Political System

On August 24, 1991, Ukraine proclaimed its independence and during the referendum held on December 1 of the same year, the Ukrainian people confirmed their choice of independent development by saying “yes” to it. Leonid Kravchuk was elected the first president of a newly independent Ukraine.

Ukraine faced a multitude of very difficult tasks which had to be solved within a short period of time: a new political system had to be built; new statehood principles based on law had to be introduced; a new system of national security and defense had to be created.
In 1996 the new Constitution was adopted.

General foundations of the political system

General foundations of the political system of Ukraine are defined by its Constitution. In accordance with its organic law, Ukraine is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social and jural state.

Democratic essence of the Ukrainian state is enshrined by the constitutional provisions concerning its form of government – a republic, governed by sovereignty of the people. State power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches, acting within their competence. The Constitution envisages the principle of political, economic and ideological diversity of social life.

The social character of Ukrainian state results in constitutional regulation of issues related to the use of property and protection of all subjects of property right, social orientation of the economy, equality of all subjects of property right before the law, and the maintenance of ecologic safety and balance within Ukraine’s territory and other socially important measures.

Jural essence of the state is supported by provisions related to supremacy of law and direct action of constitutional norms. The state is responsible to the people for its activities. According to the Constitution, the main task of the state is to establish and promote human rights and freedoms.

Ukraine is a unitary state, in which its territory is integral and inviolable. The state has a single citizenship. The state language of Ukraine is Ukrainian.

State power institutions in Ukraine

The President of Ukraine

The Constitution of Ukraine designates the President as the Head of State, acting on its behalf. The President is a guarantor of national sovereignty, territorial integrity, adherence to the Constitution, human and civil rights and freedoms. The President is elected by the citizens of the state on the basis of equal and direct universal suffrage through a secret vote. The term of presidential office is five years. Only a citizen of Ukraine, who was residing in Ukraine for ten years before the elections, has voting rights and speaks state language, may be elected President. President may hold his/her post no longer than two consecutive terms. More detailed…

The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine

The only legislative body of Ukraine is the Parliament – the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. People’s deputies of Ukraine are elected by the citizens of Ukraine on the basis of equal and direct universal suffrage through secret vote. The election system is mixed – majority and proportional.

Altogether 450 deputies are elected. 225 of them are elected at single-mandate constituencies on the basis of relative majority, and another 225 are elected proportionally at multi-mandate national constituency from the lists of candidates coming from political parties and their election blocks.

The powers of people’s deputies of Ukraine are established by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. People’s deputies of Ukraine may voluntarily unite themselves into deputies’ groups called factions with no less than 25 members. Deputies’ groups are formed both on a party and a non-party basis. Deputies’ groups formed on party basis are called ‘factions’. Non-party deputies may join a faction if they support the program of relevant party. Deputies’ groups formed on a non-party basis unite deputies who share the same or similar views of national, social and economic development. More detailed…

The Government of Ukraine

The Cabinet of Ministers (Government) of Ukraine is the supreme executive authority. Its actions are based on the Constitution, laws of Ukraine and presidential orders. The Government is responsible to the President and is controlled by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, to which it also must report. In practice, this dependency results in presidential appointment of a Prime Minister (with parliamentary consent). The President may also suspend Prime Minister’s authorities and discharge him/her. Upon Prime Minister’s submission, the President appoints and discharges the members of Cabinet of Ministers and other heads of central executive authorities.

Parliamentary control of the Government and its reporting to the Verkhovna Rada results is parliamentary approval of government-submitted annual budget, parliamentary resolutions on fulfillment of budgetary provisions, approval or rejection of governmental program and control of government’s work. More detailed…

The System of Judicial Authority

Legal proceedings are carried out by the Constitutional Court and courts of general jurisdiction. The supreme authority of the system of courts of general jurisdiction is the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Legal proceedings may be carried out only by courts. Courts’ jurisdiction covers all legal relationships in the state. The system of courts of general jurisdiction is based on the principles of territorial and special jurisdiction.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a separate entity and is independent from the courts of general jurisdiction. It cannot be used as a cassation, appeal or supervisory authority for the courts of general jurisdiction. The activities of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine promote constitutional control in all spheres, stabilization and strengthening of constitutional order, the establishment of principle of primacy of law and the supreme legal force of the Constitution, and the promotion of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. More detailed…

Consitutional Reform

Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Ukraine has recently undergone an extensive constitutional reform that has changed the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches and their relationship to the President. A reform to local self-government has been suggested, but is yet to be formally approved.

Going back even further, to March 2003, it was then President Leonid Kuchma who got the reform wagon rolling with the introduction of a bill that he said would make the country into a “parliamentary-presidential model most widely used in the democratic countries of Europe.” Critics accused Kuchma of trying to weaken the presidency that he would be sure to lose after the elections in October 2004. The head of Kuchma’s administration, Viktor Medvedchuk, was credited with coming up with the idea as sort of an insurance policy against an opposition victory.

