The Day Newspaper, No.40, june 22 2017, english

JUNE 22, 2017 ISSUE No. 40 (1092)
Tel.: +38(044) 303-96-19,
fax: +38(044) 303-94-20
е-mail: time@day.kiev.ua;
http://www.day.kiev.ua
Photo by Mykola LAZARENKO
“Supporting Ukraine, Trump
will support the winner”
On the importance of the Ukrainian president’s meeting with the White House occupant
2
Continued
on page
Active defense
Photo by Yevhen SOSNOVSKYI
Heorhii TUKA:
“Declaring martial law in
the Donbas in the fourth year
of the war is quite feasible”
Continued on page 2

2
No.40 JUNE 22, 2017
“Supporting Ukraine,
Trump will support
the winner”
On the importance of the
Ukrainian president’s meeting
with the White House occupant
Continued from page 1 ➤
On June 20 President Petro Poro -
shenko of Ukraine began a working
visit to Washington, which includes
a number of important meetings with
the US leadership. Particularly, the
head of the Ukrainian state planned to meet US
Vice President Michael Pence at 11:00 Wa -
shington time (18:00 Kyiv time). And, according
to the White House press secretary, US Pre -
sident Donald Trump and his National Security
Advisor H.R. McMaster were to receive Vice
President Pence and President Poroshenko after
the morning information briefing.
Poroshenko, who had arrived in Washington
shortly before, said to a gathering of the Ukrai -
nian community in the US capital: “We have a
fantastic program. It is very important that my
meeting, as of the Ukrainian president, in the
White House will be earlier than Putin’s meeting.
The point is that everybody should be
‘armed’ with information and no chances of injustice
should be left.”
The president is accompanied by Iryna
Herashchenko, Pavlo Klimkin, Ihor Nasalyk,
Vo lo symyr Omelian, Kostiantyn Yeliseiev,
Dmyt ro Shymkiv, and Viktor Muzhenko.
Poroshenko said he would meet US President
Donald Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson,
Secretary of Defense James Mattis, secretaries
of energy and commerce, as well as the managing
director of the International Monetary Fund,
and the World Bank president.
“There never was such a powerful visit. And
precisely in order to have the opportunity to talk
about our cooperation in the security, political
and economic spheres,” the head of the Ukrai -
nian state said.
The president pointed out that Ukraine enjoys
very strong bipartite support in the US Congress.
He also noted that the US Senate’s decision
to impose new sanctions against Russia was a nice
gift. In his words, sanctions are a civilized me -
cha nism to force the aggressor to get away from
Ukraine, withdraw its troops and equipment.
■ COMMENTARIES
John HERBST, Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia
Center, Atlantic Council, Washington, D.C.:
“It is a good thing that President Poro -
shenko met with President Trump before the US
president meets with Mr. Putin. But the Trump
White House chose to limit this significance by
reducing the meeting with Mr. Poroshenko to a
short encounter.
“The shortness of the meeting was probably
a gesture by Mr. Trump to Moscow. At the same
time, and this is more important, Mr. Trump announced
additional sanctions on Russia just before
the meeting. So on balance, this was good
for Ukraine.
“Mr. Trump has not spoken much about
Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine; but his senior
advisers have. So it is good that President
Poroshenko had lengthy meetings with Vice Pre -
sident Pence and Defense Secretary Mattis.
“It is good that the senate passed a strong
draft bill sanctioning Russia and that Mr. Trump
put down his own sanctions. But the administration
should offer more economic aid to Ukraine
in exchange for serious reform. Pre sident Poro -
shenko seems to do better as a reformer when encouraged
by the West. The US should also do
more to help Ukraine defend itself from Mos -
cow’s ongoing aggression.”
Adrian KARATNYCKY, senior research fellow,
US Atlantic Council; Myrmidon Group LLC,
Washington D.C.:
“The most important signals from the Washington
meetings came from announced expanded
sanctions of Russian businesses and officials,
from Sean Spicer’s comment that sanctions stay
DAY AFTER DAY
Photo by Mykola LAZARENKO
as long as Russian troops remain on Ukraine’s
soil, and through the fact that a Trump-Poro -
shenko meeting preceded one with Putin. It is
clear that Trump is delegating Ukraine relations
to his VP, the secretary of defense, and the secretary
of state. This is not an abdication of responsibility
but a sign instead that the US wants to deal
with Ukraine in a detailed and comprehensive
manner and treats the Russia threat seriously.
President Trump is focused on the domestic agenda
and on his political problems. So a delegation of
responsibilities makes sense.
“The overall atmosphere of the Trump-
Poroshenko meeting was positive. There were
smiles and they seemed comfortable with one another.
On balance, this was a good meeting and a
diplomatic success for Ukraine. The detailed
meetings will follow. But with Russia-US tensions
on the rise over Syria, I see no attempt by
Trump to seek a rapprochement with Putin,
which means solid support for Ukraine.
“As importantly Poroshenko’s visit and the
earlier visit of speaker Parubii are building the
already powerful support for Ukraine in Congress.
So it is a very successful set of interactions
between the US and Ukraine.”
Oleksandr MOTSYK, former Ambassador
of Ukraine to the US, Kyiv:
“Firstly, it is extremely important that
Trump will meet our president earlier than
Putin. It is very important because the world
knows very well that Putin is a past master of
manipulations. So it is very important to show
the US president and the current US administration
the true picture of what we have as a result
of the Russian aggression against Ukraine,
the occupation of and the attempt to annex
Crimea, as well as the occupation and war in the
Donbas.
“Secondly, it is a really historic and very
large-scale visit because the president is supposed
to hold full-scale comprehensive negotiations
with President Trump, Vice President
Pence, Secretary of State Tillerson, Secretary of
Defense Mattis, and the secretaries of energy
and commerce. In other words, the whole range
of the most important US-Ukraine relations is
certain to be discussed. First of all, it is the si -
tuation in Crimea and the Donbas, and the implementation
of the Minsk agreements. It is of
paramount importance in this sense that President
Poroshenko will be able to put across all of
the information about the course of the ‘Minsk
format’ talks and to explain that Russia has fulfilled
not a single item of the Minsk agreements
package as of today.
“Undoubtedly, the Ukrainian side will
broach in the course of negotiations the problem
of supplying lethal weapons and other defense
materiel. Besides, we can expect raising the
question of concluding a security agreement
similar to the Security Treaty between the US
and Japan signed in 1951. Ukraine has been
working on this matter since the very beginning
of the Russian aggression.
“Naturally, further US assistance in the
economic, financial, and energy spheres will be
negotiated. I think this aid will continue in the
context of the previous assistance offered by
the Obama administration. Poroshenko is also
planning to have two urgent and extremely important
meetings with IMF Managing Director
Christine Lagarde and World Bank President
Jim Yong Kim. These talks are important in
the context of the ongoing Ukrainian reforms,
the measures to ride out the crisis and give a
major impetus to economic development in our
country.
“I am sure this visit will be very important
for the further development of cooperation between
our countries and with international financial
institutions, and, in general, for the developments
in our region.”
By Mykola SIRUK, The Day
Read more on our website
Active defense
Continued from page 1 ➤
Even before the visit of Petro Poroshenko to
the US, a number of statements were made
about the possibility of ending the antiterrorist
operation (ATO) and introducing at
the legislative level a new format of
resistance to Russian aggression. These statements
coincided with the words of US Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson that the Minsk format is not the only
possible mechanism of ending the war. Tillerson said
that Ukraine and the Russian Federation could
find ways to settle the situation around the Donbas
by concluding a new agreement that could be
different from the Minsk Agreements. Secretary of
the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC)
Oleksandr Turchynov earlier stated that “the ATO
has run its course and it is time for it to be ended.”
