Stories about Ukraine from April, 2006
Ukraine: Markets Won't Wait
At Foreign Notes, LEvko writes that Ukrainian president expects the coalition to be formed sometime in June, and Scott W. Clark cautions that this may be a bit too long for the country's economy: “If, as LEvko reports, this mess won't be sorted out until June, will the markets hold...
Chernobyl: First Victims
Oleksa of My Reflections writes about Chernobyl and its first victims: “However, it is the plight of the 14 firefighters that made the greatest impression on me. They arrived on the station mere minutes after the blast and had to extinguish fire with their bare hands, almost literally, throwing the...
Belarus, Ukraine: Chernobyl Meaning
Vilhelm Konnander explains the meaning of Chernobyl for Belarus 20 years later. Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert disagrees with Sean Guillory's take on the lessons of Chernobyl: “To use Chernobyl as a reason to abandon nuclear power is like using the Titanic as a reason to discontinue...
Russia: Kateryna Chumachenko's 1983 Letter
Michael Averko, a Diaspora Russian contributing to Russia Blog, writes about the letter that Kateryna Chumachenko, a (formerly) Diaspora Ukrainian wife of president Yushchenko, wrote to the Washington Times 23 years ago. In it, Chumachenko wrongly suggested “that Russian-Americans didn't petition to have Russia listed as a captive nation.” A...
Ukraine: A Trip to Chernobyl
Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine links to his own report from a trip to Chernobyl he and his wife took on November 13, 2004.
Belarus: Chernobyl and Charnobylski Shlyah
br23 blog writes about how he, then a 10-year-old son of two physicist parents, learned about the accident at the Chernobyl power plant 20 years ago. Ivan Lenin writes about today's protest rally in Minsk, and TOL's Belarus Blog links to Radio Liberty's photos from the rally.
Chernobyl: Letters Never Written
LJ user wall4 – originally from Lviv, Ukraine, now living in Connecticut – writes about his experience as a soldier forced to serve in Chernobyl 20 years ago (RUS). The piece is accompanied by several black-and-white army pictures. 20 Years Ago. Letters I haven't written. “Mama, I'll never forget how...
Chernobyl: Facts and Myths
Vilhelm Konnander writes about the facts and myths of Chernobyl: “The first news of the accident actually reached a western audience. High radioactive levels were registered at Swedish and Finnish nuclear plants already on 26 april. It quickly became apparent that the radioactivity emanated from somewhere within the Soviet Union....
Ukraine, Belarus: Chernobyl Links
Megan Case posts links to Chernobyl-related websites and writes about her own memories of 1986.
Ukraine: One Man's Chernobyl 20 Years On
Stefan at Dykun writes about a Ukrainian relative who was sent to work in Chernobyl 20 years ago: he's in his 40s now but walks with a cane. “Mykhajlo wears what must count as the thickest glasses ever worn by a human being–they should definitely find a place in a...
Ukraine, Belarus: Interview With Translator of “Voices of Chernobyl”
Languor Management links to Maud Newton's short email interview with Keith Gessen, English translator of Svetlana's Alexievich's Voices of Chernobyl, which won this year's National Book Critics Circle award for nonfiction.”
Ukraine: Coalition Building and AIDS Project Suspension
LEvko of Foreign Notes and Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine both write about the treacherous world of Ukrainian politics. Dan also has this item, unrelated to the post-election coalition building and thus most likely doomed to be soon forgotten: “Bad news: The World Bank suspended a big AIDS project in...
Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko
Ethan of Room 12A writes about Yulia Tymoshenko event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce: “Yulia's least attractive quality is her taste for self-pity, which combines easily with her nose for conspiracy. Clearly cognizant that she was addressing a business audience, Yulia went to some lengths to stress that...
Ukraine: “Yushchenko’ s dilemma..”
LEvko of Foreign Notes continues to watch Ukraine's seemingly endless coalition-building endeavor.
Ukraine: Traffic Police
Petro Rondiak of Petro's Jotter writes about how he almost ended up bribing a traffic policeman during a family trip from Kyiv to Odesa.
Ukraine: An Average Ukrainian's View On Yulia Tymoshenko's Victory
Stefan of Dykun quotes a message from Oksana Kolodnytska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian school teacher from Pidhajtsi, on why Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc has gotten so many votes in the March 26 parliamentary election.
Ukraine: Kyiv and Ukrainian Political Battles
LEvko of Foreign Notes comments on political battles in Ukraine and in its capital, Kyiv.
Ukraine: Taras Shevchenko
Aussiegirl of Ultima Thule writes about her maternal great-grandfather's extraordinary reverence for Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian national poet, the man who “was born a serf” and whose “freedom was purchased by the sale of an auctioned portrait by some noblemen and artists who recognized his talent.”
Ukraine: Akhmetov's Botanical Garden Fiasco
LEvko of Foreign Notes reports on how Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov has failed to rob his native idustrial center Donetsk of its botanical garden.
Ukraine: Promoting Books in Ukrainian
A group of Ukrainian LJ users concerned about the sorry state of Ukrainian-language book publishing had a lively discussion on how the situation could be improved. One blogger even drew a parallel with the Aymara language of faraway Bolivia. Below are just a few snippets of this conversation (UKR): swalllage-kits:...
Ukraine: Relations With the EU and Russia
Oleksandr of Messages From Canada writes on Ukraine's unique position between Russia and the EU: “Located between new EU members with increased production costs and Russia with strong ambitions to expand to new markets, Ukraine could become another economic wonder or business paradise: for EU – to outsource/shift the production...
