Conclusion of THE YEAR IN REVIEW pages 7-14

ThePublished U by thekrainian Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationeekly Vol. LXXXIII No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 $2.00 Senators urge more aid escalates war, to allow to defend itself dispatches new forces WASHINGTON – Sens. Rob Portman be allowed to succeed. We believe it is time (R-Ohio) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on to increase military assistance to Ukraine February 3 urged President and urge the U.S. and NATO to move quick- and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ly. Despite the welcome imposition of U.S. (NATO) to rapidly increase military assis- and EU sanctions and mounting interna- tance to Ukraine to defend its sovereign bor- tional isolation, Russian President ders against escalating Russian aggression. [Vladimir] Putin appears willing to gamble Sens. Portman and Durbin were joined his country’s economy and world standing by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Sherrod to further his blatant military invasion of Brown (D-Ohio), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), another nation. That he is willing to under- Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John take such a selfish pursuit at the cost of the McCain (R-Ariz.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Russian people’s freedoms, aspirations and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Barbara Boxer talents is only the more tragic. Such a dan- (D-Calif.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Ben Cardin gerous international bully will only stand (D-Md.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Joe Donnelly down when faced with credible resistance.” (D-Ind.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.). The senators also noted: “As Ukrainian Similarly, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko recently ranking member of the Senate Foreign said, ‘Putin fears a Ukraine that demands to Relations Committee, on January 29 wrote live and wants to live and insists on living a letter to Secretary of State on European values – with a robust civil advocating the full implementation of the society and freedom of speech and relation

Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 and [and] with a system of values the Ukrainian Aleksandr Sinitsa/UNIAN strongly urging the Obama administration people have chosen and laid down their members carry the coffin of a fellow fighter on February 2 on “to provide Ukraine with the weapons it lives for.’ We must help her and her fellow Independence Square in . needs to defend itself.” succeed. The bipartisan Ukraine In their joint letter, the 15 senators – Freedom Support Act, which passed the by Zenon Zawada the fiercest battle yet at the nine Democrats and six Republicans – Congress in December, authorized tighter regional railroad hub of on wrote: “Russia’s affront to established sanctions and such military equipment. We KYIV – The escalated in February 1 and subsequent days. international norms is a direct threat to urge you to take such steps without delay.” recent weeks as Ukrainian forces suffered Evidence has surfaced of the Russian decades of established European security In his letter to Secretary Kerry, Sen. defeat at the ruined Donetsk airport. They government’s direct role in the war’s recent architecture and the democratic aspira- regrouped and two weeks later thwarted tions of the Ukrainian people. It must not (Continued on page 3) Russian forces in what was described as (Continued on page 21) BREAKING NEWS Ukrainian foreign aff airs offi cial optimistic Kerry brings Kyiv funds for humanitarian aid only that aid will come soon from U.S., Europe by Yaro Bihun of this sum under discussion now is in the KYIV – Even as news stories more range of $2 billion to $3 billion for the near and more frequently reported that the WASHINGTON – Ukraine’s Vice-Minister future. The rest should come from Obama administration was considering of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystayko countries, the International lethal aid to Ukraine, The Washington expressed his optimism that the military Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Post’s Carol Morello reported on and economic aid Ukraine needs to survive Mr. Prystayko said Ukraine does not February 5 that Secretary of State John its current military and economic crises expect to receive the U.S. portion in “one F. Kerry had arrived in Kyiv, “bearing a will soon be forthcoming from the United big envelope,” but it does expect the first modest package of humanitarian aid but States, Europe and major international installment to replace the current “stand- stopping short of offering the expanded organizations. by” program within the next two months. Speaking with journalists at the military assistance sought by Ukraine.” And this could be finalized before Secretary Embassy of Ukraine on January 30, at the She also noted: “Kerry announced on of State John Kerry’s next visit to Ukraine, conclusion of his four-day visit here, Mr. he added. (That visit was scheduled for his arrival that the United States would Prystayko said he discussed the situation in February 5.) provide an additional $16 million in Ukraine and the assistance it needs with Mr. Prystayko said that the military humanitarian aid to buy blankets, repair U.S. officials at the White House and State assistance and coordination needed by homes, obtain wheelchairs and provide Department, and at the Atlantic Council Ukraine changes, pointing out that while counseling for the victims of ongoing and other think tanks. As a result, he said, it military vehicles used to be on top of war in Ukraine. There was no mention was his understanding that the Obama Ukraine’s list in the past, now anti-missile of defensive military equipment.” administration will soon come to an agree- are considered very important for Mr. Kerry met with President Petro ment with Congress. the safety of Ukrainian soldiers and civil- Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Military aid is uppermost on Ukraine’s ians – along with continued diplomatic Yatsenyuk. In a joint appearance with needs list, he said, but an estimated $15 bil- pressure and sanctions on Russia. Mr. Poroshenko after their meeting, the Yaro Bihun Ukraine’s Vice-Minister of Foreign lion financial aid package to help stabilize Asked what Ukrainians living abroad can (Continued on page 20) Affairs Vadym Prystayko speaks at the Ukraine’s currency and balance its budget is Embassy of Ukraine. also important. He said that the U.S. portion (Continued on page 20) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

ANALYSIS

Russia grinds down Ukrainian troops Savchenko’s life ‘hangs in the balance’ New charge: illegal crossing WASHINGTON – U.S. State Department PRAGUE – A lawyer for while Western support is elusive spokesman Jen Psaki said on February 4 says new a charge has been filed against his that the life of Ukrainian officer client. Ilya Novikov wrote on Facebook late on January 29 that she had been charged by Vladimir Socor taining war morale, do not reflect that mili- Nadiya Savchenko “hangs in the balance” with illegal border crossing. On Facebook, Eurasia Daily Monitor tary predicament. after 54 days on a hunger strike in a Having defeated Ukraine in the battle for Russian prison. Ms. Psaki called Lt. Mr. Novikov later posted a letter Lt. Russian and proxy forces are attacking Donetsk airport, Russian and proxy forces Savchenko “a hostage to Russian authori- Savchenko addressed to a jailed Russian Ukrainian positions at multiple points are currently attacking the Ukrainian-held ties” and said Washington demanded her activist, Mark Galperin, in which she wrote along the frontline since mid-January, Debaltseve salient. This is a critical railroad immediate release in accordance with the that she feels “okay and will fight on.” She bringing to bear superior armored forces, and highway junction. Ukrainian control of commitments Russia made under an wrote that “Ukraine and Russia together will unmatched heavy firepower and electronic it is the last major obstacle to the establish- agreement signed in Minsk in September defeat the evil and shameful government.” warfare support. These offensive opera- ment of direct transportation links of last year. A court in Moscow announced Russian officials have rejected calls by Kyiv tions are mostly positional and attritional between the Donetsk and “peo- on February 4 that it would issue a ruling and the West for her release. (RFE/RL) for the time being, with a distinct potential ple’s republics.” Conversely, DPR-LPR con- on February 10 about whether to grant a Will U.S. arms go to Ukraine? for breakthrough and forward movement trol of Debaltseve would enable them to request by Russia’s Investigative into Ukrainian-controlled territory. The reliably unify their territories, infrastruc- Committee to extend Lt. Savchenko’s pre- WASHNGTON – A senior official said on objectives are to grind down Ukrainian ture and military forces as well as, ulti- trial detention until May 13. Lt. Savchenko February 4 that Vice- President Joe Biden forces, bite off additional chunks of mately, achieve the political unification of began her hunger strike on December 13, would meet in Europe with German Ukrainian territory the two “republics.” 2014, to protest her incarceration by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian and compel Kyiv to Russian and proxy Bereft of Western Russian authorities. She was transferred to President later this week request another forces have not man- the hospital ward at Moscow’s notorious to discuss expanded sanctions against armistice on Russian military assistance, aged to encircle the Russia and possible U.S. security assistance terms, as a last resort Matrosskaya Tishina detention center on Ukraine is facing Ukrainian forces in for Ukraine. Mr. Poroshenko, who meets for Ukraine to avoid January 29 because of what medical per- the Debaltseve area with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in further losses. This Russia one-on-one. sonnel described as “abrupt weight loss.” completely. But they Kyiv on February 5, has said he does not would largely repro- have captured the Lt. Savchenko was captured by pro-Russian duce the August–September 2014 scenario, separatists in eastern Ukraine in June 2014 have “a slightest doubt that the decision to district center and the long- supply Ukraine with weapons will be made possibly without resorting again to an fought over Nikyshne. They are attacking and transferred to Russian custody in July. by the United States as well as by other overt, full-scale intervention of Russian the salient on both flanks, reducing it in Russian prosecutors have charged her with partners of ours.” France and Germany conventional forces. The ongoing offensive size, and squeezing some Ukrainian forces involvement in the deaths of two Russian have already said that they do not intend to seems so calibrated as to avoid additional from it via the remaining corridor. journalists who were killed while covering supply Ukraine with lethal weapons in the sanctions on Russia (see Eurasia Daily According to President Petro Poroshenko’s the war in eastern Ukraine. Lt. Savchenko Monitor, January 22, 23, 29). military adviser, Gen. Oleksandr Kuzmuk says the case against her is fabricated, her near future. But Ashton Carter, President At the ongoing rate of attrition, (the former defense minister), full encircle- transfer to Russia was illegal, and that Barack Obama’s nominee to be the next U.S. Ukrainian forces may, at some point, run ment of Debaltseve would open the way Russia has no right to prosecute her. (RFE/ defense secretary, told Congress on well short of replacement capacity for toward Artemivsk, and further RL) February 4 that he was leaning in favor of armor and artillery. Meanwhile Russia has on (, UNIAN, January 31; providing lethal military aid to Ukraine. Mr. launched a political warfare campaign to Sprotyv.info, January 28–February 2). Lawyer says Savchenko ‘dying slowly’ Carter told his Senate confirmation hearing disrupt Ukraine’s mobilization and con- that he would “very much incline” in the Bereft of Western military assistance, PRAGUE – A lawyer for Nadiya scription. Ideally, from the Kremlin’s per- direction of supplying weaponry to Ukraine is facing Russia one-on-one. Savchenko says the captured Ukrainian spective, protests would erupt in Kyiv if Ukraine. The Washington Post reported Almost one year after Russia’s first attack pilot is “dying slowly” in a Russian prison Ukrainian troops yield more ground, or if that he said: “We need to support the on Ukraine, the Obama administration after more than 50 days on a hunger strike. the Ukrainian president and government Ukrainians in defending themselves.” The “appears to be edging [sic]” (The New York Ilya Novikov visited Lt. Savchenko at a hos- are compelled to accept Moscow’s terms Post also noted that, in response to a ques- Times, February 1; , February 2) pital ward in Moscow’s notorious for an armistice. Ukrainian military com- tion from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center on muniqués, understandably geared to sus- (Continued on page 16) chairman of the Senate Armed Services February 2. He told RFE/RL’s “Current Committee, Mr. Carter said he would first Time” TV program on February 3 that Lt. need to consult with U.S. military leaders Savchenko is still refusing to eat but was and Ukrainian officials before making a drinking about two liters of water a day specific recommendation about what kind while allowing doctors to inject “anything ’s dirty little war of weapons Washington should send to they deem necessary.” Mr. Novikov said: “To Kyiv. But he left no doubt that he supported by Roger McDermott launcher systems (MRLS). Also, in late speak bluntly, she is dying, but she is dying Eurasia Daily Monitor January, footage emerged in the rebel-held slowly.” (RFE/RL) (Continued on page 20) town of showing two Since Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine Pantsir-S1 truck-mounted anti- and in February 2014, its ongoing operations surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems – a center upon “plausible deniability.” With modification specifically incorporated into the passage of time and more and more the in 2012 (The The Ukrainian Weekly FOUNDED 1933 evidence entering the public domain, how- Moscow Times, January 28). ever, “plausible deniability” has appeared Consequently, it is worth examining An English-language newspaper published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., increasingly ridiculous. The Russian politi- some examples of the presence of Russian a non-profit association, at 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054. cal-military leadership continues to repudi- weapons systems and military equipment Yearly subscription rate: $90; for UNA members — $80. ate any involvement of the country’s armed in southeastern Ukraine in order to demon- Periodicals postage paid at Caldwell, NJ 07006 and additional mailing offices. forces in southeastern Ukraine, or the sup- strate the presence of Russian military per- (ISSN — 0273-9348) ply of weapons, military equipment and sonnel (Livejournal, January 15). These The Weekly: UNA: logistical assistance to the separatists weapons systems and items of military Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 644-9510 Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 292-0900 (Gazeta, January 22). equipment not only come from the Russian While the North Atlantic Treaty military inventory but, in some cases, are Postmaster, send address changes to: Organization (NATO) and its governments also modern and advanced – which places The Ukrainian Weekly Editor-in-chief: Roma Hadzewycz continue to accuse Moscow of direct and great demands on those using such tech- 2200 Route 10 Editor: Matthew Dubas indirect activities linked to its active nology, if they have insufficient training. P.O. Box 280 involvement in Ukraine, senior Russian offi- The Ukrainian National Security and Parsippany, NJ 07054 e-mail: [email protected] cials repeat a mantra of disavowal. These Defense Council has also alleged the pres- views permeate analytical articles in the ence of advanced Russian weapons sys- The Ukrainian Weekly Archive: www.ukrweekly.com Russian military media. Illustratively, a tems and military hardware, including, recent article in Nezavisimoye Voyennoye TOS-1 Buratino MLRS, S-300V SAM sys- The Ukrainian Weekly, Febuary 8, 2015, No. 6, Vol. LXXXIII Obozreniye by its editor Oleg Odnokolenko tems, 9K58 Smerch and 9K57 Uragan Copyright © 2015 The Ukrainian Weekly presented views on the conflict predicated MLRS, T-90 tanks and BTR-80AM armored on such denial (Nezavisimoye Voyennoye personnel carriers (APC) (UNIAN, January Obozreniye, January 30). 17). However, apart from tanks and ADMINISTRATION OF THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY AND SVOBODA However, observers note the presence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), even Russian-manufactured and Defense clearer evidence exists in relation to other Walter Honcharyk, administrator (973) 292-9800, ext. 3040 and advertising manager fax: (973) 644-9510 Ministry-owned weapons and equipment Russian military hardware, ranging from e-mail: [email protected] appearing on Ukrainian territory. One such electronic warfare systems, armored vehi- Subscription Department (973) 292-9800, ext. 3040 example relates to the shelling of e-mail: [email protected] using Grad and Uragan multiple rocket (Continued on page 16) No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 3

FOR THE RECORD Ambassador Samantha Power at U.N.: offensive in Ukraine’s east “made in Moscow” Following is the statement, slightly attacks on the city. Approximately 30 peo- ensuring full compliance with the Minsk ists with hundreds of pieces of advanced abridged here, by U.S. Permanent ple were killed, including women, elderly accords.” On Saturday, though, weaponry, including additional rocket sys- Representative to the and children, one of whom was a 4-year- Zakharchenko openly admitted his forces tems, heavy artillery, tanks and armored Samantha Power to the U.N. Security Council old boy. Some 40 rounds of rockets struck were violating those same accords. He vehicles. on January 26. the city, hitting a market, homes and a appeared not to have gotten the Russian In mid-to-late January, notwithstanding school, among other civilian structures. The memo, which clearly calls for violating the the shoot down of MH-17, Russia even …Just five days ago, we met in this coun- impartial OSCE Special Monitoring Mission accords while pretending you are not. deployed into eastern Ukraine advanced cil and denounced the devastating conse- to Ukraine examined blast craters and con- Despite Zakharchenko’s statements, surface-to-air missile and antiaircraft sys- quences of attacks by Russian-backed sepa- cluded that they had been caused by Grad Russia continues to try to play the interna- tems, marking the highest level of Russian ratists on civilians in eastern Ukraine, and rockets fired from multi-rocket launcher tional community for the fool, and blame air defense presence in eastern Ukraine we appealed to Russia to stop supporting, systems in separatist-controlled areas. … the violence on the Ukrainians. As recently since September 2014. There is a direct training and fighting alongside separatist When, on Saturday, members of the as yesterday, Foreign Minister [Sergei] correlation between the movement of forces. Members of this council pressed council tried to issue a joint statement Lavrov said, “The worsening situation in heavy weapons, the surge in that move- Russia and the separatists not only to denouncing the civilian casualties and Ukraine was the result of constant attacks ment across the border and attempts by recommit themselves to the agreements expressing concern conducted by the separatists to take more ground. they had made at Minsk, but actually to about the separatist’s Ukrainian govern- The horror wrought by this arsenal has honor those commitments in their actions. statements, as we’ve This offensive is ment troops, which been deadly. According to the UN High Unfortunately, we are back here today heard, Russia blocked made in Moscow. breached the Minsk Commissioner for Human Rights, January because Russia and the separatists have it. No wonder, given agreements.” We 13th to the 21st was the deadliest period once again flouted these commitments. that less than a day It is waged by Rus- heard the same here on record since the September 5th agree- The targets are fresh ones, but Russia’s earlier Russia had sian-trained and today from the repre- ment was signed in Minsk. During this time, end goal remains the same: to seize more been perfectly con- sentative of the an average of 29 people were killed each territory and move the line of Russian- tent disseminating Russian-funded Russian Federation. day. More than 5,000 people have been controlled territory deeper and deeper into Zakharchenko’s separatists, who use Zakharchenko’s killed and almost 11,000 maimed since the Ukraine. statements in its Russian missiles statements are a conflict began in April 2014. And today, this This time, though, statements by the state-run media. It problem for Russia very day, the attacks continue on the civil- separatists are complicating Russia’s strate- would be strange to and Russian tanks, because they are too ian-populated areas over the Minsk gy. On Friday, January 23, the de factor lead- be concerned about who are backed up straightforward. As Ceasefire lines – not only in Mariupol and er of the Russian-backed separatists in statements one had members of this Debaltseve, but also in Pisky and Donetsk, said, encouraged and pub- by Russian troops, Council know – and Stanychno-Luhanske. and I quote: “Today the offensive on licized. and whose opera- as, increasingly, all the To the Russians, Mariupol and Mariupol begins.” He also said, “There will But when your tions receive direct world can see – the Debaltseve may just be strategic chess piec- be no more ceasefires.” He said the separat- state news agency separatists he claims es in their effort to move the line of territo- ists would not stop their attacks until they circulates announce- Russian assistance. to lead are trained ry that they control. But these cities are had, “reached the of the former ments relishing a and equipped by also home to hundreds of thousands of Donetsk region,” bragging that separatist new offensive and your refuse to Russia, and fight with Russian forces by Ukrainian civilians. Nearly 500,000 people forces were now “able to attack in three express concern about them, you own not their side. So when Zakharchenko brags live in Mariupol, the second biggest city in directions simultaneously.” The representa- only the statements, but also the offensives. about seizing territory beyond the Minsk the Donetsk region, and more than 25,000 tive of the Russian Federation today said Now sometimes, perhaps given the fog ceasefire line; when he announces at rallies live in Debaltseve. Mariupol is home to 92 that these are statements we have taken of this bloody war, the separatists are too that separatists will strike Ukrainian forces pre-schools, attended by 13,000 children. out of context. What context possibly justi- explicit about their objectives. Indeed, after without provocation; when he says he is …If Russia is serious about peace, why fies a massive offensive against a civilian initially blasting around the separatists’ not interested in negotiating; he is not only doesn’t Russia condemn the statements by populated town? I would note, also, that Mariupol ambitions in the news service, speaking about the separatists’ intentions, separatists that they will attack Ukrainians attacking in three directions, as the sepa- Russia began to see the same ghastly imag- but also about Russia’s intentions. This first and accept no more ceasefires, instead ratist leader said he now had the capability es and reports of the carnage that the rest offensive is made in Moscow. It is waged by of trying to erase those statements from its – his forces had the capability to do – takes of us saw. At that point, perhaps knowing Russian-trained and Russian-funded sepa- state-run news services? If Russia is serious a lot of weapons and forces. This capability the source of the weaponry used, Russia ratists, who use Russian missiles and about peace, why doesn’t it pull its tanks reflects the difference made by the substan- tried to deny any tie between the separat- Russian tanks, who are backed up by and Grad missiles out of eastern Ukraine, tial, months-long influx of Russian person- ists and the attacks. The Russian news ser- Russian troops, and whose operations instead of sending in more? If Russia is seri- nel and heavy weapons. … vice, TASS, even tried to erase from official receive direct Russian assistance. ous about peace, why doesn’t it withdraw If only the separatist’s words had been news stories all quotes from Zakharchenko Since December, Russia has transferred its forces at least to the lines agreed upon at empty bravado. Unfortunately, on Saturday, speaking about the separatists’ attacks. hundreds of pieces of military equipment Minsk, rather than sending in a huge infu- the world witnessed the horrors that It is not hard to understand why Russia to pro-Russian separatists in eastern sion of Russian heavy weapons so as to resulted from the separatists’ attack on does not want the world to hear separat- Ukraine, including tanks, armored vehi- carve out new lines. Mariupol, a city 25 kilometers outside of ists’ statements. Last Wednesday, the repre- cles, rocket systems, heavy artillery and Only if Russia takes these steps will the Minsk line. On Saturday alone, more sentative of the Russian Federation told this other military equipment. And in recent there be a chance for the political solution than 100 people were injured in rocket council that, “the Russian Federation is weeks, Russia has resupplied the separat- that is so desperately needed.

