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The Ukrainian Weekly 2012, No.48

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The Ukrainian Weekly 2012, No.48 www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE: l Personalizing stories of the Holodomor – page 7 l Alexander Motyl’s “My Orchidia” – page 11 l “Sportsline” and “Pro sports update” – pages 14-15 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXX No. 48 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2012 $1/$2 in Ukraine NEWS ANALYSIS March of Remembrance in New York begins New Ukrainian Parliament 80th anniversary commemorations of Holodomor keeps politics a family affair by Daisy Sindelar RFE/RL Some people see work as a chance to get away from their families. But when Ukrainian lawmakers gather for the first session of the newly elected Verkhovna Rada, they may feel like they never left home. That’s because a significant number of incoming and returning deputies are close relatives of high- placed politicians, a trend that Ukrainians refer to as “kumivstvo,” or nepotism. There’s Oleksiy Azarov, the 41-year-old son of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, a political unknown who recently returned to Ukraine from Austria with the aim of entering government. There’s Artem Pshonka, the son of Procurator General Viktor Pshonka and part of what supporters admiringly call “Ukraine’s Kennedy dynasty.” And then there’s Pavlo Baloha and Vasyl Petevka, the brother and cousin of Viktor Baloha, the powerful emergencies minister from Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region, who himself won re-election. (A third Baloha Lev Khmelkovsky brother, Ivan, failed to win in his district.) The March of Remembrance in New York City on November 17. “Their personal decision” UCCA three Holodomor survivors and numerous children, Speaking ahead of the October 28 vote, Viktor donned in Ukrainian embroidered shirts and carrying a Baloha said his family-style strategy – in which all NEW YORK – Hundreds of Ukrainian Americans from traditional Ukrainian funeral bread along with stalks of four men ran as nonaligned, single-mandate candi- around the tri-state New York-New Jersey-Connecticut wheat, candles and flowers, proceeded up the main isle of dates – differed little from politics in the West. area and beyond gathered on Saturday, November 17, on the cathedral bearing symbolic offerings in memory of the “I do not want to appear immodest to you, but Seventh Street before St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church millions killed in 1932-1933. there have been two Bush presidents [in the United in the East Village to participate in the almost three-mile Bishop Paul Chomnycky of the Ukrainian Catholic States]. We have three Baloha brothers running for “March of Remembrance” in memory of the 7 million to 10 Eparchy of Stamford, Conn., commenced the requiem ser- Parliament, and they are not running with a political million victims of Ukraine’s Genocide of 1932-1933, the vice by welcoming the faithful and recounting the reasons party that is certain to win,” Mr. Baloha said. “These Holodomor. we gather each year at St. Patrick Cathedral. The bishop guys are running on their own, in single-mandate Under banners reading “Ukraine Remembers – The reminded everyone that the Holodomor was an act of constituencies. World Recognizes” and “Ukraine’s Genocide – We Will genocide committed against the Ukrainian nation. We ”Now, the question is not about clans or families, Never Forget,” the over 600 participants solemnly pro- must never forget the Holodomor, and we must continue but about the fact that Ukraine should have more cessed up Third Avenue to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in mid- telling the world about it so that such tragedies never families with the opportunity to run and win in elec- town Manhattan, where they joined the thousands already occur again, he underscored. tions.” he continued. “Besides, I can’t tell [my brothers gathered there for the ecumenical requiem service to The requiem service, concelebrated by hierarchs of the and cousin] not to run. That was their personal deci- launch the 80th anniversary of Ukraine’s Famine Genocide Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic Churches, with the par- sion. Of course, I supported them.” of 1932-1933. ticipation of the Dumka Choir of New York, commenced. In total, dozens of relatives of high-ranking law- An enormous bell led the procession, tolling at every makers and politicians will be entering the 450-seat Together, over 3,000 faithful prayed for the repose of the New York City block in memory of those who perished. Verkhovna Rada. souls of the innocent victims of the Holodomor. Following the bell were hierarchs of the Ukrainian Catholic Many of them are entering Parliament after win- Following the requiem service, UCCA President Tamara ning one of the Parliament’s 225 single-mandate and Orthodox Churches, Ukrainian government officials, Olexy commenced the commemorative program, citing the seats – a situation in which candidates can particular- Ukrainian American Veterans, Ukrainian students, leaders definition of