

Nevertheless such nationalism doesn’t allow the development of a proper policy in the region.

Constant political instability forces the top management of Romania (I mean the President, the Prime-Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs) to seek for external support in order to achieve their domestic policy purposes. And often they find it in the financial support of countries,

very famous) maintain close relations with those political groups in Bucharest, which ask their support for the development of a unfriendly foreign policy against Ukraine. This can be called a «trans-national coalition of external forces» of Ukraine and Romania that mutually worked out this anti-Ukrainian policy. As you see, it is an extremely difficult tangle of political circumstances and interests of individual political groups. And we must put the whole blame for this current condition of Ukrainian-Romanian relations not on our people but on the political elite. Because it is this political elite that turned out to be unable to develop a correspondent foreign policy.

Mister Severin, during your tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine and Romania signed an extremely important bilateral document – the «International Basic Agreement». And as far as I can remember, the negotiations concerning this question also made difficult progress. According to your experience, why in those times our countries managed to find common approaches even concerning the most controversial cases?

The extremely difficult negotiations’ stage you’ve mentioned mostly fell in the period, when I was not leading the foreign-policy department, yet. But during the validity period of my mandate, which was not very long, we had to discuss some very ticklish questions. It took us just several months and maybe difficult negotiations to arrange the text of the entire agreement, but those negotiations proceeded in the atmosphere of mutual understanding, in attempts to understand the positions of the other party and in readiness to seek for compromises. And the recipe for successful negotiations consists of these components: to be positive, rational and brave.

Yes, courage is an indispensable ingredient. If you remember, after signing, this agreement was criticized in both our countries.

But this became the direct evidence that it was a good document. Because if one party had been completely satisfied with it and the other hadn’t, this would mean that the agreement’s text was unbalanced. But that very document opened the way for our mutual international collaboration. I remember that then Romania supported Ukraine’s candidacy for a

chairman seat at U.N.O. general assembly on all international forums. And Ukraine received this prestigious seat. The chairman has become your minister of foreign affairs Gennady Udovenko. And then our countries were extremely effectively collaborating in the network of the general assembly for the promotion of their common interests – establishing cooperation of Ukraine and Romania with the IMF and the World Bank, and a policy of neighborliness in the triangle «Romania-Ukraine-Poland» plus Moldova. This productive collaboration was undoubtedly the result of the signing of the Basic agreement between Ukraine and Romania, which, in turn, was reached due to a positive, rational and strategic approach. Unfortunately, almost immediately after the signing of this agreement, began the period of a political shortsightedness and cowardice, irrational and egoistic approach. That’s why our relations have found themselves where they are now. But I wish Ukrainians to understand that our relations are currently this way, not because of objective circumstances, but owing to a temporary mess, which is now reigning in the domestic policy lives of our countries.

Ukraine worries about the fact that, after the adoption of a new law about citizenship in Romania, the Romanian consulates started to issue passports to Ukrainian citizens by a simplified procedure.

According to unofficial data, there are about 50 thousand Ukrainians with Romanian passports. What do you think, could this fact be precarious for Ukrainian national safety?

Any threat is out of question!

As Romania is not used to taking advantage of a foreigners’ diaspora for putting pressure on

they are settling. So I don’t think that Ukraine must feel in danger. I think there are other states, which unfortunately consider that they have right to use their national minority of residents in Ukrainian territory to push Ukraine to their national interests’ achievement.

But this is not the case of Romania. We are not interested in this, we don’t have such traditions and we oppose such methods.

I don’t think that someone in Ukraine, or in any other countries with Romanian minority, feels that Bucharest is intended to use this fact as a political tool.

However we can’t avoid these processes – the granting of Romanian citizenship for Ukrainians who had Romanian ancestors. But at the same time our policy has to be slightly different. The stress has to be laid upon the European integration of Ukraine. Because if Ukraine integrates to the European Union together with all its residents including Romanian minority, this will become the best way for their cultural and spiritual consolidation. You know, I’m very concerned that many of those Ukrainians who have filed applications in order to be admitted to Romanian citizenship, made that not because they love Romanian culture or Romanian language, but to let themselves freely come to Romania and freely travel to the EU countries without visas. By the way, this can create additional problems for all of us: Romania, EU and Ukraine.

That’s why, I repeat, in definite cases we can’t avoid issuing the Romanian citizenship for historical reasons, as we inherited some historical past and we can’t ignore its reality. But I think that this time Romanian foreign policy has to be concentrated on a decisive strategic moment, that is Ukrainian Euro-integration, that will favor its economic development. Of course, I’m

Romania is interested in helping Ukrainian integration into the European Union by all available means the policy of the country of their residence. On the contrary, there is a correspondent clause in the text of the Romanian Constitution (which by the way was offered by me in 1991). It states that Romania, while respecting and maintaining the ties with its diaspora abroad, at the same time insists that its representatives would be loyal citizens of the country, the territory in which

moved to tears when a person from another country wishes to become a citizen of Romania; I’m happy and proud when hearing such facts. But this sense quickly flies away when I realize that this person wants to become a Romanian citizen being exceptionally guided by economical reasons because he’s simply trying to save himself from misery and poverty. I feel

compassion for such people and I think that it’s necessary to show them our understanding and support. But the best way to show this understanding is not at all the granting of Romanian citizenship, but a slightly different way of support, which will allow such people to live their deserved life in the country where they are born. Such policy will be correct and right.

Is the idea of the Greater Romania’s rebirth still popular among the leading Romanian politicians?

I don’t think so. Twenty years ago it was uttered in some preelection rhetoric, but today this idea does not appear in the political debate. The party of the same name «Romania Mare» isn’t even in the parliament; it hasn’t collect even 1% percent of the votes. And this party selected such name just by this way to make political request for the rebirthing of this idea. But now even the members of this party talk more about the current domestic policy problems than about the realization of this historical dream. However, you must understand that from an historical and cultural point of view, the Greater Romania’s achievement

Does Romania support the signing of the Agreement of Association between Ukraine and the EU? I don’t have any right to speak in the name of the country’s President or the members of the government but as far as I know Romania supports the signing and the ratification of this agreement without any additional conditions to be fulfilled by Ukraine. I’ve personally worked over this position of Romania and repeatedly tried to make my thought clear to the power’s representatives in my country who make political decisions.

They support it and share it.

However it’s worth to account that there is a domestic policy confrontation, which is now occurring in Romania. I’m not surprised if this position would change. However at the moment Bucharest officially supports the view that the Agreement of Association between Ukraine and the European Union has to be signed and ratified as quickly as possible. If we have finished to work over this document; this means that everything necessary has been already fixed in it.

Why should one need to set up additional terms, going beyond the agreement’s framework?

Everything is very simple: either the agreement exists or it doesn’t.

And if it does exist, let’s sign, ratify and start to realize it as soon as possible. If something should remain unsolved, it is necessary to negotiate and enter additional clauses to the

The period of a political shortsightedness and cowardice, irrational and egoistic approach has begun really means a lot for Romanians.

At that time the State managed to gather all ethnic Romanians within its boarders. This was amazing. But now we are entering a new historical phase. Before the Greater Romania, the Romanians were living in various multiethnical empires but not in a common state. For all Romanians, the Greater Romania was a big dream and the realization of that dream could become the way to promote endeavors of a definite community, which called itself Romania. Now we have to look for other means corresponding to today’s period and its challenges.

We wanted to have a big state because, according to our ancestors’ opinion, this could better promote our yearnings and realize our purposes. And notice that those were legitimate and worthy purposes. But today Romania isn’t an ethnic state, and relations there, are national-civil ones. There are several ethnic cultural communities in Romania, including also the Ukrainian community, and all of them are citizens of one country and have

agreement and only after that, to sign it. I don’t understand how this happened: we worked over the document about the association with Ukraine, reached a consensus about all clauses and now we say: «If you wish to sign the agreement and ratify it, you must satisfy several more conditions». To my opinion, such an approach is irrational and absolutely unproductive.

Any additional or parallel requirements to the signing and the ratification, besides those that have been included in the agreement’s text, are out of question! Instead, we have to congratulate each other for the conclusion of working over this document, because we’ve managed to reach a consensus about many complex issues.

