#74_1-8

NOVEMBER 30, 2017 ISSUE No. 74 (1126)
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 Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
President
and Hetman,
or On coincidence
of two portentous dates
Continued on page 3
About “piracy
Continued on page 2
of the 21st century”
How can Ukraine and the West confront Russia’s expansion
in the Black Sea region? Top experts offer their recipes
A forced return?
Hanna HOPKO:
“Europe must not
discredit PACE’s
fundamental principles
with its hybrid diplomacy
in order to please the
Russian aggressor”
Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
“A hundred-yearlong
road”
An international conference
opens at the Hennadii Udovenko
Diplomatic Academy
Continued on page 5
Continued on page 3

2
No.74 NOVEMBER 30, 2017
DAY AFTER DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Valentyn TORBA,
photos by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
On the initiative of the
International Center for
Security and Defense
Strategies (ICSDS), the
1st International Conference
on Maritime Security started in
Kyiv on November 28. No such event
had taken place in Ukraine before,
throughout the period of Russian
aggression.
Former Prime Minister of Ukraine,
Head of the Security Service of
Ukraine, Defense Minister and Secretary
of the National Security and Defense
Council, currently serving as a
representative of Ukraine in the Tripartite
Contact Group in Minsk,
Yevhen Marchuk acknowledged that
this conference was an event of “concentrated
expert level.” Indeed, it has
brought together top-level experts in
the field of maritime security, politicians,
and foreign visitors. At the
same time, Marchuk gently, but aptly
criticized the authorities over the fact
that an event of such a format was initiated
not by the government, but by
the public which was spurring government
agencies into action. It
should be noted that Deputy Defense
Minister of Ukraine (2014), chairman
of the supervisory board of the ICSDS,
Admiral (Retired) Ihor Kabanenko,
who was the main initiator of this respectable
and extremely important
event, now does not hold any government
office, although this event has
brought together people who would be
useful in power in such a difficult period
for this country. It is especially so
given that they took the most important
national-level decisions once...
● “THE THEFT IS ONGOING”
The conference started with a
speech by Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the US to
Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. According
to her, “it will only be possible to
talk about the full restoration of
Ukraine’s maritime security after the
end of the war in the Donbas and the
return of Crimea to Ukraine.” These
two facts have shown the world that
Russia violates international law. As
a result, Ukraine has lost 70 percent
of its navy and access to its key ports
and naval bases, which, in turn,
causes further losses.
“Russia’s continued construction
of a bridge across the Kerch Strait
greatly restricts the delivery of cargoes
to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of
Azov,” the ambassador emphasized.
“The same ports are important gateways
for the transportation of
Ukrainian coal, metal, and grain to international
markets. In addition, the
theft is ongoing, as Russia has seized
two Ukrainian gas platforms operating
in the Ukrainian exclusive economic
zone. Thus, there is a theft of
Ukrainian gas going on. Moreover,
the personnel working on these civilian
rigs opened fire on aircraft of the
Ukrainian Air Force.”
Admiral Kabanenko drew attention
to the fact that Russian expansion
in the Black Sea region has deep historical
roots. “The Mediterranean,
more precisely the Eastern Mediterranean,
has been viewed by the Kremlin
with interest for a long time. These
aspects have to be analyzed not only in
the context of Ukraine,” the admiral
said. Kabanenko clearly demonstrated
the expansion of the Russian military
potential in Crimea, which is offensive
in nature, and used the apt term “piracy
of the 21st century,” since, as Ambassador
Yovanovitch noted earlier,
Russia has seized economic zones that
are subject to the sovereign rights of
Ukraine. Particular attention should
IHOR VORONCHENKO, WHO HAS SERVED AS THE COMMANDER OF THE UKRAINIAN NAVY SINCE 2016, SPOKE ABOUT
HIS VISION OF A MARITIME SECURITY STRATEGY
About “piracy of the 21st century”
How can Ukraine and the West confront Russia’s expansion
in the Black Sea region? Top experts offer their recipes
also be paid to the so-called “Kerch
valve,” which the Russian Federation
is using to literally block Ukrainian
ports (primarily Mariupol) from accessing
external markets.
Summing up, Kabanenko outlined
two Concepts of the Black Sea Security
(security aspects) as seen by the two
opposing sides, which we need to be
aware of to understand the “balance”
of behavior strategies, in the following
way:
“The Russian Federation:
✓ power politics dominating its
southern policies;
✓ combined civil-military actions
in vulnerable areas of the region;
✓ the principle of ‘divide and rule’
being used in the struggle for domination
in the region;
✓ demonstration of ‘ineffectiveness’
of the sanction regime in Crimea;
✓ increasing military potential in
the region.
“NATO +:
✓ a transformation of NATO’s 3D
strategy’s vectors and content;
✓ aims to avoid provoking the
adversary with one’s weakness,
act adequately, strengthen survivability;
✓ value unity and organizational
strength of security efforts;
✓ international monitoring of
compliance with the sanctions regime;
✓ adequate presence of NATO
forces in the region, joint NATO+ activities.”
● DEFENSE, DETERRENCE,
AND DIALOG
Commander of the Ukrainian
Armed Forces Naval Forces (UAF NF)
Vice Admiral Ihor Voronchenko noted
that the strategy of national maritime
defense should be built on three aspects:
defense, deterrence, and dialog.
These are the very principles that NA-
TO promotes. The participants fully
agreed on the need to base the defense
strategy on creating a so-called mosquito
fleet, that is, a fleet operating a
sufficient number of maneuverable
fastboats, which are affordable and
have optimal construction time.
“We have neither time nor resources,
but we still have to take
measures to deter aggression from the
sea,” said Voronchenko. “And the
threat from the sea direction which
REPRESENTATIVE OF UKRAINE IN MINSK YEVHEN MARCHUK “SET THE TONE” OF THE CONFERENCE, EMPHASIZING
NOT ONLY MARITIME SECURITY ISSUES, BUT ALSO THE NEED TO FORECAST FUTURE RELATIONS WITH THE RUSSIAN
FEDERATION
comes from the Russian Federation
not only is not decreasing, but is growing
and gaining momentum. Of
course, building powerful ships,
corvettes is prestigious, striking, and
demonstrates a nation’s power. But if
you do a simple calculation, then it
turns out that one ton of the ship’s
displacement costs 100,000 dollars.
Imagine a corvette of 2,500 tons. We
will have to pay 250 million dollars for
it. Do we have such amount of money,
and should we spend it like this while
the urgent needs of defense are not
met? No. We have just inducted six
Giurza class fastboats. Yes, they are
not able to perform the entire range of
tasks. But they can protect the coastal
zone.”
It is noteworthy that those present
at the event drew a historical analogy
between the mosquito fleet and the
Cossack chaika boats. This comparison
offers a fitting image, especially
in conditions of modern combat.
“It is not only Ukraine that has
suffered losses due to the annexation
of Crimea and the war in the Donbas,”
Marchuk began his speech. “I ask: has
not NATO’s south-eastern flank suffered
because of the fact that Crimea
has actually been transformed into a
full-fledged military base? When the
annexation began, not everyone was
ready for such a course of events.
Why? We need to discuss it. After all,
in order to be able to foresee the actions
of Russia, one must perfectly understand
its mentality in its military,
military-political, and foreign policy
varieties. I will name just a few nuances.
The NATO summit in Rome,
held in the summer of 2002. Look at
Vladimir Putin’s speech. He looked
like the world’s peacemaker No. 1.
Russia’s cooperation with NATO was
beginning, and all this sounded definitely
very good. But already in 2003,
Russia staged a risky adventure
around the Ukrainian island of Tuzla.
As the then defense minister, I can say
that we were literally meters from a
military conflict then. 2002 and 2003
were next to each other. The Munich
speech in 2007. Again, we see Putin
making a conceptual statement with a
claim to a global vision and expressing
his dissatisfaction with Russia’s role
as an outsider in world politics. In
2008, the aggression against Georgia
began. Again, 2007 and 2008 were
next to each other. One can list more
examples, including the Olympic
Games in Sochi and the annexation of
Crimea. We know that when they held
the Games in Sochi, they created a land
security component not only for the
fight against terrorism, but one which
later was involved in the annexation of
Crimea as well. I emphasize the fact
that Putin has been in power for a
rather long time, and therefore, his behavior
as a global player may already
be, for all its specific features, predictable.