Turchynov believes that now it is necessary to
establish a “new format” that will protect the
Ukrainian territory from so-called hybrid warfare.
“The question of changing the format of national
defense is extremely important, and judging by the
fact that it is being raised at the highest level, it is
extremely urgent,” co-director of foreign policy and
international security programs of the Razumkov
Center Oleksii Melnyk commented for The Day. “This
question has also brought us back to the strategic
issue of communication between the government and
the public. The emergence of information without
a detailed explanation of what the government is
about to do only confuses the public and provokes the
emergence of various kinds of interpretations that
are far from reality. These discussions concern the
bill which few have seen. In my opinion, it is unlikely
that this document will give an answer to the question
of how to achieve the de-occupation of the Donbas
and Crimea and, ultimately, bring the war to an
end. There are two aspects to it, though. The first is
the need to establish at the legislative level the fact
that Russia is an aggressor regarding Ukraine and
the territories of the Donbas and Crimea are occupied.
This is an important step in aligning the legal
definition with Ukrainian and European legislation.”
“The second worrying point is that the president
allegedly needs to be empowered to use force,” the
expert continued. “I am convinced that the president
has sufficient powers to command the Armed Forces
and declare martial law. It makes no sense to invent
any legal alternatives, since everything is clearly defined
in the legislation. The Constitution requires the
president to take appropriate action not only in the
event of aggression, but also in the event of a threat
of aggression. We have an obvious fact of aggression.
Therefore, the need for martial law and a number of
other measures was already there in 2014. Article 6
of the Constitution clearly sets out the mechanism
of action. If there is a threat of aggression or a fact
thereof, then the president must convene the NSDC
and submit a draft decree to the Verkhovna Rada,
and the parliament passes a decision as a priority item
on its agenda. There is another myth that we should
not declare a war on Russia. In fact, it is not about
declaring a war on Russia, but about declaring that
a state of war exists.”
The lack of specifics from the government and
periodic releases of dubious information on the deoccupation
of the Donbas or the reintegration of the
occupied territories, combined with the legal disorientation
regarding the presence of a state of war
or simply a localized fight against terrorists, have
stimulated the emergence of various kinds of interpretations.
This fact only underscores the lack of
■ PHOTO FACT
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
Heorhii TUKA: “Declaring martial
law in the Donbas in the fourth
year of the war is quite feasible”
a clear strategy for the national defense and the
restoration of Ukrainian control of the border on the
part of the government.
“From the very beginning, it was necessary to
choose a completely different format of relations with
the enemy,” said Volodymyr Vasylenko, an international
law expert. “De facto, Ukraine has waged
a war of self-defense against aggression, relying on
the provisions of Article 51 of the UN Charter. This
article gives every nation the right to individual and
collective self-defense against invasion. As early as
February 2014, Russia’s war against Ukraine had
every sign of aggression, as described in the UN Ge -
neral Assembly’s Resolution ‘Definition of Aggression,’
passed in 1974. But on April 14, 2014, Acting
President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov issued a
decree declaring the so-called ATO on the basis of the
Law of Ukraine ‘On the Fight against Terrorism.’ The
decree stated that the ATO would involve the Armed
Forces. This was a rather awkward wording. In
fact, we were already dealing with a Russian armed
aggression against Ukraine, and not some kind of isolated
terrorist attacks. Therefore, it was necessary
to cite not the Law ‘On the Fight against Terrorism,’
but the 1992 Law ‘On the National Defense.’ That latter
law’s provisions faithfully reproduced the definition
of aggression in accordance with the aforementioned
resolution of the UN General Assembly.
All Russian actions fell under it. According to
Ukrainian law, the situation in 2014 not only allowed,
but even obliged the government to declare martial
law. This was required, in particular, by Article 4 of
the Law ‘On the National Defense.’”
Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories
and Internally Displaced Persons Heorhii Tuka
expressed the following position in a comment for
The Day: “Declaring martial law in the fourth year
of the war is quite feasible. Deployment of the
Armed Forces is not provided for in the Law ‘On the
Fight against Terrorism.’ This is a legal inconsistency.
The law says nothing at all about declaring
martial law. There is a separate law for this. I do not
understand why we are seeing a hysteric debate on
this issue right now, because martial law could
have been declared before. What do we need a special
law for, then? The main motive for refraining
from declaring martial law was that, according to the
legislation currently in force, it would have made
holding elections impossible. The new law, which may
be adopted now, does declare some elements of martial
law. In particular, it provides for the establishment
of a joint operational headquarters, with mi -
li tary-civilian administrations, in particular, being
subordinated to it. But at the same time, all civil
rights will remain in force, including the right to participate
in elections. Personally, I do not see any
pressing need for declaring martial law right now.
I believe that we need to improve the legislation on
military-civilian administrations, and that will be
enough.”
When asked about his statement at the beginning
of the year about the possibility of de-occupation of
the Donbas this year, Tuka answered that the situa -
tion had changed not in our favor in the meantime.
In particular, it has changed due to the imposition of
the so-called blockade, which resulted in Ukraine effectively
abandoning dozens of its own enterprises
in the occupied territory. Tuka thinks that the go -
vernment has shown its “toothlessness” on this issue.
By Valentyn TORBA, The Day
Read more on our website
REUTERS photo
JUNE 20, 2017. POPE FRANCIS PRAYS ON THE TOMB OF INFLUENTIAL 20th-CENTURY ITALIAN
PRIEST DON LORENZO MILANI IN BARBIANA, CENTRAL ITALY

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
DAY AFTER DAY No.40 JUNE 22, 2017 3
By Mykola SIRUK, The Day
The party of French President Emmanuel
Macron La Republique En Marche! together
with its allies won an absolute
majority in the lower house of the
country’s parliament. As reported on the
website of the Ministry of the Interior of France,
La Republique En Marche! will get 308 out of
577 seats in the nation’s new parliament, well
above the 289-seat threshold is needed for an
absolute majority. In addition, 42 seats will go
to Macron’s allies, the centrist party Democratic
Movement.
Observers point out that never since Charles
de Gaulle’s victory in 1958 has a French president
enjoyed such a powerful support in a parliament
where the political careers of most MPs
depend personally on him.
The main opposition force in the parliament
will be the Republicans, who will be represented
by 113 legislators. The Socialists have won
29 seats in the National Assembly. The Union of
Democrats and Independents has received
18 seats. The independent political movement La
France Insoumise, led by Jean-Luc Melenchon,
has managed to send 17 representatives to the
parliament. Leader of the National Front Marin
Le Pen will enter the National Assembly for the
first time. Her far-right party will receive
8 seats.
Another surprise is that the second round of
the election witnessed a low voter turnout,
which set a new antirecord dropping to a level of
42.6 percent.
European Commission President Jean-
Claude Juncker congratulated French Prime
Minister Edouard Philippe on the victory of the
party En Marche! in the legislative election.
“Congratulations @EPhilippePM. The renewed
National Assembly embodies a resolutely modern
France and is determined to be part of a
strong future for the EU,” he tweeted.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also congratulated
French President Macron on his victory.
“Congratulations, Emmanuel Macron, on
the occasion of a clear parliamentary majority +
further cooperation for Germany, France, and
Europe,” German government spokesman Steffen
Seibert quoted Merkel in his tweet.
The Day asked the head of the Russia department
at the journal Politique Internationale
Galia Ackerman to comment on the results of the
French election and to tell us what first results
should be expected from the Macron administration.
● “THERE IS NO REASON TO SAY
THAT WE HAVE ENTERED AN ERA
OF MACRONISM WITHOUT
RESISTANCE”
“The forecasts for the victory of the Macron
movement along with its centrist allies were skyhigh,
putting their total at between 415 and
455 legislators. In reality, they won 350 seats
and this is the largest majority for any party in
the history of the Fifth Republic. By the way, all
the ministers of the Macron cabinet have been reelected.
