#12_1-8

FEBRUARY 22, 2018 ISSUE No. 12 (1144)
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 Mykhailo MARKIV
THE MAIN LESSON
It is time to draw conclusions. Not about “them.” About ourselves. It is time to look for
like-minded people and do all we can to avoid having to go back to street protests
Continued on page 2
Pizza vs. pazza
About the peculiarities
of the general election
campaign in Italy
Continued on page 2
REUTERS photo
“There is no alien
pain: for us, this is
a moral imperative”
Dnipro historian Ihor Shchupak
discusses the Holocaust and
the Holodomor as genocides
and the prospects of Israel
recognizing it at the state level
Continued on pages 4, 5

2
No.12 FEBRUARY 22, 2018
DAY AFTER DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
The main lesson
It is time to draw conclusions. Not about
“them.” About ourselves. It is time to look
for like-minded people and do all we can to
avoid having to go back to street protests
By Larysa VOLOSHYNA
On every anniversary of the massacre in the
center of the capital, it is customary to talk
about the Maidan lessons learned or not
learned by the Ukrainian authorities. It is
based on these premises that the active part
of Ukrainian society determines its plans for further
action. Some say that we need to complete the second
Maidan, and therefore call for another uprising.
Others propose to wait for the next election, and when
it comes, approach the political choice more carefully,
soberly evaluating the candidates. This is for some
reason considered an evolutionary way of development.
Although the choice between Yulia [Tymoshenko] or
Vitia [Yanukovych], Petia [Poroshenko] or non-Petia
has nothing to do with actual evolution, that is, the
acquisition of the qualities necessary for survival in a
changing environment.
Summarizing the main conclusions that Ukrainian
society defines as the lessons of the Maidan, they
can be one way or another reduced to two groups. The
first: “We can repeat it.” That is, when the government,
which is seen as criminal a priori, will cross a certain
line, we will again gather in the squares. The second:
“Choose not with the heart, but with the mind.”
Through it, Ukrainians are constantly trying to idealize,
devalue or rationalize some specific politicians that are
present at the moment.
In fact, the Maidan was a historical moment when
people felt the need to be the subject, not the object of
the political process in the country. For all of us, the
lesson of the Maidan should be the understanding that
it is impossible to turn a crowd into such a subject. We
have already tried that and we have not succeeded. Instead
of forming groups and entering into the political
process, the active part of the citizenry that understands
that the country is moving in a wrong way,
in a wrong direction, and towards wrong objectives –
that part has been arguing about the expediency of another
uprising. It should have become that politically
active subject that should have emerged in the country,
that quality or characteristic feature that should
have formed in the collective body of Ukraine and become
a preventive mechanism, an evolutionary acquisition
for an integrated social organism.
What would have happened if Ukrainians had
been able to elect a parliament that would have had
a majority opposed to then-president in 2012?
Could it be possible to solve the problem of Viktor
Yanukovych’s removal from power without bloodshed
then? What would have been the fate of
Crimea, if the legal balance between the main ethnic
groups of the peninsula had been established in
advance? Could Viktor Yushchenko have succeeded
in throwing out the Russian Black Sea Fleet from the
Ukrainian peninsula if he had relied on the right of
the indigenous people to decide on the presence of
military bases in its territory?
What would have happened if a majority of society
had not seen in the law the instrument of coercion and
punishment from the very beginning of independence,
but had sought to create a national legal field in which
the law is a means of communication between the state
and the citizen that is convenient and useful for all?
If the business in this country had developed not on
the basis of oligarchic monopolies, but on the principles
of free competition and open access for a healthy
private initiative of the citizens, and the Ukrainian
army had been built to the NATO standards from the
outset? Could Ukraine have prevented a great many
soldiers betraying it in Crimea, if earlier, without waiting
for an invitation to the alliance, it had sought to
do more and used other approaches to military and patriotic
education of soldiers? If the requirements of
the Law ‘On Defense’ had been met and martial law declared
in the first days of the attack on Crimea? If the
General Headquarters had been created, and the task
of defending the nation entrusted to soldiers, not
politicians? What would have happened if the person
holding the position of the head of the army had been
appointed out of strategic considerations, and not to
fill a political quota? Would this change something?
We will never know the answers to these questions.
But worst of all, there is nobody who wants to
know what we all – not politicians, but citizens – could
have done differently to get a different result. In order
to build institutions, we need to understand issues
which we face. And to achieve that, we need a political
class that understands the demands of time, has
learned from its mistakes and drawn the necessary conclusions
for the future. We need to want and strive for
political influence. It is much more complicated, but
also more effective, than being the object in other people’s
political struggle.
It is time to draw conclusions. Not about “them.”
About ourselves. It is time to look for like-minded
people and do all we can to avoid having to go back
to street protests. The main lesson of the Maidan is
that it is precisely the active, civic-minded Ukrainians
who need to learn its lessons.
Pizza vs. pazza
About the peculiarities of the general
election campaign in Italy
By Mykola SIRUK, The Day
In less than two weeks, namely on March 4, a
general election will take place in Italy, which
is expected to deliver no clear winner.
According to opinion polls, the chief
contenders for the leading position are three
political forces: the center-left coalition led by the
ruling Democratic Party, the center-right
coalition, and the Five Star Movement. However,
none of them will be able to form a government on
its own. Thus, no one can predict at the moment
what the next government of Europe’s fourth
economy will be like and more importantly, what
policy it will conduct in the EU.
The Chamber of Deputies, which is the lower
house of the Parliament of Italy, consists of
630 members elected by direct and general vote.
Out of them, 12 members represent overseas
Italians. Another member is elected by the autonomous
region of Valle d’Aosta.
● THE MAJOR PLAYERS
The Democratic Party (PD). The ruling party
of Italy, formed as a result of the merger of
the parties of the Italian communists, socialists,
and Christian left. These are traditional social
democrats with center-left views.
Forza Italia/Forward Italy (FI). A rightwing
conservative party, founded by former Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It advocates
market liberalism, Christian democracy,
and traditionalism.
The Five Star Movement (M5S) was founded
by the comedian Beppe Grillo and is led by businessman
Luigi Di Maio. This movement supports
direct democracy, decentralization, anti-globalism,
Euro-skepticism, and environmental protection.
Free and Equal (LeU). Another alliance created
by left-wing parties that broke off from the
Democrats during the crisis of the Renzi government.
Compared to the PD, this alliance has more
pronounced socialist and progressive views.
Lega Nord/The Northern League (LN). A regional
party of the northern provinces of Italy
which traditionally uses harsh nationalistic
rhetoric. Previously, it advocated the independence
of Northern Italy, and now supports increased
autonomy for the regions and federalization
of the country.
Brothers of Italy (FdI). A national conservative
party and the result of a rebranding of sorts
undergone by the far-right Italian Social Movement,
which some political analysts consider to
be close to neo-fascism.
● HIGH-PROFILE PROMISES
According to the Italian media, the most
high-profile promises include the deportation of
600,000 refugees and the opening of closed
REUTERS photo
brothels which would be taxed. After analyzing
the programs of the parties involved in the election,
the publication Politico in the article “Italian
Election Pledges: Pizza or Pazza?” described
these unrealistic promises with the word pazza,
which means “crazy” in Italian.
The Democratic Party promises to reduce
corporate income tax for both small and large
companies from 24 percent to 22 percent. The
center-right coalition also wants to cut the corporate
income tax and abolish the tax outright
for low-income enterprises. Berlusconi, who is
called the king of electoral promises, has also
pledged to abolish housing tax, inheritance tax,
and road tax. In addition, he promises to cut taxes
on pet food.
The Five Star Movement promises to make
those who earn less than 10,000 euros exempt
from paying tax, reduce the rate of income tax,
and drastically cut the regional taxes paid by
companies.
● FAMILY AND WELFARE
The Democratic Party promises to give families
400 euros a month per child for three years,
and tax deductions of 240 euros per child until
they turn 18. In addition, it wants to set the minimum
pension at 750 euros a month, up from
around 500 euros at present.
The center-right coalition plans subsidies for
families proportional to the number of children.
Forza Italia is promising to hike the minimum
pension to 1,000 euros a month.
● IMMIGRATION AND SECURITY
Almost all political forces stand for a
tougher immigration policy. In particular, the
Democratic Party plans to reduce migrant flows
to Italy through bilateral agreements with the
countries of origin and bring to a halt EU funding
for countries like Hungary and Poland that
have refused to take in any refugees.
The center right is united in its call for a
tougher stance on migration. Forza Italia and
the League want to reintroduce border controls,
block refugee arrivals, and repatriate all migrants
who have no right to stay in Italy, as well
as impose stricter criteria on granting migrants
humanitarian protection.
The Five Star Movement supports increasing
the number of police and strengthening border
checkpoints. They also call for immediate repatriation
of illegal immigrants.
● THE EU RELATIONSHIP
The Democratic Party supports creating a
position of the Eurozone economy minister, the
introduction of joint Eurobonds to finance the
single currency bloc and the direct election of the
European Commission president. At the same
time the party wants to lower Italy’s debt pile
from 132 percent of GDP to 100 percent over a
10-year period.
Berlusconi’s Forza Italia is mostly pro-EU
stance, while the League remains firmly
Euroskeptic. According to the latter party’s
manifesto, Italy should leave the EU unless it
changes its fiscal rules.
Meanwhile, the Five Stars Movement promises
higher investments financed by higher
deficit while committing to reduce Italy’s massive
debt by 40 percentage points over 10 years.
● “SEPARATIST AND ANTI-EUROPEAN
CALLS ARE BECOMING LESS
FREQUENT”
The Day asked Yevhen PERELYHIN, Ambassador
of Ukraine to Italy, to comment on the
peculiarities of the election campaign in that
country.
“There are two weeks left before the general
election in Italy, but nobody can predict what
its results will be. Due to the fact that 10 million
voters have not yet determined who they
will cast their votes for, the renowned researcher
Antonio Noto believes that ‘it will take
a prophet to predict the results of the election.’
The future government coalition will depend
not only on the number of votes the united right
or the alliance of the left forces will gain, but
also on the amount of support for this or that
individual party.
“Since February 19, the publication of
opinion polls has been forbidden, which is why
we will know about the decisive votes of these
10 million voters only after the voting is completed.
The importance of taking into account
votes of those voters who have not determined
yet where they stand is also evidenced by the
results of the anti-system Five Stars Movement
in the most recent election. During the last two
weeks before the voting day, the party was able
to increase its support level by 5.5 percentage
points.
“As of mid-February, consolidated data from
nearly a dozen different opinion polls point to
the right-wing alliance of four parties being in
the lead with 37.2 percent of support. Within
this coalition, Berlusconi’s party Forza Italia
has 16.5 percent, the League (formerly the
League of the North) stands to get 13.8 percent,
the Brothers of Italy 4.6 percent, and the Us
with Italy party has 2.8 percent.
“At the same time, the center-left coalition,
headed by the ruling Democratic Party,
can get 28 percent, while the Five Stars Movement
vote is projected at 27 percent. Thus, if
we proceed from the present figures, none of
the three forces will receive enough votes to
form a stable majority in the country’s parliament.
This means that there is a huge opening
for future agreements both within the centerright
or center-left alliances and between different
parties.
“What can be said with certainty now is that
the future supreme legislative body of Italy will
be less fragmented than its predecessors: while
in 1994 there were 28 parties and political
groups in the Italian parliament, falling to
26 political parties and blocs in 2001 and 2006,
this year, the number of parties and political
groups in the parliament is unlikely to exceed
15.
“Another feature of the election campaign
that deserves our attention is separatist and anti-European
calls becoming less frequent: for instance,
the leader of the League Matteo Salvini
has stated that his political force no longer adheres
to separatist views. ‘Since the League of
the North is now a national movement, we are no
longer seeking independence for Italy’s northern
regions. Now we are federalists and autonomists
who will advocate strengthening the rights of
the regions.’ At the same time, leaders of the
Five Stars Movement have said they will no
longer insist on holding a referendum on the participation
of Italy in the single European currency
project.
“The decline in the proportion of overtly radical
forces in the Italian political arena probably
reflects a decrease in the popularity of such slogans
with the Italian voters, the overwhelming
majority of whom are not inclined to see Italy
outside the EU.
“The ability to defend national interests on
the world stage, ensuring the stable growth of
the Italian economy, addressing complex social
issues, and promoting EU reforms in Italianfriendly
ways (primarily in the migration and
financial spheres) are the main topics that
will determine both the content of last days of
the pre-election debates between the leading
political forces and the results of the general
election.”

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
DAY AFTER DAY No.12 FEBRUARY 22, 2018 3
By Maria PROKOPENKO, photos
by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
Kyiv Motorcycle Factory was
founded in 1945. For several
decades, it made motorcycles,
for example, of the Kyianyn and
Dnipro brands, delivery vans,
and even cars of the Kyiv brand
(incorporating an engine from a
motorcycle, brakes and a steering
mechanism from the “hunchback”
Zaporozhets car). But all this died down in
the 1990s. Now people want to create and,
in fact, are already creating the most
valuable product of this century, that is,
ideas, at the old factory, which covers an
area of 500,000 square meters. A “city
within the city” is growing here, called the
UNIT.City innovation park.
● A CHIMNEY AS A REMINDER
The first phase of the park was commissioned
in 2017. This is the UNIT Factory,
which trains IT professionals, a cafe,
a gym, and a business campus. Now two
other campuses are being built; by the end
of the year, four more should appear in total.
They will house offices of companies,
event spaces, coworkings, and restaurants.
Only a few percent of the area have
been developed so far, but the creators of
the park have grand plans and a strategy
to implement them. Maks Yakover, who is
the executive director and managing partner
of UNIT.City, showed us a layout of
how things would look in a few years. Campuses
for studying and offices, residential
buildings, a hospital, and a school will occupy
only a third of the entire area. Something
will be left from the motorcycle factory
as well, namely a brick chimney
60 meters high, from which a stream of
light will emerge.
● AN ECOSYSTEM FOR
INNOVATIONS
Technoparks began to emerge in the
world in the 1980s. “As a rule, it was something
closed, with corporate research centers.
Usually it was about science. This concept
went away in the mid-2000s. Then it
became clear that innovations came from
young people, and they had different requirements
for infrastructure, community,
mobility, etc. And it was around these
young people that they began to build different
spaces. In the West, they are called
innovation districts, or ‘discovery districts.’
For ourselves, we call them innovation
parks,” Yakover said. “In general,
it is a territory of the future where you can
do everything: to study, to create, to work,
and to rest. There is a strong ecosystem, a
medium for interacting with everyone
within it, with access to various opportunities:
talents, laboratories, etc. This is a
very close space, where you constantly get
to know someone and there is something
new emerging at every time.”
Innovation districts can be called a
trend in the developed countries. These
are, for example, I.D.E.A. in San Diego,
MaRS in Toronto, La Defense District in
Paris, the Boston Innovation District,
and others like that. “There are many successful
examples of building an ecosystem
of startups and innovations. And each
such ecosystem includes identical components:
capital, market, regulation. But
Israel achieved this in one way, Canada in
another, India in some other again. One
just cannot copy the Silicon Valley; everyone
has their own way, although the drivers
are the same. We are studying everything
that is happening in the world and
see which of the best practices could be applied
in Ukraine,” Yakover told us. “By
the way, 86 percent of such projects in the
world are created with the participation
of the government or government grants.
We are among those 14 percent that are
privately funded, in our case it is businessman
Vasyl Khmelnytskyi.”
● “ONE NEEDS TO START
BY TRAINING TALENTS”
The creation of an innovation park in
Kyiv began with the UNIT Factory. This
is an educational space where IT specialists
are trained according to the French
School 42 methodology. Education is free,
but getting admitted is not easy. At pres-
“It is a territory of the future”
How Ukraine’s first
innovation park
is being created
ent, about 800 people study at the school,
who were selected from 30,000. This year,
the number of UNIT Factory students is expected
to reach a thousand.
This educational space is the “yeast”
which should enable companies working in
the park to grow. “Long before the UNIT
Factory was opened, we sent people to
study at the French School 42. They studied
there for a year or two. When they came
back, the companies they came to saw a phenomenal
progress. After that, it was decided
that the educational space should become
the core of UNIT.City,” Yakover recalled.
“In general, any innovation park
should begin with an educational institution,
with college atmosphere, with training
talents.”
As Yakover explained, the School 42,
on the one hand, provides fundamental education,
and on the other hand, responds
to modern challenges. “We believe that the
creativity of one person cannot be limited
by something,” he continued. “And we
want to train people who are comfortable
and feel natural in the digital world.
Therefore, we have no teachers. Now that
knowledge is publicly available, one cannot
limit it to one’s mind. We believe that one
of the key competences of the future is the
ability to learn, and we have it inside the
educational process. Our students immerse
themselves into a new technology
every month. We believe in ‘soft skills,’
which include the ability to prioritize, do
teamwork, work under stresses, and do
time management. All this cannot be learnt
at some school, but it can be learnt when
one is placed in a conducive environment.
We create this environment.”
● TESTED IN A “POOL”
When we entered the UNIT Factory,
we saw dozens of people working at their
laptops. This is jokingly called the “poppy
field,” since Apple computers are known as
Macs, and poppy is called “mak” in Ukrainian.
The school is open 24/7, because its
founders believe that different people can
be most effective at different times, both
in the morning and at night. Yakover assured
us that people studied at the school
around the clock.
To get admitted to the school, one
needs to pass a selection process centering
on logic and memory. Half of the
students are humanities majors, others
are “engineers,” aged 17 to 30. “Those
who have passed the tests get into the
four-week ‘pool’ phase. We compare it
to a pool, because in order to teach a person
to swim, one must throw them into
the water. A similar thing happens in the
UNIT Factory,” Yakover said. A small
portion of students drop out in these
four weeks.
Teachers are involved in the preparation
of curricula. Since the students work
independently during the training, the
tests they undergo are automatically
checked. If someone fails to get sufficient
scores, one can check three to five other
projects. Yakover pointed out: “Thus, the
student understands that, yes, they have
completed their task, but there are at least
five more ways to solve it.”
