#9_1-8

FEBRUARY 13, 2018 ISSUE No. 9 (1141)
Tel.: +38(044) 303-96-19,
fax: +38(044) 303-94-20
е-mail: time@day.kiev.ua;
http://www.day.kiev.ua
“HOW
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
TO PROTECT
PEOPLE FROM
TECHNOLOGY?”
White House adviser and
Google’s “secret weapon”
speaks about challenges of
“technological revolutions”
Continued on pages 6, 7
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
On the role of the monarchy, Minsk II,
and the Budapest Memorandum
Ambassador Judith GOUGH:
“Ukraine continues to remain a priority for
us and we continue to support Ukraine
and remain in solidarity with Ukraine”
Continued on pages 4, 5

2
No.9 FEBRUARY 13, 2018
DAY AFTER DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
“The Yanukovych case”:
what lesson have we drawn?
Expert: “There is no understanding that political
processes need to be separated from legal issues”
By Ivan KAPSAMUN, The Day
These days four years ago, there was
not much time left before the tragic
apogee of the Maidan. A week later
(February 18-20, 2014), dozens of
people were shot in the center of the
Ukrainian capital. Then Viktor Yanukovych
fled the country, and our current rulers
came to power. Has any representative of
the then authorities been brought to account
for the terrible crimes committed? They
have fled, you will say. Yes, but has a
quality investigation been carried out at
least? Or have we seen a trial in absentia
happening?
On the latter matter, some new information
has appeared lately. It is quite likely
that the current government decided to
accelerate the process precisely due to the
approaching anniversary of the tragic
events. They are just used to working this
way – marking an important date with
some actions.
Thus, Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko
wrote on Facebook: “From my first
day in office, I have felt that my main task
is to answer the question: who is to blame
for the deaths of the Heavenly Hundred?
During this year-and-a-half, a lot has been
done: 280 individuals who executed criminal
orders to commit acts of violence
against Maidan protesters are being tried.
But the public rightly asks: who was the organizer
of the shootings of peaceful protesters?
... Today, after months of controversial
actions by Yanukovych’s defense
team, the Pecherskyi District Court of
Kyiv allowed us to hold a special (in absentia)
preliminary investigation of former
president Yanukovych, former head of the
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Oleksandr
Yakymenko, and former first deputy
head of the SBU Volodymyr Totskyi’s involvement
in the Maidan shootings. This
means that after the completion of the
Yanukovych high treason trial, Ukrainians
will witness the next trial dealing with criminal
orders to attack the Maidan. As to the
other three persons involved in this criminal
proceeding, namely Vitalii Zakharchenko,
Viktor Ratushniak, and Petro
Fedchuk, similar prosecutorial motions
will be considered in the near future.”
The investigation team blames expresident
Yanukovych and other former
high-ranking officials of involvement in the
Maidan shootings. From February 18-20,
2014, clashes between protesters and lawenforcement
officers saw more than 100 activists
of the Euromaidan and 19 police officers
killed.
In response, Yanukovych said that he
was dissatisfied with the court’s permission
to hold an in absentia investigation into his
actions, and accused the current government
of preventing his lawyers from attending
the court hearing, This claim is contained
in a statement by the ex-president
which was posted on Facebook by the
spokesman of his son Oleksandr Yanukovych,
Yurii Kyrasyr. “The current
Ukrainian regime has stooped to criminal
measures, namely using force to remove my
lawyers from the trial in the so-called
Maidan case, which is allegedly being
‘heard’ by the Pecherskyi District Court of
Kyiv,” stated Yanukovych.
Let us recall that the Obolonskyi District
Court of Kyiv is already hearing a case
against Yanukovych on charges of high
treason. Yanukovych himself, who is currently
residing in Russia, rejects all the allegations
against himself. He testified in
court through a video link.
A very important point in this whole story
is to see not just criminal cases against former
high-ranking officials, but high-quality
investigations. After all, any mistakes
made during them may then serve as grounds
for the annulment of judgments in European
courts, if, for example, Yanukovych decides
to bring the matter there. There are
even examples where representatives of the
former regime have already won cases in European
courts: for example, Andrii Portnov.
Journalists, of course, can be blamed for interviewing
Portnov or Olena Bondarenko
(this is a separate matter, though), but
what has the current Ukrainian government
done to prove the guilt of former officials?
Therefore, this story, in fact, is not just indicative,
but also instructive, both from a legal
and a political point of view. It is these
key matters that are dealt with in the commentary
below, offered by lawyer, Candidate
of Law, senior research fellow at the Koretsky
Institute of State and Law (the National
Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)
Mykola SIRYI.
“I would like to recall the statement of
Prosecutor General Lutsenko that the conviction
in the first case involving treason had
to be obtained by September 2017. It is February
2018 now, that is, it has already
been six months since this stated date, and
we see that the end of this proceeding is
nowhere in sight. This implies irresponsible
attitude on the part of the state, in particular
the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO),
towards the construction of its strategy. It
must be understood that if a certain action
is announced, the PGO must exhibit professionalism
and understanding of the situation,
that is, they must know how the
events will develop. If you want to amend the
law, and in fact the in absentia procedure
needs this to be legal, then it was necessary
to do so a year ago and understand how the
trial will develop. Unfortunately, we are seeing
a situation instead when people are
starting to act blindly, not knowing what
consequences these actions will have.
“As for the Maidan killings, we also see
that the prosecutor general is again in a hurry
to make statements and demonstrate
seemingly dynamic progress. I would not
want to offer a negative forecast, but it is
likely that we will have the same situation
in that latter trial too. In general, those people
who take important decisions in the legal
sphere today lack understanding that political
processes need to be separated from
legal issues. Beginning one or another legal
proceeding, including a trial, one needs to
have a good hold on one’s tools and to separate
political information from purely legal
proceedings. In my opinion, it is in this
area that we have serious problems and the
corresponding consequences.
“With regard to the formal issues of defense
provision, the accused person always
takes lead in choosing a counsel. That is, the
state cannot impose on the person a counsel
that it considers to be the best from its own
perspective. Therefore, any actions aimed at
ignoring the right to legal defense can be perceived
positively neither in Ukraine nor
abroad. It should also be remembered that
an in absentia trial is a quasi trial, after
which it is still possible to return to the complete
trial mode. Therefore, when starting
any in absentia trial, it is necessary to conduct
it as one, that is, in an abbreviated
form. After an in absentia trial, the person
against whom the verdict is pronounced is
still entitled to a complete trial.
“The fact that we need to raise the issue
of the legal responsibility of
Yanukovych and the then supreme leadership
of the nation, who used excessive
force and weapons against people which led
to numerous deaths – that fact is indisputable.
But if the state is involved in this
trial, in particular the PGO, then everything
must be done in a professional, authoritative
manner, with an understanding of
how this trial will develop. What we are seeing
now is the prosecution team lacking full
understanding of the essence of the trial.
Therefore, we see the high treason trial expanding
its scope beyond belief. The impression
is that they plan to question the entire
military establishment and the entire
political class of Ukraine, including past,
present, and future figures. This indicates
a nonprofessional approach.”
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day
Recently, member of the Israeli
Knesset Akram Hasson submitted
for consideration by the
chamber a bill proposing to
recognize the Holodomor of 1932-
33 as genocide, and to proclaim December 6
as the official commemoration day for
Holodomor victims. The explanatory notes
to the bill state that the Holodomor was
planned by “the Soviet authorities in order
to strike a blow against the Ukrainian
nation and Ukrainian national identity,”
the DW writes.
NEWSru.co.il writes that the idea of
submitting the bill for consideration occurred
to Hasson after he had made a visit
to Ukraine and, in particular, visited the
Holodomor Museum, which made a great
impression on him.
A request to recognize the Holodomor
as an act of genocide was communicated
to the Israeli side back in September
2016 by a group of Ukrainian public figures.
Yurii SHCHERBAK,
diplomat and journalist:
“They are now able to talk about it and
have put the bill on the agenda, which is already
a step forward and should be welcomed.
But I think that they will not pass it,
because their position is clear: the Holocaust
of the Jewish people was the only event of
that magnitude, and the Holodomor was, of
course, acrime, butnotgenocide. AndIhave
great doubts that this position has changed,
butIwouldbeveryhappyifithas.Moreover,
Israel is under the great influence of Russia
which will not allow them to recognize the
Holodomor as genocide.
“The fact that the Knesset still has not
recognized the Holodomor as genocide is
due to them having such an ideology of concentrating
on their people’s particular issues.
An Israeli foreign minister explained
once that their state was a regional rather
than a global power, therefore they were
only concerned with Jewish problems. For
example, according to him, if Jews are oppressed
somewhere, Israel will fight this,
provide help, but it will try not to interfere
otherwise. In addition, there are many
delicate moments interwoven here, like the
fact that there were many Jews serving in
the NKVD who played their part in the
Holodomor policy.
“During my time in Israel, I published
an article on the Holodomor in a local
newspaper, which listed many facts. This
was, I think, the first publication on this
topic. I found materials about the famine’s
impact in Jewish districts of Ukraine. Interestingly,
Jews suffered from the
Holodomor as well. But of course, one
publication was unlikely to solve anything,
although it was welcomed quite
warmly in Israel.”
Why is it so important to us that the
Israeli government recognize the
Holodomor as genocide, after all, and
why has this issue been delayed for so
long?
