â„–4, July 2014
Social and political magazine
THE PRESENT DAY>>
Ukrainian-Pakistani relations HOLIDAY>>
Youth Day in Ukraine
FESTIVALS>>
Top 10 festivals of this summer MAIN FEATURE>>
Ukraine signed the economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU
The fountain Dzerkal`nyi strumin` (Mirror stream) The fountain Dzerkal`nyi strumin` (Mirror stream) is situated in Kharkiv, in the Peremohy Garden Square, near Sumskaya Street, opposite to the Kharkiv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. Dzerkal`nyi strumin` was built in 1947 upon the project of the architect Victor Korzh. The fountain is made as a belvedere and it is the city’s landmark. It is included into “The Seven Wonders of Kharkiv”. The fountain Dzerkal`nyi strumin` is located in a square between Sumska, Radnarkomivs’ka, Skrypnyka and Chernyshevskogo St. In summer of 2007 Dzerkal`nyi strumin` was reconstructed for its 60th anniversary. A renewed fountain started functioning the 7th of August. During its reconstruction 137 nozzles, 2 units of artificial fog, and 135 projectors were set up. The fountain basin that contains 350 tons of water was coated with tiles and the walls were covered with marble.
№4, July 2014
Inside:
Queen is going to release the ‘lost’ live album Page. 7
Ukrainian-Pakistani relations: the present day Page. 8
Ukraine signed the economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU Page. 12
School leavers wish to be of use to the country Page. 17
The Ukrainian film «The Tribe» received the Grand Prix at the Andrey Tarkovsky International Film Festival Page. 21
A pottery «shift» in Opishnia Page. 23
Social and political magazine №4, July 2014 license No20601-10401Р of 28.03.2014
Founder and Chief Editor Butt Umair Ahmad The published materials express their authors’ point of view that may not coincide with the editorial team’s official standpoint. The editorial team does not carry responsibility for the content of advertisements. The magazine is published in Ukrainian, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, French and Arabic. Some copies are distributed through diplomatic missions of foreign states in Ukraine and embassies of Ukraine in different countries of the world. Translated by Natasha Pradan Circulation: 10 000 copies
Season of Festivals in Ukraine: Top 10 festivals of this summer
The telephone numbers of the editorial office: +380 577816557 +380 949779557
Page. 18
www.viva-ukraine.com info@viva-ukraine.com
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№4, July 2014
History
Dedicated to the 80th anniversary By the decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of Ukraine, 80 years ago, on June 24, 1934, the capital of Ukraine was moved from Kharkiv to Kyiv. Kharkiv served as the capital from 1919 to 1934. We suggest that you view a selection of photos of old Kyiv and Kharkiv. Since 1919, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR was Kharkiv. For a long time the Bolsheviks could not gain a foothold in Kyiv, the capital of the «bourgeois» Ukrainian People’s Republic. They got no support there and called it subtopian. The Proletarian Kharkiv suited them more. And then like a bolt from the blue: on January 18, 1934 at the plenary session of the Central Committee of CP (b) U Pavlo Postyshev said that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and personally Stalin suggested to move the capital to Kyiv.
To provide the government, the central Party and state organizations with the essential premises it was necessary to conduct a large-scale reconstruction of the city. The status of capital introduced rigor and solemnity into the architecture of Kyiv. «The city of a hundred churches» and cozy courtyards lost neither the quietness of shadowy parks, nor the mysteriousness of the mansions, but gained the importance of the metropolis. The first General plan of Kyiv development as the new capital was elaborated in 1936. The document provided for rebuilding the main streets and squares, eliminating old buildings, rationally locating enterprises and residential houses, as well as adjusting the suburbs and creating convenient traffic interchanges. After the leaders’ moving to Kyiv, the city planners were set a new task: to create a government centre and the main square. It should be noted that Kyiv had never before had the main square - for centuries the city remained beautiful and crowded, but still provincial. The architecture of the city began to take on new features. The current ideology jumped at the fashion that came in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, the constructivism, - it tuned in with the revolutionary renewal. The constructivists’ works emerged in the main street of the capital as well. In 1936, upon the project of the architect N. Holostenko a 6-storeyed building designed for institutions and «The House of Books», began to grow at the corner of Khreshchatyk and Lenin (now Khmelnytskoho) St. After World War II it was restored by introducing elements of the postconstructivism, and now it is the Central Department Store building, well-known among the Kievers. In 1936-39 the government buildings started to flood Pechersk and Lypky. Under the leadership of the Moscow member of the Academy of Sciences I. Fomin the largest building in Kiev at the time was built in Kirov (now Grushevskiy) St. - a building with an area of about 250 thousand square meters. Now it is here where the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is situated. *Kyiv photos from the archives of Alexander Voznitsky.
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History
Kyiv. The Saint Andrew’s Church (Andriyvs’ka cherkva)
Kyiv, Lenina St. The House of AS UkrSSR (AS standing for Academy of Sciences)
Kyiv. A monument to the ancient Kyiv – the Golden Gates (Zoloti vorota)
Kyiv. The Verkhovna Rada building
Kyiv. Kirova St.
Kyiv. The State Museum of Ukrainian Art
Kyiv. The branch of the Central Lenin Museum
Kyiv. Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Kyiv. The National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet 3
№4, July 2014
World
BBC established a music award for the best pop artists of Britain
In New York the blind got the possibility to ride a bike
The British Broadcasting Corporation founded its own annual music award BBC Music Awards. It will be given to the best pop artists of the UK. That will be the second significant music event of the corporation after the festival in Glastonbury. The main categories of the competition are British artist of the year and song of the year. The winner will be chosen among the vocalists by the creative team of the BBC, and the best song will be determined by the audience through interactive voting. The award ceremony will take place at London’s Earls Court Exhibition Centre on December 11, 2014. It will be broadcast by BBC One, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. The show will be presented by the actor Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, The Avengers) and the TV anchor Fearne Cotton.
Low vision or blindness is no excuse to refuse from cycling, New York volunteers decided and created a group called InTandem. This group enables blind people to ride a bike. According to local media, the organization functions on a voluntary basis so everybody can help the blind. “Every Saturday we organize cycling for people with low vision in Central Park,” one of the founders, Ayesha McGowan, said. According to McGowan, cycle-travel is very popular and soon InTandem plans to start conducting night tours. A blind man shares his impressions: “This is a great idea! Now I have the opportunity not only to ride a bike, but to talk with interesting people at the same time.” Also he added that he tries not to miss any cycling trip in Central Park. A tandem — is a bycicle with two wheels, two seats, two pairs of treadles and a handle bar. The person occupying the front seat holds the handle bar and directs the bike. In this case the back seat is meant for a person with low vision. The visually impaired one turns the second pair of treadles, adding speed to the bike. The one in the front seat also describes all the interesting that occurs on the way.
South Korea directed air balloons with sweets to North Korea South Korean activists have directed air balloons with candies to the DPRK, according to the South Korean public television and radio broadcasting company KBS. The action was organized on June 21, it was attended by about 200 people. They equipped 60 air baloons, that had room for approximately 300 pounds of snacks, including Choco Pies. With such an initiative the activists spoke in support of the undernourished in North Korea. It is reported that this time there were no anti-government leaflets that regularly come to the DRPK from South Korea on similar air balloons. Activists have stated they will regularly direct such parcels to North Korea until the two countries unite.
A student tries to sue Hollywood for 2 billion USD
The screenwriters of famous Hollywood films are to take part in a trial. Student Constantino Basile filed a suit, which claims that the plots of several high-budget Hollywood films were based on the ideas set forth in his student works. This is reported by foreign media. Basile says that in 2011 one of the school teachers sold his texts to friends in Hollywood. Then they were used in the creation of such films as “Men in Black 3”, “Prometheus” and “Elysium”. As compensation the guy wants to sue 2 billion USD (24 billion UAN).
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World
Internet news Twitter now supports GIF animation
The microblogging service Twitter added a new function – now it is possible to insert GIF animation to messages. This feature is available not only in browser versions, but also in mobile applications for iPhone and Android. This decision was highly anticipated, due to the information about the poor financial situation of Twitter, because of the decrease of users’ activity in the microblogging network. As it was predicted by the experts, the company will seek to create new forms of content transmission. The users themselves acclaimed the news enthusiastically, filling their News Feeds with numerous tweets in the new format.