dren, and injured more than 100 others. Senators urge... This follows two weeks of intense violence MUST READ in which attacks on civilian buses claimed (Continued from page 1) more than 20 innocent lives.” “Save the New Ukraine” (The New York Times, January 27), Bernard Henri Menendez referred to the deadliest period “Using the Ukraine Freedom Support Act Levy and George Soros write: “A new Ukraine was born a year ago in the pro-Europe- of conflict in Ukraine since the ceasefire as a framework for action, the U.S. should an •protests In that helped to drive President Viktor F. Yanukovych from power. And agreement was signed on September 5, increase its pressure by imposing additional today, the spirit that inspired hundreds of thousands to gather in the Maidan, Kiev’s 2014, and stated: “The international com- sanctions on Russia, and provide strong sup- [sic] Independence Square, is stronger than ever, even as it is under direct military munity has an obligation to respond to port for the Ukrainian people through the assault from Russian forces supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine.” these attacks and to Putin, who has willful- provision of defensive military assistance, as They continue: “The new Ukraine seeks to become the opposite of the old ly ignored commitments made under the well as financial backing and humanitarian Ukraine, which was demoralized and riddled with corruption. The transformation Minsk Agreement and clearly signaled his aid,” the New Jersey senator wrote. has been a rare experiment in participatory democracy; a noble adventure of a peo- intentions to escalate tensions in Ukraine Sen. Menendez noted that the adminis- ple who have rallied to open their nation to modernity, democracy and Europe. … and across the region. While we should tration is required by the Ukraine Freedom Maidan’s supporters have moved from opposition to nation building.” continue to pursue a diplomatic track, a Support Act to report by February 15 on its The authors state that “[Vladimir] Putin appears to have decided that he can more assertive international response, led plan for increasing military assistance to destroy the new Ukraine before it can fully establish itself and before an economic by the United States, is required.” the . “The law downturn destroys his own popularity. The Russian president is stepping up the mil- Pointing to the “build-up of Russian mili- authorized the provision of defense articles itary and financial pressure on Ukraine,” and they underscore: “It is not only the tary presence” and “an alarming spike in including anti-tank and anti-armor weap- future of Ukraine that’s at stake, but that of the European Union itself. The loss of violence by Russian-backed separatists on ons, crew weapons and ammunition, Ukraine would be an enormous blow; it would empower a Russian alternative to the both military and civilian populations,” Sen. and communications equipment for the European Union based on the rule of force rather than the rule of law. But if Europe Menendez noted: “The January 24 attack Ukrainian military. Such assistance is delivered the financial assistance that Ukraine needs, Mr. Putin would eventually be on the portside town of Mariupol, which is urgently required to repel the Russian- forced to abandon his aggression.” located 25 kilometers outside of the Minsk backed forces as they continue to step up To read the full text see http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/opinion/ber- ceasefire line, killed at least 27 innocent their heavily armed attacks,” he under- nard-henri-levi-george-soros-save-the-new-ukraine.html?_r=0. civilians, some of them women and chil- scored. 4 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

COMMENTARY Why Obama is no friend of Ukraine What is to be done?

by Jaroslaw Martyniuk Brzezinski have given up on the president by Mykola Hryckowian from September through December, meet- doing the right thing a long time ago. Just ing with senators, congressmen and their On September 18, 2014, President Petro the other day I learned from a credible In December 2014, the Ukrainian staff to explain Ukraine’s military needs. Poroshenko of Ukraine made an urgent source that the Pentagon was preparing to American community pulled off what was The combined work of the community, our appeal to the U.S. Congress for more mili- ship to Ukraine the weapons it had been described as a “minor miracle” on Capitol friends in Congress and the Rada delega- tary equipment, both lethal and non-lethal. asking for. Everything was set to go. Then Hill – through the community’s advocacy tions created enough momentum in “Blankets, night-vision goggles are impor- Susan Rice, the president’s national securi- efforts, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act Washington to get the legislation passed tant,” he said. “But one cannot win the war ty advisor who never does anything with- (USFA) of 2014 was voted into law and and signed into law. with blankets. Even more, we cannot keep out consulting with the president, negated signed by President Barack Obama. The The effort to pass the USFA was coordi- the peace with a blanket.” The standing the order. main portion of this law authorizes the nated by the Ad Hoc Committee for Ukraine ovation was resounding. Everyone was in Taken together, Mr. Obama’s reputation president of the United States to provide (AHCU), which was formed in October agreement, from the State Department to as an indecisive leader cost him his credibil- lethal defensive military aid to Ukraine. Our 2104 by members of a broad section of generals at the Pentagon. Only the White ity not only with America’s allies, but even community achieved this through a united Ukrainian American community organiza- House rebuffed Ukraine’s appeal for weap- worse, with her enemies. Such ineptness effort that included thousands of phone tions and several American NGOs. Its pur- ons, citing its “fear of escalating tensions.” should be of great concern to Ukrainian calls, e-mails and letters, as well as face-to- pose was making sure the UFSA was President Obama’s refusal to act was fol- Americans, especially to those who still sup- face meetings with our lawmakers. The passed into law and that it does not lowed by a flurry of activity by the UCCA’s port him. Mr. Obama’s lofty pronounce- Ukrainian American community deserves become just a symbolic gesture. While the Washington office and the Ukrainian dias- ments of standing with Ukraine have not, high praise for this. UFSA has become law, it remains to us to thus far, been backed up by serious moves pora. The effort seemed to be have paid off. In addition to the community pulling make sure it is faithfully implemented. Precisely three months to the day, on that would give credence to his pronounce- together and focusing on defending On that point, we, as a community, have December 18, 2014, President Obama ments. Mr. Putin, of course, has interpreted Ukraine, there was significant support from to ask: Since the UFSA was signed into law, signed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, a such hesitation as a carte blanche to do as Ukraine and its friends in the Senate and what has Ukraine received in the form of bipartisan bill passed by both houses of he pleases. And he did. After the holidays, the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus in the military aid? Unfortunately, the answer is: Congress. One of the principal provisions of on January 24, the terrorists, with tacit the act specifically authorized the presi- approval from Moscow, launched a fresh House of Representatives. Ukrainian parlia- very little. As of the writing of this article, dent to supply new anti-tank and anti- offensive against Mariupol, a target of both mentarians and military experts were in Ukraine has received a few more anti-mor- armor weapons, radar, and tactical troop strategic and symbolic importance in their Washington on an almost constant basis tar radars and the U.S. issued export licens- operated drones and commu- bloody conflict with the government in Kyiv. es for 50-caliber sniper rifles that Ukraine nications equipment. Mariupol’s fall will open a link to Mykola Hryckowian is the director of the had purchased – with its own money – But wait, even before the ink was dry, and there is no question that Odesa is next Washington office of the Center for U..S- from a U.S. manufacturer. the president issued a rider: “At this time, in line. This, friends, is the price Ukraine will Ukrainian Relations, which has organized At the same time, Russian proxies in the the administration does not intend to pay for President Obama’s lack of resolve. over 60 conferences in the U.S., Europe and Donbas have significantly escalated their impose sanctions under this law.” Or, in Soon Mr. Obama’s resolve will be tested Ukraine on matters of U.S.-Ukraine rela- violence with the targeting of civilians. The other words, Mr. Obama was not about to again. Recently in New Delhi he promised tions, European Union-Ukraine relations, Russian Federation has increased its direct antagonize Vladimir Putin any further and to “look at all additional options that are national security, energy security and eco- involvement in the conflict; according to repeated his determination that “our goal available to us” to “ratchet up the pressure nomic development. Since October 2014, he Ukrainian intelligence there are more than is to promote a diplomatic solution that on Russia.” One of the non-military options has served as the chair of the Ad Hoc provides a lasting resolution to the con- on the table is revoking Russia’s SWIFT Committee for Ukraine. (Continued on page 22) flict.” The end result was that the Ukrainian privileges. It may or may not be too late, government would not get the lethal weap- but soon we will know how serious our ons to enhance its ability to defend itself. president is about taking a strong stand on Mr. Obama’s penchant for indecision and Ukraine. weakness is now legendary. Every time he After nearly a year of blatant Russian Geneva v. Moscow says “no boots on the ground,” he displays aggression, Mr. Obama is still lecturing Mr. charged under the Russian Criminal Code. not only a defeatist attitude, but violates Putin with platitudes. On January 26 The by Askold S. Lozynskyj Geneva’s Third Convention is quite clear one of the cardinal rules of conflict resolu- Washington Post, a paper generally not that a POW cannot be charged with a crimi- tion: don’t let the other side know how far unfriendly to Mr. Obama, wrote “That will Citing international documents, conven- nal offense. Any wrongdoing must be adju- you are prepared to go; let them worry. not be enough. At a minimum the European tions or treaties when dealing with Russia dicated under international justice. Little wonder jokes such as “Putin is play- Union and United States should agree by is an exercise in futility. A more meaningful According to Mark Feygin, Lt. ing chess, while Obama is playing check- Thursday to prepare deeper sanctions task would be locating a single internation- Savchenko’s attorney, Nadiya is not alone. ers,” are making the rounds, although per- against the Russian economy and financial al convention or treaty that Russia and/or There are some 30 Ukrainian service mem- haps a better analogy would be “Putin is system and to set a deadline for making a its predecessor the USSR have not violated bers being held in Russian jails. Russia playing poker while Obama is playing golf.” decision on them… In addition, Mr. Obama in large part or ignored entirely. Conventions refuses to recognize them as POWs protect- There’s no need to list all of his foreign should finally give serious consideration to and treaties nonetheless remain interna- ed by the Geneva Conventions. policy failures. They are obvious to any providing Ukraine with the defensive weap- tional norms of a civilized international Twenty-two members of the U.S. House intelligent observer. As for successes, it’s ons it has been pleading for — an ‘option’ community that must be taken into consid- of Representatives have written to difficult to find even one. It is clear that Mr. that has strong bipartisan support in eration when dealing with Russia. Russia’s Secretary of State John Kerry to intervene Obama has little grounding in history that Congress. The point is not to defeat the failure to comply, often arrogantly, should be with the Russians in this matter. Most would allow him to understand the nature Russian army but to deter Mr. Putin.” perceived as an unwillingness on the part of recently the Parliamentary Assembly of the of the Russian beast. Neither does he pos- Although Western sanctions have deep- Russia to be a part of that civilized interna- Council of Europe (PACE) granted interna- sess the will or desire to confront Mr. Putin. ened Russia’s economic crisis, they have tional community with consequences. Thus, tional immunity to Lt. Savchenko and called We learned of this alarming level of disin- not deterred Mr. Putin. Not even the col- Russia must be considered a pariah and a for her immediate release from the Russian terest from Robert Gates’ and Leon lapse of oil prices (which the U.S. had noth- global danger much more significant prison. She had been elected to Ukraine’s Panetta’s memoirs. And many suspect that ing to do with) and the crashing of the because of its size than other states like Parliament in the October 2014 elections the most likely reason for Secretary of ruble have stopped Russian aggression. It is Syria, Iran, North Korea or terrorist forma- and was designated a member of the Defense Chuck Hagel’s resignation was dis- time to ask why? tions such as ISIS, al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Ukrainian delegation to PACE. agreement over the president’s handling of The first thing that comes to mind is the The case of the Ukrainian pilot and para- Frankly, none of this matters. If Russia Russia, although we’ll have to wait for Mr. general perception that President Obama is trooper held in Russian captivity is a glaring refuses to recognize Lt. Savchenko as a Hagel’s memoirs to confirm that. weak, feckless and indecisive. It didn’t take example of Russia’s arrogance and refusal POW, then the only other explanation for Furthermore, people on his own team long for Mr. Putin to figure this out. When to play by the rules. Lt. Nadiya Savchenko her detainment in Russia is that she is a such as Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Hillary Clinton offered the comical “reset” was captured by Russia’s mercenaries on kidnap victim. She was not extradited to Power and Assistant Secretary of State strategy, it was obvious that neither Ukrainian territory and transferred to their Russia at the request of the Russian gov- Victoria Nuland, have been infinitely more President Obama nor Secretary Clinton were Russian lords for prosecution or persecu- ernment to stand trial for crimes commit- forceful in raising the alarm about Russian ready for the big leagues. With no experi- tion. It was at best a prisoner of war capture ted in Russia. The bogus crime of which she aggression in Ukraine than the President ence in dealing with bullies of the world, Mr. and at worst a kidnapping. In any event, her is accused is complicity in the killing of two himself. Advisers such as Zbigniew Obama was lost, intimidated by Mr. Putin to detention and treatment subsequently are the point of inactivity. This became acutely interdicted by the Geneva Conventions of Russian journalists near Luhansk, in the 1949 or international criminal norms. war zone, which is on Ukrainian territory. Jaroslaw Martyniuk is a retired sociolo- critical after he drew the red line on Syria. Mr. Obama froze, like a young deer caught Lt. Savchenko has been subjected to There is evidence that the killings occurred gist living in Washington. As a research ana- interrogation without counsel, a month- after Lt. Savchenko’s capture. The Russian lyst for Radio Liberty in Paris and Munich, he in headlights, until Mr. Putin came to the rescue. That’s when Mr. Putin realized he long psychiatric evaluation and pretrial judicial system has no jurisdiction over the conducted public opinion polling and media could play Mr. Obama like a fiddle. proceedings in absentia. She has been alleged crime. Let’s not feign respect for that research in Ukraine and other republics of Second, Mr. Obama’s priorities are upside judicial system by suggesting that the pro- the former , work carried out on Askold S. Lozynskyj is an attorney based down. The primary duty of any responsible cess should play out. Under Geneva there is behalf of Radio Liberty, Voice of America and in New York City. He is a former president of other international broadcasters. (Continued on page 18) the Ukrainian World Congress. (Continued on page 18) No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 5

Devastation of science in the Donbas What now, Mr. President? On January 15, the Ukrainian Physical were vital to the Soviet war effort were Let me see if I get this right. The Lithuanian foreign affairs minister Society appealed to the European Physical evacuated to the Urals – but in the occupied In December 1994, the United States has called recent Russian attacks in Society, the American Physical Society and Reichskommissariat of Ukraine, approxi- signed the Budapest Memorandum on Ukraine acts of “terrorism.” Diplomats from the Forum for International Physics that mately three-quarters of the Ukrainian Security Assurances, promising, along with Britain, Sweden, Romania and the Baltic will be meeting in San Antonio, Texas, in Academy of Sciences staff remained the United Kingdom and Russia, to recognize states are pushing for more sanctions. March, to help Ukrainian physicists and behind, and suffered greatly, along with the the sovereignty of Ukraine and promising Following tense discussions last week, EU physics-based institutions that were dis- rest of the populace. never to use force against the territorial integ- foreign affairs ministers agreed to extend by placed from occupied territories of There is an effort under way in the U.S., rity or political independence of Ukraine. six months targeted sanctions against indi- Donetsk and Luhansk. led by Dr. George Gamota (ybgamota@ In 2014, Russia invaded Crimea and viduals and companies in Russia and eastern These are the physics departments that gmail.com), a respected research physicist began nibbling away at eastern Ukraine Ukraine. New broader economic sanctions have been displaced and require immediate and former high-level Department of with the assistance of surrogate terrorists. on Moscow were shelved for the time being. assistance: Donetsk National University Defense scientist, to respond to the Eager to inflict damage on Ukraine, “EU unity could face a harder test if more (now in ), Donetsk National Ukrainian Physical Society’s appeal, and to Vladimir Putin’s proxies shot down a violence erupts and pressure builds to Polytechnic University (now in mobilize a broad program of assistance Malaysian passenger plane flying overhead. expand ‘Phase 3’ sanctions, which cover Krasnoarmiysk), Luhansk National through the various research agencies, Mr. Putin blamed Ukraine. broad sectors of Russia’s economy such as University (now in Starobilsk), East- departments and programs of the U.S. gov- Russia signed a ceasefire agreement energy and defense...” the Wall Street Journal Ukrainian National University (now in ernment. He is working closely with the with Ukraine last September in Minsk. In informed us on January 30. Asked what he Siverskodonetsk), Donetsk Institute for Ukrainian Physical Society, which has estab- November, however, NATO’s supreme com- would do if further sanctions were brought mander reported the movement of Physics and Engineering (now in Kyiv), lished a task force to provide the assistance up, Mr. Kotzias indicated that Greece might “Russian troops, Russian artillery, Russian veto them. Think of it. The future of Donetsk Institute of Mining Physics (now in for the relocated physicists and physical air defense systems and Russian combat Ukraine could well depend on Greece! Dnipropetrovsk) and other minor facilities. facilities. For the further detailed informa- troops” into Ukraine. Forgotten in this tragic comedy are the Naturally, it is not only the physics tion on how one can assist, contact the sec- Dropping oil prices, a deteriorating people of eastern Ukraine. Many are dying departments that have been disrupted and retary of Ukrainian Physical Society economy and the death of scores of daily. Their homes have been reduced to dismantled, but the entire educational Vladyslav Kravchenko (ukrphysicssos@ukr. Russian soldiers have failed to satiate Mr. rubble. Their lives irrevocably transformed. establishment of the Donbas. In the net). Putin’s appetite for expansion into Ukraine. Writing in the latest issue of Hoover Digest January 2 issue of Science, the leading sci- Specifically, the Ukrainian Physical Russian troops march on, and Ukraine (“Are We Reliving 1914?”), Niall Ferguson, entific periodical in the U.S., Richard Stone Society is looking for donations of text- remains helpless to stop them without professor of history at Harvard University, wrote that a key concentration of Ukraine’s books, magazines and databases, both in meaningful military assistance. discovered parallels between the beginning of scientific infrastructure was located in hard copies and in electronic form, includ- Our community besieged Congress and in 1914 and what has recently southeastern Ukraine, which hosted scores ing free access to scientific periodicals; lab- the White House to provide military help to transpired in Ukraine. “The initial sequence of of universities and research facilities. oratory equipment; exchange programs for Ukraine in its struggle against Muscovite events after a Malaysian jetliner was shot In recent weeks, about 1,500 scientists displaced students, post-docs and imperialism. Congress and the White down over eastern Ukraine was remarkably and professors and 100,000 students have researchers; mutual research projects with House responded. The Ukraine Freedom similar to the one that followed the assassi- fled rebel-held parts of the Luhansk and displaced institutions/researchers; assis- Support Act of 2014 was passed by nation of Austrian Archduke Franz Donetsk regions in the Donbas. In autumn tance in organizing lectures in relocated Congress and signed into law by President Ferdinand in June 1914,” he writes. “Now, of 2014, the Ministry of Education and universities; and monetary donations for Barack Obama on December 18, 2014. as then, a crisis begins with an act of state- Science of Ukraine hurriedly began moving living expenses and accommodations for What has happened since then? sponsored terrorism. Now, as then, Russia 11 universities out of rebel territory. Most displaced researchers. Nothing. No military aid is forthcoming. In sides with the troublemakers. Once again, relocated to other parts of the Donbas that The American Physical Society (APS) his 2015 State of the Union Address, ownership of a seemingly unimportant Ukraine still controls, in some cases leaving has already pledged a significant amount of President Obama assured us that Russia region of Eastern Europe is disputed.” the original campuses in the hands of sepa- immediate material assistance, and will be has been “neutralized” and that “we’re Our president’s apparent lack of moral ratists. working with Dr. Gamota to expand its upholding the principle that bigger nations leadership is alarming to many, including It’s hard for most of us to imagine the efforts. That assistance will take the form of can’t bully the small – by opposing Russian former secretaries of state who, reports toll of war on families. We read of the mil- free APS membership to all Ukrainian sci- aggression, supporting Ukraine’s democra- Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal, lions of Syrian refugees and the millions entists; free access to journals and related cy and reassuring our NATO allies.” testified before Congress just last week. The displaced by the civil wars in the Congo, literature; organizing additional appeals at Russia responded to these sentiments consensus was that our foreign policy is South Sudan, Libya and Iraq. We forget that the Forum for International Physics; orga- with further incursions into Ukraine. In dysfunctional. George Shultz, for example, our parents and grandparents spent a nizing access to valuable secondary school response to questions regarding these lat- believes the “government seems to have decade as war refugees, in 1939-1949, and college teaching materials for all est developments President Obama repeat- forgotten about execution”. In other words, wandering around Ukraine and Europe, branches of physics; and guest authoring ed on January 25 that he is “deeply con- we no longer do what we promise to do. without a permanent home or a job. It was columns and editorials for the bimonthly cerned” and declared that he will “ratchet This sentiment echoed the views of Robert a lost decade for them and their children. International News Column in APS News. up the pressure on Russia” while “main- Gates, the president’s former secretary of Then, when they emigrated, they had to One of the most promising avenues is a taining unity across the Atlantic.” defense, who in his book “Worthy Fights,” start all over again. collaboration with an existing program, What will it take to galvanize our presi- wrote that Mr. Obama “avoids the battle, The same circumstances are unfolding called “Seeding Labs” (http://seedinglabs. dent to act on the legislation he himself has complains and misses opportunities.” in Donetsk and Luhansk, with hundreds of org/

