#73_1-8

NOVEMBER 28, 2017 ISSUE No. 73 (1125)
Tel.: +38(044) 303-96-19,
fax: +38(044) 303-94-20
е-mail: time@day.kiev.ua;
http://www.day.kiev.ua
Sketch by Viktor BOGORAD
Continued on page 3
Peculiarities of the national La Piovra
Why is post-Maidan Ukraine ranked 113th out of 137 countries in an organized crime prevalence ranking?
REUTERS photo
The Day’s expert explain
why the UK government
has not recognized the
Holodomor as a genocide
“Britain does
not want
to take a
political step”
Continued on page 2
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
“An award for...
nonconformism”
Continued on page 2
Well-known journalist and Den’s contributor Natalia Ishchenko
won the James Mace Prize for Civic Journalism in 2017

2
No.73 NOVEMBER 28, 2017
“Britain does not
want to take
a political step”
The Day’s expert explain
why the UK government
has not recognized the
Holodomor as a genocide
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day
Recently, the UK Foreign
Office rebuffed the call by
the nation’s parliament
to declare the Ukrainian
Holodomor a genocide.
The government explained its
decision by the fact that the
Holodomor pre-dates the 1948
UN Convention on Genocide and
international law cannot be
applied retrospectively, the
explanation published on
Facebook by the Ukrainian
embassy in the UK reads.
The Ukrainian diplomatic
mission said it was glad that the
UK Government recognized the
severity and awfulness of Holodomor
as well as the responsibility
of the Soviet leadership for the
policies and political decisions
taken which resulted in the
famine causing the deaths of millions
of Ukrainians. At the same
time, it regretted that the UK
Government had no plans to
make a political decision or initiate
an inquiry.
In this context, we feel we
need to recall the name of the
British researcher, student of
Ukrainian issues and international
journalist Lancelot Lawton,
who authored the book The
Ukrainian Question. In his 1935
speech at the UK House of Commons,
he stated: “The chief problem
in Europe today is the
Ukrainian problem. Of deep concern
to this country because of its
effect upon European peace and
diplomacy, it is at the same time
closely bound with British interests
of a very vital nature.”
The Day asked expert to comment
on the decision of the
British government not to recognize
the Ukrainian Holodomor of
1932-33 as a genocide and to explain
how its stance could be
changed.
Ambassador of Ukraine to
the UK (2010-14) Volodymyr
Khandohii noted that the UK arguments
were purely legal in nature.
“We must accept them and
keep working with the British to
explain that the 1932-33 Holodomor
falls under the definition of
the 1948 Convention,” he said.
According to Khandohii, the
British acknowledge that it was a
manmade famine, use the word
Holodomor and as far as political
statements go, fully support us
on this issue. Our interlocutor
stressed that these issues should
be dealt with by international
lawyers who have to explain in
more detail our arguments to the
British side and “to try to win
Britain to our side.”
By Vadym LUBCHAK, The Day
During the memorial week that
honors the millions of victims
of the Holodomor – one of the
biggest disasters in the history
of Ukraine – this country is
still waging a de facto war. Day after
day, we receive reports of our defenders’
deaths in the anti-terrorist operation
area... Ukrainians are still suffering
genocide in the Donbas at the hands of
the aggressor. And since 2014, this
hybrid war has been particularly actively
accompanied by information aggression
and propaganda against this country. In
such a situation, the readiness of every
Ukrainian to show a civic position is
especially important, so the main
principle of the James Mace Prize which
has been awarded by Den since 2009 has
become particularly important in such a
trying time.
“This year, the James Mace Prize
goes to... Natalia Ishchenko,” announced
chairman of the Public Council of the
James Mace Prize, Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine,
writer Yurii Shcherbak at Den’s editorial
office.
The audience responded with loud
applause. This is the first time in the years
since the Prize started to be awarded
that a media expert, a person who,
through her professional activity, tries to
bring Ukraine’s victory closer by fighting
Russian propaganda and lies, receives
this high award.
“Today, we are awarding the James
Mace Prize for the ninth year in a row, but
we congratulate already the tenth laureate,”
said Larysa IVSHYNA, the editorin-chief
of Den/The Day. She immediately
clarified: “In 2013, the jury could not decide
on the name of one winner, so they decided
to present two awards at once to
Petro Kraliuk and Volodymyr Boiko.
“Every year we meet here, in the editorial
office of Den, to examine our media
landscapes together and determine
who is trying to promote the ideas, principles,
and views of James Mace. Of
course, this applies not only to research on
the Holodomor. Life dictates new challenges...
This year, we were preoccupied
with the fact that Ukraine is engaged in
a hybrid war. Journalism has always
been on our radar, and the Prize, in fact,
is awarded for civic journalism. As it
turned out, civic journalism in our media
is not so simple and understandable to all.
Many people remain captivated by false
pluralism and cannot decide where they
stand, where their friends are and where
are the enemies. We remember well that
for a very long time, people searched for
words in the war with Russia, and there
were many who called on us to avoid call-
By Alisa ANTONENKO
DakhaBrakha was founded by
the well-known director
Vladyslav Troitskyi. Its title
is derived from the Ukrainian
words “davaty” (to give)
and “braty” (to take), according to
Hrinchenko’s dictionary. As a music
band, DakhaBrakha was founded
specifically for the Mystical Ukraine
theater project, launched by Troitskyi
at the Dakh Center of Contemporary
Art back in 2004. The band started to
gradually broaden its artistic framework,
creating a unique style, ethnic
chaos. The songs performed in an
authentic manner combine the sounds
of numerous music instruments from
different corners of the world and
used in a variety of music genres,
such as minimalism, hip hop, soul,
and blues. The band is recording
albums, going on numerous tours,
presenting the unique culture of our
country throughout the world.
Recently DakhaBrakha has given a
concert in Washington. The Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary Ambassador
of Ukraine to the US Valerii Chalyi
awarded the artists with a letter of
honor. In a Facebook publication the
press service of the Ukrainian Embassy
to the US writes: “The audience
of nearly 700 Americans, on their side,
DAY AFTER DAY
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
“An award for... nonconformism”
Well-known journalist and Den’s contributor Natalia Ishchenko
won the James Mace Prize for Civic Journalism in 2017
ing an enemy an enemy. That is why the
clearcut determination of James Mace,
maintained despite it being difficult for
him to break through with his truth
about the Holodomor, his ability to be a
nonconformist, are especially relevant
today.
“This year, Natalia Ishchenko made a
clear civic stand, by being the first to respond
to our initiative to create a Ukrainian
Journalist Platform and support it, as
well as influencing by her example a
large number of people, particularly in the
media. And this clarity is now extremely
important. Many people still have their
values confused. I even wrote to my
friends who were affected by the aggression
of Russia and were forced to leave for
Vinnytsia with Vasyl Stus Donetsk National
University, asking: ‘Why do you invite
apologists of ‘false pluralism’ that has
plunged the country into war as public
speakers?’ It is necessary to establish a position,
to be able to say no, we must be able
to refuse their advances, avoid inviting
them or shaking their hands, and finally
create an atmosphere of intolerance for
people whose actions have led to the war.
“Once again I congratulate our laureate.
I am very glad that she is a charming,
intelligent, and principled woman. I
have read many pieces by Ishchenko, was
just sitting there for a time reading only
her texts. It is incredibly pleasant that she
is an author who is not afraid of addressing
important and acutely relevant
themes. She has the wherewithal to confront
primarily the information warfare
that Russia openly wages not only on
were greeting the Ukrainian
‘Shchedryk’ song, a Crimean Tatar
song, and a variety of other compositions
performed at one of the greatest
venues of the US capital, Strathmore
Music Center, with a storm of
applause.”
Ukraine, but also on Europe, in particular
European values, European solidarity
and tolerance. Unfortunately, this is a
very serious war and it will last for a long
time. We do not have the right to relax
and think that this is a temporary campaign.
Russia with Vladimir Putin, and
then even without him, will continue its
information aggression. They are betting
on people’s emotions, on history. Actually,
history becomes a battlefield, and
a conquering horde invades the territory
of our history, being convinced that they
have the right and can impose on us their
vision of our past. Again, history has become
a battlefield, and Ishchenko is doing
everything in order to confront this. In
particular, she urges us not to fall into the
trap of imaginary objectivity. In Europe,
they do not understand that the force opposing
them has no moral norms, no ethical
rules... This force has only one thing,
I mean a crazy false ideology, and it imposes
it on the world. Meanwhile, Europe
is accustomed to the objectivity of peacetime
and listening to all points of view.
Our laureate often acts as a ‘cold shower’
in this regard.”
“Ukraine and Ukrainians must learn
to honor their heroes adequately, and
the James Mace Prize is one example of
not only remembering the work of this
outstanding researcher, but also motivating
other people to work for Ukraine,”
said 2017 James Mace Prize winner Natalia
ISHCHENKO. “James Mace did an
immensely important job for Ukraine, and
we feel its effects these days when we remember
victims of the Holodomor.
Photo by Artem SLIPACHUK, The Day
Bravo, DakhaBrakha!
The famous Ukrainian ethnic chaos music band
gives a successful performance in Washington
Incidentally, before the performance
the diplomats and representatives
of the US Ukrainian community
volunteer organization “United
Help Ukraine” held a discussion regarding
the implementation of the
charity projects to support Ukraine.
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
“Mace had been dead for two years
when in November 2006 the Verkhovna
Rada of Ukraine declared the Holodomor
a genocide of the Ukrainian people. This
view of the tragedy is shared by the overwhelming
majority, or 77 percent of
Ukrainian citizens.