YouTube will take money for music streaming
Video service YouTube prepares to launch its new project on music streaming. According to the representatives of the service, it has concluded a partnership agreement with «hundreds of major and independent» labels. The usage of the new service will not be free, but in return users will get an unlimited access to music without advertising. Most likely, the new YouTube service will include features from Google online radio, which has been functioning since 2013 and offers access to a huge library of tracks for 9.99 dollars per month. Thus, the system is likely to be able to pick up new music based on users’ preferences, and offer songs recommended by friends. A number of music labels refused to sign the terms of use of the new service, so YouTube has to remove the clips of these independent performers. Among them are videos of the British singer Adele and the band Arctic Monkeys. According to the vice-president of Google Robert Kinkla, who oversees the work of the popular video service, blocking content that does not comply with the new requirements will start soon. According to him, 90% of recording companies signed the contract, and the remaining 10% will be removed from the platform. «Although we would like to have one hundred percent result, we realize that this is hardly a realistic goal, anyway, we are responsible to our customers and to the industry for launching an improved music service,» he said.
For half an hour Facebook «died» all over the world
On June 19 at about 11:00 Moscow time the social network Facebook stopped working. It all started with a glitch — pages started loading very slowly and then stopped working at all. When users tried to enter the website, they saw the following message: «Sorry, something went wrong. We’re working on getting this fixed as soon as we can.»Also, neither the mobile application of the social network nor Facebook chat worked. Third-party sites no longer had sharing buttons. Interestingly, the social network site has crashed not only in Ukraine but also all over the world. This is represented by a flurry of tweets that flooded Twitter in the first minutes after the Facebook crash. Half an hour later the social network did start functioning, and Facebook representatives said that it was just a glitch, without going into the details of what really made the social network «die» for half an hour. «We had a glitch that briefly made Facebook unavailable for users. We solved the problem quickly, and now we’re back 100%. Sorry for the inconvenience we have caused,» it was said on Facebook. The unavailability of the social network Facebook, which went offline all over the world for 30 minutes, cost the company half a million dollars. This conclusion was made by Forbes analysts who estimated the losses of the company, based on the data on Facebook revenue for the first quarter of 2014, in which the social network earned $ 2.5 billion. Given the overall financial position of the company, which spent $ 20 billion on the purchase of start-ups only last year, such failure will most likely not affect its fortune. The very failure on June 19 is the first crash of the social network in 2014, before Facebook was offline for three hours in 2013 and in 2012 the social network was unavailable for 45 minutes.
Instagram 6.0: a social network has turned into a powerful photo editor
A new version of Instagram was released, in which the developers decided to turn the social network into a tool for editing photos at a higher level. Now the «social» phoro service will be able to compete with «serious» editors, such as for example, VSCO. Users got the possibility to edit the photos on their own by changing brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc., writes TechCrunch. It is interesting that the main features of Instagram have always been the maximum simplicity and a concise interface. For a long time the social service did not dare to introduce an advanced photo editor, fearing that it would make the program too complicated. «Now people use Instagram to post their pictures, but do not come back to edit it,» said the head of the project, Kevin Sistrom announcing the innovations. The updated version of the application to the social network is now available for iOS and Android. Windows Phone users will have to wait for a bit. Also one can call adjustable power filters as one of the most important functions of Instagram 6.0. It will allow people to choose to what extent they want to apply the effect by using a slider.
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Personality
Ihor Grokhotskiy - “Holos Krayiny” (“The Voice of the Country”) The 4-th season of the show “Holos Krayiny. Perezavantazhennya” (“The Voice of the Country. Reloading”) on the TV-channel “1+1” is over and the winner was named at the final show on June 8. It was Ihor Grokhotskiy, from Svyatoslav Vakarchuk’s team, the latter leading him to the victory. Three more participants claimed the 1st prize – Myhailo Mirka (Tamara Gverdtsiteli’s team), Marlen Karimov (Ani Lorak’s team) and Olga Melnik (Sergey Lazarev’s team). By the results of the voting, the TV-audience chose Ukraine’s best vocalist in a live broadcast – it was Ihor Grokhotskiy who became the new Voice of the Country, signed the contract with “1+1” and also got the unique statuette with the project’s symbol. There were several stages of the televoting, after each of them one of the participants dropped out of the competition. Two vocalists got into the final stage – Igor Grokhotskiy from Kyiv region and the resident of Crimea, Marlen Karimov, whose tutor was the charming singer Ani Lorak. A desperate singing battle started precisely between them. Both tried to amaze the audience preparing beautiful songs. Marlen singed in Tartar and Ihor chose the popular Ukrainian song “Kray, ridniy kray” in modern adaptation by Svyatoslav Vakarchuk. Ihor’s coach chose songs for his mentee very thoroughly due to the phenomenal progress that, as the rocker believes, the young man had demonstrated,
player, member of FC Dynamo Kyiv, but he has had to leave sport forever because of a serious injury. It was music that helped him to overcome the difficult period. Ihor came to the project to gain self-confidence. In the very first round “The blindfold choice” Ihor made the audience stand up applauding and shouting “Well done!”. The members of the judging panel were amazed by the fact that the young man had never before singed professionally and didn’t have music education, so great was his level. Nevertheless, only Svyatoslav Vakarchuk was eager to take the young man into his team. He was looking for people feeling music and Ihor, as he believed, was one of them. “He is very musical, he has intoning, he feels music, and all of that is very important for me. And it doesn’t matter if he practices often or not... An interesting thing about singing is that there are people who have never done that professionally, still they sing the way that makes everybody turn short”. Vakarchuk went on admiring Ihor’s musical talent and the unique voice quality. He calls the young man a musical phenomenon, because he has never been into music. Grokhotskiy’s coach was surprised by the progress demonstrated by Ihor during the whole project.
the progress bigger than of those who had been absorbed by music for a long time. Before the final competition Ihor got through almost 24 hours of rehearsals. “I will make him run around 10 stadiums every day. In the vocal meaning,” Vakarchuk promised and, as we may see, it was not for nothing, as the young man did get the desirable victory. Ihor himself calls the project “the reloading” of his life. “The victory in this show is the reloading of all my life. Everything that has happened to me I consider a real miracle. I am really grateful for everybody who voted for me! My parents, friends backed me and it was very helpful. It is a fantastic feeling – to know that people encourage you. I am happy! I still can’t believe it!” Grokhotskiy said just after the victory, unable to keep his emotions under control. 21-year-old Ihor Grokhotskiy is from the village Tsentralne in Kyiv region. Not long time ago he has been a professional football 6
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Art
Queen is going to release the ‘lost’ live album The legendary British band Queen prepared a surprise for its fans: the team plans to release a live album, which was considered lost for a long time. The album will be called «Queen: Live at the Rainbow’74», and it will be available to purchase this September (according to the English edition of The Guardian).
According to May, most of the compositions were written in the eighties, when the band worked at full capacity. «It’s the big, big epic sound,» concludes May.
The Guardian reports that the new album will contain excerpts of musical compositions performed in the framework of three concerts of the group, which took place back in 1974 in Rainbow Theatre in London. Over three thousand fans attended these concerts then. We should admit that there are truly unique records: for example, the composition The Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke is the only surviving «live» performance of the song. Once the rockband planned to release a «live album», which would contain recordings of performances in Rainbow theater, but the musicians’ plans changed, and the album just got lost somewhere in the archives. Only now, four decades passed after the legendary concerts of the group Brian May together with Roger Taylor who still continue performing, found thearchival recordings and decided to show them to people. However, first the musical compositions of 1974 should undergo the preliminary processing. The «lost» album that will be released in September, will include forty one track in total. By the way, this album is not the only one that the band plans to release this year. Recently it was reported that the team members also plan to release a unique collection, which will include compositions performed by the late Freddie Mercury. These songs the audience has never heard before. This was announced by the guitarist Brian May: «We found a few more tracks with Freddie singing and all of us playing and they’re quite beautiful. It’s a compilation but it will have this new material on which nobody in the world has ever heard,» said the guitarist.