The training lasts one to three years,
during which time students undergo two
internships lasting four and six months in
a real company. An interesting mechanism,
though familiar to Ukrainians, is the requirement
that a graduate of the UNIT Factory
work in Ukraine for three years.
“This is our contribution to the fight
against the brain drain,” Yakover continued.
“We want to create in the park all the
conditions for self-fulfillment and show
that one can be successful without leaving
the country. This is one of our tasks: to offer
Ukrainians who work in the creative industries,
in particular the IT, a place
where they get into an environment of likeminded
people, grow faster than elsewhere,
and are able to find talents, access
to capital, assistance in entering other
markets and much more which enables
them to create products in Ukraine.”
● ABOUT THE “PHILOSOPHY
OF TALENT
CONCENTRATION”
UNIT.City houses three laboratories
and three accelerators, where the first 35
residents work, as well as several event
spaces. “When we were opening the first
phase facilities, we saw a tremendous interest
in what we were doing. Not only in
terms of infrastructure, but also in terms
of philosophy: the philosophy of collaboration
and concentration of talents, events,
technologies,” Yakover said.
How this ecosystem works can be
judged by the fact that 35 residents created
12 joint projects over the first year. Until
then, these companies had not interacted...
Some of the startups operating in the
innovation park are already known in the
world. For example, Cardiomo makes
portable devices that track the basic parameters
of the human body, such as
temperature and heart rate, and transmit
the analyzed data to a smartphone. Its developers
received an award at the CES, a
reputable exhibition of consumer electronics
and consumer technology in Las
Vegas, and have won many orders from
around the world. Concepter has developed
a flash case for the iPhone. Meanwhile,
the company Program-Ace, which
works with technologies of virtual reality,
is a Top 3 player in its field globally.
The Jollylook team has created a vintage
cardboard camera, which raised a huge
amount of money on the Kickstarter
crowdfunding platform, and is currently
developing a design of the largest ever
industrial 3D printer. One can also look
to FabLab Fabricator, which, Yakover asserted,
is among the best equipped digital
labs in Central and Eastern Europe.
And this is not all by far.
● “WE NEED AN ENTERPRISING
CULTURE AT
THE NATIONAL LEVEL”
For Yakover, a new innovation park is
not the first large-scale project. He reformed
the Expocenter of Ukraine, known
as the VDNKh, earlier in cooperation with
Maksym Bakhmatov, who is now also a
managing partner of UNIT.City. It was also
to an extent a story of revitalization,
that is, renovation of a neglected area. And
before that, Yakover headed the IT department
of the Kyiv Metro. “The Metro is
a huge system that employs 8,000 people
and works like a clock. By working for it,
one gets absolutely different skills, like a
sense of speed and rhythm and working on
a major project,” he recalled. Interestingly,
the team of huge UNIT.City numbers
just over 20 people.
“Wherever I have worked, I have always
treated the job as a project of my own,
one in which I invest my entire knowledge,
skills, and soul. In private projects, one just
moves faster,” Yakover continued. “I really
like UNIT.City, because it is one of the most
ambitious projects for the next few years,
in particular by its positive impact on the
country. It will create a huge number of opportunities
for Ukrainians and send correct
signals for the entry of foreign partners.
Our ambition is to create one of the
strongest and largest innovation parks in
Central and Eastern Europe.”
As to what the country generally needs
in order to get innovations developing in
it, Yakover stated that there were several
engines and components in common. “As
far as I know, no country has seen the
ecosystem of innovation emerging without
the participation of the government. There
must be a market, there should be tools for
financing start-ups at different stages, regulatory
framework, talent, accelerator infrastructure,
incubators and coworkings,
the institution of mentoring,” he continued.
“Successful examples are needed as
well. And we need an enterprising culture
at the national level, when parents are more
likely to advise their child to create something
new, something of their own, rather
than go and work for someone else. We
stand at the very beginning of that path at
the moment.”

4
No.12 FEBRUARY 22, 2018
TOPIC OF THE DAY
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Vadym RYZHKOV, The Day, Dnipro
Photos by Yurii STEFANIAK
My interlocutor is the famous
historian Ihor Shchupak,
director of the Tkuma
Ukrainian Institute for
Holocaust Studies and the
Memory of the Jewish people and the
Holocaust in Ukraine Museum. This unique
museum was opened in Dnipro in 2012, in
part thanks to the efforts of its director.
“Of course, the focus is on the history of the
Jewish people and the Holocaust,”
Shchupak told us. “It is very important for
us to study this tragedy. Therefore, I
study the problem of Ukrainians saving
Jews during the Holocaust, who are called
‘Righteous Among the Nations.’ This is the
topic of my doctoral thesis.”
Besides, the historian is involved in
book publishing and writing books and
textbooks, which are used by up to a quarter
of all Ukrainian school students. He
serves on the Ukrainian-Polish and Ukrainian-German
historical commissions, participates
in working groups of the Ministry
of Education and Science of Ukraine which
deal with reforming historical education
and new approaches to it. Shchupak co-authored
new history curriculums and many
other research and educational projects, in
particular, atlases of the history of
Ukraine. “I am now writing a textbook on
interwar world history which addresses
controversial issues, in particular, I touch
on the Holocaust and the Holodomor in the
context of comparing different genocides,”
Shchupak said. It was this, as well as the
partnership between Ukraine and Israel
and the intersections of human fates in the
historical context, which we talked about
at the Tkuma Institute, which is located on
the premises of the Menorah Jewish community
center.
● “MY AUNT, WHO IS
ABOUT 90, STILL
REMEMBERS WHICH
PLANTS MAY BE EATEN
AND WHICH MAY NOT”
Recently, member of the Israeli Knesset
Akram Hasson introduced a bill on the
recognition of the Holodomor as genocide
of the Ukrainian people. Den/The Day
newspaper has always paid much attention
to this issue, starting long before it was
raised at the state level during Viktor
Yushchenko’s presidency. The famed researcher
of the Holodomor James Mace
worked for Den/The Day as well. What is
your personal take on this problem?
“This question is directly related to my
research work. I study the Holocaust, one
of the worst genocides in the history of humanity.
For this, it is important to understand
what the genocide is in general,
where this definition comes from and how
it relates to other similar tragedies.
Raphael Lemkin, a Polish lawyer of Jewish
descent, began to study the mass extermination
of people by researching the
genocide of the Armenian people in the Ottoman
Empire. After that, he studied the
Ukrainian Holodomor and came to the realization
that the genocide was a particularly
tragic phenomenon, the most terrible
one in the history of humanity. And when
after World War Two Lemkin submitted
documents to the newly constituted UN, he
saw the Armenian tragedy, the Holodomor
of the Ukrainian people, and the Holocaust
as the classic examples of genocide. But the
Soviet Union was among the victors in
World War Two, and it could not let itself
be condemned along with Nazi Germany for
organizing mass genocides. Therefore,
targeting social groups was excluded from
the definition of genocide, limiting it to the
destruction of a certain group of people
based on racial, national, or religious criteria.
In Ukraine, it was the Ukrainian
peasantry, which actively opposed the Soviet
government, that was destroyed.
There was insurgent movement in many regions
of Ukraine, which debunked the
stereotype that Ukrainians were supposedly
resigned to their fates. As for the
Holodomor, we study it in the general
context of genocide. After all, when talking
about the Holocaust, we cannot avoid
mentioning the Ukrainian Holodomor, or,
for example, the deportation of the
Crimean Tatars.
“By the way, our Crimean Tatar
friends, who are historians and journalists,
came to us a few days ago, and we opened
an exhibition of photos of Crimean Tatar
children whose parents are held as political
prisoners in the annexed Crimea. And
“There is no alien pain: for us,
this is a moral imperative”
Dnipro historian Ihor Shchupak discusses
the Holocaust and the Holodomor as
genocides and the prospects of Israel
recognizing it at the state level
before that, we created the first permanent
museum exhibition in Ukraine devoted to
the deportation of Crimean Tatars and
other peoples of Crimea.
“Of course, we felt we had to create a
Holodomor exhibition in the Holocaust Museum.
To do this, we turned to experts, including
Doctor of Historical Sciences Liudmyla
Hrynevych, who heads the Ukrainian
Center for Holodomor Studies in Kyiv.
We also sought help of our friends from
Canada, for example, Valentyna Kuryliv,
who was among the first people to introduce
the Holodomor studies to educational
institutions. We mention the Holodomor
in various contexts.
“Here is my book The Holocaust in
Ukraine: Finding Answers to History
Questions, which is a textbook approved by
the Ministry of Education and Science of
Ukraine for use in educational institutions.
It contains a separate section on the
Holodomor, which took place on the eve of
the Holocaust. There is a moral aspect to
this problem as well. If we want to understand
the Crimean Tatars, we must understand
the Jews who perished during the
Holocaust, and perceive the pain of
Ukrainians who were killed en masse by
starvation in 1932-33. ‘There is no alien
pain’ is the motto which is a certain moral
imperative, and we work according to it.