This result is due to the fact that French
elections are held in single-member constituencies.
There are 577 of them and there may be several
candidates in each of them. In particular,
some of them saw more than 20 candidates participating
in the first round. Two candidates who
received the most votes progress to the second
round. And in this case, the advantage in the
first round does not guarantee ultimate victory,
because it all depends on how people who voted
for other candidates will vote. And so the results
were quite unpredictable. Secondly, a rather
fierce campaign was conducted. It seems to me
that the French became afraid that the National
Assembly would be completely under Macron’s
thumb, that there would be no opposition, and
since 455 legislators would mean not just an absolute
majority, but hegemony, some voters
chose another candidate.
“I do not rule out that the Macron supporters
eased their efforts a little, because it
seemed to them that the victory was there already.
In the meantime, the right, who were
expected to win 60 to 80 seats, won 137, that
is, almost twice as many. They did a serious job
to mobilize their voters in each constituency to
vote for them.
“An unexpected result is Melenchon’s ultraleft
party La France Insoumise winning 27 seats
together with the Communist Party, enabling
them to form a faction now. This requires a minimum
of 15 legislators. Therefore, Macron and
his allies will have a tough opposition.
“In another real surprise, eight candidates
of the National Front will enter the National As-
REUTERS photo
“No one can really interfere with
Emmanuel Macron’s plans”
The Day’s expert discusses surprises and protest voting
in the second round of the French legislative election
sembly. Still, this is not enough to form a faction.
At the same time, it should be noted that
two scandal-hit members of the France-Russia
parliamentary group, Thierry Mariani and Nicolas
Dhuicq, who have assiduously supported
Russia and visited Crimea, have failed to get into
the parliament.
“All this shows that, despite the defeat of the
two main political parties, the Republicans and
the Socialists, these two political forces will still
have 227 representatives who will be in opposition
and so the parliamentary life will be quite
stormy and the debates tough enough. That is,
there is no reason to say that we have entered an
era of Macronism without resistance. And the
resistance will be quite tough. However, no one
“A great German and a great European”
By Natalia PUSHKARUK
The world is recalling these days the
contribution of the former German
Chancellor Helmut Kohl to the
unification of the FRG and the GDR
into a united Germany and the establishment
of unity in Europe. In particular,
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the
European Commission, told the German
newspaper Bild: “Even before his passing,
Helmut Kohl had been awarded an honorary
citizenship for his extraordinary services.
That is why we owe Kohl a European state
ceremony, and I will personally see to it that
it happens.”
The current German Chancellor Angela
Merkel honored the memory of her former
mentor who offered her the first ministerial
post in 1991. She wrote in the book of condolences:
“In Helmut Kohl, we have lost a great
German and a great European. He made an almost
unparalleled contribution to the restoration
of our country’s unity and to European
harmony.” Merkel described her mentor as a
“stroke of luck” for Germany.
Former US president George Herbert
Walker Bush, who cooperated with Kohl and
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to reunite
East Germany and West Germany, described
Kohl as “a true friend of freedom,” saying he
considered him “one of the greatest leaders in
post-war Europe.” “Working closely with my
very good friend will remain one of the greatest
joys of my life. Throughout our endeavors,
Helmut was a rock – both steady and
strong,” Bush said.
can really interfere with Macron’s plans now, except
perhaps street protesters.
“He wants to make labor legislation more flexible
and modern, fitting the current political situation.
Of course, this will cause great resistance,
which should be expected not so much from the parliament,
but rather from the street, if protests will
last for months and involve millions of people.
“Macron also wants to shorten the time for
debates on new laws and specious amendments to
them, the purpose of which is to block for
months, if not years, the passage of legislative
acts. And by the way, abovementioned Melenchon
is an absolute champion in blocking laws.
In short, we will see different rules of the game
applying in the new parliament.”
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany
said Kohl was an “exceptional politician”
with a “strong character.”
French President Emmanuel Macron posted
a German-language tweet praising Kohl as “pioneer
of a united Germany and German-French
friendship.” He also posted a photo of Kohl
standing side-by-side with the late French president
Francois Mitterrand as a sign of reconciliation
between the two countries.
British Prime Minister Theresa May called
the ex-chancellor “a giant of European history.”
What factors had decisive impact in the second
round, determining who would be elected
to the National Assembly, and what role did the
external factor play in this?
“Because the election was held in singlemember
constituencies, it was difficult to influence
their results. Of course, it is very hard
to assess what was circulating on social networks
at that time. On the one hand, legislators who
worked well in the parliament and are known to
their voters have been reelected. But in most cases,
the composition of the National Assembly has
radically changed. In most cases, people generally
did not know who they were voting for and
voted based just on the party label. For example,
if a voter wanted Macron to carry out his reforms,
they believed that he should have a majority
in the National Assembly and voted for
Macron’s candidate. Unlike the presidential
election, it is very difficult to influence the voters’
decisions in this situation. What made a real
impact was the big wave of discontent which appeared
when according to the results of the first
round Macron was supposed to get up to
450 seats in the National Assembly. Many did
not like it. Therefore, there was protest voting
on the ground in the second round. Voters voted
not for Macron’s candidates, but for someone
else. That played a role. I did not observe external
interference, in particular on the part of
Russia, in this election. To be more specific, it
was very difficult to do.”
What conclusions do you think Ukraine
should draw now that the election is over and
the new composition of the National Assembly
is known?
“In France, foreign policy is a prerogative of
the president and, accordingly, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. The parliament is engaged in
legislative activities, not making foreign policy.
I think that the Ukrainian side should try to activate
the Ukrainian-French friendship group
and closely follow the initiatives of the Russian-
French friendship group. These groups are engaged
in various parliamentary exchange initiatives,
which have some importance. The real influence
in this case lies with the Cabinet, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the president,
as well as experts who surround the president.
After the recent talks between the resident of the
Elysee Palace and the Russian president in Versailles,
my feeling is that Macron, as a technocratic
person, does not make decisions simply
from some kind of insight, but engages in serious
consideration of the issues in question with the
experts first. As far as I have heard about his
three experts, and this is not public information,
they are, very importantly, really very good analysts
and are not pro-Russian in the slightest.”
World leaders are paying tribute to
German ex-chancellor Helmut Kohl
REUTERS photo
US President Donald
Trump hailed Kohl as a
“friend and ally of the United
States,” while former
US president Bill Clinton
said that Kohl’s “farsighted
leadership prepared Germany
and all of Europe for
the 21st century.”
“My sincere condolences
to the German people
on the irretrievable loss
of Helmut Kohl, an epochal
person, the leader who
made an invaluable contribution
to strengthening
European unity and healing
the scars of the Cold
War,” Ukrainian President
Petro Poroshenko
wrote in Facebook.
Helmut Kohl departed
this life on Friday,
June 16, aged 87. He held
the office of German Chancellor for 16 years,
having been reelected four times in a row. In
the 1982 elections, he defeated all his rivals
and became the youngest chancellor in the
Federal Republic’s history at the age of 52,
the BBC points out.
Kohl endorsed the idea of a united Europe,
and it is largely thanks to him that the
Maastricht Agreement, which laid the groundwork
for the European Union, was signed. Besides,
Kohl was a co-author of the project of
the euro, the single European currency.
Read more on our website

4
No.40 JUNE 22, 2017
TOPIC OF THE DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
“For Sweden –
with the times”
The motto of
Swedish King
Carl XVI Gustaf
Carl Gustaf Bernadotte
became the
74th king of Sweden
as Carl XVI
Gustaf on September
15, 1973, at the age of 27 upon the death of his
grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf. He chose the phase
“For Sweden – with the times” as his personal
motto, which emphasized his aspiration to meet
modern requirements.