“We have a very positive attitude towards
the Jewish state, towards Israel. We
feel great sympathy for the suffering and
tragedy of the Jewish people. And that is
the right thing to do. There are many
similarities in the fates of the Ukrainian
and Jewish peoples and our two states. The
Jewish state emerged despite the enormous
resistance of the Arab countries in the Middle
East and has asserted itself through unceasing
wars. There are certain analogies
in our historical fates. Therefore, it would
be important for us to see them feeling
Ukrainian pain as well. Moreover, grandfathers
and great-grandfathers of a large
number of living Ukrainian Israelis saw the
Holodomor, and also suffered to a certain
extent. Although, since most Jews lived in
cities, they were less affected by it.
“Of course, we have every right to expect
that they will not be indifferent to the
suffering of the Ukrainian people, which
their fathers and grandfathers also experienced,
and at least will be able to express
their compassion.”
What steps should Ukraine and our
embassy in Israel take in order to change
the Israeli public opinion on this issue?
“The embassy is not the only institution
with a role here. I am convinced and
aware that our embassy is conducting appropriate
outreach and advocacy work
and trying to influence decisions of the
Knesset. But I think that we need to pay
more attention to the problems that exist
Expert: “There are many similarities
in the fates of the Ukrainian and
Jewish peoples and our two states”
between us, to expand our cooperation.
Still, Israel depends heavily on Russia, on
its decisions to supply or not modern
weapons to hostile regimes, in particular,
Iran and Hamas, which have set themselves
the goal of destroying Israel. Therefore,
they are forced to approach Vladimir Putin
as supplicants and ask him not to take some
steps, and Russia responds, as it has done
everywhere and with everyone, with its
characteristic haughty imperialist behavior.
On the one hand, sometimes it promises
something, and on the other hand, if
modern systems, especially very effective
anti-aircraft missile systems are delivered,
Israel will not be able to respond adequately
to terrorist attacks. After all, it
has to deal with constant barrages of primitive
homemade rockets hitting its territory.
Therefore, this is a very serious matter.
The role of Russia is enormous in the
region since it has taken upon itself to act
on the side of the Shiite Muslim countries
and has been engaged in hostilities in Syria,
which has caused enormous rage among
other Muslims. But that mess of contradictions,
hatred and blood, which Syria is
now, is also an intersection of interests of
Russia, Israel, and Turkey. We must understand
that they are heavily dependent
on Russia’s behavior.
“I think the time is on our side as we
are working to have Israel recognize the
Holodomor as genocide. I am confident of
this, but I have great doubts about it happening
right now. But history is such a
mole that slowly digs its burrows, in the
end the truth comes to surface.”
● “WE NEED TO PREPARE
PUBLIC OPINION”
Josef ZISSELS, a Soviet-era dissident,
co-chairman of the Association of
Jewish Organizations and
Communities of Ukraine:
“I am very glad that this bill has been
introduced. But it seems to me that it has
come too early, because we need to prepare
public opinion, to publicize this story
through the Israeli press. I do not know if
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
Will Israel recognize the
Holodomor as genocide?
the embassy is doing enough to introduce
the Israeli society to the Holodomor problem.
I think they would be able to perceive
it if they saw it explained correctly and in
a measured manner in various languages:
English, Russian, Hebrew.
“The odds of the bill passing are low at
the moment. It can be ‘killed’ as early as the
committee stage, although I will be glad if
it passes anyway.
“But the main thing is to inform the Israeli
population about what the Holodomor
was. This requires a systematic effort
which our friends in Israel also have to join.
There is a large community called Israel
Supports Ukraine there that arose during
the Maidan, and there are people in the
Knesset who are sympathetic to us, but that
is not enough. We need a high level of activity
in Hebrew-language media, on the Internet,
on TV. After that, the prepared audience
would take well to this law.”
Why has Israel still not recognized
the Holodomor as genocide?
“Only 24 out of 200 countries have recognized
the Holodomor as a genocide. Israel
has its own headache, I mean the
Holocaust. It is very difficult to overcome
the barrier when you have always existed
in your tragedy and cultivated the
memory of it, to overcome it and feel compassion
for another people. But this is
possible. We have seen it in other countries,
but those countries did not experience the
Holocaust. This is a process that has started
and, I think, will reach its logical conclusion,
but it will not be soon.”
P.S. Den/The Day’s editor-in-chief
Larysa Ivshyna wrote on Facebook: “If the
Knesset will be able to recognize the
Holodomor as genocide, Ukraine will have
to recognize Israel as a strategic partner.”
If the Knesset will still miss the opportunity
and fail to pass the law on the
recognition of the Holodomor as genocide
of the Ukrainian people in the near future,
we will hope that the next generation of
politicians will be able to not just put this
issue on the agenda, but also implement it.

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
DAY AFTER DAY No.9 FEBRUARY 13, 2018 3
By Ivan ANTYPENKO, The Day, Kherson
Borys Babin has been in office since
August 17 last year. Ukraine’s
President Petro Poroshenko
appointed a new representative in
the Autonomous Republic of
Crimea after activists had expressed
dissatisfaction with the previous one –
Natalia Popovych. It will be recalled that
Crimean Tatar activists protested against
Popovych in July last year near the
Representation of the President of Ukraine
in Crimea. Members of the Asker civic
formation, former Aidar fighters, and
other people in military uniform were
saying that Popovych did not receive
people in her office or care about migrants
from Crimea, and they knew very little
about the work of this governmental body.
The conflict lasted for about a month.
Izet Gdanov, a participant in the July
protest and the public blockade of
Crimea in 2015, became the first deputy of
the newly-appointed representative. He is
called a creature of Lenur Isliamov, a
Crimean Tatar political figure, the mastermind
of the public blockade of Crimea
in 2015, and an initiator of protests against
Natalia Popovych.
Borys BABIN is an international and
maritime law expert, an academic. After
his appointment, the Representation became
a more frequent subject of discussions.
Babin often speaks publicly about
Crimean problems, such as illegal transportations,
the performance of customs
services at check points, the establishment
of “service provision centers” in the
borderline areas of Kherson oblast, etc. The
Day met Babin to talk about the Representation’s
role in tackling legal, security,
economic, social, and other problems
Ukraine is facing as a result of Russia’s aggression.
● DEOCCUPATION
Mr. Babin, is there a strategy of returning
Crimea? Who works it out?
“The occupation of Crimea and the
Donbas is an element of the interstate
conflict. The strategy of deoccupation can
only be a component in solving the overall
problem – ending the war with Ukraine’s
victory, not defeat.”
In other words, first a victory in the
Donbas war and only then the strategy of
deoccupation?
“The Donbas and Crimea are not separate
conflicts. They shoot over there,
but not here. But still it is one conflict. We
must have a single – diplomatic, security,
and military – front of resistance. I don’t
know what we will liberate earlier – Crimea
or the Donbas. The world is changing fast.
Yet we must map out a general strategy of
resisting the aggressor. I am sure that these
documents exist, but they cannot be publicized.”
What is the role of the Representation
in this process?
“We know that Crimea will be deoccupied.
But we cannot say in detail and publicly
how this will be done. Yet we can say
what is to be done here and now to resist the
Russian aggression that is unfolding in the
public plane. Let’s call it Plan of Urgent Actions.
We have almost finished drawing up
this document.”
What is there in it?
“It is about international relations, the
policy of law, public administration, transport,
trade, finances, the environment, education,
etc. We have a lot of bodies that
deal with Crimea: the police, the Security
Service, the Ministry for Temporary Occupied
Territories, the Ministry of Defense,
and other ministries. The question is
whether we should have this plan approved
at the National Security and Defense
Council level or a separate law. But
it is difficult, for some things must be done
now. We think we will be fulfilling this
plan within the limits of the Representation’s
authority. It will result in projects,
proposals, and actions. But the plan should
at first be scrutinized by a high-level task
force composed of prominent Ukrainian academics,
deputy ministers, and other officials.
It will take just a few weeks. Then
we will make this plan public and work on
it in the next two years. Unfortunately, I
can’t say there will be deoccupation in 2018
or, frankly speaking, even in 2019.”
“The Donbas and Crimea are
not separate conflicts”
The President’s Representative in Crimea, Borys
BABIN, on how to resist Russian aggression
Does this plan set out any indicators
of effectiveness?
“Of course, in each of the steps, even
if it is a matter beyond our competence.
Then we will be reporting on progress in
the fulfillment of this plan so that society
can see why I am paid a salary off your
taxes.
“The next thing we are going to work
on in 2018 is the strategy of Crimea’s
reintegration. We must work out a plan of
actions from the ‘zero hour,’ when we
will begin to enter Crimea, until the moment
we say: Crimea is fully integrated into
the legal, economic, cultural, and security
fields of Ukraine. Will the invader be
withdrawing from Crimea smoothly and
honestly? No. Will we run any risks after
the deoccupation? Yes. That’s why we
must think it over right now.”
● HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE
In what way are you monitoring human
rights abuse in Crimea? What is the
current situation?
“Seventy percent of the information
about human rights abuse situation in
Crimea is openly accessible. Russia is simulating
its own legal system in Crimea and,
therefore, cannot brazenly hide its activities,
as it does in the Donbas. Our analytical
section monitors the so-called administrative
bodies, courts, and the mass media.
About 1,500 people have turned to us
in four months. It is a huge array of information
about human rights abuse. We
also cooperate with human rights advocates
and the government bodies that furnish information.
