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issue 1, year XI, 2004 |
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H. E. AMBASSADOR
OF UKRAINE
VIACHESLAV POHVALSKI
SPECIAL INTERVIEW FOR EUROPE 2001 MAGAZINE
An interview by Tsvetanka Elenkova Stancheva page 4
Special interview for Europe 2001 magazine
CONSISTENCY. EFFICIENCY. RESPONSIBILITY
(A statement by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych before the Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine dated 16th March 2004)
page 6
UKRAINE ON THE WAY TO EUROPEAN AND EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION
Dr. Oleksiy Zaritskiy,
Councillor at the Embassy of Ukraine in
the Republic of Bulgaria page 9
The European integration in Ukraine is viewed as a process of internal transformation of society based on the European values, establishment in Ukraine of a European model of economic and social transformations. The main stages of Ukraine's path to integration are the following: holding of the negotiation process in 2003 - 2004 and signature of a Ukraine-EU Association Agreement; performance, in 2005 - 2007, of the procedures necessary for the enforcement of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement; complete implementation of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement and the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership and creation, towards 2011, of actual conditions for accession of Ukraine to the European Union. The main steps in practice towards European integration for Ukraine at the present stage are the association of the country in the World Trade Organisation, signature of a Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, complete implementation of this Agreement and of the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership and establishment of the actual preconditions for accession of Ukraine to the European Union.
THE ECONOMY OF UKRAINE
Hristo Dzhenev page 12
Ukraine's export consists mainly of coal, electric power, non-ferrous and ferrous metals, chemical product, machines and transport equipment, sugar, grain, meat.
The import includes energy media, machines and spare parts, transport equipment, chemical products and textile. The taxation system was subject to a great change this year. The rate for taxation of the income of physical persons has become uniform since 01st January 2004 and is at the amount of 13 percent. However, the physical persons income tax was progressive until last year, from 10 to 50 percent. Social insurance is at the rate of 51 percent. In February this yea, the average monthly salary for the country was UHR 510 (UHR - Hryvnia - the national currency of Ukraine), which equals almost USD 100 (USD 1 = 5.33 Hryvnias). Wit this salary, the Ukrainian can buy some 500 loaves of bread, or 250 litres of petrol A-95. The pension is, of course, much smaller - it is expected to be increased by 10 percent this year, from UHR 91.80 to UHR 100, of approx. EUR 15 (EUR 1 = UHR 6.56). The actual unemployment is 9.2 percent, or more than 2 million people. In 2002, it was 10.1 percent. At the same time, only 962 thousand persons are registered at the Employment Agencies. The savings of Ukrainians during the last year amounted to UHR 32.112 billion, which is by 68 percent more compared to the previous year 2002. Over 57 percent of the deposits are in Hryvnias. There are 158 banks in the country, compared t Bulgaria's 37 banks. The foreign debt of the country amounts to USD 8.427 billion. The inflation in 2003 was over 8 percent, and it is expected to be at the rate of 5.8 - 6.3 percent this year. Foreign investment in Ukraine is directed chiefly to domestic trade, food and flavour industry, machine-building, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, light and chemical industry.
DONETSK DISTRICT
Hristo Dzhenev page 15
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN UKRAINE
AND BULGARIA: THE PAST AS A PERSPECTIVE OF THE FUTURE
Volodimir Litvin,
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,
Academician of the National Academy
of Science of Ukraine page 17
The European and Euro-Atlantic choice common for both our countries brings out peoples closer together. All of this is rooted in the traditions of our common life, in the unperishing symbol of the intellectual and spiritual unity of our nations. As early as in the 10th - 11th century the works of Ioan Ekzarh of Bulgaria, Kliment Ohridski, Konstantin Preslavski were known to our ancestors and furthered the development of the written culture and literature in Kyivan Rus. In parallel, the works of the Kyivan Rus authors Ilarion, Feodosiy Pecherskiy, Kirilo Turovsky, came to Bulgaria from Kyiv in the 13th - 14th century. At the time of the historical ordeals of the Bulgarian people under the Ottoman yoke, Kyiv became almost like a motherland to many of Bulgaria's religious and cultural activists. Thus the first Kyivan, and later Moscow Metropolitan Kyprianos, was born in Bulgaria, and later his descendant Gregory Tsamblak became Metropolitan of Kiev. The fruitful cooperation in later times of I. Shishmanov, M. Drinov, I. Franko, M. Pavlik, V. Ganatyuk, M. Parashtuk, as well as the life and work of the well-known Ukrainian thinker Michael Dragomanov in Sofia, is the most outstanding page in the relations between Bulgaria and Ukraine.