Though it is not that simple.
But forecasting should be done in the
light of what we already know about
the behavior of Russia, which, first of
all, concerns Ukraine.”
Separately, Marchuk stressed the
importance of maintaining a dialog
with Russia and even expanding it in
order to avoid leaving this nuclear
monster in complete isolation and
therefore beyond control and forecasts.
It would be dangerous for the
world, and for Ukraine it could end
with a catastrophe. Indeed, calls are
often made to break relations with the
Russian Federation as completely as
possible, and it is difficult to find historical
analogies of maintaining such
a high-level dialog with an occupying
power. However, our reality is different.
Marchuk specifically shared his
experience of negotiating with the
Russian Federation in the Minsk for-

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
DAY AFTER DAY No.74 NOVEMBER 30, 2017 3
mat and stressed its importance, “no
matter how boring it may be.” Russia,
in his opinion, is waiting for
Ukraine to initiate a break of the dialog,
thus giving it a pretext to tell
the world that Ukraine itself does
not want it, and therefore the sanctions
are “inappropriate.”
● GOVERNMENT AND
MILITARY: DO THEY
INHABIT PARALLEL
WORLDS?
Before giving a comprehensive
account of the economic losses and
problems that the Russian Federation
has created for Ukraine by annexing
Crimea, Minister of Infrastructure
of Ukraine Volodymyr
Omelian made a brief analogy:
“Crimea is not only an unsinkable
aircraft carrier, but also a Cuba-2.
What the USSR did to the US in Cuba
in the 1960s, the Russian Federation
did to Europe and NATO in
Crimea.”
US ports which the US wants to provide
to Ukraine to replenish its
navy, but the Ukrainian side has
been slow to accept them because it
is allegedly unable to find money to
cover transportation costs.
Thus, the West points to our own
problems, and the Ukrainian authorities
pretend they do not notice
them. Where is this weakness coming
from?
In connection with this fact, The
Day asked Commander of the UAF
NF Voronchenko about the state of
interaction between the government
and the military. The latter answered:
“There is no antagonism between
the defense sector and the
government. There are principles of
military leadership. The Naval
Forces have really found themselves
in a very difficult situation due to
the annexation of the Crimean
peninsula. We need to go through
a rebirth, and certainly there are
issues, including with legislative
“A hundred-year-long road”
An international conference opens at
the Hennadii Udovenko Diplomatic Academy
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day
Ukrainian Diplomatic
Service: A Hundred-Year-Long
Road.”
This is the full name of
“Modern
the international conference
which gathered Ukrainian diplomats
and foreign ministers of various years.
The first day of the event was marked
with the opening of an archive exhibit
“Ukrainian Diplomacy in 1917-24: Rise of
National Traditions.” For the next two days
roundtable discussions are slated, in particular,
on the themes of historical experience
and the modern state of Ukraine’s
diplomacy, as well as around the figure of
Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the UNR foreign
policy.
The centennial anniversary of
Ukraine’s diplomacy is to take place on December
22. It was on that day, December
22, 1917, that the Chairman of the General
Secretariat of the UNR Volodymyr
Vynnychenko and his Secretary General for
Foreign Affairs Oleksandr Shulhyn signed
the Draft Bill on the Setting of the General
Secretariat for Foreign Affairs. Now the
date is used to mark the Day of Ukraine’s
Diplomatic Service.
“It is a very important event, as it allows
to remember the beginnings of the
contemporary Ukrainian diplomacy and
analyze both its successes and the past
moments when it failed to fulfill the foreign
policy challenges which the Ukrainian
State faced,” said the guest of the
conference, minister of foreign affairs of
Ukraine in 2003-05 and 2010-12, vice
prime minister of Ukraine (2012-14)
Kostiantyn HRYSHCHENKO in his commentary
to The Day. “The conference
agenda is very busy, with lots of presentations
and reports.”
“I guess we need a more systemic approach
to the research into the history of
Ukrainian diplomacy. This event allows to
boost such activities,” emphasized our interlocutor.
“As far as the Ukrainian diplomatic
school goes, even back in the times
of the UkrSSR Ukrainian diplomats were
highly educated professionals. They did not
have the opportunity to work on many topics,
but Ukraine’s participation in the UN
and specialized institutions allowed
Ukraine, at the moment when it regained
its independence, to have the basis to train
the new generation of Ukrainian diplomats.
Those who started in 1992-94, from the
minister to his deputies, today are leaders
of Ukrainian diplomacy. As far as professional
qualifications are concerned, they
are quite high, but there are a lot of questions
concerning the current organization
of diplomatic service, self-rigorousness,
and systemic approach to work. Let
us hope that they will be gradually solved.”
By Ihor SIUNDIUKOV, The Day
On November 27, Borys Paton,
an outstanding Ukrainian
scientist, the unchallenged
president of the National
Academy of Sciences of
Ukraine (formerly: Academy of Sciences of
the Ukrainian SSR) for 55 years (!), turned
99. Quite symbolically, the National
Academy, this country’s topmost scientific
institution, is marking the same
anniversary on the same day – the 99th
anniversary of its foundation by Hetman
Pavlo Skoropadsky in 1918.
One can write very much about similar
managerial approaches of the two
prominent Ukrainians – Skoropadsky and
Paton (an unexpected but interesting
angle). Indeed, both the former and the latter
are businesslike people who are by no
means inclined to make high-sounding
declarations, hype themselves up, and create
a semblance of good instead of facing
the not so good reality. But the point now
under discussion is somewhat different.
President
and Hetman,
or On coincidence
of two portentous dates
Hetman Skoropadsky decreed the
foundation of the All-Ukrainian Academy
of Sciences on November 27, 1918. Skoropadsky
was aware of the paramount importance
of the real science for the people
who are striving to assert themselves as a
full-fledged nation and build a state of their
own. In a short period of his hetmanship
(April 29 – December 14, 1918), he managed
to do more than all the other leaders
combined in the later period.
And on one day of that stormy era, November
27, 1918, a person was born who has
led this Academy for over half a century and
has made an exceptional contribution to the
development of our science, and to the
salvation of this science in the current super-difficult
conditions. It is Mr. Borys Paton.
Of course, he has also been often coming
under not always well-grounded criticism.
But elementary intellectual honesty
and human decency demand that we admit:
if somebody else has been steering Ukraine’s
Academy of Sciences in the past few
decades, no one knows if we would have
managed to preserve Ukrainian science, the
decisive factor of society’s strategic development,
at all.
Speaking with journalists on his birthday,
the Academy’s president expressed a
firm confidence (and wish): “Ukraine will
win! It will win in everything!” He said ironically
about the fact that his and the Academy’s
birthdays are not a “good round figure”:
“We will be marking the Academy’s
centenary next year, and I am celebrating
my birthday rather ‘quietly’ today. But a
year later…” Let us wish Mr. Paton and the
Academy he leads ample strength to move
on, willpower, and new achievements.
And good health to the president!
U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE MARIE YOVANOVITCH NOTED THAT
RUSSIA CONTINUED TO STEAL UKRAINIAN GAS AND IMPOSE OTHER
ECONOMIC LOSSES ON THIS COUNTRY IN THE BLACK SEA REGION
Due to the Russian Federation’s
construction of the Kerch Bridge,
Ukraine has lost its ability to supply
1 million tons of metal annually
to the US. According to Omelian,
“the Kerch Bridge is a means of exerting
economic and political pressure
and engaging in blackmail.
The state of grain logistics in the
Azov region has markedly deteriorated.
After the construction of the
bridge is complete, the vessel passage
capacity of the strait will decrease
significantly.”
President of the Jamestown
Foundation (US) Glen Howard delivered
a lively speech at the conference,
which similarly turned to historical
analogies. He would like to
see Ukrainians among graduates of
American maritime colleges, but we
Ukrainians need to pay special attention
to another aspect of his
speech. Howard asked the military
and concerned public to convey to
the government the importance of
the Kerch Strait issue. That is, it
turns out the government takes no
interest in this repeatedly mentioned
sphere. Separately, the
Jamestown Foundation’s president
recalled that there are fastboats in
provisions. I do not know how the
previous leadership had it, but I do
not have any issues in my relationship
with the authorities. Everyone
responds to my requests favorably,
including the chief of the General
Staff and the minister of defense.
