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The Ukrainian Weekly 2014, No.32

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The Ukrainian Weekly 2014, No.32 www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE: Group of Seven statement on the crisis in Ukraine – page 9 Our community: Toronto, Kingston, Boston – page 15 Ukrainian American sports: volleyball and soccer – page 16 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXII No. 32 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2014 $2.00 Ukraine struggles to find President signs law on higher education reform strategy for getting back Crimea by Zenon Zawada KYIV – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on July 31 by Nataliya Kovalenko and Oleksiy Arunyan signed into law the bill on “On Higher Education” passed by RFE/RL the Verkhovna Rada on July 1. The legislation has been Although the raging fighting and heated rhetoric in described by political observers as the first comprehensive, eastern Ukraine still command the headlines, the dis- structural reform to be achieved since the Euro-Maidan pute between Kyiv and Moscow over Crimea simmers movement. on and seems as intractable as ever. Among the legislation’s biggest changes are provisions Russia annexed the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula in to involve universities in autonomously recognizing foreign March, a move that Ukraine and most of the rest of the diplomas and degrees (without ministry involvement); world have refused to acknowledge. remove barriers for foreign professors, university faculty Speaking on Ukrainian television on August 1, and students electing their rectors; and enhance university President Petro Poroshenko said his country “will not autonomy in managing finances. give up Crimea.” The reforms amount to Ukrainian higher education “Ukraine will use all methods that are at its disposal to drawing closer to European principles and standards, said defend its national interests,” he said, announcing his Marta Farion, the president of the Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation order that the Justice Ministry pursue all legal avenues. of America. Mr. Poroshenko’s deputy chief of staff, Valeriy Chaliy, “It took almost a century after Mykola Khvylovyi wrote repeated the position the same day, saying there is “no his essay ‘Ukrayina chy Malorosiya?’ [in 1926] for Ukraine to chance” Kyiv will ever recognize the “occupation of Crimea.” turn towards European culture and standards, a direction “Crimea was, is, and always will be part of Ukraine,” he said. supported by the great majority of the population,” she said. The tough talk from Kyiv came just days after an equally “These are changes that will affect generations to come. categorical statement from Russian Foreign Affairs The law makes it possible to separate politics from educa- Vladimir Gontar/UNIAN Minister Sergei Lavrov. “Crimea is part of Russia,” he said. tion and to integrate higher education with the world’s aca- Education and Science Minister Serhiy Kvit appears in “There haven’t been any talks with anybody about demic and research community, making it possible for Parliament on July 1 for the vote on the bill “On Higher Crimea. There are no talks, and there can be no talks.” Ukrainian universities to comply with ranking standards Education.” He wears a T-shirt that says “Osvita ponad use” (Education above all). Ukrainian Special Ambassador Andriy Veselovskiy on an international level,” said Ms. Farion. The legislation is the product of more than two years of says legal mechanisms for achieving Kyiv’s goals do Committee on Education and Science Chair Lilia Hrynevych, work under duress from former Education Minister exist. In conversation with RFE/RL’s Ukraine Service, who is also the deputy chair of the Batkivshchyna party. Dmytro Tabachnyk, Ms. Farion said. he cites as precedents the return of the Rhineland to The bill’s formal author was independent National She particularly credited the “perseverance and drive” of Germany some 20 years after World War I and the Deputy Viktor Baloha. The measure was supported by 276 current Education and Science Minister Serhiy Kvit (previ- return of Hong Kong to China after more than 100 deputies (226 votes are needed for passage). years of British rule in 1997. ously president of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla However, it was Mr. Zhurovskyi who was its de facto Academy), National Technical University of Kyiv Polytechnic (Continued on page 4) Institute Rector Mykhailo Zhurovskyi and Parliamentary (Continued on page 11) Ukrainian Institute announces Shevchenko Essay Contest winners NEW YORK – Alona Liashenko, a They were among the more than 200 contest stipulated that essays be written in chains and become truly free.” 19-year-old language student at the Kyiv youth from around the world – Ukraine, the English. Most encouraging was that essays The top prize winner, Ms. Liashenko, National Linguistic University, dreams of U.S., Canada, Germany and Australia – who – which were limited to a maximum