Carl Gustaf graduated from a private elementary
school in Stockholm and a boarding school
in Sigtuna. After passing the university entrance
exams in 1966, he saw active military service in the
Navy and the Air Force until 1968, when was commissioned
as an officer at the Swedish National Defense
College.
In 1968-70, Carl Gustaf took the courses of history,
sociology, political sciences, law, and economics
at Uppsala University as well as an economics
course at the University of Stockholm.
After completing the studies, he received special
training as the future head of state in 1970-73.
The program included fact-finding visits to the central
and local bodies of administration, companies,
businesses, educational and research institutions;
and studying the affairs of courts, social security
bodies, trade unions, employers’ associations. The
program envisaged special focus on the functioning
of the Swedish government, the Riksdag (parliament),
and the Ministry of Foreign affairs. To
gain the experience of international relations,
Crown Prince Carl Gustaf also spent time at the
Swedish Mission to the United Nations and the
Swedish International Development Cooperation
Agency (SIDA), worked at the Hambros Bank in
London, at the Swedish Embassy in London, and at
the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in France. In
1970 he led the Swedish delegation to the World Exposition
(Expo 70) in Osaka, Japan.
In accordance with the changes to the Constitution
of Sweden, which were introduced in 1974
and came into force on January 1, 1975, the king
of Sweden is in fact deprived of any governmental
powers. The real power is wielded by the Riksdag
and the Cabinet with the prime minister at the head.
The king usually performs representative and
ceremonial functions: he makes state visits abroad,
receives letters of credence from foreign ambassadors,
opens annual Riksdag sessions, and presides
over special Cabinet meetings. He also chairs the
meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council which consist
of Riksdag and Cabinet representatives.
Although the king has the highest military
rank (Admiral of the Royal Navy), the armed
forces are fully managed by the government.
The royal couple is traditionally present at the
annual Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm on December
10. The king of Sweden personally hands in
the Nobel Prize.
King Carl XVI Gustaf likes dealing with environmental
protection. He is president of the
Swedish branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature.
At the same time, he takes an interest in
modern technologies, actively participates in
Royal Technological Missions organized by the
Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
to encourage Swedish export of technologies and
know-how, and patronizes the Royal Academy of
Sciences.
The king holds honorary doctoral degrees
from the Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, the Royal Institute of Technology, the Abo
Akademi University in Turku, Finland.
He is the knight of the Swedish royal orders
of the Seraphim, the Polar Star, Vasa, and
Charles XIII, and is the first-ever Honorary Fellow
of Uppsala University. The king has a number of
foreign honors. On March 19, 1999, he was awarded
the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st Degree,
and he was the first recipient of the Ukrainian
Order of Liberty on September 29, 2008.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden visited Kyiv
in June 1978 as part of his state visit to the USSR.
The Swedish king and his wife, Queen Silvia,
paid a state visit to Ukraine on September 30 – October
3, 2008.
The monarch and the royal family enjoy great
prestige and respect in Swedish society.
By Mykola SIRUK, The Day
Den/The Day continues the discussion on
the efficiency and democratic nature of the institution
of monarchy in Europe. We first cited
the UK as an example. In the article titled
“Monarchistic Idea in the 21th Century,” we
noted that “for a great part of Britons, the
crown is not just a historical souvenir, but also
an institution, quite efficient and necessary in
the world of today.” On the other hand, Den’s
contributor, philosopher Andrii Baumeister offered
arguments about the modernity of
monarchy (Den, No. 78-79). In the issues of
The Day No. 32 (May 23, 2017), No. 36
(June 8, 2017), and No. 38 (June 15, 2017), we
examined the role of monarchy in Denmark,
the Netherlands, and Spain, respectively. Now
we offer our readers a glimpse into the link between
the past and the present in the Kingdom
of Sweden.
● ON PARTICULARITIES
OF THE SWEDISH MONARCHY
Monarchy in the 21st century:
the example of the Kingdom of Sweden
“Our monarchy was founded five centuries
ago by Gustav Vasa who was the first king
whose office as head of the Swedish state became
hereditary. Gustav Vasa himself was
elected as king on June 6, 1523,” Henrik NOR-
BERG, Deputy Head of the Mission, Counselor
at the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine, told The
Day. In his words, Gustav Vasa is not considered
a great ancestor of Swedish kings because
there were some major changes after
him, several other dynasties ruled, and the
country is now a constitutional monarchy in
which the king was elected.
Mr. Norberg pointed out that there is very
much in common between Scandinavian
monarchies because they have been maintaining
close ties and relations. He also said that
the Swedish king is a cousin of the Danish
queen.
“Another important aspect of the Swedish
monarchy is that we are fully aware that, even
though the king is formally the head of state,
Photo from the website KUNGAHUSET.SE
THE ROYAL FAMILY: KING CARL XVI GUSTAF AND QUEEN SILVIA (CENTER), CROWN PRINCESS VICTORIA, SUCCESSOR TO THE THRONE (LEFT)
How to establish continuity between eras – 4
he plays no political role. I think if the
Swedish monarchy had a real impact on political
life in Sweden, there would be much more
skepticism about this kind of system,” the
diplomat said.
● 65 PERCENT OF SWEDES FAVOR
THE PRESERVATION OF MONARCHY
“For me as a Swedish citizen,” Mr. Norberg
continues, “it is interesting that, if we
were to create a new state in Sweden, many
Swedes would agree to have the head of state
who would inherit this office from his or her
father or mother. On the other hand, almost
65 percent of Swedes in fact favor monarchy
and wish this political system to be preserved.
“We don’t have many political parties, but
the programs of some of them contain a call for
Photo from the website WIKIPEDIA.ORG
THE STOCKHOLM PALACE (PICTURED RIGHT), THE HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT (PICTURED LEFT), THE NATIONAL MUSEUM AND THE DOME OF THE
SKEPPSHOLMEN CHURCH (IN THE BACKGROUND)

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
establishing a republic. In practice, these parties
do not put this question high on the agenda because
very few people will prefer a republic. Today,
this is not a political problem that would divide
the Swedes, and there are no disputes about
it in parliament.”
● THE KING IS A SYMBOL OF SWEDEN’S
UNITY
“Almost 100 years ago, the last attempt of a
Swedish king to influence politics stirred up a
crisis,” the diplomat says. “This occurred during
the debates on Sweden’s military budget in
1914. As World War One was breaking out in
Europe, the king said it was necessary to increase
military expenditures. This political attitude
provoked a crisis, and that was the last
time a king ever tried to be involved in political
activity.
“In 1970 we reached a political compromise,
when it was stated clearly that the king or queen
of Sweden would never voice political opinions
or views or take a certain attitude in political
matters. This means that the king is supposed to
perform a basically ceremonial function, i.e.,
represent the country. The king is a symbol of
the state’s unity.
“Another reason why the Swedes are taking
a positive attitude to monarchy is popularity
of the royal family. Public opinion polls
show that the current Crown Princess Victoria,
who will become the queen one day, is Sweden’s
most popular person. People trust her
very much. So what plays a certain role in the
popularity of monarchy is personal affection
and also, in some cases, the fact that the
Swedish monarchy is not viewed as a threat to
democracy.”
● “OUT OF THE WORLD’S SIX MOST
DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES,
FIVE ARE MONARCHIES”
“We have reached a major compromise to
preserve this historical institution in the current
governmental setup, where the king is the head
of state, the parliamentary speaker holds the
second most important office, and then comes
the prime minister,” Mr. Norberg notes. “The
king opens some political sessions but does not
in fact take part in them.