We shall remind you that the famous band Queen was created in 1970. It won incredible popularity, becoming famous throughout the world, but after the death of the vocalist, Freddie Mercury, in 1991, the band practically stopped performing. Brian May and Roger Taylor, who continued to tour under the famous brand Queen remained the members of the band, though the vocalists changed. At present, Queen’s vocalist is Adam Lambert.
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International cooperation
Ukrainian-Pakistani relations: the present day The Ukrainian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Volodymyr Ivanovich Lakomov for «Viva-Ukraine»:
The milestones of international cooperation between Ukraine and Pakistan. The history of early Ukrainian-Pakistani relations goes back to the former Soviet Union, when in the 1960’s and 70’s Soviet experts, the majority of whom were Ukrainians, assisted to build objects of key industries and the national economy of Pakistan. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (IRP) recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 31, 1991. The diplomatic relations were established on 16 March, 1992. The Embassy of Pakistan in Ukraine has been functioning since October 1997, the Embassy of Ukraine in the IRP - since January 1998. At the current stage the relations between Ukraine and the IRP are characterized with a high level of understanding in the political, military, technical, commercial and economic areas, with effective cooperation within international organizations, as well as the desire of both parties to expand and deepen mutually beneficial long-term relations. The particular emphasis on the development of the political dialogue between Ukraine and Pakistan is due to the meeting of the Presidents of Ukraine and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as part of the UNGA (1993, 1997 and 2003); the talks of the Prime Ministers of the two countries at the World Economic Forum (Davos, 2008); the visit of the Foreign Minister of Pakistan to Ukraine (1994); the exchange of visits of Ministers of Defense of the two countries (1995, 2006). As part of the agreement between the foreign services political consultations were initialed, the latest round of which at the level of deputy foreign ministers was held in Kyiv on October 18, 2012 A new round of consultations is to be held in Islamabad this fall. The interaction of the two states in the UN is traditionally energetic. In 1993, during the debate in the Security Council on the issue of the decision of the Parliament of the Russian Federation on the so-called «federal status» of Sevastopol, Pakistan initiated support for Ukraine’s position, and its activity contributed to the development of the position of the members of the UN Security Council, that condemned the actions of the Russian Parliament. In addition, Pakistan was one of the contributors to the application on the Holodomor in Ukraine. However, as a result of significant pressure from the Russian side, on March 27, 2014 the IRP took a neutral position during the vote on the draft resolution of the UNGA «The territorial integrity of Ukraine». In this regard, we hope that the IRP government will finally find the way to take a new direction and to join the vast majority of the countries in the international community, including the world’s major powers, that vigorously condemned Russia’s annexation of the Autonomous Republicof Crimea and Moscow’s aggressive actions in the south-east of Ukraine.
What do you think of the state and prospects of the development of Pakistan, its society, economy, etc.? The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is an important factor of international cooperation in South Asia. The favorable geographic location that provides the IRP with the part of a «bridge» between the Middle East, Central and South Asia, creats good prospects for Pakistan’s economic development. In this context, continuation of implementing the comprehensive program of development and modernization of the country, improvement of the existing and creation of a new infrastructure becomes significant. The fact that the general elections held in Pakistan in June 2013 for the first time in the history of Pakistan’s political system marked the end of the full electoral cycle adds optimism. The great and priceless potential of Pakistan is its citizens who love their country and do everything possible for its prosperity with their painstaking day-to-day work. I would like to stress that Ukraine has always been and will remain an open, sincere and reliable partner for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, ready to consider offers, programs and projects of the Pakistan side that will help to deepen the bilateral cooperation and to work together on their implementation to the benefit of both countries. Is there the Ukrainian expatriate community in Pakistan? To what extent it is united, is there the Association of Ukrainians in Pakistan? There are 33 citizens of Ukraine in the consular register at the Embassy, who are provided with assistance and support of all kinds in accordance with the functions of the Embassy and the resources available. For objective reasons, primarily because of the small number, there are no organized centers of Ukrainian expatriate community in Pakistan. Our citizens in Pakistan do not constitute a cohesive territorial community, based on the ethnic principle, that would have lived in different regions of the country. Ukrainians in Pakistan represent different social groups, they are engaged in a variety of professional activities, including social, political, journalistic, international and business occupations. There are a lot of Ukrainian ladies who have chosen Islam as guidance, have created families with Pakistanis and found a second home here. Most often Ukrainians live in big cities. Our diplomatic mission in Pakistan encourages Ukrainians to unite and to promote consolidated national, cultural and political 8
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International cooperation
activity. After the deliberate acts of Russian aggression upon Ukraine, indifferent Pakistani Ukrainians have been turning more and more frequently. They want to uphold our Independence and territorial integrity not only with words, but also with actions. The Embassy is especially grateful to our compatriots who, moreover, help to unite the Ukrainian community in Pakistan. We hope that soon we will get certain results of working together, and the first official association of Ukrainians in Pakistan will be created at last.
and terrorist actions against Ukraine, which caused a «flurry» of emotions among ordinary Pakistanis. In letters to the Embassy, through phone calls and electronic means of communication they condemned Moscow’s aggressive actions, comparing them to the invasion of the Soviet troops to Afghanistan, and expressed their sympathy for Ukraine. One of the priority topics of our magazine is international education. How many Pakistani students wish to study in Ukrainian universities?
How deep is the economic cooperation between Ukraine and Pakistan? Which sectors of the Ukrainian economy are involved?
Cooperation in the field of international education is one of the priority and promising areas of the bilateral UkrainianPakistani cooperation. Currently hundreds of Pakistanis have been educated in Ukraine, including National Aviation University, Kharkov State University of Engineering, National Ukrainian Academy of Arts, Vinnitsa National Medical University, Crimean State Medical University and Kharkiv National Medical University. In this regard, Pakistanis, who studied in our country, decided to establish their own association, and on June 27, 2012 created the Pakistani Alumni Association of Ukrainian universities. The First All-Pakistani Congress of the Association was held on September 26, 2013 in Islamabad. As the President of the Association a graduate of the Kharkov Medical University Ghulam Sarwar was elected. Currently about 250 Pakistanis are being educated in the universities of Ukraine, most of them study in medical and technical institutions, particularly in the medical universities of Crimea and Luhansk and in the Donetsk Academy of Motor Transport and the East Ukraine Volodymyr Dahl National University. In general, the number of Pakistani nationals who go to study in Ukrainian universities annually varies on average of 50-60 people. It’s not a small figure, and it should be noted that the demand for Ukrainian education is increasing in Pakistan. This is a positive trend, and we expect that the next few years the annual number of graduates will increase by several times. The most popular among Pakistani youth are medical, technical, engineering, natural and philological faculties that belong to the leading national universities and institutes. Pakistanis study in the universities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and other cities of Ukraine. The Embassy encourages Pakistani citizens to pursue higher education in Ukraine. The offers of Ukrainian educational institutions are consistently placed in the Bulletin of commercial information, which is published by our institution and is distributed among more than two hundred recipients (government structures, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, businesses, organizations and individual businessmen).