2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW The bicentennial year of Shevchenko’s birth hile Lenin statues were crashing down all over Ukraine in 2014, huge murals were being erect- Wed on multi-storied apartment buildings in Kyiv, and other major cities, decorated with images of the archetypal symbol for all Ukrainians, their own Homeric poet who sang epics about their heroic past and illuminated the way to a future of freedom and equality – Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861). Facing the Russian military juggernaut, Ukrainians stood united behind one solitary man who was born into bondage and servitude, who was persecuted by the Russian tsarist regime for his political and humanistic views, and who was imprisoned and sent into brutal exile in Central Asia. The Soviets had always realized what a dangerous rallying point Shevchenko was for the Ukrainian spirit and attempted to delete or downplay every strong Ukrainian nationalist expression in his verses. Shevchenko’s writings formed the foundation for mod- ern , and he is considered the founder of the modern written . His influence on culture and national consciousness is still felt to this day. Well regarded as a pictorial artist in his time, Shevchenko also pioneered the art of etching in the Lev Khmelkovsky , and in 1860 was awarded the title of aca- The Prometheus Chorus performs during the Taras Shevchenko program at the United Nations on March 27. demician in the Imperial Academy of Arts – specifically for his achievements in etching. have not forgotten their roots. In the Canadian students’ commitment to the Ukrainian language that Shevchenko In 2014, Ukraine’s beloved bard was now a rallying words, “Shevchenko’s legacy lives on.” demonstrated throughout his life. point for the nation, not only with his inspirational verses, Literally just a few hours after the United Nations At The Ukrainian Museum in New York, the exhibition but also as a visual icon repeatedly seen everywhere General Assembly passed a resolution condemning “Taras Shevchenko: Poet, Artist, Icon” offered a rare throughout Ukraine – from countless memorials to bill- Russia’s invasion and bogus “referendum” in Crimea, the opportunity to see many treasures created by the artist boards and street art on war-torn walls to Internet memes bicentennial of Shevchenko’s birth was celebrated in the and poet. The exhibition included original artworks by showing Shevchenko as a modernized defender of all 500-seat ECOSOC Chamber of the U.N. on March 27. The Shevchenko and archival objects from Ukraine seen in this Ukrainians. horrific bloodshed of the Maidan had caused a postpone- country for the first time ever. Exact replicas of a selection 2014 also marked the 200th anniversary of ment of this tribute from its original date one month earli- of literary and art works complemented the originals. Shevchenko’s birth and was greeted with celebrations and er. Broadcast live over the Internet, the March event fea- Opening on June 29, the exhibition included selections commemorations wherever Ukrainians lived throughout tured a speech by Orysia Sushko, president of the World from the National Museum of Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv the world. The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations, detailing with 50 original watercolors, drawings and etchings and and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress issued statements the significance of Shevchenko’s advocacy for human dig- more than 60 other reproductions. A rare 1840 edition of urging their communities, “particularly our youth, to be nity in the light of recent events and the poet’s “core val- the “Kobzar” on loan from the Shevchenko Scientific involved in events remembering Shevchenko.” In addition ues that are at the very center of the United Nations Society was also on display. to all major cities, throughout 2014 Shevchenko was also Charter.” On March 28 at the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, honored at numerous local concerts held in areas like Master of ceremonies Peter Fedynsky led the tribute, Peter Fedynsky presented the recently published volume Syracuse, N.Y., Toms River, N.J., and Hartford, Conn. which featured addresses by U.N. Ambassador Noel of his translations of Shevchenko’s poems: “The Complete Of special interest was the honoring of the bard by the Sinclair and Andrii Deshchytsia, Ukraine’s acting minister Kobzar: The Poetry of Taras Shevchenko.” Mr. Fedynsky students of the public Shevchenko School in Vita, of foreign affairs. The program included selections sung by read selections from his book, as well as discussed the Manitoba, 60 miles south of Winnipeg. This school fea- the Prometheus Male Chorus of Philadelphia and readings poet’s life, his works and influence on the subsequent tures a bust of Shevchenko in the foyer and until 1991 had from Shevchenko’s poetry in Ukrainian and English. development of Ukraine’s identity, culture and history. The offered Ukrainian language as an option at the elementary Tamara Olexy, president of the UCCA, stressed that evening also included an appearance by Crimean Tatar and secondary levels. Vita is a small community settled by “today’s modern, independent Ukraine could not have leader , who shared his views on Ukrainian immigrants in the 1890s. This area is composed happened without Shevchenko’s poetry.” Dr. Maxim Russia’s takeover of Crimea and offered a historical per- of fourth- and fifth-generation Ukrainian Canadians, who Tarnawsky from the University of Toronto explained the spective. One hundred and fifty entertainers from seven of Saskatoon’s Ukrainian performing groups combined forc- es in a grand concert honoring Shevchenko that drew an audience from as far away as Vancouver and Winnipeg. The masters of ceremonies were Sonia Kodak and local CTV television personality Michael Ciona. Groups included the Lastiwka Female Chorus, Pavlychenko Folklorique Dance Ensemble, a video by the Ukrainian class at the University of Saskatchewan, singer/bandurist Andrij Hornjatkevyc, and adult and children’s choirs. Boston commemorated the Shevchenko bicentennial with a wreath-laying at a bust of the poet on the parish grounds in front of Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church on March 9. Two days later on March 11 in Cambridge, a concert was held featuring bass-baritone Pavlo Hunka with music of composers to the words of Shevchenko. The major salute came on March 15 with a three-hour-long homage consisting of speeches, videos and musical selections before a crowd of over 300 people at the Pickman Concert Hall. The Pittsburgh community celebrated the Shevchenko Bicentennial on March 9 at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. The program featured soprano Oksana Krovytska, basso Vitaliy Lomakin, the local St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir, recitations of Shevchenko’s poetry by students of the Ukrainian Students Club at Pittsburgh University and bandura performances.

Yaro Bihun On March 8 at the Ukrainian Institute of America in In November, after four months of repairs, the National Park Service contractor finished restoring the foundation New York, a commemorative concert, “Shevchenko and and replacing the old crumbling concrete pavers in front of the Taras Shevchenko monument in Washington. The Shakespeare,” presented Mr. Hunka singing the bard’s 50th anniversary of its unveiling was marked on June 28. songs set to music by Lysenko, Stepovyj and Turkewych, 8 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

bling concrete pavers in front of the monument. On November 1, The Ukrainian Museum in New York and the Yara Arts Group presented “Ira Aldridge and Taras Culture and the arts: Shevchenko: Two Icons and Friends,” a program exploring the friendship between the great African American from music to fashion Shakespearian actor and the Ukrainian poet. Part lecture, part poetry readings, the evening was introduced by Broadway star Andre De Shields, known for his roles in “The Wiz” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” Aldridge and Shevchenko were both artists, and both fought against slavery and identified with their peoples. During Aldrich’s 1858 tour of Russia, the two met and became fast friends. Shevchenko drew a well-known portrait of the famous actor, which was on loan from Kyiv to The Ukrainian Museum in the fall, as part of its comprehensive exhibit “Taras Shevchenko: Poet, Artist, Icon.” Bandurist Julian Kytasty, dancer and choreographer Inka Juslin and poet Taras Malkovych opened the ninth season of the Bandura Downtown concert series at The Ukrainian Museum in New York on October 25. Mr. Kytasty recalled his recent summer tour of Ukraine and visits to the estates where Shevchenko lived, and the mon- asteries and churches he painted. The songs performed were ones Shevchenko himself sang or would have heard from the lirnyky and kobzari of his day. The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus under Oleh Mahlay presented two concerts based on Shevchenko texts in New York and Philadelphia on October 18 and 19. Taras Shevchenko’s etching “Self-Portrait in a Light Suit” (St. Petersburg, 1860), was among the works in the A “Poetry Slam” evening was held in The Ukrainian Museum in New York where audience members were exhibit “Taras Shevchenko: Poet, Artist, Icon” on view at Chia Messina The Ukrainian Museum on June 29-November 2. invited to read Shevchenko in the original or translations. Prof. Alexander Motyl was the moderator of the event, Andriana Chuchman, who debuted at the Metropolitan Opera on January 9. and a song cycle recently composed by Ukrainian compos- which heard translations of Shevchenko into English, er Oleksandr Jakovchuk to Shakespeare sonnets translat- French, German, Slovak, Hungarian and Yiddish. ot surprisingly, 2014 witnessed unprecedented ed into Ukrainian by Ostap Tarnavsky. This was part of the Composer Virko Baley gave an interesting interview in culture wars on both sides of the Atlantic over continuing Ukrainian Art Song Project, founded by Mr. The Weekly (November 2) about Shevchenko’s musical NRussian-sponsored terrorism and invasions of Hunka and composer Roman Hurko, whose goal is to tastes and how this affected the December 7 Merkin Hall Ukraine. record an anthology of 1,000 art songs of the best program featuring soprano Oksana Dyka and violinist Pro-Putin musicians who continued to parade their Ukrainian composers in the last 150 years. Solomiya Ivakhiv. A singer himself, Shevchenko was par- support for Kremlin policies included soprano Anna The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago also ticularly fond of opera and vocalists. He loved operas by Netrebko, conductors Valery Gergiev and Vladimir hosted a concert commemorating the 200th Shevchenko Donizetti, Meyerbeer and Rossini, and had a long friend- Spivakov, pianist Valentina Lisitsa and over 500 other art- anniversary. Donations were earmarked to help the fami- ship with Hulak-Artemovsky, composer of “Zaporozhets ists who signed an open letter in support of the Crimea lies of the victims of violence on the Maidan. The concert beyond the Danube.” He thought very highly of Mozart, annexation and Vladimir Putin’s other aggressive policies. featured a premiere of the composition “Poslaniye” Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin and Mendelssohn. Doubtless The global web of musical artists who support Russia was (Epistle) by Ukrainian composer Yuri Laniuk, performed he attended performances of “Othello” and other outlined in an article by Adrian Bryttan in The Weekly on by the Northwest Chicago Symphony and the Chicago Shakespearian plays when Aldridge toured the area. December 14. This same article also revealed how the Ukrainian Community Choir, conducted by Michael Holian, When the music was being selected for the Dyka/Ivakhiv propagandistic art exhibit “Material Evidence” in Berlin with soprano Ludmila Ostash, pianist Natalia Pelekh and recital, the aim was to pick pieces written to the words of and New York City was financed by the extremist far right cellist Nazar Dzhuryn, and recitations from the “Kobzar” Shevchenko and selections he knew of, or heard and loved in Moscow in order to spread disinformation about the by actor Bohdan Kozak from the Zankovetska Theater in from world musical literature, Dr. Baley explained. That is Maidan under the pretext of “photo documentary.” Lviv. why Ms. Dyka opened the evening with Bellini’s “Casta Many high-profile Ukrainian artists took advantage of Ukrainians gathered at the Taras Shevchenko monu- Diva” and included arias by Mozart and Rossini. their cultural eminence to promote their support for ment in Washington on June 28 to honor Ukraine’s poet The Ukrainian Institute announced the Shevchenko Maidan and the Ukrainian state. For example, on laureate on the 50th anniversary of his statue’s unveiling Essay Contest winners. The topic was “Taras Shevchenko – September 19, Volodymyr Koshuba, chief organist of in the U.S. capital. Featured among the speakers were Why Does He Matter Today?” and was intended to explore Kyiv’s National Concert Organ Hall, interrupted his con- Ukraine’s Ambassador Olexander Motsyk and Dr. Paula the bard’s legacy and continued impact; all essays had to cert at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Silver Springs, Md., to Dobriansky. The Prometheus Men’s Chorus of be written in English. The top three winners were stu- speak to his American audience about the Maidan, the Philadelphia sang songs set to the bard’s poems. dents from universities in Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Crimean annexation, and Russian terrorism and invasions. After four months of repairs, the 1964 Shevchenko . Because there were so many worthy essays sub- At the same time, the Ukrainian public took matters monument in Washington was reopened in November. mitted, the UIA and judges decided to award 30 additional into its own hands, utilizing artistic events to publicize the Following years of neglect, National Park Service contrac- merit awards of $100 each, in addition to the 10 honorary truth about Ukraine, raise money for the Maidan and war tors restored the foundation and replaced the old crum- mention prizes of $300 each. victims, and demonstrate against and boycott pro-Putin artists. MUSIC Ukrainian communities responded in numerous cre- ative ways. More than 50 demonstrators protested con- ductor Vladimir Spivakov’s concert at Sanders Theater in Cambridge, Mass. Harvard Alumnus Dr. Roman Torgovitsky was arrested after Mr. Spivakov attempted to create a confrontation with him on stage. The “Music Lovers against Putin’s Aggression” group on June 14 orga- nized a Harvard street festival to oppose Russian pianist Denis Matsuev’s scheduled performance. Their counter- concert featured Ukrainian musicians and sympathetic Harvard faculty. The Boston Globe’s Jeremy Eichler wrote: “These Russian artists who are courted by the Kremlin because of their cultural eminence… shouldn’t be sur- prised when the Kremlin’s actions then follow them far away from home.” Almost 600 miles away, demonstrators picketed piano soloist Valentina Lisitsa (and her especially vitriolic anti- Ukrainian pages) and handed out information fly- ers in front of Pittsburgh Symphony’s Heinz Hall at its sea- son opening concerts on September 20. One hundred

Vasyl Lopukh activists protested the opening night performance of the Oksana Dyka, Angelina Gadeliya and Solomiya Ivakhiv at the concert “Ukraine, Shevchenko & Music” that took Bolshoi Ballet at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in place on December 7 at Merkin Hall. Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on July 29. Many concert-goers No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 9

