Showing posts with label Odessa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Odessa. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Friday, 22 July 2011
Odesa Maritime Merchant Port chief arrested
Simferopol, July 22 (Ukraine) – The head of the State Enterprise Odesa Maritime Merchant Port was detained on Friday, a measure of restraint is currently being chosen for him, the press service of the Prosecutor's Office of Crimea reported.
The Crimean Prosecutor's Office is investigating a criminal case against the seaport's chief on charge of abuse of authority or office (part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code).
"This official, through abusing his office, illegally spent more than Hr 170,000 in the interests of a commercial structure on repairs to the Odesa Hotel," the press service said.
The Crimean Prosecutor's Office is investigating a criminal case against the seaport's chief on charge of abuse of authority or office (part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code).
"This official, through abusing his office, illegally spent more than Hr 170,000 in the interests of a commercial structure on repairs to the Odesa Hotel," the press service said.
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Life Under Yanukovich
ODESSA, Ukraine -- Strong nerves and a loaded gun are important attributes for a mayor of Odessa, and Eduard Gurvits has both. It is 1am on November 1st. Local elections have taken place across Ukraine.
Reports of ballot-box stuffing are already coming in, but other than the odd raised eyebrow and the occasional outburst, the veteran boss of this picturesque Black Sea port remains calm.
After having been on the end of a couple of assassination attempts in the 1990s and a few stolen elections here and there, Mr Gurvits is a hard man to surprise. “They used to shoot us. Now they are just trying to cheat us,” he says.
As the voting in Odessa had drawn to a close, two trucks had mysteriously appeared in the courtyard of the election-commission building, apparently to store the bags of ballots. But the half-dozen young, thuggish-looking men who said they were “furniture handlers” hired to shift the ballot bags hardly inspired confidence.
As TheEconomist went to press the election results in Odessa, and many other regions, were yet to be declared (or decided by Kiev). Mr Gurvits and his main opponent both declared victory.
Ukraine’s opposition parties issued a joint statement saying that the local elections were not free and certainly less fair than the presidential election won by Viktor Yanukovich early this year.
The list of complaints is long and colourful. It includes allegations of clone parties, refusal to register candidates, and physical violence and intimidation. International observers were unimpressed; EU and American officials criticised the elections.
The Odessa campaign was certainly grubby. Alexi Kostusev, Mr Gurvits’s main rival, who enjoyed the backing of Ukraine’s prime minister and a regional governor, directed anti-Semitic remarks against the mayor and his family. “Look at his long fingers, his strange eyes, his pointed ears, and you will realise what forces he represents,” he said.
The time of independent mayors is over, Mr Yanukovich’s Party of the Regions said in the run-up to the elections. Now everyone has to be part of a vertical power structure, from the president down to local mayors.
Yet the local elections were as much about Mr Yanukovich dividing the spoils of his presidential victory among his supporters as they were about consolidating power. There has been plenty of time for that already. In fact, tightening his grip on power has been one of the main features of Mr Yanukovich’s first year in office.
Constitutional changes forced through by the president give him powers that exceed those enjoyed by Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s president before the 2004 Orange revolution. Changes to the election law blatantly favour the president’s party.
Mr Yanukovich’s aides say he needs to consolidate power inside his own party to push through economic reforms, such as cutting red tape and passing a new tax code. It is certainly true that the Party of the Regions is hardly a disciplined political unit.
Rivalry between competing factions, each with its own business interests, makes it all but impossible to co-ordinate reform efforts. To overcome the dangers of sabotage from within the government, the administration plans to appoint a number of special “commissars”, selected by McKinsey, a consultancy, to see through planned reforms.
The government also says it is determined to fight corruption. Yet so far the law has been applied solely to Mr Yanukovich’s opponents. Supporters of the president allege that the previous government developed a number of staggeringly corrupt schemes.
The trouble, says Yulia Mostovaya, the editor of Zerkalo Nedeli, an independent weekly, is that although their operators may have changed, many of these schemes have stayed in place.
On the face of it, some of Mr Yanukovich’s steps mirror those of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s former president and current prime minister. But unlike Russia, Ukraine does not have enough resources to carry on without reform.
“Yanukovich needs to win over small and medium-sized businessmen,” says a senior adviser to the president. “Economic reforms are the only way for him to stay on for a second term.”
The danger is that if Mr Yanukovich fails to see them through, the temptation to hold on to power by repressive means may be hard to resist. As the Orange revolution showed, this would only push the country into deeper crisis.
Reports of ballot-box stuffing are already coming in, but other than the odd raised eyebrow and the occasional outburst, the veteran boss of this picturesque Black Sea port remains calm.
After having been on the end of a couple of assassination attempts in the 1990s and a few stolen elections here and there, Mr Gurvits is a hard man to surprise. “They used to shoot us. Now they are just trying to cheat us,” he says.
As the voting in Odessa had drawn to a close, two trucks had mysteriously appeared in the courtyard of the election-commission building, apparently to store the bags of ballots. But the half-dozen young, thuggish-looking men who said they were “furniture handlers” hired to shift the ballot bags hardly inspired confidence.
As TheEconomist went to press the election results in Odessa, and many other regions, were yet to be declared (or decided by Kiev). Mr Gurvits and his main opponent both declared victory.