According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in 2013 the trade turnover between Ukraine and Pakistan amounted to 327 million USD, reaching a maximum in the history of the bilateral relations. The exports of Ukrainian goods to Pakistan amounted to 234,1 million USD (an increase by 105.2% compared to last year), the imports of goods was 92.9 million USD (it decreased by 23.6%), the Ukraine’s surplus was 144.2 million USD. According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in 2012 the exports of goods to Pakistan decreased by 37.9% and the imports increased by 78.3%, the increase in service exports was 83.6%, and the imports of services decreased by 19.2%, the negative balance was 6.3 million USD. The total trade volume amounted to 239.8 million USD. Pakistan supplies to our country, mainly, textile products, citrus cultures, rice, plastic and polymer materials, surgical instruments and sports goods. In Ukrainian exports dominate grains and oilseeds, iron and steel products together with mechanical production. What do Pakistanis know about our country? What is the image of Ukraine in Pakistan? In the Pakistani media, political and business circles and among the general public the positive image of Ukraine dominates. Our state is positioned as a friendly country, which is engaged into mutually beneficial trade, economic and militarytechnical cooperation. The Embassy set regular informing of interested government agencies, associations of business community of Pakistan, and the media on current events in Ukraine and important events of political, economic and cultural nature. Such information is also distributed through the webpage of the Embassy and the Ukrainian-Pakistani information centers in Islamabad and Karachi. Positive information about Ukraine is also distributed with the help of the activities the Embassy conducts in Pakistani provinces such as the «Days of Ukraine» in the cities of Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin of the province Punjab. These events took place between January 31 and February 1, 2013 and included the meetings of the Ukrainian Ambassador and the diplomats of the Embassy with the local business community, graduates of Ukrainian educational institutions, teachers and students. During these meetings reports and presentations on the Ukrainian- Pakistani relations, history and culture of our country (since Trypillia up to modern times) were conducted, as well as the image materials produced by the Embassy were distributed. In general, the activities in Pakistani hinterland testify to the great interest of ordinary Pakistanis to the history and culture of our state, and of representatives of the business community - to the full development of trade and economic relations and establishment of the direct contacts with businessmen and industrialists of Ukraine. This is especially noticeable after the start of Russia’s military
What would you wish to the readers of «Viva Ukraine»? The topics of «Viva Ukraine» aim to distribute unbiased information about the life of our country and its people and touches upon interesting, but sometimes very difficult questions, that is why its main audience is well-trained professionals and educated elite members of society. This is the audience that forms the administrative structure of the state, its present and future, so I would like to wish them to love Ukraine and be willing to sacrifice everything for its sake. These words may be taken as pretentious, but the time, in which we live, and the global events, especially the unprecedented since the Second World War aggressive international behavior of the «Putin» Russia requires precisely this kind of attitude to Ukraine from its citizens, as the country has become the target of Kremlin aggressors. 9
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International cooperation The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Ukraine H.E. Mr. Wajahat Ali Muftee for «Viva-Ukraine»:
Could you tell us, please, how Ukrainian companies can get to the Pakistani market? And how did the events in Ukraine reflect on Pakistani companies? Pakistan produces a range of high quality products that can be marketed in Ukraine. Similarly Ukrainian products have the potential to find a market in Pakistan. We are encouraging business community to interact more with each other and exploit the untapped potential that exists in area of trade. On the investment side, I would like to invite Ukrainian companies to come and benefit from the opportunities and potential which Pakistan’s economy offers particularly in power sector, oil & gas, infrastructure, housing, healthcare, education, information technologies and particularly renewable energy and environmental technologies. Pakistan Board of Investment has been mandated to facilitate and assist foreign investors. How many Pakistanis live in Ukraine? Do they support Ukraine in the situation with Russia?
How would you characterize the economic and political relations between Ukraine and Pakistan?
We have around 1500 Pakistanis living in Ukraine. They are contributing to the well-being of Ukrainian society. While living in Ukraine, naturally these Pakistanis have a desire that the country comes out of present difficult situation as soon as possible.
Our two countries enjoy friendly and cooperative relations. Pakistan was among the first countries to recognize independence of Ukraine. The process of establishing formal diplomatic relations was initiated in 1992. Embassy of Pakistan in Kyiv and Embassy of Ukraine in Islamabad were established in 1997. However, I believe there is still a huge potential that needs to be tapped to strengthen our bilateral cooperation in both political as well as economic context. In this regard, both countries have signed a number of agreements and many more agreements are being negotiated to provide basic framework for deepening our bilateral relations.
Is Pakistan an attractive country for tourists from Ukraine? How often Ukrainians visit Pakistan? Pakistan has so many tourist attractions including cultural, historical, archeological and those relating to natural beauty and landscapes. The Embassy continues efforts to present Pakistan as an attractive tourist destination. Some Ukrainian do visit Pakistan for tourism purpose but I would like to host more of them. The Embassy will extend full support in facilitating such visits.
What are the prospects for further economic cooperation between Pakistan and Ukraine?
What events are held in Ukraine to support the cultural ties?
We are working with Ukrainian to expand and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in economic trade and commercial areas. Both sides have a desire to deepen relationship in these areas. Pakistan would like to see more cooperation in energy and agriculture sectors. We are also negotiating an agreement with Ukraine for cooperation in the field of agriculture. Agreements on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Avoidance of Double Taxation, and Establishment of Joint Inter-Governmental Commission between Pakistan and Ukraine have been signed recently. As part of efforts to promote bilateral trade, Pakistan-Ukraine Business Council (PUBC) under Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has been established. Business delegations have been exchanged in 2011 and 2012. Ukrainian business delegations have also participated in Expo 2012 and 2013. The PUBC has been a useful platform facilitating interaction among business community in both countries. Embassy is working with the PUBC to hold a joint meeting of both Pakistani and Ukrainian chapters of the Council in the near future. I see huge prospects for enhancing our bilateral economic cooperation and, as Ambassador of Pakistan in Ukraine, I am working to bring people of our two countries closer on all fronts including particularly trade and business.
Pakistan and Ukraine are in the process of negotiating a cultural cooperation agreement that would provide a framework for enhanced cultural activities between the two countries. However, Embassy continues to work to introduce Ukrainian people to Pakistan’s cultural heritage by participating in various cultural events e.g. Asia Food & Cultural Festival, IWCK Annual Charity Bazaar etc. We hope to have more cultural events in each other’s country once the agreement on cultural cooperation is signed by both sides. What would you wish to the readers of «Viva-Ukraine»? I would like to wish ‘Viva Ukraine’ and all its readers health and happiness and wish Ukraine comes out of difficult time soonest possible. At the same time, I would like to invite the readers who belong to business and investment community take advantage of attractive trade and investment opportunities offered by Pakistan’s economy. To the general readers, I would like to say that they should visit my country. We in the Embassy will extend every possible support in facilitating such visits.
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Society
The 20-th birthday of ‘The Ocean’. The anniversary concert in Kyiv was the largest in the history of Ukraine Its birthday the band «Okean Elzy» decided to celebrate with a tour throughout Ukraine «Okean Elzy: 20 years together.» The celebratory concerts were held in several major cities of Ukraine - Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv. Due to the large number of people wishing to get to the concert, all the performances were held at stadiums, as soon as they could admit such a number of people willing to hear the legendary Ukrainian band. The concert in Kyiv proved to be the largest in the history of Ukraine, “the Oceans” beating the record of well-known rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers who performed in Kyiv in 2012 and gathered 70,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium. This concert was officially registered as the record of Ukraine. For its birthday the group also prepared gifts for its fans: in Dnipropetrovsk Vakarchuk sang with a charming Ukrainian singer Tina Karol, in Kharkiv — with the winner of the show «Voice of the Country. Reloading» Ihor Grohotskiy, who owed his victory to the leader of «OE». And the fans made a kind of a fleshbom and came to the concerts in vyshyvankas holding Ukrainian flags, girls wearing flower circlets. But the greatest gift was that the “golden” line-up performed - Pavlo Hudymov (guitar), Juriy Hustochka (bass guitar), Dmitro Shurov (keyboard). Today we can admit that «Okean Elzy» is a symbol of modern Ukraine, and, as Svyatoslav Vakarchuk said from the stage, «OE» is not a fun, but the Ukrainians’ unity.
Youth Day in Ukraine
June 28 — the Constitution Day of Ukraine
Every year, supporting the initiative of youth associations and organizations, Ukraine and Belarus celebrate Youth Day. In Ukraine Youth Day was established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine and is celebrated annually on the last Sunday of June. In 2014, Youth Day falls on June 29. Care for the young generation is an important part of social work. The youth policy is implemented. The state supports young families. Opportunities for getting secondary, higher and special education are expanding. Youth clubs and centers are developing. Much attention is paid to reducing youth unemployment. Youth Day is celebration of creativity and inspiration, energy and enthusiasm, self-actualization, love and romance. Adolescence and youth are not only wonderful periods in everyone’s life, but also a special state of mind. It is the time of daring, search, discovery and realization of the wildest expectations. It is they, today’s pupils, students, young workers, entrepreneurs, scientists, who soon will determine the ways of the country’s future development.