“It is difficult to draw a line between the development
of democracy and the existence of
monarchy in Sweden. If you look at the past
year’s research into the level of democracy in the
world, you will see that, out of the world’s six
most democratic countries, five are monarchies,
and the sixth is Finland. I think it was difficult
to establish a direct link between democracy and
monarchy.
“But it is quite obvious that this works very
well together – full-fledged democracy and the
head of state who inherits his or her office.
“Swedish kings or queens have always had to
maneuver between parliament, public opinion,
and sympathies and could not dominate over
them. We had a very short period of real autocracy,
when the king wielded total power. Obviously,
the Swedish public does not accept a dictatorial
style of government, so power should
moderate.”
● ON THE ROLE
OF THE ROYAL FAMILY
In Mr. Norberg’s view, the role of the
royal family is to be a symbol of national unity.
“Sweden has gone through many, sometimes
ruinous, changes and crises. For example,
a lot of Swedish tourists died during a
tsunami in South-Eastern Asia, mostly in
Thailand. Whenever this kind of national
crises occurred, the king in fact managed to
become a symbol of unity and consolation. He
has really united the Swedes with a new
changing Sweden. For a lot of Swedes were
born outside Sweden – they are refugeseekers
or migrants, and this creates a permanent
variety of unity that can exist for
decades or centuries.
“We can see annual documentary films on
the royal family. For example, the 2016 film is
very popular among the Swedes.”
The royal family is mainly funded at the
parliament-approved budgetary expense. In
other words, the royal family lives off the taxpayers’
money. It is not a large amount. In
comparison with other monarchies, the
Swedish one is not the most expensive, the
diplomat points out. In his words, some studies
claim that the royal family brings money to
Sweden because it plays an important role by
making state visits.
Mr. Norberg noted that, during his visit
to Ukraine nine years ago, King Carl XVI
Gustaf was accompanied by the executives of
many companies, who signed contracts. This
creates a certain attractive factor of monarchy,
which contributes to high-profile business
deals.
“Speaking of the history of Scandinavian
countries, we were often part of one kingdom
that embraced Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.
“Of course, our history also knows a not so
successful cooperation between Charles XII
and Hetman Mazepa in the Battle of Poltava.
So there have been certain links between our
countries, which helps me develop Swedish-
Ukrainian cooperation in my work.”
As for the desire of some of our people to
have a strong leader or even a tsar, there are
very few people in Sweden who are taking this
position. The latest sociological surveys show
that this also applies to Ukraine. Most of the
Ukrainians believe that this country should
move towards a pluralist democratic society instead
of wanting a strong leader with extensive
powers. “I believe that, in the future, power
must not be concentrated in one person,” the
Swedish diplomat pointed out.
TOPIC OF THE DAY No.40 JUNE 22, 2017 5
Photo from the website WIKIPEDIA.ORG
CHARLES XII WHO RULED SWEDEN FROM APRIL 5,
1697, UNTIL NOVEMBER 29, 1718
As is known, history abounds in
strange stories, in comparison to
which the fantasies of the most
famous writers look “drab” and
farfetched. Here is one of such
stories. When the 18-year-old Jean-Baptiste
Bernadotte from Gascony, France (incidentally,
a fellow countryman of the famous
d’Artagnan), the son of a lawyer who was
respected in the town of Pau for unimpeachable
honesty and incorruptibility (the low-income
Bernadotte family never managed to gain
nobility), lost his father, he had to ponder,
willy-nilly, on how to avoid banal poverty. The
young man chose to devote his life to military
service, signed up for the Regiment Royal-La
Marine, received a proper military education,
became an officer and a general (at age 31
during the Revolution). Then, as fate decreed,
he met Napoleon Bonaparte who duly appreciated
Jean-Baptiste’s talents, promoting
him to Marshal of the Empire in 1804 at age
41. A brilliant career, isn’t it? But it is not all,
dear reader!
I am saying so much in detail about Marshal
Bernadotte because this Gascony-born person
was the founder of the now reigning royal
dynasty in Sweden and occupied that country’s
throne as Charles XIV John (Karl XIV Johan)
in 1818-44 (in fact from 1810). It was the result
of very intricate diplomatic combinations
and compromises. The point is that, in the period
of “political turbulence” caused by the illness
of the old King Charles XIII, the then
Swedish ruling elite expected, by inviting the
Napoleonic marshal as regent (it was clear that
he would ascend the throne soon), to resolve
the problem of a desired alliance with France
and Bonaparte personally in a hope to enlist the
latter’s support for winning back Finland annexed
by Russia. But the future king behaved
rather unexpectedly and joined, on the contrary,
the anti-Napoleonic coalition in 1813.
He focused his efforts, quite successfully, on
annexing the Norwegian territory thitherto
owned by Denmark. To sum it up, Charles XIV
John showed a tough nature in the three
decades of his reign and was in no way a “puppet
king.”
In general, it should be emphasized that
Swedish monarchs (the most ancient historical
information about them can be found in the
9th-century sagas about the kingdom of Svear,
the descendants of Vikings) were never “whipping
boys.” All the Ukrainians know about the
famous Charles XII, and many know about his
predecessors King Gustav II Adolph (1611-32),
Queen Christina (1632-54), Charles X Gustav
(1654-60), and Charles XI (1672-97), when
Sweden was a “Northern Empire” and they did
not consider themselves being bound by any
constitutions.
After the death of Charles XII in 1718, the
country saw the so-called “Era of Liberty”
(1720-72), when the center of power shifted to
the government and parliament (a conflict-ridden
Riksdag which consisted of the upper
THE ROYAL GUARDS ARE RESPONSIBLE, IN COOPERATION WITH POLICE AND THE PALACE
ADMINISTRATION, FOR SECURITY OF THE ROYAL PALACES IN STOCKHOLM AND DROTTNINGHOLM
Descendants of Vikings and challenges of time
The path of the Swedish crown – from historical
greatness to political pragmatism
Photo from the website TRAVELMAGAZINE.ORG
chamber that represented the nobility, the top
clergy, and officials, and the lower chamber
that represented peasants). King Gustav III
(1771-92) staged a coup d’etat and partly restored
absolutism, but he was assassinated in a
conspiracy of the oppositional nobility. No one
knows what destiny the monarchy would have
had, had it not been decided to invite Jean-Baptiste
Bernadotte, an ostensible “outsider,” a
foreigner, to the throne in 1810. Although his
successors Oscar I, Gustav V, and Oscar II
strove to broaden their power, monarchy remained
part of a constitutional framework.
And now about the present day a little. The
current King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (on
the throne since 1973) is the seventh monarch
of the Bernadotte dynasty (incidentally, Sweden’s
permanent neutrality was declared as far
back as 1815). It must be noted that the life of
the royal house is not so easy in such a country
of social welfare as Sweden. The royal family is
always criticized for even a negligible departure
from high human rights standards. By
tradition, the Bernadotte royal family does not
exercise its right to vote in the elections, its
members must belong to the Evangelist
Lutheran Church and must not change their
denomination, and cannot enter into a marriage
without governmental permission. The
programs of some Swedish parties (including
the largest and now ruling Social Democratic
Workers’ Party) have an item on the abolition
of monarchy, but this is an outright utopia now
because the majority of Swedish citizens support
the monarchic institution.