And, as far as the victims of the
Holodomor are concerned, then, of course,
an overwhelming majority of those victims
were ethnic Ukrainians. But I must say
that there were other victims of the
Holodomor as well. There were Russians,
Poles, Belarusians, Tatars, Jews who
resided in the areas affected by the famine.
If you take the Jewish districts that were
created in the 1920s and where the Jewish
population was concentrated, there were
victims there too. I know it not only from
documents and books, but from my own
family story as well. It is because my
grandfather, my dad’s father, who lived in
the village of Konetspol in the Pervomaisk
raion of the Mykolaiv oblast, perished
during the Holodomor, just like
many of his relatives and friends. My
aunt Sofia Shchupak, who is currently living
in Israel, is about 90 and still remembers
that terrible time. Surprisingly, she
remembers which plants may be eaten
and which may not. That is, an elderly person
has this terrible story carved into her
memory.
“Another such interesting moment:
when I studied the history of the Holocaust,
I interviewed Dora Teplytska, an
elderly woman. She recalled that during
the Holodomor, a Ukrainian boy crawled
to them whose village was put on the
‘black board’ and had its grain completely
confiscated. And the Jews saved this
boy, settled him in an empty house. He
lived there and was grateful to his saviors.
And when the war began and the Nazis
came, he really wanted to help them, but
it was impossible. When the Jews were being
led off to be executed, he asked, ‘What
can I do for you?’ And one of the Jews said:
‘Remember our names!’ He took a notebook
and began to record his fellow villagers,
more than a hundred names in total. And
then, when the Red Army returned, he was
mobilized, fought in the war, and returned
after getting wounded. The notebook
was kept for several decades until it
was handed over to a local teacher. And she
later transferred it to the Tkuma Institute,
and we transferred this list to Yad
Vashem. It turned out that no other information
was available on virtually all of
the exterminated people on the list. When
an entire family was destroyed, no one
could preserve the memory of the dead.
And it turns out that this Ukrainian did
what he could by preserving the memory
of his saviors.”
● “THE COMMUNISM TRIAL
MUST BE INTERNATIONAL”
Ukraine has passed a number of legislative
acts on the recognition of the
Holodomor of 1932-33 as genocide of the
Ukrainian people. In January 2010, the
Kyiv City Administrative Court’s ruling
even named leaders of the All-Union Communist
Party (Bolsheviks) as perpetrators
of the Holodomor, although it then closed
the case due to them being dead. But no
full-fledged trial has been held in Ukraine,
which would dot all the ‘i’s.
“You are saying right things. The fact
is that a crime which does not get punished
provokes its repetition. The world would be
different and better if there was an immediate
reaction to the destruction of one and
a half million Armenians. The international
community effectively overlooked it.
The story of the Holodomor in Ukraine was
also suppressed by the Soviet Union and
even by a large part of the Western intelligentsia,
which believed that an interesting
experiment was being conducted in the
USSR for the sake of the working people,
and thus refused to see the fact that these
workers were being destroyed by famine
and repression. Was not it strange when famous
writers and journalists came to Belomorkanal
and did not understand who was
building that canal? There were, of course,
honest people who spoke the truth about
what was happening, but they faced an unwilling
audience. And this attitude regarding
the mass destruction of people
made possible further tragedies. Famous
American historian Timothy Snyder and
Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak
draw our attention to this.
“Holding the Nuremberg Trial and
condemning Nazi criminals was very important
regarding the Nazi ideology. In that
trial, the court condemned crimes against
humanity, including the particular policy
of ‘the final solution to the Jewish question’
– the Holocaust, which is estimated to
have killed about 6 million Jews. But there
has been no trial of those responsible for the
crimes of the communist regime of the
USSR. Why is it so? I think that in 1991,
when Ukraine gained independence, an
overwhelming majority of the population
still felt connected to the Soviet past, accepted
Soviet history. And the political elite
that came to power in Ukraine did not actually
break with this Soviet past, but was
directly connected with the communist
system. Ukraine, ideologically and politically,
was living in two worlds: on the one
hand, it talked about its aspirations towards
Europe and European values, and on the
other, it strived for an alliance with Russia,
which proclaimed itself the successor
to the Soviet Union. And in fact, the abandonment
of the Soviet legacy, of the totalitarian
past, began in Ukraine only under
president Yushchenko, who tried to embed
memory of the Holodomor into the center
of the national idea. This was fundamentally
correct, but the methods used were not
very popular and ineffective, and prompted
many people to oppose it. It was because
Akram HASSON, a member of the Israeli Knesset:
“
Three months ago, I was a guest of the Verkhovna Rada. I arrived
in Kyiv as part of an Israeli parliamentary delegation. We met with
members of the parliamentary Ukrainian-Israeli friendship association,
it includes 130 members of the Rada. They invited me to visit the
Museum of Holodomor. Not knowing what they were talking about, I
agreed. I was the only member of our delegation who went there.
“For me, it was all new, and I decided that people should know what
happened then. I began to study the issue, to find out what happened under Joseph Stalin in the Soviet
Union, and I realized that they carried out a policy of deliberate killing by starvation. It had
its rules, it involved soldiers and officials who were sent there. So, more than three million people
died, and some believe that the true figure was about ten million.
“The Vatican has recognized these events as an act of genocide, and four former Soviet republics
have done so as well. And it seems to me that the world must know about it. I am not a Ukrainian,
not a new or an old returnee, I am not a Jew, so nobody can accuse me of having a special agenda.
But I am a man who was brought up in the State of Israel, and my education does not allow
”
me to perceive calmly such terrible things.
(http://detaly.co.il)
this often was done by Soviet methods, in
particular, it was forced through the education
system, which lacked proper training
and methodological effort. Still, a major
step in the formation of national memory
was made, and Yushchenko’s role in it
should be recognized.
“But in fact, the real abandonment of
the Soviet past began in Ukraine only after
2014, after Russia began aggression
against Ukraine, when it became clear
that Russian thinking was effectively
post-Soviet and represented an attempt
to conserve ideological notions of the
past, to prevent Ukraine and other post-
Soviet countries from entering the modern
world. De-communization, which
began in Ukraine, with all its merits
and flaws, was to tear us away from the
Soviet past. However, the communism
trial, targeting it as a criminal totalitarian
system, must be international.
Only then it will matter.”
● “THE NATIONAL IDEA
OF ISRAEL IS FORMED
AROUND THE HISTORICAL
MEMORY...”
So, why has such a trial not been
held internationally? What are the obstacles?
“My opinion is that this, of course,
should be done. But for any serious trial,
we must have political preconditions met
first. There has to be public demand for it.
We must be aware that a large part of
Ukrainian society still has Soviet or post-
Soviet consciousness. And this is not only
a part of the older generation, but also
young communist perverts, if one can label
them like this. Under these conditions,
holding such a trial will lead to an
even worse political crisis in Ukraine.
“If we compare it to what happened after
World War Two, then an overwhelming
majority of humanity saw clearly that
the Nazism was an absolute evil; all humanity
had fought the Nazism. The
Nazism had then just suffered a catastrophe
and a military defeat. Today, the post-
Soviet ideology is actually defended by Russia.
It is a mix of imperial, Bolshevik, and
quasi-religious ideology, where communist
ideas remain as methods of leadership, as
methods of working with the masses and as
methods of forming collective consciousness.
Therefore, a new Nuremberg Trial
will take place once global communism has
had its 1945. So far, post-communist
regimes have been preserved in Russia and
effectively in Belarus, and their varieties
exist in Central Asia. Do not forget about
China either, and I am not even talking here
about rogue regimes in North Korea and
Cuba. In addition, intellectuals still play
with left-wing slogans in the US, Canada,
Europe, and Israel. They do not fully understand
what communism is like, because
they have never experienced life
under the conditions of the communist
regime. Unfortunately, you will find the
psychological premises of the left-wing
mentality among students and in the academic
circles. It is alleged that Winston
Churchill once said that ‘if you are not a
revolutionary in your youth, you have no
conscience, but if you are not a conservative
when you are old, you have no brain.’
On the other hand, left-wing organizations
are funded by Russia. There is a very
strange situation emerging, where the
left-wingers, who have strong positions in
Germany, Hungary, France, are often entering
alliances with the far-right.”
Perhaps this explains why recognition
of Holodomor on the world stage is being
a bit stalled?
“There is more to it: another reason is
the ignorance of humanity. Ukraine is
not yet a serious political player on the political
scene, unlike Russia. People listen
less to Ukraine, and in order for us to be
heard better, we must be economically
stronger, corruption-free, and militarily
capable. And there are reasons of purely academic
nature as well. A large number of
Russian scholars try to downplay the socioethnic
character of the Ukrainian
Holodomor. It reminds me of how, during
the Soviet era, they tried not to talk about
the Jews as victims of the Holocaust. They
said that the victims of Nazism were ‘Soviet
people without regard to gender, age,
and ethnicity.’ But it was actually on the
contrary: during the Holodomor, the
Ukrainian peasants were destroyed as the
basis of the anti-communist movement in
Ukraine. Unfortunately, there are still
scholars and politicians who speculate on
this by juggling numbers which are un-

WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
TOPIC OF THE DAY No.12 FEBRUARY 22, 2018 5
supported by any documentary evidence.