As for the situation as a whole,
there are two dimensions. Firstly, Russia
is brazenly destroying the people’s political
freedoms. This includes Russification,
ban of the Crimean Tatar people’s bodies of
self-organization, and persecution of activists,
patriots of Ukraine, under the
guise of combating extremism. Secondly,
it is a mass-scale violation of socioeconomic
rights, such as to housing, work, education,
pension, etc. This applies to the whole
population of Crimea. We include the results
of our monitoring in reports to the
Presidential Administration and the UN
and OSCE monitoring missions.”
As for the disappeared activists in
Crimea, there are nongovernmental organizations
that inquire into these cases.
Do you cooperate with them?
“It is a very delicate matter. Unfortunately,
there are entities that make political
or material capital out of this subject.
There were instances when we were going
to help people, but once the so-called human
rights champions came to know about
this, things went awry. We are prepared to
cooperate with any entity, but our condition
is that cooperation should really help
the people who are detained or missing in
Crimea, or their relatives. We are not
hyping ourselves up. As for the disappeared
persons, I advise their relatives to turn to
the Representation so that we closely look
into every case.”
What are you doing concretely for
these people?
“I cannot give names. For example,
there is a family in Crimea. The father was
kidnapped or is behind bars. The mother is
left with children who need to receive
Ukrainian documents, go to the mainland,
and come back. It is very difficult to
do if there is only one of the parents. And
we resolve this kind of problems. Another
example: there is a well-known person
who died in Crimea. There are his relatives
in mainland Ukraine. A lot activist visited
them. I asked them later if all these hypeup
entities helped them, say, to file a lawsuit
to an international court. The answer
was ‘No.’”
● INTERNATIONAL COURTS
Let’s take Ukraine’s lawsuits against
Russia over violations of international
law. How many of them are there, who
deals with them, and at what stage of examination
are they now?
“Various entities are responsible for
this. The first is the Ministry of Justice
which deals with suits to the European
Court of Human Rights. There are several
suits, of which two touch upon Crimea.
I can’t forecast how long it will all take, but,
surely, at least a few years. This ruling in
this case will include a lot of documented
human rights violations in Crimea on the
part of Russia. The Foreign Ministry of
Ukraine is also monitoring many cases, including
some at the International Court of
Justice on the basis of two conventions –
for the suppression of the financing of terrorism
and on the elimination of all forms
of racial discrimination. The Crimean
question is raised in the second part. It is
in this part that the court ruled in 2017 to
lift the ban on the Crimean Tatar people’s
bodies of self-organization. This case has
a lot of risks and is expected to last several
years. Russia will be doing its utmost to
have this case dropped. An arbitration
court also begins to examine Russia’s violations
of the Convention on the Law of
the Sea – about the rights of Ukraine to the
continental shelf and the economic zone
around Crimea, restrictions on the freedom
of shipping, and pollution of the Black Sea.
The communication is going on, but it is
confidential. One more case is being dealt
with by the International Criminal Court –
it directly concerns the Russian aggression.
The Prosecutor General’s Office is responsible
for this. From the juridical angle,
this situation is at the initial stage in
comparison with other lawsuits.
“Besides, there are cases initiated by
Ukrainian natural persons and legal entities
– for example, the investment dispute
of the national joint-stock company Naftohaz
Ukrainy about the impossibility of using
their property. These processes go
fast. But here Russia evades participation.
As for suits of natural persons to then ECtHR,
this court says that only a few hundred
people have filed complaints against
the aggressor. More people have sued Russia
and Ukraine at the same time. And still
more people are suing Ukraine only. It is,
above all, residents of the Donbas.”
A number of resolutions of international
organizations (UN, Council of Europe,
NATO) condemn Russia’s aggression
in Ukraine. Russia in fact ignores these
statements. To what extent effective are
these resolutions?
“From the viewpoint of international
law, these documents are very important.
But still more important will be the binding
rulings of courts. Firstly, the acts of international
organizations are taken into account
in the abovementioned judicial decisions.
Secondly, they constitute the
grounds for imposing sanctions against the
aggressor.”
The Russian president said recently
that they are prepared to return the
Ukrainian warships they had seized in
Crimea. What do you think of this?
“Word has it that the Russians are
preparing a ‘heavenly nook’ for their powers
that be in Balaclava. So it is necessary
to move Russian ships from this bay to Sevastopol.
But there are the captured ships
of the Ukrainian Navy there. On the one
hand, they want to solve their questions of
self-interest about Balaclava, but, on the
other hand, if we agree, they will say: look,
we maintain good relations with Ukrainians,
we are tackling the problem of Crimea,
and they are taking back their junk. They
expect us to swallow the bait, for it costs
a pretty penny to recycle some equipment
on the mainland.
“Undoubtedly, Ukraine must increase
its military presence in the Black Sea.
However, what really matters here is people,
not hardware. Unfortunately, 2014
showed the true level of the will to resist on
the part of some Ukrainian servicemen,
particularly the naval personnel. We are
sure not to return Crimea with the help of
those who surrendered Crimea and bargained
over a trouble-free removal of property
from the officers’ apartments.”
Are you accusing these people of surrendering
Crimea?
“I am not putting the blame on them,
but I want to see an investigation and a trial.
I am only stating a well-known fact. How
many Ukrainian servicemen left Crimea,
how many remained behind, how many of
those who left offered resistance? The
figures are very different.”
What is Crimea today in military
terms?
“The peninsula is becoming a beachhead
of Russia’s further aggression. Obviously,
the presence of Russia in Syria and
its plans about the Mediterranean region
would be impossible without presence in
Crimea. Therefore, let me say it gain, only
a victory of civilized nations in the undeclared
war with Russia can resolve the
Crimean question. Militarily, Russia obviously
poses a threat to Ukraine from
Crimea. There can be nuclear weapons on
the peninsula because the necessary capacities
are available.”
● THE CRIMEAN TATAR
QUESTION
What is your attitude to the Crimean
Tatar autonomy?
“This topic is politicized very much. In
1991, the Supreme Council of what was still
Soviet Ukraine restored the Crimean Autonomous
Soviet Socialist Republic. I
stress: restored. In other words, this envisioned
autonomy for Crimea’s indigenous
peoples. From 1992 until 2014 Ukraine had
to make endless concessions to Russia
about Crimea and autonomy.
“The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recognizes
the UN declaration on indigenous
peoples. Today, we are to let the Crimean
Tatar people exercise their right to self-determination
within the limits of Ukraine.
How? There are several ways. The first is
to introduce amendments to the Constitution.
A task force is working on changes to
Article 10 of the Constitution (Autonomous
Republic of Crimea). The second
is connected with disapproving he law on
indigenous peoples. But the registered
drafts of this law suggest controversial conclusions.
My position is that there should
be autonomy.”
There is an idea of holding the Comprehensive
Testing of Applicants in Kherson
oblast. What is your attitude to this?
“Territorially, the autonomy already
exists – it is the Autonomous Republic of
Crimea. In my view, we in mainland
Ukraine can only speak of the state’s overall
duty to preserve the cultural, economic,
and social rights of indigenous peoples.”
Would it be a good idea to assign
quotas in administrative bodies for Mejlis
members?
“Quotas in the executive bodies of
government on the basis of ethnicity contravene
the law of Ukraine. It is absurd. We
have representative bodies, where this
can be discussed in theory – for example,
elections to the Ukrainian parliament and
local councils coupled with the formation
of ethnic constituencies. Quotas for political
offices? It’s possible. But the Mejlis is
a special case. Anyway, this should be applied
to the bodies that will function in
Crimea after deoccupation.”
What is the Representation doing to
protect the cultural and educational rights
of Crimean Tatars?
“We are not dispensers of budgetary
funds. Unfortunately, we don’t have a law
on indigenous people. For this reason,
funding is only possible through the program
of protecting the deported. These
funds are used, for example, to finance the
ATR TV channel. In general, it is the domain
of the Ministry of Social Policies. On our
part, we stay in touch with all executive and
local government bodies. We care about a
Crimean Tatar language school in Novooleksiivka,
Henichesk raion. We lobbied technical
assistance and demanded that the local
authorities resolve the heating problem.
We are in contact with all the local Mejlises
and ready to support projects, particularly
those of international organizations.”
● CRIMEAN TITAN
Why and how does the Crimean Titan
plant work? Where does it take the raw
material (ilmenite) and electric power?
“The plant really works. Some reports
say that raw materials are delivered from
Ukraine and other countries. It is a serious
problem,andweareraisingitbeforethelawenforcement
bodies. As for electric power
supply, this fact has not been proven for a
simplereason–thepowergridsoperatorsays
this does not occur. It is impossible to prove
the opposite unless you control the grids.
Andtheregionalpowersupplycompanysues
those who say that electricity is being furnished.
I am not so rich and will not make
this kind of statements. But I want law-enforcerstodosomething.Icanassureyouthat
his activity will be put an end to. Titan’s
products are used in the aggressor’s military
industry.Weaponsarebeingmadeunderour
nose perhaps to destroy us. Besides, this poses
an environmental problem – the pollution
of Sivash and air. Incidentally, let us say the
truth: this also existed before the war.”
● ILLEGAL TRANSPORTATIONS
You have repeatedly said in the media
about illegal transportations in
Crimea. What’s the crux of the matter?
“The main problem is that checkpoints
to Crimea have no legal transport communication
today. Motor transport is divided
there into three groups. The first is former
interregional buses that used to run before
the war. They ride up to the checkpoint, passengers
cross the administrative border,
while the ‘twin’ of this bus is waiting on the
other side. And our gallant Transport Safety
Service is trying to say that this is lawful.