Kuchma’s original reform package differed quite a bit from the amendments passed this January. His proposals to create a bilateral legislature and to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day were hotly contested by the opposition and eventually disappeared. The bill was withdrawn altogether by the president himself. In the mean time there appeared two new draft laws, very similar to one another, and both put forward by pro-presidential lawmakers in 2003. In late December of that same year, one of these draft laws got past its first reading in parliament. It was also controversial, proposing that the president be elected by parliament. Foreign and domestic criticism mounted until, during a vote in April 2004, a coalition of pro-presidential and leftist factions fell just six votes short of passing it even though the part on parliamentary election of the president was removed.

Yushchenko and his supporters were triumphant, gaining much needed momentum in the run up to what would be a long, hard fight for the presidency. It was during the cold war on Khreshchatyk several months later, when ordinary people continued to brave severe weather conditions to force the incumbent authorities to recognize Yushchenko’s November electoral victory that the prospect of reform resurfaced. The support of the Socialists, who supported constitutional change, would be crucial in the revote for the presidency, which had been approved by the Supreme Court for late December.

Faced with the threat of division and defeat, Yushchenko silently accepted amendments to the country’s main law, which were based on the last of the three draft laws from 2003. Over 400 of the parliament’s 450 people’s deputies voted in favor. Nineteen abstained. Yulia Tymoshenko, Yushchenko’s long-time and fiery political ally, was the most outspoken of all against the last-minute compromise.

So now Yushchenko has inherited enormous powers from his predecessor. The constitutional reforms are supposed to turn over some of these powers to the parliament as well as the Cabinet, which the parliament will largely select. Those who support the reforms argue that under Kuchma the Cabinet often competed with the presidential administration in matters of executive authority; while under Yushchenko a third player has entered the fray: the National Security and Defence Council, headed by Petro Poroshenko, another long-time Yushchenko ally. Critics of the reforms say that overlapping powers will spark unresolvable standoffs between the parliament, the Cabinet and the president.

For the time being, the president appoints the prime minister, whom the parliament must approve, and then a Cabinet is put together. Starting in January 2007, the premier is chosen by a majority formed within the parliament. The premier then nominates most Cabinet members, who are approved by parliament. The president will get to nominate only the defence minister and foreign minister, whom, again, parliament approves and dismisses.

Parliament continues to appoint, on nomination by the premier, the chairperson of the Antimonopoly Committee, the chairperson of the State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting, the chairperson of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, the head of Audit Chamber and the Ombudsman.

Yushchenko still retains significant authority. He is still able to nominate and initiate the dismissal of the prosecutor general, head of the SBU (spy chief), National Bank and Central Electoral Commission; although the parliament has to confirm these nominations. More importantly, the president keeps the sole right to appoint all regional governors.

Like Kuchma, Yushchenko will continue to issue authoritative decrees. He is able to dissolve the parliament if lawmakers fail to form a majority within a month after the elections, they fail elect a new Cabinet within sixty days following its resignation, or they hold a plenary meeting within thirty days of a single regular session. Other prerogatives like the right to initiate legislation and the dismissal of the Cabinet also call into question charges that there is a weakened presidency.

Out of the following situation we may expect two possible scenarios to unfold in the next two years leading up to the presidential elections.

First, the Anti-Crisis coalition will successfully change the constitution to complete the transformation of Ukraine into a parliamentary republic. The president would be elected by parliament, as in neighbouring Moldova, and no longer by popular vote. Within the Anti-Crisis coalition, which has 240 deputies, the two left-wing parties have always supported the abolition of the presidential institution. The Party of Regions also shares this view.

Our Ukraine could arrive at the altogether logical conclusion that Yushchenko cannot win a second term. A constitutional change would require an additional 60 votes to that possessed by the Anti Crisis coalition that could be provided by Our Ukraine. Their rationale for providing the votes would be that they rather nobody have the presidency than to give it to Yanukovych or Tymoshenko in 2009.

The holding of early parliamentary elections might remove the need for Our Ukraine to provide the additional votes to effect constitutional change. The Party of Regions would be likely to increase its faction’s representation by early elections.

Second, if the constitution is not changed and the presidential institution continues to exist, the second round contest would be between Yanukovych and Tymoshenko. This would become a repeat of the 2004 elections when Yanukovych was also prime minister with the orange candidates merely changed from Yushchenko to Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko would have an uphill struggle to win the elections as her revolutionary profile may be popular with the average person in the street but is distrusted by Ukraine’s business elites.

http://www.ukraine-arabia.ae/ukraine/politics/

Ukraine Stimulates Usage of Alternative Energy Sources With Revised Green Tariff Rules
April 2009

Last September Ukraine’s parliament adopted the first law in the country designed to stimulate use of alternative sources of energy through introduction of the so-called “green” tariff – a special tariff by which electricity generated from alternative sources must be purchased at the Wholesale Electricity Market (the Green Tariff). However, the law did not accomplish its goals, possibly because of its generality and ambiguity.