Everybody admits: this is the agreement; the agreed and ready text and we can bring it to life and enjoy its fruits. Why then we stop ourselves, laying down strange conditions or requirements, which are not in the document’s text but have to be fulfilled in advance to sign the agreement?!

Photo UNIAN

Mister Severin, it’s not a secret that currently UkrainianRomanian relations are not experiencing their best time.

Since 2008, when a visit of Romanian president Traian Basescu to Ukraine was postponed, our leaders in fact haven’t met tête-a-tête. Does this mean that our dialogue reached a deadlock?

I wouldn’t like to call it a deadlock because there is still political dynamism in our relations. I think it would be more precise to say that our double dialogue is experiencing a hard moment. But this seems quite strange to me. Our improper relations absolutely don’t meet the demands of today’s political circumstances. The history of

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POLITICS/INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

THE KIEV TIMES | APRIL, 2013

FROM A SHORT COURSE OF REAL GEOPOLITICS: UKRAINE IS SELLING OFF ITS «SHAGREEN SKIN» We are living in an «age of change», an age the ancient Chinese sages equated to a curse. Change is accelerating, because the whole globalized world is under a pressure of time. Each geopolitical pole, integration association, or individual state fighting for a place under the sun, suffers a time pressure of its own sort Alexander Dudchak, Candidate of Science in Economics

The USA For the USA, the growth of the economy, political influence, and military power of China are serious threats to its domination in the world and the world currency system built by the United States, which works serves its interests and is more efficient in its tasks than the most high-technology army. And its task is to stop the growing competitiveness of China, cutting it off from the imported resources and creating problems for the Chinese export. China cannot be allowed to become the state number one, its military and technological power must not become undeniable. The USA cannot hold any place except the first one – anything less is as bad as scoring the last.

In the other territories, the USA conduct «preventive work», by using financial mechanisms to interfere with Europe or stimulating opposition and separatists in the post-Soviet countries; in Asia, Africa and Latin America the US are using every possibility to destroy the states dissenting from the policy of the USA and the role of dollar, and drive countries to the condition of a «controlled chaos».

China China has its own time pressure: the injustice of today’s world currency and financial system (WCFS) and its operation in the interests of a single country is evident to everybody, but it is China that suffers the greatest losses due to the existing state of affairs. It is the PRC that

holds the largest amounts of securities nominated in dollars within its gold and currency reserves (GCR), which is about 70% of their 3.4 billion dollars’ worth of GCR. Besides, China is motivated to get rid of them as soon as possible, while dollar is still accepted all over the world, not backed by gold, but at least by cruise missiles and aircraft carriers. However, China’s dollar reserves cannot be disposed of

of reproducing the current state of global affairs, «the new world order», and preservation of the existing hierarchy in the international relations.

Besides, the Cyprus situation made many things fall into place and answered the questions that had not yet even been asked.

It demonstrated the power of the force keeping the world’s financial keys in its hands, its unscrupulousness in the selection

one’s hands to the others, and those «others» have been the same for about two hundred years now.

Due to the intra-European contradictions and ambitions of individual EU states, Europe will not be able to come out in a united front against the accepted rules of the game which it helped create and which have been bearing it huge dividends for a long time. But now Europe

Even under the formal reduction of the US military costs, they still exceed the total military budgets of all other countries of the world taken together Cyprus as a sovereign state was predictably sacrificed in another attempt of reproducing the current state of global affairs too quickly, or they will quickly lose their value. In spite of all miracles of the Chinese economy, at least in the foreseeable future the Yuan will not be included in the list of currencies forming the SDR basket, and will not be admitted to the club of reserve currencies; this would defeat the whole purpose of today’s world currency system based on the US dollar.

Europe This territory remains promising only in the inadequate perception of the situation by the Ukrainian leaders. Those leaders seem to exist in an autonomous reality of their own. Cyprus has become another failed test for the ability of the EU and its separate members to carry out policy in their own interests.

Another chamber of the European «Titanic» has sunk. Cyprus as a sovereign state was predictably sacrificed in another attempt

of solutions to problems, and absolute disregard of the foundations of the capitalistic society, namely the inviolability of private property. It was demonstrated to the whole world that in a world of equal possibilities someone still has more of them. And if previously the well-to-do «developed democracies» indifferently watched the international law perishing under NATO’s bombs in Yugoslavia, Serbia, Libya, Iraq, and other «under-globalized» countries, now the time has come for their former allies. It seems like there will only be the last man standing. No, they are not going to be bombed. Why they should be? They will just be turned into zeroes. Any crisis is primarily a consolidation of capital, a redistribution of property. A financial crisis does not presuppose the physical destruction of banks; instead, the property needs to be transferred

is under time pressure, having two ways out. The first one is to unite under German banners and turn the EU into a federal state.

The second one is to restore the national currencies, switch the countries to a self-supporting principle, and start living in accordance to each country’s incomes, which means returning to the real economy based upon production and not upon financial bubbles, thereby destroying the present WCFS. How much do various countries spend on defense?

All geopolitical centers have something in common: none of them is interested in a quick destruction and death of its competitors; everyone is interested in gradual weakening, controlled slowdown of the rest.

All of them share another feature: growing military costs. No matter how hard the USA tried to reduce the defense spending (a better

way to say it would be «attack spending», and the Pentagon in fact is no longer the Department of Defense but the Department of Attack or Department of International Aggression), it still failed. The fact that formally the US military spending decreased from 699.1 billion dollars in 2011 to 677.2 billion dollars in 2012 and 631.4 billion dollars in 2013 does not mean an easing of the foreign policy. The defense spending was merely redistributed: a considerable part of those funds now goes toward the needs of cyber-troops and the support of non-government organizations abroad. And still, the major part of the huge burden of direct participation in military operations is delegated to the NATO allies. But even under the formal reduction of the US military costs, they still exceed the total military budgets of all other countries of the world taken together.

The PRC defense spending is growing faster than its economy is (the country’s GDP increased by 7.8% in 2012): in 2012 they were 11.6% higher than in 2011, which amounts to 103.6 billion

India is also quickly increasing its military spending – approximately by 16% – from 38.8 billion dollars in 2012 to 42.7 billion dollars in 2013. The 2012 rate of GDP growth was 6.5%.

Russia also takes part in the race, and its military budget growth rates (9.4% in 2013) exceed the growth of GDP (3.6% in 2012), which means an increase from 64 billion dollars in 2012 to 70 billion dollars in 2013. Russia also feels the time pressure and realizes that only an economic breakthrough and considerable strengthening of its armed forces will make it possible to avoid a foreign aggression in today’s reality, especially taking into account having China as its neighbor in the south-east, whose appetites are endless and the army of 2.5 million soldiers (which is only the peacetime strength, with the strength of a fully deployed force exceeding 20 million men) can only be deterred by nuclear weapons.

Cutting off China from the supply of raw materials from Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Tunisia and other countries, it is clearly pointed towards the

Hillary Clinton did not waste her words saying that the USA will not allow reintegration on the post-Soviet space dollars; in 2013 they are planning to spend 10% more than in 2012, with about 114.7 billion dollars planned in the budget (2/3 of this amount will be received by the Navy). And by 2015 China is going to somehow double its military budget to 238.2 billion dollars!

under-populated Far Eastern territories of Russia that are full of natural resources. However this is understood both in Russia and in China. Their conflict is not a matter of the nearest future.

The relations between the two countries are full of mutual

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understanding and a desire to jointly withstand common threats as never before. The visit of the new leader of China Xi Jinping to Moscow confirmed the mutual interests as well as touched the sore spot of the West, which made so much effort to make the Russian-Chinese relations more strained. As Stephen Harner, one of the Forbes authors, said, «Many people in the Department of State, the White House, and the Pentagon wriggled in their chairs

POLITICS/INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

recites the cynical and dishonest texts against Bashar Asad edited

by Washington, adding only the remarks permitted from «above» in relation to Israel: «We won’t keep silence against the cruel dictator, the «silent devil», who organized a merciless carnage of his own people, and yet keeps silence for decades and does not respond to those who occupied his territories».

The Neo-Ottoman nature of Turkey today is extended to Kazakhstan, a member of the CU and the Eurasian Economic Association. The creation of a geopolitical pole on the postSoviet territories may fail. The mass can be insufficient. And Ukraine, in the person of its authorities and its opposition, against the interests of its nation takes an active part in this shameful affair. Making Europe, the US, and even China happy.

of integration. And now the US ex-ambassador in Ukraine John Herbst announces that the EU can sign this Agreement only in exchange for sanctions against some Ukrainian officials.