“At present, the Holodomor has been
recognized by 24 countries as a genocide
at the national level, and in a number of
countries, such decisions have been taken
by local authorities. Without the work
of Mace, all this would have been simply
impossible.
“For many years now, in the end of
November, Ukraine is united when people
from Lviv to Kharkiv, from Odesa to
Chernihiv, lit candles of memory in their
windows. We remember that this moving
tradition was proposed by Mace.
“I believe that a time will come when
his name will be given not to small lanes,
but to major streets, squares, and public
gardens of many Ukrainian cities. Although,
why should I just believe it? We
need to start working on it!
“I am proud that I will be presented
the James Mace Prize. And today it is impossible
not to mention the contribution
of Den and personally Larysa Ivshyna in
promoting Mace’s work in Ukraine. Den’s
editorial team has been carefully and
persistently gathering people who are
not indifferent, who care and tirelessly
work to get Ukraine rid of post-totalitarian
rudiments, post-colonial dependence,
and the post-genocidal syndrome.
“When we in Den began a discussion
about the importance of a journalist’s civic
stance during the war, the need to defend
the country at the information front as
well, about the Kremlin’s hybrid special
operations, which involved representatives
of international organizations as well
as, unfortunately, representatives of the
Ukrainian media community, some colleagues
asked me: was I not afraid to speak
the true, but unpleasant things that are
disliked by many reputable people? I was
very surprised, and only at that moment
I felt for real that we were making breakthroughs
here in Den, doing something
immensely important, which nobody had
done before.”
According to a good tradition, the annual
award ceremony of the James Mace
Prize, held at Den’s office, where the wellknown
journalist and researcher of the
Holodomor, who gave his name to the
prize, once worked, became a good occasion
for an open discussion involving
many friends and like-minded people,
the best journalists of this country. The
event was attended by the initiator of the
Prize, editor-in-chief of Den/The Day
Larysa Ivshyna; head of the Public Council
of the competition, Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of
Ukraine, writer Yurii Shcherbak; wellknown
writer and journalist Natalka Dziubenko-Mace,
as well as prize winners of
the previous years: Ihor Siundiukov, editor
of the “History and I” section of
Den; Ivan Kapsamun, editor of the politics
section of Den; Valentyn Torba, journalist
of the politics section of Den; researcher
of the history of culture and journalist
Serhii Trymbach, as well as scholars
and journalists Serhii Hrabovskyi
and Volodymyr Boiko.
“I am glad that Ishchenko has won
this year’s prize. And this is not only because
of feminine solidarity. This is primarily
because of her journalistic achievements,”
said the widow of Mace, wellknown
journalist and writer Natalka DZ-
IUBENKO-MACE. “The James Mace
Prize is the most important, best-ever
award in this country bestowed by our best
newspaper. It lends wings, adds optimism,
and shows that you have chosen the
right direction in life and taken an important
position in the profession. And
most importantly, you are not in it on your
own, as you have the club of laureates to
join. We light candles in our windows in
memory of the victims of the Holodomor.
These little candles become a powerful unifying
flame, give us an opportunity to feel
part of the great ocean of hearts, souls,
minds that need to be united. James
wanted this value-based unity. I thank
you, Ms. Ishchenko, as well as all the winners
of the Prize and the editorial staff,
for working and living according to the
principle of fighting for the truth.”

By Ivan KAPSAMUN,
Valentyn TORBA, The Day
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
Sociologists have surveyed
electoral preferences of the
Ukrainians. The last time they
did so was quite recently – a
month ago, when several
companies made public their results
which essentially differed from one
another. For example, it is interesting to
see electoral support for singer
Viacheslav Vakarchuk (among those
who intend to take part in the elections):
Razumkov Center – 6.6 percent, Sophia
Center – 2.7 percent, Socis Center –
14.8 percent.
“To put it mildly, I doubt the impartiality
of opinion polls,” Mykola
TOMENKO, leader of the civic movement
Native Land commented then to
Den (No. 190, October 24, 2017). “It is
in fact dangerous when the results of a
surveying company show an element of
political expediency (although I don’t
want to blame somebody). It is impossible
that serious companies, which have
been working on the market for quite a
long time and seem to be guarding their
reputation, show a difference of four or
five percent. It may be one or one and a
half percent, but not so many.”
This time the nationwide public
opinion poll was conducted by a joint effort
of four sociological survey companies:
Socis Center, Kyiv International Institute
of Sociology, Rating, and
Razumkov Center. This is supposed to increase
trust. But this time we are not focusing
on the quality of survey because
we paid sufficient attention to this last
time. “As a matter of fact, all ratings can
be impartial, but what is published and
highlighted for us is done, one way or another,
to please the customer,” Valerii
Honcharuk, chief of the Election Techniques
Department at the Situation Simulation
Agency (gs.fm), said at the time.
Let us take the fresh data. If the
presidential were held on the nearest
Sunday, Petro Poroshenko would receive
the strongest public support – 16.1 percent
of the respondents are prepared to
vote for him. Trailing him are Yulia Tymoshenko
(14.4 percent) and Sviatoslav
Vakarchuk (12.1 percent). Other candidates
would produce the following results:
Yurii Boiko and Anatolii Hrytsenko
– 9.3 percent, Vadym Rabinovych
– 7.9 percent, Oleh Liashko –
7.5 percent, Andrii Sadovyi – 5 percent,
Valentyn Nalyvaichenko – 3.3 percent,
Oleh Tiahnybok – 3 percent, and Arsenii
Yatseniuk – 1.4 percent. The ratings
were assessed on the basis of the respondents
who have made their choice
and will take part in voting. On the
whole, about 21 percent of the voters do
not know at the moment for whom to
cast their votes, and 18 percent do not
plan to vote at all.
“The votes of people are shaped by
the behavior of the politicians who speak
on television and take a clear position in
most of the burning questions of today,”
political scientist Taras BEREZOVETS
comments to The Day. “It’s no wonder
that Poroshenko and Tymoshenko are on
two of the surveys. Nor does it surprise
me that Vakarchuk also enjoys certain
support, for society is really disappointed
with old-school politicians. Accordingly,
Ukrainians are resuming the
never-ending search for a messiah. They
are looking for one among those who
haven’t been in politics or at least have
not made a name there and haven’t been
linked to the old elites. Vakarchuk is beginning
to meet this demand. But in reality
this scenario is of benefit to oligarchic
circles which will be able to
pressure Poroshenko and Tymoshenko.
And the point is not in the very person
of Vakarchuk. Anybody could be in his
place. For example, Volodymyr Zelenskyi
(leader of ‘The 95th Quarter’ TV
project), whom Ihor Kolomoiskyi supports,
does not rule out running for
the presidency. And, as far as I know,
Vakarchuk is bearing a grudge against
him for this, for he wants to position
himself as sort of a Ukrainian Macron.”
“It is also telling that the abovementioned
rating includes Vakarchuk
but not Zelenskyi,” the political scientist
continues. “This testifies to the selec-
DAY AFTER DAY No.73 NOVEMBER 28, 2017 3
tivity of those who make up these ratings.
dent,” says Maria ZOLKINA, an analyst (36 percent), unemployment (27 per-
They spotlighted Vakarchuk and at the Democratic Initiatives foundation. cent), and high utility rates (26.9 perdent,”
began to hype him as a public opinion “As Tymoshenko is Poroshenko’s real political
opponent, she is the main object lation noted the problems of corrupcent).
A considerable part of the popu-
leader and expert. His appearance in the
polls is the next stage of this promotion. of pressure. For example, she not so often
appears on TV programs now. As for cent) and medicine (22.9 percent). This
tion in the central government (22.9 per-
If the media support him, Vakarchuk
will be able to gain even more percentage Vakarchuk, it is an attempt to find one
raises a question: are the politicians
points. This percentage is only a question who stays, so to speak, outside the current
political system and, at the same
who wish to lead the country capable of
of the amount of the invested money and
resolving these problems?
the activity of the ones who deal with time, enjoys the affection of the electorate
and is a suitable opponent. If “As we can see, one of the main de-
this. It is Viktor Pinchuk who traditionally
supports Vakarchuk. The latter you look at this situation from a technological
mands of Ukrainian society is settle-
constantly appears at his forums, in-
viewpoint, it would be very op- ment of the situation in the Donbas,
Vakarchuk’s “third place”
Expert: “In reality, this scenario is of benefit to oligarchic circles
which will thus be able to pressure Poroshenko and Tymoshenko.
And the point is not in the very person of the singer…”
cluding YES. Kolomoiskyi could also invest
in Vakarchuk, but it is open to
question. In my opinion, it will surely be
Pinchuk. Incidentally, this does not
mean that Vakarchuk will necessarily be
running for the presidency. This may be
the hyping of a leader for the parliamentary
elections, i.e., the formation of
a brand new party led by Vakarchuk.
This party may include some more
Euro-optimists.”
“However, let us not forget that
Vakarchuk is not only a charismatic, but
also a choleric person, which is typical of
art figures,” Berezovets adds. “This
means that he can be rather unpredictable.
It is a grave risk for the investors
if they bring him to serious
election positions. So it seems to me that
oligarchs will be hyping up Vakarchuk
not for him to gain a victory but in order
to set up a parliamentary faction and successfully
bargain for better conditions.
It is possible to ‘drown’ all the old elites
by means of Vakarchuk and then focus
at a certain moment on, say, Tymoshenko
if she and Poroshenko qualify
for a runoff. To do so, it is enough to
recall quite obvious things, such as special
relationship with Putin, Medvedchuk,
etc.”