In response, on April 1, 2009 Ukraine’s parliament fundamentally changed the rules on implementation of the Green Tariff by adopting the Law of Ukraine “On Amendment of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Electrical Energy’ Regarding Stimulation of Usage of Alternative Sources of Energy” No. 1220-VI (the Green Tariff Law), which went into effect on April 22, 2009.

The Green Tariff Law significantly changes the rules on implementation of the Green Tariff in Ukraine. The main change is that instead of the unified Green Tariff approach introduced in September 2008, the Green Tariff Law differentiates the Green Tariff depending on the source of alternative energy and the type and capacity of the generation facilities. To address the risk of devaluation of Ukraine’s currency, the Green Tariff Law also introduces a fixed minimal Green Tariff nominated in euros pursuant to the official euro/UAH exchange rate as of January 1, 2009. In addition, the Green Tariff Law stimulates manufacturing and consumption of materials from Ukraine, as well as works and services required for construction of the generation facilities that use alternative sources of energy.

Green Tariff Amounts and Approval Procedure

The Green Tariff may by used by companies no later than January 1, 2030. According to the law implementing it, the Green Tariff is approved by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission of Ukraine (NERC) for: (a) each company, that uses alternative sources of energy for generation of electricity; (b) each type of alternative energy; and (c) each generation facility.

The basis for calculation of the Green Tariff is a retail tariff approved by NERC for consumers with the second class of voltage for January 2009 in the amount of 58.46 kopeks per kilowatt-hour (kWh) without VAT (the Basic Tariff). Applying various coefficients to the Basic Tariff, the Green Tariff Law differentiates the Green Tariff depending on the type of alternative source of energy and the type and capacity of generation facilities as specified in the table below.

Surprisingly, the Green Tariff Law does not specify rules for calculation of the Green Tariff for electricity generated from other renewable sources treated by the law in Ukraine as alternative, such as geothermal sources, waves and ebbs, gas of sewage stations, biogases, coal methane and exhaust gases. We expect that Ukraine’s parliament will adopt rules for calculation of the Green Tariff for electricity generated from “missed” sources of energy.

We also anticipate that in the near future NERC will cancel the current detailed procedure on approval of the Green Tariff adopted pursuant to the law of September 2008 and introduce a new one, complying with the Green Tariff Law.

The Green Tariff Law promotes the quick introduction of green technologies into Ukraine’s energy sector. In particular, the Green Tariff Law specifies that the Green Coefficient for electricity generated by generation facilities that use alternative sources of energy and are constructed or substantially upgraded after 2014, 2019 and 2024 decreases 10, 20 and 30 percent respectively from its default rates indicated in the table above. Regarding “substantial upgrade,” the Green Tariff Law specifies it as an increase in the initial value of the facilities’ generation equipment of more than 50 percent.

Fixed Minimal Green Tariff

The Green Tariff Law sets a mechanism for protection of investors from devaluation of Ukraine’s currency during construction and exploitation of generation facilities based on alternative sources of energy. In particular, the law specifies that in any event the Green Tariff approved by NERC for a particular company may not be less than a fixed minimal Green Tariff.

The minimal Green Tariff is nominated in euros and equal to the Green Tariff calculated using the Basic Tariff and coefficients valid as of January 1, 2009 and the official euro/UAH exchange rate set by the National Bank of Ukraine as of January 1, 2009 (1 euro = 1085.546 UAH).

Each time the NERC approves the Green Tariff for a company, it must make sure that the Green Tariff is not less than the Minimal Green Tariff converted into UAH pursuant to the official euro/UAH exchange rate set by the National Bank of Ukraine at the date of last approval of the Basic Tariff.

Stimulation of Manufacturing and Consumption of Materials, Works and Services From Ukraine-based Companies

Through the mechanisms of the Green Tariff, Ukraine’s parliament stimulates consumption of materials, works and services from Ukraine during construction of generation facilities based on alternative sources of energy. The Green Tariff Law provides that a generation company has the right to charge its customers the Green Tariff only if, starting from January 1, 2012, the share of materials, works and services from Ukraine used for construction of a generation facility based on alternative sources of energy is not less than 30 percent of its total value, and starting from January 1, 2014 – not less than 50 percent.

The Green Tariff Law does not specify the procedure for calculating of the share of materials, works and services used from Ukraine in the construction of generation facilities based on alternative sources of energy. Instead, the Green Tariff Law requires NERC to develop such a procedure within three months after the law goes into effect.

The Green Tariff Law also stimulates domestic development and manufacturing of equipment and components used for generation of energy from alternative sources by fixing a retail tariff for electricity for registered manufacturers at the level of January 1, 2009.

State Guarantees in Case of a Change in the Law

By means of a separate provision of the Green Tariff Law, the state of Ukraine guarantees companies that generate electricity from alternative sources at the constructed generation facilities will have the right to follow the Green Tariff rules valid at the date the generation facilities were put into use, even in case of further change to the Green Tariff rules. In such a case, however, the companies may decide to follow new Green Tariff rules.