The first Constitution of the independent Ukrainian state was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on June 28, 1996. The deputies worked on the project, staying in the hall for the whole night from 27 to 28 June. The Constitution came into public life as the main guardian of the nation-building and democracy, the guarantor of independence and unity of Ukraine. Its highest legal force, rule of law, political, economic and ideological diversity are the fundamental principles, on which lies the present and builds the future of the Ukrainian people. The Constitution of Ukraine is the most important state document that protects the rights and freedoms of all citizens of our united country, no matter which region we live in and what language teach our children to speak. Celebrating the Constitution Day of Ukraine is very important this year, it is not just a tribute to tradition, but an opportunity to demonstrate the power of patriotism, recall effort and loss, with which our fathers fought for their right to freedom, and now our brothers protect the sovereignty and integrity of our country.
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Ukraine signed the economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU
№4, July 2014
Main feature
Ukraine signed the economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU On June 27 within the EU summit Ukraine and the European Union completed the signing of the Association Agreement in full. The agreement was signed in Brussels by Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, the European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the heads of states and governments of all 27 EU member states. 1200 pages, 7 titles, 43 annexes, 2 additions and 3 protocols - all of this is the document that is to create conditions for Ukraine’s rapid political and economic development in partnership with the European Union. The participants of the ceremony took their seats at a table that looked like the Ukrainian letter “П”. The central part was occupied by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, the EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy and the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Next to Barroso the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, the President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili and Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leancă sat. On the left side there were the representatives of the EU (with names starting with the letter B), and to the left from Poroshenko - Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and the Prime Minister of Great Britain David Cameron. They all signed the agreements.
products will be established. According to the representatives of the EU, the association agreement with the EU will modernize the economy and renew Ukraine. “The Association Agreement will be of enormous benefit to Ukraine and its citizens, and it is only the first step in the deepening of the cooperation between Ukraine and the EU,” said Peter Stano, spokesman for the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle. That day Georgia and Moldova also signed the association agreement with the European Union. The Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili and the Prime Minister of Moldova Iurie Leancă participated in the ceremony. In his speech Garibashvili said that his country returned to its historic environment. “Today is a historic day for Georgia, the day all of us should remember. All histories have the dates people are proud of... Georgia has been given a historic chance to return to its historic environment — Europe — from political, economic and cultural point of view,” the Georgian Prime Minister pointed out.
The purpose of the association is the gradual rapprochment of the parties, based on shared values and close privileged relations and on the deepening of Ukraine’s participation in EU programs and agencies. The mode of a deep and comprehensive free trade area between Ukraine and the European Union provides immediate revocation of existing import duties on the majority of goods of the bilateral trade (82.6% commodity items from Ukraine and 91.8% from the EU). For other items transition periods will be established - when the duty will gradually be declining during several years (from 1 to 7 years). Transient conditions are established primarily for Ukraine as a protective measure in preparing Ukrainian producers to work on the competitive market with European partners. In addition, as a protective measure for Ukrainian producers uneven reduction of duties on agricultural
Poroshenko: “The Association Agreement is the way of preparing for Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union” This was stated by the President of Ukraine Poroshenko at the signing ceremony. “In order for all this to work, we are ready, we want to work and implement all that we are going to sign today,” the President of Ukraine said. “When Ukraine is ready, it will join the EU,” Poroshenko added and said that it means a lot to the country, because Ukraine has paid the highest price for its European dreams to come 14
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true. So now he would like to stress that Ukraine will seek the full membership in the EU. “Ukraine as a European country that has the same values, the rule of law, emphasizes the future membership in the EU,” Poroshenko said. Also before the ceremony Petro Poroshenko told the journalists that the day of signing the Association Agreement with the EU is one of the most important days in Ukraine’s history since getting the independence. “I think it is one of the historical days after getting the independence. I think we should use this opportunity to modernize the country. To do this, we need peace and security. We also expect that today the EU will show the same solidarity as before,” said the President of Ukraine. Poroshenko also pointed out that today the three countries begin a very difficult but very important way of reforms for the further integration with the EU. The Georgian President George Margvelashvili and the Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leancă also stressed in their speeches that their countries’ main goal is the full membership in the European Union. In their reports they paid much attention to the reforms that are necessary to achieve this goal. Barroso: “This is a very important day for Europe, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. This is the result of progress and political wishes to get closer to the European Union,” the head of the European Commission said. According to José Manuel Barroso, the Agreement will accelerate the integration of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova into the EU. “We are not looking for any special cooperation with these three partners. We open our doors to the future members,” he added. “The signing of the association agreement should not be seen as the end of the road, on the contrary - it is the beginning of a journey, to which the EU goes with these three countries,” Jose Manuel Barroso stressed. “It is a historic moment for these countries. Despite all the difficulties, we will sign the agreements with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. And I believe that this situation victorious not only for these countries, but also for the whole Europe,” the European Commission President said.
rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law,” Van Rompuy said. Rompuy proclaimed the full support of the signatory countries - Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia - from the EU and the recognition of their territorial integrity. “The EU is on your side. You have our support and solidarity and our acceptance of your territorial integrity,” he said. Van Rompuy also spoke in favor of the visa-free regime, which “will bring together our societies.”
The Lithuanian President congratulated Ukrainian people with signing the Agreement
the
According to the Information Policy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, MFA of Ukraine has received official greetings to the Ukrainian people on the occasion of the signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU from the Office of the President of the Lithuanian Republic, Dalia Grybauskaitė. In a video address to the Ukrainians Grybauskaitė said: “Dear people of Ukraine, today the European Union signed an Association Agreement with Ukraine. I acclaim your choice to be Europeans. The Association Agreement is your way to greater freedom, democracy and European prosperity,” the President of Lithuania said referring to to the Ukrainians. She stressed that “Lithuania and all the EU Member States welcome the decisive partner. This is our common opportunity to share with you the best we have - values and partnership.” “This is a great day for Europe. Because the Ukrainian people is a people that believe in the European way of life. In the today’s realities the European Choice is crucial, especially for Ukraine,” the statement says. “Dear citizens of Ukraine! I congratulate you on signing the Association Agreement and welcome you in the European family! Glory to Ukraine!” the President of Lithuania said.
The EU has created a site for Ukrainian businessmen and an Association Agreement Guide The delegation of the European Union has launched a website where Ukrainians will find the information on opportunities for SMEs after signing the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine. “At address www.europa-torgivlia.org.ua there will be a site with materials for businesses and entrepreneurs on the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine. We will update it together with the Delegation of the EU, there will be experts’ commentaries and information on opportunities for SMEs,” the developers of the site said. In particular, at the portal one can find the text of the agreement with the EU, information on free trade. The main objective of the
Van Rompuy: “This is a great day for Europe,” the President of the European Council said. “In Kyiv, people gave their lives for closer ties with the EU, and we will not forget that. Strong political and economic relations will lead to stability and prosperity throughout the European continent. This cooperation is based on common values - democracy, human 15
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Title VI regulates Ukraine’s receiving financial aid from the EU. ENP provides for giving it 470 million euros. These funds should be aimed at supporting activities in three priority areas: good governance and the rule of law, the entry into force of the Association Agreement and sustainability including that in the energy and environment areas. Title VII says about special institutions responsible for coordination between the EU and Ukraine to implement the Agreement and for the procedure of settlement of disputes and relations with other agreements.
project is to clarify the provisions of the Association Agreement and to inform entrepreneurs about the changes awaiting for them and the kind of impact adoption of the Agreement will make on the Ukrainian business. We shall remind you the summary of the Agreement The main text begins with the Preamble of the Agreement, which, although it is of an optional introductory nature, contains the basic aspects of relations between the EU and Ukraine. Title I outlines the general principles of cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union: respect for democratic principles, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and assurance of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and independence. Title II is devoted to the political association of the parties. An important place is given to the issue of common security and defense policy. Title III provides information about the cooperation of the parties in the field of personal data protection, migration, asylum and border control, anti-money laundering and anti-financing of terrorism, fighting corruption, crime and drug trafficking. Title IV is devoted to trade relations. It comprises 65% of the text and is not only the largest but also the most important chapter of the Agreement. It sets out the main principles of functioning of the deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA). As a major element of the Association Agreement DCFTA will create business opportunities in the EU and Ukraine, as well as promote real economic modernization and integration with the EU. This will help to improve product standards, quality services for citizens and increase the willingness of Ukrainian businesses to compete effectively in international markets. Title V lays out the economic and sectorial cooperation between the EU and Ukraine. The title is divided into 28 chapters, each dedicated to cooperation between the parties in a particular area, from public finance management to agriculture, from cooperation in the space sector to fisheries and maritime policy.