Notably, Vakarchuk himself has
made no statements about his presidential
ambitions, but many experts have
written about his wish to run for office.
The front man of the Okean Elzy rock
band is currently in the US. This is not
the first time he is there, let us say, to
learn to be a politician.
“Certain forces are searching today
for potential opponents of the presiportune
to take a person who is not a professional
politician and ‘make’ him one
of the main opponents of the current
president. Potentially, he can rob real
politicians of some votes because no
new real politicians are in sight, while
the old ones are setting the Ukrainian
voter’s teeth on edge. On the other
hand, a non-professional politician will
never defeat a professional one in the
elections. Vakarchuk meets both of these
conditions. I think the appearance of
Vakarchuk in these ratings is caused by
technological considerations. The ground
is being explored to find a potential rival
in the elections in order to nicely compete
with and finally defeat him or her.”
Why is Vakarchuk drawing so much
attention? Firstly, he is one of the three
leaders in the abovementioned poll, to
say nothing about the fact that the
singer’s name began to frequently occur
in all sociological surveys, even though,
let us say it again, he has never spoken
about his presidential ambitions. Secondly,
Vakarchuk is really a new face
among the aforesaid politicians. Thirdly,
and mainly, it is important to understand
what may be lying behind this
all, for a country which is constantly
cheated by politicians and is in a state of
war for the fourth consecutive year,
has no right to make mistakes.
We also want to draw your attention
to the poll data the future candidates are
sure to take into account. It is the attitude
of people to the key problems of the
country. For most of the respondents,
the most burning issues are the war in
eastern Ukraine (51.3 percent) and such
socioeconomic problems as price hike
(37 percent), low wages and pensions
Sketch by Viktor BOGORAD
i.e., the end of the war,” Zolkina says.
“But I doubt whether somebody will
manage to do this because the mechanisms
now being used to this end either
are finding no support or understanding
among the populace or are just ineffective.
First of all, I mean the Minsk negotiations.
In late December 2016, Democratic
Initiatives explored the attitude
of the populace to the way the Minsk
Agreements were being carried out.
Most of the respondents made negative
assessments. I don’t think something has
radically changed in the past year. The
majority of those polled noted that international
pressure on Russia was not
strong enough to force it to do what it was
supposed to. But neither Ukraine nor our
partners are so far prepared to apply other
methods. Yet I understand that the situation,
when we emphasize that it is so
good that Ukraine is observing ‘Minsk,’
cannot last forever. The latest developments,
particularly the draft law on regaining
sovereignty over the occupied
territories, are just an attempt of the
Ukrainian leadership to change the instruments
of pursuing its official policy
in the Donbas. This bill has a number of
positive things, but, unfortunately, it is
basically an attempt to fill the gap of the
past. In general, the informational platform
for what is going on in eastern
Ukraine is very suitable for debating and
manipulating. Moreover, this issue is
suitable to all the players, for it can be
endlessly discussed but not necessarily resolved.
The opposition can shift the
blame to the leadership and the leadership
to Russia. Nobody is exactly in a hurry
to resolve problems, especially those
of the controlled frontline territories.”
Peculiarities of the
national La Piovra
Continued from page 1 ➤
In the 1990s, gangsters exerted great
influence on this country’s life, including
its economy, politics, and society... Some
of them even joined the ruling elite and became
part of it. But has this phenomenon
disappeared in post-Maidan Ukraine?
Take a look at the latest news. On November
26, law-enforcement officers detained
more than 60 so-called “criminal
bosses” in a restaurant in Pushcha-Vodytsia,
Kyiv oblast, the National Police reports.
It notes that according to operative
information, detainees were trying to
influence the criminal situation in Kyiv
and other regions. “We checked them
all, 65 people were taken to the district police
station, and several firearms were
seized. Although all of them have valid
permits, we seized them for inspection and
relevant examinations. Many of these
people have a criminal past, so they were
all checked for involvement in criminal offenses
and being on the wanted list... Gi -
ven that such meetings have repeatedly escalated
into fights or shootouts, we have
done a preventive screening,” said the
head of the National Police’s Kyiv City Office
Andrii Kryshchenko. Also, the police
noted in its report that no detainee was
presently on the wanted list or involved in
active criminal cases, so everyone was released
after screening and ID check.
The problem is clearly still there, it is
its shape and methods that have changed.
Furthermore, Ukraine is ranked 113th out
of 137 countries with the highest prevalence
of organized crime. The ranking in
question was compiled by experts of the
World Economic Forum (WEF) (reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-in
dex-2017-2018/competiti ve nessrank
ings/#series=EOSQ035). In the
group of countries with high prevalence
of organized crime, Ukraine is located
next to African and Latin American states
(Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican
Republic, Haiti). The ranking has Salvador,
Honduras, and Venezuela at the
lower end. The WEF estimates that organized
crime has least influence in Finland,
Norway, and Oman. It is noted that
experts made the ranking based on data
for 2015-16.
■ COMMENTARY
Anton HERASHCHENKO, MP:
“I co-authored the bill on ‘thieves-inlaw,’
which clearly defined who a ‘thiefin-law’
was and established that mere
belonging to that category was already socially
dangerous. Unfortunately, it did not
get the votes needed for its passage. It is
now very difficult to prove that one or another
person is a criminal boss. As a rule,
the ‘thieves-in-law’ are never direct perpetrators,
but only give orders to commit
a crime. Meanwhile, those who are given
such orders do not name their superiors
and do not testify against them.
“They invented an important rule in
Georgia, stating that if someone identified
himself a ‘thief-in-law,’ he was automatically
sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
Meanwhile, not identifying oneself as a
‘thief-in-law’ carried similarly grave consequences
for them, only this time from
their criminal colleagues. But all these
‘thieves’ have moved to the Russian Fe -
deration. “Nowadays, the police are taking
preventive measures to detect these
‘thieves’ here. The police follow them,
their actions are monitored.
“Russia, in turn, actively uses gangsters
against Ukraine. A typical and representative
example is the murder of the
former member of the State Duma Denis
Voronenkov. This murder was organized
through the criminal boss Vladimir
Tyurin. This assassination attempt was
purported to be the revenge of Maria
Maksakova’s first husband. In fact, it was
the action of Russian special services, only
masked as regular revenge. Also, Russia
is actively using criminals, both for
gathering information and for sabotaging
and destabilizing Ukraine. “With regard
to some rankings in which Ukraine occupies
certain places, I would not pay
special attention to them, as we can also
create a ranking of our own.”
By Ivan KAPSAMUN,
Valentyn TORBA, The Day

4
No.73 NOVEMBER 28, 2017
TOPIC OF THE DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
“Thisfrontisjustasimportantasthemilitaryone”
The Day’s experts offer their assessments of the bill “On the Diplomatic Service” that has been introduced to the Verkhovna Rada
KOSTIANTYN HRYSHCHENKO HANNA HOPKO VOLODYMYR OHRYZKO IHOR PETRENKO
MARKIIAN LUBKIVSKYI
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day;
Mykola SIRUK
Last week, President of Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko made a longawaited
step for Ukrainian
diplomacy and introduced the
bill “On the Diplomatic Service”
to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for
urgent consideration.
The head of state emphasized in a
Facebook statement that passing this
law was no less important than creating
a defense strategy, approving the
Strategic Defense Bulletin and reforming
the military. “This is also our
military, but fighting on the other
front – the front of foreign policy,
which allows us to keep the coalition
united in support of Ukraine, extend
sanctions, and keep the country on the
course of reforms that bring us closer
to Europe,” he wrote.
Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin
also reacted to the news about the bill
having been introduced for consideration
by the Verkhovna Rada and
wrote on Twitter: “We will work
with the MPs so that it will receive
unanimous support, or approach
that... This is the path to the future,
to a European-modeled diplomatic
service all over.”
According to the Presidential Administration,
the bill defines the legal
status of citizens and legal entities of
Ukraine abroad, the specifics of the
activities of the diplomatic service,
the procedure for entering the diplomatic
service, service regulations and
the procedure for terminating one’s
service, and regulates the issues of remuneration
and social guarantees for
employees. In addition, according to
the document, rotation will become a
prerequisite for continuing the diplomatic
service.
The explanatory note to the bill
states that 62.6 million hryvnias of
additional spending will be required
for its implementation.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has released
the concept of the bill on its
website. It notes that reforming
Ukrainian diplomacy is necessary for
the transition from the post-Soviet
system of the diplomatic service to a
European-modeled diplomatic service,
since the bill is based on the experience
of the EU and the US. In particular,
the concept says that diplomats
will be delegated more powers, become
subject to dismissal for a one-time major
breach of official duties, and will
have to work 24 hours a day seven
days a week to protect the rights of
Ukrainian citizens.
Let us recall that the current Law
“On the Diplomatic Service” was
adopted in 2001 during the presidency
of Leonid Kuchma. Meanwhile, chairperson
of the Verkhovna Rada Committee
on Foreign Affairs Hanna Hopko
has repeatedly stressed the need for
the adoption of a new law on diplomatic
service and the introduction to
it of a provision requiring consent of
the committee before appointing ambassadors.
The Day asked Ukrainian experts,
including former and current diplomats,
to offer a more detailed analysis
and evaluation of the bill “On the
Diplomatic Service.”
■ “The proposed law creates opportunities
for the diplomatic service
to become more flexible and professional.