Tickets to Kerch are not sold in mainland
Ukraine, and there is no such stop as
checkpoint. The second group is totally illegal
taxi minibuses which pick up people
at the checkpoint and carry them further
on. The friends Franklin, Grant, and Jackson
[portraits of US presidents on dollar
bills. – Ed.] help solve all problems with the
Transport Safety Service, the local authorities,
and the police. The third group is
taxi drivers. It is the only category that can
carry people through the checkpoint without
changing. Taxi drivers can cross the line
with the Russian side’s permission. This
strong corrupt chain also comprises our officials
who oversee transport. All this occurs
under the surveillance of Russian
special services. Everybody smiles because
everybody cashes in. We will not put up
with this. Incidentally, we are raising the
question of deploying National Guard units
in Henichesk raion. We must admit that the
state has lost control of this district to some
extent. It is a big headache for the local executive
authorities.”
What is the way out of the situation?
“We want to extend the railway communication
as far as ‘Vadym’ station so
that passengers can almost reach the checkpoint.
We are trying to see to it that bus
routes should be at last opened on a competitive
basis. At the moment, it is enough
to make a stop near the checkpoint, put up
a ticket-selling booth – and it will be a legal
route station. It is the Kherson Oblast
Administration that should invite bids
because it is interregional communication.
I don’t know why this hasn’t been
done in all these years. Raion administrations
are not raising this question either.
We wrote letters to the oblast administration,
convened conferences, and informed
the Transport Safety Service about
illegal carriers. They are essentially turning
a deaf ear to us. You know, it is easy to
‘clip coupons’ while it is illegal. But when
it becomes legal, everybody will be paying
taxes and nobody will be cheating.”

4
No.9 FEBRUARY 13, 2018
TOPIC OF THE DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Mykola SIRUK
Britain is in the process of leaving the EU,
but this does not mean that the UK will
pay less attention to Ukraine, which it
has traditionally supported on the path
of Euro-Atlantic integration. This was
made clear by British Ambassador Judith Gough
in her second interview for Den/The Day during
her tenure as head of the diplomatic mission in
Kyiv. Moreover, at the end of the conversation,
the ambassador, who tweets in Ukrainian,
assured that the next interview would be given
not in English, but in Ukrainian.
● “THE RESPONSIBILITY
FOR RESOLVING THIS SITUATION
LIES WITH RUSSIA”
Ambassador Judith GOUGH: “Ukraine continues
to remain a priority for us and we continue to support
Ukraine and remain in solidarity with Ukraine”
Ambassador, you recently participated in
launching the Learn and Discern initiative and you
said there that “Ukraine is setting an example for
the rest of the world, and in particular for my country.”
Can you elaborate what you meant?
“I think with Ukraine engaged in a very difficult
hybrid conflict with Russia, it is clear that information
has been and will continue to be
weaponized. And what we see in Ukraine is that
your leaders and ministers have a very clear understanding
of this. And I think your education
minister has taken a very wise decision, which is to
ensure that the education curriculum contains an
element of media literacy and critical thinking. I
think this is very important, something we will also
look at. Because we now have so many different
sources of information, but we have not necessaring
is that there is somehow some blame to be put
on the international community, the fact is, Russia
needs to take steps that deliver on security. And
we continue to encourage Russia to do so – the sanctions
remain, we continue to push for progress on
Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the issues in our relationships
upon which we very strongly disagree with
Russia.”
● “THE UKRAINIAN SIDE IS NOT
ACTUALLY ASKING US FOR THESE
SORTS OF WEAPONS”
Perhaps another way of supporting Ukraine
could be for Britain to supply lethal weapons. What
will you say about this?
“We have no plans to do so at the moment. Firstly,
the Ukrainian side is not actually asking us for
these sorts of weapons. Secondly, we have already
done a lot to assist Ukraine in terms of increasing
its capability to defend itself. We have now trained
seven thousand Ukrainian troops, we still have our
military operation Op Orbital actively engaged in
Ukraine, providing training through our forces.
“The feedback that we have from your ministers
of the armed forces is that this training is useful.
For example, that medical training that we have
provided has saved lives on the battlefield: where
previously your soldiers would die, some of the techniques
that we have shown them have prevented
that loss of life on the battlefield. But I think it is
really important to note that the assistance is
there, and we continue to provide it.”
● “BUDAPEST MEMORANDUM HAS ITS
LIMITATIONS, AND I COMPLETELY
UNDERSTAND UKRAINIAN
FRUSTRATIONS”
As is known, the Budapest Memorandum was
signed by four gentlemen, heads of four states,
including British Prime Minister John Major.
And now it is called a mere piece of paper, why
has it happened?
“You ask me this question every time!
(Laughs.) Well, Ukraine, the United Kingdom,
and the United States have not broken their ob-
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
On the role of the monarchy, Minsk II,
and the Budapest Memorandum
ligations such as they are in that memorandum.
The one country that has broken its obligations under
that memorandum, and indeed, a number of
other international legal obligations, is Russia.
“Now, if we go back to that piece of paper,
what it says is that in the event that a party breaks
its obligations that the parties will convene to talk
about it. Now, we tried that in March 2014 in
Paris, I was there with our foreign minister Lord
Hague, John Kerry was there, and your foreign
minister Mr. Deshchytsia was also there.
Mr. Lavrov was in Paris at the time but he did not
turn up.
“So, the Budapest Memorandum has its limitations,
and I completely understand Ukrainian
frustrations, but I think the key point is not that
the United Kingdom or the United States have failed
to live up to the obligations under that memorandum;
the fact is that it’s Russia who has done so.
If you look at the support that both the United Kingdom
and the United States have provided since
2014, I think it shows that these two countries are
very, very committed to the territorial integrity and
the sovereignty of Ukraine. We have shown that by
not just our military aid, if not lethal assistance,
but by our political support for Ukraine.”
Don’t you think that the West, meaning Europe
and the US, cannot currently cope with Russia,
which is becoming an increasingly revisionist
country, due to a lack of political leadership?
We know an example of the opposite, when
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan stopped
an “evil empire” and even broke it in their time,
but today it is restored again.
“I disagree with two parts of your question.
The first thing, the Soviet Union did not fall because
of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan,
it fell because the economic model was totally broken,
and because Soviet republics, such as
Ukraine, wanted to go their separate ways. Obviously,
there were moments in history where certain
people were able to ensure that transition was
actually a peaceful transition. But I would not
characterize it as those two people bringing down
an empire.
“I don’t like the term ‘evil empire,’ because I
think it wrongly demonizes a nation. We have is-
Ukraine’s biggest issue at the moment is
bringing Russian aggression in the east to an end
and returning the occupied territories under
Ukrainian control. There are many suggestions and
plans to that end, including the deployment of a
peacekeeping mission in the Donbas. However,
there is still no progress, despite the active involvement
of the US since last year, including that
of Special Representative Kurt Volker, who held
a series of talks with his Russian counterpart
Vladislav Surkov. In your opinion, what should be
done to force Russia to comply with the Minsk
Agreements’ terms and leave Ukraine?
“If you think why we have sanctions in place –
we have a very clear and principled position on
Ukraine and on Russia, and certainly from the United
Kingdom’s perspective, I think that’s also
shared by the European Union, I think we should
take heart from the fact that the sanctions have actually
remained in place for such a long period of
time. But I think we have to be very clear that the
responsibility for resolving this lies with Russia,
and I think it is very hard to see any progress until
Russia ensures that there is a ceasefire which is
sustainable and that heavy weapons are pulled back.
So really, I think the onus remains on Russia. I suspect
that we will see very little progress this side of
the Russian presidential elections, but maybe past
that, we may see some further progress, but it all
depends on Russia.”
Then it may be necessary to stop coaxing Russia
and start imposing harsher sanctions instead.
Can we expect such steps from the United Kingdom?
“There is already a set of sanctions there, it is
international position. But what you are suggestsues
with Russia’s leadership and the decisions
taken by Russia’s leadership, the biggest of them
being the annexation of Crimea and events in the
Donbas, but we want to have a good relationship
with Russia.
“We are not Russophobic, we do not have a
policy which is defined on rejecting Russia or
Russian people. For example, what we saw on December
22, our foreign secretary Boris Johnson,
who has been to Ukraine twice already, made a trip
to Moscow, because it’s important that we continue
to engage and talk to Russia. There are areas
such as Ukraine where we strongly disagree,
we have made very, very clear these points, but
there areas where, both of us being members of the
UN Security Council, permanent members, we
have to discuss, we need a relationship. We want
to see Russia as a successful, responsible member
of the international community. What we do
not want is a Russia that challenges the international
order and illegally interferes within internal
affairs of its neighbors. We want to see a responsible
Russia that is a net contributor to
global security. But what we cannot ignore is what
Russia has done and continues to do with Ukraine,
and that is why we remain very, very committed
to supporting Ukraine.”
● “WE – AND OUR PARTNERS DO TOO –
NEED TO DO EVEN MORE TO
COUNTER DISINFORMATION”
Ambassador, Prime Minister Theresa May said
recently that Russia was “seeking to weaponize information.
Deploying its state-run media organizations
to plant fake stories and photo-shopped images
in an attempt to sow discord in the West and
undermine our institutions. We know what you are
doing.” Was not your nation much too slow to reach
this conclusion?
“We have always been alert to the threats that
our country faces. We are a country that has very
effective military, very effective intelligence services,
and a high degree of awareness of the threats.