Ukraine’s opposition parties issued a joint statement saying that the local elections were not free and certainly less fair than the presidential election won by Viktor Yanukovich early this year.
The list of complaints is long and colourful. It includes allegations of clone parties, refusal to register candidates, and physical violence and intimidation. International observers were unimpressed; EU and American officials criticised the elections.
The Odessa campaign was certainly grubby. Alexi Kostusev, Mr Gurvits’s main rival, who enjoyed the backing of Ukraine’s prime minister and a regional governor, directed anti-Semitic remarks against the mayor and his family. “Look at his long fingers, his strange eyes, his pointed ears, and you will realise what forces he represents,” he said.
The time of independent mayors is over, Mr Yanukovich’s Party of the Regions said in the run-up to the elections. Now everyone has to be part of a vertical power structure, from the president down to local mayors.
Yet the local elections were as much about Mr Yanukovich dividing the spoils of his presidential victory among his supporters as they were about consolidating power. There has been plenty of time for that already. In fact, tightening his grip on power has been one of the main features of Mr Yanukovich’s first year in office.
Constitutional changes forced through by the president give him powers that exceed those enjoyed by Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s president before the 2004 Orange revolution. Changes to the election law blatantly favour the president’s party.
Mr Yanukovich’s aides say he needs to consolidate power inside his own party to push through economic reforms, such as cutting red tape and passing a new tax code. It is certainly true that the Party of the Regions is hardly a disciplined political unit.
Rivalry between competing factions, each with its own business interests, makes it all but impossible to co-ordinate reform efforts. To overcome the dangers of sabotage from within the government, the administration plans to appoint a number of special “commissars”, selected by McKinsey, a consultancy, to see through planned reforms.
The government also says it is determined to fight corruption. Yet so far the law has been applied solely to Mr Yanukovich’s opponents. Supporters of the president allege that the previous government developed a number of staggeringly corrupt schemes.
The trouble, says Yulia Mostovaya, the editor of Zerkalo Nedeli, an independent weekly, is that although their operators may have changed, many of these schemes have stayed in place.
On the face of it, some of Mr Yanukovich’s steps mirror those of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s former president and current prime minister. But unlike Russia, Ukraine does not have enough resources to carry on without reform.
“Yanukovich needs to win over small and medium-sized businessmen,” says a senior adviser to the president. “Economic reforms are the only way for him to stay on for a second term.”
The danger is that if Mr Yanukovich fails to see them through, the temptation to hold on to power by repressive means may be hard to resist. As the Orange revolution showed, this would only push the country into deeper crisis.
Monday, 6 September 2010
Traveling To Odessa, Ukraine: Top Tourist Attractions And Sightseeing Spots
ODESSA, Ukraine -- Odessa in southern Ukraine is a major seaport destination located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea.
It is known for its preserved cultural and historical structures that come from a number of styles like Art Nouveau, Renaissance, and Classical. Many of its tourist attractions and monuments feature Russian, French, Italian, and Mediterranean influences.
The Potemkin Stairs, also often referred to as the Potemkin Staircase or the Odessa Steps, was immortalized in film history with the cinematic masterpiece of Russian filmmaker and film theorist Sergei Eisenstein, the "Father of Montage."
The said 1925 classic film entitled "Battleship Potemkin" featured a striking sequence called the "Odessa Steps," showing the violence, mutiny, and chaos during the 1905 rebellion of the crew of the Russian Battleship Potemkin against the officers of the Tsar.
This silent film is usually shown in film theory and film history classes in film schools.
Built by F. Bofford from 1837 to 1841, the Potemkin Stairs is now a very famous landmark attraction in Primorsky Boulevard, Odessa.
The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater, technically known as the Odessa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet, is the oldest theater in Odessa. It is also considered one of the most beautiful theaters in Europe.
This famous edifice was opened in 1810, but destroyed by fire in 1873. It reopened in 1887 after the rebuilding made by Fellner and Helmer.
The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater features unique acoustics that allows even a whisper from the stage to be heard at any part of the theater.
The Pushkin Monument in Ukraine is dedicated to the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. This monument was built in 1889 by sculptor Z. Polonskaya and architect K. Vasilyev. It features a bronze model of Pushkin with a granite pedestal.
The monument recollects Pushkin's productive one-year stay in Odessa from 1823 to 1824, a time where he made his classic poems "Tzigans" and "The Fountain of Bakhchisaray." During that time, he also wrote part of his renowned novel entitled "Eugene Onegin" in Odessa.
The Pushkin Monument is situated opposite the Odessa City Hall. The city also named one of its main streets, Pushkinskaya, in his memory.
The Odessa Seaport offers a wonderful picture of Odessa's modern metropolis. Over two centuries ago, Catherine II of Russia turned the area into a seaport. Now, it is one of the largest passenger terminals in the Black Sea basin.
The Odessa Seaport features the sights of many international ships and cruise liners, all benefiting from the port's modern cargo-handling equipment, computers, and communication facilities. This seaport also provides a spectactular landscape for sightseeing and photography.
It is known for its preserved cultural and historical structures that come from a number of styles like Art Nouveau, Renaissance, and Classical. Many of its tourist attractions and monuments feature Russian, French, Italian, and Mediterranean influences.