It is important to make a number
of clarifications regarding the
service regulations,” said Dmytro
Kuleba, the Permanent Representative
of Ukraine to the Council of Europe.
■ Former Deputy Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister of Ukraine Kostiantyn
Hryshchenko stressed in a
comment for The Day that the bill was
quite well-drafted and would enable
the government, in case of its full implementation,
to significantly improve
the efficiency of the diplomatic
service. “The only glaring flaw is a
failure to abolish the 2003 presidential
decree on the role of the Presidential
Administration in appointing to
diplomatic postings at the MFA and
abroad. These functions should be left
exclusively to the president and exercised
when appointing ambassadors,”
our interlocutor added.
● “...THE DEBATE TOOK
ALMOST TWO YEARS”
Hanna HOPKO, the chairperson of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine:
“It is very important that as we
approach the centennial of the establishment
of the diplomatic service in
Ukraine, the MFA, the president,
and the Ukrainian parliament have
the opportunity to consider and, I
hope, adopt the Law ‘On Diplomatic
Service.’
“The debate over the wording of
the bill took almost two years, there
were several versions considered. If
we look at the version registered as an
urgent bill, we clearly see the president’s
intention to specify the diplomatic
service regulations, the functions
of diplomats, rotation, diplomatic
ranks, social security guarantees,
and the procedure for terminating
one’s diplomatic service. This is
important, given that we have a law
on the civil service that came into
force in 2015. We will harmonize the
diplomatic service with what was established
in the law on civil service. It
will have a somewhat clearer classification
concerning the bestowing and
deprivation of diplomatic ranks as
well as provisions for social lifts of
sorts and compensatory payments.
“It is important to note that since
we were aware how poorly funded our
diplomats were, the committee began
campaigning for better funding back
in 2015. Some 300 million hryvnias of
additional spending were provided for
2016, and almost a billion for 2017.
The diplomatic front and funding for
it are just as important as the military
one.
“Now to what is missing from the
bill. As far back as 2015, the Committee
on Foreign Affairs introduced
amendments to Article 13 of the Law
‘On the Diplomatic Service,’ where
we, in particular, stated the need for
consultations on the approval of candidates
for appointment to the positions
of heads of diplomatic missions
with the relevant committee of the
legislature. This is a well-established
international practice, and it was reflected
in the 2001 Law of Ukraine
‘On the Diplomatic Service.’ For example,
in the US, the Senate confirms
ambassadors, and only then the president
appoints the candidates.
“During the preparation and adoption
of the updated Law ‘On the Diplomatic
Service’ in 2011, then-President
Viktor Yanukovych succeeded in
deleting the norm that required consulting
with the relevant committee
regarding the approval of candidates
and appointment to the positions of
heads of diplomatic missions of
Ukraine.
“Therefore, since 2015, we have
been trying to reinstate this norm
both through separate bills and during
all the meetings in the working
group headed by twice Minister of
Foreign Affairs Borys Tarasiuk. This
is an absolutely normal practice. And
it is quite logical in a parliamentarypresidential
republic, because it will
facilitate the implementation of the
control function by the committee
and the establishment of cooperation
between the committee and the MFA.
Many ambassadors have volunteered
to come to the committee already
when they were appointed to their
posts but before moving to another
country, and requested us to help
them perform their functions during
inter-parliamentary visits. Therefore,
parliamentary control is an important
institution of global parliamentarism.
“The committee plans to consider
the bill in the next few weeks. So far,
we have written letters to relevant
ministries asking them to provide
feedback, visions, suggestions, and
evaluations.
“Another very important norm is
absent from this bill, but we have discussed
it with the MFA: we need the
Law ‘On Foreign Economic Activity’
to clarify all the issues regarding
trade missions and responsibility of
the Ministry of Economy and Trade
and the MFA for conducting economic
activity, which effectively amounts to
the economization of foreign policy.
This will have to be worked out in the
future.”
In your opinion, will the bill pass
and what should be done in order to
secure the support of legislators?
“First, it needs to be considered by
the relevant committee as people will
be making suggestions. There may be
amendments proposed as well, for example,
to reinstate the provision on
preliminary advisory consultations
regarding the approval of candidates
for the appointment as heads of diplomatic
missions of Ukraine, given the
fact that many members of the committee
have insisted on this. This is
something that can become one of the
most controversial issues.
“Rotation is an important issue
too. For example, our ambassador at
the Vatican has been in office for nine
years. Therefore, it is good to see the
imperative rotation being introduced.
No ambassador should stay in one
country for so many years, since it
makes them divorced from realities in
Ukraine and lacking an understanding
what nation they represent.
“I think that the president should
simply carry out his duties with or
without a new law ‘On the Diplomatic
Service.’ The president should appoint
ambassadors and not delay it
like he has done over the past three
years of his presidency, when we saw
how long-delayed was Vadym Prystaiko’s
appointment as Ambassador
of Ukraine to NATO. This is despite
the course for NATO membership being
a priority of this country’s foreign
policy.
“In addition, there will be a major
reform conference in Denmark next
year, aiming to support the reform
cause in Ukraine, and its previous iteration
was held in London this summer.
We have learned that there is
still no ambassador in Denmark, although
the Danes, together with
Canadians and Britons, are already actively
preparing this conference,
which will allow Ukraine to talk about
reforms and obstacles we face. And we
still do not have an ambassador there.
“Similarly, there are not enough
deputy ministers. While we are facing
external aggression, there are only
two deputy foreign ministers. This is
totally unacceptable. The fault here
lies not with this law, but with the
president being unable to find time
and finally approve people as important
deputies. Currently, deputy minister
Lana Zerkal represents Ukraine
in international court proceedings,
while Serhii Kyslytsia deals with international
organizations. At a minimum,
we need two or three more
deputies in the MFA.”
● “THE STATE SECRETARY
WILL HAVE A COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT ROLE”
Volodymyr OHRYZKO, a former
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:
“I think it is timely. A lot of time
has passed, a lot has changed in and
around the diplomatic service since
the adoption of the current version of
the law. What is now offered in the
new version of the law is a set of novelties.
If it is adopted in this wording,
it will take into account a number of
initiatives of the MFA and not only it,
because a working group was formed
which included both representatives
of the parliament and public activists
and experts, specialists from other departments.
That is, this was a collective
work which was then transferred
to the Presidential Administration,
and the president introduced it as his
proposal. I think that if the parliament
makes such a step, this will be
important also from the point of view
of the centennial of Ukrainian diplomacy,
which we will celebrate in December.
That is, it will be a fitting
present for Ukrainian diplomacy.
“There are many things in the bill
that will make the system more efficient,
including the state secretary
who will have a completely different
role and act under the political leadership
of the minister, which we did not
have before. That is, there are many
things in it that are right and will help
make our system of diplomatic service
more advanced and civilized. Not all
proposals have got into the bill. It
means that they will have to wait.
There were proposals of a revolutionary
nature, but, apparently, their
time has not come yet, and society is
not ready for them.
“As for the question of delaying
the appointment of Ukrainian ambassadors
abroad, the new wording of the
law, if it is adopted as I saw it, will resolve
this issue. After all, the docu-

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
TOPIC OF THE DAY No.73 NOVEMBER 28, 2017 5
ment specifies precise deadlines for
the introduction of decisions for consideration
and their approval.”
● “THE LAW IS PROGRESSIVE,
BUT IT HAS SOME FLAWS”
Ihor PETRENKO, an expert
of the International Centre
for Policy Studies:
“Work on the text of the bill lasted
for almost two years. Back in 2016,
Klimkin spoke about the bill ‘On the
Diplomatic Service’ being introduced
to parliament soon, but in reality it
only happened at the end of 2017.
“The main mission of the bill ‘On
the Diplomatic Service’ is to establish
new legal and organizational principles
for the functioning of the diplomatic
service as a civil service of a special
nature, including service regulations,
the functions of diplomats, rotation,
diplomatic ranks, social security
provisions, the procedure for termination
of one’s diplomatic service.
In addition, there is an objective need
to harmonize the diplomatic service
with the new law on the civil service.
“Since diplomats serve both in
Ukraine and abroad, including in
troubled countries, the bill envisages
taking into account the health status,
psychological stability, and the availability
of opportunities to spend time
with the family. It also establishes
that all diplomats should be proficient
in at least two foreign languages, one
of them being English, regardless of
their position. Meanwhile, a regular
civil servant should only be proficient
in a foreign language if they belong to
the A category.
“To enable accelerated service
communication and interaction, the
bill provides for the delegation of
broader powers to each employee who
is entrusted with decision-making. It
also introduces: European experience
of autonomous provision of housing
and consumer services abroad; unregulated
working day abroad; the possibility
of dismissal for a one-time major
breach of official duties; imperative
rotation, meaning the obligation
to transfer to other organs of the
diplomatic service if required by the
service; opening the diplomatic service
for qualified candidates; annual
assessments of the Key Performance
Indicators; regular confirmation of
qualification level; assessments of
the level of proficiency in foreign
languages in accordance with the
Common European Framework of Reference
for Languages: Learning,
Teaching, Assessment.
“The bill should be considered by
the relevant committee, which will
make recommendations and possibly
propose amendments. After that, it
will be introduced to the full chamber
and evaluated by all the people’s representatives.
“In general, the law is progressive,
but it has certain flaws, in particular a
lack of the provision for consultations
on the approval of candidates for appointment
to the positions of heads of
diplomatic missions with the relevant
committee of the legislature.”