I think what you are referring to is a recent acknowledgement
that we have to build on our existing
capabilities to understand and counter even
more issues of disinformation. This is nothing new
for us, it’s not like we have suddenly woken up to
the threat. We have been working with Ukrainian
colleagues here and understand only too well – the
issue is that Ukraine is at the forefront of all of this
in so many ways. But we understand that we – and
I think our partners do too – need to do even more
to counter disinformation in an age when people are
but one finger away from all sorts of stories on their
personal devices that can inform and misinform.”
Yesterday [the interview was recorded on February
7], The Guardian published an article in
which Theresa May made the statement that the
decline of local journalism was dangerous for
democracy, so the state had to react in some way
to such a situation. In your opinion, is it the right
decision for the government to take measures to
keep the local press afloat?
“I think there is a challenge that a lot of local
newspapers face and social media rise to the heart
of this. We have seen an awful lot of our local newspapers
go out of business, because that local model
is no longer profitable. Why do you need to go to
your local newspaper, when you can for example
have a local social media group that reports on local
issues, citizen journalism.
“My suspicion is that there is an acknowledgement
that local journalism, its model is threatened.
But people want to ensure that we have
quality, independent, reliable journalism which is
really important for democracy in the United
Kingdom and for democracy in Ukraine – to have
these good, quality, professional journalists who are
ready to report independently, and to hold governments,
civil servants, people like myself to account.”
● ON LEARN AND DISCERN INITIATIVE,
MEDIA LITERACY, AND CRITICAL
THINKING

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
TOPIC OF THE DAY No.9 FEBRUARY 13, 2018 5
ily equipped people with means by which they can
interrogate that information and understand
whether that is believable, where is a reliable
source, whether it’s disinformation, whether it’s
true or not true. So, this is a pilot project in
50 schools in Ukraine, but I think this is really important
that we all learn from Ukrainian experience.”
● “DEFINING AN EVENT AS GENOCIDE
IS A DECISION FOR THE COURTS”
Recently, it has become known that the Israeli
parliament, the Knesset, is about to recognize the
Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
And when is the parliament of your country going
to make such a step?
“I can refer you back to recent discussions and
debates in our House of Commons, and that’s all
available on the public record. But I think the answer
is very simple: we do not believe that defining
an event as genocide is a decision for governments.
This is a decision for the courts, because it
is a point of law. There is a legal definition which
has defined it in international law. So, we believe
that is a judgment that is best made by the courts,
and we will allow the courts to make that judgment
themselves. But of course, we are very, very clear
that Holodomor was a terrific tragedy which killed
millions of Ukrainians, and it was a manmade
tragedy in which large majority of those who suffered
were Ukrainians. We are not seeking to
downgrade what happened at all. But it is a part of
our principles: on any event of this type we defer
to the courts.”
In this country, a court recognized the
Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
Can it play a role, then, in your country recognizing
the Holodomor as genocide, as over two dozen
countries have already done?
“No, it would have to be a court with jurisdiction
that would be relevant to the UK.”
Does this mean that Ukraine should bring this
issue for consideration before a British court?
“It’s not for me to advise Ukrainians on what
they should do. You asked me to explain government
policy, our government policy is that we do
not take a view, we leave that to court to take a
view.”
● “IT IS IMPORTANT TO GIVE
CREDIBILITY TO THE FIGHT AGAINST
CORRUPTION IN THIS COUNTRY”
And now it is logical to turn to the issue of justice.
A British newspaper recently reported that
several British judges would work in a Kazakhstani
court of appeals. On Monday, your colleague,
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli,
told a party of the Euro-optimists: “You
have the best team, ensure that you have an honest
referee, and believe me, you will be unable to
lose.” My question, then, is whether there is any
possibility of British judges coming to sit on
Ukrainian courts and perhaps taking part in the
creation of an anti-corruption court, which Ukraine
has made a commitment to create.
“You would have to ask Ukrainian government
leadership for that, because obviously, that would
have to be their decision as to whether they want it –
people from outside to come in and provide that kind
of assistance. The Kazakh government has taken a
very clear decision, it wants to borrow British legal
system and they need the expertise to do that.
“Obviously, if the government of Ukraine
makes any subject question, we will answer it. The
key thing for us is to support Ukraine and encourage
Ukraine in reforming the judiciary.
“When I talk to people, one of the biggest
problems that is always quoted is a lack of faith
and belief in the judiciary, and a lack of faith and
belief that people would receive a prompt and fair
trial. And that’s important for the Ukrainian
electorate – belief in institutions. I think it’s also
important for any investor who comes to
Ukraine. When I talk to potential British investors,
they are concerned that they will not
have access to fair and independent justice. So
that’s why we support judiciary reform, but obviously,
it has to be a system and a solution that
works for Ukraine.
“The British legal system is very different, and
we have been practicing it for 800 years. That may
or may not work in Ukraine. The key thing is that
Ukraine finds a solution that works in this environment,
and the anti-corruption court is a priority,
that’s a condition for IMF program, and something
the EU is pushing for as well. It is important
to give credibility to the fight against corruption
in this country, but there should be a wider judicial
reform as well.”
Ambassador, as the local representative of the
United Kingdom, you are a member of the G7 ambassadorial
group. What does your country see as
the priorities of this group?
“The G7 ambassadors’ support group exists to
support and encourage the Ukrainian reformer efforts.
And occasionally, we think things are not going
in the right direction, and when we think it’s
helpful we point that out. I think I would direct you
to the brand-new webpage and Twitter account of
the Canadian presidency which is really very useful
as it outlines five priorities for the work of the
G7. They are actually the Ukrainian government’s
priorities. So, what we have done, is focus very, very
clearly on Prime Minister Hroisman’s reform action
plan, translated that into a very clearly set of
objectives.
“And we will support that work. This is not the
international community imposing something on
Ukraine, this is the action plan that your government
has decided and wants to implement. So, those
are the priorities and objectives around economic
growth, it’s around tackling corruption, strengthening
the institutions. You will see on that website
all these areas – human capital, energy reform, privatization.”
● “WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE
MAINTAIN A VERY STRONG
BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP WITH
UKRAINE”
Ambassador, your country has started the second
stage of negotiations with the EU on its exit
from this economic community. I wanted to ask
you, how can Brexit influence future relations between
our countries – do we already need to prepare
an FTA agreement between the United
Kingdom and Ukraine?
“There is negotiation ongoing between the
United Kingdom and the 27 members of the EU.
around world. I know some people have had issues,
we have always worked to resolve them very
quickly, I don’t think they are necessarily as bad
as people suggest. Obviously, when you have a
particularly high number of people who experience
a problem, that gets magnified, but actually,
refusal rates for Ukraine are not high, and
where they occur, it is largely because people have
not actually completed their forms properly, in
line with the instructions. We are always looking
at ways how we can improve the service, but for
the moment, I do not see a change in the visa
regime coming.”
Ambassador, we know that you visited the
east of Ukraine at the end of last year. Would you
like to share your impressions of the situation in
that region which is bordering the occupied territories?
“I have now been there twice, and it’s important
as an ambassador that you get outside the capital
and travel, particularly in a country as large
and diverse as Ukraine. But for me, it is important
to go and see the impact of the projects and programs
that we are running in the east, that’s what
I was doing the last time I went there. And for me,
what is quite heartening is to see how British assistance
is actually helping on the ground, so I visited
Halo Trust who are carrying out demining –
not just carrying it out, but also training Ukrainians
to be able to do it. Britain is the largest demining
donor in Ukraine. Our project with UNFPA
which supports women, particularly on the issues
of gender-based violence and consequences of conflict,
we have helped 100,000 women within that
program. Our project with the IOM where we are
providing microfinance to small businesses, people,
in particular IDPs who have come out of the
“
I can only talk from the United Kingdom’s experience, and what we
see is that the monarchy has given us a thousand years of stability and tradition,
and it plays a very important role for us. But that’s a model that works
for us. We have a very specific model that is well respected and well understood.
I think it is up to every country to decide on their own model. Obviously,
we are extremely proud of the role of the royal family, and I am, after
all, Her Majesty’s ambassador to Ukraine. But what we see in our
monarchy is a huge degree of stability, continuity. The Queen has been on
the throne for 66 years, that’s a lot of wisdom, a lot of continuity.
”
The key thing for us is that we want to remain a
very close partner and friend of the European
Union. This is obviously really very important for
both sides. We want to have as smooth a transition
as possible.
“In terms of Ukraine, we want to make sure
that we maintain a very strong bilateral relationship
with Ukraine. We are not yet able to start formal
negotiations on transition to DCFTA with
Ukraine – you have virtually the DCFTA with the
European Union – but obviously, we will be looking
to transition to that, and we will discuss with
the Ukrainian government how we might do that.
But we want to ensure that we continue to trade
freely with Ukraine, and indeed, we can increase
trade and investment between our two countries.”
Ambassador, having spent several years in
Kyiv, can you say that this country’s business climate
is improving and British investors need to
have a greater presence here because of it?
“I would like to see more inbound investment
here. I think we will see more interest once privatization
really gets underway. I think at the moment
there is huge potential for investment coming
to Ukraine, and we need to see further progress
with privatization. We have just seen a law passed,
and that’s really important. But people are a little
skeptical because they don’t feel the corruption has
yet been tackled. They say, ‘I will have again deal
with corruption,’ which for a British person would
be illegal even though it’s overseas, or ‘When will
I be able to repatriate my profits?’ and ‘Will I get
a fair hearing in a Ukrainian court?’ So, these areas
are important, and I think the biggest signal
that Ukraine could send that it is open for business
is to show that it has made progress in tackling corruption
at all levels. Because at the end of the day,
it’s a competitive market, investors have choices,
they don’t have to come to Ukraine.”