The Potemkin Stairs, also often referred to as the Potemkin Staircase or the Odessa Steps, was immortalized in film history with the cinematic masterpiece of Russian filmmaker and film theorist Sergei Eisenstein, the "Father of Montage."
The said 1925 classic film entitled "Battleship Potemkin" featured a striking sequence called the "Odessa Steps," showing the violence, mutiny, and chaos during the 1905 rebellion of the crew of the Russian Battleship Potemkin against the officers of the Tsar.
This silent film is usually shown in film theory and film history classes in film schools.
Built by F. Bofford from 1837 to 1841, the Potemkin Stairs is now a very famous landmark attraction in Primorsky Boulevard, Odessa.
The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater, technically known as the Odessa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet, is the oldest theater in Odessa. It is also considered one of the most beautiful theaters in Europe.
This famous edifice was opened in 1810, but destroyed by fire in 1873. It reopened in 1887 after the rebuilding made by Fellner and Helmer.
The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater features unique acoustics that allows even a whisper from the stage to be heard at any part of the theater.
The Pushkin Monument in Ukraine is dedicated to the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. This monument was built in 1889 by sculptor Z. Polonskaya and architect K. Vasilyev. It features a bronze model of Pushkin with a granite pedestal.
The monument recollects Pushkin's productive one-year stay in Odessa from 1823 to 1824, a time where he made his classic poems "Tzigans" and "The Fountain of Bakhchisaray." During that time, he also wrote part of his renowned novel entitled "Eugene Onegin" in Odessa.
The Pushkin Monument is situated opposite the Odessa City Hall. The city also named one of its main streets, Pushkinskaya, in his memory.
The Odessa Seaport offers a wonderful picture of Odessa's modern metropolis. Over two centuries ago, Catherine II of Russia turned the area into a seaport. Now, it is one of the largest passenger terminals in the Black Sea basin.
The Odessa Seaport features the sights of many international ships and cruise liners, all benefiting from the port's modern cargo-handling equipment, computers, and communication facilities. This seaport also provides a spectactular landscape for sightseeing and photography.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Beijing Leads Ukrainian Officials To Cancel Cultural Performance
KIEV, Ukraine -- By putting pressure on Ukrainian authorities, Chinese diplomats caused the cancellation of a performance by Shen Yun Performing Arts, which was scheduled for May 28 at a theater in Odessa, in southern Ukraine. Shen Yun is a New York based company that is currently on tour around the world.
Some of the show’s performers were denied visas to enter Ukraine, and were given no explanation.
Meanwhile an organization run by Odessa regional Council "Oblconcerteservice," has informed the Shen Yun show organizer in Ukraine, charity organization “For Children of the New Century,” that the agreement to rent the venue in Odessa Academic and Ballet Theatre has been suspended.
The letter says that Chinese officials have requested Odessa regional council cancel the Shen Yun performance in Odessa.
"It is categorical for the show not to take place. In such situation the juridical details—whether the contract had been broken or suspended—mean the same," Dmitry Polunin, the head of Oblconcerteservice, told The Epoch Times.
Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is a nonprofit organization that is independent of China’s communist regime. Through classical Chinese dance, the performing arts group seeks to revive the five-millennia-old artistic tradition of China that was largely destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Cultural Revolution.
Since 2006, the company has performed more than 500 shows around the world to millions of audience members.
OperaOnline said the show "gave a glimpse of a culture and its history that was at times hypnotic in its presentation, sensual in its fluid movements, and inspirational in its theme … and flawless musical performances … simply astounding to watch and a pleasure to the ear."
The CCP regularly puts pressure on authorities in most of the countries where the show performs. Pressure usually comes through the use of its consulates, embassies, and community organizations, and aims to cancel the show.
Shen Yun takes as its mission to revive China's artistic tradition that thrived before decades of suppression by the CCP. The show also includes dance programs set in contemporary China that portray the persecution of Falun Gong—a peaceful meditation practice persecuted by the regime since 1999. These portrayals are an irritant for CCP diplomats.
Polunin said that there was a letter from Ukraine’s foreign ministry requesting his organization not assist the Shen Yun show in Odessa. He said it was because of “political” issues.
Odessa officials told The Epoch Times in a private conversation that they also received letters from the Ukrainian prime minister, the minister of culture, and the head of the national security service not to let the show perform.
An Epoch Times reporter met with Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Seminozhenko, whose negative letter was among those from the top officials, to ask him about the situation. He denied any government involvement in the interference with the performance.
Ukrainian officials say that the pressure is connected to the official visit of China’s foreign minister, Yang Jieqi to Kyiv last week.
Vice President of European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott has sent a letter to ask Ukraine’s president to let the Shen Yun perform in Ukraine.
Some members of Ukrainian Parliament, and members of the U.S. Congress also sent letters to Ukrainian officials to assist Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Human rights advocates have also condemned the Chinese diplomats’ interference with domestic affairs in Ukrainian. “This is brutal intervention and we can’t agree with it," said Evgeniy Zakharov, the head of Kharkov human rights group in Ukraine.
Zakharov commented that the Chinese officials behave the same way as Soviet authorities who physically destroyed art and elements of culture. "Ukraine should respond if it considers itself to be a European civilized country," he said.