● “THE BILL IS IN LINE WITH
CONTEMPORARY
EUROPEAN AND WORLD
PRACTICE”
Markiian LUBKIVSKYI, a Ukrainian
diplomat, former Ambassador
of Ukraine to Croatia:
“Two and a half years after Foreign
Minister of Ukraine Pavlo
Klimkin said on August 21, 2015 that
the bill ‘On the Diplomatic Service’
was ready, this important act has
every chance to become law before the
100th anniversary of the Ukrainian
diplomatic service, which we will celebrate
on December 22 this year.
“Not being, in general, a supporter
of timing passage of documents to
certain dates, I still believe that enacting
this law can become an important
event in the life of Ukrainian
diplomacy and diplomats, legal protection
of their work and life. As an
employee of the diplomatic service
with almost 15 years of experience, I
want to share some of my thoughts on
this bill. What have I liked in it? My
first impression from the bill came
from its legal ‘harmony,’ which is determined
by the clarity of terms, classifications,
functions and definitions,
as well as their harmonious relationship
with the norms of the law on the
civil service.
“I saw important and well-worded
provisions on social security for the
diplomatic staff and members of their
families, healthcare services and conditions
on an assignment abroad. This
concerns, first and foremost, important
guarantees for the other spouse
regarding employment at the location
of the diplomatic service employee’s
assignment, their return after a longterm
assignment, and the education of
children.
“I approve the norm stating that
‘the Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Ukraine is the highest
official representative of Ukraine,
who exercises general management,
coordination, and control over the activities
of officials and other employees
of the Embassy of Ukraine,
heads of other foreign diplomatic institutions
of Ukraine in the host state,
as well as officials and other persons,
members of delegations of Ukraine
who are in that state in performance
of official duties.’ This should help to
avoid rather frequent administrative
problems in missions, in particular regarding
cooperation with representatives
of other departments, primarily
uniformed services.
“The bill contains a number of important
and interesting innovations. It
is important that it regulates the issue
of resignation, legal and social protection
of high-ranking diplomats who
have decided to terminate their diplomatic
work in that way. The introduction
of the diplomatic position of the
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of Ukraine resident in Kyiv
is an interesting prospect as well.
“I also approve the bill providing
diplomats with the rank of Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of Ukraine with the right to stay
in service beyond the age limit of 65.
“What is missing? It would be important
to introduce the practice of
approving candidates for the highest
diplomatic posts in parliament, including
in the relevant committee.
Here I share the opinion of chairperson
of the Verkhovna Rada Committee
on Foreign Affairs Hanna Hopko.
Such approval hearings could be open
to the public and the media, like in the
US practice, where the Senate confirms
ambassadors, and only then the
president appoints the candidates.
“It is also worth considering introducing
the concept of ‘imperative
rotation’ for ambassadors which
would limit the term of their stay in
the host country, for example, by
linking it to one presidential term. In
the context of modern ‘cacophony’ in
matters of international politics, it
would be advisable to consider introducing
a ‘one voice policy’ norm in international
relations of Ukraine, so
that the position of the state would be
voiced by assigned competent persons,
and not by everyone who wants
to do it. This could become a deterrent
acting to protect the state from suffering
international harm, as is often
the case today.
“In general, the bill is in line with
contemporary European and world
practice. The main thing is that, once
it comes into force, it needs to be
faithfully executed, and together with
proper funding of the important work
performed by diplomats, these are
probably my key suggestions.”
THE APPEARANCE OF NOVY URENGOY SCHOOLBOY NIKOLAI DESYATNICHENKO IN GERMANY’S BUNDESTAG
CAUSED AN EXPLOSION OF PATRIOTIC IDIOTISM IN THE RUSSIAN INTERNET. ALL THE BOY TOLD GERMAN MPs IS
THAT MANY OF THE WEHRMACHT SOLDIERS, WHO FOUGHT ON THE EASTERN FRONT, WERE NOT GUILTY AND WERE
THEMSELVES VICTIMS OF THE WAR
By Igor YAKOVENKO, Moscow,
special to The Day
Russians never betray
their own people,” “It is our
people in Donetsk and
Luhansk, and we are not
“The
indifferent about what is
happening to them” – Russia has been
occupying a part of the Ukrainian
territory and waging an aggressive war
against Ukraine for almost four years
under these screams from Putin’s
television.
Something unclear is going on in the
“LNR” for the third consecutive day.
“Interior Minister” Igor Kornet says that
a large grouping of Ukrainian saboteurs
was exposed and some people in the
“LNR” leader Igor Plotnitsky’s inner
circle were arrested for wrongdoings.
Plotnitsky himself claims that Kornet is
no longer a minister but an impostor
who is trying to stage a military coup.
Luhansk is occupied by Kornet’s militants
supported by their counterparts from
the neighboring “DNR.” They stormed the
“LNR’s prosecution office” and arrested
its top executives. The Kremlin has been
silent for three days, except for Peskov’s
mumblings that what is going on is an internal
affair of the “LNR” and the Kremlin
is closely watching the situation.
The Russian media seemed to be
watching the Zimbabwe coup under a microscope.
The Russians divided into three
groups. Some supported Mugabe, others
liked his wife Grace, still others looked
forward to Mnangagwa, who has such a
nice “stage name” as Crocodile, coming to
power. Now all the Russian media are
full of news from Syria, celebrating the
triumph of Russian weapons for more
than one day. This is what they call genocide
against the Syrian people – in a
country absolutely alien to Russia.
There is not a word, not a line in the
Russian media about what is going on in
the “LNR.” The words “LNR” and Luhansk
were missing from website of the main
state-run news agency RIA Novosti on November
23, 2017. They report very much
and joyfully on Syria, sadly on the US and
Europe (the article is titled “Apocalypse
Today”), indignantly on Ukraine, indifferently
on Puigdemont, but say not a
word about the “LNR,” so dear and
beloved only yesterday.
I waited impatiently for Solovyov’s
TV program “Evening” on November 22,
in a hope that he will tell us everything
and explain which of the two – Plotnitsky
or Kornet – is the Ukrainian saboteur over
there in Luhansk and what attitude we
should take to the interference of Zakharchenko’s
militants into the absolutely
internal affairs of an absolutely sovereign
and independent “LNR” – moreover, by
all accounts, in no way on the side of the
“legitimately elected” Plotnitsky.
Not a single word about Luhansk in
the three-hour-long program… To avoid
this subject, Solovyov even denied himself
the pleasure – for the first time in the last
while – of slinging mud at Ukraine. Only
Syria and the information war with
America.
Information war to... the last child
The information war somewhat went
awry last week. The Czech President Milos
Zeman, Putin’s main lobbyist in
Europe, came under the friendly fire of
Putin’s media. Specially on the occasion
of his visit to Russia, the Zvezda (“Star”)
TV channel posted on its website a column
by Leonid Maslovsky who says the Czechs
should be grateful to the USSR for moving
in troops in 1968 because, as
Maslovsky knows only too well, “the deployment
of troops prevented the West
from staging a coup d’etat in Czechoslovakia.”
According to this author, the
crisis in Czechoslovakia was caused by the
coming of Nikita Khrushchev to power,
and his report on the cult of personality
at the 20th Congress of the CPSU was “a
grandiose victory of Western special
services and their fifth column inside the
USSR.” Moreover, Maslovsky knows that
the Czechs and the related Slovaks are old
enemies of the Russians. He writes with
hatred in his article about how much
Russian blood was spilled during the war
through the fault of Czechoslovakia…
Unlike the Russians, the Czechs
have not yet got used to this manic delusion.
Therefore, Czech citizens began to
demand that Zeman cut short his visit to
the country, where state-run media meet
him with this kind of publications. Zeman
chose not to bother Putin with such
a trifle and vented his anger on
Medvedev. The latter immediately dissociated
himself from this, saying that
“we have nothing to do with the article’s
author.” “Nothing to do” indeed – Zvezda
is a state-run TV channel; moreover,
it is run by the state in which Medvedev
is the head of government.
It is Vladimir Pozner who suddenly
rose to defend the information troops. The
veteran crawled out of his deep foxhole
and threw fearlessly a grenade in the US
direction. On November 20 he published
an article, “They Are Just Afraid of the
Information the RT Channel Reports,” on
Moscow Echo’s website. Pozner revealed
many interesting things in this small
text. Firstly, he equated the decision of
the US Congress to consider RT a foreign
agent with the Soviet practice to jam
Western radio stations. As it is impossible
to believe that Pozner can see no difference
between the Soviet jam station and
the status of a foreign agent, we can only
conclude that the “guru” is banally lying.
Besides, Pozner claims that “RT is
propagandistic in content, but no more
than were the ‘voices’ jammed in the Soviet
Union.” Maybe, this text is intended
for those who were born very recently and
do not know what the “enemy voices”
meant for Soviet people in the ocean of
propaganda lies. Pozner is perhaps convinced
that, among those who will read his
text, there will be very few people who can
compare the media spaces of the USSR
and the US as well as the content of RT
and that of the BBC, DW, or Radio Liberty.
Or, maybe, Pozner finds it hard to
accept that it is very difficult to lie and,
at the same time, keep one’s reputation intact
in today’s Russia. In any case, he has
been doing this thoroughly bad lately.
By contrast with Pozner, Solovyov has
never had a reputation, so he bathes in the
waves of lies and hatred for hours on end
with sheer delight, making an endless
show out of these two components.