Historical background: The negotiations on the Agreement began in March 2007. After Ukraine’s accession to the WTO in February 2008, the EU and Ukraine launched negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA) as a key element of the Agreement. December 19, 2011. At the 15th EU-Ukraine Summit the representatives of the parties expressed understanding of the text of the Association Agreement. March 30, 2012. Heads of Delegation of the European Union and Ukraine initialed the text of the Agreement, including the provisions for the establishment of DCFTA. July 19, 2012. The part of the Agreement on the establishment of DCFTA was initialed. EU and Ukraine jointly pledged to take further technical steps required to complete the signing of the Agreement. March 21, 2014. During the Ukraine-EU summit political provisions of the Agreement (Preamble, Article 1, Sections I, II and VII) were signed . June 27, 2014. In Brussels, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU in its entirety.
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Education
School leavers wish to be of use to the country: they choose the medical or journalistic profession and go to the army Now the greatest demand is for IT-specialists, customer relations specialists and sales managers, meanwhile the younger generation wants to become doctors, journalists or members of the military. The time has come when young people have begun to choose not what is fashionable but what they want to do. and conditions,” they say in the association. “The most valuable professionals are those who have grown up in the company know its microclimate.” Employers believe that a good specialist will always find work. Those who do not love what they do will surely have problems. However, the members of the association are glad that there is the positive trend and that people have become more thoughtful when choosing a profession.
“Of course, when many businessmen try to optimize costs and reduce the staff, when many companies and stores close, more resumes come to the work sites,” a recruiter in Dnepropetrovsk Anna Levshunova says. “The number of vacant jobs remained the same, the number of resumes increased by approximately 20%. Now the employer is in a strong position.” According to Lyudmila Korneeva, the form tutor of the 11th grade of a high school in Dnipropetrovsk, in her class many would like to study medicine and journalism. “Seven to seven,” says Lyudmila Ivanivna. “It is obvious that they want to influence the situation in the country.”
However, while some people cannot find work, others leave it and go to defend their homeland. Such brave ones can now be found in many companies and enterprises. A former expert in plumbing Valery Samojlenko is now in Sloviansk. He left his wife with two little children, one of which is under a year, at home. “I know it is difficult without me, but I could not bear to look at my country being in danger,” the man says. “And there many guys like me. My wife did not want me to go, it is hard for her, but I could not stay at home, apart.” This position is also shared by those who want to win admission to the faculty of journalism this year. “I watch the news, and I’m afraid of bias at some channels and on the Internet,” says Marina Fitz, an enrollee. “I do not want the future profession to bring me money, I want to do good to people and to open their eyes to reality. We must tell what we see, whether anyone likes it or not.”
The teachers were also surprised at the fact that many boys leaving school are not afraid to go to the army if they fail at the entrance exams. “If in the previous years the boys were scared to death that they will have to do military service, now many people want it,” the teacher says. “They even give thought to relating their lives with the army.” In the Medical Academy and the Dnipropetrovsk National University it is confirmed that the competition for medicine and journalism will be higher this year. It is noted here that applicants are choosing not what is fashionable but what they want to do. The association of employers believe that professionals should be brought up and taken to the internship at the company fresh from university. “We conduct career guidance in schools. It is important to put into children’s heads that they will have to make money after the university, they must be aware of market trends 17
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Culture
Season of Festivals in Ukraine: Top 10 festivals of this summer Not everyone wants to spend their summer just lying in the sun on the beach. If you enjoy music, outdoor activities and having fun, then we can suggest you the top 10 various Ukrainian festivals of this summer! Where, how and how much will it cost you to relax? Gazeta.ua made an overview of 10 brightest summer festivals. Odessa International Film Festival
Shypit
We have already mentioned this festival in the previous issue, and it surely deserves to get into the top. We remind you that the festival will take place in Odessa on 11-19 July. This year the festival will include a competitive show of 7 fulllength films and 13 short films. The most anticipated premieres of the 5th Odessa Film Festival are a film by Sergei Loznitsa called “Maidan”, a historical drama by Oles Sanin “The Guide” and a picture of Nana Djordjadze “My mermaid, my Lorelei”. Odessa Film Festival Jury will be headed by the British director of fiction and documentary films Peter Webber. Also in the scope of Film Industry Office 2014 there will be the presentation of new Ukrainian films in the final stages of production - Work in Progress, as well as a pitching competition of the film projects shooting of which is planned for the nearest future. Tickets will go on sale in early July.
For the 16th time Shypit unites informal people from across Ukraine and beyond, near the eponymous falls in the Transcarpathian Podobovets. Restless poets, artists, writers, musicians, romantics — Shypit unites precisely this sort of people. The beauty contest «Miss Shypit», Children’s Day and Kupala Night on the night of 6 to 7 July will be conducted with local color and traditions under the motto of the festival «love, peace & wine». The only drawback of the fest is the variable weather, but continuous positive is hard to scare with rain. The festival will be held on 1-7 July, admission is free.
Rock’n’Ball An interesting festival will be held on July 27-28 at the village Sosnivka, Poltava region. Rock’n’Ball is a crazy mix of rock’n’roll and football. The football program involves the distribution of teams into three groups, conducting the group stage and the final four. The music stage is open to beginner bands as well as to already well-known groups such as “Auktyon” («АукцЫон»), “Nogu svelo!”, “7B”, “TNMK”, “Tartak” and “Vij”. Last year the price of a ticket for 1 day was above 100 UAH.
“Dreamland” A musical festival that will be held on July 6-7 in Kyiv, in Feofaniya Park. By the way, the venue is new, the festival has been moved from the traditional Spivoche Pole. This year, anyone could offer their own ideas for organization of the festival. The mechanism of “Public Funds” was introduced. This allowed Kievers contribute to the fest. This year’s festival will cover seven stages, on which bands and singers from about 10 countries will perform, among them: «The VYO» (Kyiv), Earth Wheel Sky Band (Serbia), Miąższ (Poland), «Serebryanaya Svadba» (Belarus) Mosaic (Poland), Kissmet (UK India), «E-BAND» (Kyiv) and others. At the same time a tent of Japanese martial arts will function at the festival — kendo, origami and dance workshops, lessons of Japanese calligraphy and a separate program for children. Adult 1 day ticket costs 100 UAH.
International Festival “ArtPole” The international festival “ArtPole” is music, performance, and at the same time land art. This year’s festival will be held on 8-12 July, but it was divided into two parts. The main event “ArtPole 2014” will be held, as always, in the Dniester canyon, and the final stage the organizers are planning to conduct in the village Unizh of Horodenkivsky district, Ivano-Frankivsk region. It is here where the arrival of the Australian band Wild Marmelade and the Polish one Karbido, preparing a special project, is expected. Tickets for all the festival days cost 220 UAH, and for the last two days of July 11-12 – 120 UAH. 18
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Culture
“Night in Lviv” On 11-13 of July the cultural life in Lviv will not calm down until late at night. A hard-driving program consisting of more than 100 nightlife entertainments will allow you to select an event to fit every taste and to discover an absolutely new nightlife of Lviv. For two days the visitors will be able to see a theatrical fire performance telling a love story at the museum “Arsenal” and watch the reconstruction of medieval battles and workshops on medieval dances. In Bandinelli Palace there will be a poetic installation of works by Antonych, a theatrical night tour of the city dungeons and a night tour of Lychakiv cemetery.
Energy Open Air
“Zahid” (“West”)
The Fourth Energy Open Air Festival will take place in Cherkasy in the camp “Dahnivska Sich” on 4-6 of July. It will bring together musicians and DJs from Europe and CIS countries. Energy Open Air is more than 70 hours of non-stop music on three stages and dance floors. It is already confirmed that there will perform such bands as Torch Project, T44, CanFly, Thorn Drive, Vyacha, Overdose Voltage, Cyberbrothers and DJs Atom, Alice Van Scott, Vamp. Here one can find music to suit all tastes – from light electronics to hard experimental noise. In addition to the musical part the visitors will see a fire show, art shows, mystical entertainment, experimental exhibitions, extraordinary scenery, and the exhibition of art-house films in a small festival cinema hall. Tickets cost from 299 UAH.