Kazakhstan In general, the USA and its closest allies’ hard work over the creation of problems for integration within the CIS has not stopped. And while Russia and Belarus (regardless of all

The president of Kazakhstan has a very expensive consultant (whose wages are 1 million dollars per month) – Tony Blair, the ex-prime minister of the United Kingdom this weekend (23–24 of March – editor) as the persons responsible for the US policy in Asia and in its relations with Russia and, most importantly, with China, listening and reading the reports of March 22 from the meeting between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin on the Moscow summit».

The PRC and Russia «…signed 30 agreements in such sectors as energy, trade, technologies and military exchange. All of them have a strategic value, and, more importantly, are irreplaceable for both countries.

In particular, Russia turned out to a be priceless and indispensable resource for China in the military technologies, in contrast to the West, which, headed by the USA, still blocks the transfer of military technologies». (ibid.)

Ukraine Let us get come down from the peaks of geopolitics to the humble Ukrainian land that is in the Buddhist composure, which is so unusual for our mentality. While the whole world experiences the raging desperate struggle for survival, Ukraine sales its «shagreen leather», daily losing its possibilities and wasting opportunities. Ukraine could become the most important part of a promising geopolitical center, namely the Eurasian one. However, following the will imposed on it by others, it does not allow this centre to be completely established. And this is what is actually required from Ukraine and in every possible way is welcomed in the USA, the EU and even in China.

Hillary Clinton did not waste her words saying that the USA will not allow reintegration on the post-Soviet space. Once the United States untimely believed its final global victory – in the beginning of 1990s it decided that the breakdown of the USSR would finish with automatic collapse of Russia. Now it is much more vigilant and will do everything possible not to allow the integration of Ukraine into the Customs Union and the Eurasian economic association. The EU is not losing anything by signing the Agreement of Association, while the USA would receive some assurance against the unlikely but possible unpredictable actions of the Ukrainian president in the selection of the country’s vector

the «dissenting» marches, «antiLukashenko» campaigns and other «white ribbons») found out to be hard nuts to crack, Kazakhstan has been evaluated as the weakest link.

Kazakhstan, and the Customs Union through it, experience attempts of being undermined by the techniques and technologies completely coinciding with those used in the Northern Africa, Syria, and other countries that passed through «color» coups. The acts of terrorism in Atyrau (Guryev) and other cities of Kazakhstan, rallies of people claimed to be oil industry workers of Zhanaozen (15 people killed and more than 100 injured) in the end of 2011, and all of this under the Islamite mottos, together form a painfully familiar scenario. The well-organized Internet pressure campaign against the authorities and accusations of corruption are the traditional cause to change the country’s government.

The election of the new mufti in February 2013 is quite alerting.

Upon unanimous approval of the participants of the extraordinary meeting of the Republic’s Muslims and President Nazarbaev himself, the new mufti is 40 years old Erzhan Mayamerov, a graduate of «Al-Azhar», a khabashite, e. i.a representative of the radical, dissenting religious movement with the center in Lebanon.

In 2013 the local «organized opposition» tried to initiate the nation-wide referendum concerning the withdrawal of the republic from the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space. Is the rest just a trivial matter?

Will president Nazarbaev stand his ground knowing what has happened to those who were guilty on one of the following charges?

1. Presence of considerable resources with small presence of American (and British) capital in the corresponding sectors.

2. Increase of the China’s share in the trade turnover of a country, change of orientation from dollar to Yuan and other currencies.

3. Strengthening of ties with Russia and participation in integration associations with it.

4. Stable development of economy with high growth rates in the country, even with the regime established by the

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USA itself. The «criminals» who were charged with of the abovementioned clauses (over ten odd years): Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, Slobodan Milosevic, Bashar Assad, Eduard Shevardnadze, Ben Ali, Laurent Gbagbo, Hosni Mubarak and others.

How can one evaluate Nazarbaev’s revelations given below – as a political maneuver or as a capitulation towards the high and mighty? There are some extracts from his speech on the 12th of October in Istanbul on the ceremony of closing of the Kazakhstan-Turkish business forum: «As Ataturk said: ’The time comes when all Turkic peoples will unite‘. That’s why I wish to welcome all Turkic brothers – we are your friends.

There are more than 200 million of brothers live between Altay and the Mediterranean Sea. If we all unite, we’ll become a very effective power in the world».

From the same speech: «We are living in the homeland of the entire Turkic nation. Since when in 1861 the last Kazakh Khan was killed, we were the colony of the Russian kingdom and later – the Soviet Union. For 150 years the Kazakhs nearly lost their national traditions, customs, language and religion.

With the help of God in 1991 we declared our independence. Your ancestry having gone from their historical homeland, from Turkic khaganate, took the name of the Turkic people. Heretofore the Turks call the best horsemen ’the Kazakh‘. We are these Kazakhs».

A little bit earlier, at the beginning of October 2012, Nazarbaev tried to team up with the «big brother», condemning the fire of the Syrian artillery at a city to the south of Turkey: «We consider the incident to be a serious threat for the safety and stability in the region, as well as the humanitarian situation

and efforts of the international community to regulate the crisis in Syria». Will this be followed by a change in the foreign policy priorities of the EurAsEC member? Can we call this the fulfillment of Hillary Clinton’s promises? Or is this an implementation of the eastern «wisdom» of the Kazakhstan president? Or did the Turkish prime minister share his personal experience? However, not only Erdogan shared his experience with Nazarbaev – the president of Kazakhstan has a very expensive consultant (whose wages are 1 million dollars per month) – Tony Blair, the ex-prime minister of the United Kingdom, since October 2011 has headed the group of economic advisors. What advice can he give? He already used to be an advisor to Gaddafi…

Turkey The prime minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the recent past used to be a candidate for a victim of a «color revolution». For more than half a century Turkey was the active member of NATO and currently vigorously participates in anti-

of its «contributions», in the beginning of 2011 Turkey saw the demonstrated possibilities of implementation of the scenario then in progress in Tunisia and Egypt (the deposed president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak had merits to the USA similar to those of Erdogan).

February-2011: thousands of protesters in the streets of Ankara, mass riots, explosions, injuries, confrontations with the police, tear-gas and water jets.

But there was no continuation.

Instead of this the court of Turkey sanctioned arrest of seven generals and admirals charged with destabilization of the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It came as a surprise, but after the meeting with the president and the premier the head of the Turkish General Stuff Yshik Koshaner resigned at his own will. Together with him the heads of the army, air force, and navy resigned as well. Apparently, the government of Turkey has sold its souls to the devil, that is to say, agreed to act in the region according to the interests of the USA, in exchange receiving the possibility to stay in its place and

Ukraine has run out of time. The countdown has long begun – we passed the null point in 2004 Chinese policy. For instance, in June 2009, during the G-8 summit in Akvil, Erdogan, having bitterly criticized China for suppression of Uigur demonstration in Urumchi, said the following: «It practically amounted to a genocide against the Uigurian people».

But Turkey falls under clause 4 of the abovementioned list of «crimes» – stable economic growth rates that can be supplemented by the growth of influence in the region, while the country is not the closest ally and its currency is not a reserve currency. In spite

carry out the old Ottoman plans, that is, the neo-Ottoman. Turkey started to deliver weapons to the Libyan rebels and is directly taking part in the Syrian conflict, although not long before, in June 2010, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey announced their decision to create a free trade zone and allow visa-free travel.

The representatives of these four countries invited all other «fraternal and friendly countries» to take part in the FTZ… Today Turkey takes part in the infamous destruction of Syria on the side of the aggressor. Premier Erdogan

Conclusions In the «Goat swamp» that is now Ukraine, people believe we have an eternity of time ahead of us, which allows us to block the functioning of the parliament or play tug-of-war from the East to the West... Ukraine has run out of time. The countdown has begun – we passed the null point in 2004.

But we keep trying to find pearls in manure. We keep trying to explain ourselves the benefits of Europe, while the Europeans themselves have washed their hands long ago. With an inclination that can be envied by professional asses, we are moving towards Europe. In the conditions of a global time pressure.