Two performances of Shen Yun were canceled in Kiev in April, last year, under the same scenario. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not grant visas to the show’s performers and the president's office made the dates which Shen Yun was scheduled to perform unavailable at the country's renowned theater, the National Palace Ukraine. Ukraine's top officials declined to speak with The Epoch Times or the show’s organizers.
Some of the show’s performers were denied visas to enter Ukraine, and were given no explanation.
Meanwhile an organization run by Odessa regional Council "Oblconcerteservice," has informed the Shen Yun show organizer in Ukraine, charity organization “For Children of the New Century,” that the agreement to rent the venue in Odessa Academic and Ballet Theatre has been suspended.
The letter says that Chinese officials have requested Odessa regional council cancel the Shen Yun performance in Odessa.
"It is categorical for the show not to take place. In such situation the juridical details—whether the contract had been broken or suspended—mean the same," Dmitry Polunin, the head of Oblconcerteservice, told The Epoch Times.
Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is a nonprofit organization that is independent of China’s communist regime. Through classical Chinese dance, the performing arts group seeks to revive the five-millennia-old artistic tradition of China that was largely destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Cultural Revolution.
Since 2006, the company has performed more than 500 shows around the world to millions of audience members.
OperaOnline said the show "gave a glimpse of a culture and its history that was at times hypnotic in its presentation, sensual in its fluid movements, and inspirational in its theme … and flawless musical performances … simply astounding to watch and a pleasure to the ear."
The CCP regularly puts pressure on authorities in most of the countries where the show performs. Pressure usually comes through the use of its consulates, embassies, and community organizations, and aims to cancel the show.
Shen Yun takes as its mission to revive China's artistic tradition that thrived before decades of suppression by the CCP. The show also includes dance programs set in contemporary China that portray the persecution of Falun Gong—a peaceful meditation practice persecuted by the regime since 1999. These portrayals are an irritant for CCP diplomats.
Polunin said that there was a letter from Ukraine’s foreign ministry requesting his organization not assist the Shen Yun show in Odessa. He said it was because of “political” issues.
Odessa officials told The Epoch Times in a private conversation that they also received letters from the Ukrainian prime minister, the minister of culture, and the head of the national security service not to let the show perform.
An Epoch Times reporter met with Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Seminozhenko, whose negative letter was among those from the top officials, to ask him about the situation. He denied any government involvement in the interference with the performance.
Ukrainian officials say that the pressure is connected to the official visit of China’s foreign minister, Yang Jieqi to Kyiv last week.
Vice President of European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott has sent a letter to ask Ukraine’s president to let the Shen Yun perform in Ukraine.
Some members of Ukrainian Parliament, and members of the U.S. Congress also sent letters to Ukrainian officials to assist Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Human rights advocates have also condemned the Chinese diplomats’ interference with domestic affairs in Ukrainian. “This is brutal intervention and we can’t agree with it," said Evgeniy Zakharov, the head of Kharkov human rights group in Ukraine.
Zakharov commented that the Chinese officials behave the same way as Soviet authorities who physically destroyed art and elements of culture. "Ukraine should respond if it considers itself to be a European civilized country," he said.
Two performances of Shen Yun were canceled in Kiev in April, last year, under the same scenario. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not grant visas to the show’s performers and the president's office made the dates which Shen Yun was scheduled to perform unavailable at the country's renowned theater, the National Palace Ukraine. Ukraine's top officials declined to speak with The Epoch Times or the show’s organizers.
Sunday, 4 October 2009
LUKoil May Halt Odessa Refinery
LUKoil may be forced to halt its Odessa refinery if it is unable to find crude volumes to replace those cut off by Ukraine’s plan to import oil through the Black Sea port in October.
Ukraine’s plans to ease its dependence on Russian crude oil supplies may also result in the stoppage of Urals exports from the Odessa port, industry sources said Thursday.
Market sources said crude deliveries to the Odessa refinery, operated by LUKoil, were halted on Oct. 1, as Ukrainian state pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta refused to supply crude to the refinery via the Kremenchug-Odessa pipeline.
Ukrtransnafta plans to deliver light seaborne crude to the Kremenchug refinery, Ukraine’s largest, from the port of Odessa in reverse mode in October, sources said. The first of two cargoes of light crude, most likely Azeri Light, will arrive in Odessa on Oct. 2 or 3. The second may follow on Oct. 6, the sources said Thursday.
“No final decision has been taken on the stoppage of the Odessa refinery,” LUKoil spokesman Dmitry Dolgov said. “There’s enough crude in storage to last us a few days, so we have one or two days to find a solution.”
“Alternative supply routes will complicate the refining economics,” he said.
Crude supplies to Odessa via the Brody-Odessa pipeline will increase the pipeline tariff by $6 per ton, Dolgov and the industry sources said.
Supply volumes via the Brody-Odessa pipeline are also limited by a lack of enough spare capacity at the Unecha-Mozyr section of the Druzhba trunk pipeline.
Ukraine’s plans to ease its dependence on Russian crude oil supplies may also result in the stoppage of Urals exports from the Odessa port, industry sources said Thursday.
Market sources said crude deliveries to the Odessa refinery, operated by LUKoil, were halted on Oct. 1, as Ukrainian state pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta refused to supply crude to the refinery via the Kremenchug-Odessa pipeline.