Famous Ukrainian and foreign bands, literary, artistic and theatrical stages – «Zahid» Festival on August 15-17 promises to be one of the highlights of the summer. It is already confirmed that there will perform such bands as Noize MC, “Skryabin”, “Tartak”, “The VYO”, “Lyapis Trubetskoy”, “Braty Hadiukiny”, Lumen, “TNMK”, “Kryhitka”, “Fiolet”, “Sertsevyi Napad” (“Heart Attack”), “Vopli Vidopliassova” (“VV”) and “Rolliks”. This year the art stage is represented by Dakh Daughters, Illusions, Zapaska and “DrumTyatr”. “Zahid” Fest will be held at the base “Solnechnaya Polyana” in the village Rodatychi, Gorodok district, Lviv region. Admission is from 400 UAH. On the territory of the festival an encampment will be located, also one can be living in the camp for the price of 50 UAH per day.
“Tyzhden aktualnogo mystetstva” (“Actual art week”) This year’s festival has changed its format drastically. If previously “Tyzhden aktualnogo mystetstva” was an integral action, now it unites several self-sufficient festivals that will last from August 28 to September 4. Traditionally, the Performance School and «MediaDepo» will function, and the organizers are preparing new activities and events within a week of traditional art. Gallery «Dzyga», «Jam Factory», Lviv. Admission is free.
International Folklore Festival “Etnovyr” Every year “Etnovyr” offers to its visitors colorful performances of groups from all over the world, spectacular parades of the participants through the central streets of the city and the presentation of traditional dishes of the world nations. During the festival Lviv will host a considerable number of groups from around the world, for example, the festival has already seen participants from Mexico, Martinique, Israel, Macedonia, Burundi. This year’s festival will be held in Lviv Market Square, 1 on August 20-24. Admission is free.
* Based on materials Gazeta.ua
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Society
A 13-year-old schoolboy from Melitopol established a new record using Maidan’s symbol The tires, the piles of which still overlook Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv, were used by a 13-year-old pupil from Melitopol. On June 24 Yegor Tkachuk set up the record of Ukraine and got into the Ukrainian Book of Records. He lifted a tire that weighs more than 13 kilos with one hand. In less than eight minutes he managed to do that one hundred times sharp. A little athlete says he would have lifted it even more times, but, according to the rules of the National Register of Records, there should be five seconds between two lifts. In this way the schoolboy established a new record in the section “The maximum quantity of tire pushes without time limit”. The record was registered by representatives of Ukraine’s National Register of records. According to the project leader Lana Vetrova, this unusual power record Yegor Tkachuk dedicated to the unity of Ukraine. In this manner he wanted to prop up the morale of the soldiers of the Ukrainian army and to show that there are people to protect it – now and in future. Lifting a tire was chosen intentionally: this year the tire became a peculiar symbol of Ukrainians’ struggle for independence and liberty. We remind you that Yegor’s extraordinary capabilities have been known for a long time by now. The boy used to be a participant of the TV-show “Ukrayina maye talant” (“Ukraine’s got talent”) where he showed strength exercise on a chinning bar. He got three “Yes” from the award panel and a chance to shake hands with the strongest man of Ukraine, Vasyl Virastyuk. Yegor has been pushing weights for long time now and applied for the record two years ago. Because of the revolutionary events it was decided that the achievement would be fixed using one of the symbols of the events in the capital. Besides powerlifting, Yegor can bend nails and he dreams of becoming a famous circus performer. Yegor is fascinated by acrobatics and power balancing acts in the popular circus “Polum’ya molodosti”. Now he is engaged into kettlebell lifting under the guidance of an honoured coach of Ukraine, a worldclass master of sport and a record-breaker himself, Sergiy Kubrak. Nevertheless, the boy’s senior coach and the main mentor is still his father Mykola Tkachuk who was on Maidan encouraging the son when Yegor set up the record.
“Best from Master” in Kyiv, NSC “Olimpiyskiy” From June 26 to June 28 NSC «Olimpiyskiy» in Kyiv hosted the sales exhibition “Best from Master”. The exhibition was of particular interest to those who admire exclusive handiwork, pieces of art and original souvenirs. Those who just wanted to make a unique present for their loved ones and those adoring art and wishing to get closer to it also were free to come. For three days – Thursday through Saturday – the pavilion on NSC “Olimpiyskiy” (Kyiv, Chervonoarmiyska/Velyka Vasilkivska St., 55) became the meeting point of Kievers and visitors. People could soak themselves in creative atmosphere, communicate with the authors, relax the mind and please the eye with handmade beauty. The exhibition “Best from Master” united expositions of handiwork made from different materials and in different techniques. That was the largest sales exhibition of works of art in the city. Such original works were presented: ceramics, pictorial art, collage, jewellery and objects of art; felting; batik; embroidery; decoupage; pysankas; dolls; souvenirs made of natural materials: stone, wood, metal, leather, osier, clay, etc.; various kinds of needlework. During the exhibition the visitors could buy in one place wonderful souvenirs and gifts, handmade objects, made with love and skill, original works of young and celebrated designers, painters, potters, artists of needlework. Workshops for children and adults also were conducted during the exhibition. 20
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Art
The Ukrainian film «The Tribe» received the Grand Prix at the Andrey Tarkovsky International Film Festival After a triumphant start at the Cannes Film Festival this May, a film by a young Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy received another award - the Grand Prix at the VIII Andrey Tarkovsky International Film Festival «The Mirror». The 67th Cannes Film Festival witnessed the world premiere of the Ukrainian film «The Tribe». At the festival, the film took part in one of the parallel competitive sections - The Critics’ Week. «The Tribe» was awarded three prizes in this program all at once, thus breaking the record. The film won the Grand Prix of The Critics’ Week, the Discovery Prize and the prize money for distributing the film in France. And on June 15 the winner of the VIII Andrey Tarkovsky International Film Festival «The Mirror» was announced and again it was the Ukrainian picture. Ten films participated in the main competition of the “Mirror” conducted for the eighth time in the Russian city Ivanovo, including Ukrainian «Tribe». The award was a cash prize of 1.5 million Russian rubles (about 500 thousand UAH). The results of the competition were announced on June 15 in Ivanovo musical theater, which hosted the film festival. The award was received by the actors who played in the film, because the director was unable to attend the festival due to the pressure of work. «I am happy that our film took the Grand Prix of Andrey Tarkovsky Festival. I’m lost for words,» the leading lady Yana Novikova said in sign language. But this success did not end, the film by the Ukrainian director also received a special award of the magazine «Séance» dedicated to the memory of Sergey Dobrotvorskiy. During the
festival it became known that the film will be released in the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Japan. In Ukraine it should be released on September 11 this year. Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy is the winner of many awards for his short films. His film «Deafness» and «Diagnosis» took part in the Berlin Film Festival in 2009 and 2010. «The Tribe» is a full-length debut of Slaboshpytskiy and it is an experiment in the field of cinema: the film was shot entirely in sign language, there is no subtitles and voiceover. The plot takes place in a Kyiv boarding school for deaf people, that is why all the characters speak entirely in sign language. In the story, a young boy comes to study to the boarding school for children with poor hearing, enters a group called «The Tribe» and falls in love with a girl.
The first official show of the film in Cannes gathered a huge queue. About 200 people failed to get into the cinema hall. The show was attended by representatives of the community of the deaf in France. Especially for them, the film was presented in Ukrainian, French and English sign languages.
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Culture
The festival “Trypilske kolo” 2014 VII International Eco-Cultural festival “Trypilske kolo 2014. Earth” took place on the Dnieper hills, in Rzhyshchiv town not far from Kyiv. The territory of the festival is 17 hectares of music, creativity, art and beauty.