I have heard a lot of complaints from former
diplomats that Ukrainians have troubles obtaining
a British visa which is issued in Warsaw. Can
we expect visas coming to be issued in Kyiv after
the UK leaves the EU, and possibly even a liberalization
of the visa regime?
“I don’t see at the moment any change to the
current arrangement, where, while people apply
in Kyiv, the processing is done in Warsaw. This
is not unique to Ukraine, we have this model
conflict area and are wanting to start up a business,
but lack the capital to do so.
“We are seeing how these businesses which we
helped to start are now starting to flourish and
grow. Because the biggest problem in Ukraine at
the moment is that small and medium businesses,
and in fact larger businesses, struggle to have access
to credit, and it is very hard to grow and build
a business if you cannot get finance. So I think the
project we have there is crucially helping people.
“I also try to understand situation on the
ground seeing how areas come up, but of course understanding
that the people in the east have lived
through an extremely dramatic conflict, and its consequences
will be there for a long time. It’s really
important that diplomats and policymakers engage
with the issues when they happen, so that it is not
just theoretical exercise, and they really understand
what the issues are, what conditions people live in.”
At the end of last year, Darkest Hour was released
in your country, and the McMafia series
started showing this year. The first film depicts the
period when Winston Churchill became prime minister
at the beginning of the Second World War,
and the series deals with the Russian mafia fighting
each other in London. How do you personally
perceive these films, why were they released just
now?
“The UK is really very good at creative industries,
and producing films, and television,
and music. If you look at a lot of reality show formats
on television, a lot of those started in the UK,
and got imitated around the world – ‘Ukraine’s Got
Talent,’ ‘Voice of the Country’ – there are a whole
lot of TV formats that started in the UK.
“I have not seen the Darkest Hour because I
want to see it in English. I think for me, part of the
attraction of Churchill as a statesman was his gift
for the English language. Much as I love Ukrainian
language, and I am watching films in Ukrainian,
this one I would like to see in English.
“McMafia, I have seen two episodes of, both
in the United Kingdom when I were away for
Christmas, and it’s quite a tense drama, you
know, it’s good for watching. We produce very
good television. Every year when we have the Oscars,
we are always looking for British people who
have been awarded Oscars. It’s an industry that we
are very proud of.”
● “WE ARE VERY CLEAR THAT THE
UNITED KINGDOM SHOULD NOT BE
A CONDUIT FOR SUCH MONEY”
Recently, your country passed legislation requiring
foreigners, mainly Russians, to declare
their wealth. Why was this done right now, and not
before?
“I don’t think it’s anything particularly new.
Over the past couple of years, we have introduced
legislation which has shifted the burden of proof,
whereby people now have to explain where their
wealth came from. You know, the UK is an open
market and an open democracy. We are very proud
of that fact, that’s why we are one of the world’s
largest economies. But obviously, that openness is
something that people with criminal intent are seeking
to exploit. And I think the British government
is being very aware of that, that’s why we hosted
a corruption conference a few years ago. And
there have been changes in legislation which shifted
the burden of proof to try and make it harder for
people to launder money through the United Kingdom.
People will always seek to do it, but I think we
are very clear that the United Kingdom should not
be a conduit for such money.”
Ambassador, at the end of last year, one of my
colleagues met you near Sloviansk and presented
you with a copy of Den’s Library book about aristocracy
and history, about the monarchy, which is
called The Crown. Have you read it already?
“No, I have not yet read it, but it’s on my reading
list.”
● “THE MONARCHY HAS GIVEN US A
THOUSAND YEARS OF STABILITY
AND TRADITION”
Last year, our publication published a series
of articles devoted to the monarchies of Europe, in
particular their role in maintaining links between
epochs. Meanwhile, this year has been declared
the year of the Hetmanate by Den/The Day.
So, I would like to hear from you, as a representative
of the United Kingdom, whether such an institutional
arrangement as the monarchy contributes
to stability in the modern world.
“I can only talk from the United Kingdom’s
experience, and what we see is that the monarchy
has given us a thousand years of stability and tradition,
and it plays a very important role for us.
But that’s a model that works for us. We have a
very specific model that is well respected and well
understood. I think it is up to every country to decide
on their own model. Obviously, we are extremely
proud of the role of the royal family, and
I am, after all, Her Majesty’s ambassador to
Ukraine. But what we see in our monarchy is a
huge degree of stability, continuity. The Queen
has been on the throne for 66 years, that’s a lot
of wisdom, a lot of continuity.”
In the summer of last year, the international
media covered the visit of Princess Kate and
Prince William to Europe. When can we expect a
visit of royal family members to Ukraine, which
would emphasize the importance of this country
as one indispensable for peace and tranquility in
Europe? After all, the British journalist Lancelot
Lawton highlighted precisely this in his 1935 address
to the British Parliament entitled Ukraina:
Europe’s Greatest Problem.
“I do not have any advance exclusive schedule
of the royal visits. Obviously, time will tell.
“I think we have demonstrated that Ukraine is
important. In the past couple of years, since I’ve
been here, your prime minister and your president
have both been to the United Kingdom, they had
talks at No. 10 Downing Street. My foreign secretary
has been here twice, and the defense secretary,
we have had numerous ministerial visits. I think
there is enough bilateral engagement that demonstrates
that Ukraine continues to remain a priority
for us and we continue to support Ukraine and
remain in solidarity with Ukraine.”
On the other hand, during the years of
Ukraine’s independence, we had only one head of
the United Kingdom government visiting, namely
John Major. So, when can we expect the visit of
the current prime minister, Theresa May?
“Nobody can give you the answer! I can’t, we
never talk about visits in advance.”
Are you preparing it, perchance?
“I’m not saying that (laughs).”
And ending our conversation, what would you
like to wish our readers?
“I wish for Ukraine stability in the coming
years – stability, prosperity, and security. We
want to see this country succeed, and we know the
path is difficult. Ukraine has made choices. We are
supporting the government realize the aspirations
and the goals that it has set for itself, and giving
the best advice that we can to allow this country
to succeed.”

6
No.9 FEBRUARY 13, 2018
CLOSE UP
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Alla DUBROVYK-ROKHOVA, The Day,
Kyiv – Munich – Kyiv
Step by step, humanity is relinquishing
its power to take decisions by delegating
it... to computer algorithms.
With the development of artificial
intelligence, scientists predict that
humans are at risk of losing their monopoly of
controlling Earth in its entirety. This topic,
in particular, is addressed in the 2018 trends
report “Zero Interface/Zero Decision,” which
will be presented by the Netexplo Observatory
at the UNESCO Headquarters during the
annual Innovation Forum (February 13) and
the Talent Forum (February 14-15).
The authors of the report note that with
the development of artificial intelligence,
which requires less interference from the user
side, humans move away from making a decision.
And they do not even care that every algorithm
embodies the ideology of its author.
In addition, such carelessness is predicated on
100 percent confidence that the technology in
question will not be hacked by attackers, or
even more importantly, intentionally designed
to restrict the rights and freedoms of
its user.
So far, artificial intelligence is still in
its early stages. However, a small number of
“Digital Titans” (Google, Amazon, Facebook,
Apple, Netflix, Airbnb, Tesla, and
Uber to name but a few) which collect a nearly
infinite mass of data about their users are
working hard to create a “synthetic super
brain.” And strategies which are needed to
protect the user in the digital world are one
of the key issues in the abovementioned report.
The Day was able to discuss the challenges
which the digital world poses to us, the rules
of online behavior, and how the Internet can…
threaten humanity with Parisa TABRIZ, who
is among the 30 coolest tech professionals in
the world according to Forbes.
The Telegraph called her “Google’s top secret
weapon.” After all, Tabriz is responsible
for the security of one of the most expensive
global brands – the Internet browser Google
Chrome, which is daily used by about two billion
users. She is 33 and dyes her hair pink. On
Tabriz’s business card, her job title reads “Security
Princess.” She teaches at Harvard and
advises the White House.
“When I started working in security, I
originally was doing web security, and I think
at the time it was considered very lame.
“Cross-site scripting was the first vulnerability
I knew about, and I found ways to
do it, but everyone was like, ‘it does not matter.’
You know, nothing is actually happening
on the web where security matters.
That’s really changed now. It was especially
Google. Gmail, search, history, dark search,
and Drive are actually our applications. So
what once was kind of lame vulnerability,
now can actually lead to theft of updater. So,
one thing is that web security has just become
much more important.
“When I started in security, a lot of
hacking was done by people who were just interested
in exploring, understanding how
systems worked, maybe pulling pranks on
people, but kind of doing it for fun in some
ways, or as a hobby. Whereas now, you just
see like crime has really moved from being
mostly done on the streets to now being done
online. We just see it: it’s not jokes anymore.
It is really an active threat to people’s
identities, to their safety in the real world,
to their property and data.
“We [Google. – Author] have the best of
the best security, I think it is way better than
when I joined. I think the approach that we
have in Chrome and in general other technologies
too, where you have layered defense
and technologies actually makes exploitation
much harder, but you also have software that
is vulnerable.
“How to protect people
from technology?”
White House adviser and Google’s “secret weapon”
speaks about challenges of “technological revolutions”
● EXPECT TROUBLES FROM PROGRAMS
WHICH DO NOT REQUIRE UPDATES
How about an example?