The cabinet, including the minister
of infrastructure, provides me with
funds to build the naval infrastructure.
The same applies to movable
property. There is a personnel problem
that needs to be addressed at the
national level. This affects the officers
who left Crimea and abandoned
all their property in the peninsula.
Three years later, we have not yet received
the appropriate funding to
provide these sailors with housing.
But I am sure the state will solve
these issues.”
On the sidelines, the military
participants shared with The Day
another problem that answers the
above question, it being the excessive
presence of bureaucratic mechanisms
that, in the fourth year of the
war, still hinder urgent decisionmaking,
including on the issue of
arms deliveries. It is the bureaucratic
rust that makes restoration of
our defensive potential so slow.
“Photos charged with genuine emotions”
By Maria PROKOPENKO, The Day
Kharkiv’s internet what’s-on-list
includes some 400 events, from
psychology trainings to club
parties. You really don’t know
where to look first, so here is our
tip: make sure you visit Den’s 19th
International Photo Exhibit, which opens
this Thursday, November 30, and will last
till December 23. The Kharkiv National
Academic Opera and Ballet Theater will
serve as the venue.
This year our exhibit’s tour of Ukraine
kicks off in Kharkiv, and for a very good
reason. Recently we acquainted our readers
with the city in our supplement
Route No. 1 (see Kharkiv. Smart City).
What we discovered about Kharkiv turned
out so inspirational that now we are heading
east to present ourselves and the best
200 photographs of Den’s 19th International
Photo Exhibit.
Our romance with Kharkiv goes years
back, to 2001, when the city hosted Den’s
first photo exhibit. Our dialog with the city
was not over: a decade ago Den/The Day’s
editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna presented
her book My Universities at the Vasyl
Karazin National University in Kharkiv.
Last year we parachuted a whole bunch of
intellectuals in: a photo exhibit was held at
the YermilovCenter, Den’s journalists
participated in discussions and presented
the new publications of our Library series.
“Kharkiv’s new image has taken shape
over the recent years when the city stood
up for itself so courageously. All those who
let see their bravery deserve enormous respect
in the first place. Second, it is those
who started to develop the region and
demonstrate high standards,” remarked
Ivshyna earlier. So to support those courageous
people and urge the others to follow
suite, we are bringing a dose of “antidepressants
for society,” as our photo exhibit
is dubbed.
Our initiative is backed by the Kharkiv
Oblast State Administration. Its head
Yulia Svitlychna explains why she believes
Den’s exhibit to be an important event for
Den’s exhibit to
open in Kharkiv
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
the city: “It is a large-scale project created
by hundreds of photographers all over
Ukraine. And those Top 350 photos handpicked
for display do reflect a year in the life
of our country. These photographs are
charged with genuine emotions. If you
want to feel and understand Ukraine and its
people, reflect on the year’s major events,
sum the year up and draw conclusions, the
exhibit is just the right place to be.”
We are looking forward to seeing you
at the opening of Den’s 19th International
Photo Exhibit, which is to be held on November
30 at 5 p.m. in the foyer of the Lysenko
National Academic Opera and Ballet
Theater (Kharkiv).

4
No.74 NOVEMBER 30, 2017
TOPIC OF THE DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Mykola SIRUK
Recently, a public discussion of
the concept of the historical
narrative for the Babi Yar
Holocaust Memorial Center was
held at Taras Shevchenko National
University of Kyiv with the
participation of the university’s faculty,
other Ukrainian and foreign
scholars as well as public figures,
students, and journalists. The Day has
already published a series of contributions
on the situation surrounding the
creation of the controversial Babi Yar
Holocaust Memorial Center with the
involvement of three Russian oligarchs.
However, until now, we have not seen
any Ukrainian top official responding to
the warning letter released by historians
who see attempts to connect Babyn Yar
with the Holocaust alone as wrong,
because doing so means ignoring other
victims and other dramatic moments in
the site’s history. “This approach will
only aggravate the war of memories,
which has been going on in Babyn Yar for
many years,” reads the letter signed by
16 historians.
● “THIS DISCUSSION WAS
HELD JUST TO TICK
THE BOX”
The Day turned to historian and
scholar of ethnopolitics, leading researcher
of the Museum of History of
Kyiv, executive secretary of the Public
Commemorative Committee for the
Victims of Babyn Yar Vitalii NAKH-
MANOVYCH, asking him to share his
impressions about this event and to
explain why it is important for Ukraine
to resolve historical memory issues
at the government level.
“In short, the text presented fully
confirms the intentions of the initiators
of the project. They believe it
should be a museum dedicated primarily
to the destruction of the Soviet
Jews, and the key theme would be the
responsibility of the local people who
collaborated with the Nazis. For this
purpose, the narrative’s authors reduce
the causes of the Holocaust almost
exclusively to centuries-old pan-
European anti-Semitism and completely
ignore, for example, the Nazi
racial theory and the concept of
forcible social engineering. They also
do not mention at all the shared responsibility
of the USSR and the communist
leadership headed by Joseph
Stalin for Adolf Hitler’s rise to power
and launching the Second World War,
which, in fact, enabled the Holocaust.
“Ukraine as such does not exist in
this narrative. There are only isolated
regions tied to the pre-war international
and administrative divisions,
which are completely unrelated to the
events of the Nazi occupation. Some
people live in this territory, some
events take place, but we do not see a
people, a nation. All this was noted in
the numerous speeches of my colleagues,
but we did not see the readiness
to make some conceptual changes
on the part of the authors. It is clear
that they carry out the ideological
task set out in advance, and this discussion
was held just to tick the box.”
● “THE SITUATION AROUND
THE MEMORIAL CENTER
REFLECTS BROADER
ISSUES”
How can we really change the situation
and involve the Ukrainian
authorities in this process?
“Recently, a presidential decree
established a government organizing
committee tasked with taking care of
all Babyn Yar memorialization projects.
It is headed by the prime minister
and the chief of the presidential
administration. Preparations for its
work have started. I very much hope
that within this organizational committee,
we will be able to persuade the
government to officially create a research
group on the basis of the academic
Institute of Ukrainian History,
which will develop a coherent concept
of memorialization of this space, with
“Ukraine will become a self-sufficient
civilization or... it will simply disappear”
Our expert posits the connection between the memorialization
of historical memory, the ongoing dispute with Poland, and
Ukraine’s neighbors’ reaction to the new language law...
mental initiative. It is about creating
a responsible partnership mechanism
that would be subordinated to national
interests, and not simply reflect
someone’s private opinion.
“But the current situation around
the Memorial Center reflects much
broader issues. It is connected to the
dispute with Poland regarding the attitude
to various heroes of the Ukrainian
national liberation movement, the
reaction of our neighbors to the educational
provisions of the language
law, protests over erection of the monument
to Symon Petliura, and so on.
To understand this connection, one
should look at the situation from a
more distant perspective.
“After Kyivan Rus’s demise,
Ukraine never existed as an independent
state. There were isolated lands that were
part of various states ruled by other peoples,
including the Poles, Russians,
Turks, Hungarians, Germans, and Romanians.
Over hundreds of years, everyone
had become used to the situation
where Ukrainians were simply an amorphous
population, mere inhabitants,
and not an independent actor on the historical
scene. And Ukrainians had become
used to it as well.
“A quarter century ago, the situation
seemed to have changed, Ukraine
became an independent state. But social
processes are not moving so fast.
“We must understand that in any
society there is always an informal
hierarchy of different peoples. This
hierarchy is multifaceted, as it includes
political, social, and cultural
which all individual initiatives should
be coordinated.
“Leaders of the Babi Yar Holocaust
Memorial Center each time emphasize
that their foundation is officially
registered in Ukraine, it operates
according to the Ukrainian law,
therefore, it is a Ukrainian organization
that can do whatever it thinks fit.
But here we are talking about an object
of national importance, and nobody
will ask after it is built who exactly
did it – a private entity or the
government. Everyone will know that
this is the national Holocaust memorial
that reflects the position of the
Ukrainian state. It does not mean that
we want to exclude any non-governdimensions.