genocide as the deliberate and systematic ly profit from the influence and endorsements of well- and members of numerous national and local Ukrainian destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, reli- placed relatives. organizations, as well as some non-Ukrainian supporters. gious or national group. Stating that in the 20th century ​​The younger Mr. Azarov, for example, ran a lavish Many participants carried wreaths or placards, and alone the world has witnessed this most heinous of crimes campaign, using billboards and posters to trumpet some held candles, while students of St. George Academy too many times, she noted: “Yet, one of the greatest mass claims he used personal and sometimes budget funds together with members of the Ukrainian American Youth killings of the 20th century, the Holodomor of 1932-1933, to aid local infrastructure projects in his single-man- Association (UAYA) and Plast Ukrainian Scouting which claimed 7 million to 10 million lives, 3 million of date Slovianske district of Ukraine’s Donbas region. Organization distributed Holodomor commemorative but- which were children, is still not widely known today or rec- In at least one instance, the administration of a tons to participants and hundreds of brochures about the ognized by all as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian local railway station denied Mr. Azarov’s claims of Holodomor to passers-by. nation.” contributing to recent renovations. But the impres- The ecumenical service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral began Ms. Olexy emphasized that the “truth about the sion of a generous social spender seemed to stick: at 1 p.m. with a solemn procession of Holodomor survivors Holodomor – the whole truth – must be revealed to the Current returns show him winning handily with accompanied by children from local schools of Ukrainian world” and that this has been the mission of the Ukrainian around 75 percent. studies and the New York chapter of the UAYA. American community. In closing, she expressed hope “that Accompanied by the melodious voices of the Dumka choir (Continued on page 4) of New York, under the direction of Vasyl Hrechynsky, the (Continued on page 4) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2012 No. 48 ANALYSIS Setbacks and squabbles Kinakh on corruption in Ukraine Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Information KYIV – The president of the Ukrainian Policy Department, Oleh Voloshyn, told a in Russia’s foreign policy League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, briefing in Kyiv on November 20. “In the National Deputy Anatoliy Kinakh of the current conditions, holding the summit this by Pavel K. Baev Ministry responded with furious protesta- Party of Regions, stressed that the level of year is technically impractical. We are lack- ing time, as the European side wants to hold Eurasia Daily Monitor tions and promised to take “adequate coun- corruption in Ukraine is unprecedented. ter-measures” (Moscow Echo, Kommersant, Speaking on the air on TV Channel 5, he the summit with a fully formed legislature. The Kremlin is moving from confusion to November 17). said, “The level of corruption in the state is This is a natural desire, because they want controversy in international affairs, a policy These measures would hardly amount to unprecedented. According to the Tax to see with whom they would be dealing in area which used to boost Russia’s “great much, as most of the ways in which the Service estimates, at least 350 billion hrv is Ukraine... Obviously, when the formation [of power” status and bring joy to its leaders. Kremlin could shoot itself in the foot, like outside the budget and the interests of peo- the Verkhovna Rada] is completed under an Moscow cannot formulate a coherent cancelling the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative ple, including 100 billion hrv that we are optimistic scenario and the question is set- position on the eruption of violence in the Threat Reduction program, were done pre- losing due to the unresolved issues of taxa- tled, the Christmas holidays will begin in Gaza “black hole,” and the attempt of emptively. President Barack Obama would tion of offshore companies.” According to Europe. After December 15-18, no one in Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov to probably want to carry into his second term November 19 news reports, he stated that, Europe holds any events,” he said. At the explain Russia’s position on the Syrian civil the positive momentum of the “reset,” without overcoming the critical level of same time, the diplomat noted, the war to the Gulf Cooperation Council was exhausted as it is, but he cannot fancy play- corruption, the Ukrainian economy cannot Ukrainian side has no doubt that the sum- rebuffed so undiplomatically that he ing a “dove” to Ms. Merkel’s “hawk.” develop further. (Ukrinform) mit will be held. “The content of the summit refused to stay for the scheduled dinner The main difference between is much more important to us than the time (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, November 16).
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