THE SCIENTIFIC AND LITERARY RELATIONS BETWEEN BULGARIA AND UKRAINE IN THE REVIVAL
Dr. Ivan Simeonov, Bulgarian Language
and Literature methodologist page 19
The Bulgarian-Russian and Bulgarian-Ukrainian general cultural and literary relations contributed for the hastening of Bulgarian Revival. Their influence manifested itself in the following directions: 1. The activity of Russian and Ukrainian scientists for research of the history, language, folklore and literature of the Bulgarian people. 2. Preparation of Bulgarian scientific, educational and church activists. 3. Establishment of the new Bulgarian school. 4. Translations into Bulgarian of works of the Russian and Ukrainian classical literature, as well as of works of the Western European literature (through their Russian translations). 5. Formation of the type of the contemporary Bulgarian writer. 6. Establishment of the basic genres of our fiction. Jurij Venelin (1802 - 1839) was the first one of the Ukrainian scientists to focus his attention on the Bulgarian people. He published his book The Ancient and Contemporary Bulgarians in Their Political, Historical and Religious Relations to Russians. Prof. Victor Grigorovich provides detailed information on the literary treasures of the Bulgarian churches and monasteries. He is the first one to propose the hypothesis that the Church-Slavonic language has Bulgarian origin. Many Bulgarians studied in Ukraine (at that time, within the Russian Empire). The first scholarship students of the Odessa Ecclesiastical Seminary were: Dobri Chintulov, H. Todorov, A. Georgiev and I. Vasilev. In 1841 - 1842 academic year, also Zahariy Knyazhevski and Botyo Petkov (Hristo Botev's father) were enrolled in it. Other prominent Bulgarians who studied there are: Iv. Bogorov, N. Gerov, H. Daskalov, N. Mihaylovski (1848), D. Chintulov (1850), etc.
SILVIA NEYCHEVA,
Chairman of the Group for Bulgarian-Ukrainian
Friendship at the 39th National Assembly of the
Republic of Bulgaria
An Interview by Vladimir Bubnyak page 23
IRINA SARDAREVA,
Fashion Designer
An Interview by Tsvetanka Elenkova page 24
Irina Sardareva was born in Kyiv, Ukraine. She graduated from the Kyiv State University in the major microbiology. Since 1978, she lives and works in Bulgaria. At first, she worked as a teacher in chemistry, but later, together with her husband - a Bulgarian, she established her own business for manufacture and sale of ladies' hats. Hats have always been a hobby for Irina Sardareva. At first they used to be an ever present attribute to the clothes of by the most well-known Bulgarian designers, but from 1994 onward, she started making fashion-shows, where the clothes complement the hats. In March this year the Fashion Academy awarded Irina Sardareva the first Golden Needle Award in the newly established section for fashion accessories. The most elegant ladies of the Bulgarian business, artistic and political elite are among Irina Sardareva's customers. Her hats have been 'on a visit' to Pope John Paul II, they 'have had tea' with Queen Elizabeth II, they 'have been' to the Ascott horse races. Each hat is a role, bestowing self assurance to women', the famous designer confessed.
STEPAN DZHUS: "I BELIEVE IN THE SPIRITUAL VALUES OF CIVILIZATION"
Source: Ukrainian press materials page 26
Classical painting is a constituent part of our creative work and we are subjected to its attracting and overwhelming power. The specter of our artistic interests spreads from the Barbizon Sfumato to the bright and unsurpassed palette of Kuindzhi, Kuprin, Korovin, Meshkov, and other great masters of 20th century art. As early as in the end of the 1970s, we were given state-level assignments for the artistic arrangement of hotel complexes, sanatoriums and holiday houses. Recently, we became sought after for the interior design of governmental resort houses in Crimea. We are delighted that our tapestries, mosaics and oil paintings decorate the former Black Sea residences of Brezhnev, Andropov and Gorbachev, and also the residences of the present Government and of the President of Ukraine.
ODESA, THE SEA TALE OF UKRAINE
Rozalina Evdokimova page 30
Odesa's fame has long ago spread beyond the bounds of Ukraine, it has become an inseparable part of the European constellation of cities unique with their beauty, history and culture, but it has become famous worldwide, too. For more than two centuries now, this Black Sea port has always been a phenomenon in the European East. The rich history of the city, the wonderful monuments of art and architecture, the great persons who lived and worked in Odesa, make it attractive for guests and tourists from all over the world. And the people are its greatest treasure - they are the ones who give the city its true colorfulness and freshness.