The Green Tariff Law also introduces other changes into the Law of Ukraine “On Energy Industry” that are technical in nature and thus not described in this Alert. If you have questions about the Green Tariff Law or any of the provisions, please contact your principal Squire Sanders lawyer or one of the lawyers listed in this Alert.

http://www.ssd.com/ukraine_law_alert_april_2009/

Russian-Ukrainian relations enter new stage

It is “unjust” to call the Stalin-era famine that killed millions across the Soviet Union a genocide of the Ukrainian people, President Viktor Yanukovych said on Tuesday.

Yanukovych’s statement to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) marks a complete reversal of the policy of his predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, who sought international recognition of the 1932-1933 Great Famine, known to Ukrainians as the Holodomor, as genocide.

PACE will discuss on Wednesday a report commemorating the victims of the Soviet famine that includes an amendment recognizing the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.

“We consider it incorrect and unjust to consider the Holodomor a fact of genocide of a certain people,” Yanukovych said, calling it “a common tragedy” of the Soviet people.

The Ukrainian president said not only Ukrainian, but also Russian, Belarusian and Kazakh people starved during the famine.

“Those were consequences of Stalin’s totalitarian regime, his attitude to people,” he said.

More than 3 million people perished in Ukraine due to the famine, and Ukrainian nationalists say Russia, as the legal successor of the Soviet Union, should bear responsibility. Yushchenko, who was known for his anti-Russian policies as president, led Ukraine’s efforts to secure international recognition of the famine as an act of genocide.

Yanukovych was elected in February to succeed Yushchenko and swiftly aligned Kiev closer to Moscow, including by agreeing to extend Russia’s lease on a naval base in Crimea.

Russia says the famine cannot be considered an act that targeted Ukrainians, as millions of people from different ethnic groups also lost their lives in vast territories across the Soviet Union.

A draft PACE resolution on the famine says it was caused by “cruel and deliberate actions and policies of the Soviet regime” responsible for the deaths of “millions of innocent people,” not only in Ukraine, but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Russia. Relative to its population, Kazakhstan is believed to be the worst affected Soviet republic, the document says.

STRASBOURG, April 27 (RIA Novosti)

PACE urges former Soviet states to open Holodomor archives

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is drafting a resolution urging Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Moldova to open their archives on the Great Famine (Holodomor) of the Ukrainian SSR in the 1930s.

The report commemorating the victims of the Holodomor in the former USSR will be discussed during the PACE session on Wednesday.

“The Assembly welcomes the important work already done in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and in particular in Ukraine in order to ease access to archives, and calls on the competent authorities of these countries to open up all their archives and facilitate access thereto to all researchers, including from other states,” the document says.

PACE also called for other Council of Europe member states to make their national archives open and accessible.

The draft resolution says the famine, caused by the “cruel and deliberate actions and policies of the Soviet regime” was responsible for the deaths of “millions of innocent people,” not only in Ukraine, but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Russia.

The report also mentioned the millions who died in Kazakhstan. It said the ratio of the dead to the whole population in the country is believed to be the highest among all peoples of the former USSR.

Russia has said that it cannot accept a number of amendments to the PACE resolution, including a proposal to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.

Russia says the famine cannot be considered an act that targeted Ukrainians, as millions of people from different ethnic groups also lost their lives in vast territories across the Soviet Union.

Ukrainian nationalists say Russia, as the legal successor of the Soviet Union, should bear responsibility for the famine in which more than 3 million people perished in Ukraine.

Under former president Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine was seeking international recognition of the famine as an act of genocide.

STRASBOURG, April 26 (RIA Novosti)

Legal precedent in Ukraine: journalist allowed to doubt Holodomor as genocide

A court in east Ukraine has created a legal precedent, ruling that a local journalist has the right to doubt that the 1932-1933 Holodomor famine was an act of genocide of the Ukrainian nation, the Party of Regions reported Thursday.

Ukrainian nationalists say that Russia, as the legal successor of the Soviet Union, should bear responsibility for the famine in which more than 3 million people perished in Ukraine. Russia says the famine cannot be considered an act that targeted Ukrainians, as millions of people from different ethnic groups also lost their lives in vast territories across the Soviet Union.

The court in the Donetsk Region refused to grant a lawsuit by Vasily Kovalenko, a Ukrainian businessman, against Rodnoye Priazovye newspaper editor Sergei Shvedko over an article on Holodomor in which Shvedko said it was not genocide.

Kovalenko asked the court to rule the article was against the law and that it humiliated national dignity and insulted the memory of Holodomor victims. However the court ruled on Tuesday that the article contained assessments and the personal viewpoint of the author and does not violate the law in any way.

Shvedko said: “The fact that the court sided with the journalist who voiced his civil position confirms once again that in a democratic state, viewpoints and thoughts of a person cannot be an illegal act regardless of how much certain forces would want that.”