But there are such scholars as Liudmyla
Hrynevych and Stanislav Kulchytskyi,
who can tell what really happened. But with
regard to Israel, I am far from convinced
that the relevant resolution of the Knesset
on the recognition of the Holodomor as
genocide will be adopted.”
Why do you think so?
“I see several reasons for it. The first
one is that in Israel, it was decided at the political
level long ago not to recognize any
such event as genocide, be it the Armenian
genocide, or the deportation of the Crimean
Tatars, or the Holodomor. It is because that
country’s national idea is formed around
the historical memory, in particular that of
the Holocaust, and any mention of other
genocides is not always adequately perceived
by historians and the political elite.
True, leading Holocaust scholars such as
Professor Yehuda Bauer, who once wrote
about the uniqueness of the Holocaust, now
say that it was unprecedented in scale, organization,
and universality, thus recognizing
that such tragedies happened before,
and the same Armenian genocide or the
Holodomor can be listed as ones which typologically
were closest to the Holocaust.
And, of course, there is still a certain conservative
tradition among scholars in Israel.
“There is another reason: politics is the
art of the possible. Despite the clear understanding
of what the current Russian
regime is, despite the fact that Russia ac-
tually supports the terrorist organizations
that are fighting against Israel and
against the democratic world, despite recent
events and military support provided
by Russia to the regime of Bashar Assad,
Hezbollah, and Iranian terrorists, Israel is
trying to keep at least a semblance of neutrality
in its relations with Russia. It is because
Israel exists under very difficult international
conditions. This can be compared
with the conditions in which modern
Ukraine finds itself. A catastrophic worsening
of relations with Russia, according
to some politicians in Israel, can cause a
very great harm. Obviously, not everyone
is onboard with risky behavior. Much of the
Israeli establishment understands the anti-Israeli
and anti-Ukrainian nature of
Russian policies, but given the above factors,
I believe that the resolution we are discussing
will not be passed by Israel.”
● “WE MUST GET RID OF
STEREOTYPES IN MUTUAL
PERCEPTIONS”
But still, is the idea of recognizing the
Holodomor as genocide present in Israel?
“Of course, and we spread it, we try to
maintain a dialog with our fellow scholars.
When saying ‘we,’ I mean Ukrainian scholars,
the Jewish community of Dnipro, people
who have contacts in Israel. What are
the ways of spreading such ideas? Firstly,
we do it through research. Secondly, it is
done by involving Israelis – academics,
politicians – in those processes that are taking
place. These include museum exhibitions,
academic conferences, archival work,
and the declassification of documents. If we
find interesting intersections of the fates
of people during the Holodomor and the
Holocaust, then this must also shape opinions
in Israel in a certain way.
“I also want to say about the extraordinary
effectiveness of totalitarian propaganda.
The Nazi propaganda was the
most effective one in human history. And
now, Russian propaganda is its equal at
least, and it is based on a huge financial resource.
And within the framework of this
propaganda, we find efforts to create or
maintain certain stereotypes of perception
when they spread the stereotype of the
Ukrainian as an anti-Semite, pogromnik,
and butcher. Meanwhile, the Pole is shown
as an anti-Semite, traitor, and murderer.
At the same time, other forces that are allied
to Russia spread stereotypes about the
Jews as both communist commissars and,
at the same time, exploitative capitalists.
We have seen a new myth about the ‘Kike-
Banderaites’ emerging, although this idea
is absolutely not new. One can see in our
museum how they wrote once about the
‘union between the Trident and the Star of
David.’
“We have to speak out against these
stereotypical ideas, we have to talk about
everything – Jewish commissars and Jewish
organizers of the Holodomor as well as
Jewish victims of the Holodomor – all the
while realizing that Ukrainians were the
principal victims. We must speak honestly
about Ukrainian collaborators, those who
betrayed Jews and participated in their extermination,
including Ukrainian nationalists.
But we must also talk about the
Ukrainians who saved Jews while risking
their own lives, the Righteous Among the
Nations; Ukrainian nationalists from the
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
are among the Righteous who are officially
recognized by Yad Vashem. We
know that in western Ukraine, more Jews
were saved by an order of magnitude
than in a dozen regions in eastern and
southern Ukraine. We must get rid of
stereotypes in mutual perceptions. Therefore,
we are introducing a critical look at
our own history in our museum. No people
has been ‘warm and fuzzy and sinless’
– neither Polish nor Jewish nor
Ukrainian.”
What exactly do you tell about the
Holodomor in your Holocaust museum?
“We have allocated to the Holodomor
not a separate stand, but an entire room.
The main idea is to show the Holodomor in
the context of Soviet policies. Some people
use the term ‘famine-making policies’ to
show the preconditions of the Holodomor.
They included the Stalinist policy in agriculture,
the totalitarian system’s need to
assert itself, including though the elimination
of independent farms. We tell the
story of the famine of 1921-22 when the Soviet
state did not hide the famine and requested
help. Although this food crisis was
related not so much to natural causes,
but rather to the policy of military communism
and other idiotic communist experiments.
We talk about the unknown
famine of 1925, the famine of 1928, and
collectivization, which created the conditions
for the Holodomor, about the
Holodomor of 1932-33, then about the
famine of 1935 and subsequent events. Unfortunately,
most of the population of
this country does not know about the preconditions
of the Holodomor as well as previous
famines, and the fact that the
Holodomor happened only once, in 1932-
33. After all, before it, there were famines
when thousands or tens of thousands of
people died, but such a manmade extermination
of millions of peasants in Ukraine
had not happened ever, so we emphasize
that the Holodomor was genocide of the
Ukrainian people.”
● “WE HAVE NATURAL
DIRECTIONS OF
COOPERATION WITH
ISRAEL”
Editor-in-chief of our newspaper
Larysa Ivshyna believes that should Israel
recognize the Holodomor as genocide of
the Ukrainian people, it could contribute
to strategic cooperation between Israel
and Ukraine.
“I think that strategic interests of
countries are a prerequisite for strategic cooperation.
History can contribute to this,
but it can hinder it as well. For example,
Ukraine and Poland are strategic partners
in European politics and in opposition to
Russian aggression. But Poland’s attitude
to certain historical problems may interfere
with our partnership. Although this
does not undo the fact that Ukraine and
Poland are natural strategic partners. The
same applies to Ukraine and Israel: they are
strategic partners both because they are not
great powers, like the US or Britain, and
because they have similar historical fates.
I mean what happened to Israel after the
proclamation of independence, and the
environment in which Ukraine is defending
its independence, and also interpersonal
relations when we talk about a huge community
of immigrants from Ukraine to Israel,
who have been building modern Israel.
I also mean the Jewish community in
Ukraine, which has ties with Israel and consists
of patriots of Ukraine. We have natural
directions of cooperation in economic,
scientific, and technology fields, etc.
And the Israeli leadership will ultimately
recognize the Holodomor as genocide, I believe
in it. I am not convinced that this will
happen now, but particular political elite,
certain leaders recognizing certain things
is one thing. Meanwhile, what we have to
do at the level of society, what one has to
do at one’s own level is a different matter.
For instance, Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky,
a spiritual leader of the Ukrainian
people and, I believe, a national hero of
Ukraine, saved more than 150 Jews during
the Holocaust. He is not officially recognized
as a Righteous Among the Nations in
Israel, but people do see him as one. And the
Hall of the Righteous in our Memory of the
Jewish people and the Holocaust in Ukraine
Museum includes an exhibition devoted to
Metropolitan Sheptytsky. Incidentally, it
is the first one of its kind in Ukraine, and
it has opened precisely in a Jewish museum.
And Metropolitan Sheptytsky is the
main figure in that Hall of the Righteous,
because we see him as a righteous man. And
the same applies to the attitude of Jews and
Israelis to the Holodomor as genocide, a terrible
tragedy of the Ukrainian people, including
those Jews who became victims of
the Holodomor when they lived in Ukraine.
That is, we need to work on the recognition
of the Holodomor as genocide of the
Ukrainian people, and it will happen at
some point.”
“Throughjointeffortsandpressure”
The 54th Security Conference, which was
attended by hundreds of politicians and experts
from all over the world, including from Ukraine,
was held in Munich on February 17-18
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day
● “WE SHALL TRANSCEND
RUSSIA”
Among other speakers, President
of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko
delivered a 20-minute speech at the
largest security forum; he said that
the evil that is behind the war in
the Donbas “is the same, and it resides
in the Kremlin.” “To paraphrase
the famous British statesman
Benjamin Disraeli: we shall
not defeat Russia, we shall transcend
it. What does it mean? First,
be firm on values. The only message
to Moscow today has to be that the
costs of its aggression will keep increasing
until Russian troops leave
the Donbas and Crimea,” the head
of state said.
● POSITION
ON PEACEKEEPERS
From the Ukrainian perspective,
this security conference featured a
number of positive statements from
politicians regarding support for the
deployment of a peacekeeping mission
in the Donbas. In particular,
Poroshenko reminded the audience
during his speech that he proposed
to deploy a UN peacekeeping mission
in the Donbas back in 2015, and now
this initiative is supported by the
whole world. His assertion was supported
by statements from Sweden,
Finland, and Belarus.