LIECHTENSTEIN
IN THE HEART OF EUROPE
Emil Aleksandrov page 36
Liechtenstein spreads between Austria and Switzerland, in a valley encircled by the Alps and the Upper Rhine. Before I visited it, I knew only that it is one of the smallest countries in our continent, there I learned that its territory is not more than 160 sq. km, and its population - slightly above 32 000 persons, of which one-third are foreigners, mainly Swiss and Austrians. Liechtenstein unites 11 settlements - municipalities, each one of them having and emblem of its own and administrative and financial autonomy. The borders of the Principality run along the ridges of the Alps to the east, which overlooks a beneficial valley, and along the Rhine to the west. By the way, archeological evidence of the presence of local population has been found dating as far back as the 3 thousand years B.C. In the year 15 B.C., the fertile valley became a part of a prospering Roman colony. In 12th century the Alemans came and established the German language, which is the official language of Liechtenstein today. The Principality adopted its first Constitution in 1862, pursuant to which a Parliament was established - the Landstag. In 1921 a new Constitution postulated that Liechtenstein is 'a constitutional hereditary monarchy with democratic and Parliamentary foundations'. Liechtenstein has no army. Liechtenstein is famous for its postage stamps. The collections can be seen in the Postal Museum, one of the richest in the world. Stamp-issuing is becoming a considerable branch in the exchequer, reaching up to 10 percent of its revenues in 1982. The only Ski Museum in the world is located in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein.
ST. SOPHIA CATHEDRAL
Source: Ukrainian press materials page 39
The national architectural and historical reserve Sophia Museum is situated in the centre of Kiev, covering an area of 5 ha. The magnificent ensemble of monuments of the Ukrainian architecture dates back to the 11th - 18th century. The most precious of these is the St. Sofia Cathedral. The chronicle of the Cathedral began in 1017 or 1037. It is supposed that its construction started in the 20s -30s of the 11th century. It was founded in honour of the victory of the Kyivan Prince Yaroslav over the Pecheneg tribes and it was erected following the model of the Constantinople cathedral bearing the same name. The name Sophia comes from the Greek word meaning 'wisdom'. Devoted to the 'wisdom of the Christian Doctrine', the cathedral, according to the idea of its creators, was meant to strengthen Christianity in Kyivan Rus and the feudal prince power. Conceived as the chief Metropolitan Church of Kyivan Rus, St. Sophia's Cathedral was a public and cultural centre of the state. The coronation ceremonies of the Kyivan princes took place there, the foreign delegations were met in it, the Kyivan Veche (people's assembly) held its meetings there, and the first known library in the history of this region was established in it.
THE KYIV-PECHORA LAVRA
Source: Ukrainian press materials page 40
The Pechora Monastery is a unique centre of Slavonic culture and spirituality, an outstanding phenomenon in the early Medieval history of Kyivan Rus, which has given to the world and to the country not only talented preachers, but also famous chroniclers, painters, masters of building, sculptors, writers, scientists. A whole constellation of church activists have come out from behind the walls of the monastery, but it takes greatest pride in its ordinary lay brothers - the people who laid the foundations of the national culture - Nikon the Great, Nestor the Chronicler, Polikarp, Simon, the painter Alipy, Gregory, the physicians Damian and Agapit. A. S. Pushkin visited the Pechora Monastery. T. S. Shevchenko enjoyed the view of the Zadneprovsky valleys from the balcony of the typographical wing of the Lavra. On 14th - 16th June, during his stay in Kyiv, L. N. Tolstoy visited the Pechora Monastery. Considering the enormous historical and artistic significance of the Pechora Monastery in the development of the national and world culture, the 14th cession of the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO (Canada, Banff, 7th - 12th December 1990), and in order to preserve the world cultural and natural legacy, the Committee entered the Kyiv-Pechora Lavra in the list of monuments of world culture.
A CROWN FOR THE UKRAINIAN MAIDEN
Source: Ukrainian press materials page 41
On Sundays and on holidays Ukrainian unmarried women decorated their hair with multicoloured ribbons. They selected the most beautiful one and tied it around their heads, attaching the other ribbons to its ends. They placed a wreath of flowers over the ribbon. In summer, when going to the fields, the maidens picked up flowers and fixed them to the band, thus making magnificent crowns of field flowers. The wonderful custom for boys to give ribbons and beads as gifts to the girls is still preserved throughout Ukraine. The girls usually receive such gifts three times a year - on Melanki - before New Year's Eve, on Easter and on Zeleni Sviata.