2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW showed solidarity with the demonstrators and this story dominated local media. On May 23, Brooklyn musicians organized a concert at Our Lady of Refuge Church to raise funds for Ukrainian military fighting pro-Russian terrorists. Organized by soprano Liudmila Joy-Vasuta and coordinated by Dmytro Topchiy and Ukraine Abroad, this action raised $3,000 and featured vocalists and instrumentalists. The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus under Oleh Mahlay performed in Parma, Ohio, on March 5 at a benefit concert to raise funds for the families of the fallen Heavenly Brigade. At the legendary home of the Vanderbilts at the Breakers in Newport, R.I., Dr. Orest Zaklynsky and Lubomyr Demchuk organized a concert on July 28 dedi- cated to the heroes of the Euro-Maidan with the hope this will be the beginning of an annual event. Featured were three young Kyiv artists: bandurist/vocalist Larysa Dedyuch; Ukrainian bandurist Roman Hrynkiv; and the winner of the 2012 International Horowitz Competition, pianist Roman Lopatynsky. In Toronto on May 24, the Canadian Bandurist Capella presented a sold-out benefit concert for the Ukrainian heroes who had suffered on the Maidan. The capella per- formed under the direction of Andriy Dmytrovych and featured an appearance by Zoloti Struny, an ensemble of young male and female bandura players and singers Volodymyr Klyuzko directed by Oksana Zelinska Shevchuk. Susan Hwang, Bob Holman and Julian Kytasty perform in “Capt. John Smith Goes to Ukraine,” whose North Throughout the year, Ukrainian musicians continued to American premiere was on November 27 at La MaMa ETC. showcase their talents and delighted audiences in cham- ber recitals, symphony halls and opera theaters. sored by The Washington Group Cultural Fund, which also Chicago, Ann Arbor, Detroit and at Harvard. Intended for a Ukrainian Canadian soprano Andriana Chuchman presented concerts by pianists Thomas Hrynkiw, and broad audience, the film portrays a young American boy made an unexpected earlier Met Opera debut as Adina in Anna and Dmitri Shelest. who befriends a blind bandurist and ends up on the run in “L’Elisir d’Amore” on January 9, filling in for an ailing Anna The well-known Canadian piano duo of Ireneus and Stalinist Ukraine around the time of the massacre of the Netrebko. The New York Times critic Zachary Woolfe Luba Zuk presented a recital of contemporary composi- bandurists by the Soviets. praised her “… melting fullness… and exuberant vigor tions by Bartok and Constantinidis, which included rarely On September 27 in New York, the Shevchenko from long, lyrical phrases to glittering little tumbles of heard pieces by Ukrainian composers Fedir Akimenko, Scientific Society hosted a presentation of short films pro- notes.” Ms. Chuchman is a native of Winnipeg and was a Halyna Ovcharenko, Yevhen Stankovych and Canadian duced by Babylon ’13 Group, which was organized in member of the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program. George Fiala. December 2013 to film the protests in Ukraine. The She has appeared with Chicago Lyric Opera, Michigan As part of the U.S. government’s outreach to the screenings were introduced by Igor Gruzinov, an ethnic Opera Theater, the Kennedy Center, and Palestinian people, Ohio pianist Roman Rudnytsky per- Russian wounded three times during the Maidan move- Manitoba operas and the Toronto Symphony. formed recitals and conducted master classes in February ment, and one of the founding members of Babylon. The Soprano Oksana Dyka made her Met Opera debut on at the Bethlehem Peace Center, and Academies of Music in films depicted the Maidan, the Ukrainian army in Crimea, February 6 in Borodin’s “Prince Igor” – also shown in the- Bethlehem and Jerusalem, schools on the West Bank, and Mariupol and the residents in Sloviansk. aters in “The Met: Live in HD.” Ms. Dyka, a principal soloist for music students of Al-Quds University in the Shufat Prof. Yuri Shevchuk reflected on the first decade of the with the Kyiv National Opera, has performed with leading Palestine refugee camp. Ukrainian Film Club at Columbia University. His two-part opera houses in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Canada On June 7, the eighth season of the “Bandura interview in The Weekly (November 30 and December 7) and the United States. On December 7, Ms. Dyka and vio- Downtown” series concluded with a concert in conjunc- outlined the activities of the club: providing a platform for linist Solomiya Ivakhiv performed at a concert titled tion with The Ukrainian Museum’s Shevchenko exhibition. young generation of Ukrainian filmmakers, approaching “Ukraine, Shevchenko & Music” at Merkin Concert Hall The performers were bandurist Julian Kytasty, composer bigger outlets such as the Tribeca Festival, connecting near Lincoln Center. Their program featured compositions Roman Turovsky, and klezmer artist Michael Alpert. American filmmakers with Ukrainian counterparts and set to Shevchenko poems, and a world premier for violin Jazz violinist Yuri Turchyn with his four-man ensemble propagating Ukrainian film through mini-festivals in dif- and piano by Kharkiv-born composer Alexander performed at a Winter Solstice Concert on December 21 at ferent cities. One of the primary goals of the Film Club Shchetynsky. The New York Times critic Anthony the Hannah Art Gallery in the historic Paterson Museum in always was to sponsor discussions with every showing, to Tommasini praised Ms. Dyka’s “cool, penetrating intensity, New Jersey. Sharing the stage with singer/percussionist speak about what the film represents and about fearless high notes and a glint of steel in her sound.” Alessandra Belloni and violinist Joe Deninzon, Mr. Turchyn “… in its infinite manifestations… to have Kyiv-born Van Cliburn Competition Gold Medal Winner introduced and performed improvisations on his acoustic a conversation, to create a buzz.” Vadym Kholodenko attracted one of the largest crowds and electric violins in this concert dedicated to the shortest During the course of four weekends in October, the ever in Crowell Auditorium at a February 14 concert at day/ longest night in the year, a time when “homes were Pittsburgh Hoverla Film Festival featured a diversity of Wesleyan University in Connecticut. filed with candles and Christmas lights, and evergreens and styles and genres in contemporary Ukrainian cinema, Odesa-born violinist Aleksey Semenenko, first prize wreaths represented rebirth and the circle of life.” from documentaries by the Babylon ’13 group to anima- winner of the 2012 Young Artists International Auditions, The dean of Ukrainian composers, Myroslav Skoryk, tion to adventure stories and thrillers. Themes included made his successful Washington recital debut on January was honored on his 75th birthday with a Naxos CD release the Maidan, Crimea, the 2013 “Shadows of Un-forgotten 28 at the Kennedy Center. This concert was partly spon- of his music performed by Hobart Earle and the Odesa Ancestors” and a true story about the 1928 Ukrainian Philharmonic. The compositions recorded included Mr. strongest man on earth titled “Ivan the Powerful.” Skoryk’s “Carpathian Concerto,” “Diptych,” and violin and The Ukrainian Museum in New York on December 5 cello concertos. hosted a showing of the 1964 film “The Dream” based on the satirical poem by Shevchenko and his subsequent forced FILM exile. Dr. Vitaly Chernetsky from Kansas University intro- More than ever before, Ukrainian filmmakers drew duced the film and moderated the Q&A session afterwards. inspiration from the most recent headlines of the day. Because these stories about Ukraine dominated media in ART 2014, international cinema audiences were exposed to Artist Emilie Brzezinski, wife of former National diverse presentations ranging from documentaries to ani- Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, featured a sculpture, mation to creative fiction. In particular, YouTube videos on “Ukraine Trunk 2014,” as the centerpiece of her September the Internet emerged to become a most powerful tool for 18 exhibit at the Kreeger Museum in Washington. Her tow- the reporting of fast-breaking events, from the Maidan to ering chain-saw creation was inspired by New York Times Crimea, Odesa and the invasion in Ukraine’s east. photographs of Maidan demonstrations. In September, the Toronto International Film Festival Artist Ola Rondiak presented an exhibit in July titled screened two documentary-type Ukrainian films: Sergei “Revolution of Dignity” inspired by the faces of women liv- Loznitsia’s “Maidan” and Myroslaw Slaboshpytsky’s ing through Ukraine’s recent struggles, and the stoicism “Tribe” about the initiation rites and subsequent clan and unmoved patience of Byzantine iconography, the thuggery and prostitution activities of a group of deaf- “bedrock of Ukrainian values.” A Cleveland native, Ms. mute boys in a Kyiv “internat.” “Tribe” had previously gar- Rondiak had relocated in 1995 with her family to live in nered the Grand Prix Critics Award at Cannes and quickly Kyiv. The exhibit of collage paintings was on display at the became one of the most critically talked about films. Soyuzivka Heritage Center. The cover of the 2014 Naxos CD release of Myroslav Oles Sanin’s new movie “The Guide” received screen- Opening in July, an art exhibit titled “Voice of Ukraine” Skoryk’s “Carpathian Concerto.” ings in early December in New York, Philadelphia, by Ukrainian American artist Oksana Tanasiv went on dis- 10 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW play in the Mayor’s Gallery in Stamford, Conn. It was a political collection of realistic and surrealistic images with collage and was dedicated to the fight of the Ukrainian nation for a better future. The Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago is annually visited by thousands and especially in 2014 served as ambassador for Ukraine due to increased visitor interest. Its permanent collection includes priceless relics, artifacts brought by Chicago’s first Ukrainian immigrants, Kozak weapons, hetman’s medals, antique bibles, 100-year-old “Kobzars” and much more. The Ukrainian Institute in New York hosted a two month “2014 Summer Art Exhibit” devoted to contemporary paint- ings of Ukrainian fine artists: Ilona Sochynsky, Max Vityk, Vasyl Bazhaj, Mykola Zhuravel and Temo Svirely. An exhibit of 40 sculptures by Petro Kapschutschenko was presented at the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center in Jenkintown, Pa. Born in Dnipropetrovsk, Mr. Kapschutschenko established his own studio in Philadelphia in 1963. He passed away in 2006. His works in various media have been exhibited in the U.S., Canada and Argentina, and are on display in nine museums in Ukraine. Vadym Gyliuk THEATER Members of Kyiv Mohyla Foundation committees and board of directors with National University of Kyiv Mohyla The North American Premiere of “Capt. John Smith Academy representatives at the 400th anniversary celebration of the university held in Washington on September 16. Fifth from left is Vyacheslav Bryukhovetsky, honorary president of NUKMA; sixth from left is NUKMA Goes to Ukraine” took place at the La MaMa ETC in New President Serhiy Kvit; fourth from right is Marta Farion, president of the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation; and second York on February 27. Directed by Virlana Tkacz, this was from right is William Green Miller, the foundation’s co-chair. first performed in Kyiv in 2013. The production dealt with the early adventures of John Smith in Eastern Europe and assistantships, and conferences and exchanges with uni- Ukraine before he travelled to Jamestown to become the Academia: collaboration, versities and businesses in Ukraine. famous figure of American history. Tributes to the National University of Kyiv Mohyla On March 15 and 16, Ms. Tkacz and the Yara Arts Group closer ties with Ukraine Academy held in Chicago and Washington during mid- also presented “Dark Night Bright Stars” at the La MaMa he situation in Ukraine was the primary spark in September marked the beginning of yearlong plans to cel- Theater in New York. This was a dramatization of the meet- stimulating conversations and multiple collabora- ebrations of the 400th anniversary of the founding of ing and friendship between Shevchenko and one of the Ttions between academia in the diaspora and Ukraine. academy, for centuries a catalyst in educating Ukraine’s greatest Shakespearean actors of that time, the African Columbia University’s spring semester started with an leaders. These events, presented as a “Salute to Ukraine,” American Ira Aldrich, and included readings from offering of eight courses in Ukrainian studies. Two of these were also an occasion to honor the courage of the people Shakespeare, and traditional songs from Africa and Ukraine. courses were taught by Dr. Oksana Mykhed, a historian of Ukraine in their ongoing, heroic defense of both person- AUTHORS who obtained her Ph.D. from Harvard University, while al dignity and their nation’s independence. The first event another course was taught by Prof. Alexander Motyl, one was held at the University Club of Chicago on September On November 2, the Toronto 35th International Festival of the most active and respected Ukrainian studies schol- 14 and was co-sponsored with the Chicago Kyiv Sister of Authors was held under the auspices of the Shevchenko ars in North America today. Another six courses were Cities Committee. On September 16, in the large Caucus Foundation. Organized by its director, Dr. Christine offered during the fall semester, when Dr. Anastasiia Room of the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Turkewych, the foundation sponsored a literary perspec- Grynko from the Mohyla School of Journalism in Kyiv U.S. Reps. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and Marcy Kaptur tive on World War I and the internment of Ukrainian returned to teach and Ambassador Valeriy Kuchynskyi (D-Ohio) and other members of the Congressional Canadians. The panel was moderated by Prof. Alexander lent his expertise on the topic of Ukraine’s foreign policy. Ukrainian Caucus, the Helsinki Commission and Freedom Motyl and included readings by Prof. Bohdan Kordan, In addition, arriving in the fall and visiting for the entire House were among those honored during the celebration. author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and freelance writer, 2104-2015 academic year was Fulbright scholar Dr. The event was hosted by the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of editor and translator Jars Balan. Tetiana Shestopalova, professor of the Department of America, the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and the Prof. Michael Naydan from Penn State University pub- Ukrainian Literature and Method of its Teaching at Embassy of Ukraine. lished his anthology of new Ukrainian women prose writers Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University. To round A workshop funded by the Killam Foundation at the titled “Herstories,” which he said offers a “glimpse into the out the year, Dr. Yuri Shevchuk continued his courses on was held at St. Benedict’s Retreat heart and soul of some of Ukraine’s finest women writers.” Ukrainian film and instructions in the Ukrainian language. and Conference Center to explore how scholars – specifi- cally the faculty at the University of Alberta and Cape DANCE The fall semester at Columbia also featured the 12th Breton University involved in the Sanctuary Project – installment in the Contemporary Ukrainian Literature The Zolotyj Promin Dance Ensemble from Hartford, might work with the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Series, co-sponsored by the Ukrainian Studies Program at Conn., celebrated its 20th anniversary with a gala perfor- Orthodox Churches of Canada to help them utilize aca- the Harriman Institute and the Kennan Institute in mance at the Bushnell Theater on October 4. During the demic research in Church decision-making related to Washington. This year’s guest was writer Oleksander past two decades more than 225 students have performed demographic changes. The goal of the Sanctuary Project, Boichenko, a literary critic, publicist, essayist and transla- with this group, which is often invited to various festivals. which is based at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian tor from Chernivtsi. In addition, the Ukrainian Film Club of FASHION Studies (CIUS) at the University of Alberta, is to document Columbia University celebrated its 10th anniversary, the Ukrainian spiritual heritage on the Canadian prairies. In a renewed sense of pride, many Ukrainian politicians marking the milestone with monthly screenings of A scholarly gathering on the subject of “Canada, the and entertainers chose Ukrainian designers and adopted Ukrainian films throughout the academic year and a spe- Great War and the Internment of Enemy Aliens, 1914- ornaments featuring Ukrainian folk motifs. Dr. Maryna cial screening of the much-talked-about film “The Guide” 1920” was successfully held in Banff, appropriately at the Poroshenko attended her husband’s presidential inaugu- at which the film’s director, Oles Sanin, was present. Cave and Basin National Historic Site, a facility originally ration in a dress and stylized necklace by Kyiv designers, Students at Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit built by internee labor during the war. The October 17-18 while Lviv’s Sofiya Fedyna, singer and president of the had the opportunity to study both the Ukrainian language event was organized by the Kule Ukrainian Canadian World Federation of Ukrainian Lemko Organizations, and the rich cultural heritage of Ukraine through courses Studies Center at CIUS in collaboration with the University wore a Lemko wedding “krysa” around her neck. and events offered by the Slavic Program in the Department of Alberta’s Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures and European Studies. The other key partners in the project Cultures. Ukrainian courses at WSU are designed for under- were Canada’s First World War Internment Recognition graduate students with no previous knowledge of Fund and the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Ukrainian, as well as for heritage speakers who would like Foundation. Attendees had an opportunity to hear talks to expand and improve their language skill. It was about the impact of World War I on Ukrainians and other announced that a new course to WSU Ukrainian studies, immigrants to Canada from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. “Introduction to Ukrainian Culture,” will be offered for the The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the first time in winter 2015. University of Alberta, together with the Canadian Penn State programs that foster collaboration between Foundation for Ukrainian Studies (CFUS) and Peter the College of Agricultural Sciences and agricultural uni- Savaryn, a well-known Ukrainian Canadian activist, versities in Ukraine received $100,000 from George and announced the launch of the Peter and Olya Savaryn Nina Woskob of State College, Pa., to support the Woskob Award. The award is intended to support a range of schol- Ukraine New Century Fund, an endowment established by arly and educational projects at CIUS. The Peter Savaryn Mr. Woskob’s parents, Helen and Alex Woskob, in 2006. Award for Contributions to the Development of Ukrainian Zenia Turkewych-Miner The fund is designed to promote partnerships, build insti- Studies was originally created by CFUS in 1996 and At the International Festival of Authors in Toronto on tutions and create networks of support for agricultural matched in value by Mrs. Savaryn with a personal dona- November 5 (from left) are: Dr. Christine Turkewych, entrepreneurs and industries as the foundation for a dem- tion in 1997. Since then, the principal of the fund has Jars Balan, Prof. Alexander Motyl, Marsha Forchuk ocratic and market-oriented Ukraine. The endowment remained intact and has now generated an amount suffi- Skrypuch and Prof. Bohdan Kordan. also supports faculty development programs, graduate cient for an annual award. No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 11

2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Ukrainians Abroad: News and Views, the e-bulletin of claimed, a triumph of Western democracy, but the inabili- the Studies Initiative (UDSI) at CIUS, ty of the two largest Soviet republics, Russia and Ukraine, released its 100th issue in 2014. Compiled by Dr. Serge to agree on the continuing existence of a unified state. Cipko, UDSI coordinator, the newsletter brings together In “After the : The Enduring Impact of the news stories relating to Ukrainians outside Ukraine and is Great Famine on Ukraine,” published by the Harvard sent to recipients on six continents. Ukrainian Research Institute, the contributing editors Dr. Canadian and Ukrainian archeologists and historians Andrea Graziosi, Dr. Lubomyr Hajda and Dr. Halyna Hryn, continued their excavations in the town of Baturyn, used more than 20 years of research from archives Oblast. Prof. Zenon Kohut, the leading historian opened since the collapse of the Soviet Union to gain a bet- of the Hetman state and former director of CIUS at the ter understanding of the Holodomor’s impact on Ukraine. University of Alberta, heads this project. Last year, nearly Divided into two parts – short- and long-term conse- 70 students and scholars from the universities of quences – the book gives a comprehensive assessment of Chernihiv, Hlukhiv and Sumy, as well as the National the information that has been examined by leading schol- University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy participated in the ars of the subject. Baturyn archeological expedition. Since 2001, Canadian On October 11, the Shevchenko Scientific Society host- and Ukrainian archaeologists and historians have cooper- ed a presentation of the book “Literature, Exile, Alterity: ated in exploring the antiquities of Baturyn. The New York Group of Ukrainian Poets,” written by Prof. Archaeologists have established that this settlement Maria G. Rewakowicz, who is affiliated with the emerged in the late 11th century as a border fortress of Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the the Chernihiv principality and flourished during the reign University of Washington. The book, published by of the eminent Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1687-1709). Academic Study Press in 2014, is based on her disserta- Excavations in the town and the dissemination of the find- tion about the New York Group, concentrating on works of ings have been sponsored by the Kowalsky Program for seven original members of the Group: Bohdan Boychuk, the Study of Eastern Ukraine at CIUS at the University of Yuri Tarnavsky, Bohdan Rubchak, Patricia Kylyna, Zhenia Alberta, the Shevchenko Scientific Society of America, the Vasylkivska, Emma Andriewska and Vira Vovk. This study, Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies at the University of based largely on the archival collections of the New York Toronto and the Ucrainica Research Institute in Toronto. Group that are preserved at the Bakhmetyev Archive at Conferences and roundtables Columbia University and at the Central-State Museum- Archive of Literature and Art in Kyiv. La Salle University’s -in-Residence Program, Holodomor in cooperation with the Central and Eastern European “The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Studies program and the Multicultural and International Union,” by Serhii Plokhy, was released in 2014. Scholars from Canada, France, Italy, Hong Kong, Center, sponsored a one-day conference on the latest , Ukraine and the United States gathered in developments in Ukraine. The March 12 event attracted On September 20, the Shevchenko Scientific Society Toronto on September 26-27 to examine and compare the more than 80 people, including students and faculty from hosted its first event of the new 2014-2015 academic Ukrainian, Kazakh, Chinese and Soviet famines at the con- La Salle and neighboring universities, as well as members year: a roundtable dedicated to the ongoing situation in ference “Communism and Hunger.” The conference, orga- of the local Ukrainian community. Ukraine titled “War and Peace in Ukraine: What Next?” nized by the Holodomor Research and Education On the 25th anniversary of the emergence of the The panel included Prof. George Grabowicz (Harvard Consortium (HREC) of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from the underground in University), Ambassador Kuchynskyi and Prof. Iryna Studies, University of Alberta, explored the similarities the Soviet Union, the M.A. program in Central and Eastern Vushko (Hunter College), and was emceed by Prof. and differences between these political famines. European Studies at LaSalle University, in cooperation with Alexander Motyl (Rutgers University). the St. Sophia Religious Association U.S.A., the Shevchenko Five researchers recently gathered for two days of To mark the 70th birthday of Prof. Kohut, director of intense discussion at the Holodomor Workshop in Scientific Society U.S.A., the Ukrainian Free University the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) from Foundation and the Lypynsky East European Research Toronto. The event allowed scholars early in their careers 1994 to 2012, a roundtable discussion on the history of to present preliminary findings and to benefit from in- Institute, hosted an international scholarly conference. The the Ukrainian Kozak Hetmanate was held in Kyiv. The depth engagement with peers and established experts, keynote address at this conference was delivered by event was co-organized by CIUS, the Mykhailo Hrushevsky explained Olga Andriewsky, professor of history at Trent Geffrey Kelly (Department of Religion, La Salle University), Historical Memorial Museum, the Peter Jacyk Program for University and one of the workshop facilitators. The work- who focused on the life and activities of the German theolo- the Study of Contemporary History and Society, and the shop was organized by the Holodomor Research and gian and Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) and the Institute of Ukrainian Archaeography and Source Studies Education Consortium in cooperation with the Ukrainian numerous parallels between the life of the Church under (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine). The roundta- Canadian Research and Documentation Center at St. National Socialism and Communism. ble was held on June 26 at the Hrushevsky Memorial Vladimir Institute in Toronto. The Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Modern Museum, where the historian and his family resided from The Toronto Annual Ukrainian Famine Lecture was Ukrainian History and Society, together with the Institute the 1920s to the 1940s. The celebratory address was delivered on October 9 by the celebrated writer Anne for Historical Research, Lviv National delivered by the museum’s director, Svitlana Pankova, who University and the Humanities Department of the spoke on behalf of the co-organizers. Applebaum, who spoke on the Holodomor and its relation Ukrainian Catholic University, organized a conference on “A New Eastern Europe? Eastern Europe in World to current events in a talk titled “Why Stalin Feared “The First World War: The Ukrainian Dimension.” The con- History and World Politics, 1914-2014” was the title of a Ukraine and Why Putin Fears It Today.” The event was ference, held on September 12-14, had an international roundtable discussion organized by the Petro Jacyk organized by the Holodomor Research and Education character and drew scholars from Austria, Canada, Program for the Study of Modern Ukrainian History and Consortium of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, Germany, Israel and the United States. The core of the con- Society, together with the bimonthly English-language University of Alberta; the Petro Jacyk Program for the ference was presentations made by mostly younger histo- Study of Ukraine; the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian rians from different regions of Ukraine, including those ). The roundtable took place within the framework Studies; and the Center for Russian and East European that are now in the zone of the anti-terrorist operation. The ofjournal the Lviv New Book Eastern Forum Europeon September (Wrocław 12. The and discussion Gdańsk, Studies at the University of Toronto. Ms. Applebaum conference was co-sponsored by the Austrian Bureau for was inspired by a suggestion from Prof. Roman Szporluk, began her presentation by describing how Joseph Stalin’s Academic Cooperation and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. a member of the New Eastern Europe editorial board, that early career later shaped his policies in Ukraine. the word “Eastern” be dropped from the title of the jour- nal to better reflect current realities in the context of the Euro-Maidan and its aftermath. Books The book “Between Hitler and Stalin: Ukraine in World War II – The Untold Story,” co-authored by Wsevolod W. Isajiw, Andrew Gregorovich and Oleh S. Romanyshyn, was planned as a companion for those who saw the film by the same name, providing the reader with interesting basic knowledge about 20th century Ukraine. However, the book goes beyond the content of the film by providing the background for an understanding of a national political movement, including the story of Carpatho-Ukraine and the Ukrainian nationalist movement, particularly during the German and Soviet occupations and ending with the Proclamation of Ukrainian independence in 1991. Serhii Plokhy’s newest book, “The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union,” examines the events surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Based on recently declassified documents and original interviews with key Prof. Zenon E. Kohut was honored on his 70th birthday participants, Dr. Plokhy presented a new interpretation of CIUS with a roundtable discussion on the history of the the Soviet Union’s final months, arguing that the key to the Anne Applebaum delivers the annual Ukrainian Famine Ukrainian Kozak Hetmanate held on June 26 in Kyiv. collapse was not, as President George H. W. Bush pro- Lecture in Toronto on October 9. 12 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Eugene Chyzowych Yevhen Sverstiuk Anatole Kolomayets Stefaniya Shabatura Michael Komichak

Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists; CFO at Providence Association of Our community Ukrainian Catholics; teacher and later principal of the The noteworthy: Ukrainian School of Arts and Sciences; instrumental in mourns their passing developing the concept of a united Ukrainian academic events and people uring 2014 our community mourned the passing of program at the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center, his section features the noteworthy events and peo- many of its prominent members: artists, church uniting all the Ukrainian schools in Philadelphia – ple of 2014 that defy easy classification. (They Dleaders, soldiers and community activists. Among September 22. Tappear in the order in which they were reported in them were the following, listed in order of their passing. Yevhen Sverstiuk, 85, Kyiv, writer, philosopher and our newspaper.) Olga Stasiuk, 58, Warm Mineral Spring, Fla., teacher at civic figure, who spent years in the Soviet labor camps for Department of State as one of 10 “International Women of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School in Newark, his commitment to truth and to Ukraine; moral beacon for Courage,”• Ruslana for her Lyzhychko “commitment was to honoredthe Euro-Maidan by the com- U.S. N.J.; activist who, after moving to Florida, continued her many; one of the “Shestydesiatnyky,” whose cultural and munity and her steadfast commitment to nonviolent resis- community involvement as a literacy teacher to newly political activities were a form of moral opposition to the tance and national unity in the fight against government arrived Ukrainians in her community – January 2. Soviet regime; arrested in 1972 and convicted of “anti- Bishop Cornelius Pasichny, 86, Weston, Ontario, corruption and human rights abuses.” Presented annually Soviet agitation and progaganda,” served seven years in since 2007 on March 4 – International Women’s Day – the served various pastoral and administrative charges in the Perm labor camps; president of the Ukrainian PEN Club – Canadian Basilian Province of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, awards recognize “women around the globe who have December 1. demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advo- including spiritual director of the newly formed Holy Anatole Kolomayets, 87, Chicago, prolific artist; born cating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and Spirit Seminary in Ottawa in the 1980s; appointed bishop in the Kobeliaky region of ; immigrated to the women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk.” of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon in United States and settled in Chicago, where he quickly November 1995, ordained a bishop in January 1996; became involved in the artistic life of Ukrainian Chicago; authorities on suspicion of bribery and criminal conspiracy, appointed in 1998 as bishop of the Eparchy of Toronto worked as a commercial artist; had 42 one-man shows was• Ukrainianarrested inoligarch Vienna Dmytro on March Firtash, 12. longMr. Firtash, wanted oneby U.S. of and Eastern Canada, retiring from that position in 2003 – spanning a 60-year career; recognized as an Honored Ukraine’s richest men, made his money in the gas, chemi- January 30. Artist of Ukraine in 2007 – December 9. cals, media and banking sectors, and was a key backer of Nicholas Bobeczko, 99, Mentor, Ohio, longtime com- Oleh Lysheha, 65, Kyiv, Ukrainian poet, playwright and recently ousted president . The U.S. munity and Ukrainian National Association activist, finan- translator; a visiting Fulbright scholar at Penn State requested extradition, against which Mr. Firtash filed an cial secretary of UNA Branch 102 for over 60 years; dele- University; received the PEN Award for Poetry in appeal. Bail was set at $174 million, with the understanding gate to numerous UNA conventions, serving on the elec- Translation – along with James Brasfield of Penn State – in that Mr. Firtash would remain in Austria if released on bail. tions committee at most of them – February 10. 2000 for “The Selected Poems of Oleh Lysheha;” known Danylo Luciuk, 101, Kingston, Ontario, member of the for having translated into Ukrainian works by T. S. Eliot ral Ukrainian Heritage Night on March 8, at a game against Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Bandera faction) and Ezra Pound – December 17. the• CarolinaThe New Hurricanes.Jersey Devils Co-organized hockey team hostedby Christine its inaugu- and who dedicated much of his life to the struggle for Stefaniya Shabatura, 76, Lviv, artist, former member Myron Bytz, the event’s pre-game activities included perfor- Ukraine’s independence; political refugee who settled in of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group and former Soviet politi- mances by local dance groups, strolling accordionists and Canada, where together with his wife, Maria, he estab- cal prisoner; arrested in 1972, charged with “anti-Soviet displays of Ukrainian embroidery and pysanky. During one lished the Kingston Branch of the League for the agitation and propaganda” and sentenced to five years’ of the intermissions the audience was treated to the sight of Liberation of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Canadian Club of harsh-regime labor camp and three years’ exile; while a Ukrainian Kozak riding on the Zamboni waving a Kingston – February 15. serving in the Mordovian labor camp at Barashevo, took Ukrainian flag, and during the second period the Devils rec- Stephen Szyszka, 89, Branchburg, N.J., survivor of Nazi an active part in protest actions and hunger strikes, ognized as one of their “Heroes Among Us” New York Port youth camp and political refugee who eventually settled in demanding political prisoner status and an amnesty for all Authority policeman John Skala, who gave his life on Buffalo, N.Y.; active in the Ukrainian community, particu- prisoners of conscience, and was frequently put into soli- September 11, 2001. The post-game audience enjoyed a larly in Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and its tary confinement because of her actions; in the late 1980s concert by the Dobriansky Brothers. Pleased with the suc- Chota Krylatykh fraternity – May 1. became actively involved in the national and political cess of the event, the Devils welcomed the second Ukrainian Gene Chyzowych, 79, West Orange, N.J., coached soccer revival in Ukraine – active member of the Lviv chapter of Heritage Night on December 6, at a game against the at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., where his Memorial and Rukh; took part in the struggle to re-estab- Washington Capitals. The format was similar to the first 757-win record places him third on the all time high lish the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church – December 17. event – the entertainers were slightly different, and the rec- school win-list; won four New Jersey state championships, Alexander Tsiovkh, 63, Lawrence, Kan., director of ognition as a “Hero Among Us” was given to Markian 24 conference and 16 state sectional titles; also coached Ukrainian Studies at University of Kansas; originally from Paslawsky, who was killed in ATO action in Ukraine. women’s volleyball at Columbia High School, with a 227-0 Lviv, joined the University of Kansas in 1993 as a visiting Women in the World summit hosted by Tina Brown Live career record and 11-year winning streak; played soccer professor of Ukrainian studies and quickly became indis- Media,• Ruslana a four-day was oneprogram of the highlighting honorees at the the achievements fifth annual professionally in the U.S. and Canada, and coached teams pensable to both graduate and undergraduate programs of women from al continents of the world, as well as in the American Professional Soccer League and the U.S. in Russian, East European and Eurasian studies; since revealing many of the dreadful consequences suffered by National and U.S. Olympic teams; inducted into the 1994, organized and directed the KU Intensive Ukrainian women and children in conflict zones. Recognized for her National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2009 – May 10. Language and Culture summer program at Ivan Franko leadership during the days and nights of the Euro-Maidan, Roman Kuropas, 71, Chicago, longtime Ukrainian University in Lviv – December 23. Ruslana was included in the opening program, where she National Association and community activist; financial Michael Komichak, 95, McKees Rocks, Pa., Ukrainian sang Ukraine’s national anthem against a video backdrop secretary of UNA Branch 20 for over 20 years; served two American community leader and prominent ethnic radio of Euro-Maidan footage. Introduced at the evening pro- terms as an advisor on the UNA General Assembly; mem- broadcast personality; enjoyed a 45-year career with gram by Melanne Verveer, executive director of the ber of the executive board of the Detroit UNA District Pittsburgh radio station WPIT, including 17 years as the Institute for Women, Peace and Security at Georgetown Committee – May 25. station’s general manager; since 1950 host of WPIT’s University and former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global Anna Maksymowych, 86, Willow Grove, Pa., librarian “Ukrainian Radio Program,” which generated financial women’s issues, Ruslana was lauded not only for her and translator at the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center of support for many Ukrainian projects and causes, raising recent activism during Euro-Maidan, but also for her sup- Manor Junior College and the Bluebell and Ambler branch- almost $1 million over the years – December 28. port of the 2004 , a national protest es of the Wissahickon Valley Public library; lifelong mem- Myroslaw Shmigel, 89, New York, lifelong community against rigged elections, in addition to a less well-known ber of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and a found- activist and patriot; president of the national executive of aspect of her activism – her leadership in the fight against ing member of its Chortopolokhy sorority – June 29. the Ukrainian American Youth Association; president of human trafficking. Yaroslaw Tomorug, 84, Clark, N.J., U.S. Army veteran; the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, New York longtime community sports activist and former member chapter; president of the board of directors of Self the first internment interpretative museum, won the high- of the board of directors of the New York Ukrainian Sports Reliance New York Federal Credit Union; member of the est• awardCamp atSpirit Les lakeGrands Internment Prix du InterpretativeTourisme Québécois, Center, Club – July 25. board of directors of the Ukrainian Free University – besting many entries in various categories in the annual Bohdan Todoriv, 87, Philadelphia, member of the December 30. tourism competition. The competition acknowledges and No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 13

2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW brings attention to Quebec projects whose programs have an outstanding impact on the general Quebec community and are worthy of public interest. The center, established in 2010 and located on the wooded grounds of the original internment camp 350 miles north of Montreal, tells the story of the still little-known internment of 1,200 innocent men, women and children, mainly Ukrainians, taken to Spirit Lake in 1915-1917, during Canada’s First National internment operations.

Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev for his ongoing contribu- tions• Poland to peace, awarded democracy its first Solidarity and human Prize rights.to Crimean Mr. Dzhemilev had previously been awarded the 1998 Nansen Peace Medal by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for his efforts and commitments to the “right of return” of the Crimean Tatars to Crimea, and has twice been a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. The 70-year old Crimean Tatar leader, renowned for this non-violent struggle in support of justice, has been labeled an extrem- ist by authorities in his homeland of Crimea, and is banned from entry until 2019. - ence teacher at St. Nicholas Cathedral School in the Ukrainian• Melissa Village Talaber section Matwyshyn, of Chicago, a seventh-grade was one of 10and win sci- ners of the 2014 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Stefan Slutsky Education. Ms. Talaber Matwyshyn, who holds a bache- The Iskra Academy and Ensemble of Whippany, N.J., lead the Dance Parade and DanceFest in lor’s degree in biology and chemistry and a master’s New York on May 17. degree in education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, is known as a teacher who inspires her students. Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Whippany, N.J., which is international and local media. Programming via radio, the Golden Apple is a nonprofit organization that works to under the artistic direction of Andrij Cybyk. The troupe was Internet, television and mobile reaches audiences in 21 identify Illinois teachers who exemplify the highest stan- chosen in light of current developments in Ukraine. The countries. dards and practices of the teaching profession. Award win- mission of the parade, which comprises nearly 10,000 ners receive a tuition-free spring quarter sabbatical at dancers in 142 dance groups showcasing 77 different styles awarded its annual freedom prize to the Euro-Maidan Northwestern University and a cash award. of dance, is to celebrate the diversity of the many forms of protest• The movement. Lech Walesa The Foundation award, worth on 100,000 September Euros 25 dance and promote dance as a unifying art form. Dressed in ($127,000 U.S.), was presented to representative of the of Mount Kilimanjaro – 19,340 feet – on June 16, having colorful costumes from the Bukovyna, Hutsulshchyna, Euro-Maidan at a ceremony in Gdansk, Poland. Mr. Walesa, spent• Sixteen-year seven days old on Mykola the mountain Shevchik and reached hiked the 43 summit miles Poltava and Zakarpattia regions, Iskra dancers performed who spearheaded Poland’s democracy movement and through five different ecosystems. One of Mr. Shevchik’s almost the entire 1.3 mile length of the parade route, show- was the country’s first post-Communist president, said his goals in making the trek was to raise funds for the casing dance combinations from the represented regions. foundation normally honors specific individuals but this “Nebesna Sotnia” (Heavenly Brigade). In this he succeeded Dancers from the senior group of Iskra Ukrainian Dance year chose “the whole movement which gave hope to the admirably, with over $5,750 raised for the United Academy joined Iskra Ensemble dancers for the parade, Ukrainian people.” Created in 2008, the award is “dedicat- which finished in Tompkins Square Park, where the ensem- Ukrainian American Relief Committee as a result of his ed to all those working for understanding, cooperation ble performed its “Pryvit” on stage. efforts. Young Mr. Shevchik is a 10th grade student at St. and solidarity between peoples, in the name of freedom Alban’s School in Washington, a student at the Taras and values intrinsic to the Solidarity movement.” Shevchenko School of Ukrainian Studies and a member of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. honored Ihor Kunasz - Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization. by •presenting At its annual him meeting with the February 2013 Robert 23-26, M. theDreyer Society Award for in Applied Economic Geology. The award recognizes out- dents to the White House on October 8 for a fashion edu- cation• When workshop, First Lady she woreMichelle a dress Obama designed invited by 150 Natalya stu activists – Mustafa Dzhemilev and Myroslav Marynovych – standing achievements accomplished through commercial Koval of Ukraine, a 29-year-old student at New York’s received• Two theprominent 2014 Truman-Reagan Ukrainian civil medaland human of Freedom rights exploration or development of metalliferous and/or non- awarded by the Victims of Communism Memorial metalliferous mineral deposits. Born in France to Ukrainian Fashion Institute of Technology. Ms. Koval was selected Foundation, at a ceremony on June 11 in front of the parents, Dr. Kunasz immigrated to the U.S. in 1958 and from among 26 FIT students competing in a challenge to Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington. Mr. wrote his doctoral thesis at the Pennsylvania State dress a celebrity. They had been given specifications – not Dzhemilev was described at the presentation ceremony as University on the origin of lithium in the Clayton Valley. too short, but not too long; not too revealing, but not too a “heroic example of bravery.” Having spent decades conservative – but had not been told the celebrity would defending the political rights of Crimean Tatars from February to Illinois’ Holocaust and Genocide Commission, be the first lady. In speaking to the New York Daily News Soviet aggression, he is now – as a member of the which• Dr. promotes Maria Korkatsch-Groszko and provides advice was and appointedassistance to in about her assignment, Ms. Koval said she’d had Mrs. Ukrainian Parliament – leading an offensive against public and private elementary and secondary schools, and Obama in mind as her inspiration for the dress. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression and annex- institutions of higher education, regarding implementa- - ation of Crimea. Mr. Marynovych has been defending his tion of Holocaust and genocide education and commemo- inent mast in traditional Ukrainian folk art, received from countrymen’s human and civil rights for decades. He ration. Dr. Korkatsch-Groszko is professor emerita of the• NationalVera Nakonechny, Endowment a Philadelphia for the Arts Ukrainian the country’s and prom high- served time in a Soviet hard-labor camp and in exile for Northeastern Illinois University (1975-2013), where she est honor in the folk and traditional arts category. The being an “agitator,” helped organize the Ukrainian Helsinki specialized in bilingual-bicultural and elementary educa- award also carries a $25,000 stipend. Ms. Nakonechny is an Group and founded and chaired the Ukrainian chapter of tion, in addition to serving as associate chair and chair of expert in the art of crafting Ukrainian textiles, including Amnesty International; since 2000 he has been the vice- the Department of Teacher Education embroidery, beadwork and weaving, and cultivates and pre- rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. serves these Ukrainian traditions both in the United States Demons from the Collapse of Socialism to the Mass and Ukraine. The nine recipients of the award for 2014 took place in New York on May 17, it was led by the Iskra Uprising• The bookof 2013-2014,” “Kyiv, Ukraine. by Roman The CityCybriwsky, of Domes Temple and were feted on September 17 at a gala banquet in the Great • When the eighth annual Dance Parade and DanceFest University professor of geography and urban studies, was released in June. The book not only covers Kyiv’s many attractions – the ancient city center, various museums and churches, and topping the list, Trukhaniv Island – but also explores the city’s people, their struggles, their spirit and their fight against the “demons” wreaking havoc on the city. The “demons” take many forms, including poverty, takeover and demolition of the city’s ancient structures, the outrageous spending of state funds, and the popularity of Kyiv as a sex tourism and marriage destination.

known in Ukraine as Radio Svoboda, marked its 60th anniversary• Radio Free on SeptemberEurope/Radio 18 atLiberty’s an event Ukrainian in Kyiv attended Service, by Ukrainian Prime Minister and Kyiv Mayor , and hosted by the Prague Freedom Foundation. The event included a panel discussion on the role of propaganda and the power of independent journal- ism in situations of conflict and war. The Ukrainian Service U.S. Embassy Kyiv enjoyed dramatic growth in 2014 as a result of its live- Ruslana Lyzhychko (center) with First Lady Michelle Obama and Deputy Secretary of State Heather streamed coverage of events relating to Euro-Maidan; its Higginbottom at the presentation of the 2014 Secretary of reports from Crimea and the conflict zones in eastern State’s International Women of Courage Awards on Ukraine. Its investigations into the properties and finances Vera Nakonechny was honored on September 17 by the March 4. of the Yanukovych regime are regularly cited by major National Endowment for the Arts. 14 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Hall of the Library of Congress. The cover of the invitation Congress to pass the Ukraine Freedom Support Act. Our featured Ms. Nakonechny’s stunning gerdan beadwork. December 21 editorial began with these words: “ ‘FOUR Meanwhile, here unprecedented Ukrainian Days, millions of calls, posts, Eugene Smith Memorial Fund’s 2014 grant in humanistic tweets, e-mails, sheer determination and a UNITED photography• Photographer for his Joseph project Sywenkyj “Verses from received a Nation the W.in at The Ukrainian Weekly UKRAINIAN COMMUNITY can MOVE mountains! Slava Transition,” which takes a sensitive look at families who e at The Ukrainian Weekly started off 2014 with an Ukraini!!’ That’s how the Facebook page of the Ukrainian have been seriously impacted physically, mentally and explanation of our new prices that went into effect Congress Committee of America characterized the flurry of economically by the crisis in Ukraine. The Smith grants Won February 1. The announcement had been made activity that led to the passage by both houses of the U.S. are presented annually to photographers whose work is a couple of weeks earlier, at the conclusion of our “2013: Congress of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 in judged by a panel of experts to be in the best tradition of The Year in Review.” Our publisher, the Ukrainian National its ultimate version as HR 5859.” And then to the signing of the compassionate dedication exhibited by photojournal- Association, made the decision to set the prices for yearly the bill into law by President Barack Obama, we must add. ist W. Eugene Smith. This year’s recipients were selected subscriptions at $80 for UNA members and $90 for non- We noted that thanks were due to “the countless con- from 170 entries received from 42 countries, and present- members. It was a steep increase from the previous $55/$65 stituents who called, e-mailed, tweeted and wrote to their ed their awards at a special ceremony at the School of prices for members/non-members, but it does not cover senators and representatives, and to the White House.” Visual Arts Theater in New York on October 15. the cost of producing and getting our newspapers to you. The power of social media was particularly evident in this - Our editorial of February 16 explained: campaign, as folks shared e-mails, posts on Facebook and rian, whose research and analysis of developments in “…last year, when it was made known that the UNA was Twitter messages. And they not only “liked” posts on Central• Dr. Timothy and Eastern Snyder, YaleEurope, University and professorhis recent and book,histo considering switching to an all-digital format for The Facebook, but also acted on them. Thanks to social media, “Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin,” have earned Ukrainian Weekly (a similar format was not being talked the reaction of our community was lightning fast and the him worldwide acclaim, was honored in Washington on about for Svoboda), it was calculated that the cost to print reach of messages urging action was huge. We cited the October 25 as the 2014 recipient of the Omelan and Tatiana and mail our newspaper to your home or office was about example of just one post about the Ukraine Freedom Antonovych Foundation Award. Since the awards program $110. At the same time, readers were told that, if the print Support Act of 2014 on The Weekly’s Facebook page: it began in 1981, “intellectual integrity and objective writing edition were to be continued, it was probable the UNA reached 3,292 people and was shared 89 times. And there were always paramount in the choice of candidates.” In would have to raise the price for a print subscription to were many other similar posts urging action. accepting the award, Dr. Snyder stressed that “Ukrainian $100 for UNA members and $125 for non-members. Donations to The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund contin- studies are extremely important at this particular time and “Some of our readers accepted the possibility of a digital- ued to be robust during 2014. In fact, they totaled place” because Ukrainian history helps one see the multi- only Weekly, some did not respond to the questionnaire that $39,445. A large portion of that – $12,500 – came at the plicity, confusion and complexity of that region. was sent out, while others protested – some quite vehe- end of the year in a single donation from one of our stron- mently. Some readers said they would pay whatever price gest supporters: Self Reliance (New York) Federal Credit was needed in order to continue getting a print subscription, honored Pittsburgh native Dorothy Walgus Waslo with its Union. (A like amount was donated by Self Reliance to our while others commented that the price would be too high. 2014• The Ukrainian Ukrainian of Technological the Year Award, Society presented of Pittsburgh on sister publication, Svoboda.) “Well, the good news is that the print edition of The November 1. Ms. Waslo, an accomplished choir conductor, In related news, our editorial of June 15 reported on Weekly is being continued. However, in view of rising was honored for her efforts to promote and maintain the the establishment of an endowment fund to support the costs – including postage, because the U.S. Postal Service tradition of Ukrainian sacred and choral music through Ukrainian National Association’s two newspapers. You increased its rates for all classes of mail on January 27 – the founding and leadership of the Ukrainian Cultural see, back in 2010, at the UNA’s 37th Regular Convention, the cost of print subscriptions to both weekly newspapers Trust Choir of Western Pennsylvania since 1990; and her delegates had voted to adopt a convention resolution in published by the UNA had to be raised. Thankfully, the directorial accomplishments, as she introduced Ukrainian support of the UNA’s beloved newspapers. As presented price is lower than originally anticipated.” sacred and choral music to church and community audi- by the Resolutions Committee at the convention, the mea- The other bit of good news we reported at that time ences in over 20 years of performances. sure read: “Whereas, the official publications of the was that online subscriptions are a real bargain at $40 per Ukrainian National Association – Svoboda and The - year, and, for those who subscribe to the print edition, an Ukrainian Weekly – represent a crucial public image for reographer Vasile Avramenko, “The Showman and the online subscription is only $5 more. Thus, UNA members the Ukrainian National Association and are indispensable Ukrainian• A new Cause,”biography was of writtenlegendary by dancer, Orest Martynowych,teacher and cho a can get both print and online subscriptions for $85, while for the organization in the Ukrainian community at large, historian at the Center for Ukrainian Canadian Studies, the price for non-members is $90. A huge plus for online be it resolved that a UNA Publication Endowment Fund be University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. His book is meticu- subscribers is that they get their newspapers as soon as created to ensure the future of the UNA’s official publica- lously and scrupulously researched, covering Ukrainian, they are posted and don’t have to wait for the mail. tions – Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly – via a perma- Ukrainian Canadian and Ukrainian American history, cul- Among noteworthy articles we published during the nent reserve fund.” ture, politics and entertainment over many decades, pre- year – in addition to Zenon Zawada’s exceptional report- Just prior to the 38th Regular Convention held in May senting “the truths of a well-documented life.” ing from Kyiv about all aspects of the Euro-Maidan/ 2014, the UNA did just that by donating $10,000 of seed Revolution of Dignity and more – were Oleh Wolowyna’s money to an account set up for the endowment. Loyal its 65th anniversary with a December 11 celebration at the examination of the population dynamics of Ukrainians in readers and supporters of our newspapers now have an VOA• Theheadquarters Ukrainian Servicein Washington. of the Voice Ukraine’s of America Ambassador marked metro New York-New Jersey (June 15); Paul Goble’s analy- opportunity to secure their future by donating to the Olexander Motsyk read greetings from President Petro sis of “Lies, damned lies and Russian disinformation” Publication Endowment Fund via the UNA’s charitable Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and (August 31); two commentaries by Gordon Humphrey, a arm, the Ukrainian National Foundation. The interest the presentation from President Poroshenko awarding the former U.S. senator, “Weapons for Ukraine, now” (October earned from the endowment’s account will be used to Order of Princess Olha to Myroslava Gongadze, anchor of 26) and “How you can help save Ukraine” (November 2); support Svoboda (founded 1893) and The Weekly (found- the Ukrainian Service’s daily TV news and the current and Adrian Bryttan’s News and Views feature titled ed 1933), whose combined years of devoted service to our affairs program “Chas-Time,” for her “personal contribution “When ‘high culture’ merges with terrorism” (December community now exceed 200. We advised readers that to to the development of journalism, active civic efforts and 14). At the beginning of the year (February 9), we pub- contribute to the endowment, donors should make checks high professional skills.” Many of the greetings highlighted lished a centerfold of stunning photos by Dianna Derhak payable to the Ukrainian National Foundation with the the importance of the VOA Ukrainian Service’s most recent that spotlighted “The People of the Maidan.” If you missed notation in the memo line: Publication Endowment Fund. work – during the Euro-Maidan protests, the subsequent any of these, be sure to check them out in our online Our editorial emphasized: “With the establishment of the changes in the Kyiv government and Russia’s aggression in archives at www.ukrweekly.com. Publication Endowment Fund, the UNA has taken a step Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Of course, there were the usual special issues: the toward ensuring the continuing good work and service to - annual Year in Review (published in four sections from the community at large of its two most important frater- brated their 75th anniversary with a banquet on October January 12 through February 2); the round-up of nal benefits. Thank you!” 19,• awarding The Ukrainian their UkrainianGraduates of of the Detroit Year andaward Windsor for 2014 cele to Ukrainian debutante balls (April 6); the 18th annual edi- To conclude this last section of “2014: The Year in Nadia Komarnyckyj McConnell, founder and president of tion of “A Ukrainian Summer” (May 4); and the special Review,” we must say: Thank you, Dear Readers, for your the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF). Co-founded in 1991 by Ukrainian Independence Day issue (August 24). years of support for The Ukrainian Weekly. We trust that Ms. McConnell and her husband, Robert, the USUF has gen- Also worth noting is the fact that during 2014 there were you will remain our loyal readers. We also hope that you erated over $40 million in grants over the years for a large countless stories about our community’s aid to the Maidan. will continue to be our correspondents by sending in sto- variety of assistance programs, working with the Verkhovna Among the projects covered were: yoga for Ukraine, helmet ries, photos and other information from your communi- Rada, the State Department Summer Work/Travel Program, auctions, concerts, festivals, dinners, cabarets, collections of ties. Let’s all keep in touch during 2015! U.S. Ukraine Policy Dialogue and many others. The founda- items needed on the maidan – you name it. tion has also given close to $1 million in stipends for profes- And there were a great number of editorials in our sional programs, as well as scholarships to students. newspaper regarding developments in Ukraine, even as And a word about events often moved more quickly than we could cover propaganda against the demonstrators, mostly from them. And that, folks, is where our Facebook page, initiat- our collaborators Russian• During sources. the Euro-Maidan, They were accused there was of beingan avalanche “fascists,” of ed in July of 2012, came in. The page kept our friends in This year’s edition of “The Year in Review” was prepared “neo-Nazis,” “ultra-nationalists” and, most commonly, touch and in the know. The number of “likes” for our by Roma Hadzewycz and Matthew Dubas of The Weekly’s “anti-Semites.” The book “Jews, Ukrainians and the Facebook page continued to grow as more and more peo- editorial staff; our part-time staffer Christine Syzonenko; ,” edited by Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk of the Royal ple realized that this is where they can find posts on the our colleagues Adrian Bryttan, Deanna Yurchuk and Lesia Military College of Canada and presented in Toronto on latest news from our dear Ukraine, as well as other items Lebed; our correspondent Oksana Zakydalsky in Toronto; November 30, aimed to set the record straight. It is a col- of interest to Ukrainians wherever they might be. We and Ihor Stelmach, our sports columnist. Credit for the lay- lection of works by various authors covering the period ended the year with close to 2,900 likes and since then the out goes to our layout artist Stepan Slutsky. November 21, 2013, to March 20, 2014, that give compel- number has grown some more. (We hasten to add that the The articles in this year’s four-part yearender were pre- ling evidence about the positive role played by Ukraine’s Facebook page is not a substitute for our newspaper, but pared based on stories about events of 2014 that appeared Jews, as well as those in the diaspora. Prof. Luciuk said only an enhancement. Our exclusive editorial content con- in The Weekly – those written by our staffers and regular that, as a historian, he felt the interaction between tinues to be found solely on the pages of The Weekly.) correspondents, as well as many submitted by community Ukrainians and Jews on the Maidan was significant, and he The utility of Facebook was evident toward the end of activists from near and far. Thank you to all of these com- wanted to preserve its historical record. 2014 as the big push came to get both houses of the U.S. munity-minded individuals. No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 15 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6 Ukrainian Canadian community welcomes $1.5 M in federal funding for Holodomor awareness project TORONTO – Thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the gov- reational vehicle), with a state-of-the-art interactive audio- lighting Canada›s National Honors Program, including the ernment of Canada, tens of thousands of students, commu- visual technology center on board. The RV will be wheel- roles of the governor general and the queen. nity leaders and the public at large will learn about the his- chair accessible and will tour Canada, visiting elementary “We must never waiver in our commitment to the mem- torical events surrounding the Famine-Genocide of 1932- and secondary schools, universities, government buildings, ory of the millions of victims of Stalin›s campaign of terror 1933 in Ukraine, known as the Holodomor. Ukrainian community and Canadian mainstream events, and the deliberate attempt to destroy the Ukrainian The Ukrainian Canadian Congress on January 13 and festivals and gatherings across the country. nation,” said UCC National President Paul Grod. “Projects expressed thanks to the Canadian government, the The goal of the awareness tour is to educate all Canadians like this ensure that no one ever forgets, and that crimes Ministry of Multiculturalism and Minister Jason Kenney, for about the genocidal famine created by Joseph Stalin in like this never happen again.” supporting a three-year grant for what has been dubbed 1932-1933, murdering millions of Ukrainians and others. This project will operate as a teaching module for ele- the “Holodomor National Awareness Tour.” “The Holodomor is one of the greatest crimes against mentary and high school students, teaching the values of The tour is a joint project of four organizations: the Canada humanity,” said Prof. Jurij Darewych, chair of the UCRDC. multiculturalism, diversity, and the importance of human Ukraine Foundation (CUF, the lead on the project), the “Yet, despite its being recognized as genocide by the rights and freedoms, the rule of law and respect for human Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), the Ukrainian Canadian Parliament of Canada, knowledge about this tragedy is not dignity. It will also present the concept of crimes against Research and Documentation Center (UCRDC) and the as widespread as it ought to be. The Holodomor National humanity and genocide as seen through the lens of the Holodomor Research and Educational Consortium (HREC). Awareness Tour will be an important tool in informing and Holodomor. “This project will build bridges among communities to reminding Canadians of this horrible example of man’s The concept design for the project was developed by promote intercultural understanding, tolerance, awareness inhumanity to man.” Dimension and Design Inc. (Denny Dzerowicz, CEO) and by and a deeper respect for the democratic values that we Similar mobile education tours in Canada have included TAG (The Alphaform Group) CEO Peter Trecapelli, whose Canadians hold so dear,” commented Bob Onyschuk, past the “Tour for Humanity,” organized by the Simon firm built the aforementioned “Tour for Humanity” and chair of the CUF and project leader. Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies; and “It›s an “It’s An Honor” mobile tours. Between these two firms, The tour takes places on a customized 42-foot RV (rec- Honor,” organized by the Rideau Hall Foundation, high- there are over 85 years of experience in major exhibitions.