Ukrtransnafta plans to deliver light seaborne crude to the Kremenchug refinery, Ukraine’s largest, from the port of Odessa in reverse mode in October, sources said. The first of two cargoes of light crude, most likely Azeri Light, will arrive in Odessa on Oct. 2 or 3. The second may follow on Oct. 6, the sources said Thursday.
“No final decision has been taken on the stoppage of the Odessa refinery,” LUKoil spokesman Dmitry Dolgov said. “There’s enough crude in storage to last us a few days, so we have one or two days to find a solution.”
“Alternative supply routes will complicate the refining economics,” he said.
Crude supplies to Odessa via the Brody-Odessa pipeline will increase the pipeline tariff by $6 per ton, Dolgov and the industry sources said.
Supply volumes via the Brody-Odessa pipeline are also limited by a lack of enough spare capacity at the Unecha-Mozyr section of the Druzhba trunk pipeline.
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Eric back in Kiev from Odessa
After spending two years in exile in Odesa, Eric Aigner opens a new club in Kyiv.
The man largely credited with establishing Kyiv’s affordable and unpretentious restaurants and nightclubs in the 1990s has returned to the capital after more than a two-year hiatus in Odesa.
Eric Aigner is back with his trademark Ho Chi Minh beard and easygoing smile. And he brought with him a team of bartenders and servers from Odesa to open a nightclub on Aug. 24 at the Ultramarine entertainment complex.
Banking on the reputation he earned in his heyday for managing places with fun staffs and informal Western-style service, it’s no surprise why the club is called Friends of Eric. As the venue opened its doors on Ukraine’s 18th birthday, club-goers, consisting mostly of Aigner’s friends and acquaintances, were asked to write words of greeting on bricks as they were stacked diagonally using cement.
Located on the mezzanine floor of the complex, the club has an elongated lounge area of sofa chairs standing on plush red carpeting, and has an identical second floor accessible on both sides by spiraling chairs. According to Aigner, the joint is designed to imbue a relaxed atmosphere of conversation and down-to-earth fun.
The same goes for the service. Aigner said he brought a team of employees with him from Odesa because people there are more laid back and it’s not beneath them to talk to clients. “I don’t need bartenders twirling and tossing mixing glasses or bottles,” Aigner said. “The idea is to be happy. It’s very important to create an atmosphere where people could meet other people, tell jokes and converse.”
He says fun is what brought him back to Kyiv. He says the happy atmosphere is missing here. “I never thought my friends would say that they miss my clubs. This is an honor to come back and run a club they’d like to visit,” the 46-year German native said.
The timing of the club’s opening is questionable in an already saturated market and given the financial crisis, which might heat up again in autumn. “I don’t need rich people coming here,” Aigner said. “I’m not afraid of the crisis, we have reasonable prices; it’s very important to have middle class level people.”
Not everyone is glad to see Aigner in Kyiv again. Former partner Ken Carter of New Zealand said Aigner defrauded him of $42,500. Carter filed civil charges last year and has subsequently won a court decision in May 2008 ordering Aigner to pay him that amount.
“I want justice, I want to stop Eric’s dishonest ways and to put him behind bars,” Carter said. “He’s a criminal.”
Aigner has called the ordeal with Carter a “farce” and said Carter ran their businesses, Tapas Bar and Blues Bar, into the ground. “He [Carter] wanted to be the director. I said we’re partners.”
The restaurateur has had tumultuous histories with former partners, dating to his first partner Ihor Pazepa, with whom he opened his two first bars in 1996. They had a falling out in 2000 stemming from a dispute revolving around their bar, Al Capone in the Podil district.
Pozepa said he locked Aigner out of the club after a series of disputes over money and personal matters.
In an archived interview with Kyiv Post, Aigner contended that Pozepa had been increasingly reluctant to pay him his part of the profits. Both sides went their separate ways after that.
“I don’t believe in contracts,” Aigner said back then in a Kyiv Post article. “Here, they mean nothing. They are just something to flush down the toilet.”
Soon thereafter, Aigner hooked up with his most longstanding partners to expand the Eric’s Family chain of restaurants and clubs which eventually numbered up to 18 different ventures. The chain has been renamed to Love and Hunger (Lyubov i Golod, www.skukakaput.com.ua). Many of its restaurants have come and gone but others still are running: Art Cafe 44, Bierstube, The Cave, Shnitzel Haus and others.
Partners Vladyslav Maksimov, Oleksandr Trush and Vitaliy Dubenko publicly divorced Aigner late in 2006 in an effort to change the brand’s image and attract new clients. According to news reports, Dubenko said Aigner couldn’t fulfill his responsibility as Eric’s Family’s manager, which lead to losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This is when Aigner launched the New Eric’s Family brand, which also sputtered culminating with disagreements with Carter. Other former friends and clients of Aigner’s said he had borrowed money from them to open new restaurants in Kyiv, only to see them flop. He admitted he borrowed money from friends and said he will pay back as soon as he can. “This is what friends are for,” he said.
Odesa was next on Aigner’s list where he spent over two years on various ventures. There he wrote a book called Mein Quest (available at www.predmet.com) about his life in the former Soviet Union dating to his business travels to Russia in the early 1990s, and printed two thousand copies in Ukrainian.