Obviously, Ukraine in its current condition can be dragged to Europe only by a paid agent – a local or foreign «political figure» sent to Ukraine to fulfill certain political and economic interests on a paid basis, and obviously not to the benefit of Ukraine, or an extremely unprofessional Euro-romantic who does not understand the foundations of economy: the Ukrainian governing circles have always been rich in poets, artists, athletes, and grant-eaters, as well as inexpensive politicians.

What could force the Ukrainian government to look at the flaming globe and realize that there will be no chance to hide aside?

The modern world order leaves no possibility of staying out of business. And Syria is much closer than the President believes. The war is going to end sooner or later, either with the victory of the «opposition» or that of the legal government.

But 30 thousands bandits fighting against Asad’s army, mad with blood, will be looking for a job. And we will see them – in the Crimea, in Povolzhye…

The time has passed. Now it’s time to stop selling and betraying brothers and allies. Without Ukraine, the transformation of the Eurasian community into an unsinkable geopolitical pole is impossible, and without its creation and participation in it Ukraine is doomed.

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SOCIETY/KIEV

THE KIEV TIMES | APRIL, 2013

SNOW TROUBLE On March 22-23 in Kiev a great fall of snow took place. The capital hadn’t seen such a catastrophe since 1881. 60mm of snow for two days (month’s rate makes 47mm) provoked a true state of emergency. During five days the city was almost deprived of any normal circulation of private, public and freight transportation. Record snowfalls took the capital by surprise Olga Medvedeva

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SIDEBAR Volunteers-rescuers have the following facts to ascribe to their credit: – a pregnant woman, who has jammed on the 23rd kilometer of the Zhitomir route. As soon as the woman was delivered to the ambulance within Kiev, she successfully give birth to a boy; – African animals that didn’t manage to reach Berdyansk because of a snowstorm. Owing to the rapid actions of the volunteers and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the truck with animals was resealed from the snow and all the four-leggeds successfully reached the Berdyansk zoo.

– snow cleaning of the clinic of first aid on Krasnozvezdnaya str.

17; partially cleaning of the medical campus on Komarova str. 3; the clinic of first cardiac aid on Narodnogo Opolcheniya str. 5; the emergency department on Kollektivizatsii str. 3; the child’s emergency room on Socialisticheskaya str. 12; at the Otradniy market, snowy stairs of several underpasses, pavements etc. for free», tells Kogan. By the way, these fears of the jammed drivers can be understood – mail boxes of several Kiev residents turned out to be cumbered with spam-delivery with proposals of services of «snow diggers»: «Fast manual clearance of snow and ice, extraction of cars from the snow». The cost was 150 hryvnas per hour. In addition the announcements specified that the minimal order should

make not less than 300 hryvnas i.e. two hours of work. Alas! Not everyone was ready to solve somebody else’s troubles for free.

Serious battles became hotter around the age-old question «Who’s guilty?». While the jammed sufferers cursed the nature and the MEA for the snow collapse, they themselves got the deserved portion of rebukes and charges. In the morning of the 21st of March, all the mass

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obody was ready to that it would be necessary to meet sunset and dawn in traffic jams, to seek bread in every district grocery stores, by one’s own hands to dig out a passage to one’s own entrance. Without waiting for the timely assistance of the government, people united to help each other. The overwhelming majority of the traditional mass media, according to the media-experts’ opinion, did not sufficiently and skillfully inform people about the elements and related problems. Social networks and blogs-sphere have come to the scene. Active and not indifferent people on Facebook and Twitter informed the residents of Kiev how to drive around the traffic jams until it was physically possible, where to get warm with tea or coffee, how the train schedule changed. Thousands of reposts and «likes» were given to the massages, which in that very moment concerned the practical and useful information: numbers of rescue groups’ mobile phones, addresses and contacts of hotels and restaurants that announced about their wish to warm up people. Volunteer patrols on crossovers drove about the streets, and resourceful residents of Kiev with their shovels dug out the cars from snowdrifts.

Thus, 26-years old Kiev resident Oleg Kogan organized the «Snow patrol»: several crossovers during a snowstorm pulled out the jammed cars. His team pulled out more than 50 cars – volunteers cooperated via Facebook. Oleg notes that many people who got help from the activists were shocked. First they were frightened and then asked about the price. «We smiled and explained that it was

medias warned the drivers: on the 22nd of March avoid driving – there will be a snowstorm.

But who trusts nowadays the weather forecasters, especially when outside there is the grace and the sun? Office workers on small sedans, truckers on the loaded wagons and drivers of the minibuses with bald tires didn’t believe the forecasts. The ancient Slavonic «perhaps» that had to save everybody gave up this time. And sunk the megalopolis in traffic jams that prevented the rescuers to stroll over with plows. However the center of Kiev, not far from Kreshchatic, the night was the same as before.

And even better. Snowboarders, having fastened their boards to the crossovers, boarded along snowy roads and central avenues where there isn’t even a hint on asphalt. Andreevsky descend at all turned into the skiing resort with a personal elevator (thanks to the funicular!). The leader of the KMSA Alexander Popov has already apologized to the Kiev residents for the inconveniences they experienced in connection with the consequences of the snow liquidation… «This is the first time we have an emergency situation. The emergency situation is our common problem, that’s why there are some inconveniences, and undoubtedly, as leader of the executive power, I make my excuses, – Popov said.

– And I consider that all what we have done for 2 days deserve respect. I thank everybody who joined us». But... While people were helping each other, what

…They were closing the subway.

Spectators inform that on the 22nd of March Vokzalnaya and Demeevskaya subway stations refused to let the passengers in, because of the tokens shortage.

Meanwhile the capital subway denied this information. «It isn’t possible. As soon as we have excessive passengers flow,

While the jammed sufferers cursed the nature and the MEA for the snow collapse, they themselves got the deserved portion of rebukes and charges there is immediately some misinformation. Each station has a store and it’s impossible that tokens could run out», the Kiev subway referral service said to the journalists. …They were watching football.

While Kiev by common efforts was fighting with the elements, Alexander Popov on the 22nd and 23d of Match was in Poland as part of the official delegation, which accompanied the President during his working visit to Warsaw. Let us remind that on the 22nd of March Yanukovych met the presidents of Poland and Hungary – Bronislav Komarivsky and Yashon Ader – and attended the football match Poland – Ukraine. …They were writing reports.

A piece of news on the official web-site of Kiev municipal administration – «Kiev renewed public conveyances» – about successful struggle with snow in Kiev was illustrated with another agency’s photo, namely the «ITAR-TASS». The photo was

Volunteer patrols on crossovers drove about the streets, and resourceful residents of Kiev with their shovels dug out the cars from snowdrifts were the authorities doing? They were busy with some very serious businesses. …They were blacktopping the road! On the 22nd of March 2013, in spite of the increased snow, the community services of Kiev were making the repair in Troeshchina district (Miloslavskaya str.).

Koncha-Zaspa. Many roads from Kiev were still having problems. …They were admiring the abundance at the stores. While the bread shelves in stores were predictably emptying, a supermarket that was visited by the prime-minister Nikolay Azarov had full range of bakery products. However the head of

showing the cleaning of snow in Moscow. Besides, the photo was edited – somebody erased the inscription «Soyuzdorstroy» from the cars. …They were cleaning the state routes. On Sunday, 24th of March, services properly cleaned only the main routes to Mezhigorye and

government paid attention to the lack of dairy products and keen demand for bread, «which as soon as is delivered, is quickly bought up by purchasers». Of course, the culprits have been found. On the 26th of March in the evening the head of the KMSA, Alexander Popov, accepted the resignation of his first deputy Alexander Mazurchak, fired the head of the administration for emergency situations, Vitaliy Pshenichniy, and proposed the dismissal of the general director of the communal corporation «Kievavtodor», Georgy Glinskiy. Meanwhile, the retirement of a civil servant provides a monthly payment of 85% of his official salary, subject to bonuses for the rank and long service right up to pension age achievement…

The chronicle of the capital collapse looks incomplete without the statistics about cold injuries, road accidents, and the official reports data about the expenses deducted from the budget. But who needs this, actually? Kiev snowfall has passed into history and we didn’t make correct resumes out of it. After what has happened, nobody would trust advices of a GAI, will keep a dry ration in the boots and, above all, thousands of Kiev residents won’t gather under the windows of the state administration demanding dismissal of the city government.