mandate to assist Ukraine to defend itself full knowledge and backing of the political- Russia grinds... (Ukraine Freedom Support Act, Vladimir Putin’s... military leadership, but the high-technolo- Atlanticcouncil.org, December 2014). gy items also lend credence to reports of (Continued from page 2) (Continued from page 2) German Chancellor Angela Merkel is Russian troops on the ground in the toward reconsidering its denial of military expected to discuss this matter at the White cles and even sniper and assault rifles Donbas (Defense Express, January 20). assistance to Ukraine. But the White House House in Washington on February 9. In the (Defense Express, January 20). Many of these systems are sophisticated itself – as President Barack Obama made run-up to that discussion, Ms. Merkel has In November 2014, the 1RL257 and simply way beyond the capacity of the clear in his latest interview – is not even restated her view, ruling out any military Krasukha electronic countermeasures poorly trained and otherwise inadequately “edging” in that direction. And Mr. Obama’s assistance to Ukraine, even amid the deteri- (ECM) jammer was used outside the experienced separatists. Indeed, a signifi- deputy national security advisor, Ben orating military situation. The chancellor Donetsk National Technical University; this cant proportion of this hardware demands Rhodes came out squarely against provid- invoked her familiar argument that there Russian system blocks specialist military training and cannot be ing Ukraine with defensive weapons. can be no military solution, but only a polit- radar and UAV command channels at a operated properly by amateurs. Instead, “the answer is to apply pressure, ical solution to this conflict range of up to 300 kilometers. Reportedly, In recent years, Russia’s defense leader- try to get them [i.e., the Ukrainian govern- (Bundeskanzlerin.de, February 2). Aistenok portable counter-mortar radars ship has placed growing emphasis on ment] to the table with the separatists, so This argument overlooks the fact that have also been identified in the Donbas. increasing the numbers and boosting the we can see a peaceful de-escalation” (CNN, Russia is actually imposing its own military This system was shown to representatives training of contract personnel (kontraktni- February 1, 2). This coincides with solution unilaterally. A political agreement, from the Organization for Security and ki). This is precisely because the posts in Moscow’s entrenched position, equating if signed, would merely confirm that mili- Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in Donetsk the table of organization and equipment the “separatists” with the Ukrainian gov- tary situation on the ground, with Ukraine’s in January. Its manufacturer, the Tula-based (TOE) that determine combat capability ernment as parties to negotiations. unwilling signature added. Failure to arm Strela Production Association, says that the and combat readiness demand specialists Meanwhile, Washington’s oft-repeated Ukraine would result either in that kind of Aistenok detects mortar firing positions at with professional training. While this is calls for “de-escalation” imply that freezing “political solution,” or in a protracted unre- up to 5 kilometers and provides trajectory- true generally, there are more specific the conflict is a goal in itself, not a solution solved conflict on the model of Transnistria, based artillery fire adjustment up to 15 examples (see Eurasia Daily Monitor, March consistent with the shared Western and Abkhazia, South Ossetia or, most recently, kilometers (Eizvestia, November 8, 2014). 12, 2013). Since 2011, Moscow has been Ukrainian interests. The Atlantic Council’s Crimea, with Russia the winner de facto. Moreover, a number of different lightly introducing specialist sniper companies latest report, “Preserving Ukraine’s Given Ms. Merkel’s staunch opposition to armored vehicles of Russian resonance into the TOE. In 2012, this was stepped up, Independence, Resisting Russian Aggression: arming Ukraine, her upcoming meeting have been identified in the Donbas. These and the discussions of the top brass in the What the United States and NATO Must Do” with President Obama may well result in a include BPM-97 KamAZ-43269 Vystrel/ military press noted how highly specialized (Atlanticcouncil.org, February 1) has signifi- mutual reinforcement of their existing posi- Dozor Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV). these roles are in combat. The snipers cantly shifted the tone of public debates, in tion on this issue. Since this platform was cleared for export require specialist and tailored training (see favor of providing Ukraine with defensive in 2005, only a small number have been EDM, March 20, 2012). Equally, much of the weapons and training, so as to deter further The article above is reprinted from exported – none of them purchased by Kyiv reported Russian weapons and equipment Russian land-grabs. But the administration Eurasia Daily Monitor with permission from (Military Review, January 9). In addition, on finding its way into the Donbas cannot be only conveys its reluctance to carry out the its publisher, the Jamestown Foundation, January 10, the four-wheel-drive GAZ-3937 operated by inexperienced handlers; from (admittedly nonbinding) Congressional www.jamestown.org. Vodnik was spotted in operations. Again, a Russian military perspective, such hard- although this platform has been exported ware would demand the presence of kon- from Russia, none of the contracts included traktniki, and largely excludes conscripts. Ukraine. Equally, Tigr-Ms were identified in Clearly, there are claims and counter- a convoy passing through Ukrainian terri- claims among the conflicting parties in the tory on their way to Luhansk (Informator, Donbas. What does the presence of large January 15). quantities of often sophisticated Russian In December 2014, Ukrainian separat- weapons ranging from the Pantsir-S1 to the ists were also reportedly using the KSVK/ Kord sniper system or hardware including ASVK Kord sniper rifle, part of the 12.7-mil- Tigr-M or BPM97s reveal? It supports the limeter 6S8 Kord sniper system. The Kord presence of Russian kontraktniki from vari- entered use in the Russian military in mid- ous branches of Russia’s armed forces at 2013 and is used against lightly armored least in a training, guidance and mentoring and non-armored vehicles at up to 1,000 role to maximize the use of the systems and meters and against enemy personnel at up equipment. Ukrainian President Petro to 1,500 meters (Novosti News, December Poroshenko claims there are around 9,000 1, 2014). Samples of these were seized by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, while Ukrainian troops at Donetsk airport on NATO estimates are somewhat lower – no January 14. Footage of Donetsk separatists more than a brigade-strength in total. in January 2015 reveals the use of the silent These are likely to be drawn from a variety and flameless 9-millimeter AS Val assault of units. Their unofficial presence in rifle, used by Russian special forces and the Ukraine is partly driven and demonstrated Russian Internal Affairs Ministry Troops by the Russian equipment crossing the bor- (Censor.net, January 15). der, but is also a wider part of President It is clear that a fairly large quantity of Vladimir Putin’s undeclared “dirty little Russian weapons systems and military war” in the Donbas. equipment has “appeared” in southeastern Ukraine. Since the Russian Defense The article above is reprinted from Ministry and individual units tightly control Eurasia Daily Monitor with permission from these assets, it can only be deduced that its publisher, the Jamestown Foundation, such items are not only deployed with the www.jamestown.org. No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 17 Fulbright scholar speaks about Luhansk, then and now by Adrian Bryttan area is especially rich in mineral deposits, Shevchenko monument. There, the anti- supplying almost all of Ukraine’s coal and Maidan forces and “titushky” thugs NEW YORK – It was a cry from the iron ore. Luhansk soon grew into a major attacked, wielding bats and brass knuckles, heart, an eyewitness account of the war industrial and railway center, and by 1905 and broke up even peaceful Shevchenko- and occupation of her homeland. Dr. had the largest steam engine plant in the honoring meetings, she said. Tetiana Shestopalova recently shared her Russian Empire, building 21 percent of the Throughout Luhansk, a graffiti struggle love for Luhansk with the audience at the empire’s steam engines. ensued. It started off as simple spraying of Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences During the entire Soviet era, there was blue and yellow versus the Russian tricolor, (UVAN) in New York. “We should all bow only one working church in the region, the but then it turned deadly serious. The prov- our heads to the Ukrainian soil, because Holy Ascension Cathedral. Today, the “sepa- ocations were directed at “enemies” of the we are all the same – east and west. We can ratists” of the “Luhansk People’s Republic” LPR, internal and external: the University be diverse, but we are one.” This quote was (LPR) are also destroying all churches of rector, Viktor Kurylo; “neo-Nazis;” “fas- the unifying thread in her talk. every denomination, other than the cists.” Posters of false alarm about the A current Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Moscow Patriarchate, the speaker noted. imminent arrival of “Banderites” or the Shestopalova is professor of Ukrainian lit- Dr. Shestopalova described how young- soon appeared. Portraits of erature and pedagogy at Luhansk Taras er residents not brainwashed by Kremlin “enemies” began to be seen on city walls. Shevchenko National University. She later propaganda quickly lampooned the buzz- The LPR declared its enemies to be any- gave a riveting account of how her school words of a so-called Russian Spring – one who demonstrated an informed and students are coping with the war all “Donbas is Russia” or “Luhansk is Russia” – national and government position, and all around them. transforming them into “Luhansk is Israel,” such “enemies” were marked for destruc- At first glance, southeast Ukraine and “Luhansk is Scotland.” Others mocked tion, Prof. Shestopalova explained. The the Donbas region might bring to mind Russian propaganda by grouping Luhansk noted Ukrainian author Irena Karpa had only an alien world of smokestacks and with other previously trampled states: created satirical cartoons lampooning LPR abandoned mine shafts, residents zombi- “Abkhazia, Transnistria, …Luhansk?!” Their “ministers” and other “officials.” When fied by a steady diet of Russian media goal was to counter the massive barrage of Iryna Filatova, the LPR minister of culture, Dr. Tetiana Shestopalova brainwashing, and the savage fighting in disinformation. Their message: “Get it into recognized herself in one cartoon, she sub- the cities and airports. The barbaric parad- grants came and went. Up until 1820, the your skull: Luhansk is Ukraine!” mitted an official petition (now posted on ing of Ukrainian POWs by “separatists” and influx of Ukrainians into this territory was Tragically, during the recent Russian the Internet) to the LPR, in which she sued members of the Donetsk populace shocked the strongest, while after 1880 Russian occupation, numerous residents, activists for 50,000 rubles for mental distress the world. On the Luhansk map we notice immigration dramatically increased. and journalists were killed. Many who caused by this cartoon, and in all serious- exotic cities like , named after its During the Holodomor in 1932-1933, the attempted to defend the Security Service of ness demanded that its author, Ms. Karpa, coal deposits, and Sverdlovsk, named after Luhansk region experienced a rate of pop- Ukraine (SBU) building were taken captive. be judged by a war court and shot. the pathological mass murderer, bloody ulation decline of 25 percent or more – in Activists killed included the head of the local Meanwhile, propaganda photo-ops of architect of the Red Terror, and first de jure the highest bracket for Ukraine. Prosvita, the organization for cultural “Luhansk residents who loved Russia” head of state of the Russian SFSR. But as The fourth most populous region in enlightenment. University faculty and alum- were engineered, utilizing “testimonials” Dr. Shestopalova explained in her talk on Ukraine, the Luhansk population compris- ni were among the fallen. Many were tor- from Communists, pensioners and from October 26, 2014, this is not the whole pic- es 58 percent ethnic Ukrainians and 39 tured, had their internal organs destroyed the rank and file of alcoholics and drug ture by any means. And it wasn’t always percent ethnic Russians. In northern areas and fingers smashed, agonies that belong addicts. Murder, robbery and lawlessness this way. the percentage of Ukrainians climbs to 80 to the Inquisition of the Middle Ages. spread. More residents became victims of The first impression was of the unique percent. However, 68 percent consider Entering the university, many students shelling – while shopping in stores, on beauty of the natural landscapes. We tend Russian their native language – a 5 percent were not always aware of the true history crowded buses; neighbors were killed try- to forget Luhansk is right in the center of increase since 1989. There has also been a and culture of their homeland, but with ing to hide in the unsafest part of buildings, the steppe zone. The UVAN audience was more recent influx of workers from time they slowly grew to understand and their basements. treated to a variety of slides, including pho- Azerbajjan, Abkhazia and Korea. Almost all love their heritage, Dr. Shestopalova relat- At Luhansk University, students became tos of prairie dogs (the “bobak marmot”) students coming from Africa, China, India, ed. Ukrainian poetry clubs and even afraid to reach into their pockets for cell- standing at alert among the tall feather Arabia and utilize Russian as their embroidery sewing competitions became phones because of the menacing balaclava- grass and unique wildflowers on wide language. popular. Many graduates of Luhansk masked “separatists” patrolling the halls sunny plains. This marmot is currently on Similarly to Donetsk, the city of Luhansk University are now employed in Kyiv, Lviv, with automatic rifles. Eventually these LPR the endangered protected species list; in was “founded” by a foreign businessman. Uzhhorod and many other cities. However, forces took over the student dormitory, the past, it functioned as a “food reservoir” In 1795, the British industrialist Charles due to the war, the planned 200th anniver- threw out all the students and confiscated for Ukrainians in times of famine. A symbol Gascoigne established a foundry near the sary celebrations of Shevchenko’s birth, their documents. The city was closed to of the , it is displayed on its Luhanka and Vilkhivka rivers. Gascoigne field trips and outdoor celebrations had to traffic and on October 3, 2014, Ukraine’s coat of arms. The beautiful flowing grass, had developed a new type of cannon, a be limited because of fears for the stu- Minister of Education, Serhiy Kvit, called “satin tresses” (shovkova kosa or shorter-barreled “carronade” that would dents’ safety. The city’s Lenin statue was announced the university would move to kovyl) has 20 species that are also on the be favored by the Russian and British painted blue and yellow, but the real strug- protected list. Dotting the grasslands, lush navies for the next 70 years. The Donbas gle occurred on the grounds of the (Continued on page 22) forests provide shade near rivers. Until the 1980s the steppe eagle could still be found in Ukraine. Sadly, only 4 percent of the Ukrainian steppe still exists in its original untainted, pristine condition. Luhansk maintains three nature reserves to study and preserve the steppe vegetation and wild fauna. The history of the steppes is very impor- tant, not least because of today’s facile but superficial resurrection of a “” by the Kremlin propaganda factory, Dr. Shestopalova continued. Stone “babas” and artifacts found in the steppe zone attest to numerous cultures populating the area for over three millennia, starting with the Trypillians, followed by wandering Asiatic cultures like the Cimmerians, and the Polovetsians. All the while, Mediterranean naval powers were building trading outposts and establishing colonies near the Black Sea shoreline. During the Crimean Khanate, however, starting around the 16th century, the steppes were depopu- lated. With ever expanding Ukrainian settle- ments, the Zaporozhian Sich Kozaks con- stantly fought for control of this area, until Russian Empress Catherine destroyed the Sich in 1775. Waves of German, Greek, Serbian, Moldovan and Bulgarian immi- Students at Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University. 18 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