Of course, there is always
a dominant nation at the top of the
ladder. But below it, strangely
enough, the states of imperial type
place dispersed ethnic minorities, and
not, so to speak, indigenous peoples
who are at the very bottom of the ladder.
The dominant nation usually relies
on such minorities, for they are
more energetic and cohesive, and
therefore more successful in socioeconomic
life. For their part, the minorities
support the dominant nation
politically and culturally, which is
precisely the key to success. The attitude
of some peoples to others is also
determined by their place in such a
hierarchy, therefore, the Ukrainians
“
autonomous player on the global
stage – autonomous not only in the formal
political way, but, above all, in the
civilizational sense. Nobody is used to
it, because there has been nothing like
it before. Many Ukrainians, including
our leaders, held on to childish beliefs
for a long time, thinking that all people
around us were our friends and sincerely
liked us. But when we began to
try to make our own choices – in matters
of foreign policy, language, historical
memory – it has turned out that
this view is completely wrong.
“After all, the emergence of a truly
sovereign and independent Ukraine
will not just change the colorful piece
of paper entitled the Political Map of
Ukraine needs to show itself as an autonomous
player on the global stage – autonomous not
only in the formal political way, but, above all, in the
civilizational sense. Nobody is used to it, because there
has been nothing like it before. Many Ukrainians,
including our leaders, held on to childish beliefs for
a long time, thinking that all people around us were
our friends and sincerely liked us. But when we began
to try to make our own choices – in matters of
foreign policy, language, historical memory – it has
turned out that this view is completely wrong.
”
have always been looked down on, and
they themselves are used to their own
inferiority. The agenda was not determined
by them, and not only in political,
but also in cultural life.
“After the creation of an independent
state, this pyramid should have been
upended. But changes occur gradually.
The Ukrainians have formally gained political
prestige, but in socio-economic and
especially cultural aspects, this cannot
happen automatically.”
● “UKRAINE NEEDS
TO SHOW ITSELF AS AN
AUTONOMOUS PLAYER
ON THE GLOBAL STAGE”
Why is it so?
“At the time of independence,
most of Ukraine had been almost completely
dominated by Russian culture
for several centuries, and the last
70 years, it was in its most aggressive
Soviet version. Ukrainian culture had
been pushed to the margin, it was still
to be created. It is not just about literature
or theater. It is about the Russian
language being the path for all the
inhabitants of Ukraine to achievements
of world culture and science: it
was the language of translation,
teaching, communication. Such a situation
cannot be fixed immediately,
long-term and large-scale work is required
which should be based on consistent
state policy and consciously
supported by leading social strata.
“In fact, it is about the fact that
Ukraine needs to show itself as an
the World. In Europe, a new, potentially
very powerful player will appear.
And this will change all the established
relations, plans, unions. No
one needs it, and nobody is ready for it.
After all, all the states that ruled at
least part of the Ukrainian territory,
like Russia, and Poland, and Hungary,
and Romania are used not only to political,
but also to cultural and civilizational
domination. They regard
Ukrainian lands not so much as those
they need to directly own, but rather
as those that should be part of their
civilization and think in their own
way, and not one contrary to them.
“Russia played nice until Ukraine remained
‘independent’ in the Belarusian
way and, most importantly, thought
within the Russian range. The same applies
to the Poles. They reasoned as follows:
‘We support you and stand together
with you, but you must share our
historical memory.’ Of course, this is not
a catastrophe, and such perceptions can
be changed, but our neighbors are not yet
ready for such changes.
“This is amplified by specific political
realities not only in Russia, but
also in eastern Europe, for example,
the strengthening of nationalist discourse
in Poland and Hungary. It is a
little easier with Romania, because
this country passed this stage earlier,
and nationalist discourse is not so relevant
for them, and they perceive
everything calmer. After all, in principle,
the Romanians’ and Hungarians’
objections to the Law ‘On Education’
are objectively the same. Both
countries have kindred ethnic minori-
ties in Ukraine, but the Romanians
treat this in a pragmatic way, they
aim to solve a specific, quite understandable
problem. They want Romanians
who live outside their own country
to preserve their Romanian identity
so that they do not lose their language
and culture. Meanwhile, the
Hungarians want not just this, but to
reassert their power too. They, like
the Poles, have a rightwing and nationalistic
government, but not an extreme
right one, because there are
forces that are even further to the
right than they are in these countries.
Therefore, they have to compete with
these extreme rightwingers so that
they do not lose votes to the latter.
And for this purpose, it is necessary to
play in their field.
“I want to remind that in Ukraine,
Romanians as well as Hungarians,
Greeks, and Bulgarians, all those who
opposed the educational law, speak
Russian perfectly, use mostly Russian,
and this did not cause and still
does not cause indignation in them.”
● “OUR NEIGHBORS MUST
STOP AND UNDERSTAND
THAT A NEW COUNTRY HAS
EMERGED HERE”
“And this is because they all recognized
Russia as a dominant state,
which had the full right not only to
have, but also to impose its own culture.
But the Ukrainians are not perceived
in that way. Psychologically,
they do not believe that the Ukrainians
have the right to have their own culture,
and the very Ukrainian statehood
is still questioned. Such a situation
should be changed, but first and foremost,
by the efforts of the Ukrainians
themselves. We cannot just sit and
wait for others to respect us. We have
to reassert ourselves and, moreover, do
it in a dignified way. We should not
throw hysteric fits, like tearing down
the Hungarian flag that flew over the
town hall in Berehove. This is not the
way to assert one’s power, but only to
cripple one’s reputation. On the contrary,
we need to make sure that every
house in Ukraine flies a Ukrainian flag
raised by the residents themselves.
Everything must be done calmly and
confidently on the basis of our principles.
If other peoples live in your country,
of course, they should respect you.
But to be respected you need to do
something in your own home.
“On the other hand, our neighbors
must stop and understand that a new
country has emerged here, there is a
new people to be taken into account. In
fact, this is the most important thing.
It is clear that one cannot expect the
Poles to see eye-to-eye with the
Ukrainians on the Ukrainian Insurgent
Army issue. But the problem is to
get the Poles to even admit that we can
have different historical memories.
The same goes for Babyn Yar. After
all, one of the key flaws of the concept
of the Babi Yar Memorial Center is
precisely that it considers Ukraine as
a wild land, where one can come and do
whatever one wants.
“Or take the situation with the
Petliura monument. For the Jews,
Petliura is associated exclusively with
the pogroms. This is a consequence of
both real events and the Soviet interpretation.
Of course, there is a real
historical background to it, because a
large portion of the pogroms were perpetrated
by military units of the Army
of the Ukrainian People’s Republic,
although most of them were led by
chieftains who obeyed themselves
alone. But for some reason, the Jews

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
TOPIC OF THE DAY No.74 NOVEMBER 30, 2017 5
display absolutely calm attitudes to,
say, Anton Denikin or Semyon Budyonny,
whose soldiers did the same
thing. Therefore, I say that there is a
significant influence of Soviet propaganda
and different attitudes towards
the Ukrainians and Russians
here, precisely in the context of what
we are talking about. After all, the
Jews have always subconsciously
recognized the right of the Russians
to have their own state and fight for
it, but the Ukrainians are seen as
mere villagers who took up arms for
no discernible reason.
“But there is another side of the
case. Nobody erected the Petliura
monument to celebrate the pogroms.
By the way, this fact distinguishes it
from the monument to Ivan Honta,
which seems to have been intended,
after all, to hurt the Hasidim, with
whom Uman has a difficult relationship.
But with the Petliura monument,
everything is absolutely
transparent. This year is the centennial
of the Ukrainian Revolution.
Petliura was one of its leaders and
leaders of the Ukrainian state. It is
clear that he deserves to have monuments
built to him. And here I am
sure that nobody was trying to challenge
the Jewish community somehow.
But the perception of history is
so different that we are observing
this happening. The monument to
Petliura was erected in the courtyard
of a house which once housed
his office. The objection from the
Jewish community was, in particular,
over this monument being
placed in the center of the former
Jewish quarter. Both statements are
true, and together they reflect completely
different perceptions of one
and the same urban space.