“It makes you think about just the range
that is available. I think about the Internet of
Things, and how it’s exciting that people can
really get anything connected to the Internet
– your light bulb, your toaster... But a lot
of people haven’t thought about how you can
actually update that software. For me, there
is no such thing as a fully secure system connected
to the Internet. So, when I hear ‘our
company is making very, very cheap software,
and you don’t actually have to update them,’ –
I just know that there is going to be some
problems.
Photo courtesy of the author
“It’s both cool that it is so easily accessible.
On the one hand, I see programming classes
being available to kids, and that’s really exciting,
that you can learn technology at an
early age, and it’s very powerful to learn those
skills and be able to apply them. At the same
time, when we have a lot more people who are
creating technology, you know, if they are doing
it in a wrong way, then it could lead to a
lot of security problems.”
● THE INTERNET IS NOT OWNED
BY ANY COUNTRY. WHO SHOULD
PROTECT IT, AND HOW?
Last month at the annual economic forum
in Davos, many world leaders, including
French President Emmanuel Macron,
spoke about the great number of challenges
facing humanity because of the cascade of
technological revolutions that we are experiencing.
Can you rank these challenges?
What is frightening you, as the “Security
Princess,” in the development of the web
space?
“I do not know specifically what point he
was making, but in general, I see it like, you
know, more and more business and financial
dependence on the Internet. You start thinking,
‘OK, how are we going to regulate and
protect the Internet, as the Internet is not
owned by any country, right?’ It’s a fully interconnected
global system. In some ways
that’s quite cool that no country owns it, but
it also means that it’s much harder to protect,
and you really rely on kind of a standards
process, which again, no one person
owns.
“But within technology space and in
Chrome, we think like, ‘What are these Internet
protocols that are secure?’ We work with
other experts around the world and we come
together and say, ‘OK, we don’t want any
company or any country to own this, but what
is a secure protocol that the Internet can use?’
But that’s a very slow process. You know, we
learned things over time. One of the concerning
things is just how fast the technology is
evolving. In some ways it’s evolving faster
than we know how to think about it from a legal
perspective, from a regulation perspective.
And keeping peace with that and figuring
out how to keep people safe from that is
just a really big challenge.
“You have these large industrial power
plants or water filtration systems, or power
grid, and these systems were not built with
security in mind. I mean, you actually saw
this with Stuxnet, which was a malware that
ended up infecting Iranian nuclear plant,
and it infected PLCs, which are programmable
logic controllers, as it made them go really,
really fast, until they broke. You can
see it as an example of malware that actually
can take down a nuclear power plant. You
can imagine how dead serious is that. If you
have a power grid that’s connected to the Internet,
something can go wrong. How we are
actually thinking about updating those systems
is a big challenge, but I know something
is being done by the very top-of-line
people.”
● ON BLOCK CHAIN (*): PEOPLE ARE
JUST GOING CRAZY ABOUT IT
What do you think about the cryptocurrency
boom? Is it safe?
“I personally don’t use cryptocurrency.”
Why?
“I think I’m very conservative when it
comes to investing. So, I am happy to let other
people get a lot of money, but it’s very
risky, so I don’t gamble.
“I think, the US dollar is pretty stable, so
I feel OK with that. My dad came from the
country where the currency inflation happened,
and he ended up thinking about gold
and diamonds as a stable asset. So, cryptocurrency
is not for me.”
And what do you think about the technology
behind the block chain? Is not it a technology
of the future?
“Yes. I think there are applications for it.
I think right now, in some ways, everyone is
trying to solve everything with the block
chain. I think there is more excitement than
probably what it needs. I make jokes that
everyone is going to solve global warming
with the block chain, which we really cannot
do. But I think that like many other types of
cryptography, there will be purposes for it
and usages for it.
“Every time you have a new technology
boom, everyone is going a little bit crazy, trying
to solve all the problems. You know, like
with 3D movies, everyone wants to have 3D
movies, and now I feel like, we are at the point
of ‘there are some good 3D movies, but not
everyone is doing 3D.’ There will be some good
applications of block chain, but right now,
people are going a little bit crazy about it.”
● ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS
A WEAPON. IT CAN ATTACK
AND PROTECT
Do you think artificial intelligence can
enhance cybersecurity?
“Yes, I think that with every new technology,
it can help defense, it can also potentially
help offense. In machine learning a

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
CLOSE UP No.9 FEBRUARY 13, 2018 7
lot of advances have happened recently – I
remember in college I took artificial intelligence
class, and it was really boring, because
it just wasn’t something that you could really
use, it was more work and didn’t actually
yield interesting results. I think that now we
are seeing machine learning be able to definitely
detect anomalous activity, which
could be an attacker, and be able to detect
abusive comments in social networks, like be
able to find people who are harassing other
people.
“But in the same way, you can imagine
how this is potentially useful for an attacker.
Every new technology, it can be used for good
and bad.
“We use machine intelligence to solve a lot
of different problems at Google, and we are
definitely trying use intrusion detection, being
able to detect: ‘Oh, this is malicious behavior
or something.’”
Are you able to predict attacks?
“I don’t think we will be able to get to the
point where we can predict it, but you can
sort of say, ‘this is suspicious, and either it
should be blocked or we should do some kind
of manual review to look into it.’ The work
with abuse detection also relies on machine
intelligence. Something we have done actually
in Chrome is to use machine intelligence
to determine whether a page is trying to fish
data. For this, we have done things like constantly
updating the learning model. And it
is kind of learning based on other behaviors
and other side actions as well.”
● CYBER SECURITY IS A PLANETARY
ISSUE
How does international law protect users
of the web space? I know that you advise the
White House, can you say that the US legal
system regulates best what is happening on
the global Internet?
“My mom is Polish, she is from Poland,
my dad is from Iran, I grew up in the US, I
have friends from all over the world, and so,
in some ways, I think of myself as a citizen
of the world. In some ways, the Internet is
cool because it’s not anyone’s country, and
protecting people on the Internet feels like
just a very important role, and determining
how it should be on the Internet, not just
thinking about your own country – it is a
challenge.
“I have my own experience, and knowing
what it is like to be a user in India, or to be a
user in Brazil, or to be a user in, you know,
Africa, it’s constantly something I’m learning
about.
“When I went to South Africa for the first
time, I learned that they actually use their
phones for mobile payments much more commonly
than in the US, and so the attacks to the
mobile finance system are much more sophisticated.
“So it’s always interesting for me to learn
what software is popular in the country, what
attacks are popular, what defenses are popular.
It’s a huge challenge, but I think it’s also
very cool.”
What can you say about a cyber attack on
Ukraine that used a new model of Petya virus
(*)? The CIA has stated that this was the
work of Russian hackers, do you agree?
“Yeah, and I think it was vulnerable Microsoft
Windows software.
“I think this is a really good example
where updates are just important, because
in that case, Microsoft Windows patches
were available, but the system just had not
been updated. That’s where things like
Chrome Automatic Updates is really nice,
because it just makes sure that the software
really up to date. But I don’t know any
specifics of who did it. I just read about it in
the news.”
● TO WORK FOR GOOGLE’S CYBER
SECURITY, ONE MUST HAVE A LOT
OF PATIENCE AND CURIOSITY
What basic skills are you looking for in a
person you are willing to hire at Google’s security
department?
“First, we really want people who want to
make software more secure and protect users,
and I think that’s very, very important,
right? We are wondering what the motivation
of people is, because, if it’s purely money, and
they don’t care about user’s security, there
are other places that they can work for and get
their money from. But we really want people
to actually care about user’s security and also
care about Google products.
“I think security is a field where you are
always learning, and there are common classes
of problems that happen, but you are constantly
learning new technologies because
whenever new technology comes, you need to
learn it, because that’s where will be the potential
for attack. So we are looking for people
who like to learn new things constantly
and are very, very curious. You know, in a
movie you see somebody being able to hack into
a system in a couple of minutes, in reality it
doesn’t happen that fast. You actually have to
be a very disciplined and hard worker, and
very patient, sometimes even a little bit stubborn
in finding the way to solve the problem.
“I think with security it is similar in some
ways to other creative fields. Like in art we
are looking for people with portfolios as well.
A lot of people who apply, they have found
these vulnerabilities and can point to them, or
By Maria CHADIUK
The shelf has a sign reading “I don’t
remember the title, but the cover
was red.” Librarian Bart Leib
tweeted a photo, which started a
discussion of library problems. In
805 comments, Twitter users shared their
childhood impressions of librarians as
done this work to actually make software
more secure.
“All of that put together actually leads to
a very, very small number of people. I mean,
we always want to hire more people than those
that we find. So, I think it’s a really good field
for kids or other people to be thinking about,
because the needs for more people working in
cyber security are very high.
“There’s a myth that you have to be genius,
or only interested in engineering or technology,
but in cyber security we need a lot of
different skills. We need lawyers and people
who think about psychology, human factors,
and user interface to come together and help
keep people safe.”
● “MY INBOX DETERMINES WHAT
THE DAY WILL BE LIKE”
You have a pretty cute job title, which
reads “Security Princess.” Will you tell us
the story behind it?
“When I joined Google, my official job title
was ‘information security engineer’ in the information
security engineering team, and I
found that very boring. It did not really mean
anything and was very boring, and so I chose to
change it to Security Princess, because I just
thought it would be funny. I’m not very girly, I
never wore very girly dresses, I have two brothers
and I played football and wrestled with my
brothers, so for me I was not a princess, but I
thought it was funny and a little bit ironic.