And this means that everything will be as it was before. We survived the snow, we’ll survive the flood. And we are at a stone’s throw from the summer.

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GEOPOLITICS

THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF THE MODERN UKRAINE: THE CRIMEAN KHANATE The formation of any state structure, including the Ukrainian Cossack state structure of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, required the presence of several factors. In those times the Crimean Tatars, who were militaristic against the Ukrainians and other European nations, became a sort of a catalyst

By Olexandr Motsia

them. This is why the new, small but active formations started to appear. In the twenties of 15th century, a new ruling dynasty appeared on the peninsula, as its first representative, HadzhiGirey, came to power. The Crimean Khanate, prepared by feudalization process that was accompanied by the emergence of a strong Tatar aristocracy, became a part of the historical reality. Its creation was much favoured by Turkey, which viewed the new association as its ally against Italian Genoa (the latter owned a part of the coast of the Southern Crimean territories).

However, the Genoese themselves did not resist that phenomenon too much, as they exported agricultural products from the steppe zone, which were the basis of their Black Sea trade. And in connection with this there was an interest to maintain friendly relations with the top of the former steppe residents. There is «another side of the coin»: the Tatar khans, finding themselves between the devil and the deep sea (Turkey and Genoa), from the very beginning of their statehood

The young successors of the Gireys, residing in Bosporus for a long time, accepted many European customs and traditions later bringing them to Bakhchisarai aristocracy did not need it either.

That’s why the buildings of Kirk-er were used only to store the plunder and as a shelter during military operations. Only in the time of the Gireys, the representatives of a new ruling family, the the old mountain fort sometimes served as the capital.

Birth of the Khanate In the 1420s, a new political organization matured and formed on the peninsula, namely the Crimean Khanate, which appeared owing to the internal processes in that Eastern European region.

The main reason that led to its emergence was the aspiration of the local ruling clique to rise above the old MongolTatar world in the material and social aspects. The weakened Golden Horde was unable to hold extensive territories under

The Crimea and Ukraine The predatory campaigns of the Tatar hordes against the neighbouring countries, and first

Mountain Crimean Tatars (drawing by an unknown 18th century artist)

Preconditions for Appearance The settling of the Tatars on the lands of the Crimean peninsula and some territories adjacent to it from the north began as early as in the 13th century, in times of the invasion of Batykhan’s hordes into the Kievan Rus’, Polovetska steppe and the Central European countries. After the first defeat of Sudak in 1223, there were other incursions, until the Taurica (which was the name of the peninsula at that time) became a Tatar appanage.

Solkhat, today called Staryi Krym, became the first residence of the new nation on the lands of the modern Ukraine, being a paramilitary camp at first and subsequently erupting into a full-fledged medieval center. Its erection brought about the active immigration of stonecutters and builders of various specialties.

Remains of caravanserai, two mosques and even madrasaschool built by the direction of one of Genghis Khan’s successors, Uzbek, remain here since those days. By the way, it was under his rule that the horde accepted Islam as a state religion.

It were the Tatars who gave this city its new name, the Crimea.

Later its meaning extended over the whole peninsula. The origin of this name is quite disputable: Crimea is not a Tatar but an Arabic word meaning «Grace»; this name means a «wall», «gift» or «raised place». «Crimea» also means a «ditch» – Chagatay writing «Kisasi Rubuguzi» (one of the languages of the Asian outback) has the following words: «Tsar ordered to dig up a deep kirim». The name of the capital surrounded by a deep ditch later spread as far as to Perekop, and the local Tatars were often called the «Perekop Tatars». In their prevailing majority the «new locals» remained nomads for a long time, although in the 14th century they obtained feudal landownership in pre-mountain and mountain parts based on exploitation of the local people and slaves. But in their mass the Tatars switched to agriculture only in the 16th century, and especially in 17th–18th centuries.

At the same time, Solhat lost its role as the main center, and the first place was taken by Kirk-er, currently Chufut Kale. But soon enough the paramount functions were taken by Bakhchisarai.

The Tatar nomads did not need a mountain fort; the feudal

were doomed to a semiindependent existence. They did not stay in such condition long, having gone under a vassal dependence from Turkey.

This happened in 1475.

According to V. Smirnov, a great expert on the Khanate history, noted, «The entire subsequent political history of the Crimean Khanate since the Ottoman Porte confirmed its supremacy over it, formed and lasted under the constant activity of two principles – the local, Tatar national principle, which was striving for absolute independence and individuality, and the foreign, Turkish-Ottoman one , which was trying with the fewest possible troubles and difficulties to preserve supremacy over the Crimea for purely political reasons of the international kind». By the 16th century, the

in vain: serving the interests of the sovereign Porte without an apparent benefit for their own country, the vassal Crimean Khans wasted all strengths of their people on continuous wars for Turkish political purposes being satisfied only with the plunder collected during the military raids. Sometimes striving for separatism, sometimes hoping for solidity of the basis in the union with the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Tatars had not worked out solid foundations for individuality of their state, not having done anything substantial neither in its inner organization, nor with regards to the fusion of different components of its national elements, nor in the creation of a reasonable and appropriate modus vivendi with the neighbouring states», says V. Smirnov. However, one cannot look at the world of those times only pessimistically.

The Ottomans were one of the leading nations and competed with the European states in many spheres of life, in particular in the cultural sphere. And the young successors of the Gireys, residing in Bosporus for a long time, accepted many European customs and traditions later bringing them to Bakhchisarai.

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to let the sun shine behind its back but right to the enemy’s eyes, if this collision happened shortly before the sunset or soon after its rise. However, the Tatars dared to fight only if the strength of their army exceeded the amount of their enemies by ten times, or when they noticed that their pursuers suddenly dispersed; in case of continuous pressure from the side of the Cossacks, the Tatars always retreated. They fell upon their pursuers, shot arrows over the left shoulder as they galloped at full speed, then like a flies flied asunder; then again united into one integral unit, fell upon their pursuers, again shot a host of arrows and broke instantly aside.

They repeated their trick until they wearied the enemies and forced them to fall back. After that they headily rushed to the boarder, entered their own lands and there disparaged like the steppe animals». The prisoners were mainly driven to the slave market of Kafa, which under the Turkish rule in the 16th-17th centuries became one of the most significant slave markets in the whole Europe. Dortelly, the Prefect of Kafa, in 1634 said that «…slaves are demonstrated to the public and for the choice of any purchaser…they are delivered to Constantinople, Asia, the East and the West». The largest part of the plunder, up to 40%, was captured

by Khan and other feudal lords.

The Turks maintained a «reserve staff» of candidates for the Khan position from among the Gireys, whom they sent to the Crimea to the replace a dead relative

Khanate encompassed not only the foothills and a steppe part of the Crimea (the southern and partially mountain part were submitted directly to the Turks), but some areas of the steppe zone in the south of the modern Ukraine, in particular the extensive territories in lowers of the Dnieper and the Don reaching Ackermann in the West (modern Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy), and in Priazovye – the steppes between the Don and the Kuban. The socalled Perekop Tatars actually lived in the Crimea, and Nogays settled down in the north.

Characteristic Features of the Crimean Politics One of the components of foreign policy activity of the Crimean khans was the attempt of the Tatars’ resettlement to the peninsula territories from other regions, in particular the

Povolzhye. The first governor Hadzhi-Girey who «was able to attract hearts» during his reign collected a considerable amount of his new nationals in the Crimea. Such policy of the Gireys dynasty founder favoured considerable increase of the dependent population used for the military and economic tasks. It lasted in his descendants’ rule. A little bit later, the following scheme was developed in the contacts with the Ottoman Empire: the Turks created a «reserve staff» of candidates for the Khan position from among the Gireys, whom they sent to the Crimea to the replace the dead relative and set to the throne changing them at their own discretion.

Of course, they considered the candidate’s loyalty to Istanbul.

«Two whole centuries passed in life of this Tatar state absolutely

of all Ukraine, were happening systematically. In the real life, not a single year would pass without such attacks, which were accompanied with robbery and capture of numerous slaves.

Such attacks were prepared in advance. Several hundreds of warlike nomads took part in them (including the poorest groups). The main and the most warlike part of the Tatar army was formed by the Nogay horde.