It is, to a large extent, the result of the political
compromise reached in 1971 at a meeting
of the leaders of major political parties,
most influential MPs, and leading businesspeople
in the town of Torekov (the meeting was
“moderated” by the Social Democratic Prime
Minister Olof Palme). The compromise envisaged
a modernized, democratic, “people’s”
monarchy. What also contributed to this was a
very attracting personality of the then King
Gustaf VI Adolf (the “Old King,” as the people
called him), the current monarch’s grandfather,
who was very well educated (he was almost
professionally keen on archeology) and
modest (he could not stand any pomposity, was
always the first to take off his hat to the people
he came across, and always walked the
streets of Stockholm with his wife without any
guards). It is he who proposed a compromise:
to keep the monarchy intact but to vest the
king with representative and ceremonial functions
only – the king is the head of state, but
real power belongs to the government and the
Riksdag; he opens annual sessions of the Riksdag
in September (incidentally, he is allowed to
appear there only once a year on this day); government
ministers regularly inform the king
on the current events; the king has the topmost
military ranks – he is a full general and a full
admiral, but Sweden’s armed forces are subordinated
to the government only; he receives letters
of credence from foreign ambassadors; and
pays official visits abroad. This compromise
has proved to be quite successful. According to
the leading Swedish politicians, the importance
of monarchy to the country is not in a
concrete set of the monarch’s powers (Carl XVI
Gustaf will be succeeded by his daughter,
Crown Princess Victoria) but in the fact that
the royal institution itself is an extremely important
national symbol which must not be
politicized or flatly denied. Members of the
royal family are still among the most respected
people in Sweden. To turn this experience to its
own advantage, Ukraine should first learn to
create, “build,” normal traditional political
parties (centrist, left, right) instead of “personalized”
blocs (there could be no “Olof Palme
Bloc,” “Carl Bildt Bloc,” etc,. in the country of
Vikings).
***
The current Constitution of Sweden adopted
in 1975 after two decades of preparation
(Gustaf VI Adolf did not live to see it entering
into force) has the following words: “All public
power in Sweden proceeds from the people.”As
we can see, the existence of the institution
of monarchy in no way runs counter to
this fundamental provision.
By Ihor SIUNDIUKOV, The Day

6
No.40 JUNE 22, 2017
CULT URE
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
Ukrainian sculpture: doing fine
By Hanna PAROVATKINA
Photos by Artem SLIPACHUK, The Day
The exhibit “Sculpture
2017” includes over
200 works by more than
100 top Ukrainian artists.
This Triennial has its own
hallmark: the National League
of Ukrainian Artists (NLUA)’s
total refusal from “politically
colored commissioning.”
The name “triennial” indicates
at least two purely formal
things: a serious scale and the
occurrence of the exhibit, only
once every three years. However,
this time around the
NLUA and its exhibition administration
are doing well not
only in terms of form. Everything
is fine with the main
thing – the contents, in other
words, the quality of the exposition
material. Just like another
recently held important
nationwide “examination” (the
big exhibit of Ukrainian abstract
painting at the Central
House of Artists), this project
has attracted best of the best
among sculptors. The names of
the stars alone take the breath
away, send heads reeling, and
make hearts miss a beat: Mykola
Bilyk, Kostiantyn Synytskyi,
Valerii Pyrohov, Alisa Zaboi,
Viacheslav Hutyria, Petro
Hronskyi, Yehor and Mykyta
Zihura, Oleksii Zolotariov,
Hanna Kyseliova, to name just
a few. If at least one-tenth of
the participants agreed to take
part in some sort of auction,
the clever managers might
make a heap of money.
The 7th
All-Ukrainian
Triennial of
Sculpture can
be enjoyed up
to June 25 at
the House of
Artists in Kyiv
Ukrainian sculptors are
quite in demand globally. Quite
recently, on June 6, Yehor Zihura
alone sold another authorial
copy of his Colossus Awakens
at Sotheby’s in London at
12,117 dollars. His previous
castings of this same sculpture
from the project “After Today,”
inspired by the Revolution
of Dignity, were auctioned
for 25,000 dollars at Phillips in
London and for 20,000 dollars
in New York.
Nevertheless, this Triennial
is held for art’s sake in the
first place. That is why one can
enjoy the works of our topnotch
sculptors absolutely for
free. The sculptures self are also
exhibited not for the sake of
money.
By exhibiting own works
and seeing those of their colleagues,
sculptors also demonstrate
their moral support to
the House of Artists which is
having a hard time now (actually,
just like all other Ukrainian
artists’ associations). The Triennial
agenda includes also master
classes by the older generation
of sculptors, which will be
held at universities.
Of course, it is not only the
star-spangled participant list,
and not only their numbers that
inspire. The variety and quality
of the displayed works are
inspiring as well. Surprisingly,
the exposition contains minimum
minimorum of kitschy interior
sculptures and other
pretty-looking junk. On the
other hand, one will hardly see
the morally obsolete sculptural
compositions, reminiscent of
the Soviet 1970s. But the most
unusual, totally incredible fact
is that the House of Artists
seems to have gotten rid of the
NLUA’s notorious “birthmark”:
ideological and political
conjuncture. Not so long ago,
depending on who headed the
nation’s executive power, the
exhibits varied from Trypillian
themes to mounted Hetmans to
guilt crosses, icons, heroes of
the war of 1941-45 and so on.
Now instead of all that glamour
and glitter and kitschy interior
items one feels as if in a nice

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
CULT URE No.40 JUNE 22, 2017 7
sculpture salon somewhere
in Old Europe. The political
conjuncture is ousted by
artistic conjuncture.
Modern Western sculpture
has long departed from
the traditional busts or riders
on prancing horses, and is
even farther from the garden
gnomes decorating our very
own lawns. The most unbelievable
installations, created
in most surprising techniques,
are called sculptures.
The main thing here is the
idea, the free flight of imagination.
The main thing is to
reach out to the viewer and
make him remember what
they saw. In Ukrainian
sculpture, however, innovation
is still combined with
tradition. It is actually quite
good. In one and the same exposition
space very different
works co-exist in harmony
and complement each other.
Imagine the wooden Danae
with its fantastic plasticity
by a living classic Borys
Dovhan, which seems to be a
breathing, living intertwining
of light rays. And next
to it, Oleksii Zolotariov’s
Birds. The young sculptor’s
creation of wood and black
metal suggests Kazimir
Malevich. Birds were inspired
by a little airplane,
scratched by someone on a
wooden board. The original
board is part of the installation.
Old and innovative Ukrainian
style: this is a conceptual
composition For Two
by Vasyl Tatarskyi, where
two chairs are actually
drinking chums, just as a
rusty merry-go-round on a
playground. For us, the composition
still looks unusual.
For the West it is rather a
novel on tradition in the
20th century sculpture.
Fantasy and everyday reality,
seasoned with excellent
sense of humor, are combined
in works by Hanna Kyseliova.
Visitors of the Triennial
can admire her smiling
young girl, Walking Barefoot
on the Planet, holding
her sandals in her hands.
Triennial “Sculpture
2017” includes flying sculptures
and sculptures lying on
the floor. Some speak to the
viewers with the help of little
bells. Others are stuck in yellowish
glass like bugs in amber.
Wood, stone, metal,
plastic, paint, living plants
in all imaginable (and not
quite so) combinations. This
exhibit is an absolute mustsee.
The more so that even
some of its drawbacks (unfortunately,
trite ideas are
quite a few) turn into advantages.
Against the unimpressive
background the most
original works stand out better.
Just as it should be.
By Hanna PAROVATKINA
Photos by Artem SLIPACHUK, The Day
Our legendary writer and
translator was also
an outstanding artist
whose works are not
worse than those of the
“visionary” Ciurlionis. Words fail
me. For we saw a wonder with our
own eyes – an exhibit that even
history schoolbooks are sure to
mention. The point is that Ukraine
now has its own Ciurlionis or
Roerich, only without a trace of
sweetish “Oriental” mysticism and
exotica.
