The Ukrainian Weekly 1996, No.32
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www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE:• The Ukrainian language’s prospects for the future — page 2. • Black Sea Fleet still a sticking point in Ukrainian-Russian relations — page 3. • More exclusive coverage of the Summer Olympiad — pages 8-13. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXIV HE No.KRAINIAN 32 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 1996 EEKLY$1.25/$2 in Ukraine OlympiansT rest onU their laurels at closing ceremonyW of Summer Games Ukraine makes top 10 in medal count by Roman Woronowycz count, placing in that position with 23 medals, ahead of nations like Canada, ATLANTA — At the opening cere- Britain, Poland and Brazil. Ukraine took monies and in the 16 days since, they nine gold medals, highest over all. were the center of attention. On August 4 Minister of Youth and Sports Valeriy the athletes of the XXVI Summer Games Borzov almost hit the mark when he, could sit on their laurels, for one night at albeit reluctantly, predicted during an least, and enjoy the closing ceremonies. interview at The Weekly in February that Many of the Ukrainian athletes, those Ukraine would take 10 gold medals. who had completed their competitions by Sure, Ukraine experienced some fail- the previous Wednesday, had left by ures — Sergey Bubka’s withdrawal from chartered jet on Thursday, ostensibly the pole vault competition because of because the National Olympic problems with his Achilles’ heel (had he Committee of Ukraine is trying to keep not been injured that might have been the costs down. The ones who remained had 10th gold that Mr. Borzov predicted) — the chance to bask in the appreciation of but in general, Ukraine exceeded most the 84,000-plus fans who jammed everyone’s expectations. Heck, the Olympic Stadium one last time, to relax Ukrainian men’s yachting team won a and enjoy the party, which it was. gold in the 470 class. And nobody soon For Ukraine, the Games were a suc- is going to forget the seven medals cess by all stretches of the imagination. Ukraine took in gymnastics (artistic and Ukraine cracked the top 10 in total medal rhythmic). If anything, Ukraine must today be considered the Mount Olympus of the gymnastics world The athletes were in the highest of spirits, for the most apparent of reasons UNA executives — the pressure was finally off. Sitting on the north side of the stadium, the various activate tax-exempt, delegations engaged in heated paper wad fights before the celebrations began. Ultimately, bored by that, they began the non-profit foundation wave, which circled the stadium an JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Executive amazing six times before dying out. Committee of the Ukrainian National Then they turned to singing songs and Association, gathered for its regular chants in their native languages. quarterly meeting at the UNA Home The ceremonies began with the pre- Office on July 12, activated the previous- sentation of medals for the marathon, tra- ly established Ukrainian National ditionally the last event of the Games. AP Foundation Inc. by appointing a seven- Most years the marathoners enter the sta- member board of directors. Kateryna Serebrianska (center) of Ukraine, gold medalist in rhythmic gymnas- dium minutes before the closing cere- The foundation was granted tax- tics, with silver medalist Ianina Batyrchina (left) of Russia and bronze medalist monies and complete the final 400 exempt status only this year in June, Olena Vitrychenko of Ukraine. meters of the race on the stadium’s oval though it had been established four years track. This year, because of the hot ago after the May 1992 meeting of the Atlanta climate, the runners raced in the UNA Supreme Assembly had voted to morning. create a non-profit, tax-exempt founda- The closing ceremonies themselves tion for charitable, religious, educational Kuchma lauds Ukraine’s athletes were a visual delight, similar to the by Marta Kolomayets champagne and hors d’oeuvres. and scientific projects. opening festivities. The athletes, sitting Kyiv Press Bureau Valeriy Borzov, now the chairman The original board of directors of the in their own section, were honored with of the National State Committee for Ukrainian National Foundation included KYIV — President Leonid Kuchma, a barrage of fireworks and encircled with Youth and Sports, introduced the the four executive officers then serving joined by government ministers, greeted a wreath of laurel, done with cards that members of Team Ukraine – dressed at the time. Now the Executive Ukraine’s Olympic champions and their were passed out to the audience sitting in in their tan suits, accented with ties Committee voted to expand the board to the sections immediately surrounding the coaches and trainers during a formal and scarves of blue and yellow – to the seven members, including four executive athletes. They were serenaded by pop laudatory ceremony in the gilded halls Ukrainian government leaders and officers and three advisors