In Canada, a Discussion of Vanishing Jewish Heritage in Ukraine Rada's

INSIDE: “A Ukrainian Summer” – a special 24-page pullout section. THEPublished U by theKRA Ukrainian NationalIN AssociationIAN Inc., a fraternal Wnon-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXVIII No.18 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 2, 2010 $1/$2 in Ukraine Base-for-gas Rada’s approval of Medvedev-Yanukovych pact sparks protests by Zenon Zawada deal reveals Kyiv Press Bureau KYIV – Ukraine’s pro-Russian parlia- political split mentary majority ratified the Medvedev- Yanukovych pact during an exceptionally by Danylo Peleschuk violent April 27 session, where lawmakers Special to The Ukrainian Weekly traded fists amidst smoke and flying eggs. Outside, Kyiv’s biggest scuffles in five years TORONTO – In his most overt turn erupted between police and protesters. toward Russia since assuming office, Taking shelter behind umbrellas held by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on bodyguards, Verkhovna Rada Chair April 21 signed a deal with Russian Volodymyr Lytvyn led the session to ratify President Dmitry Medvedev extending the the controversial agreement amidst a rain of Russian Black Sea Fleet’s lease on its base eggs hurled by the opposition. Brawls ignit- in the Crimean port of Sevastopol in ed, in which deputies pulled hair and exchange for cheaper natural gas imports. smashed noses, images of which reached Mr. Yanukovych’s move revealed politi- televisions and newspapers globally. cal cleavages in Ukraine and sparked out- The defiant majority mustered 236 votes rage from opposition forces, which allege to ratify the pact signed by Ukrainian that Mr. Yanukovych is endangering President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian UNIAN Ukraine’s sovereignty. Some experts, how- Federation President Dmitry Medvedev, ever, said it was a pragmatic decision that which would extend the lease of the Russian Opposition deputies in the Verkhovna Rada carry in a huge Ukrainian flag bear- allows Ukraine to shore up its troubled Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol by 25 years in ing the words “No to state betrayal.” economy by closing in on a staggering bud- exchange for a discount on natural gas pric- get deficit. es for 10 years, which President Yanukovych Much of the current deficit stems from claimed would result in $40 billion in sav- Ukraine’s state oil and gas company, ings. Naftohaz Ukrany, and its inability to shoul- Pro-Russian forces said the deal served to der the costs of Ukraine’s gas-thirsty heavy benefit the Ukrainian economy, while pro- industries has further crippled an economy Western politicians said not only was money that shrank more than 15 percent in 2009. not saved, but Ukraine’s sovereignty was The deal is expected to allow Ukraine to ultimately sacrificed. keep its deficit below 6 percent of the gross “Sevastopol is the first step,” said Yulia domestic product (GDP), a requirement for Tymoshenko, the most popular leader the International Monetary Fund to resume among the fractured opposition. “Without its loan program to Ukraine. doubt, Crimea will be next if the gang con- “One way of looking at this agreement is tinues its politics. Ukraine has begun the in a purely instrumental way of economic process of losing its independence.” rationality,” said Serhiy Kudelia, assistant Among those offering support for the professor of political science at the National pact were 16 deputies from pro-Western University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. “The forces – nine from the Tymoshenko Bloc Efrem Lukatsky deal with Russia also allows Ukraine to and seven from Our Ukraine-People’s Self- make a deal with the IMF. It’s all intercon- Ukrainian police apply force and push back protesters outside the Verkhovna nected.” (Continued on page 10) Rada on April 27, when the majority ratified the Medvedev-Yanukovych pact. Presidents Yanukovych and Medvedev met in Kharkiv on April 21 to hash out the deal, which will keep the fleet stationed on Ukrainian territory until 2042 and cut In Canada, a discussion of vanishing Jewish heritage in Ukraine Ukraine’s price tag for Russian gas by 30 percent through 2019. by Oksana Zakydalsky legacy is long and extensive. And, like the audience, which included the bishops of Ukrainians in the diaspora, Jews who trace both the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian The measure would save Ukraine about TORONTO – The erasing of the Jewish $3 billion this year on the 30 billion cubic their family roots to Ukraine want to lay Orthodox Churches of Canada and past in Ukraine has recently been the subject claim to both their family histories and to Ukrainian Canadian Congress President meters it is contracted to import in 2010, and of several books, such as Omer Bartov’s would save about $40 billion by 2019, their Jewish legacy. Paul Grod, packed the room. “Erased – Vanishing Traces of Jewish Various Jewish organizations and initia- The main areas of activity of the UCSJ in according to Mr. Yanukovych. Galicia in Present-Day Ukraine” and Father Russia will continue to pay the $93 mil- tives around the world have been set up to Ukraine are monitoring human rights, pro- Patrick Desbois’ “Holocaust by Bullets.” recover and restore this legacy. One such viding legal support and advocacy for cases lion yearly rent stipulated in the original Out of a Jewish population of 2 million 1997 agreement about the fleet’s basing, and organization is the Union of Councils for dealing with human rights, dealing with who lived on the territory of what is now Jews of the Former Soviet Union, formerly questions connected to the Holocaust, and will pay $100 million starting in 2017. Ukraine, 1.4 million were murdered by the Observers, however, see ulterior motives. known as the Union of Councils for Soviet preserving and protecting the cultural heri- Nazis during World War II. The majority of According to Dr. Kudelia, the deal also pro- Jews (the organization still uses the acronym tage of Jews in Ukraine. Jewish historical communities – some of vides a convenient cover for government UCSJ). The UCSJ office in Ukraine is head- During the Soviet period, Mr. Sheykhet which had been in Ukraine for hundreds of officials with connections in the energy sec- ed by Meylakh Sheykhet. taught at the Odesa Telecommunications years, were wiped out. tor to neglect crucial reforms – the signature Mr. Sheykhet was a special guest of Institute. His family were observant Jews, The 1989 Soviet census gave the number shady politics that marked President Leonid Member of Parliament Borys Wrzesnewskyj but behind closed doors. When the Jewish Kuchma’s regime. of Jews in Ukraine as 487,000 but, since at a discussion on Ukrainian-Jewish rela- refusenik movement took hold in the 1970s, “If in the short term it may have avoided 1991, about 80 percent have emigrated. The tions held on April 8 at the Canadian Mr. Sheykhet went to Moscow and became financial collapse, then for the next 25 years Jewish population in Ukraine currently Ukrainian Art Foundation gallery. The pres- a part of that underground. He received per- totals about 100,000. Although the number ident of the Canadian Jewish Congress (Continued on page 10) is not large, the Ukrainian Jewish historical (CJC), Mark Freiman, was also present, and (Continued on page 9) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 2, 2010 No. 18 ANALYSIS NEWSBRIEFS Jubilant Medvedev praises Yanukovych Base-for-gas deal condemned the sake of would-be stability.” (BYuT Inform) KYIV – Ukraine’s opposition forces and threatens Belarusian president have united to condemn a new agreement Azarov: deal good for economy by Pavel Felgenhauer that provides a 25-year extension to the Russian navy’s lease of Sevastopol in KYIV – The ratification by the Eurasia Daily Monitor The strategic im- return for cheaper gas imports. The demo- Verkhovna Rada of the agreement signed in Kharkiv by Ukrainian President Viktor On April 21 Moscow achieved one of cratic forces said they would seek to stop portance of keep- Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry its most important long-term strategic the agreement from being ratified at the Medvedev extending the basing of the goals – to secure a continued military April 27 session of the Verkhovna Rada. ing a military foot- Russian Black Sea Fleet on the territory of presence in Ukraine by keeping its base In an interview with the Financial Times, Ukraine does not restrict Ukraine’s sover- in Sevastopol, Crimea. hold in Crimea is Leader of the Opposition Yulia Tymoshenko described the deal “as a eignty, said Prime Minister Mykola Azarov During a summit in Kharkiv in eastern said on April 28. On the contrary, it is a cata- Ukraine, Presidents Viktor Yanukovych important enough shocking trade-off.” She went on to say, “This casts Ukraine 20 years back towards lyst of accelerated economic growth, he and Dmitry Medvedev signed a barter added. (Ukrinform) agreement that will reduce by 30 percent for Russian lead- the Soviet Union. Independence is at risk. the price of natural gas for Ukraine and ers to effectively I don’t want to see our country fall under Russians buying housing in Crimea extend the lease of Sevastopol as the main authoritarianism and controlled democra- base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet for increase payment cy.” Chapter 1, Article 17 of the KYIV – Russian citizens, after a consid- 25 years plus an automatic prolongation Constitution of Ukraine clearly states: erable interval, have begun to actively pur- of 5 years. for Sevastopol “The location of foreign military bases chase housing in Crimea, the press service At present, the Ukrainian Constitution shall not be permitted on the territory of of the Zoloti Vorota corporation, which forbids foreign military bases, while manifold. Ukraine.” Whereas the Russian navy’s use includes the company Sevastopolbud, told Russia, in 1997, was allowed to preserve of the Black Sea port preceded the Ukrinform on April 26.

Load more