In particular, President of Finland
Sauli Niinisto assured that his
country would join the peacekeeping
mission in the Donbas, the DW
reports. According to him, the conflict
in the Donbas is the biggest
problem in Europe. “If it is possible
to solve it, Finland must take part
in this.”
“If we see the right conditions
and if we see that this mission can
help... then we are open to that,”
Swedish Defense Minister Peter
Hultqvist was quoted as saying by
Reuters.
A similar statement was made
by our neighbor Belarus as well.
However, experts are not yet sure
how acceptable this country’s participation
in a peacekeeping operation
in the conflict zone in eastern
Ukraine can be. “We can only confirm
Belarus’s readiness to take
part in any form in the possible deployment
of a military contingent
to this region, should it be acceptable
to all parties involved in this
conflict,” said Foreign Minister of
Belarus Vladimir Makei.
● THE RASMUSSEN PLAN
As expected, the Munich gathering
also hosted a presentation of the
peacekeeping mission plan prepared
by UN expert at Columbia University
in New York Richard Gowan and
commissioned by former NATO Secretary
General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s
foundation; The Day covered
the document in the article
“Will ‘Blue Helmets’ Come to the
Donbas?” on February 15, 2018. Let
us recall that this project provides
for a deployment of up to 20,000
peacekeepers in the Donbas, which
should come from neutral countries
trusted by Ukraine, Russia, and the
West alike, like Sweden, Finland,
Austria, Latin American nations,
and Belarus, the latter because it is
friendly to Russia.
● THE KLIMKIN-LAVROV
MEETING
While experts were discussing
the idea of a peacekeeping mission in
the Donbas, Foreign Minister of
Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin held a meeting
with his Russian counterpart
Sergey Lavrov, during which the issue
of peacekeepers was raised as
well. However, according to the
chief of Ukrainian diplomacy,
“nothing has been agreed upon yet.”
And the next day, February 17, talks
in the Normandy format, scheduled
to be held on the margins of conference,
did not take place.
The Day asked experts to comment
on statements by representatives
of Sweden, Finland, and Belarus
on their possible participation
in the UN peacekeeping operation in
the Donbas, as well as to tell us what
should happen to get things moving
on that issue.
● “WE NEED TO DO
EVERYTHING TO CHANGE
RUSSIA’S STANCE”
Volodymyr OHRYZKO, a former
minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine:
“I think this is, as people say, a
case of ‘jumping the gun.’
“In fact, I do not believe that
such a mission can actually be deployed
in the Donbas, unless we concede
on our principal conditions,
which are getting this mission to
control the entire occupied territory,
including the Ukrainian-Russian
border. If we do concede and, as
the Russians demand, allow peacekeepers
in to guard the OSCE mission
only, then it will be an admission
of our own helplessness and inability
to defend our national interests.
If we insist on our conditions,
Russia, under the current circumstances,
will not concede anything
major, because for Russia, a closure
of the border means that nothing
will remain from the Luhansk and
Donetsk ‘people’s republics’ in a
few months.
“With regard to the choice of
countries, no Russian allies, such as
Belarus, should be allowed there at
all, because they are completely dependent
on Russia and there is a danger
that Russian Main Intelligence
Directorate or Special Forces soldiers
would be stationed there, disguised
as Belarusian peacekeepers.
“Therefore, the real issue is not
how many countries and which ones
will participate in the mission, but in
the stance which Russia has today and
which needs to be changed through
joint efforts and pressure. This is the
key issue. The problem is that, given
Russia’s current stance and its unwillingness
to take reasonable steps,
we are not moving forward.
“We and our Western partners
need to do everything to change Russia’s
stance. This is the only prerequisite
for moving forward not only on
the issue of the mission, but also on
finding a solution to the conflict itself.
If Russia’s stance remains unchanged,
and the West keeps appealing
to it with more calls for a change
of stance, nothing will happen. Russia
can only be forced to act, this is the
only way to show who is in control.”

6
No.12 FEBRUARY 22, 2018
CLOSE UP
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Ivan ANTYPENKO, The Day, Kherson
On January 22, 2018, the Holy Synod
of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC KP),
presided over by Filaret, Patriarch of
Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine, discussed
the request of the Right Reverend Damian,
Archbishop of Kherson and Taurica, to relieve
him of his office on health and age grounds. The
Synod relieved Damian of administering the
eparchy and appointed the Right Reverend
Klyment, Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea,
as Kherson Eparch.
Klyment (born Pavlo Kushch) is known for
his pro-Ukrainian stand during the 2014 events
in Crimea. Since Russia annexed the peninsula,
there have been many changes that adversely affected
the local UOC KP eparchy. The Day’s interview
with Archbishop Klyment focused on
the situation with Ukrainian orthodoxy in
Crimea, the harassment the church suffered on
the part of the self-proclaimed authorities, and
his activity in the new office.
Although it is the first interview of Klyment,
as chief of the Kherson Eparchy, to a
piece of the print media, the hierarch has
known the newspaper Den for a very long time.
As far back as 2000 he met Klara Gudzyk, a researcher
and a longtime Den journalist who has
unfortunately departed this life. Our conversation
in fact began with this. “As soon as I became
the Eparch of Crimea, I granted my first
interview to Den, and I spoke to none other
than Klara Gudzyk,” the archbishop says. “She
was the legend of Ukrainian journalism. Unfortunately,
there are fewer and fewer professionals,
and it seems to me sometimes that people
like her no longer exist. Gudzyk was an active
and highly-cultured citizen. Besides, she
was just a marvelous lady. May the Lord rest
her soul, and we will always keep eternal memory
of her.”
It is four years since Russia began an open
phase of aggression against Ukraine. Let us recall
those days. When did it become clear to you
that Crimea was being occupied?
“I am a native Crimean. I have always had a
feeling of war. I can remember the first tension
in 2004, when it was written in blue on the walls
after the Orange Revolution: ‘The Russians are
coming.’ It was a warning. I spoke of this at the
time. Ukrainian statehood was being systematically
destroyed in Crimea. It was clear even in
1991. There were no Ukrainian schools or
Ukrainian authorities in Crimea, and everything
was being done to wipe out the UOC KP.
It was a never-ending struggle, when we were
forced to prove that we have equal rights. My
heart aches for Crimea. It is a festering wound.
It is thanks to God, the prayers of the Holiest
Patriarch Filaret, and all those who pray for us
that we have survived as eparchy, as a Ukrainian
community.
“When the 2014 events began, I said to the
faithful: do not lose faith, pray. The authorities
may change, but God remains eternal. And what
happened in Crimea is, partly, the result of
fighting against God.”
In March 2014 you stood up for a Ukrainian
military unit in Perevalne. Would you tell us
about that incident?
“On March 3, the Ukrainian community
gathered near the Taras Shevchenko monument
in Simferopol. We held a rally to celebrate the
200th anniversary of the poet’s birth and to support
peace efforts. By the way, I watched a video
of that event the other day. If you look more
closely, you will see and hear a cry from the
heart: help and defend us in Crimea! It is important
because it is often said today that the
Crimeans themselves surrendered Crimea without
any resistance. This idea is being imposed on
society and falsifies the real events of those
days.
“A priest called me from Perevalne and said
that some soldiers without insignia were gathering
near them. I went there with Anatolii Kovalskyi,
a Crimean activist. There were a lot of militaries
and pro-Russian civilians who blocked a
Ukrainian military unit. I saw that they might
beat me up, but I needed to make my way to our
servicemen. I walked together with journalists
so they could film and photograph if necessary.
I reached our guys, blessed them, and stood by
the gate. It was hard and terrible.
The citadel of Spirit
against insidious force
Russia began to occupy Crimea four years ago.
Archbishop Klyment recalls the events and
assesses the situation on the peninsula
“Another horrible event of those days was
the kidnapping of Anatolii Kovalskyi and Andrii
Shchekun, leaders of the pro-Ukrainian movement,
on March 9. They were interrogated and
tortured in basements by the Russian FSB security
service. They were questioned about funding
a ‘clandestine’ Ukrainian organization. The
interrogators did not believe that everything
was done out of patriotic sentiments only and at
the own cost. This perhaps shows a great difference
between Ukrainian and Russian societies.
We knit together at a time of trouble and stand
our ground without losing hope.”
What is the situation with the UOC KP in
Crimea now compared to 2014?
“There were 50 registered and 20 active religious
communities and about 15 priests in 2014.
The priests were first to leave out of fear for
their children. We faced the problem of the closure
of Ukrainian classes. Our children spoke
Ukrainian. In schools, other children showed aggression
to and badgered them, while teachers
claimed that nothing was happening.
“We have preserved nine communities which
hold services in the temples located on the
Crimean Eparchy’s own premises. The premises
we had rented or received from businessmen
friends were either taken over by the local authorities
or transferred to the owners who sold
them and left Crimea. The premises were taken
over because we are not registered as economic
entity of Russia.”
Photo by the author
Is there any pressure on priests now?