Third, President Obama is simply not ference the Stinger missiles made in progressive ideals. Or has a desire to be Why Obama... equipped to be a big power leader. No one Afghanistan. Alas, what Ukraine needs and close to the reins of political power unwit- trusts him any longer, even our nominal does not have is a Charlie Wilson. tingly taken precedence over Ukraine’s (Continued from page 4) allies. With Europe in economic disarray *** interests? I don’t know. But if they have presidency ought to be national security they are looking to America for leadership, As a Ukrainian American, I find it repre- “sold their soul,” they have sold it to a weak and foreign policy. After all, what good are but the leader is AWOL. Chancellor Angela hensible that President Obama has, time leader and gotten nothing in return except the best-intentioned domestic policy initia- Merkel, facing opposition to further sanc- and again, over the past 14 months, aban- empty words and platitudes ad nauseam. tives when the world is on fire? The U.S. tions from Germany’s business community, doned the Ukrainian nation to fend for The diaspora community now appears to president seems to have different priorities. allegedly told Mr. Obama in one of their itself. I find it astounding that those be divided into those who support Obama In his last State of the Union address, 87 encounters, “If you lead, I will bring around Ukrainian Americans, members of and his actions and those who do not. percent of the speech focused on domestic my people to stand behind you.” The leader “Ukrainians for Obama” still support a Ukrainians would do better to present issues (as calculated by the Wall Street of the free world, like a scared rabbit, president who does not share their beliefs themselves as one large cohesive group Journal). One got the impression that even responded, “let’s not provoke the Russians regarding Ukraine and continue to believe and not an outdated splintered voting bloc. thinking about foreign policy is a nuisance, further.” that he is in some way a good friend of Finally, over the last year I’ve attended a a distraction from his main goal to funda- There are some who argue that Ukraine Ukraine. Their hearts may be in the right number of demonstrations in front of the mentally transform America. does not need weapons, claiming they have place and their intentions noble, however, White House and the Russian Embassy. Such intense focus on domestic policy is plenty of their own. That is a specious at the same time it has to be said that there Over time I’ve witnessed a curious transfor- bad not only for Ukraine but for the United argument. Ukraine badly needs the sophis- is a discrepancy between what they believe mation. More and more Ukrainian States. The world today needs the presi- ticated modern weapons for two reasons: and what Mr. Obama’s actions confirm. It is Americans, former supporters of Mr. dent’s undivided attention on threats rang- (1) bullies like Aleksandr Zakharchenko hard to exchange a comfortable belief with Obama, are coming around to the view that ing from ISIS to Russian expansionism. By and Mr. Putin would think twice before an uncomfortable one. Trying to do so he is not a friend of Ukraine. This was suc- the way, both are terrorists, the only differ- attacking big cities like Mariupol if they causes what is known as “cognitive disso- cinctly demonstrated in a speech delivered ence being that the latter is a terrorist with knew that the Ukrainian army possessed nance.” The discrepancy of beliefs of in front of the White house by a lawyer from nuclear weapons. It doesn’t get any more highly lethal anti-tank and anti-armor “Ukrainians for Obama” and the reality of Philadelphia. I remember his words clearly: serious than that. The post-World War II weapons, better than anything the the president’s policies toward Ukraine “Mr. President, I voted for you the first time; world order is crumbling. Other than pon- Russians have; and (2) possession of such continues to mystify. In trying to under- and then I voted for you the second time. tificate about Russian aggression, President weapons would have an incalculable effect stand this phenomenon, one is inclined to Today, I regret having voted for you at all.” Obama has done pitifully little to confront on the morale of the Ukrainian military and think that a kind of Faustian bargain was No amount of wishful thinking will change the aggressor with the full moral and mate- would strengthen the spirit of Ukrainian entered into in which their patriotism for the fact that President Obama is no friend of rial force the United States commands. people to persevere. We know what a dif- Ukraine was exchanged for some elusive Ukraine, never was and never will be.

Geneva... (Continued from page 4) a presumption of POW status unless deemed otherwise by a “competent tribu- nal.” A Russian court is certainly not that “competent tribunal” envisioned by Geneva. Lt. Savchenko has declared and continues to pursue a hunger strike. Her life is in immi- nent peril. All avenues should be explored to prevent her from dying and freeing her from Russian detention. Nevertheless, the exam- ple of Lt. Savchenko and the 30 other Ukrainian servicemen should not be for- gotten in any partial resolution. There can only be one conclusion: Russia is a terrorist state and should be recognized as such with attendant conse- quences. The West has displayed its disdain for Russian behavior since Russia first invaded Ukraine in February 2014 one week after Russia completed its interna- tional public relations farce at Sochi. The West has excoriated Russia at the United Nations on a score of occasions, imposed meaningful sanctions, shunned Russia from the G-8, embarrassed Russia at the G-20 in Australia (to which Russia should never have been invited in the first place), avoided Russia most recently in Davos. Still, Russia remains arrogant and unre- pentant. The only solution is to recognize that Russia is an international terrorist state and utilize all tools at the West’s dis- posal to defeat Russia in Ukraine. An arrogant and unrepentant Russia suf- fering an economic malaise resulting from sanctions is nonetheless a dangerous one. Even effective sanctions will take too long to bring Russia to its knees. A pariah militarily defeated is ultimately a much more mallea- ble and treatable. This expedited approach benefits the Russian people as well. No one is advocating behaving like Russia and tak- ing the fight there. The Russian people will suffer less in the long term if their autocrat- ic and oligarchic leaders lose more now. This requires immediate and serious arm- ing and aligning militarily with Ukraine including offering Ukraine a Membership Action Plan for NATO. Russia has exported terrorism over the last year, and even more so over the last couple of weeks, with indis- criminate shelling resulting in killings of civilians in buses, at marketplaces and in homes in Ukraine. Russia will never surren- der. It must be subdued in Ukraine. The case of Nadiya Savchenko is a glar- ing example of who the enemy really is. She is a kidnap victim of a terrorist state. No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 19

“Hip Hop Ukraine” examines “Death of a Spymaster” takes music, migration, black identity readers to Ukraine and beyond “Hip Hop Ukraine: Music, Race and “Death of a Spymaster: A New African Migration,” by Adriana N. Helbig, Ukrainian Spy Thriller,” by Russell R. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, Miller, Saint Charles, Minn.: BeachHouse 2014. 258 pp. ISBN: 978-0-253-01204-3. $25 Books, 2014. 306 pp. ISBN: 978-1-59630- (paperback), $70 (cloth), $21.99 (e-book). 092-7. $18.95 (paperback). Prof. Adriana Helbig’s “Hip Hop Ukraine: A revival of the espionage genre, “Death Music Race and African Migration” is an of a Spymaster: A New Ukrainian Spy examination of music and black identity Thriller” by Russell R. Miller begins in during the Soviet era, the black experience Washington with a mysterious death. in post-Soviet Ukraine, the commercial and Charlie Connelly agrees to leave his life in underground hip hop scene in Ukraine, suburbia to assist the CIA in finding the highlighting Afro-Ukrainian collaborative suspected mole who murdered his friend examples, as well as hip hop in Uganda. and mentor – the spymaster. The book offers multimedia examples The trail leads to a former MI6 agent in that are accessed through the website charge of an Austrian banking operation. www.ethnomultimedia.org, with links to The former agent points Mr. Connelly to videos to performances, interviews, adver- Kyiv, where Karen – a disgraced CIA agent tisements and other files. who is working for Israeli intelligence – The publisher’s description states: “In joins in the search for the killer. ‘Hip Hop Ukraine,’ we enter a world of The two live through the Ukrainian urban music and dance competitions, hip revolt that overthrew Viktor Yanukovych as hop parties and recording studio culture to at the University of Pittsburgh. She is an , search for the killer in explore unique sites of interracial encoun- affiliated faculty member in cultural stud- ters among African students, African immi- the Chornobyl dead zone and Tel Aviv, and grants and local populations in eastern ies, women’s studies and global studies, from there go to the streets of Cairo before Ukraine. Adriana N. Helbig combines ethno- and at the Center for Russian and East uncovering the killer of their friend. graphic research with music, media and pol- European Studies. She is the author (with Mr. Miller has traveled to more than 100 icy analysis to examine how localized forms Oksana Buranbaeva and Vanja Mladineo) countries as an international marketing of hip hop create social and political spaces of “The Culture and Customs of Ukraine.” executive, with extensive experience with “Journey to a Closed City,” “Doing Business where an interracial youth culture can Readers may obtain copies of the book the World Bank, United Nations Democracy in Newly Privatized Markets” and “Selling speak to issues of human rights and racial via online retailers such as Amazon and Program, United Nations Industrial to Newly Emerging Markets.” equality. She maps the complex trajectories Banres & Noble, or by contacting the pub- Development Organization in Vienna and Readers may purchase the book from of musical influence — African, Soviet, lisher: Indiana University Press, Office of the International Executive Service Corps online retailers such as Amazon, or by con- American — to show how hip hop has Scholarly Publishing, Herman B. Wells in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. tacting the publisher: BeachHouse Books, become a site of social protest in post-social- Library 350, 1320 E. 10th St., Bloomington He is awinner of the Silver Quill Award P.O. Box 7151, Chesterfield, MO 63006- ist society and a vehicle for social change.” IN 47405-3907; via telephone, 800-842- for “The Spy With a Clean Face.” His other 7151; by telephone, 636-394-4950; or Dr. Helbig is assistant professor of music 6796; or online, www.iupress.indiana.edu. books include: “Death on the Silk Road,” online, www.beachhousebooks.com. 20 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

Ukrainians bid farewell to singer the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said OSCE condemns shelling of civilian areas NEWSBRIEFS on January 28 that, “In order to conceal the KYIV – Hundreds of Ukrainians gathered involvement of Russian soldiers in combat KYIV – Ertugrul Apakan, the chief moni- (Continued from page 2) in Kyiv on February 3 to remember singer on the side of the terrorists of the Donetsk tor of the Special Monitoring Mission to Andriy Kuzmenko, better known by his Ukraine (SMMU) of the Organization for the idea. His comments follow reports that and Luhansk ‘peoples’ republics,’ the bod- stage name Skryabin, who was killed in a Security and Cooperation in Europe U.S. officials are considering the possibility ies of the dead are being burned in mobile car crash on February 2. Police said his car (OSCE), on January 31 condemned the of sending anti-tank missiles, armored crematoria.” According to Mr. collided with a milk tanker. The 47-year- shelling of densely populated civilian areas vehicles, small arms and ammunition to Nalyvaichenko, between January 20 and old was hugely popular in Ukraine, and like in eastern Ukraine. Initial reports indicate Ukrainian government forces. (RFE/RL) 23, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of many Ukrainian musicians had also been more civilians were killed and injured on the Russian Federation ordered that seven politically active – recently playing a bene- January 30 by shells landing deep in EU says ‘spiral of violence’ must stop mobile crematoria be moved into territory fit concert to raise money for the Ukrainian Donetsk City. “Yet again, innocent civilians controlled by the Kremlin-backed terror- BRUSSELS – The European Union’s for- military. A videoclip of the remembrance in have been impacted by the crisis, and yet ists. Mr. Nalyvaichenko stated that the SBU eign-policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the city center, in which mourners refer to again we are seeing more bloodshed,” said hotline receives dozens of calls each day on February 4 that the “spiral of ever- him as a true patriot and one of a kind, is Ambassador Apakan, adding that the from Russian citizens looking for family increasing violence in eastern Ukraine available at http://www.rferl.org/media/ SMMU was on the scene in Donetsk City to members who have been illegally deployed needs to stop” and blamed pro-Russian video/ukraine-skryabin/26827821.html. conduct an analysis and establish the facts. to Ukraine. “Despite the fact that they, with rebels for a recent escalation that she said (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service) “It should be understood that the main out- weapons in their hands, committed crimes was causing “great human suffering.” Ms. come of such violence is a surge in human PACE again suspends Russia against our citizens, we act humanely and Mogherini said that “the shelling of civil- suffering. I urge all sides to exercise maxi- ians, wherever it happens, is a grave viola- return identified bodies and documents to STRASBOURG – The Parliamentary mum restraint, and fully assume their tion of international humanitarian law.” But their mothers, so that they may be buried responsibility to prevent further displace- she reserved her sharpest words for the Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) with dignity,” stated Mr. Nalyvaichenko. has decided again to strip Russia of the right pro-Russian rebels, who have been fighting (Ukrainian Canadian Congress) (Continued on page 21) to seize the town of Debaltseve from to vote or take part in the assembly’s gov- embattled government forces and have erning bodies until April. In announcing its threatened to attempt to take control of the decision on January 28, PACE condemned NATO Must Do,” authored by eight foreign Donetsk and Luhansk regions in their Russia’s “illegal annexation of Crimea” in Ukrainian foreign... policy experts, including two former U.S. March of last year. The PACE statement also ambassadors to Ukraine – Steven Pifer and entirety. “The fighting provoked by the con- (Continued from page 1) tinued separatist offensive, notably around condemned Russia’s role in “instigating and John Herbst – who underscored the follow- Debaltseve, is causing great human suffer- escalating developments in Ukraine, includ- do to help Ukraine in this hour of need, Mr. ing three recommendations: ing and undermines all efforts aimed at a ing with arms supplies to insurgent forces Prystayko said he was proud of what they political solution,” Ms. Mogherini said in and covert military action by Russian troops are doing in assisting various aid programs, commit serious funds to upgrade Ukraine’s her statement. She joined the chairman of inside eastern Ukraine.” Russia continues to which provide medical equipment, medica- defense• The capabilities,White House specifically and Congress providing should the Organization for Security and deny playing any role in the conflict in east- tions and doctors, as well as translations of $1 billion in military assistance this year, Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in a call for ern Ukraine. After the decision, the head of instruction materials into Ukrainian. followed by an additional $1 billion each in an immediate ceasefire in the Debaltseve Russia’s delegation to PACE, Aleksei Before his Embassy press conference, the next two fiscal years. area, saying a truce should last at least Pushkov, said his country will suspend until Vice-Minister Prystayko presented Ukraine’s three days. “Residents of Ukraine’s Donbas the end of 2015 its participation in the pan- position during a daylong conference at the policy and begin providing lethal assistance strive to flee the region and the humanitar- European body dedicated to upholding Atlantic Council on developing a trans-Atlan- to Ukraine’s• The U.S. military. government should alter its ian crisis continues to worsen dramatically human rights, democracy, and the rule of tic strategy for the Europe’s East. in the coldest period of the year,” she said. law. PACE first suspended Russia in April of Two days later, that think tank joined other NATO countries about also providing “Civilians need to be able to leave the con- last year. (RFE/RL, with reporting by TASS) with The Brookings Institution and The military• The assistanceU.S. government to Ukraine. should approach Chicago Council on Global Affairs in pre- (The full report may be read at http:// flict zone safely.” Ms. Mogherini also repeat- SBU: Russia cremating bodies of its dead ed calls for the withdrawal of artillery from senting a report on “Preserving Ukraine’s www.brookings.edu/research/reports/ residential areas. (RFE/RL) KYIV – , head of Independence, Resisting Russian 2015/02/ukraine-independence-russian- Aggression: What the United States and aggression.)

ing into Ukraine. We can’t close our eyes to Kerry brings... Russian fighters in unmarked uniforms crossing the border and leading individual TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL Walter Honcharyk (973) 292-9800 x3040 (Continued from page 1) companies of so-called separatists in battle. or e-mail [email protected] secretary of state reiterated that the U.S. We can’t close our eyes to modern rockets wants “a peaceful resolution” to the conflict and modern radar capacity and other SERVICES PROFESSIONALS in Ukraine. capacity that has crossed the border in According to a transcript released by the order to prosecute this conflict across sov- U.S. State Department, he added: “But we ereign lines, across international borders, cannot close our eyes to tanks that are against all the promises that were made in crossing the border from Russia and com- the Minsk ceasefire agreement.”

science conferences, and is expected to Devastation... draw 8,000 attendees from 60 countries. Minister Kvit will be addressing his edu- (Continued from page 5) cation initiatives for Ukraine. These consist wide range of innovative biomedical of long-overdue reforms of the science and research projects, providing advanced education sectors. Ukraine’s new govern- equipment, training opportunities and ment has enacted legislation to give univer- grants. sities greater autonomy and strengthen This past week, Dr. Gamota, Andriy university research. Planned legislation to Bihun and I visited several U.S. research reform the science sector is likely to greatly funding entities in Washington, trying to increase merit-based distribution of galvanize assistance for the plight of research funding and strengthen ties Ukrainian scientists, especially in Donetsk, between universities and research insti- as a first step. CRDF Global is establishing a tutes. Special attention to the potential role special separate fund to assist Ukrainian of international research and funding part- scientists. It will solicit private-sector ners will highlight the value of science donors, corporations, individuals and phil- diplomacy and international collaboration PERSONAL anthropic organizations. Marilyn Pifer of to revitalize Ukrainian science. CRDF Global ([email protected]) is Ukraine is in desperate straits on many organizing that effort. different fronts – a faltering economy and Handsome, successful 31 y.o. Ms. Pifer also organized a panel, devalued hryvnia, a feeble national defense Ukrainian-American would like “Ukraine’s Scientific Future, International system and a dilapidated social welfare to meet a beautiful, successful Cooperation and Science Diplomacy,” at the safety net. The needs and appeals for aid woman between 24-29 y.o. annual meeting of the American escalate weekly. Each reader of The for a serious relationship. Association for the Advancement of Science Ukrainian Weekly contributes to support- E-mail: [email protected] (AAAS) that will be held in San Jose, Calif., ing Ukraine in his/her own way. Our dia- on February 12-16. The keynote speaker sporan scientific establishment is gearing on the panel will be Dr. Serhiy Kvit, up because Ukraine’s science and technolo- Run your advertisement here, Ukraine’s minister of education and sci- gy sectors are the essential leading edge to in The Ukrainian Weekly’s CLASSIFIEDS section. ence. The 2015 AAAS annual meeting is Ukraine’s future prosperity. We cannot one of the largest and most prestigious of ignore their plight. No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 21

of citizens.” On February 22, 2014, the Minsk ceasefire line, using Grad rocket sys- Donbas and its involvement in events in NEWSBRIEFS had voted to formally tems and other advanced weaponry. With Mariupol, President Petro Poroshenko said remove Mr. Yanukovych from his post on smoke rising from apartment buildings and at a meeting of the National Security and (Continued from page 20) the grounds that he was unable to fulfill his playgrounds from over 40 rounds of pow- Defense Council. “Interception of radio and ment and suffering, and to redouble their duties. Two days later it issued a warrant erful rockets, media are reporting over 100 phone conversations by the Security Service efforts to reach a political settlement,” said for his arrest, accusing him of “mass killing wounded. OSCE monitors have confirmed of Ukraine irrefutably indicates that the Mr. Apakan, adding that the OSCE Special of civilians.” (RFE/RL) at least 20 dead including women, children, given attack was organized by terrorists Monitoring Mission continued to stand and the elderly. It is reprehensible that the supported by Russia,” he said. He added that ready to facilitate a ceasefire and to support Thirteenth convoy enters Ukraine separatists are publicly glorifying this and more evidence is seen in Russia’s blocking all efforts to ease civilian suffering. The KYIV – On January 31 at 8 a.m. Moscow other offensives in blatant violation of the of the U.N. Security Council’s statement and chief monitor also extended his condolenc- time, a Russian convoy consisting of 90 Minsk agreements they signed. The sepa- its silence on assessments of the terrorists’ es to the families of the victims and to the vehicles arrived at the Donetsk border ratists’ new offensive, not just in Mariupol actions in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. people of Ukraine. (OSCE) crossing point (BCP), reported the and Debaltseve, but along the ceasefire line, Specialists of the Special Monitoring Observer Mission of the Organization for has been aided and abetted by Russia’s Mission to Ukraine of the Organization for Yanukovych stripped of presidential title Security and Cooperation in Europe exam- Security and Cooperation in Europe irresponsible and dangerous decision to ined the site of the tragedy in Mariupol and (OSCE). Cargo trucks were inspected by the resupply them in recent weeks with hun- KYIV – Ukraine’s Parliament on found that Grad and Uragan missiles were Russian border guards and customs servic- dreds of new pieces of advanced weaponry, February 4 adopted legislation stripping launched from territory occupied by the so- es. All the vehicles crossed back into the including rocket systems, heavy artillery, Viktor Yanukovych of his presidential title. called “Donetsk People’s Republic,” Col. Russian Federation at 9:20 p.m. on January tanks, armored vehicles, in addition to con- The decision by the Verkhovna Rada was Andriy Lysenko said during a press briefing tinuing operational . backed by 281 lawmakers; it needed 226 31. This was the 13th Russian convoy at Ukraine Crisis Media Center on January Russia’s commitment to the Minsk agree- votes to pass. The move deprives Mr. crossing through the Donetsk BCP since the 25. The next day, it was reported that ments it signed will be assessed by its Yanukovych of all the benefits enjoyed by arrival of the Observer Mission at the Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo actions not its words. We call on Russia to former heads of state. The ex-president, Russian border crossing points. (OSCE) Klimkin; the deputy head of the Presidential who triggered mass protests in Kyiv by end its support for separatists immediately, Kerry condemns Mariupol attacks Administration, Valeriy Chaly; and the head refusing to sign a deal tightening ties with close the international border with of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the European Union in November 2013, WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Ukraine, and withdraw all weapons, fight- Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, conducted a meet- fled Kyiv on February 21, 2014, and later John Kerry on January 24 issued a state- ers and financial backing. Otherwise, U.S. ing with foreign ambassadors accredited in arrived in Russia. Ukrainian lawmakers ment to the press on “Attacks in Ukraine by and international pressure on Russia and Ukraine. During a special briefing, the SBU said Mr. Yanukovych must be stripped of Russian-Backed Separatists.” He said: “I join its proxies will only increase.” (U.S. shared the results of its special investigation his title because he relieved himself of my European counterparts in condemning Department of State) with the ambassadors, showing photo and duties as president “in an unconstitutional in the strongest terms today’s horrific Evidence of Russian involvement is cited video evidence which confirms that way” that threatened the country’s territo- assault by Russia-backed separatists on Russian-supported terrorists attacked the rial integrity and sovereignty and led to civilian neighborhoods in Mariupol, a KYIV – Ukraine has undeniable evidence peaceful population of Mariupol. (Ukraine “mass violations of the rights and freedoms peaceful city 25 kilometers outside of the of Russia’s support of terrorists in the Crisis Media Center)