“Every nation has its own memory,
and this is not a problem. The
problem is that time and again, we
set ourselves the task of creating a
shared memory. In fact, the key task
should be to reach the shared understanding
that our memories differ.
And everyone has the right to their
memory, and the real task is not to
create a shared memory, but to prevent
a war of memories. Of course,
we need to have within Ukraine common
elements that are not related to
ethnic origin but rather to common
citizenship, a shared state and a political
nation. But when it comes to
Ukraine and Poland, Ukraine and
Russia, or Ukraine and the world
Jewish community, there cannot be
and will never be a shared memory.
And this is natural, because everyone
has their own history, their path,
their place in the world, and therefore
the memory will be different.”
● POLITICS OF MEMORY,
VOLODYMYR VIATROVYCH,
AND THE ROLE
OF THE GOVERNMENT
What, then, in your opinion,
should the state do in order to reassert
itself, and is not the educational
law a step in this direction?
“Let us not forget that Ukraine
began to take the first serious steps
in this direction only after the most
recent Maidan protests. I mean, first
of all, the laws on de-communization
and education. But we do not really
have government-led politics of
memory. It should not be simply left
in its entirety to the director of the
Institute of National Remembrance.
Of course, he has to develop it, but,
considering that these are systemic
things, they should be considered by
the government, perhaps by the
president himself. And the Institute
of National Remembrance should be
in dialog with the top officials all the
way. Therefore, if there is a problem
like we have today with the Poles,
then Volodymyr Viatrovych should
not suffer for all of us, but the prime
minister must come out and say: excuse
me, this is a national policy that
we have approved, which he simply
carries out. And by blacklisting Viatrovych,
you will not change our policy,
because it is not his invention.
The same is true regarding the education
law, which the minister of
education effectively has to defend
on her own.
“It is clear and very good that today
we live in a world in which we
have to pay attention to others.
Moreover, when it comes to such
sensitive issues, such steps should be
taken with full awareness of likely
consequences. If it can provoke a
conflict, then it must be understood
in advance. Yes, there are situations
when one needs to go to conflict in
order to defend one’s own position
and interests. But making such decisions
should be reserved to the highest
officials.”
● “CULTURAL AFFAIRS
SHOULD NOT BE SEEN AS
A SECONDARY MATTER”
Can you explain what needs to
be done, and how, to make it happen?
“There must be a conceptual understanding
at all levels of society and
government, that the real issue at
hand goes beyond the creation of
military, getting the economy to grow
and solving social problems, since we
actually need to create a Ukrainian
civilization that has not existed for
centuries in this land. And all this
does not happen in some empty space,
but there are neighbors next to us,
who are psychologically absolutely
unprepared for this. And it must be
borne in mind that this will lead to
conflicts, and we must foresee them
and understand what we getting into.
“This should be a national policy.
Cultural and educational affairs should
not be seen as a secondary matter, because
all conflicts between neighbors
arise precisely because of this.
“Issues of Ukraine’s cultural development
should be in the center of
attention of the cabinet, the president,
and the parliament, just like
the economic issues. What do you
need an army for if it does not know
who it is fighting for and what it is
protecting?”
● “SOCIETIES ARE ONLY
HELD TOGETHER BY
SHARED MORAL VALUES”
To summarize, how should our
government promote the idea of
Ukrainian civilization?
“The real issue here is not having
a national idea. After Ukraine gained
independence, a new national idea has
not emerged. Today, it seems that European
integration may become such
an idea. But we need to understand
that Europe which we imagine and
one which actually exists are somewhat
different. Today, real Europe is
going through its own crises, and this
is natural, because it is a living organism,
not a museum exhibit. But
the fetishization of European integration
is just another attempt to
shift responsibility for one’s own destiny
elsewhere once again.
“It is the absence of a natural national
idea in Ukraine that has
caused our society to reach the verge
of collapse. That is why all these
countless anti-corruption bodies, all
these purges of judiciary do not lead
to anything.”
But why?
“The problem is the domination
of consumer values in society. After
all, a society which is aimed solely at
consumption, at some personal benefits,
simply cannot exist; in fact, it
can only survive in a moribund form
for some time. Societies are only
held together by shared moral values,
much higher than the desire to
live well. Therefore, it is just a selfpreservation
problem. Ukraine will
turn into a self-sufficient civilization
with a national idea and high
public morals, solidarity, and cooperation,
or it will again disappear
from the map of Europe. There is no
alternative.”
A forced return?
Hanna HOPKO: “Europe must not discredit PACE’s
fundamental principles with its hybrid diplomacy in
order to please the Russian aggressor”
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day
The other day the British Financial
Times carried an article titled
“European Council Bosses Worry
Moscow Might Leave Organization.”
The assumption that the
Russian delegation might return to PACE
caused resentment in Ukraine. However,
statements made by Thorbjorn Jagland,
Secretary General of the Council of Europe,
have already found support in Germany. In
reply to DW’s question on Berlin’s stand
on the role of Russia in the Council of
Europe the German foreign ministry said
that “Germany’s government supports
the COE Secretary General Thorbjorn
Jagland in his effort to find a solution for
future challenges.” “Whether and with
what rights the Russian delegation will
again participate in the sessions of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe, should be decided by the Russian
delegation self or by PACE, which includes
representatives of the European Council
member states,” reads the statement by the
German ministry of foreign affairs.
According to Financial Times, talks of
restoring the Russian delegation to PACE
have been going on in that organization,
while some leading members have already
initiated procedures to make it happen.
“It would really be very, very bad if
Russia was to leave... ?because the convention
and court have been so important
for Russian citizens. It will be a negative
development for Europe because we will
have a Europe without Russia. It would be
a big step back for Europe,” said Jagland
in an interview. According to him, “Nobody
wants to give a signal that we accept the annexation
of Crimea. It is not about undermining
this position of principle,” it is only
about human rights protection in Russia
and Crimea, or “wherever people live on
the continent.”
In response to this Ukraine’s MFA
spokesperson Mariana BETSA reminded in
a tweet that Russia has not fulfilled a single
resolution in the COE, UN, or OSCE. “In
what concerns the enforcement of international
law and values, there can be no compromise,”
mentioned she.
“What a shame. Sec-Gen @coe
@TJagland negotiates lift sanctions but
hadn’t demanded Russia to act accordingly
to the rule of law and human rights principles.
Start of indulgence sale. Black Friday
for democracy generally and Council
of Europe in particular,” tweeted
Volodymyr ARIEV, head of Ukraine’s
permanent delegation to PACE. “Queer
Sec-Gen @coe @TJagland logic: let’s permit
Russia to violate human rights in
Ukraine to defend human rights. It begs
the question regarding real Jagland’s intentions,”
added he.
Dmytro KULEBA, Ukraine’s permanent
representative to the Council of
Europe, said in his commentary to Financial
Times that reconciliation “without
Moscow paying any price will mean that this
organization will discredit itself both in
Ukraine and across the region.” “If it happens,
Ukraine will review our relations with
the Council of Europe,” he added.
The Day asked Hanna HOPKO, chairperson
of the Foreign Affairs Committee at
the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, to comment
on the attempts of restoring the Russian
delegation to PACE and on Ukraine’s
preferable standpoint on this issue:
“Obviously, such attempts at restoring
of the Russian Federation to PACE are part
of an entire system, which reveals that
some are simply ready to go all-in to secure
that.
“We must clearly realize that previously
Jagland held a series of meetings, visits,
for instance, with the President of
France Macron and the representatives of
the UK.
“What matters for Ukraine is that
Russia, should it desire to return to PACE,
must fulfill a series of conditions. For example,
implement the PACE resolutions
which clearly recognize and condemn Russia’s
aggression. There were rather harsh
resolutions which clearly blame Russia
and no one else. Every day we see loss of life
in the east of Ukraine.
“I wonder if the lobbying for restoring
Russia to PACE, under the disguise of all
manner of arguments about granting
Russian citizens access to the European
Human Rights Court, is being done free of
charge. How can anyone grant Russians access
to protection while the rights of
Ukrainian citizens, Crimean Tatars in
particular, are being violated? The conflict
caused by Russia’s aggression left Ukraine
suffering.
“Fundamental principles are undermined,
European institutions are being discredited,
Russia has launched a systemic
attack on the entire system of European organizations
damaged by Russian influence
via its payroll lobbyists and corrupt EU officials.