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said during his presidential campaign that Kiev’s attempts to blame Russia for Holodomor were unjust. Under former president Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine, which says over 3.9 million people died during the famine, was seeking international recognition of the famine as an act of genocide.

Yanukovych, who headed the Party of Regions until he was forced to suspend his membership following his election as president, is supported in Ukraine’s southern and eastern regions.

In January, a court in Kiev found Bolshevik leaders, including dictator Joseph Stalin, guilty of genocide against Ukrainians during Holodomor, but dropped criminal proceedings “due to the suspects’ deaths.”

DONETSK, March 11 (RIA Novosti)

Ukraine court finds Bolsheviks guilty of Holodomor genocide

A court in Kiev found Bolshevik leaders guilty of genocide against Ukrainians during the 1932-1933 Holodomor famine, the country’s National Security Service said on Wednesday.

The court found dictator Joseph Stalin and several other senior Soviet officials guilty, but dropped criminal proceedings “over the suspects’ deaths.”

The court examined the case filed by the security service and upheld “investigators’ conclusions that the leaders of the totalitarian Bolshevik regime organized … the genocide against the Ukrainian ethnic group intentionally creating conditions aimed at its partial physical elimination,” the service said in a statement.

Ukraine, which says that more than 3.9 million people died during the famine, has been seeking international recognition of the famine as an act of genocide.

A number of Ukrainian nationalist parties say that Russia, as the legal successor of the Soviet Union, should bear responsibility for the famine.

Russia says the famine cannot be considered an act that targeted Ukrainians, as millions of people from different ethnic groups also lost their lives in vast territories across the Soviet Union.

Last year, the United Nations General Assembly refused to include a discussion of the famine on its official session agenda.

KIEV, January 13 (RIA Novosti)

Ukraine says Holodomor genocide case almost solved

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has almost completed investigation into an alleged genocide of Ukrainians during the 1932-1933 Holodomor famine, the presidential press service said Tuesday.

President Viktor Yushchenko held a conference on Tuesday on the investigation into the case.

“[Deputy SBU chief] Nikolai Gerasimenko has reported that the case has almost been investigated and its materials will be handed to the Prosecutor General’s Office within a week,” the press service said.

In late 2006, Ukraine’s parliament recognized the Stalin-era famine known as Holodomor as an act of genocide by the Soviet authorities.

Russia says the famine cannot be considered an act that targeted Ukrainians, as millions of people from different ethnic groups also lost their lives in vast territories across the Soviet Union.

Kiev has been seeking international recognition of the famine as an act of genocide. Last year, the United Nations General Assembly refused to include a discussion of the famine on its official session agenda.

A number of Ukrainian nationalist parties say that Russia, as the legal successor of the Soviet Union, should bear responsibility for the famine.

KIEV, December 22 (RIA Novosti)

Russia says Polish WWII ‘genocide’ resolution harms ties

MOSCOW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) – A Polish resolution that calls Soviet actions in Poland in 1939 “genocide” will do nothing to benefit bilateral ties, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The document, stating that the deployment of Soviet troops in eastern Poland in 1939 “had traits of genocide,” will be adopted by the Polish parliament without a vote or debate on September 23.

“Such an attitude would probably not benefit our bilateral relations” Andrei Nesterenko said.

On September 17, 1939, Soviet troops entered western parts of Ukraine and Belarus that had been under Polish control since the end of the 1919-1921 Polish-Soviet War.

The Soviet Union said the move was to protect Ukrainians and Belarusians as the Polish government had fled the country in the face of the German attack and could no longer guarantee the security of its own citizens.

Among other episodes that could be classified as genocide, the document mentions the Katyn massacre, in which several thousand Polish POWs were executed in western Russia’s Katyn forest in 1940.

Russia’s NATO envoy, Dmitry Rogozin, accused the Polish leadership of Russophobic sentiments.

“The Polish version [of the 1939 events] is a lie and the attitude of the Polish leadership is provocative,” Rogozin said, adding that Poland “continues to surprise Russia and other European capitals.”

“However, this is now a headache for NATO and the European Union, where the Poles act in an extremely destructive and destabilizing manner,” he said.

The Russian diplomat added that by accusing Russia of genocide, Poland risks being accused of genocide against the Russian people during the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century, when Polish forces ransacked Moscow.

Ukraine does not blame Russia for Holodomor – Yushchenko

KIEV, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine does not think Russia is to blame for the 1932-1933 Holodomor famine, President Viktor Yushchenko said.

“We do not accuse Russia, we do not accuse the Russian nation,” he told the Inter TV channel prior to Saturday’s commemoration of a Holodomor anniversary by the ex-Soviet state, adding that the country that is to blame does not exist now.

In late 2006, Ukraine’s parliament recognized the Stalin-era famine known as Holodomor as an act of genocide by the Soviet authorities.

Russia says the famine cannot be considered an act that targeted Ukrainians, as millions of people from different ethnic groups also lost their lives in vast territories across the Soviet Union.