“Evening” was rolling down a well-trodden
path on November 22. At first, Zhirinovsky
announced that the meeting of
Putin, Erdogan, and Rouhani in Sochi was
Yalta 2 and explained that Putin is the Stalin
of today, Erdogan is standing in for Roosevelt,
and the Iranian leader Rouhani is
none other than Sir Winston Churchill in
this troika. Solovyov and his “experts”
liked the analogy, and everybody began to
exalt Mr. Zh. for having written so well
about everything in his book The Last Dash
to the South. Mr. Zh. listened favorably to
congratulations and announced the establishment
of a union of five states: Russia,
Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Then he
advised all the Turks, Kurds, Persians, and
Arabs to learn the Russian language.
Orientalist Satanovsky decided to
jump on Mr. Zh.’s bandwagon and suggested
that he write the book The Last
Dash to the West, expressing confidence
that, while Russia finally, albeit not immediately,
dashed to the south, it will
surely dash to the West if Mr. Zh. writes
this book. Mr. Zh. accepted the suggestion
with a reservation. The chief Liberal Democrat
said the new book would be titled
The Last Spit on the West. Then Mr. Zh.
demanded that the medal “For Victory in
Syria” be instituted and awarded to him.
Then, at the end, they all berated the
Western media for the dominance of
propaganda and praised the State Duma
for giving them no quarter. Everything
would have been excellent but for Gozman.
Solovyov had not been inviting this Gozman
for a long time, and rightly so. But
this time he invited him and clearly wished
he had not done so because this Gozman,
who had been invited after a long pause to
a prestigious patriotic society, suddenly
congratulated the mother and teachers of
an Urengoy schoolboy. Everybody immediately
understood which one. We in Russia
have an Urengoy schoolboy who, speaking
at the Bundestag, pitied a German soldier
who died in Soviet captivity more than
70 years ago, instead of cursing him. The
entire patriotic Russia is now baiting this
boy, and prosecutors are going to inspect
his school and his likely connections with
Ukraine. There are even proposals to
change government in the region where
this weed grows. And now this Gozman is
siding with him and saying some codswallop
about the humanist traditions of Russian
culture in a state-run channel’s program!
Naturally, Solovyov lost his temper
and began to shout that it is necessary to
inspect the school of this degenerate and
hang them all out to dry.
As is known, there are no rules in information
wars. No one is taken prisoner
here, and the war is waged to the last living
boy.

6
No.73 NOVEMBER 28, 2017
CLOSE UP
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
Sources for the energy of changes
By Mariana VERBOVSKA
The 23rd UN Climate Change Conference in
Bonn, Germany, came to a close on
November 17. It was the largest forum ever
held in Germany. Representatives of 197
countries, which had ratified the Paris
Agreement, were working out for two weeks the
concrete mechanisms that would help combat
climate change.
“We have two options: either to find a new
planet or to protect ours from anthropogenic interference.
Climate is now changing faster than
we manage to explore all the impacts and consequences
of this change for both ecosystems and
humankind. This is why it is very important that
all negotiations are productive,” says Svitlana
Krakovska, representative of Ukraine on the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC).
● PARTICULARITIES
OF THE CONFERENCE
This year the UN Climate Change Conference
was to be held in the Republic of Fiji, but the archipelago
turned out unprepared to receive
25,000 people. So it was decided to relocate the
forum to Bonn, the seat of the Secretariat of the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
To admit all the conference participants, the
city put up pavilions with an overall area of
55,000 square meters, while the organization of
this event cost a total 117 million euros.
Fiji still presided over the conference because
climate change poses a serious threat to
the very existence of the archipelago consisting
of about 300 islands. Fiji was struck by Cyclone
Winston in 2016 which left 13,000 residents
homeless and 42 people dead.
The most resounding event just a day before
the conclusion of the UN climate talks in Bonn
was the announcement of the UK and Canada
about forming the Powering Past Coal Alliance
aimed at phasing out coal from power generation
before 2030 and switching to renewable sources
of energy.
Austria, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Portugal, Costa Rica, Finland,
France, Italy, the Marshall Islands, Mexico,
Switzerland, as well as Vancouver, Alberta,
Washington, British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario
joined the alliance. Fiji, the COP23 host,
also became a party to the alliance.
● WHAT IS THE ROLE
OF UKRAINE AT THE TALKS?
This year Ukraine delegated 19 representatives
with Ostap Semerak, Minister of Environmental
Protection and Natural Resources, at the
head to the talks.
What benefit Ukraine reaped from the 23rd
UN Climate Change Conference
The minister said in his official speech that
“in spite of Russian aggression, the government
and the people are determined to resolve
the problem of climate change and low-carbon
development.” He also pointed out that
Ukraine is ready to support Poland in preparing
the UN Climate Change Conference 2018
but did not specify what this support will consist
in.
In addition to the official delegation, representatives
of nongovernmental organizations,
including the Ukrainian Climate Network,
also attended this conference.
“Our No. 1 task is to analyze the course of
the talks, the attitudes of other countries, and
to assess our country’s position. If we don’t do
this, all kinds of things can be said in Ukraine –
so we are trying to form an independent position
of our own,” says Iryna Stavchuk, executive
director NGO Ekodiya and coordinator
of Climate Action Network organizations in
Eastern Europe, who has been attending UN
conferences since 2006.
According to the climate change expert, if
activists notice that a country is taking a destructive
attitude, they try to meet the official
delegation and explain to the public why this
attitude is out of place.
“We are working very actively with the
Ukrainian government in the field of power efficiency
because we share the same goal. As for
the climate sphere, I can’t say we share the goal
with the Ukrainian delegation. Although the
delegation of Ukraine represents the interests
of the environmental protection ministry, it in
fact serves the ministry of energy whose goal
is not to take commitments and not to promise
any actions,” Stavchuk explains.
The expert emphasizes that Ukraine promises
within the framework of the Paris Agreement
to essentially reduce emissions, but it no
longer needs to do so. For, in reality, our economy
has fallen do deeply since 1990 that this
“reduction” in fact means a 40-percent rise in
emissions.
On its part, the Ministry of Environmental
Protection assures us that it is a justifiable target,
taking into account the military and political
situation in the country and the necessity
to revitalize the economy and raise the living
standards.
At the same time, independent experts emphasize
that some of the ministry’s actions are
positive, for example, the fact that Ukraine is
one of the first European countries to have fully
ratified the Paris Agreement. Besides, Minister
of Environmental Protection and Natural
Resources Ostap Semerak said during the climate
talks that Ukraine is prepared to revise
the national emissions reduction target.
“It is necessary now to integrate the question
of climate and emissions reduction into
various economic sectors and into the strategies
of agriculture and forestry. It is up to the Ministry
of Environmental Protection and Natural
Resources to put this information across,”
Ukrainian Climate Network activists say.
● WHAT CLIMATE CHANGES ARE
AFFECTING UKRAINE?
Photo by Oleh NYCH
Svitlana Krakovska, senior research associate
at the Ukrainian Hydro-Meteorological Institute
affiliated with the State Service for
Emergencies and the National Academy of
Sciences, representative of Ukraine on the IPCC,
says that Ukrainians could have particularly felt
climate changes in the past few years.
“First of all, extreme weather phenomena
are on the rise. Early frosts may come after relatively
high temperatures, and the plants that
have already grown and even blossomed will be
destroyed,” Krakovska says.
The pattern of precipitations is changing.
The Ukrainians can also see a paradoxical phenomenon:
droughts and extremely heavy rainfalls
are on the rise at the same time. To avoid
negative consequences, it is necessary, in particular,
to modernize urban sewerages which are
incapable now of receiving a month’s rate of
rainfall in a day.
“The latest research in Europe shows that
summer heat waves mostly affect urban
dwellers, especially those who live on the uppermost
stories of high-rises. And the majority of
Ukraine’s population reside in the cities,” the
climatologist says.
According to the Ukrainian Hydro-Meteorological
Center, the average yearly temperature
has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius and the average
winter temperature by almost 2 degrees Celsius
in the past 20 years. These changes have already
disrupted the rhythm of seasonal phenomena,
such as snowfalls, springtime floods, blossoming,
and duration of the vegetation period as a
whole. Experts forecast further increases in
yearly maximum and minimum temperatures –
in other words, winters will be milder and shorter
and summers longer and hotter.
This will reduce the productivity of agriculture,
one of Ukraine’s most important economic
sectors, and the amount of potable water, as well
as increase the number of forest fires.
● WHY IS CLIMATE CHANGING?
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) data
show that our planet has lost a half of its biodiversity
in the past 40 years due to anthropogenic
interference and climate change.
Climate changes have been caused by human-induced
carbon dioxide emissions into the
atmosphere. About 2,000 researchers have
been addressing this problem for about
20 years within the framework of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change. This
organization was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 2007 for research in the sphere of climate
change.
These researchers also include Ukrainian
experts. Academics analyze all the achievements
in the field of climate change and publish
a comprehensive report once in five or six
years, which includes assessments and climate
forecasts. The latest one was published in
2015.
The latest research shows that the level of
oceans will rise owing to the melting of glaciers
and small islands will soon go under water.
Among other consequences are a large number
of extreme weather phenomena. Droughts, tornadoes,
floods, and tsunamis are in store for us.
● WILL UKRAINE BE ABLE TO SWITCH
TO THE RENEWABLE SOURCES
OF ENERGY?
The power-generation sector accounts for
about 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.
Nuclear and coal-fired power plants are the main
pollutants of Ukraine. If this country gives them
up, it will not only reduce its contribution to
global pollution, but also gain energy independence.
“In fact, this is the only option for us, taking
into account the events in the east,” Stavchuk
says convincingly.