“For Ukraine, the Council of Europe is
valuable as an organization protecting
fundamental rights, principles, respecting
territorial integrity and sovereignty, opposing
the use of force and violations of international
law. We closely cooperate with
other COE institutions, such as the Venice
Commission. If Russia forces its way back
to PACE, with a tinge of corruption and
without fulfilling any of the prerequisites
(with hostilities in the east of Ukraine
still going on, the rights of Crimean Tatars
still being violated, and numbers of detained
activists still growing), Ukraine will
obviously raise the issue and discuss if it
makes any sense for us being member of
such an organization, and what it gives us.
“We have a separate project on implementing
reforms with the COE. This
will cast doubts immediately. You cannot
use such hybrid diplomacy to discredit
fundamental principles to please the aggressor,
for it will only be seen as encouragement.”
PHOTO FACT
Kyiv and Tbilisi have the same opinion on defending their countries’ territorial integrity
November 28, 2017. Tbilisi. Addressing
the international logistic Tbilisi Belt &
Road Forum, Prime Minister Volodymyr
Hroisman of Ukraine said Ukraine was
prepared to intensify cooperation in the development
of its own transport capacities
and to strengthen logistical links with the
neighboring states, including the trans-
Caspian countries, the press service of the
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reports. It
will be recalled that the head of government
paid a two-day visit to Georgia, where he met
President Giorgi Margvelashvili and Prime
Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, visited the
Ukrainian servicemen who undergo rehabilitation
in Georgia, and laid flowers at the
memorial to the heroes who died for Georgia’s
territorial integrity. The Ukrainian
REUTERS photo
premier and the leader of Georgia agreed
that our countries share the same opinion on
defending the territorial integrity of states
and condemning aggressions and annexations
of territories, particularly Crimea. Besides,
the two statesmen pointed out that
Kyiv and Tbilisi had intensified constructive
negotiations and relations between the
two countries were of a strategic nature.

6
No.74 NOVEMBER 30, 2017
CULT URE
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
The Bulgakovs and... Japan
THE AUTHOR OF THE IDEA AND CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION SVITLANA PUHACH
New exhibition opened
on the writer’s name day,
the feast of St. Archangel
Michael, the patron of Kyiv
By Svitlana PUHACH
Photos by Artem SLIPACHUK, The Day
The exhibition on display at the Literary-
Memorial Museum of Mikhail Bulgakov is
called “The Japanese Pages from the Life of
the Bulgakovs.” The event is held with the
assistance of the Bohdan and Varvara
Khanenko National Museum of Arts and as part of
the Year of Japan in Ukraine.
The memorial space of the museum is hosting
for the first time the painting Seascape, created by
the Japanese artist Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) and
held in the Oriental Collection of the Bohdan and
Varvara Khanenko Museum. The original canvas by
Hiroshige, which depicts Mount Fuji, has helped us
reconstruct the interior of the living room going by
a 1914 photo and bring a delicate Oriental flavor to
it. The idea to show precisely this exhibit from the
art museum in our literary museum did not occur
to us by accident. Previously, we had no clue that
the connections would turn out to be so close and
meaningful.
MORE RECENTLY, A JAPANESE DOLL APPEARED OVER
20 YEARS AGO IN THE MEMORIAL ROOM WHERE THE
BULGAKOV BOYS ONCE LIVED
THE MEMORIAL SPACE OF THE MUSEUM IS HOSTING FOR THE FIRST TIME THE PAINTING SEASCAPE, CREATED BY THE JAPANESE ARTIST ANDO
HIROSHIGE (1797-1858) AND HELD IN THE ORIENTAL COLLECTION OF THE BOHDAN AND VARVARA KHANENKO MUSEUM OF ARTS
When consulting with colleagues from the Bohdan
and Varvara Khanenko Museum regarding
decorative and applied art works from the archive
of Nadezhda Bulgakova-Zemskaya (the sister of
Mikhail Bulgakov), we have learned that their
museum’s Oriental Division holds five exhibits from
the unique collection of Bulgakov’s uncle, the outstanding
Orientalist Aleksei Pozdneev. Meanwhile,
some photos from our archive, which show
Bulgakov beside the younger Pozdneev, Dmitry,
who formed a family in Japan, aroused great interest
in art historians, who helped us attribute
some details in the photos.
Recent publications and bibliographic essays
dealing with these Orientalists reveal the details of
the complex and tragic fates of their families during
the Russian Civil War and the Stalinist terror.
Both served in succession as directors of the Oriental
Institute, which was created in Vladivostok on the
initiative of Aleksei Pozdneev.
Both the Bulgakovs and the Pozdneevs were
large families of long-established clergy, and they
maintained friendship for generations and had
their children cross-marrying. The correspondence
of Bulgakov’s father with Vladimir Pozdneev, the
middle brother of the abovementioned Pozdneevs,
is still extant. The letters of the latter’s daughter
Olga contain interesting information about the Bulgakovs’
life in Kyiv, in Bucha, as well as their relocations
during the First World War.
The Bulgakovs hosted Aleksei Pozdneev when he
stayedinKyivonsomebusinessin1905.Atthattime,
Kyiv Theological Academy already operated its Museum
of Antiquities, which had artifacts of various
cultures in its collection, including Oriental ones.
By the way, Dmitry Pozdneev studied at Kyiv
Theological Academy, where the father of young
Mikhail taught then. On graduating from the
academy, he went on to obtain a degree from the Faculty
of Oriental Languages of the University of
St. Petersburg, created the first Japanese-Russian
Hieroglyphic Dictionary in 1910, and wrote a great
many articles and books dealing with the history,
geography, economy, and culture of the Land of the
Rising Sun.
Correspondence of Nadezhda Bulgakova and
Dmitry Pozdneev, dating back to 1929, confirms the
connection between Mikhail Bulgakov himself and
the professor of Oriental studies who was shot in
1937 and forgotten for many years.
Brother of Mikhail Bulgakov’s father, Pyotr
Bulgakov, served as rector of the Russian Embassy
Church in Tokyo and lived with his family in
Japan in 1906-24. The children of Pyotr Bulgakov
and his wife Sofia (nee Pozdneeva) stayed at the Bulgakovs’
home from time to time, or lived at their villa
in Bucha. Their two sons, Kostya and Kolya,
shared Apartment No. 2 at 13, Andriivsky Descent
with the Bulgakovs and attended the First Kyiv
Gymnasium. Bulgakov called them “the Japanese”:
“Kostya the Japanese” and “Kolya the Japanese.”
When processing the archive of Nadezhda
Bulgakova, we have found documents and photos
telling about the subsequent events of Pyotr Bulgakov’s
family’s life abroad.
More recently, a Japanese doll appeared over
20 years ago in the memorial room where the Bulgakov
boys once lived. It has been mostly Japanese
visitors and students of Japanese culture who pay
attention to this museum exhibit. Like an unfamiliar
character, it attracted the attention of the famous
writer, student of Japanese culture and
translator Boris Akunin, who visited our museum
once. He asked: “Where did you get it?” and spent
a long time looking at the doll with clear interest...
The Bulgakov scholars have long known about
some “Japanese” pages from the Bulgakovs’ lives.
But for the general public and for the Japanese
themselves, who read many works by Bulgakov in
their native language, and have The Master and
Margarita already in the third translation, these are
unexpected facts! New exhibits, documents, photos,
and artifacts which shed light on the direct connection
between the Bulgakov family and Japan are
on display in every room of the permanent exhibition
of our museum.
The exhibition “The Japanese Pages from the
Life of the Bulgakovs” will last until December 17.
Visitors can also order a thematic tour, so
that, having learned this “Japanese story,” they
would be able to detect entirely new meanings in the
following lines by Bulgakov: “Where am I going?