He also ran Oreshek (The Little Nut) for six months modeled after a bar in Kyiv called Orekh (The Nut). He soon had a dispute with his partner’s wife who he said came back from a Kyiv business seminar and thought “she was the sole director of the place.”
It was during this time that Aigner launched the Tango & Eric Party Service in Odesa, an event and catering company, which – again – faltered once the financial crisis hit in full swing and orders plunged rendering the venture unprofitable.
Aigner said Ultramarine’s owners are his partners in his newest endeavor. He said he does everything from managing the club to being its creative director. “They’ve given me complete freedom,” he said.
“All I want once a person leaves my club is for them to feel completely relaxed, filled with positive " Aigner Said.
The man largely credited with establishing Kyiv’s affordable and unpretentious restaurants and nightclubs in the 1990s has returned to the capital after more than a two-year hiatus in Odesa.
Eric Aigner is back with his trademark Ho Chi Minh beard and easygoing smile. And he brought with him a team of bartenders and servers from Odesa to open a nightclub on Aug. 24 at the Ultramarine entertainment complex.
Banking on the reputation he earned in his heyday for managing places with fun staffs and informal Western-style service, it’s no surprise why the club is called Friends of Eric. As the venue opened its doors on Ukraine’s 18th birthday, club-goers, consisting mostly of Aigner’s friends and acquaintances, were asked to write words of greeting on bricks as they were stacked diagonally using cement.
Located on the mezzanine floor of the complex, the club has an elongated lounge area of sofa chairs standing on plush red carpeting, and has an identical second floor accessible on both sides by spiraling chairs. According to Aigner, the joint is designed to imbue a relaxed atmosphere of conversation and down-to-earth fun.
The same goes for the service. Aigner said he brought a team of employees with him from Odesa because people there are more laid back and it’s not beneath them to talk to clients. “I don’t need bartenders twirling and tossing mixing glasses or bottles,” Aigner said. “The idea is to be happy. It’s very important to create an atmosphere where people could meet other people, tell jokes and converse.”
He says fun is what brought him back to Kyiv. He says the happy atmosphere is missing here. “I never thought my friends would say that they miss my clubs. This is an honor to come back and run a club they’d like to visit,” the 46-year German native said.
The timing of the club’s opening is questionable in an already saturated market and given the financial crisis, which might heat up again in autumn. “I don’t need rich people coming here,” Aigner said. “I’m not afraid of the crisis, we have reasonable prices; it’s very important to have middle class level people.”
Not everyone is glad to see Aigner in Kyiv again. Former partner Ken Carter of New Zealand said Aigner defrauded him of $42,500. Carter filed civil charges last year and has subsequently won a court decision in May 2008 ordering Aigner to pay him that amount.
“I want justice, I want to stop Eric’s dishonest ways and to put him behind bars,” Carter said. “He’s a criminal.”
Aigner has called the ordeal with Carter a “farce” and said Carter ran their businesses, Tapas Bar and Blues Bar, into the ground. “He [Carter] wanted to be the director. I said we’re partners.”
The restaurateur has had tumultuous histories with former partners, dating to his first partner Ihor Pazepa, with whom he opened his two first bars in 1996. They had a falling out in 2000 stemming from a dispute revolving around their bar, Al Capone in the Podil district.
Pozepa said he locked Aigner out of the club after a series of disputes over money and personal matters.
In an archived interview with Kyiv Post, Aigner contended that Pozepa had been increasingly reluctant to pay him his part of the profits. Both sides went their separate ways after that.
“I don’t believe in contracts,” Aigner said back then in a Kyiv Post article. “Here, they mean nothing. They are just something to flush down the toilet.”
Soon thereafter, Aigner hooked up with his most longstanding partners to expand the Eric’s Family chain of restaurants and clubs which eventually numbered up to 18 different ventures. The chain has been renamed to Love and Hunger (Lyubov i Golod, www.skukakaput.com.ua). Many of its restaurants have come and gone but others still are running: Art Cafe 44, Bierstube, The Cave, Shnitzel Haus and others.
Partners Vladyslav Maksimov, Oleksandr Trush and Vitaliy Dubenko publicly divorced Aigner late in 2006 in an effort to change the brand’s image and attract new clients. According to news reports, Dubenko said Aigner couldn’t fulfill his responsibility as Eric’s Family’s manager, which lead to losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This is when Aigner launched the New Eric’s Family brand, which also sputtered culminating with disagreements with Carter. Other former friends and clients of Aigner’s said he had borrowed money from them to open new restaurants in Kyiv, only to see them flop. He admitted he borrowed money from friends and said he will pay back as soon as he can. “This is what friends are for,” he said.
Odesa was next on Aigner’s list where he spent over two years on various ventures. There he wrote a book called Mein Quest (available at www.predmet.com) about his life in the former Soviet Union dating to his business travels to Russia in the early 1990s, and printed two thousand copies in Ukrainian.
He also ran Oreshek (The Little Nut) for six months modeled after a bar in Kyiv called Orekh (The Nut). He soon had a dispute with his partner’s wife who he said came back from a Kyiv business seminar and thought “she was the sole director of the place.”
It was during this time that Aigner launched the Tango & Eric Party Service in Odesa, an event and catering company, which – again – faltered once the financial crisis hit in full swing and orders plunged rendering the venture unprofitable.