As of 2015, renewable sources accounted for
a mere 4 percent of the gross final consumption
of energy resources in Ukraine. This indicator
was at a level of 20 percent in the world and almost
the same in the European Union.
“When we were entertaining the idea of
Ukraine switching to renewable sources, we were
looked at as if we were mad,” Oksana Aliieva,
coordinator of the Climate Change and Energy
Policy program of the Heinrich Boell Foundation
Ukraine, recalls. “So we seriously pondered almost
two years ago on a research that would
show whether Ukraine could switch to alternative
power generation.”
The Heinrich Boell Foundation Ukraine requested
the Ukrainian Institute of Economics
and Forecasting to do the necessary calculations
on the basis of the information of governmental
organizations and the related associations, as
well as all the available research materials in
Ukraine on this matter.
“We can already see a steep drop in the cost
of the technologies to gain solar energy. Forecasts
show that the technologies of solar, wind,
and geothermal energy will be dramatically
falling in cost. At the same time, the cost of coal
will be on the rise. All this will encourage the development
of alternative power generation,”
Aliieva comments.
Experts concluded after longtime research
that Ukraine could give up fossil fuels before
2050 and bring the share of “green energy” to
meet its energy needs up to 91 percent. The details
of this report were made public in Bonn as
part of the presentation of the study “Ukraine’s
Transition to Renewable Power Generation before
2050.”
This transition will be made above all at the
expense of solar, wind, and biomass energy. The
scenario calls for investments worth 220 billion
euros until 2050, which is almost twice the investments
that will be made if there are no
changes in the country’s energy sector. But, in
reality, it is not so large an amount. For example,
it will cost the state 7 billion euros to build a
new nuclear power station, so this should not be
done. Instead, a part of investments in renewable
power generation can be made at the expense
of fossil fuel purchase savings.
“There were different reactions to this scenario,”
Aliieva says. “Of course, there are lobbyists
of fossil-fuel and nuclear energy in Ukraine,
who will in no way accept these results and will
consider them inappropriate. But we know that
our scenario is an instrument that will help encourage
this country to raise their goals in the
use of the renewable sources of energy.”

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
CULT URE No.73 NOVEMBER 28, 2017 7
By Maria PROKOPENKO, The Day
Raisa Bochlen, a typist with the
Glavsevmorput [Soviet bureaucratic
acronym of the
Chief Directorate of the Northern
Sea Route. – Ed.], was
arrested and then executed on charges
of espionage for Japan in 1937. The
whole case was completely and hairraisingly
absurd. She is young, pretty,
and very much alive, standing on the
street in a motley, then trendy dress,
in Moscow-based artist Hassan
Bakhaev’s collage.
Hassan Bakhaev uses old blackand-white
photos with victims of the
Great Purge [a.k.a. the Great Terror],
also modern pictures. It all started
when he saw a photo of Tamara Litsinskaya
on Facebook’s “Immortal Barrack”
page. She was shot by an NKVD
firing squad when she was 27 years
old. He made several collages with
Tamara and other Great Purge victims.
He posted them on the eve of the
Day of Remembrance of the Victims of
Political Repressions and received
19,000 “likes” and 12,500 reposts.
People wrote from various continents,
sharing their old, yet still disturbing
memories.
In fact, responses to his project
ranged from praise to accusations of
sacrilege. The artist says those who
accused him knew little about the subject.
Others sent photos of their executed
relatives for further projects.
Back in the 1930s, people often
fell prey to the repressive government
machine due to tragic coincidences.
Some would crack the “wrong” kind of
joke at the office, others would treat
someone living next door in manner
that offended the neighbor – in each
case letters were written and sent to
the NKVD [and arrests, GULAG or a
firing squad followed]. When I met
with Hassan Bakhaev, we mostly
spoke about happy coincidences due to
which his Facebook project had
evolved as one entitled “Memory That
Has Come Alive,” turning hair-raising
statistics into life histories, telling
about those people who were so very
much like us today.
● FACES THAT LOOK MORE
MODERN ARE PREFERRED
People from the past, so
very much like us today
Russian artist Hassan Bakhaev places
Great Purge victims in modern setting
A COLLAGE WITH TAMARA LITSINSKAYA AND HER PHOTO THAT STARTED THE
PROJECT “MEMORY THAT HAS COME ALIVE.” HASSAN BAKHAEV MANAGED
TO MEET TAMARA’S GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER WHO LIVES IN BELGIUM AND
WHO LIKED THIS WORK
Mr. Bakhaev, you wrote that
there were a lot of coincidences involved
in your project, including the
very idea. Anyway, you must’ve taken
an interest in the history of [Stalin
regime] purges.
“I certainly did. I take a liberal
stand and I’m scared by such phenomena.
Past and present, they make me
feel very uncomfortable. There is also
the matter of empathy. I’ve spent
quite some time studying historical
data. I’m not a researcher, but I
signed in for the ‘Immortal Barrack’
page. My great- and grandparents
were victims of the Great Purge, so
this topic is close to me.
“However, conceiving the idea of
the project was nothing but a coincidence.
Another coincidence was that I
made the project two days before the
Day of Remembrance of the Victims of
Political Repressions marking the
80th anniversary of the Great Purge.
I had no idea at the time and posted
the first collages on October 26. On
October 29, I learned that October 30
was the date.
“Other coincidences would follow.
Recently, I received a message from
Irish musician and actor Steve Wall.
He said he was impressed, that he had
seen Tamara Litsinskaya’s photo and
that it had inspired him to record a
single with his rock band, The Stunning.
In fact, he used practically the
same words I’d used two weeks before,
when being interviewed by various
channels, among them Dozhd.
“I had to make a separate page for
the project because the amount of responses
was way above my boldest expectations.
Lots of ‘likes’ came as a
very pleasant surprise, although some
called into question the project’s ethical
aspect. That was something well to
be expected. People tend to discuss subjects
they know – or care – little about.
None of these critics had any relatives
as victims of the Great Purge.
“On the second day after posting
the collages, I found myself in touch
with a lady in New Zealand. She was
born in what was then Czechoslovakia
and was now a human rights activist.
She invited me to stage an exhibit in
New Zealand. We agreed on technical
arrangements and she said she’d get in
touch with a friend in Germany to clarify
certain aspects. The next day she
wrote that when she’d sent the files to
her friend, he replied that he knows
Tamara Litsinskaya’s great-granddaughter
who lives in Belgium, that her
name is Anna Buyevich, that she is a
musician, and that they had studied at
the same institute. He then showed her
the photos, we got in touch, and I asked
if she liked the project. She replied that
she did, and that she thought her
grandmother Tamara would have approved.
“Events appear to be taking place to
help with the project. I had an interview
with a German from Channel
ARTE. By then I’d realized that I need
archival data and was trying to figure
out the sources. It was then the German
journalist called, asking for an interview.
I explained the situation and he
promptly got me in touch with the Memorial
[a Russian historical and civil
rights society that operates in a number
of post-Soviet states. – Ed.]. They provided
me with the data I needed. See,
one thing leads to another…”
What are your criteria when
choosing a photo for your collage?
“The whole project was inspired by
Tamara Litsinskaya’s photo. Her face.
There were also photos with young attractive
people. I found myself wishing
to make a collage or two. Youth and
physical attractiveness are always very
strong factors (although I’m now focusing
on older people). In my case,
their life histories weren’t important
because they were very much alike – regardless
of their social status and occupation,
be it a metalworker, plumber,
whatever – they were all arrested on absurd
charges and executed.
“I choose photos with faces that
look more modern, that can be placed
in the modern setting. There are faces
best described as being out of time,
they are so charismatically beautiful.
Well, I can do only so much. In order
to convey the horrors of that period, I
have to use images that are easily
identified by the current viewer. People
realize that there is a brief historical
period between what happened
then and what’s happening now, that
those young men and women who fell
prey to the Great Purge were practically
no different from their counterparts
today. My project was aimed at
conveying this message – and it
proved a sudden success.”
Did you include photos of your
purged relatives into the project?
“I have a photo of my maternal
great grandfather by the name of
Sergei Malolichenko and I’ve included
it in a collage. He wasn’t shot but died
of some disease in a prison camp. The
photo is of a very poor quality, so I’ll
have to work on it. I included and
posted it because some wrote that I
wasn’t involving my relatives…”
● GREAT PURGE THEME:
STILL TOPICAL
How are you handling modern
photos?
“I download them, lots of them on
the Internet. I choose people by complexion.
As an artist, I can see what face,
physique, and angle is right. When I put
all this together, the images appear to
come alive. I deliberately keep the faces
in black-and-white. First, I didn’t know
how to work the colors when I started on
the project, so that was the only solution
to the problem. Later, this approach
proved the only right one, as it erased the
difference between the black-and-white
and color photos, producing an unusual
effect. Otherwise, faces in the color
photos would be just faces in regular color
pictures.”
You’re receiving messages from
various countries. Do you think that the
Great Purge theme is still topical?
“It has always been topical in Russia.
There are many people whose relatives
were purged. I’ll always remember
my relatives. You know what this
so-called post-Soviet space looks like.
Look at the rest of the world. They’re
having their own problems, lots of
grief, what with oppression of fellow
humans and negligent attitude to their
lives. Or take the Holocaust. People
who know its history, who know about
all those fellow humans who found
themselves in the Nazi concentration
camps, take this topic close to heart.
Memories are still there, so this theme
remains topical, considering the messages
I’ve been receiving.”