Where? I am wearing my last shirt. Its cuffs are covered
in curved letters. And heavy characters are
on my heart. I have only deciphered one of the mysterious
characters. It means: ‘Woe to me!’ Who will
explain to me the rest?!” (Notes on a Cuff, 1923)
Svitlana Puhach is a senior researcher at the
Museum of Mikhail Bulgakov

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
CLOSE UP No.74 NOVEMBER 30, 2017 7
By Dmytro PLAKHTA, The Day, Lviv
Pierre-Yves Tessier, a French engineer
and urbanist, has been living in Lviv
over the past seven and a half years. He
came here from the East and has
worked in the former USSR countries
for more than 15 years. He has the experience
of working in Uzbekistan, Georgia, Latvia,
and Tajikistan. Before that, he had spent five
years in Mongolia and even in Benin, Africa.
“It is more interesting to work like this
than to build standard shopping malls in
France. I like embracing other cultures and
learning new languages,” Mr. Tessier says
over a cup of coffee in a Lviv coffeehouse. No,
we didn’t order croissants. Pierre-Yves does
not project the stereotyped image of a Frenchman,
all the more so that he already considers
himself a Leopolitan. He speaks Ukrainian
fluently. Here is what Pierre-Yves told us
more in detail about his life in the City of Lion
and his vision of Ukraine through the
prism of Lviv.
● ON WORK
“I never choose the next place of work.
What predetermines my choice is a concrete
project that needs the services of an engineer.
When there arose an opportunity to
work in Lviv, I immediately agreed. Repairing
tram lines No. 2 and No. 6 was my first
project which is now coming to a close. Then
I took on, concurrently, the project of a legendary
(only Leopolitans will get me) tram
line to Sykhiv. Under the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development regulations,
an independent foreign engineer was
to check the quality of work and utilization
of the loans offered to Lviv.
“In general, people here hasten too much
about repairs. There are not many project institutes
in Ukraine, and they do not always
work well. It is wrong to think as follows: ‘It’s
necessary to repair this street. So let us sign a
contract now and start working tomorrow.’
First, there should be a detailed discussion. It
will take a year or two to draw up a really
high-quality project. And only then you can
begin to work.”
● “IT WAS LIKE A COMEBACK
TO EUROPE”
“I’ve always had a longing for the East, especially
Asia and Africa. Moving to Ukraine,
I did not know much about this country. The
West views it as part of Eastern Europe. I had
no special expectations from Lviv. My mind
recalled the image of big Soviet cities with
very few historical quarters and old architecture
structures but with many wide avenues
and dormitory suburbs.
“When I arrived in Lviv, its beauty really
struck me. It was for me like a comeback
to Europe. Architecture-wise, Lviv is not
Eastern but Central Europe. Unfamiliar
with the city’s history, I knew nothing about
influence of the Austrian and Polish empires.
In the course of time I became conscious
of Lviv’s architecture and urbanism.
“I will confess that I liked it that Lviv’s
buildings showed their age. A building had as
many years as it had cracks. This was the Lviv
I moved to. It was a somewhat egoistic impression.
The city has been renovated to a far
larger extent now, which is a right thing to
do. Old buildings are being continuously restored
in Lviv.”
● “IT TAKES TIME AND MUCH EFFORT”
“Lviv is dynamically developing. For example,
the cafe we are now sitting in did not
exist five years ago. Business is growing. New
buildings, including apartment houses, are
being built. Frankly speaking, this scares me
a little. Yes, there are more and more multiple
dwellings. The people who settle there are
buying cars. But where will they be driving?
Gridlocks are only on the rise. Lviv is a small
city with narrow streets. I think there will be
the same problems here as in Paris and London,
where a toll is charged for driving in the
downtown.
“I can see from inside how the city is actively
modernizing. It is wonderful indeed.
The Lviv administration works better and
better with every passing year. They are trying
to look more into the future. But it seems
to me sometimes that they can’t keep pace
“I came to Ukraine
to learn something new”
French engineer and urbanist Pierre-Yves Tessier
on Lviv life and Ukrainian “mentality change revolution”
with it. Lviv is developing faster than the
municipal administration is adding and improving
public services. I mean transport
and so on.
“A lot of repairs are being done in the city
now. However, even if there is enough money
in the city’s treasury, you can’t possibly begin
repairing all the streets at the same time, for
this will just paralyze the city. Nobody had
been doing anything in Lviv for almost
50 years. The city authorities will be unable to
resolve all the problems within a few years. It
takes time and much effort.”
● “NOW, FOUR YEARS ON, I CAN STILL
SEE THIS OPTIMISM”
“I don’t know other Ukrainian cities well
enough to analyze them in detail. But I can see
that Ukraine is developing. It is easy to criticize
and complain that there should be much
more progress. Whenever you receive something
new, you soon forget that you did not
have this two years ago. You quickly get used
to improvements. Many steps forward have
been taken after the Maidan. It is not what
people expected, but still there is a lot of
progress.
“I view the Maidan as a turning point
that began to bring about changes. Some major
changes have occurred in mentality. Seven
years ago, when I came here, I saw disappointed
Ukrainians with pessimism in
their eyes. They had a revolution, they had
elected a new president and thought they
had done the job. But democracy means daily
work. One must always be active, propose
changes, intervene into processes, and try to
pressure the authorities into working in an
appropriate way.
“The Ukrainians woke up during the
Maidan. When the then president broke them
up, they decided to go to a successful end.
That was a revolution not against the authorities
but against themselves, for changing
their mentality. People took to the streets to
take the future into their own hands.
“Now, four years on, I can still see this optimism.
Of course, you can always say that
nothing has changed. Corruption is still rampant,
and there are a lot of unrepaired roads…
The country continues to gradually move on
by inertia from the Maidan.”
● “UKRAINE MUST OPEN UP”
“Ukraine used to be rather a closed country
– perhaps because it was often somebody’s
colony in history. The Ukrainians gained independence
and hid from everybody. Inside
your country, you began to search for your
identity and explore history, without opening
up to the others.
“However, this is changing. People are becoming
more and more open. I like the slogan
‘Lviv is open to the world.’ Ukraine must open
up to the others. The more the Ukrainians will
be sure of their identity, language, and culture,
the more open Ukraine will be.”
Photo by Pavlo PALAMARCHUK
● ON THE UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE
“Thanks to the experience of living in various
nooks of the planet, I know very well how
important it is to speak the local language. It
is an important channel for understanding the
culture of a country. I speak six languages fluently:
French, English, Spanish, Mongolian,
Russian, and Ukrainian.
“I came to Ukraine not only to work, but also
to learn something new. Language and culture
are always important and interesting to
me. Yes, I used Russian as a working language,
but I understood that I should know Ukrainian.
I learned the language for one and a half
years – I took individual classes with a tutor
twice a week. Later, I fully switched to Ukrainian
in work and in everyday life. At first, I
must have been speaking not too elegantly. But
I was gradually getting rid of pidgin. Now,
whenever I speak or write in Russian, I notice
that I use Ukrainian words (laughs).”
● “I CONSIDER MYSELF A LEOPOLITAN”
“My life in Lviv is good and comfortable. I
have a lot of friends here. In general, I consider
myself a Leopolitan. It has been my house for seven
and a half years. And I am not exactly in a
hurry to leave it. Even when my projects come
to a close, I will be seeking an opportunity to stay
behind here. Maybe, I will receive one day a proposal
to work in another interesting place. I will
temporarily go there with a hope to come back.
I hope I will always maintain a special relationship
with Lviv.”

8
No.74 NOVEMBER 30, 2017
TIMEO U T
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
In the unity of opposites
By Zoia CHEHUSOVA
OLESIA DVORAK-HALIK, “CLOSED CIRCLE.” CHAMOTTE,
CERAMIC GLAZE, METAL; MODELING (2016)
Exhibition “Texture” launched at the TseHlyna Art Gallery
The exposition displays works by
two well-known Ukrainian
artists Natalka Borysenko
(experimental textile) and Olesia
Dvorak-Halik (professional
ceramics).
This art project looks rather interesting
from all viewpoints, including
its idea and its authors. First of all,
the exhibit arouses interest by the unexpected
“intrusion” of ornamental
textile works into the now customary
“realm of ceramics.” Yet these works
feel quite confidently in the TseHlyna
Art Gallery. Textile art has merged
with the art of clay so organically, almost
in an “ecstasy of love,” that it
raises a suspicion that it is not their last
“date” in the gallery.