Aigner said Ultramarine’s owners are his partners in his newest endeavor. He said he does everything from managing the club to being its creative director. “They’ve given me complete freedom,” he said.
“All I want once a person leaves my club is for them to feel completely relaxed, filled with positive " Aigner Said.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Russian Diplomat Found Dead In Southern Ukraine
ODESSA, Ukraine -- Russia's vice-consul in Odessa, southern Ukraine, was discovered dead early on Monday, local media said.
"It is true, the man passed away," a diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. "I can't tell you what happened, it is being investigated."Misto.Odessa.ua, the city's news portal, reported that Igor Tsvetkov, born in 1965, apparently hanged himself in the Russian consulate building in Odessa.The diplomat's wife and child are reported to have been in an adjoining room when the alleged suicide occurred.The local police department and the Russian consulate have yet to make an official statement.Tsvetkov, the vice consul in charge of bilateral cultural cooperation, was also rumored to be responsible for providing support to pro-Russian political parties in Odessa.This January media in the southern city reported that a briefcase containing official documents was stolen from the official's car.
"It is true, the man passed away," a diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. "I can't tell you what happened, it is being investigated."Misto.Odessa.ua, the city's news portal, reported that Igor Tsvetkov, born in 1965, apparently hanged himself in the Russian consulate building in Odessa.The diplomat's wife and child are reported to have been in an adjoining room when the alleged suicide occurred.The local police department and the Russian consulate have yet to make an official statement.Tsvetkov, the vice consul in charge of bilateral cultural cooperation, was also rumored to be responsible for providing support to pro-Russian political parties in Odessa.This January media in the southern city reported that a briefcase containing official documents was stolen from the official's car.
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Ukraine showcases signature food
LVOV (RIA Novosti) - A festival dedicated to a Ukrainian specialty - salted or smoked white pork fat known as ‘salo' - has been held in the northwestern Ukrainian city of Lutsk, the city administration said on Monday.
Finely chopped pig underbelly fat is popular in Ukraine, and is often eaten with bread and garlic and a shot of vodka, and added to the national beet soup borshch. Throughout Eastern Europe, salo, along with peppered vodka known as horilka, is seen as a characteristic part of Ukrainian cuisine.
A highlight of Sunday's event was a salo speed-eating competition. Eight contestants raced to consume one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of pork fat with bread, onion and water. Last year's "salo king", 51-year-old Volodymr Stryhaniv, was declared the winner again, although he failed to equal last-year's record time of 20 minutes.
During the event, the city's authorities attempted to set a record by creating a 100-kg (220-lb) salo cake with over 50 layers of fat. The 1.6-meter (5-feet) cake was declared "the world's largest," although the record was not officially registered.
In addition, local chefs made a 23-meter (75-foot) salo sandwich. The sandwich was much shorter than last year's which stretched to 70 meters (230 feet). During the event, a Salo Lovers' Party was established.
Finely chopped pig underbelly fat is popular in Ukraine, and is often eaten with bread and garlic and a shot of vodka, and added to the national beet soup borshch. Throughout Eastern Europe, salo, along with peppered vodka known as horilka, is seen as a characteristic part of Ukrainian cuisine.
A highlight of Sunday's event was a salo speed-eating competition. Eight contestants raced to consume one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of pork fat with bread, onion and water. Last year's "salo king", 51-year-old Volodymr Stryhaniv, was declared the winner again, although he failed to equal last-year's record time of 20 minutes.
During the event, the city's authorities attempted to set a record by creating a 100-kg (220-lb) salo cake with over 50 layers of fat. The 1.6-meter (5-feet) cake was declared "the world's largest," although the record was not officially registered.
In addition, local chefs made a 23-meter (75-foot) salo sandwich. The sandwich was much shorter than last year's which stretched to 70 meters (230 feet). During the event, a Salo Lovers' Party was established.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Ukrainian Criminals Find Refuge In Russia
KIEV, Ukraine -- Corruption was endemic in Leonid Kuchma’s Ukraine and continues to plague the country under Victor Yushchenko. Law enforcement officials have attempted to prosecute some Kuchma era officialsBut in several cases, the men have fled the country and found refuge in Russia.In an attempt to bring at least one prominent person to justice, prosecutors accused Ihor Bakai, the gas tycoon and head of Naftogaz Ukraine from 1998-2000, of illegally misspending Hr 828.5 million of state funds, of abuse of power, extortion and theft of state assets.After the Orange Revolution, Bakai fled to Russia where he was granted citizenship. An international arrest warrant for Bakai was issued in May 2005. Russia has refused to hand him over.Other former officials are charged or wanted for questioning in Ukraine: former Interior Minister Mykola Bilokon, former mayor of Odessa Ruslan Bodelan, former Kiev Oblast governor Anatoliy Zasukha and the former deputy chief of the State Security Service of Ukraine, Volodymyr Satsyuk, all fled to Russia.Even if Moscow agreed to extradite the suspects, there are no guarantees that Ukrainian officials will prosecute them.Former Sumy governor Volodymyr Shcherban fled to the United States on an “investor’s visa” after the Orange Revolution. He was wanted in Ukraine on corruption charges.Shcherban triumphantly returned in November 2006, with the help of high-priced U.S. lawyers and his political ally Victor Yanukovych, who had just become prime minister.The case against Shcherban was shelved..