The other considerable part included detachments formed by the Crimean Beys and Murzes.

Later the Turks’ detachments from the garrisons of Kafa (modern Feodosiia), Kerch and some other centers joined them.

Such predatory campaigns were organized both in winter and in summer.

D. Yavorkinsky, a great expert of the history of Zaporizhia Cossacks

However, later the purpose of the slaves was not limited to trade alone. They began to be used as manpower in agriculture that was developing in the southern foothills and the mountain parts of the Crimea during the process of the nomads’ settling on the lands. Many Slavic captives acquired families and property, and their children became halfblooded and never even thought of returning to their homeland.

But that was only a part of the slaves. The majority of them wanted to come back home, and hoped for an attack of the Zaporizhia warriors, who would come on their high-speed mews liberate them. There was another important aspect in relationships of the Cossacks and the Tatars: beginning from the times of Bogdan Khmelnitskiy, any large battle with Poles and other armies

In the 1420s, a new political organization matured and formed on the peninsula, namely the Crimean Khanate, appeared due to certain internal processes , described the culmination of the Tatar assault as follows: «Their happy moment arrived: they rushed to the intended villages, captured the cattle, people, and property, and quickly speeded away outside the Cossack lands... the Tatars, having extremely good vision, warned their pursuers: they tried to dispose their cavalry

could not do without the Tatar cavalry, which came to help with the permission of Bakhchisarai and Istanbul governors. The accession of the Crimea to Russia in 1783 became the final chain in the entire medieval history of the peninsula population, and ended the existence of the local Khanate.

US-UKRAINE OBSERVER – BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES On the 15th of April the US-Ukraine Observer magazine will represent its first issue.

The monthly publication dedicated to building of relationships between the USA and Ukraine brings a wide variety of topics important for both countries and provides the English-language readership with unique materials about Ukraine – one of largest and progressive America’s partners emerged from the former Soviet Union.

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THE KIEV TIMES | APRIL, 2013

ELECTRONIC MONUMENT TO THE DEAD AND MISSING A Common database «Memorial», since from the moment of its appearance has become the Alpha and Omega for the search engines. Data that earlier had to be obtained with great efforts from the Central archive of the RF (CAMD) Ministry of Defense and other archives, have become public. Original reports about losses, war prisoners’ cards, hospital documents etc. disclosed a huge layer of information about the dead Dmitry Zaborin, coordinator of the «Electronic memory book of Ukraine» project

A

nd it is absolutely impossible to translate into words what this work means for their relatives.

The «Memorial» has opened really enormous possibilities for the searching of data sometimes not only about the place of a person’s death but also about his path through the war. The parallel project «People’s exploit», that publishes commendation lists with the description of exploits, helps to do the work. In his interview to The Kiev Times, the CD developer, Victor Tumarkin, tells about the possibilities of the database, misinformation in documents, as well as about whether the contents of the archives can finally complete the disputes about the size of the Red Army’s losses during the Great Patriotic War. Victor Yosifovich, how has the «Memorial» come to light?

There was a corresponding order and later the President’s edict. But the idea of the database creation came from a local task for the automation of the burial passports account. And then it grew into a different quality – together with the accounting of the documents kept in our archives. The very first attempt to reconcile burial passports with the documents about losses that we’ve done, convinced us of the effectiveness of such method. In the CAMD we found a report: April 1945, an offensive against some German city, 34 people in the report are reckoned to be killed and buried, and 28 people missed. But in the burial passports, everybody was indicated with a slightly changed surname. One military unit lost, the other one found and buried.

One simple example can show the effectiveness of the system creation. In September 2006, General Vladimir Isakov, who headed rethreating, was shown the work and he evaluated the necessity of the creation of such resource. By the end of the year there were already 1.5 million records. We did it at the expense of commercial organizations’ fees, and if this million and a half hadn`t exist, there would not be the database. In 2007 there was a public financing, and we received the new task of uploading 20 million of records. That was horrible, but we had nowhere to go and coped with it.

How? Technology requires that the documents are scanned and then all information is entered manually from images – no automatic recognition. For that, we installed two stationary departments with highly professional scanners, including the contactless equipment.

Something we scanned directly

only partial information about frontier guards. German «Saxon memorials» received information from the Ukraine and Byelorussia KGB archives but don’t share them with us. We have the documents about war prisoners in our base, and this makes only one part; there is some more information kept by the FSB. But in general today the

Ukraine received 2 mln 600 thousand records and this is what we can attribute to the heroic losses in the archives. There are additional five departments of re-contraversion, in different cities, plus five thousand «homeworkers». These are people who use Internet to receive pieces of images with information they need to input. The same document is processed by several operators, to complete all necessary fields. Routine test and double input: if they coincide – it goes ahead, if not – a third person verifies which one of the two operators made a mistake.

Plus separate stages of test, plus routine revisions in technological department. Nevertheless, sometimes mistakes happen.

Sometimes you grasp your head: how could they input this, under such a level of control?! They say: well, the operators entered different data, and those who checked pushed the wrong button.

But there are objective things, bad handwriting that can be interpreted in absolutely different ways. With such volumes, the lack of mistakes is impossible.

Is it possible to say which percent of documents has been processed in the archives?

Perhaps nobody can indicate it in percents. According to the CAMD, for instance, the funds for irretrievable losses have been

database includes 14.5 images of documents and about 31 million records from 38 thousand archive files and card indexes.

And 42 thousand military burial passports, without counting the memory books. And the fact that they have perfectly combined in a single mass, gives a striking result. Since the main task is to provide people with the possibility to realize individual search of information about their relatives and to conduct their own analysis.

The archive employees don’t make researches. In their card file, they check if there is any information by the data they receive, or if there is no information.

They have a heap of letters.

Now people find their relatives with surnames distortion and understand why they received the answer that there were no data. The other day we received a letter: we’ve been searching for 60 years and couldn’t find anything, but it took us 20 minutes to find information on your website. But actually to achieve such an effect, we conducted a very extensive organizational and technical work.

Is it a real eventuality, with the help of the bank, to stop disputes about the Red Army’s losses during the the war?

Undoubtedly, the bank analysis

The Germans even deliberately left tanks with methyl alcohol, when retreating completely processed, and this is more than 250 thousand reports.

But another part, of about 15%, is scattered over the funds and it has somehow to be found. Besides, there is a great deal of archives.

There are also departmental archives, for example the NKVD archive, and this causes peculiar difficulties. Let’s say, we received

can help here. But it can’t place the final dot, I guess. For the simple reason that there are very few reports in 1941 – only 40 volumes. While there are more than a thousand of volumes in 1942 or 1943. There are many repetitions in different documents and sometimes it is not clear whether the matter is about one person or different people. I have to argue with Igor Ivlev (a historian, author of Soldat.ru . – ed.) who says that we have 10% of repetitions. There are more of them. Somewhere there is one record about a person, somewhere there are three records. General Karbyshev, for instance, has four records.

In the mass of the Navy reports, there are about 450 thousand records, although there is a card file that includes about 150 thousand records. And the Navy

that? As far as I can understand, they added about three months to the date of the last news. And that was denoted as the date of disappearance. And if someone lived on the occupied territory, those three months were added to the date of their release. So, the last information about a person was made in 1941, however the military committee writes: «Considered missing in March 1944». It often happens that there are records about people alive, though sometimes their names are even indicated in a burial passport.

Some time ago, the records about deserters, condemned, betrayers and others have been closed. Are they available now? And why have they been closed?

to publish everything and we reopened them. Now all records are available, but we changed the field «Reasons of disposal» to «others».

This also includes suicides, but sometimes unfortunately the military reasons mistakenly get there.

I’ve met such weird causes of death as «drunk with technical alcohol».

You know, these are not weird reasons. Unfortunately they are quite widespread. The Germans even deliberately left tanks with methyl alcohol, when retreating.

Of course, it is terrible to read that the whole platoon died because of poisoning, but such things happened. And they happened not only among our soldiers. I saw a terrible document from the SARF (the State archive of the Russian

The other day we received a letter: we’ve been searching for 60 years and couldn’t find anything, but it took us 20 minutes to find information on your website account was actually very good.