of exemplified that view in her essay, writing: going to China to teach English. Ulyana entered the contest, which the Ukrainian 1,000 words – came from all over Ukraine: “This year we celebrate Shevchenko’s Tatsakovych, 18, studies English and Institute organized in celebration of the in fact, every Ukrainian oblast was repre- 200th anniversary and no matter how French at the Precarpathian National 200th anniversary of Shevchenko’s birth. sented in the contest, including Kharkiv, strange it may sound, I am inclined to University at Ivano-Frankivsk, writes poet- Ms. Liashenko won first prize and the Donetsk, Kherson and Crimea. believe that Maidan is our best gift for his ry and prose and wants to become a jour- $3,000 that went with it. Ms. Tatsakovych The contest was judged blind, with the birthday. All his life he fought for freedom, nalist. Mykhailo Lomonosov, 19, studies took away the second prize of $2,000, with names of contestants not revealed to the suffered from the authorities, but he always history at Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State third prize winner Mr. Lomonosov receiving judges, though they were asked to take the saw Ukraine as a free and joyous country. University. Interested in journalism and lit- $1,000. Ten other contestants received hon- age of the writer into account when weigh- As a soldier uses a sword to fight in a battle, erature, his articles have been published in orable mention prizes of $300 each. The ing the merits of an essay. Shevchenko used a vociferous poetic word the local and national press. Still, he sees a UIA also decided to recognize an additional “Almost all the submitted essays, even to fight his battle against the cruel treat- future for himself “in the field of serving the 30 essays with merit awards ($100), the ones that did not achieve a prize, had ment of his fellow compatriots. Every verse public interest.” “because there were so many worthy essays something interesting and personal to say he wrote was full of pain for his beloved Bright, ambitious and curious about the submitted,“ according to the institute. about Taras Shevchenko and his legacy,” and tortured land; ‘I love so much, /I love world, the three Ukrainians have other The contest was open to young people said Zwen Goy, a UIA board of directors my dear Ukraine…’, he says. I am sure that things in common: a deep affinity for Taras age 14 to 21. According to its organizers, member who spearheaded the essay proj- Shevchenko’s heart would be blissful Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national poet, and the contest was focused initially on diaspo- ect. “These young people were composing watching his people fight for freedom, strong views about his legacy and contin- ra youth, which unlike youth in Ukraine has their essays during the early period of watching Ukrainians who are not afraid of ued impact on Ukrainian society. They are to make a special effort to learn about Maidan, before the height of the violence anything, not even death.” also the top three winners in the Ukrainian Ukrainian culture and its heroes. there, and most made the connection Echoing that view, Yevhenii Bosiuk, 20, Institute of America’s (UIA) essay contest Surprisingly, about twice as many essays between what the protesters were trying to an honorary mention winner from Rivne, on the topic “Taras Shevchenko – Why Does came from Ukraine as the U.S., even though, achieve and what Shevchenko extolled the He Matter Today?” to encourage diaspora submissions, the Ukrainian people to do – to break their (Continued on page 10) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2014 No. 32 ANALYSIS Vladimir Putin held personally Russia launches military exercises Security Council members blamed Russia for the crisis. John Ging, the director of U.N. MOSCOW – Russian military officials say humanitarian operations, said at the coun- responsible for a war he is losing they have launched four days of military cil’s August 5 emergency meeting on the exercises in central and western regions of ready for ostracism (Newsru.com, July 26). Ukrainian situation that fighting between by Pavel K. Baev Russia, including most of western Russia Eurasia Daily Monitor Russia’s government has no real plan to Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separat- and areas that border Ukraine. Interfax compensate for the economic impact of ists is putting civilians at risk, especially in If President Vladimir Putin really thought Western sanctions, and the Central Bank has quoted Russian Air Force spokesman Igor urban areas. He said power and water sup- that the destruction of MH17 with 298 peo- again increased the basic interest rate, despite Klimov as saying that the August 4-8 exer- plies are becoming scarce because of the ple on board would soon blow over, the the urgent need to stimulate the stagnating cises include the use of 100 military aircraft. fighting and that more than 1,350 people – White House statement of July 25 must have economy (Slon.ru, July 25).
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