Kiev has been seeking international recognition of the famine as an act of genocide. Last year, the United Nations General Assembly refused to include a discussion of the famine on its official session agenda.

A number of Ukrainian nationalist parties say that Russia, as the legal successor of the Soviet Union, should bear responsibility for the famine.

http://en.rian.ru/society/20091128/157016050.html

Holodomor

The Holodomor (Ukrainian: Голодомор; translation: murder by hunger) was a famine in the Ukrainian SSR from 1932–1933, during which millions of inhabitants died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of Ukraine.
Estimates on the total number of casualties within Soviet Ukraine range mostly from 2.6 million to 10 million. Primarily as a result of the economic and trade policies instituted by Joseph Stalin, millions of Ukrainians starved to death over the course of a single year. The causes of the famine are a controversial issue and scholars disagree on the relative importance of natural factors,bad economic policies or engineered measures towards Ukrainian peasants. The famine was part of a wider Soviet famine of 1932–1933.

The root cause of the Holodomor is a subject of scholarly debate. Some scholars have argued that the Soviet policies that caused the famine may have been designed as an attack on the rise of Ukrainian nationalism, and therefore fall under the legal definition of genocide. The Holodomor is also known as the “terror-famine in Ukraine” and “famine-genocide in Ukraine”. Others, however, conclude that the Holodomor was a consequence of the economic problems associated with radical economic changes implemented during the period of Soviet industrialization.

As of March 2008, several governments have recognized the actions of the Soviet government as an act of genocide. The joint statement at the United Nations in 2003 has defined the famine as the result of cruel actions and policies of the totalitarian regime that caused the deaths of millions of Ukrainians, Russians, Kazakhs and other nationalities in the USSR. On 23 October 2008 the European Parliament adopted a resolution that recognized the Holodomor as a crime against humanity.

On January 12, 2010, the court of appeals in Kiev opened hearings into the “fact of genocide-famine Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-33″. In May 2009 the Security Service of Ukraine had started a criminal case “in relation to the genocide in Ukraine in 1932-33″.In a ruling on January 13, 2010 the court found Joseph Stalin and other Bolshevik leaders guilty of genocide against the Ukrainians; however, the court dropped criminal proceedings against the leaders, Joseph Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich, Stanislav Kosior, Pavel Postyshev and others, due to their deaths.This decision became effective on January 21, 2010, after not having been contested in the Supreme Court of Ukraine for seven days.

On April 26, 2010, newly elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, told Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe members that Holodomor was a common tragedy that struck Ukrainians and other Soviet peoples, and that it would be wrong to recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against one nation. He stated that “The Holodomor was in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It was the result of Stalin’s totalitarian regime. But it would be wrong and unfair to recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against one nation.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor

Every country has things that visitors often complain about. Ukraine is no exception. While there are many wonderful things about the country and people, here we will list some of the more unpleasant aspects of Ukraine that visitors often report.
Ukrainian restrooms

Oddly enough, this is probably foreigners’ biggest gripe about Ukraine. Bathrooms in public places — including public restrooms, trains, beaches, resorts, and even many hotels — are rarely close to Western standards. Foreigners go to stunningly beautiful opera houses and theaters only to find squat toilets in the public restrooms, or regular sitting-style toilets — but with the doors falling off their hinges. Toilet paper is often absent, as are toilet seats. Ukrainians often use regular sitting toilets as squat toilets, putting their feet up on the toilet bowl. Hard to believe? Yes, it’s true. They find it unsanitary to put one’s bottom on a surface where others have been, unless the toilet seat is cleaned regularly, as in McDonald’s (where the cleanest bathrooms typically are to be found).

Yes, Ukraine’s bathroom culture is pretty low. Especially outside of the big cities, restrooms typically lack 1) toilet seats, 2) toilet paper, 3) soap, 4) hot water, and 5) towels or blow driers. In other words, a typical public restroom has urinals, holes in the ground, and a sink with cold water. Foreigners (as well as many Ukrainians) find it irritating that you have to pay to use public restrooms, and the lady at the entrance gives you only a few squares of toilet paper if you ask for it (!). Evidently, toilet paper is such an important commodity that they must go to great pains to make sure it is not wasted. If a foot of toilet paper happens to not be enough, that’s your problem.

Showers in many older-style hotels and apartments do not have shower curtains, which means you get a lot of water on the floor. In addition, there are no soap and shampoo holders, so you have to stoop over to pick them up off the floor. Hot and cold water availability is also an issue in many cities, and water pressure is often low. In a word, what is considered normal for western bathrooms is a luxury in Ukraine.
Displays of rudeness and irritability in public

Many foreigners who don’t understand Russian or Ukrainian note that people seem to shout at each other a lot, when in reality they are just having a normal conversation. I didn’t notice this myself until it was pointed out to me by several different people. This habit is most prevalent among the less educated. In public places Ukrainians tend to put on withdrawn and even gloomy facial expressions — quite a contrast to happy-go-lucky Americans (many of whom are secretly taking Prozac!). This sometimes leads westerners to deduce that “everyone seems depressed.”