For the first time in history,
thanks to the efforts of the commission
on returning national cultural
treasures to Ukraine, the National
Museum of Ukrainian Literature
has opened the exhibit “The
World through the Eyes of Soul:
Vasyl Barka’s Paintings.” This exposition
is now displaying 21 artworks
by the outstanding writer
Vasyl Barka (real name Vasyl
Ocheret, 1908-2003) – landscapes
painted with the pastel technique
in the 1960s in the US. This exhibit
is sure to go down in the annals of
history for two reasons: firstly, because
Ukraine has at last discovered
Barka as an artist, and, secondly,
owing to the artistic quality
of the famous prose writer’s,
poet’s, and translator’s creative
achievements.
We know that Barka, a prominent
writer, the author of The Yellow
Prince, the world’s first novel
about the Holodomor, a lot of poems
and essays, was also a Christian
mystic. His collection The Horseman
of Heaven is full of Christiancentered
theological reflections. It
is written in all the writer’s biographies
that he studied at a “seminary.”
It is also emphasized that he
was forced to publicly repent in
1930 for an attempt to restore a religious
“vestige of capitalism” in
his works (this occurred at a meeting
of the Ukrainian branch of the
Russian Association of Proletarian
Writers). It is well known that Barka,
as a linguist, wrote and defended
– in 1940 in Moscow – a Candidate
of Sciences dissertation about
Dante’s Divine Comedy. But it is
less known that he worked at the
same time at the Krasnodar Art
Museum.
“My service at the museum ended
up in a catastrophe – I was put on
trial,” the artist says in his autobiography,
“although there were no
sufficient grounds. After finding
information about the pictures to be
displayed, I chose for the exposition
Duerer’s engraving Man of Sorrows
(flagellation of Christ), the copy of
a picture of Ivanov (the author of
The Appearance of Christ before the
People), the copies of Veronese’s
Pieta, Raphael’s Madonna with
St. George, Correggio’s Holy Night
(Nativity), and a number of other
religion-themed pictures of a true
artistic values from the museum’s
holdings. The court accused me of
making a ‘counterrevolutionary design
of the art museum.’”
The conclusion is that Barka
carried his love of Dante and religious
painting from his childhood
onwards. As he writes, The Divine
Comedy, illustrated by Gustave
Dore, was one of the first “adult”
books he, a country boy, read in addition
to Shevchenko’s Haidamaky.
The horseman of heaven
As for his “first artistic impression”
in life, the autobiography
says: “Father commissioned an itinerant
deacon-painter to draw the
icon ‘Prayer of the Chalice’ on a big
VASYL BARKA, THE CENTER OF A VILLAGE
VASYL BARKA, A MOUNTAINOUS ESTATE
The National
Museum of Ukrainian
Literature holds
an exhibit of Vasyl
Barka’s paintings
for the first time
in the years of
independence
sheet of roofing iron: Christ stands
near a rock among the sad trees
in the Garden of Gethsemane. The
image occupied the whole icon corner
in the house.”
Yet Vasyl Barka, as an artist who
resembles Ciurlionis and Roerich in
his choice of colors, a visionary artist
whose paintings also explain and
complement his prose, is a discovery
indeed. You can’t possibly avoid this
association when you look at smallsize
landscapes the author painted on
little wood boards and strengthened
with varnish. A marvelous, almost
heavenly, peace of nature on the pictures
resembles Ciurlionis’ Paradise
as well as perhaps De Chirico. Even
the colors are similar: ocherous, yellow,
green, navy blue, and red “undiluted”
paints. The inclination towards
geometry resembles the artistic
manner of De Chirico. Yet there
are no angels on the canvases – only
the trees frozen in eternity. And the
mountains on one of the landscapes
look the Roerich’s Tibet. But what
became a Shambhala for Barka as
artist are the American mountains
that miraculously resemble the
Carpathians. The writer lived his last
years in Glen Spey, New York, at the
Verkhovyna nursing home of the
Ukrainian Fraternal Association.
His cabin, which he built by himself,
was hidden behind a wall of boulders.
He lived the life of an outright recluse
who contemplated nature and
reflected on God. The artist left to
the world not only prose and poetry,
but also some meditative pictures.
When you look at these pictures, you
seem to be absorbed in meditation
and feeling the touch of heavenly
eternity. You seem to hear a quiet
conversation with God in the language
only saints and angels can
speak – one of serene sensations and
godly images.
“This exhibit is the first in the
history of Ukraine. Our museum is
very proud of being lucky to keep
and display Vasyl Barka’s uncommon
and really beautiful paintings,”
says Raisa SENNIKOVA, deputy director
general of the National Museum
of Ukrainian Literature for research
and education. “The pictures,
a bit spoilt in the course of
time and transportation, were first
restored at the Central Restoration
Workshop. We are planning to display
them at various exhibits as well
as to finish the making of a permanent
exposition of the 1960s period
and supplement the section about
Barka. There will be more than
twenty pictures.”

8
No.40 JUNE 22, 2017
TIMEO U T
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
“History. Ukraine. World”
Oleksii Koval displays his enamels in Lviv
By Tetiana KOZYRIEVA, Lviv
Photos by Andrii KUBIAK
Oleksii Koval, a Kyivbased
enamellist, is
holding a large-scale exposition
“History. Ukraine.
World” of about
two dozen works of various years
and series, at the Andrei Sheptytsky
National Museum.
The artist has been applying for
several years the “hot enamel” technique
which is considered an elitist
filigree art because it requires a
long learning period and a high
skill. Art critics say this incomparable
technique (painting and jewelry
at the same time) produces astonishing
results, but very few can
master it because enamel… carefully
chooses an author. Only one who
is patient enough to overcome all
the unexpected difficulties that occur
in this intricate and painstaking
technique will be able to achieve a
major success.
Koval’s enamels comprise portraits
of Ukrainian hetmans and
Cossacks, Ukrainian landscapes,
still lifes, and pictures that reflect
various cultures of the world. The
artist combines colorings and ornaments,
uses incrustations and elements
of small-scale plastique in
his works. He fills antique frames
with flowers, adorns old photographs
with enamel settings, as if
playing with the objects’ functional
and decorative properties. He also
executes works of different
sizes – from miniatures to meterslong
murals.
“Some of Koval’s works reach
almost two meters,” project curator
Nina Burnevych says. “Very few in
the world create this kind of monumental
enamels. Why? Because it is
difficult, for it requires endurance
and a great desire… Besides, we
should also take into account the
high price of materials (enamel
costs a dollar a gram) – not all can
afford this. But Oleksii is interested
in it.”
In general, enameling is a very
ancient art. It took Koval about ten
years to learn this technique. He
studied history and the experience
of Chinese, Italian, and Indian masters.
To improve his knowledge, he
has traveled a lot.
“I belong to the category of people
who are interested in everything,”
the artist says, “especially
when it is about learning and, moreover,
comprehending some higher,
uncommon and extraordinary
things. I have tried myself out before
in mosaics, frescoes, and paintings.
But I understood that hot
enamel is the most interesting thing,
for it expresses my thoughts and
feelings most precisely. What attracts
me very much in the process
of work is an always unexpected result,
for the impression is that you
are guided not by yourself but by the
power of fire.”
The name of Oleksii Koval is well
known both in Ukraine and abroad –
in the Middle East, Croatia, India,
and Bulgaria.
As for Lviv, this is not the first
time the artist exhibits here – he displayed
his oeuvre at the Zelena
Kanapa (“Green Sofa”) gallery in
March 2015 and January 2017.
■ The exposition at the Andrei
Sheptytsky National Museum will
remain open until July 21.
By Hanna PAROVATKINA
Photo replicas by
Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
Anew personal album, “Vladyslav
Shereshevskyi: Oeuvres”
(ArtHuss publishers) has
been presented as part of the
Kyiv Art School project. In
spite of hard times now, the artist’s
ironic muse is not silent. She is laughing
at Ukraine’s enemies and making
everybody laugh together with her.
“I allow you to rub Ben’s nose,”
Vladyslav SHERESHEVSKYI said.