You say that this theme remains
topical in Russia. Indeed, there is the
annual Return of the Names ceremony
[a day-long rally held October 29, with
posters and photos, reading out the victims’
names. – Ed.] by the Solovetsky
Stone on Lubyanka in Moscow. At the
same time, monuments to Stalin are being
unveiled in various [Russian] cities.
A recent Levada Center poll shows
that such projects are being supported
by an increasing number of Russians.
How would you explain this trend?
“This double social standard in
Russia can only scare me. It’s an oxymoron.
People often find themselves
exposed to the Stockholm syndrome.
It’s like a genetic code when people
can’t think independently, when they
can’t retain their individuality, when
they can’t help following the crowd,
taking orders from some leaders
(preferably uncompromising and ruthless
ones). If such a leader fails to pass
muster, they proceed to build his idollike
image.
“Any given society is divided into
categories. There are thinking communal
members in Russia. They are currently
referred to disparagingly as liberals.
These individuals are capable of
thinking things over and analyzing
them critically. Here the academic
background doesn’t matter; it doesn’t
serve as evidence of intellect. I’ve often
heard from people who considered themselves
to be scholars that Joseph Stalin,
despite the horrors of his regime, ‘took
over a country where the plow was predominant
and left it with an A-bomb.’
Flag-waving patriots, for all I know. Using
cat’s paws is good, of course. I
wish those who say that the White
Sea–Baltic Canal [popularly known as
the Belomorkanal, built with the sweat
and blood of GULAG inmates back in
1932; also long since the most popular
Soviet cardboard holder cigarette
brand. – Ed.] was a good project had taken
part in it, leaving their bones there.
Then views on the matter would have
been different. The revolution devours
its children [wrote Royalist journalist
Mallet du Pan during the French Revolution.
– Ed.]. So many of those who
used to march in columns to attend another
congress of the Communist Party,
clapping their hands and cheering
every resolution from the rostrum,
would end up in front of a firing squad.
I can only say hello to all those idiots
without historical memory – due either
to lack of education or low IQ. Sooner or
later, the government machine will
crush them, because if this machine is
allowed to function without public control,
it will spare neither the leftists, nor
the rightists. It will destroy anyone who
gets in the way.”
Getting back to project “Memory
That Has Come Alive,” what’s the status?
“It started on the spur of the moment
and is evolving the same way. I’m collecting
data. I already have 20 characters,
but I want between 40 and 60,
then I’ll stage an exhibit. A friend of
mine is negotiating the project with
some Moscow museums. I believe that
the exhibit will be ready in a month. I’ve
been invited to stage it in Frankfurt – I
think that people of good will are interested
in it. Most importantly, they understand
its importance and use for the
generations to come.”

8
No.73 NOVEMBER 28, 2017
TIMEO U T
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
Picturing magic realism
What is happiness?
“The Boat of Genesis,” an exhibit by sculptor Valerii
Pyrohov, launched at the Triptych ART Gallery
By Hanna PAROVATKINA
Photos by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
The work of Valerii Pyrohov
(Kharkiv) is well known to
anyone who has at least some
interest in art. He is a regular
participant of all big sculpture
exhibits on the national level and in the
capital, and even more than that.
However, this personal exhibit in Kyiv
turns out to be his first one. I was
genuinely surprised to hear that. How
could this happen, indeed, that until
the Triptych ART Gallery this living
classic seemed to have remained
invisible to other Kyiv-based art
institutions?
Pyrohov and his works have long
been perceived as the capital’s brand.
One of the artist’s best-known works
(which is also on display at the gallery)
is called Optimist and Pessimist. A
wingless life-lover soars as if gravity
does not exist, pushing himself off on
the sour skeptic with a heel.
The sculptor leaves an impression
of an adult, graying, smiling child
with a somewhat surprised look in the
eye. At the opening of the exhibit this
clumsy, lanky, shy, emotional, and
very well-bred man in his best suit was
telling me the stories of his works as if
it were fairy-tales executed in various
techniques, from cast bronze to gypsum
to wood. Yes, indeed, each of Pyrohov’s
creations has its own story. One
could even say that his sculptures are
still literature. His plots suggest Saint-
Exupery, philosophical parables and
fairy-tales with a hue of sadness. And,
just like Saint-Exupery, a pilot and
dreamer, most of Pyrohov’s characters
can fly, too, laughing with joy. You
think you can hear the laughter if you
really concentrate.
The eponymous masterpiece of the
artist’s first personal exhibit in the capital,
The Boat of Genesis, is an entire
novel of human happiness. The protagonists
are a newly-wed couple. It
tells a story of life which is not a simple
thing. Yet the sculptor convinces
you that life is not sad or scary, on the
contrary, it is a fascinating common
adventurous travel.
“I just made up the plot, I had a reason
for that. My son had just gotten
married. Man, was I happy! My son is
also a sculptor,” adds the artist confidentially
at the end of our conversation.
When Kyiv Fashion Park was just
conceived and was to open on Peizazhna
Aleia (the Landscape Alley), Pyro-
hov’s happy sculpture, Encounter, was
supposed to be installed there as well: a
couple of lovers in each other’s arms under
one umbrella. Yet it did not happen
for reasons beyond the organizers’ control.
Eventually, Encounter did become
one of Pyrohov’s most easily recognizable
works. However, all of his
characters seem to be easily recognizable,
from loners running around a sunflower
as if on a merry-go-round, to couples
in love to funny gentlemen engaged
in a conversation to ever-hurrying
passers-by. The author’s unique style is
not to be mistaken for someone other’s.
Only one contemporary Ukrainian
sculptor, one of a kind, can produce
works filled to the brim with happiness.
He is not going to move to Kyiv. He
said, “I am a Kharkiv man. And recently
I received such an atelier, you
cannot imagine it! It is a dream come
true. So how can I leave it? Tomorrow,
as soon as I and my wife come back to
Kharkiv, I will go there directly, to
work. This is happiness! And what
does it matter whether you are happy
in Kyiv or in Kharkiv?”
By Maria PROKOPENKO, photos
by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
How the artist Mykhailo Frantsuzov creates
his own world through photography
Sometime in the mid-1980s,
the Sovetskoe Foto magazine
published some very unusual
works. As the art critic and
artist Hlib Vysheslavskyi
recalls, these were pictures of thrown
out things, in particular white metal
medical cabinets with broken glass
shelves against the backdrop of a
dark fall landscape. The author of the
photos was Leopolitan Mykhailo
Frantsuzov.
“That magazine Sovetskoe Foto
was an official publication, it reflected
the achievements made in the
construction of socialism, while
Frantsuzov’s photos reflect the
artist’s inner mood and are based on
very individual states,” Vysheslavskyi
shared his thoughts with
us. “This unique style has survived to
this day.” One can see and feel
Frantsuzov’s style at the exhibition
“Indigoterra” (that is, the Indigo
Land), which is currently being held
at the ART 14 Gallery of Kyiv.
The photos on display come from
several series created in recent years
after a long break. “Over time,
Frantsuzov has changed both in his
technique and his choice of subjects,
but his works have always reflected
a special personal view and attention
to purely artistic things such as
graininess and surface. For him, the
film’s grainy structure is of great
value. He did not want to switch to
digital photography for a long time,
because it lacks that structure. He also
values composition and color,”
commented Vysheslavskyi, who is
also the curator of the exhibition
“Indigoterra.” “Were one to compare
Frantsuzov with painters, then
he is closest to unofficial ones, whose
creative work is called ‘silent painting.’
The painters of this circle include
Halyna Hryhorieva, Zoia Lierman,
Iryna Makarova-Vysheslavska,
Valerii Laskarzhevskyi. Then
Frantsuzov went through a cinematic
period, he studied to be a cameraman.
After that, there was a stage
of creative uncertainty, he said that
he did not want to move to the digital
art, but the film photography
was over. Still, he created a few series
in the last few years which we are exhibiting.”
A family on the shore of a pond,
a man who put his head out of the water
and hangs suspended in the air like
in nirvana, a blanket of fogs through
which the lights of lanterns can be discerned
– this is everyday life
rethought by Frantsuzov, which then
becomes surreal and acquires magic
properties. The outer manifestation
of this comes with the spots of “chemical”
colors. Red lips or a red button,
an acid-green lifebuoy – these elements
become a kind of portal to the
world created by the artist.
“Frantsuzov uses negatives, digitizes
them, and adds color,” Vysheslavskyi
continued. “His works have
several layers. One is the most realistic
image, the other entails transition
to conventionality, into another
world. This world is uncertain, is
created artificially, just like the
‘chemical’ color, which is superimposed
on the real image. It creates the
stereoscopic vision, which is a gene-
ralization of the author’s perception
of the world.”
“For me, Frantsuzov’s work is
like graphic sheets. It feels like a
pastel on black paper. Although the
artist believes that a photo should remain
a photo,” said Kateryna Borysenko,
founder of the ART 14 Gallery.
“One of the works even reminds me of
Edouard Manet’s Luncheon on the
Grass in a modern reading. It shows
such ordinary people, similar to millions
of others, and a dog with an extraordinary
sight, through which the
light enters the work. Frantsuzov is
very poetic. He sees beauty even in the
most ordinary things.”
The artist is unusually tactful.
Borysenko told us that Frantsuzov
never takes pictures of people “headon,”
but only from the back or side.
“Almost always his characters live
their lives and do not see themselves
being pictured,” Borysenko said. “It
is valuable, as he captures a lot of happiness
which is simple and humane.”
■ The exhibition “Indigoterra”
will run at the ART 14 Gallery until
December 3.
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