“The situation has calmed down – now, four
years later, we know our way around. We hold
services, and people come to churches. But we
are in a state of uncertainty. I am trying to focus
on the congregation and churches. We cannot
renovate the premises, for we don’t know
what awaits us tomorrow.”
Were you personally threatened?
“You know, when your country house is
burnt down and churches are taken away, when
your friends are arrested before your eyes, when
you are not allowed to enter the courtroom, what
attitude are you expected to take to this? It is
difficult psychologically. There is physical influence
– when you can be apprehended, beaten
up, and then released. But the pressure I am subjected
to is perhaps even more complicated. This
means you know that they have already given
you a ‘death sentence,’ but you don’t know when
it will be carried out. And waiting for it is more
terrible than the ‘sentence’ itself.”
Did you turn to UOC, Moscow Patriarchate,
priests for help? Maybe, some of them showed
mercy?
“We maintain no contacts with Moscow Patriarchate
representatives. When people obey no
laws, what kind of mercy can they show?”
Last year you filed a suit to the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR). What is it
about?
“We lost actions in Russian courts – from
Crimea to the Supreme Court in Moscow – and
the turned to the ECHR. The essence of this suit
is that Kyiv Patriarchate believers are barred
from religious activity in Crimea. It has clauses
about churches in Sevastopol and Perevalne and
a cathedral in Simferopol, persecution of priests,
and destruction of property.
“We decided to appeal to the ECHR after Rostov
court bailiffs, who are working now in Simferopol,
had come to execute the decision of the
local judge Sokolova on August 2017. She ruled
that 112 sq. m. of the cathedral’s ground floor,
which our eparchy rents, should be withdrawn.”
There have been many instances in Crimea
of kidnapping, beating up, and otherwise repressing
Crimean Tatar activists. Do you help
them?
“The most terrible thing about these repressions
is that I am powerless. This really depresses
me because I am not allowed to be in direct
contact. But I am trying to act with what little I
have. When Volodymyr Balukh got into trouble,
we stood up for him and his family, including in
courts. I was not allowed to visit him at the pretrial
jail. There were many absurd court rulings:
Larysa Kytaiska, Mykola Semena, etc. We are
trying to support, but we cannot disclose many
things.”
What must Ukraine do in order not only to
regain the territory of Crimea, but also to win
back the hearts and souls of Crimeans?
“First of all, the government of Ukraine
must become Ukrainian. They must become statists.
Cruel as it may sound, let us not forget that
those in power now came to it on the blood of the
ones we remember on February 18, 19, and 20.
And they remain in power thanks to the guys
who are defending Ukraine in the Donbas. If
Ukraine ceases to exist, where will they [leadership.
– Ed.] be? Billions have not yet saved at
least one. Let us not forget that many people
have suffered for Ukraine. We went through
serfdom, famines, prison camps, wars, and persecutions.
For all generations believed in this
country.
“In Crimea, I cannot speak badly about all of
Ukraine, for it is my fatherland which I love no
matter what kind of government is in power. Besides,
this would kill the hope there. Each must
decide whether or not they love this country.
Ukraine is loved in Crimea. They are comparing
now the present with the past. Not all can admit
their mistakes and repent. But many long for
Ukraine deep in their hearts.
“Let us recall the Nakhimov Naval School
cadets who sang the Anthem of Ukraine when
the Russia flag was being raised or graduates in
embroidered shirts. This is what the occupiers
are afraid of. If Ukrainian ‘shoots’ can sprout in
the conditions of destruction, they will blossom
in the conditions of permission and support. It is
one of the recommendations of what is to be done
now.”
What are your plans about Kherson oblast?
Are you going to merge with the Crimean
Eparchy?
“There are three main objectives, to begin
with: administration of the eparchy, the beginning
of the construction of a cathedral in Kherson,
and the arrival of the Holy Patriarch Filaret
in the fall of this year to lay the foundation stone
of this cathedral. It is still being decided where it
will be located.
“In religious terms, the main thing to do now
is to preserve all that Archbishop of Kherson and
Taurica Damian has done. And he has done very
much: he created a strong eparchy in fact from
scratch. I liked the clergy as I visited the oblast.
These faithful people love their occupation. We
will continue to work for expansion. The people
in the Kherson region are very good. I’d like to
thank Oblast Administration Chairman Andrii
Hordieiev. He was the first to phone and ask
what help he could offer. It is a real pleasure
when you are supported instead of being beaten
and harassed.
“The unification with the Crimean Eparchy
is not on the agenda. These are different directions
of work. I will continue to live and officiate
in Crimea and deal with the local Orthodox
Ukrainians. And I will also pray that God endows
me with strength to work concurrently in
Kherson.”

“Mixture of history and myth”
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Olena KURENKOVA
Photos by Borys KORPUSENKO
A unique
project
about Anna
Yaroslavna is
presented at
St. Sophia’s
Cathedral
in Kyiv
Although there are countless works in
different genres about Anna, a
queen of France, the daughter of
Kyivan Prince Yaroslav the Wise,
this is the first time her life story is
presented in the format of comics. This genre
is not so far very popular in Ukraine, but
initiators of the exhibit “Drawn Strip,” staged
at the National Sanctuary “Sophia of Kyiv,”
are convinced that this way of showing
history is above all intended for young
spectators for whom the form is the main
criterion of perception. The creators describe
their idea as a “mixture of history and myth”
focused on the creative process rather than on
documentation of facts.
● “AN ATTEMPT TO ANIMATE ANNA”
The project, consisting of 14 narrative pictures
about various milestones in the life of
Anna from childhood to her last days, was carried
out by 14 masters from Kyiv, Poltava,
and Volyn. It took about six months to do this.
The work comprised drawing the pictures,
writing the text, stylizing and applying it to
the canvases. Svitlana Mikhno dealt with the
text design, and the well-known Ukrainian
authoress Dzvinka Matiiash was responsible
for writing the text. She calls the project “an
attempt to animate Anna Yaroslavna,” although
she says it was not so easy because of
considerable distance in time.
“It is important that we still remember the
people who lived a thousand years ago. This
project is sort of a bridge between what was in
the past and what is now. We are trying to
catch all details in order to show: we resemble
each other very much – similar things did and
still do unite us. We are equally afraid of illnesses
and failures and are looking for someone
to rely on,” the writer muses.
CULT URE No.12 FEBRUARY 22, 2018 7
● “EVEN THIS EXTRAORDINARY
WOMAN HAD AN ORDINARY LIFE”
The idea of creating the project belongs to
the Kyiv-based artist and architect Ksenia
Lareli. There are two of her pictures at the exhibit:
Ancient Kyiv (on Anna’s childhood
against the backdrop of the capital’s everyday
life) and Dynastic Fuss (on the marriage proposal,
in which connection Fench envoys arrive
at the princely court). Some symbolic details
play an important role on this works. For
example, the artist says she depicted little Anna
in the image of Orans the custodian on the
first canvas. The second one shows the moment
the heroine is leaving Kyiv and writes
her name on St. Sophia’s wall – this autograph
of hers can be seen even today.
Tellingly, each of the artists chose the subjects
close to them and tried to depict the chosen
fragments as originally as possible, showing
a non-trivial view on Anna’s life.
“We were given freedom in this project –
without any conceptual limitations. We were
only asked: please do not watch films, do not
take other pictures into account – you must
see the heroine with your own eyes and look
closely into her life,” says Olha Mashevska,
the author of the picture Royal Family. Incidentally,
this canvas shows a somewhat unusual
interpretation of the image of Anna –
not as a queen and a wise ruler, who made a
considerable contribution to the development
of the French state, but as a woman and a loving
mother of four children. “I tried to show
that even this extraordinary woman had an
ordinary feminine life,” the authoress explains.
She adds that this subject is particularly
close and understandable to her, for she
also has children and, besides, runs a children’s
artistic studio.
The masters willingly share their impressions
of working on the project, trying to persuade
me that they worked easily and with
pleasure. For example, Olha Halchynska, the
author of the pictures Church Wedding and
Coronation, is convinced that “the subject
found her by itself.” Olha’s canvas shows the
moment Anna takes her oath on Reims
Gospel, the book from her father’s library she
brought from Ancient Rus.’ “The point is that
when I studied at the art academy, my graduation
project was ‘The Library of Yaroslav the
Wise.’ It is my subject indeed!” the artist says.
● “YOUTH AND
‘NON-CANONICALNESS’”
There were no restrictions in style or
themes. The project authors say that they
planned at first to unite all the pictures with
the common elements of ornament but then
dropped this idea in order to fully preserve
the authors’ style. This made it possible to
attract authors who apply their own “noncanonical”
techniques. Among them is the
youngest participant, the 11-year-old Naina
Zaitseva (picture Studies and Entertainments),
who learned to draw on her own. The
girl says with a smile that, before this, she
was expelled twice from art studios for a
“free style.”
Another young participant, Anastasia
Taranenko, drew the picture Countess de
Crepy about a little-known episode in the life
of Anna – her second marriage after the death
of her husband with Count Raoul de Crepy.
She says she was not afraid that she herself
had too little experience to feel this subject.
But she is sure that true love is always nice.