ASSOC. PROF. DR. SERGEY IGNATOV,
RECTOR OF NEW BULGARIAN UNIVERSITY
An Interview by Tsvetanka Elenkova page 42
St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia is the only university that we may compare with. In this case, however, our ambitions are greater. We do not want to be compared. We want to be the leader on the educational market in Bulgaria. New Bulgarian University is a child of Sofa University to some extent. NBU consists of well-known lecturers and also consists the analysis of the experience with the difficulties that Sofia University faced especially under the conditions of transition to a new economic situation, showed us how NBU should be constructed. What distinguishes NBU from SU is its greater flexibility and dynamics of development. NBU's standard is slightly lower that the standard of the average American university and higher than the standard of the average French university at present. NBU is a mixture of American and Western European models of organisation, of management. Naturally, it is a Bulgarian university, since it is not possible, anywhere in the world, to take a model from a particular country and to translate it into another one unchanged. In this sense, NBU, through the prism of the Bulgarian conception of the world, of the Bulgarian impossibility to be organised, of the Bulgarian striving for a good life, tries to implant on Bulgarian soil a western type of an organisational model.
'ATELIER' PRESENTS -
HRISTO HARALAMPIEV
page 46
'ATELIER' PRESENTS -
RALITSA RUSEVA
page 48
LITART PRESENTS THE POETESS
RADA PANCHOVSKA
page 49
Rada Panchovska was born in the town of Panagyurishte in 1949. She is the author of the following books of poetry: Every Day (1984), In the Light of the Day (1992), Brief Encounters (1993), Elusive Impressions (1994), Arrhythmias (1996), Marginal Notes to the Women's Voices Anthology of Modern Spanish Poetry (1997, bilingual), 50 Poems (1999), 50 Poems (2001, bilingual), The Anonymous Success (2001). Her poetry has been translated in Spanish, English, German, Slovenian, Romanian, Macedonian, Russian, Greek and Hungarian. She has also translated in various books and anthologies works by the following Spanish authors: Eliseo Diego, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Maria Victoria Atencia, Miguel Labordeta, Francisco Uris, Ana Maria Navales, Angel Gonzales, Clara Janes, Luis Alberto de Cuenca, Antonio Fernandes-Molina, Rafael Leon. The book Poetry by Maria Victoria Atencia and the anthology Women's Voices won the award of the Union of Bulgarian Translators together with the Soros Art Centre for 1996.
LITART PRESENTS
THE UKRAINIAN AUTHOR
YURII ANDRUKHOVICH
Yurii Andrukhovich was born in 1960 in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. In 1985, together with Viktor Neborak and Oleksander Irvanets, they created the popular Bu-Ba-Bu literary grouping (Burlesque - Farce - Buffoonery). From 1989 till 1991 he lived in Moscow and studied at the Gorki Institute for Literature. During this period, he published two books of poetry, followed by more: Sky and Urban Areas (1985), The Centre of the City (1989), Exotic Birds and Plants (1991) and Exotic Birds and Plants with an appendix India (1997). Andrukhovich's novels Recreatsii (Recreations), Moscoviada (The Moscowiad), Perverziia (Perversion), and The 12 Rings, had an immense impact on the modern Ukrainian readers. Yurii Andrukhovich is editor of Encyclopedia of Modern Ukrainian Literature (1998). He issued a book of his essays Dis-orienteering on the Spot (1999). Together with the polish writer Andrzej Stasiuk, he published My Europe (2000, 2001). He translated Shakespeare's Hamlet from English, works of Yeats and of young New York poets. His works have been translated in many English and American magazines: AGNI, Pequod, Glas, Salt Hill, Exqusite Corpse. His books have two or more editions. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious Herder Award for literature - Austria, and the Antonovich Award for outstanding contribution to the Ukrainian literature.
'PHOTO ATELIER' PRESENTS -
BORIS BISHKOV
page 53
UKRAINE'S EMBLEM
Violeta Velikova-Kosheleva page 61
The National Emblem of Ukraine represents a shield with an ancient symbol depicted on it - a ruler's sceptre, which is related to the rule of the Great Prince Vladimir ( (979-1015), and with the history of one of the greatest states in Medieval Europe - Kyivan Rus. The Prince's sceptre symbolized the state system and the unity of the territory.
The symbolic figure of the sceptre can be seen in the decoration of warrior belt tips dating back to the 6th- 8th centuries, found during archeological excavations in the territory of today's Ukraine.
A trident has been known to be depicted on coins minted as early as the time of Vladimir the Great, as well as at the time of his successors Svyatopolk and Yaroslav the Wise. It is possible that the adoption of Christianity from the Byzantine Patriarchy influenced the adoption of the sign for a state symbol.
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