But as a matter of fact, this figure differs for different masses. And we deliberately admit repetitions; this is necessary, because a document can contain some information, which is missing in another document. It’s possible to identify the fates of individual and concrete people. It is worth to allow repetitions for this.

Some documents contain considerable misinformation.

For example, the postwar results of in-yard surveys. As the date of the event, we must determine the date given by the military committee. And how did they do

There was a moment when some governor’s relatives have been convicted, somebody had similar aspects disclosed, and the question arose: is it actually possible to publish such things?

They say this requires to be closed. We hadn’t the possibility to close them record by record, and we had to close them sheet by sheet. As a result, other people entered in the same sheet found out to be closed. There was a great deal of noise, they sent letter to the President, the Prime-Minister etc. Consequently, the Ministry of Defense legal department considered that it was possible

Federation – ed.), when after the release, in the English occupation zone, they also found alcohol in a camp of displaced persons, and many people died.

What is missing in the common database? And what to do with those documents, which are in Ukraine? As, actually, all documents of the war period make a single mass and they belong to one army. But we have different countries now and the CD is a Russian project.

The project is Russian but it covers the countries of the entire SSSR. And realizing

this, we even made extracts according to the place of conscription, and transferred them to the governments of all the countries. Ukraine received 2 mln 600 thousand records and this is what we can attribute to the heroic losses. But much more is missing. First of all, burial passports, documents of military registration offices, and funeral documents. Second, the documents about war prisoners.

They are not documents of the centralized storage, so are scattered over many different archives in the world. We’re trying to obtain them. We don’t have memory books; we would gladly take them from you, if you are willing to share them. And I guess, regardless to those bases, which are created in Republics, it would be useful to concentrate all the data in the CD, as in some common place. If Ukraine would be able to start to look for documents in its archives, further it would be possible to act differently. Where masses are large, we can take our scanners and come to scan, after receiving the correspondent agreement.

Is it true that to fill up a common base it is necessary to take the crucial decision on the highest level of carrying out an audit and getting to work?

Of course, only a wish by both the parties has sense. We are executors; we don’t decide what to upload and what not to upload.

We can just propose. But we already know what a huge effect this produced and continues to produce.

www.thekievtimes.ua

UKRAINE/PERSON

15

DMITRY BERDYANSKIY: I WOULD RECOMMEND TO INVEST IN DIAMONDS AND RARE WATCHES The president of the Crystal Group Ukraine Company, Dmitry Berdyanskiy, the expert, member of the international professional competitions jury, designer and engineering specialist of clockwork mechanisms, became a guest of The Kiev Times. Dmitry Berdyanskiy told why it is worth to invest in precious stones, of which he consider himself to be a true collector and why the Dragon is immortal Written by Alexandra Pogorelaya

F.P.Journe, Chronometre a Resonance

COLLECTOR I have a prodigious quantity of watches in my collection. And it continues to increase. I prefer to present diamonds, trips and books to my friends.

I consider Igor Tarasuk, Nikolay Lagun and Vitaly Hayduk to be true Ukrainian collectors.

Every collector should visit the website www. worldtempus.com ENTREPRENEUR I’ve bought my first watch when I was 13 years old, and immediately took it to the smallest pieces. Since I was a child, I felt a strong compulsion to anywatch secrets.

The market of jewelry and watches both in the world and in Ukraine swiftly changes. The market is affected by the level of customers’ awareness, as well as the

political and economical situation. The Crystal Group Ukraine brings up the taste, and helps to correctly invest the funds. Our clients’ trust is our main reputation capital.

And though Ukraine has nothing to offer to the world watch industry, the western partners consider our country to be a perspective market.

PERSON There’s nothing I prize so much in people as decency and sense of humor. It’s hard to speak about patriotism objectively. Nevertheless, I have in general a quite optimistical vision of the future of Ukraine. Everything that is going on in the Ukrainian parliament and government I accept as a temporary misunderstanding…

The most important thing in Life is to set true values

for oneself. Francois Paul Journe and Mikhail Weller are so different but they drag me to their world.

What is my usual daily routine? It doesn’t exist.

I’m grateful for my wife, that she bears all my jokes...

The Dragon is immortal not because his head will grow again. The Dragon has two hearts. We made friends with the Dragon in Singapore and since he took the honored place on the company’s logo, our business set into order.

EXPERT Nowadays, as never before, I’d recommend to invest in diamonds and rare watches.

The watch business has mainly independent brands like Laurent Ferrier, Francois Paul Journe, Urwerk, De Bethune, and Richard Mille…

In the nearest 10 years the jewelry market will

Laurent Ferrier, Galet Classic

experience a deficit of quality in rare precious stones…

In any circumstances don’t use the services of various multiple swindlers: «grey» dealers and second-hand dealers of confiscated property.

Doubtful advantage sometimes costs too much.

True sense of style is the ability to look reserved, in spite of the cosmic expensiveness of things.

I give consultations to young watchmakers and designers absolutely for free.

My wife Ekaterina Timofeeva truly knows how to wear jewelry.

Now I’m wearing Bellduc cufflinks and a Laurent Ferrier watch.

The brand and cost of the most expensive watches sold by the Crystal Group Ukraine is a trade secret.

16

SOCIETY

THE KIEV TIMES | APRIL, 2013

UKRAINIAN POLITICIANS IN SOCIAL NETWORKS Since Barak Obama won his first presidential elections with the help of social networks and informal media, the politicians all over the world consider it good style to register an account in or . In addition, the social networks are a great resource for election campaigning, as the number of users has long exceeded the number of copies of any newspaper, and the TV news look bleak and secondary against the background of the Facebook feed Matviy Levin

T

he Ukrainian politicians as well want to keep up with this trend and penetrate into the Internet space. For example, the president of Ukraine Victor Yanukovich via his press service has declared that he was going to register on Facebook and Twitter.

However, the press service tactfully omitted the fact that a personal page of the head of the state already exists on Facebook and covers the president’s activity (although it is not officially confirmed), and Twitter has more than 20 Ukrainian presidents named Victor Yanukovych. All these Yanukovyches are obviously fake, and instead of covering the president’s activities they mostly publicize the lack thereof.

Bloc is represented by 44 people, Klitschko’s UDAR by 24, and Svoboda has 20 of its members on Facebook.

The ways in which the members of the opposition and those of the governing party manage their social network accounts also differ. For example, Iryna Berezhna maintains a strict official tone.

Klitschko, on the other hand, can sometimes tell a personal story or throw in a joke.

However, not all politicians in Ukraine are so unhurried in their attempts to directly represent themselves in the social networks.

The widest representation of Ukrainian politicians can be found on Facebook.

The most popular pages are those of: Serhii Tyhipko (40 thousand subscribers), Mykola Azarov (25 thousand), Yuliia Tymoshenko (23 thousand), and Natalia Korolevska (18 thousand).

By all appearances, none of these pages are administered by the politicians personally.

Tyhipko’s page even contains a disclaimer: «This page is administered by the press service of the public official». Yuliia Tymoshenko personally is absent in social networks with a reasonable excuse. The page of Mykola Azarov (as well as that of Natalia Korolevska) is too official and strict to believe that he is really present on it. And the prime-minister himself has recently admitted that he only forms the ideas for the posts, whereas the page design and blogging are actually done by his assistants. Sparse attempts to enliven the page by the following publications will hardly melt the hearts of the subscribers:

The assistants mercilessly delete the comments that are out of favor under all posts and block the carpers. In this sense, Serhii Tyhipko’s page stands out among other pages, with all comments and their authors remaining safe and sound under the posts of the former vice-premier.

Oleh Tiahnybok (6 thousand of subscribers), Victor Yanukovych junior (6 thousand), Iryna Farion (4 thousand), Oleksandr Turchynov (4 thousand), Oleksandra Kuzhel (3 thousand), and Yurii Mykhalchyshyn (2 thousand) also have their pages on Facebook.

There are politicians with personal profiles on Facebook. Among them are: Iryna Berezhna (about 11 thousand of friends and subscribers in total), Borys Kolesnikov (7 thousand), Vadym Kolesnychenko (6 thousand), Vitali Klitschko (35 thousand of subscribers and friends), Arsenii Yatseniuk (15 thousand of subscribers and friends), Anatolii Hrytsenko (15 thousand), Oleh Tiahnybok (5 thousand of friends; the possibility to subscribe is unwisely disabled) as well as a whole number of oppositionists (Hennadii Moskal, Oleksandra Kuzhel, Andrii Pyshnyi, Viktor Chumak, Pavel Rozenko, Iryna Herashchenko, Andrii Shevchenko (journalist and member of parliament), Lesia Orobets and others).