In addition, Ukrainians seem quick to anger in public, and a few rides on public transportation is usually enough to get a taste of Ukrainians’ gift for chewing each other out in public. Bus drivers tend to yell a lot at offending car drivers, and many drivers seem to be on the verge of bursting into fits of road rage. This can create a depressing impression on foreigners until they get used to things and realize that no one intends to hurt each other and that people are simply letting off steam. In the West it is usually not customary to let off steam in public — hence the misunderstandings.

Crowded public transportation

While Ukraine’s public transportation system is undeniably convenient and low-priced, it often does not meet westerners’ comfort expectations. It is common for city buses and subways to be packed with passengers, who have to press up against each other in the aisles. Some minibuses have lower ceilings, requiring passengers standing between seats to bend over partially. These buses are terribly uncomfortable, even exhausting — especially in hot weather. During rush hours the Kyiv subway is cram-packed with squirming passengers. Ukraine’s trains, which are otherwise quite comfortable, often heat up to 30°C (86°F) in the summer. Passengers sweat even when sitting motionless, and sleep is often difficult until the temperature starts to go down after midnight. This problem could be solved if the windows would open, but, alas, they almost never do. This is yet another example of the indifference to people’s comfort that is so common in the former Soviet Union.

Secondhand smoking

Smoking is rampant in Ukraine, the cigarettes are cheap and not very good, and smokers generally have the “right of way” in public places. People smoke freely in line for the bus, in underground pedestrian crossings, in stairwell shafts, and in many if not most cafes, restaurants, and bars. Bus and taxi drivers generally smoke, but they open their window so most (but not all) of the smoke wafts out of the car. Some places — such as subways, trains, and fast-food restaurants — are always smoke free (except for what sticks to people’s clothes). Interestingly, a new law has been passed that bans smoking at bus stops and underground crossings and requires all restaurants to designate at least half of their space for non-smokers, but this law is not yet being enforced, and people’s behavior has not changed at all. Perhaps in the coming years the situation will improve.

Ukrainian drivers

Pedestrians are the lowest caste in Ukrainian society. They must make sure all the drivers who want to have driven past before they cross the street, regardless of the color of the stoplight or the presence of a pedestrian crossing. If you are run ofter by a wealthy individual, he will likely buy off the police and the incident will be considered an accident or your own fault.

Many taxi drivers are reckless and shamelessly break traffic rules (after all, the “price” of most infringements is a $2-4 USD to traffic police). If you put on your seatbelt, many Ukrainian drivers will look at you incredulously. It is not customary to wear them in Ukraine.

Reluctance to give change

There is a catastrophic shortage of change in Ukraine. Chances are you will encounter this the first time you ever try to buy anything in Ukraine. The cashier will ask you if you have, for example, an additional 3 hryvnia 14 kopecks to give her so that she can give you a single 10 hryvnia bill as change. If you don’t understand Russian or Ukrainian, you will constantly be wondering why cashiers stall and look exasperated nearly every time you buy something. To avoid this, try to foresee what kind of change they are likely to ask from you before giving you yours.

Lack of punctuality

Informal (and often formal) meetings in Ukraine often are based on a different understanding of time. 5 “Ukrainian” minutes often turns out to be 20 calendar minutes. Ukrainians tend to think little of having other people wait 10 or 20 minutes for them. Life in Ukraine is chaotic and unpredictable, and people are not able to control or foresee all the circumstances that may keep them from arriving at the agreed time. It is assumed that you will be able to entertain yourself or will have some extra phone calls to make while you are waiting.

“Deadly” drafts

A draft, for those of you who don’t know, is “a current of air in any enclosed space.” In Ukraine drafts are considered dangerous for your health. For this reason, in many situations where westerners would open the window to let in fresh air, Ukrainians will keep the windows shut and just tolerate the heat and/or stuffiness. Ukrainians avoid letting air blow on them through windows unless it is about 28° C or higher (82° F). Travelers to Ukraine are often surprised by how often they are asked to close windows “for their own good.”

Folks who live dangerously and take tourists along for the ride

Tour guide, Chernobyl, Ukraine
For the past decade, Sergei Ivanchuk has walked visitors through the cooling towers and eerily empty corridors of Chernobyl, the Soviet nuclear power plant in Ukraine that witnessed the world’s most famous—and most deadly—meltdown. It still looks as if it’s frozen in 1986, and Ivanchuk often sees newspapers from that year scattered about. He doesn’t wear a hazmat-like protective helmet, gloves, or gear because radiation levels are lower than they were in the late ’80s. But Ivanchuk still advises tourists not to wear shorts or sandals—or drink the tap water. “You never get used to this kind of work,” he says with a laugh. “It never gets boring. For me, it’s about reminding people of what happened to prevent history from repeating itself.”

Solo East Travel,011-380/44-406-3500, tourkiev.com/chernobyltour, day tours from $110.