Undoubtedly, this consonance of
textile and ceramics does not occur by
pure chance. The Kyiv-based Natalka
Borysenko and Olesia Dvorak-Halik,
graduates of the Lviv National Academy
of Arts (formerly, Lviv State Institute
of Decorative and Applied Art),
adhere to the main principles of the
Lviv art school, such as a pronounced
vector of ethnic and national identity,
reconsideration of the heritage of national
and international art, borrowing
all that is best in avant-garde trends,
and loyalty to national traditions.
And, although the two talented and
passionate female creators are self-sufficient
and sovereign artists, each of
which shows her original artistic style
and her personal emotional interpretation
of the world, they are, nevertheless,
like-minded people who follow
separate, but still very similar, formal
and artistic paths.
The Lviv alma mater taught them
(Borysenko in the 1970s at the ornamental
textile department and Dvorak-
Halik in the 1990s at the art pottery department)
not to be afraid of experiments
in plastic expression, which
now allows the mistresses to boldly balance
on the borderline between the
concrete and the imaginary, the figurative
and the abstract, both in textile
and ceramic compositions. For this
reason, the experimental emotional
textile of Borysenko and the avantgardist
hot-tempered ceramics of Dvorak-Halik,
which captivate their authors
with inner artistic freedom, do
not rival at the TseHlyna Art exhibit
but exist finely side by side and enrich
each other.
Texture is rather a broad and multiple-valued
notion in art, to which the
works of Borysenko and Dvorak-Halik
also testify: most of them are abstract
compositions charged with dynamic
energy, rhythm, and motion, which attract
you with the harmony of color
Photo by the author
combinations, while harmony and
color, together with the characteristics
of its brightness, are the main components
of the notion of texture which the
female artistic tandem assumed as a basis
of their art project.
As is known, the texture of an
image can be created artificially – in
the shape of graphic symbols, fonts,
line segments, and fragments of transformed
geometric figures. For example,
the large ceramic installation “Do
Not Be Flat,” which catches your eye
in the center of the exhibition, as well
as the decorative compositions “Ceramic
Mechanism,” “Closed Circle,” “A
Tete-a-Tete Talk,” “A Box of Reels”
(all made from the chamotte decorated
with bright glaze, in the technique
of modeling by hand), are built on the
many variations of the circle and the
oval with the expressive textures that
arose in the artistic imagination of
Dvorak-Halik who reproduced them in
the exhibits.
Borysenko also dreams of multicolored
geometric fantasies in her
monumental textile pictures “A Road
at Sunset,” “Green Composition,”
“Pink Composition,” and “Specks,”
which the artist skillfully executed in
her own technique on the borderline of
collage and embroidery.
The exhibit convinces us that texture
is also an important component of
images in nature which our mistresses
found in the structural elements of
tree leaves (Borysenko, triptych “Three
Trees:” textile; collage, embroidery),
exotic plants and flowers (Dvorak-
Halik, decorative plastiques “Plants on
Reefs,” “A Coral Flower,” “A Coral
Cactus” – all of them from the “Mexico”
series: chamotte, ceramic glaze,
modeling).
The artist’s eye easily distinguishes
the texture of clouds, water,
and even the sun (Borysenko, decorative
pictures “Between the Drops,”
“Smooth Water Surface,” “Sunlight
Spots.” All of them are cotton, painting,
and hot batik), which cannot help
surprising the ordinary spectator.
The word “texture” translates
from Latin as “fabric,” “link,” or
“structure.” These words are perhaps
crucial for understanding the artistic
idea that gripped Dvorak-Halik and Borysenko.
But the main thing is that the
exposition creates an atmosphere of
harmony of the art of textile and ceramics,
the two major varieties of
Ukraine’s contemporary professional
decorative art which is developing in
the stream of the general European
artistic process against the backdrop of
a venerable attitude to the historical
traditions of national figurative art.
Zoia Chehusova is an Honored
Art Worker of Ukraine
By Hanna PAROVATKINA
Photos by Artem SLIPACHUK, The Day
The art of enlightenment
Exhibit “The Geometry of Enlightenment. Andrii
Siderskyi’s Psychotronic Art. Bohdan Andriitsev’s
Grotesque Plastic Art” is open in Kyiv
ANDRII SIDERSKYI, UNIVERSAL MEDITATIVE SYNDROME. THE MAGIC INK-POT
The exhibit can be enjoyed at the
Polytechnic Museum at the
National Technical University of
Ukraine (The Kyiv Polytechnic).
It is very advantageously
displayed against the backdrop of all
manner of technical exhibits (which
include even rare cars) and consists of
Andrii Siderskyi’s paintings and Bohdan
Andriitsev’s sculpture pieces. The latter
quite deserve a separate personal exhibit.
Yet the author says humbly that he
created his practicing yogis under the
influence of Siderskyi.
A walking legend, a living classic –
these are but a few nicknames by which
Siderskyi goes. Graduating from the
Kyiv Polytechnic in 1984, he gained
fame but not as an engineer. In April
2014 the prestigious The Art Newspaper
included Siderskyi into its Top 50 most
expensive living artists. (Later experts
had to point out that Siderskyi is Ukrainian,
not Russian.) But even painting is
not quite what made him one of the
world’s best-known Ukrainians.
Siderskyi is a spiritual teacher (not
to be confused with commercial gurus),
a role model in the environment of numerous
athletes and esoteric seekers of
truth. He has been a practicing yogi since
the 1970s and one of the best yoga
teachers in the West. And also a translator,
writer, author of several books of
prose and numerous poems. By way of
comparison one might say that right now
a celebrity of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s
caliber is living and working in Kyiv.
Artistic career and success turn out
to be the least of Siderskyi’s concerns
(and this with an average price of 51,000
pounds per painting, according to
TANR). He absolutely does not consider
his painting as op art, abstractionism
or anything else of that sort. He dubbed
his own method Psychotronic Art and describes
it as a trend in yoga-art. He explains
that in India they have known for
thousands of years about this specific
spiritual yogi practice in the form of
painting, capable of altering the physical
characteristics of our world. Ajit
Mookerjee described it to the Westerners
in detail in his monograph Yoga Art.
The 1975 New York edition is also displayed
at “The Geometry of Enlightenment.”
When Siderskyi told how he
managed to find the book with American
bookdealers, he was obviously more
proud of this stroke of luck than of his
own paintings.
“Such basic geometrical figures as
the point, straight line, circle, triangle,
and square, have symbolic value in representing
the basic energies of the universe.
They can be combined in increasingly
complex figures to represent particular
forces or qualities embodied in
some aspect of creation, evolution, dissolution.
… A square, for instance, represents
a degree of creation in process;
this configuration determines that the
creation is to be complete in itself, while
a rectangle with unequal sides would indicate
a partial or preliminary state of
creation. … Color-waves represent a dynamic
rush of forces,” writes Mookerjee.
Siderskyi’s geometrical abstractions also
represent quite utilitarian concreteness.
Each of his works is not just a set
of colored geometrical symbols. It is a
well-thought artistic gesture, aimed at
making an impact on the universe. In
other words, Siderskyi paints to solve
concrete problems of concrete people.
“They are wholesome,” declares he. For
instance, Five Magical Objects underwent
five or more overhauls. The flowers
against a menacing yellow background
were meant to help a certain person
cope with chronic migraine.
It is up to everyone to decide whether
they will or not believe in the mystic power
of painting. We were impressed
not only by the level of Siderskyi’s
paintings, but also by a very fortunate
solution the curators found for the exhibit.
It fits the space of the Polytechnic
Museum perfectly, even the color scheme
of some paintings is consonant with the
exhibits on permanent display next to
them. Director Natalia PYSAREVSKA
mentioned to The Day that the museum
of the Kyiv Polytechnic has an own
standpoint in the argument between
“artists and engineers.” “Creativity lies
at the heart of sciences,” explained
BOHDAN ANDRIITSEV, RELYING ON INNER SPACE
Pysarevska. “That is why we intend to
further expand cooperation with contemporary
art. Of course, we will only invite
those authors whose works fit into
our concept.”
“For me Andrii is a living legend.
The paintings of the yogi Siderskyi are
engineer Sikorsky meeting avant-garde
artist Kandinsky,” wrote author Liubko
DERESH sharing his impressions from
the opening. “At some point I even
asked permission to use one of his works
on the cover of my new novel.”
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