He even reduced his voice almost to
whisper and, to look more convincing,
rolled his eyes childishly. We had just
said goodbye to each other after
watching his “accounting” exhibit,
“Dorobok 13-17,” at the Museum of
Kyiv History. [“Dorobok” means
“work, creation, oeuvre.” – Ed.] “Ben”
was found almost in front of the elevator
entrance on the third floor. “I
deliberately applied two layers of varnish
on his nose – let them rub it.
You’ll see that money will come to you
if you touch this nose.”
I could not resist bursting into
laughter. Only he, Kyiv’s most ironic
artist Shereshevskyi, could paint a
classy portrait of Benjamin Franklin
a la Joseph Duplessis (i.e. “like on a
100-dollar bill”) in his own unique
manner and “reinforce” his nose in
earnest because, while painting, he invented
the lucky rub story.
His bosom friends have long called
him Sherik. Once you see his pictures,
you recall his “classical” predecessors
from various countries and centuries
as well as Fedir Krychevsky, founder
of the national school of contemporary
art, and… Yet the oeuvre of the eternal
enfant terrible of Ukrainian contemporary
art Shereshevskyi is so
citable, ironic, and self-ironic that it
would be wrong to attach labels of any
“traditions” in his presence. You feel
that this looks funny. And you also
look funny.
“It’s a splendid exhibit,” the
artist says in his manner, “with the
subhead ‘Alpha painting’ because
what unites all the pictures is the
wealth of painting. For practically
everybody can see the humor, while
about 70 percent of spectators can
notice the second ‘layer.’ But, to assess
precisely the painting…”
By contrast with Shereshevskyi’s
previous major exhibit in the post-
Maidan summer of 2014, what catches
your eye at the current exposition at
the Museum of Kyiv History is an almost
total absence of the portraits of
girls and boys wearing Ukrainian embroidered
shirts and chaplets (they
are replaced by variations on the
theme of Degas’ ballerinas). In general,
there are very few Ukrainian
symbols on the new canvases. A somewhat
ostentatious, albeit very sincere
in the case of Shereshevskyi, painting
patriotism has regained a more customary
framework of playing with
classics. On the other hand, political
irony has grown into a true sarcasm.
“The ‘first layer’ of the perception
of my works is humor and fun. But
there’s a ‘second layer’ under it. Of
course, I have paraphrases from classical
painting. Here is Raphael’s Sistine
motif. And here – a whole cycle
based on the ‘great’ Vermeer. There
are also Serov’s motifs, and so many
other things. But the main thing is
synthesis in the pictures. Owing to
this combination, the funny may seem
to be sad at the same time. Well, it is
for those who are totally in the know,”
Shereshevskyi says.
We walk along the exposition, and
the artist tells me about almost each of
his works. The striptease pole dancer,
Shereshevskyi laughs
The Museum of Kyiv History hosts “Oeuvres 13-17”
YOU’D BETTER WRITE NOVELS, 2016
the heroine of the canvas with a “candy”
name Kyiv in the Evening, turns
out to be not only a symbol of today’s
Ukraine. She is also painted against
the background of a “variation” on a
landscape by Kuindzhi, which Sherik
says he painted over because “it was
too beautiful.” The children with a
baguette in hand on the picture Gift of
Bread remind me of a classical canvas
INFUSORIAN WITH SHOES ON, 2016
by the Russian realist painter Reshetnikov.
Gogol’s portrait captioned as
Our Gogol. The portrait of the Kyivborn
Golda Meir. “It is a generalized
character, not a concrete volunteer
battalion fighter,” the artist is trying
to convince me. (“The ‘third layer’ in
my pictures is when each of them sees
their own things,” he adds hastily).
Next to it are the mugs of drunken
youths (In Contact). An elderly father
with a rifle is going to war (Daddy,
Don’t Shoot!). Working-class fellows
with St. George ribbons are “culturally
relaxing” at a vodka-laden table
(Plebeiscite, Russia Today), and so on.
“I did Plebeiscite and Daddy,
Don’t Shoot! when Crimea was being
seized. Oriental Medicine was done in
early 2015, when the eastern war entered
an active phase, as was Russia
Today. And here is SOS: kids in camouflage
are sucking chupa-chups.
It’s an antiwar picture – I am saying
that it’s better for somebody to suck
chupa-chups than to shoot,” Shereshevskyi
comments. To clear the air,
I ask about the background of the
portrait of Star Wars’ Yoda who my
vis-a-vis says has found his way to
the exhibit by pure chance.
Realizing finally
what kind of world
rages outside the exhibition
halls, we
both lapse into silence
for a while.
Then I inquire whether
his pictures “in
response to the latest
events” can be kept
“for eternity.” And
he answers, perhaps
for the first time
without irony: “You
see, the Orange Revolution
didn’t have
much of an impact
on me, as far as
painting or interest
in politics are concerned.
But the latest
[revolution] had
a very strong impact.
So I paint about
what I am thinking,
what worries me the
most. I am sure it is
‘political’ painting
that will remain behind
in history. It is
being created here
and now by a person
who is taking part in the events. This
truth, this mood will never repeat.
By the way, do you remember Still Alive,
the picture I painted during the Maidan,
which shows a smiling old woman with a
Ukrainian wreath on? I was told the other
day that it is now regarded in the US
as an example of the Revolution of Dignity
painting. Can you fancy that?”
Sherik says, smiling shyly again.
I chose not to rub the nose of the
oil-painted Benjamin Franklin, even
though, of course, I lack money – like
everybody and as always. But paintings
are so nice here! You’d better come
and see them on your own and feel happy.
For it is for this purpose that
Shereshevskyi creates his pictures.
■ The master’s works are exhibited
at the Museum of Kyiv History
until July 2.
UKRAINIAN NEWS IN ENGLISH
www.day.kiev.ua incognita.day.kiev.ua
FOUNDER AND PUBLISHER:
UKRAINIAN PRESS GROUP LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Published since May 27, 1998.
Свiдоцтво про перереєстрацiю КВ № 21448-11248 ПР
вiд 27 липня 2015 року
Larysa Ivshyna, Editor-in-Chief, Den
e-mail: chedit@day.kiev.ua
Hanna Sheremet, Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Anna Mazurenko, Deputy Editor-in-Chief
for development
Anna Motoziuk, Editor,
English Language Bureau
Olha Pavliei, Technical Editor
George Skliar, Borys Honcharov, Nadia Sysiuk,
Taras Shulha, Anna Oksentiuk, Oles Petik, Translators
Marharyta Motoziuk, Designer
Alla Bober, Responsible Secretary
Mykola Tymchenko, Photography Editor
Nadia Ushakova, Director, Ukrainian Press Group LLC
Mailing address: prosp. Peremohy, 121d, Kyiv 03115, Ukraine
Telephone: +38(044) 303-96-19
Fax: +38(044) 303-94-20
Advertising: +38(044) 303-96-20; e-mail: ra@day.kiev.ua
Subscriptions: +38(044) 303-96-23; e-mail: amir@day.kiev.ua
E-mail: time@day.kiev.ua
Subscription index: 40032
Ukrainian Press Group LLC
Code 24249388
Raiffeisen Bank joint-stock company
MFO 380805
A/С 26007478064
Printed at Mega Poligraf Ltd. print
shop 12/14, Marka Vovchka St., Kyiv
(Order No. 54898)
The issue was prepared for
publication at 18:00
The Day press run: 7025
Responsibility for the accuracy of facts, quotations, personal names, and other information is borne by the authors of publications and in advertising
materials by the advertiser. The views expressed in signed articles do not necessarily reflect those of the editors. Submitted materials are not returned
and not reviewed. The editors retain the right to edit materials. When citing Day materials, reference to The Day is mandatory. ©Den.