We can say that almost every oppositionist has an account on Facebook, meanwhile the members of the Regions party, as well as their reliable support, the communists, often neglect this way of communication with people. According to the data of Chesno citiezen movement, only 26 deputies from the Party of Regions and 4 communists (Spyrydon Kilinkarov being the most popular of them) are active on Facebook, whereas the Yuliia Tymoshenko

Vitali Klitschko February 27 For several days I have been surprised to read on various websites the rumors that «Vitali Klitschko told someone» about his negative attitude to the Defender of the Motherland Day (formerly the Soviet Army Day, celebrated on February 23) and the 8th of March, and even an intent to «eradicate» these holidays by a special bill.:) I understand that I annoy many of the today’s «politicians», who are trying to make a net of crazy legends. According to such logic, they will soon talk about «supposedly Klichko’s» bills banning the celebration of the New Year and birthdays!:)))

Irina Gerashchenko is not afraid of publishing her private photos. Here she is fighting the consequences of a snowstorm. Her signature smiley face ):, seen almost in each of her posts, is also present in the comments.

Iryna’s is not the only quirky punctuation system: her colleague, Victor Chumak, a member of parliament from the UDAR party and the chairman of Organized Crime and Corruption Committee, likes to use a four-dot ellipsis.

In any case, the oppositionists are more uninhibited and relaxed in the social networks.

For example, Hennadii Moskal reminded about Vadym Kolesnichenko’s birthday while pointing out his ignorance of laws: «I’d like to remind Mr. Member of Parliament that a Deputy ID is a pass to the Verkhovnaya Rada of Ukraine and administration buildings, but to board a plane one must either have the Ukrainian international passport or a service/ diplomatic passport. These are elementary, well-known facts, and I don’t understand why a People’s Deputy of Ukraine is not aware of them». Andrii Pyshnyi, a member of parliament from Yuliia Tymoshenko Bloc, does not hesitate about making sarcastic comments concerning Victor Yanukovych and his properties:

Andrii Pyshnyi One place where there is a lot of work for the Ministry of Emergencies, with full personnel mobilization of its personnel and equipment, is Mezhyhiria. 100 hectares of national-level homestead land is no small thing. You have to take care about the five-toed jerboas, feed the kangaroos, protect the zoo from cold, clear the tree stubs, find the golf course under the snow... And if, God forbid, the doors in Honka are blocked by snow in the morning – this is the second Chornobyl Disaster to the least.

A similar style is maintained by the odious Victor Baloha, who feels free to criticize and display his wit not only in regard of the Prime Minister and the Ukrainian domestic problems, but even

about Vladimir Putin and Kirill, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, if a convenient opportunity to express his opinions turns up in the media.

Victor Baloha Friday Mykola Yanovych (Azarov) has said that he believes in the quality repair of the roads by Ukravtodor. I suppose there are a few more people in the country who think the same way. They are the head of Ukravtodor and his deputies.

The rest of people have a slightly different opinion.

And while Avtodor cannot think otherwise of the quality of its own work, it is either that Mykola Yanovich lost touch with the real state of affairs in the country or that we live in different countries.

Meanwhile, Arsenii Yatseniuk (or the person managing his page) does not resort to strong language himself, he does not hesitate to share other people’s posts, sometimes quite rude.

Borys Kolesnikov has until recently been one of the few exceptions among the members of the Party of Regions, who, although not managing his blog personally on a regular basis, for sure did visit it and tried to communicate with the Internet users via Facebook. Once Borys Kolesnikov engaged in hard polemics in the comments concerning the late arrival of Hyundai trains, using rather harsh expressions (calling the users «tools» and «bots»).

(Borys Kolesnikov: The website you’re maintaining belongs to Yurii Lutsenko, and Tetiana Korobova works there. And you are just some bot. For your information, yesterday they sold 100% of the 2nd class Kiev-Kharkov train tickets. To all other Yuliia-bots: yesterday, on Sunday, they sold 3000 tickets, so save your acrimony – you’ll need it later.)

The comments are almost the only way to check whether the blog is administered by the politician in person or with the assistance of hired copywriters.

In the sphere of microblogs, where the message size is limited to 140 characters, the Party of Regions is rather scarcely represented by Serhii Tyhipko, who has 9 thousand of subscribers, and Kostiantyn Hryshchenko (only 2 thousand subscribers). A Yuliia Tymoshenko Bloc deputy Lesia Orobets also has 9 thousand subscribers. However, the understandable leader among the Ukrainian politicians in Twitter is Yuliia Tymoshenko, with a record number of subscribers for her updates in the Ukrainian blogs of 125 thousand. However, her latest post is dated August 2011.

The representatives of Yuliia Tymoshenko Bloc, Andrii Shevchenko, Olexandr Turchynov, Anatolii Hrytsenko, Viacheslav Kyrylenko, Serhii Vlasenko, and other less popular politicians also have their Twitters. However, none of them has managed to

replace Yuliia Tymoshenko, not even in the social networks. For example, the most popular YTB representative in Twitter (Andrii Shevchenko) gets much fewer retwits than the leader of the opposition, and the leader of Svoboda Oleh Tiahnybok is scarcely past 6 thousand subscribers.

(Yuliia Tymoshenko: The prosecutors have filed another request to change the pre-trial restriction measure to arrest. They want an arrest so much that they simply lose their minds.)

(Andrii Shevchenko: (The Kyiv) funicular has turned into a ski lift: a huge number of people are skiing on the slopes between MFA and Volodymyrska Hirka.

Feels like a ski resort) (Oleh Tiahnybok: Just now one man on 1+1 Channel has neatly commented: «The only people who listened to the appeals not to go to the Kiev streets are community services!»)

The absence of many politicians in Twitter is compensated by the jokers, who create clones and speak on behalf of this or that politician using their signature styles and typical rhetorical techniques.

(Nataliia Vitrenko: You should see my wombat borscht I cook when nobody stands over me and drags me to NATO! But this was long ago. And now everything is like in the war.)

Volodymyr Chaika, the late mayor of Mykolaiv, had a rather popular fake Twitter account.

(Volodymyr Chaika: If I have time, I will call on the young people from Twitter. I think they are on Moskovska street. However, I still need to sketch the city budget of Mykolaiv. So much work to do.)

For justice’s sake, it is worth mentioning the Twitter of Victor Medvedchuk, who has 105 thousand «followers». The incredible popularity is obviously artificial and created using bots and armies of likers purchased on social exchanges. The fact is that the twits of the leader of the Ukrainian Choice party barely spread on the Internet, which would be extremely surprising for such a large audience, had it been real. Although Medvedchuk’s blog is consistent in a funny way: his every twit, including not only catchy sayings, but even links to photos and video recordings, is retwitted (which means published on one’s own page) by one and the same user (usually this user is the only one making the retwit). His name is Roman Krymchanin (user @r_krim), and it seems that it is Roman who administers Victor Medvedchuk’s Twitter account, unsuccessfully trying to make an impression of popularity of his posts.

The most famous Ukrainian politician in the network with prevailing photo content is the user named gepard59. He is Hennadii Kernes, the current mayor of Kharkiv. In addition to publishing his photos (even those where he is bare-chested), but also feels free to engage in rather peculiar polemics.

Hennadii Kernes’ closest friend is the governor of Kharkiv Oblast Mykhailo Dobkin, who is much more modest in his Instagram pictures, mostly demonstrating his fishing results.

So if Victor Yanukovych does come to the Internet, he will be surprised that his colleagues do not have too many subscribers, which is no wonder, as the majority of the Ukrainian politicians who decided to join the Internet community publish cold and boring messages of their press services, very seldom condescending to personal communication with their subscribers.

Victor Yanukovych’s party-fellows, to all appearances, in the old fashion prefer to speak on TV and do not strive for earning the sympathy of the Internet youth. However, such distribution suits the members of the Party of Regions: the people living in the social networks mostly prefer the opposition politicians. And the TV audience in our country is still much wider and active on the polling stations than the users of social networks.