The presentation of the exhibit in Anna
Yaroslavna’s tower of St. Sophia’s, with the
participation of young domra-players from a
Kyiv music school, which was, incidentally,
timed to St. Valentine’s Day, seems to be a
good and justifiable attempt to restore the
link of times for at least a short while. The
project initiators are convinced that it has a
future. They particularly hope that Ukrainian
children’s book publishers will take interest
in it, and it will be possible to extend
the project to the format of a children’s
graphic novel.

8
No.12 FEBRUARY 22, 2018
TIMEO U T
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
By Inna LYKHOVYD, The Day
house began to be built back in
1907. It was to be a priest’s house.
After the building had survived
during World War Two, it housed a
“This
library, a police station, a dormitory,
and nobody lived in it. We moved here, when a
half of it was in dire straits, and in fact
renovated it. The inner walls are very thick,
which helped it bear the strike of a multiple
rocket launcher. The rocket hit the yard, and I
am still keeping it to remind me that the war is
not yet over.” It is a woman from the village of
Shchastia, Luhansk oblast, who wrote this story.
Written by hand on a sheet of paper, the text is
accompanied with a drawing of the described
building. The drawing seems to be in a fog. This
impression is created by a semitransparent film
over it. You can only see the clear outlines of the
house and a portrait of the woman who lives in it
if you turn the film away.
The house seems to be and not to be at the
same time. Likewise, the people inside are semivisible.
You gain this impression when you see a
couple of dozens of such illustrated stories.
They were collected for a year by activists of the
charitable foundation East-SOS and the “Donbas
Odyssey” initiative as part of the project
“Vostok House – Oral Stories in Artistic Practice.”
The exhibit was shown in Kyiv’s IZONE
gallery recently, and now it is traveling to Lysychansk
and Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk oblast.
The project is unique in a way, for it is not just
drawings of buildings in the frontline zones. It
is an exhibit of emotions and reminiscences of
the people who are not leaving their native home
in spite of a war.
● “THERE’S NO MORE PLACE TO SHOOT”
Three participants in the project came to attend
the opening of the exhibit in Kyiv. Speaking
about the whereabouts of their house, each of
them considered it necessary to say how closely
the house is to the line of disengagement. The
house of Olena Vynokurova from Zolote is at the
longest distance – five kilometers, while that of
Maryna Hushchyna from Shchastia is only two
kilometers from the river Siverskyi Donets,
along which the line of disengagement passes
now. But in the case of Halyna Kalinina from
Shchastia, it is a mere 500 meters. All of them
are afraid. Each of the three had to abandon their
house at different times, but they all came back.
“I didn’t leave alone, I also took my grandson
and mum away,” Olena VYNOKUROVA says.
New art project conveys emotions of people in frontline zone
“Once there was an opportunity, I immediately came
back home. The grass is greener on the other side,
so to speak. There are enough misadventures
everywhere. My grandson says: there’s no more
place to shoot, for a target cannot be hit twice. Two
shells landed and exploded in the courtyard.”
A decisive moment for Halyna and Maryna
came when Shchastia remained part of Ukraine.
“I was going for a month, but I thought it would
be forever. It was hard to part with the home: I
cried and wept, and it took me two days to make
farewells to my home,” Maryna recalls. “I decided
to come back when it became clear that it is
the territory of Ukraine. It so happened that I often
moved to a new place in childhood, and, unlike
many, I had no home of my own. When my
family had a house built at last, we were overjoyed,
for we saw a radiant future. Today, my
house receives the people it needs, particularly
the military. Like me, my house lives, survives,
and helps me survive.”
● A CHESTNUT TREE SAVED
THEM FROM ROCKETS
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
“My house helps me survive”
It proved difficult to record eyewitness reports
about life on the line of war and the role of the house.
“I just approached people on the street and suggested
that they draw their house,” Yulia
KISHENKO, project co-organizer, education curator
of the charitable foundation East-SOS, says.
“People were first surprised but then said that it was
really interesting to express sentiments, emotions,
histories of the house and these territories.
These are the stories of the people who chose not to
leave in spite of the war. It is difficult for Kyivites
to imagine how somebody may be living next to a
war. This can be done now thanks to this project.”
The dwellings of the exhibit’s characters remained
more or less intact. For example, a chestnut
tree as high as the fifth floor, saved Vynokurova’s
apartment from destruction. When the socalled
“LNR” “greeted” Zolote residents on January
1, 2015, with a rocket salvo, the tree’s sprawl-
ing branches resisted the blast wave and saved the
windows from ruination.
“When I came back home, hostilities were still
in progress, and a mortar shell had landed in each entrance
to our building. I’m so grateful to God that
no one was killed or wounded in the building and
nothing flew into the apartments. My building remained
standing, and nothing was ruined. As peace
negotiations began in the spring, we began to renovate
the building. I started to paint my favorite water
pump and the soccer field fence near the house
in the yellow-blue color. The spring revitalized us,
and I felt I was at home, and it is good and safe in spite
of shootings,” Halyna KALININA says smiling.
● “I AM GLAD TO BE BACK AT HOME”
Now the heroines are easily speaking about
what they have gone through. Yet each of them says
she is making no plans for tomorrow. As the war
broke out, the circle of friends changed – they are
more in contact with those who have pro-Ukrainian
attitudes. What also keeps the women together
is the fact that there is less aggression in the
town now than it was in 2014. At the time, unknown
people damaged the door of Halyna’s apartment,
and she was afraid even to come out.
“I am glad to be back at home. But now I’m not
thinking that I must raise money for a super-renovation
because it’s not important at all,”
Vynokurova confesses. “What was previously a
tragedy to me – the ceiling is wrong or flowers have
withered – is now a trifle. I am happy that things
are OK in spite of what is going on around. I am happy
that my house is alive and full of people amiable
enough to deal with. I’m happy that I have a sofa
for somebody to sleep on at night. When most of the
people come to grasp this, it will be better.”
Although there is a war going on next to the
project heroines, they think it is calm at home.
Vynokurova says medical and educational institutions
are working in the town, but many locals work
in Lysychansk because of a shortage of jobs here.
What the town also lacks is a mayor – for some reasons,
the Luhansk Oblast Military-Civilian Administration
has not yet appointed one. The locals
are taking an ironic and fearful approach to the talk
about the establishment of a checkpoint in Zolote
because the other side begins to shell the town as
soon as such statements are made.
Olena herself is in charge of a drawing class at
a local art school. She thinks it is a gift from… the
war because this job appeared when she returned
to her hometown which she had left seven months
before right after the first shootings. She says she
will not move anywhere now that she bears responsibility
for the children she teaches.
Comingtotheexhibition withasmartphone
REUTERS photo
A Lviv artist has encrypted her works in QR codes
By Pavlo PALAMARCHUK, Lviv
The Lviv Iconart Contemporary
Sacred Art Gallery is hosting an
exhibition of artist Yaroslava
Tkachuk, called “The Labyrinth.”
This exhibition is
amazingly exceptional because the
author has encrypted all her works in
QR codes.
The QR codes which have been
painted by the artist hang on one wall
of the gallery. This will initially be
somewhat surprising for a spectator.
However, with a smartphone in one’s
hands, one can scan these codes. It is
Photo by the author
through a phone that a visitor of the
exhibition will access certain works by
the artist, her Instagram account or
Facebook page.
“The usual exhibitions have already
gotten too stale. I wanted to surprise
my spectators. And the QR
codes, in my opinion, have become precisely
this surprising feature. In addition,
they do not take up much space.
Were I to put on display all the works
that are encoded here, there would not
have been enough space for them
here,” Tkachuk told us.
According to the artist, the
labyrinth has long gone beyond the
mythical or historical structures as
it has come to name whole fields of
modern science. The QR codes that
send the exhibition’s visitors to wander
around the Web are such a
labyrinth. However, there are three
works of the artist at the exhibition
as well. They are also closely intertwined
with the theme of the exhibition.
Every work is an intricate
labyrinth. In these paintings, one
can see labyrinths coming from a
chip, a 1937 Lviv city map, and a
scheme of Lviv public transportation.
This unusual exhibition can be
viewed till March 3.
World Press Photo will name the best pictures of 2017 in April
By Natalia PUSHKARUK, The Day
Independent nonprofit organization
World Press Photo has identified the
finalists of the 61st Annual Competition
and published, for the first time, a
preliminary list of six photos that are
nominated for the best photo of the year, its
official website reports. “The Photo of the
Year nomination honors the photographers
whose visual creativity and skills made a
picture that captured or represented an event
or issue of great journalistic importance in the
last year,” is stated on the website of the
organization. Overall, the jury has chosen the
contenders for awards in eight categories
including a new category called “Environment.”
The contest is attended by 42 photographers
from 22 countries. The winners of
the World Press Photo Contest will be announced
in April at a ceremony in Amsterdam.
The cash prize for winning the premier
nomination is 10,000 euros. Exhibition of
award-winning photos is shown worldwide in
45 countries, reaching a global audience of
over 4 million people each year. As an
illustration: one of the six photos nominated
for the best photo of 2017, which depicts
events on Westminster Bridge in London
after a terrorist attack that killed five people;
Toby Melville is the author of the picture.
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