war. And today I can with certainty that the question about it.” the army generals. Russia escalates... enemy’s attack was successfully thwarted,” While the cyborgs perished in the air- The lack of confidence in the army is he wrote. port, Ukrainian soldiers were getting widespread in Ukraine, leading to a grow- (Continued from page 1) Afterwards, Russian forces dispatched attacked outside. ing problem of deserters who are avoiding escalation. Soldiers who survived the an additional 18 tanks, 23 armored fighting “They drove up two tanks right in front the draft, with the latest, fourth round hav- Donetsk airport attack said it was the work vehicles and 55 covered transporters of the terminal and shot it point-blank a ing been launched on January 20. of professional Russian soldiers. Ukrainian between the morning of February 2 and 4, few times and went away before our artil- Yurii Lutsenko, the head of the Petro fighters also described an influx of Russian Mr. Tymchuk reported. lery could get them, and they would do it Poroshenko Bloc parliamentary faction, military hardware and soldiers in the Despite that, Ukrainian forces retained again and again, completely turning the ter- said on January 26 that legislation may be regional center of Donetsk. control of Debaltseve and kept Russians minal into a sieve,” Col. Moysyuk said. “We introduced to increase the punishment for “There’s a massive amount of forces here, forces from encircling the town, killing at couldn’t get our tanks or armored vehicles army desertion and failing to follow orders and it’s all new and all from Russia,” Petro least 50 in that three-day period. The there anymore because they had used the in the battlefield. Kanonik, a Ukrainian commander in the Russians suffered serious losses as the truce time to fortify all the side approaches More than 1,170 criminal cases have Joint Ceasefire Coordinating Center in wounded overwhelmed nearby hospitals. and deploy all kinds of heavy weapons.” been opened so far against those suspected Donetsk, told the Ukrayinska Pravda website “An absence of medicine and an acute In the end, all his brigade’s armored vehi- of avoiding mandatory military service, in an interview published on February 4. lack of medical equipment and basic mate- cles were destroyed or damaged, and 62 men said Oleh Boiko, an official in charge of In particular, about 90 armored fighting rials (syringes are being expropriated from were unaccounted for. At least 13 were dead, mobilization at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as vehicles and 3,500 fighters were active in veterinary hospitals) acute lack of medical including the five in the vehicle. The rest, he reported on January 28 by the Interfax- the battle for Debaltseve, a town of 25,000 equipment and in , where the main said, had been taken prisoner, or worse. Ukraine news agency. people located 45 miles northeast of portion of seriously injured fighters were Over all, 28 cyborgs are considered Procurator General Vitalii Yarema Donetsk, estimated Dmytro Tymchuk, a delivered,” Mr. Tymchuk reported on missing in action from the Donetsk airport claimed on January 16 that military prosecu- military expert and director of the Info February 3. “The morgues in Donetsk battle, Vladislav Seleznev, a spokesman for tors have filed charges against more than Resist website (inforesist.org), on the ceased to serve the civilian population the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Ukraine’s Armed 1,000 Ukrainians for army desertion, though morning of February 2. because of a lack of space.” Forces, reported on February 3. Mr. Boiko’s estimate was close to 200. These forces included four tactical Such success in Debaltseve followed To this day, the Ukrainian army has yet About 50-60 percent of those drafted in groups supporting three artillery groups what is widely considered a defeat at the to remove all the corpses from the airport the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast of western employing up to 60 units of long-barreled Donetsk airport. territory, said Mr. Kanonik, the Ukrainian Ukraine don’t respond to their summonses, artillery and 32 rapid-fire rocket systems. The Donetsk airport became a symbol of member of the Coordinating Center. The while 40 percent have fled abroad, Mr. Debaltseve is being targeted not only the Donbas war, often compared to terminals are destroyed and prisoners are Boiko estimated. Authorities said many because it is a key railroad station but also Stalingrad in its critical nature, and its bat- being exchanged, he said. Ukrainian men are reported to have settled because it’s the easternmost city on the tles gave birth to the legend of the The high losses at the airport battle in Polish and Romanian hotels and hostels frontline still controlled by the Ukrainian “cyborgs,” or Ukrainian fighters who fought prompted much criticism to be directed near the Ukrainian border. government, experts said. so tirelessly, without rest or relief, that they towards the leadership of Ukraine’s military. Meanwhile, the Russian Migration The February 1 assault ended in failure were thought to be machine-like. Col. Moysyuk said the airport should Service announced that Ukrainian citizens for the Russian forces, Mr. Tymchuk report- A large number of these cyborgs per- have been evacuated days earlier. Dmytro can extend their presence in the Russian ed. In the process, five tanks and four ished on January 19 when the Russian forc- Yarosh, the leader of the Pravyi Sektor Federation by 90 days in addition to the ini- armored fighting vehicles were destroyed. es launched an attack, driving them from paramilitary force, said he had earlier pro- tial 90-day term as part of a deliberate poli- “The battle for Debaltseve has been the the ground floor to the second floor, then posed razing the remnants of the airport’s cy – explicitly outlined by Russian most violent and wide in scale in the climbed onto the third floor where they terminals to Ukraine’s military command- President Vladimir Putin – to help Russian-Ukrainian war. This isn’t , “laid explosives and blew up the ceiling and ers, but they disagreed. Ukrainian men avoid the military draft. Luhansk or the Donetsk airport. It’s the the base of the second floor,” reported Ukraine’s military leaders are often More than 5,300 people have been killed full-fledged maneuvering of military Sergei Loiko, a photojournalist on the front- removed from reality and haven’t made any in the Donbas war since it began in April of actions of contemporary, mechanized lines for the Los Angeles Times. conclusions from the Ilovaisk tragedy of last year, the United Nations high commis- armies, and cooperation between recon- Most of the 50 cyborgs – volunteer fight- late August, said Mr. Yarosh, whose right sioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al naissance, infantry, artillery, armored vehi- ers for battalions – were wounded or killed, arm was injured during the Donetsk air- Hussein, reported on February 3. More cles and radioelectronics,” Yurii Butusov, a he reported, citing the firsthand account of port battle. than 12,200 have been injured. Ukrainian war reporter on the frontlines, Col. Yevgeny Moysyuk, identified as a bri- “We have it easier, which is why we don’t “Bus stops, public transport, markets, reported on his Facebook page on the gade commander. have (official) status. The heck with them,” schools, nurseries and hospitals in residen- morning of February 2 Such an operation could have been con- he told Hromadske TV from his hospital tial areas have become a battleground in the “For the first time in its history, the ducted only by professional Russian sol- bed, referring to the volunteer battalions Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, Ukrainian army conducted a successful diers, he said. who don’t take orders from the military. which is a direct violation of international defensive operation on a wide front and “The language they spoke, the accents, “Before our eyes, a was posi- humanitarian law that regulates conducting completely fulfilled its military objectives. the jargon, the vocabulary – all was Russian tioned like targets, without any logic.” armed conflicts,” he said in a statement. An army of Russian mercenaries attempted Russian, not even Ukrainian Russian,” he Getting wounded was a good thing Civilians have died in population centers to smash the entire Ukrainian defense in said, recalling their intercepted radio com- because “I would have shot one of them controlled by both Ukrainian and Russian Donbas and sharply alter the course of the munications. “They were professionals, no with my own hands,” he said, referring to forces, he said. 22 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

ated by the LPR would have their diplomas order – if the U.S. government has the polit- Fulbright... recognized throughout the Russian What is to be done? ical will to do it. Federation. Never mind that on the The best way to make sure Ukraine (Continued from page 17) (Continued from page 4) Internet, one can read a copy of the official receives substantial help is to put pressure the city of Starobilsk, under the control of letter from Moscow University stating this 9,000 Russian regular troops in Ukraine, in on the U.S. administration and to work Ukrainian forces. Now the students had to is not being considered and will not hap- addition to a significant amount of armor, through our legislators. We as a community take their final exams online, Prof. pen. artillery and other military equipment that need to remain mobilized and focused on Shestopalova said. Dr. Shestopalova concluded: “I am not a has crossed the border into Ukraine from making sure our president acts on the Luhansk University, which has a student politician… Many of my students care and Russia. authority given to him by Congress through body of 30,000, had enjoyed partnerships work for Ukraine, but many also believed Ukrainian and American military the UFSA. Implementation of this law needs with many international educational insti- the so-called LPR minister of education experts have warned that Russia is plan- to be the priority of our community. tutions, like the Vienna Music and are continuing their education in the ning a spring offensive with the goal of To that end, our Ukrainian American Conservatory, Thomas More College occupied zone. Our government must think establishing a land corridor to Crimea and constituents must, during the (U.S.A.) and the Academie d’Orleans-Tours through and gradually implement a the capture of Kharkiv – an offensive that, Congressional break on February 18-20, in France. Luhansk students were able to nation-centered strategy for Ukrainian according to Ukrainian military experts, visit their legislators’ home offices and do obtain an M.B.A. degree in partnership education. The challenge will be to put has received the codename “Operatsiya the following: with Franklin Pearce University (U.S.). together textbook literature that will direct Podkova,” or “Operation Horseshoe.” There 1. Ask their senators to form and join a They could take part in various student students to national goals rather than also have been confirmed reports that the Senate Task Force on Ukraine, thereby exchanges and scholarship programs regional divisions. We must create higher Russians have activated their air defenses, forming a “Ukraine Team” in the Senate through the Confucius and Goethe insti- quality Ukrainian films and television.” which would only be done if they are plan- that can use its “advise and consent” tutes. Many students developed their “We need people to grow in their self- ning to launch this operation in a short authority to encourage the executive sports skills to the point of becoming awareness and an awareness of the world period of time. Based on these facts and the branch to promptly implement the UFSA. champions in Olympic and Paralympic around them, rather than destroy anything draft cycle of the Russian army, estimates of 2. Ask their senators and representa- games. Students organized and ran numer- they don’t know or are unaccustomed to. A the invasion window are from the end of tives to submit inquiries to the executive ous social work activities, including turn to international literature will be most February through the beginning of April. To branch asking what has been done to date SMART, a program to enhance community helpful, because then they would see the put it succinctly, Ukraine is facing an immi- to transfer defensive lethal aid to Ukraine engagement among young people in common thread from Orwell, Remarque nent existential threat. in accordance with the UFSA. Ukraine by helping children from orphan- through Shevchenko and our Maidan con- The weapons and weapons systems that 3. Ask that these inquiries be coordinat- ages, sharing their pedagogical experience temporaries like Serhiy Zhadan and a thou- are authorized to be transferred to Ukraine ed with the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and promoting humanist ideas in society. sand others who understood the connec- by the UFSA can act as a deterrent to con- in the House. The co-chairs of this Caucus In fact, Luhansk had been named Ukraine’s tions with similar cataclysmic events in tinued Russian aggression. For example, are Reps. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Sander best higher education institution for sever- history,” she said. “This will be the first step the Anti-Battery Fire-Finder Radar (AN/ Levin (Mich.), and Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.). al years in a row by Ukraine’s Ministry of towards understanding the dramatic TPQ-37), with a range of 50-plus kilome- 4. Our prominent Ukrainian Americans Education and Science. events that are affecting every resident in ters, is a countermeasure to the Russian who are activists in the Democratic Party Now, in a surreal scene reminiscent of Ukraine, the first step towards understand- Grad artillery rockets that were recently need to be asking to meet with the National George Orwell’s “The Animal Farm,” the ing ourselves, and an opportunity to think used to inflict civilian casualties in Security Council and present the reasoning LPR announced its new “minister of educa- about what will come tomorrow.” Mariupol. The request for these systems for sending lethal aid to Ukraine. tion”: Lesia Laptieva, formerly an assistant “I have seen how people wear a thin was made by President Petro Poroshenko The implementation of the UFSA needs high school principal in , a small veneer of civility. The invaders have con- directly to President Obama back in to be our immediate priority. The AHCU depressed mining town. Ms. Laptieva vinced themselves that carrying a weapon September 2014. To date, however, the U.S. will be sending out more information on announced on TV channel 24 that she gives them power over others. But making has transferred 20 Fire-Finder Anti-Mortar Ukraine’s military needs and which specific intends to fully transform educational stan- war will not solve anything. Only education Radars with a range of 10 kilometers. So legislators need to be contacted through dards in Luhansk to conform with the to the truth is the answer… We are diverse far, none of the more advanced anti-battery the members of the AHCU who represent Russian Federation. She cynically promised in Ukraine, but we are all one,” Prof. radar systems have arrived. These radar all of our community organizations. that all high schools and universities oper- Shestapalova underscored. systems are considered non-lethal aid. Ukraine is bleeding, soldiers and civil- The Ukrainian government has submit- ians are dying every day. We as a united ted a prioritized list of defensive weapons community need to be the spearhead of the to the U.S. government. All these weapons effort to defend Ukraine against Russia’s Social Development Institute (SDI) can be transferred to Ukraine in short aggression. – a not-for-pro t organization is collecting donations for the families of Ukrainian soldiers that were killed defending established by the U.S. Congress and funded Jaroslawa Z. Johnson... by the U.S. government via the U.S. Agency Ukraine and the World from Russian occupiers. These for International Development (USAID). (Continued from page 6) donations are absolutely necessary especially for the family Since its inception, WNISEF’s cumulative members of soldiers from Voluntary Ukrainian Battalions Ms. Johnson will be based at the fund’s investments total over $168 million to 118 “DUK” that with their free will and without any assistance offices in Chicago, traveling between the companies in Ukraine and Moldova. United States, Ukraine and Moldova in per- WNISEF’s portfolio of investments in from the government stepped up to ght against Putin’s forming her duties. Ukraine and Moldova is managed by terrorists. Unlike other Ukrainian heroes, soldiers from “DUK” The Western NIS Enterprise Fund was Horizon Capital. do not have any government assistance and in case of their death, their family members do not receive any nancial assistance from the government (unlike other participants of anti-terrorist operation).

SDI is also working on nding direct connections with the family members of the killed defending soldiers. Everyone willing to place their input into providing assistance for the families of these soldiers can do so through the following website: http://sdinstitute.weebly.com No. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 23

Through Art exhibit, featuring Walter Monastyretsky, February 19 Seminar with Suhnaz Yilmaz, “Turkish-Russian February 28 Ukrainian National Museum, 312-421-8020 Stanford, CA Relations in a Turbulent Region and the Challenges of Chicago Eurasian Energy Politics,” Stanford University, 650-725-2563 or [email protected] February 10 Lecture by Tamara Martsenyuk, “Gender, Nation and New York Revolution: The Role of Women in the Euro-Maidan February 20 Commemorative concert for the fallen heroes of the Protests of 2013-2014 in Ukraine,” Columbia University, Washington Heavenly Brigade, Embassy of Ukraine, [email protected] or 212-854-4697 http://unitedhelpukraine.org/tickets February 11 Presentation by Minister of Education and Science of February 20 Presentation by Nancy Kollmann, “Writing the Russian Stanford, CA Ukraine Serhiy Kvit, “Reforming Ukraine’s Universities Stanford, CA Empire, 1450-1801,” Stanford University, During a Crisis,” Stanford University, 650-725-2563 or 650-725-2563 or [email protected] [email protected] February 22 Winterfest, Bobriwka Campground, February 13 Concert with pianist Mio Isoda-Hagle, cellist Alex Muhly Colebrook, CT 860-637-0392 or [email protected] Chicago and violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv, Piano Forte Foundation, www.pianofortefoundation.org or 312-291-0291 February 22 Borshch cook-off fund-raiser for orphanage in , Ottawa Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Orthodox February 13 Panel discussion, “The Future of Ukraine: A Panel Cathedral, 613-325-3903 or www.ukrainianorthodox .info Berkeley, CA Discussion,” with Taras Kuzio, Valeria Korablyova and Alina Polyakova, University of California – Berkeley, February 24 Concert, with violinists Scott St. John, Solomiya Ivakhiv, 510-642-3230 Waterloo, ON violists Sharon Wei, Doug McNabney and cellist Tom Wiebe, Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, February 14 Presentation of debutantes, Ukrainian American Youth 519-886-1673 or [email protected] Parsippany, NJ Association, Sheraton Parsippany Hotel, www.cym.org/us/2015-deb-tickets or February 26 Presentation by Donald Raleigh, “Russia’s Cold War [email protected] Stanford, CA Generation and the End of the Soviet Dream: Soviet Baby Boomers Talk About Their Lives,” Stanford February 14 Presentation of debutantes, Ukrainian Medical University, [email protected] Chicago Association of North America, Palmer House Hilton, 773-486-7929 or [email protected] February 27 Presentation by Donald Raleigh, “Leonid Ilich Brezhnev: Stanford, CA Man of Peace,” Stanford University, 650-725-2563 or February 14 Malanka benefit dance, Sheraton Four Points, [email protected] Norwood, MA [email protected] or 508-245-1890 February 28 Premier concert, “Music of Survival,” Ukrainian February 14 Poetry reading with Mykola Vorobiov, Shevchenko Warren, MI Bandurist Chorus, Ukrainian Cultural Center, New York Scientific Society, 212-254-5130 www.bandura.org/music-of-survival-detroit-premier February 15 Illustrated lecture with Nazar Kozak, “The political New York uprising in Kyiv known as the Euro-Maidan: How does Entries in “Out and About” are listed free of charge. Priority is given to events art function in the circumstances of permanent conflict?” advertised in The Ukrainian Weekly. However, we also welcome submissions The Ukrainian Museum, 212-228-0110 from all our readers. Items will be published at the discretion of the editors or www.ukrainianmuseum.org and as space allows. Please send e-mail to [email protected]. 24 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015 No. 6

PREVIEW OF EVENTS Subscribe to Saturday, February 14 Association Conference. Admission: $15; $10 for museum members and seniors; $5 NEW YORK: The Shevchenko Scientific for students. The Ukrainian Museum is Society invites all to a poetry reading by located at 222 E. Sixth St., between Second famous Kyiv-based poet Mykola Vorobiov and Third avenues. For information call (born 1941), a member of the Kyiv Poetry 212-228-0110 or visit www.ukrainianmu- School. Dr. Maria Rewakowicz (Washington seum.org. University) will introduce Mr. Vorobiov. The reading will take place at the society’s Saturday, February 28 he building, 63 Fourth Ave. (between Ninth NEW YORK: Join us at noon for a two- T and 10th streets) at 5 p.m. For additional hour writing workshop with Prof. information call 212-254-5130. Alexander Motyl, the author of a weekly Sunday, February 15 blog on Ukraine on WorldAffairsJournal. org. The workshop will be a hands-on krainian NEW YORK: Join us at 2 p.m. for “The experience focusing on how to write effec- U political uprising in Kyiv known as the tive letters to the editor, op-ed pieces and Euro-Maidan: How does art function in the analytical articles for the U.S. press. circumstances of permanent conflict?” – an Advance registration required; seats are illustrated lecture by Dr. Nazar Kozak, limited. Admission: $20; $10 for students. senior researcher in the Department of Art Bring your laptops. The Ukrainian Museum eekly Historical Studies in the Ethnology is located at 222 E. Sixth St., between W Institute at the National Academy of Second and Third avenues. For information Sciences of Ukraine, who will be in New call 212-228-0110 or visit www.ukrainian- $90 per year York to speak at the 2015 College Art museum.org. $80 for UNA PREVIEW OF EVENTS GUIDELINES Preview of Events is a listing of community events open to the public. It is a service provided at members minimal cost ($20 per listing) by The Ukrainian Weekly to the Ukrainian community. To have an event listed in Preview of Events please send information, in English, written in Preview format, i.e., in a brief paragraph that includes the date, place, type of event, sponsor, For an additional admission, full names of persons and/or organizations involved, and a phone number and/or e-mail address to be published for readers who may require additional information. Items $5 get an online must be no more than 100 words long. subscription as well Preview items must be received no later than one week before the desired date of publi- cation (i.e., they must be received by 9 am Monday morning). Please include payment for each time the item is to appear and indicate date(s) of issue(s) in which the item is to be published. Please contact Subscription Dept. Also, senders are asked to include the phone number of a person who may be contacted by The Weekly during daytime hours, as well as their complete mailing address. Information should be sent to [email protected]. When e-mailing, please do not send Tel.: 973-292-9800 ext. 3040 items as attachments – simply type the text into the body of the e-mail message. Preview items and payments may be mailed to: Preview of Events, The Ukrainian Weekly, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054.