Mountain bike guide, Bolivia’s ‘Road of Death’

Imagine hurtling 12,000 feet down a twisting unpaved road past sheer drop-offs, nervously gripping your mountain bike’s handlebars, with dirt kicking up in your face. Not without reason has this switchback (official name: Yungas Road) outside La Paz, Bolivia, the world’s highest capital, been dubbed the “Road of Death.” An estimated 200 people die each year, mostly when their vehicles plunge off an Andean cliff. Biking guides—four Americans and one Frenchman—give a short safety primer on how to change gears and use brakes, but then you’re on your own. “As long as you can keep both of your feet on the pedals, it’s safe,” advises Osmar Huidobro, who works for Gravity Bolivia. “The guides will not push you to go faster than you can go.” Also, a newly built alternate route means less vehicular traffic on the vertiginous 40-mile ride—and presumably fewer fatalities.

Gravity Bolivia, gravitybolivia.com, all-day tours $85, tours are arranged on an individual basis throughout the year, although rainy season (mid-December through March) is the most dangerous.

Killer whale trainer, Orlando, Fla.

In February of this year at Orlando’s SeaWorld, a six-ton orca thrashed and drowned its trainer during a live show—horrifying spectators. It’s not clear if Tilikum, the killer whale, was attacking on purpose or was merely agitated. But it was not the first death that has been connected to Tilikum. In 1999, a trespasser who had apparently climbed into the orca’s pool was found dead. In 1991, the born predator joined two other killer whales in drowning their trainer.

SeaWorld is reviewing its safety procedures for orca training but says it wants to return Tilikum to shows. The company keeps 25 killer whales at its marine parks and says that its animals almost never act aggressively. That may be true, but don’t expect to see us climbing into a tank with an orca anytime soon.

Bull shepherd, Pamplona, Spain

You’ve surely heard of San Fermín, the annual adrenaline-fueled ritual in which revelers try to outrun bulls stampeding through the narrow streets of Pamplona. But who keeps the bulls from goring onlookers and corrals them each morning during the second week of July? Meet the dozen or so pastores (shepherds) clad in green polo shirts who try to tame the animals, protecting the runners with nothing but a long cane. “This is the most dangerous job in Spain,” says Francisco Glaría, a local tour guide, who remembers one of the shepherds being gored after trying to save a runner a few years back. Between 200 and 300 people are injured each year, according to the city government council, but fatalities are rare, with only 14 occurring in the past 100 years.

Beer sherpa, Slovakia’s High Tatras

As if risking life and limb were not enough, the Slovak sherpas who scale the treacherous sides of rocky cliffs and hike the steep footpaths of the High Tatras at breakneck speeds are lugging beer, too. Not just a few bottles, either, but 150-pound kegs, which they strap to their backs. Rain or shine, ice or snow, the sherpas make the two-hour hike to the top several times per day to stock the bare-bones chalets scattered along 7,380-foot-high peaks. The chalets have no power, just wooden tables lined with pints of pilsner—from freshly tapped kegs, of course. Travelslovakia.sk.

Luge/bobsled instructor, Whistler, Canada

It’s been called the world’s fastest track, earning notoriety after an Olympic luger from the country of Georgia died after being flung from the track. By the beginning of next winter, the Whistler Sliding Center expects to offer bobsled, luge, and skeleton trial runs on the lower portion of its 1,374-meter-long track. “It’s an unbelievable experience,” says Breton Murphy, the center’s senior communications manager, who tried the skeleton—head-first luge—and clocked in at over 65 mph. (To put that speed in perspective, ski resort luges top out at 40 to 50 mph, while professional competitors in luge and bobsled can reach 85 mph and beyond.)

“It has the same kind of adrenaline rush as bungee jumping or skydiving,” Murphy adds. Riders do not need any prior experience or training. Because you start at the 11th turn, rather than at the top (there are 16 turns total), you don’t have to use your feet to steer, just the forces of gravity. Bobsled tours are led by licensed instructors or ex-Olympians, but for luge, you go solo.

Whistler Sliding Center, 604/402-1401, whistlerslidingcentre.com, currently closed to public but will reopen for tours in June.

Herper, Madras Crocodile Bank

Soham Mukherjee is a herpetologist, a.k.a. a herper, or reptile specialist. At a wildlife rehabilitation center and reptile zoo in southern India, he trains crocs—one of whom he named Psycho—using just a stick. That is, when he’s not breaking up fights or trying to “charm” king cobras and other venomous pythons. The Madras Crocodile Bank draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to see crocs, snakes, and other dangerous animals up close. Perhaps only fellow herpers appreciate the perils of this line of work. “Crocodiles eat more people each year than any other predator on earth does,” notes Neville Burns, a crocodile keeper at Sydney Wildlife World. “Their jaws can crush the skull of a pig with a single bite. And they can swim twice as fast as any human.”

Madras Crocodile Bank, 011-91/44-2747-2447, madrascrocodilebank.org, admission about 65¢.

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