and/or hon- star Gloria Estefan, who has overcome of the Mariyinsky Palace on August 8. spoke proudly of the athletes who had orary members of the General Assembly. her own adversities having been in a crit- The Ukrainian president presented Named to the board were: President competed in the name of Ukraine. ical bus crash several years ago that left gold medal winners with Cross for He spoke of the role success in the Ulana Diachuk, Vice-President Nestor her with a broken back. Courage medals, as well as $50,000 Olesnycky, Vice-Presidentess Anya Olympics will play in forming national The flags of the 197 countries partici- (U.S.) checks from the Eximbank. Silver awareness and patriotic feelings, adding Dydyk-Petrenko, Treasurer Alexander pating in this year’s Olympics, the and bronze medal winners received pres- Blahitka, Advisors Roma Hadzewycz and that these Games proved Ukraine has largest assemblage of nations ever for idential badges of honor, and monetary great potential as an Olympic contender Eugene Iwanciw, and Honorary Member such an event, again entered the stadium prizes of $30,000 and $20,000, respec- of the General Assembly Walter Sochan. in numerous sports. He also thanked as was done during the opening cere- tively. representatives of the Ukrainian diaspo- The Executive Committee meeting monies, but this time minus the teams. A number of Ukrainian Olympic ra whose contributions significantly also focused on matters such as mergers Volodymyr Klichko, who only hours Team coaches and trainers were con- helped Team Ukraine. with two other Ukrainian fraternal orga- earlier had won the gold medal in super nizations, UNA membership statistics ferred the titles of “merited workers in “The victories of the Ukrainian ath- heavyweight boxing, carried the physical culture and sports” during the and the organization’s financial status. Ukrainian banner. letes – the participants of the Olympics Present at the meeting, which was hourlong ceremony, which was fol- lowed by a cocktail reception featuring (Continued on page 3) (Continued on page 5) (Continued on page 12) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 1996 No. 32 The Ukrainian language: NEWSBRIEFSNEWSBRIEFS its prospects for the future IMF grants tranche of stand-by loan Valeriy Samoplavsky, forestry minister; by Michael S. Flier greater resonance in real life than what they and Dmytro Ostapenko, culture minis- actually are in strict ethnographic terms. KYIV — The International Monetary ter. (OMRI Daily Digest) As we approach the year 2001, the end But such narrow categories as “Ukrainian” Fund granted Ukraine the fourth tranche of the 20th century and the second mil- and “Russian” and “Jewish” do not come of a $867 million stand-by loan, Reuters Poor grain harvest expected in Ukraine lennium of the common era, we have to grips with the consequences of men and reported on August 1. The $100 million grown accustomed to hearing apocalyptic women as social animals. tranche was granted after the IMF board KYIV — Ukrainian officials predict prophecies at every turn. Ukraine, which How, for example, is the child of a of directors gave a positive assessment of that due to a drought and the poor financial has gained independence a mere decade self-identified Ukrainian mother and self- Ukraine’s adherence to IMF guidelines state of the country’s agricultural sector, before we all march into this fearsome identified Russian father raised by a self- on budget deficit and money supply. this year’s grain harvest will fall to 27.5 abyss, does not escape the great sweep of identified Jewish aunt in Odessa to (OMRI Daily Digest) million tons, 2 million tons less than last pessimism about the future. As The New answer the question, “What is your year’s harvest and on par with 1958-1959 York Times reminded us recently (June nationality?” Of course, whatever the Power to be cut off to deadbeat industries levels, the newspaper Kiyevski 27), despite good intentions on the part child answers will be “correct,” and yet Viedomosti reported on August 1. Meat of the West, especially the United States, KYIV — A new government resolu- and dairy production in 1996 has fallen by that answer conceals a complexity that tion, signed by Prime Minister Pavlo Ukraine’s star is fading: “Once rich and may have consequences for other factors 12 percent and 5 percent, respectively. powerful, Ukraine is now neither.” Lazarenko on August 1, will cut off Ukraine’s Ministry of Statistics reports in the linguistic equation. power to those Ukrainian enterprises that The unsubstantiated claim about Likewise the notion of mother tongue that the number of private farms has risen Ukraine’s former wealth and power fail to pay their electric bills. Industry by 488 to 35,300, but that most farms are — “ridna mova” or “rodnoi yazyk” — can owes Ukraine’s energy producers, (what period could the author have in be a slippery one indeed, depending on still owned by the state or heavily subsi- mind?) feeds a myth and makes the mes- including nuclear power plants and coal dized collectives.