“And then I went to a security conference
in Japan. And in Japan it’s a very official
process – business cards are expected, there is
Creative message to readers
magicians, wrote about their dreams of
gaining this profession, and some even
about their professional achievements.
In particular, Anna James wrote: “My
proudest moment was working in an
episcopal library of 200,000 books,
someone asked for ‘that book about
bishops with a yellow cover’ and I got it
straight away, even though it was purple.”
a formal exchange of business cards – and so I
kept my title for that and made my business
card with it, in part because I just thought it
was funny, when you are meeting someone,
they read it and sort of laugh. It is a nice way
to meet someone – you need it to be memorable.
And it was. I think it’s been a nice way to
break ice when I meet someone. Especially in
security, sometimes you are meeting people
who work in the government or in defense, and
they are all very serious. But when they see it,
they smile a little bit and laugh. I like it, since
my old title did not mean anything anyways,
and this is kind of a bit funny and ironic.
“In some ways, it’s nice to be a role model,
a different type of princess role model. Growing
up, I watched Disney movies, and the
princess is always trying at the end of the
movie to get married, like that’s what the goal
is. I thought it would be nice to have a different
kind of princess role model – trying to
keep people safe.”
A question from our reader on Facebook:
“It is always interesting to see what morning
rituals open the professional’s day: what do
you start your day with?”
“I wake up very early. When I was in Germany,
I woke up at like 4 a.m. Normally, I
wake up at 6 a.m. I have at least two cups of
coffee and eat pretty much the same breakfast
every day and do some emails, or actually,
first of all I feed my cats. They wake me up. I
feed my cats, go to work, do emails. Then I
see, based on what’s in my inbox, what the day
is going to be like. Sometimes it’s helping people
on the projects, sometimes it’s dealing
with a new incident. It’s cool.”
Photo from the website LOLSNAPS.COM
An unusual bookshelf at
Framinghan Public Library, US
Within three days after the publication,
the post gathered more than 41,000
retweets and about 113,000 likes. The
Framingham library has thus managed not
only to send a creative message to readers,
but also to draw attention to book
specialists in general. No wonder, a
tweeter wrote: “I will take it as a sign that
I chose the right profession.”

8
No.9 FEBRUARY 13, 2018
TIMEO U T
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Olha PETROVA, art critic
Masterpieces made of cardboard,
wood, and stone
The Blue Gallery of Tbilisi is hosting works
by Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Zhyvotkov
The renowned National Gallery of Georgia,
where guests of Tbilisi get acquainted with
the masterpieces of Niko Pirosmani, Lado
Gudiashvili, Elene Akhvlediani, and David
Kakabadze, has admitted to its premises an
exhibition of a Ukrainian master, namely
Oleksandr Zhyvotkov, who named the exhibit
“Cardboard. Wood. Stone.”
The event is organized by Stella Beniaminova
of the Stedley Art Foundation with the support of
the Embassy of Ukraine in Georgia. They had done
a lot of preparatory and diplomatic work and published
an English-language catalog before the
works (50 in total) reached their destination in the
Tbilisi Museum of Modern Art after going over land
and sea. The museum, which is a magnificent oasis
of culture, was founded in 1917-20 by the artist
and cultural scholar Dimitri Shevardnadze, and reconstructed
and modernized in 2012.
In the artistic circles of Ukraine, Zhyvotkov
has long been known as a distinctive master of
painting. Beginning in 2007, the artist has experimented
with non-traditional materials –
cardboard, paper, gauze, sand, earth, soot, stone,
and has convincingly mastered them. This artistic
“reconnaissance mission” is not an end in itself
for the author, but a way to increase the expressiveness
of each new work and to activate the
viewer’s perception. Paintings on canvas, on
wooden boards, as well as on other materials
that are artistically transformed by hand and fantasy
of the master, and his sculptural objects – all
of them are subordinated to the eternal dialog between
existence and non-existence. Zhyvotkov is
a rare phenomenon in that he is both artist and
philosopher, and has extraordinary knowledge in
the field of humanity’s prehistoric culture. He
courageously looks at the undisclosed secrets of
Nothing and Ideal. Back in the late 1980s, he discovered
his own sign system as a painter, which
includes fish, figure or head of a woman, cross,
bird, etc. This symbolism, which you will always
find in all his works, obviously resonates
with the archaic images of Christian iconography.
It is no accident that the Georgian audience saw
and felt an obvious affinity between Zhyvotkov’s
exhibition and their native archaic. The Ukrainian
artist shares a language with any Georgian
who treasures the 5th-6th-century temples and
culture of that people. At the same time, the creator’s
artistic form, in which the universal human
meanings are encrypted, is obviously avantgarde
and belongs to the 21st century. This is a
wonderful paradox of this artistic phenomenon.
The Ukrainian delegation met, besides art
connoisseurs and lovers, famous Georgian artists
in the four rooms of the museum during the crowded
exhibition. The event’s opening, which started
with a solemn speech by the first general director
of the National Museum of Georgia David Lordkipanidze,
attracted attention of People’s Artists
of Georgia Zurab Nizheradze, Teimuraz Murvanidze,
Loretta Shangelia-Abashidze, and others.
A large delegation came from Italy. It was headed
by Professor Nicola Franco Balloni. In Ukraine, the
director (until 2017) of the Italian Institute of Culture
at the Italian Embassy is well known among
musicians, artists, philologists, and diplomats.
The artistic masterpieces of Zhyvotkov which
are now on loan in the Blue Gallery of Tbilisi bring
viewers to the state of spiritual exaltation and
sound like Johann Sebastian Bach’s chorals.
The emotional range of images on display is
quite broad, reaching from prayerful concentration
Photo from Oleksandr ZHYVOTKOV’s private archive
(images of the Madonna) to a dramatic fall into the
abyss of exit (the Crucifixion of Christ). The master’s
hand has created a truly magical field.
The highest assessment of Zhyvotkov’s work
was offered by the Georgian audience. Academician
Murvanidze said: “Modernism has existed for
over a century. It would seem that it is impossible
to discover something new in it without quoting
from the great avant-garde artists. However,
Zhyvotkov has managed to add a distinctive new
page to this system of art.”
On Mykola Bilyk’s oeuvre and
solo exhibition “Earthly Love”
Sculptor-violinist
By Alisa ANTONENKO
This year, the well-known master, People’s
Artist of Ukraine, corresponding member of the
Department of Fine Arts of the National
Academy of Arts of Ukraine, member of the
National Union of Artists of Ukraine Mykola
Bilyk is nominated for the Shevchenko Prize for his
monument to Hetman Ivan Mazepa in Poltava and the
sculpture cycle “Earthly Love.”
Bilyk has created many indoor, monumental,
landscape sculptures. Art historians note that his
works take their inspiration primarily from the history
of Ukraine, the female image, and the ecological
problems facing humanity. His creative portfolio is
quite large, including more than 500 works of art
(sculptures and graphic pieces).
The artist is one of the most famous masters of our
time, has in-depth knowledge of the problems of the
contemporary fine art culture, and exhibits an analytical
approach to addressing meaningful themes of
history and present. By combining the high traditions
of the Ukrainian school of fine arts with the best
achievements of European art in his work, the sculptor
has achieved inimitable, unique expressiveness. His
manner just cannot be confused with any other. In his
sculptures, the artist seeks to achieve harmony, to unravel
the secrets of folk traditions, to fill the compositions
with deep meaning and spirituality.
Let us recall that the monument to Hetman
Mazepa was solemnly opened in Soborna Square in the
city of Poltava in May 2016. This is the first full-size
monument to the hetman, while his busts have been
installed in several Ukrainian cities, as well as in the
US and Australia.
EMBRACE, MARBLE, 2009
Photo from Mykola BILYK’s private archive
“When people ask me about my favorite material,
they think that it is stone. But I have worked with
bronze a lot as well,” Bilyk was quoted as saying by beinart.com
website. “Metal allows one to do very fine
things. One can make even open work from metal.
Stone cannot afford any subtleties, it is fragile... I have
worked with wood as well. Stonework produces virtually
no waste. I do a large piece from the main block,
and smaller pieces from ‘waste bits.’ I do not throw
away anything.
“An artist must start every day as if it was their
first, then they will achieve something for themselves
and for art. It is like a good violinist. They play well,
but they do not create. They just perform well. This
is sometimes enough, but art requires discovering
something new. Then it will remain in history...”
Bilyk’s work is a colorful modern artistic phenomenon
in the contemporary art of sculpture, which
influences the viewer through a wide range of visual
plastic art techniques. His project “Earthly Love,”
which includes 50 sculptural works, is a testimony to
the fact that there is a place for high art in our lives.
The cycle consists of individual works, but is perceived
as a whole, attracting viewers with its compositional
skill and stylistic harmony, which are generally aimed
at the thorough treatment of the image, the subtle
transmission of the psychological condition. Having
created his own unique style, the sculptor has achieved
refined generalizations that make up his works’ imagery.
Bilyk’s sculptural compositions reflect a special
world of symbols that inspire a silent dialog. For
example, one can see in Kyiv the iconic works by Bilyk
without which we can no longer imagine our capital
– these are principally the monument to Princess
Olha (in Mykhailivska Square), the monument to
Yaroslav the Wise near the Golden Gates with Bilyk’s
palm prints, the monument to Archangel Michael, the
memorial of the officers of the Foreign Intelligence
Service of Ukraine, and the sign commemorating the
demolished settlement of Peredmostova Slobidka
(in Hidropark).
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