“Trypilske kolo” is a festival jumble, numerous workshops, film representations, quests, seminars, various ethnic shows. And all of this is accompanied by Trypillya’s ecstatic rhythms along with wellknown world music groups, drum discos and authentic creative freestyle. This year the festival lasted 26 through 29 of June and was dedicated to the element of Earth. The main principle of the fest’s content, as it was in the previous six years, is following the lifestyle trends that are popularized and developed at “Trypilske kolo”. Among them are: maintaining ecology of communication, healthy lifestyle, contributing to the purity of environment, realizing the significance of our ancestors’ cultural and spiritual achievements since the times of the ancient and unique Trypilla culture that existed more than six thousand years ago. Building up the festival programme in these directions, the arrangers help every visitor and participant of “Trypilske kolo
lives: what do we eat? How do we keep fit? How do we treat our environment? The territory is free for art. Anyone is given a chance to selfactualize in creative work, to make something beautiful with their own hands or altogether to remember no only the result, but also the very process of the creative search. The task of the fest “Trypilske kolo 2014. Earth” is to wake a keen interest to the historic heritage, in particular to the Trypillia culture left to us, to suggest alternative ways of organizing leisure for families and youth, to revive and integrate into the modern world various ethnic traditions combining them with elements of modern achievements in the branches of culture, education, production, management and other spheres of life. The festival united recreational, sport, music, ecological, educational, exhibition and other culturalenlightenment and entertainment programmes in ethnic style.
2014. Earth” to find practical answers and to have the possibility to share their positive experience. It is this both-way traffic that guarantees creating a special atmosphere of the festival, in which the joy of sense bearing communication and cognition combine with the beauty of summer Dnieper landscapes and fresh air. The territory of “Trypilske kolo” is alcohol, tobacco and drugs free. The leisure at the fest with no stimulants proves to be possible, informative and outstandingly interesting for visitors of any age. On the territory, abundant with fresh air, breathing ground, spring water and fragrant greenery, people can start properly thinking of the naturalness of their own 22
№4, July 2014
Culture
A pottery «shift» in Opishnia From June 23 to 29 Opishnia, Zinkivsky district, Poltava region hosted the 6th Week of the National Pottery Shifting The 2014 Shift. The holiday of pottery took place in the Center of development of spiritual culture of the National Museum of the Ukrainian Pottery. “The 2014 Shift” in Opishnia is a nationwide science and art event, that aims at studying traditions and achievements of the pottery culture, the revival of folk pottery traditions, the development and popularization of modern pottery art in Ukraine. The main performance takes place in the “pottery capital of Ukraine” – the village Opishnia, Zinkivsky district, in the Center of development of spiritual culture that is a part of the National Museum of Ukrainian Pottery (Zalyvchoho St., 3). Also on June 28 as part of the Week of the National Pottery Shifting the National Festival of Pottery was celebrated. The arrangers conducted a lot of activities: International Art Fair «Pottery Universe Ukraine-2014», National blacksmith festival “VakulaFest-XXI”, «BodyCeramicFestUkraine» («BСFU-2014»), an exhibition of art pottery, creativity competitions of potters and pottery designers, a folk festival, a ceramics auction, Cossacks
Background: Pottery in Opishnia has been developing during the last three centuries. In the late nineteenth century about a thousand potters worked in the village. Their handicraft was world-known.
In March 1986, the first Ukrainian museum of pottery was established. In November 1989 the Nartional Museum of Ukrainian pottery was formed in Opishnia on its base. It was the world’s only museum institution, which hosted the Ceramology Institute – a branch of the Ethnology Institute – and the College of Arts. Since the early 1990s, the pottery art in Ukraine began to decline. The profile enterprise that functioned in Opishnia disappeared. However, local residents, craftsmen, still try to keep the traditions of Ukrainian pottery. The National Museum of Ukrainian pottery in Opishnia helps it a lot. It contains the biggest exhibition of monumental and garden clay sculptures in Ukraine and the largest in the country collection of the works of folk potters and pottery designers (35,000 items).
competitions, an ethnic disco etc. In addition, the guests of the holiday could try working as potters and could make their own “masterpiece” on a potter’s wheel. The arrangers invited potters, pottery designers, ceramologists, fine art experts, historians, archaeologists, ethnologists, local history experts, culture specialists, collectors, writers, academic institutions, art schools, creative unions, entrepreneurs in the field of art pottery, artistic craftwork enterprises, officials from ministries and departments concerned, pupils and students, and all others interested.
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№4, July 2014
Sports
FIFA World Cup 2014. The group stage full of surprise The group stage of World Cup 2014 is over now, and all the participants of the round of 16 have already been decided. The teams came to the playoff from four continents: 6 representatives of Europe (France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Greece), 5 representatives of South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina), 3 representatives of North and Central America (United States, Mexico and Costa Rica), 2 representatives of Africa (Nigeria and Algeria). The other 16 teams go home to watch football on TV. The national team of Brazil is the odds-on favourite for winning the championship according to the bookmaker’s office William Hill. The top five favourties also included the teams of Germany, Spain and Belgium. But we already know that Spain, the current world champion, goes home, as the match against the Netherlands ended with the score 1:5 in favor of the latter, and the match of Spain against Chile - with the score of 0:2 in favor of Chileans. The only victory of the Spaniards was in the match against Australia, but it did not help, so Spain leaves the Championship. Experts called group D the “Group of Death”, because even before the tournament it included three favourites - England, Italy and Uruguay - and one obvious outsider, the team of Costa Rica. Nevertheless, it is Costa Rica’s national team that won the first two matches and got a ticket to the playoff in advance. The second one was the Uruguayan national team, and the favourites England and Italy went home.
Kyiv will host the Ukrainian Diving Championship A national championship in diving starts in the metropolitan Sport Center «Liko». The competition will be held under the auspices of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Diving Federation. During the competition medals will be awarded in 11 types of programs: male – synchronized and individual diving from the diving tower (10 m), individual and synchronized springboard diving (3 m), individual springboard diving (1 m); female – synchronized and individual diving from the diving tower (10 m), individual and synchronized springboard diving (3 m), individual springboard diving (1 m). This competition will be qualifying for the European Championship, which will take place in Berlin in August and the FINA Diving World Cup that will be held in Shanghai in July. The Ukrainian Diving Championship will be held from June 24 to 29.
Vasyl Lomachenko beats Gary Russell and wins the world championship belt The Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko beats the American Gary Russell Jr. on points in a 12-round fight. Round by round the Ukrainian was better, leaving the much more experienced in professional boxing opponent no chance. As a result, two judges decided that Lomachenko won with a score of 116-112, and one judge managed to see a 114-114 draw. But most importantly, the vacant WBO belt now joins the collection of awards of the brilliant boxer from Belgorod-Dniester. Beyond any doubt, this is only the beginning. By winning the world title in his third fight, Lomachenko tied the record, which was set by Thailand’s Saensak Muangsurin, who won the world title back in 1975, also in his third pro fight. “I repeated the success of the Thai boxer, for me it is a great pleasure,” delighted Vasily said right after the fight. “I thank all the fans who came to support me from Ukraine. True boxing fans are probably glad for my victory. I thank them. I followed the game plan except for a few moments. I would like to pay tribute to Russell, he is a great boxer”.
The Ukrainian tennis player Tsurenko made her way to the second round at Wimbledon This season has been difficult for the former number one tennis player of Ukraine. Before Wimbledon Lesia Tsurenko has not won a single match in the main draw. She had to be content only with occasional victories in qualifying tours, but it did not become an obstacle in her match against Dinah Pfizenmaier from Germany. Our compatriot grasped the nettle at once with an early break sending her 3-1 up. The German tennis player had only one chance to play it back, but Tsurenko did not only maintained the score, but also stretched her lead. In the second game Lesia tore her opponent to shreds. Using the maximum of her capabilities, the Ukrainian tennis player did not give Dinah time even to take a breath. In twenty-two minutes, without losing a single game, our compatriot won the right to play in the next round, where her opponent will be Simona Halep.
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St. George’s Cathedral St. George’s Cathedral (Sobor sviatoho Yura) in Lviv is a Greek Catholic cathedral of the Metropolitanate of Halychyna, a baroque-rococo monumental architectural ensemble with distinctive national features. It is situated on St. George Hill (Sviatoyurs’ka Hora). The address is: Sv. Yura Square, 5. Since 1998 the Cathedral together with the Ensemble of the Historic Centre of Lviv are included into the World Heritage List of UNESCO. The Cathedral itself is a part of the complex consisting of: a baroque cathedral with a bell tower, a rococo metropolitan chamber with classical galleries, chapter houses, a terrace with dog-leg stairs, a laced fence around the cathedral’s garth with two gates and the walls surrounding the chapter houses and the metropolitan’s garden.