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Russia, Ukraine, Sevastopol,
A Nation Deeply Unhappy
Those are the damning results of a poll released on Nov. 11. The survey was commissioned by the Washington-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology and funded by the United States Agency for International Development.“The Orange Revolution provided the chance for major changes to take place in the nation. But the survey results suggest that this opportunity was not utilized by Ukraine’s political elite,” said Jamie Dettmer, IFES’ director for communications and advocacy.Of 1,218 citizens surveyed between Oct. 17 and Oct. 28, only 15 percent believe that they live in a democratic country. Ukrainians were almost unanimous in their deep disappointment with the current economic and political situation in the nation, with 93 percent registering this sentiment.The survey suggests complete frustration in a society that once had high hopes for change. “Political standstill is stalling reforms and sidelining the development of state institutions that could help Ukraine overcome crises and reach economic growth,” Dettmer added.The poll results were made public on the very day that Victor Yushchenko, Ukraine’s increasingly unpopular president, announced he would delay plans to hold a snap parliamentary election. If an early election happens at all, it will probably take place next year at the soonest.“It would not be reasonable to hold elections during the year-end holidays,” Yushchenko said during a trip to Warsaw on Nov. 11.The poll results became known a day before the Verkhovna Rada voted on Nov. 12 to oust presidential loyalist Arseniy Yatsenyuk as acting speaker. A total of 233 out of 450 members voted to get rid of Yatsenyuk, 34, as leader.The rising public dissatisfaction comes a year before a presidential election campaign expected to feature rivals Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Party of Regions leader Victor Yanukovych.Fed upThe polls also found that 76 percent of citizens believe Ukraine is moving into chaos. It shows the highest disappointment rating in recent years of any IFES-commissioned poll, its director, Rakesh Sharma, said.In February 2005, just after the Orange Revolution, some 43 percent considered Ukraine to be on the way to stability. In September 2007, during pre-term parliamentary elections, some 47 percent said that the country is becoming more stable.The picture is so much bleaker today. “It’s impossible to live and to expect that everyday life will become more worthwhile,” said Valentyna Dudenko, a Kyiv pensioner. “I don’t trust anyone in power anymore.”While the 2004 Orange Revolution was seen as a major victory for democracy in post-Soviet Ukraine, the poll clearly shows that two bitter parliamentary elections since then have eroded public trust.The poll indicated that citizens see corruption to be as widespread as ever and don’t believe the nation’s justice system is capable of defending basic human rights. Citizens polled by the IFES study said the most corrupt institutions in the country were parliament, police, customs and the educational system.Citizens are feeling the pinch of inflation, and see worsening relations with Russia as one of the most serious problems.The IFES poll shows that 84 percent don’t trust Yushchenko, 83 percent don’t trust parliament, 72 percent don’t trust the government and 63 percent mistrust Tymoshenko. The villain of the Orange Revolution – Yanukovich – was not unscathed, either. Some 64 percent distrust him, the polls indicate.“The [political elite] killed the hopes of Ukrainians from the Orange Revolution for a better state and nation,” said Mykhailo Nodelman, a Kyiv teacher who supported Yushchenko in 2004. “The president is the first to blame.”Its not only the president, but the entire presidential system of government that bothers people, too. In the IFES survey, only 25 percent favored a presidential system of government. A bit more, or 38 percent, would prefer a parliamentary system of government. Only 12 percent support the status quo, a mixed parliamentary-presidential system with unclear divisions of authority.The poll showed that only 3 percent of Ukrainians think political parties serve the interests of the population, while 56 percent said parties serve their own interests. “Ukraine’s political elite don’t understand that power means responsibility. The power must serve people, not itself,” said Kyrylo Nesterov, a university student. “I don’t see any sense in voting at the elections. My vote will change nothing.”More elections aren’t the answer, citizens say. According to the IFES poll, more than three quarters believe that an early election won’t help and a similar number believe they don’t have any influence on decision-makers.A glimmer of hopeDespite the overwhelming pessimism, analysts do not think Ukraine is on the verge of collapse. “If you were to ask people in Western Europe what they think about their politicians, they will also be heavily disappointed,” said Sergiy Taran, the director of International Democracy Institute. “People like their political elites only in authoritarian countries.”Taran said that Ukrainians' highly negative feelings today are a threat only to the current political elite. “This political elite has become bankrupt, just like its predecessor before 2004,” he said.But, unless new faces emerge, voters will be confronted with the same old choices on election ballots.
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When Love Hurts KIEV, Ukraine -- In Ukraine, bitter divorces among the country's influential and rich elite are just starting to make headlines of their own Twice-divorced real-estate tycoon Donald Trump knew how to get out clean.Along with a hand in marriage, he offered his former partners expensive accessories: pre-nuptial agreements. Ivana Trump and Marla Maples, with $25 million and $1 million in farewell dowries, respectively, even wished him well with his new brides.The painful divorce cases of the rich and famous, such as Trump, have been splattered all over tabloids in the West for decades. In Ukraine, such bitter splits among the country’s influential and rich elite are just starting to make headlines of their own.Juicy divorce details, assets in contention and even family photographs dominate the pages of such paparazzi publications as www.tabloid.com.uaYet the process of divorcing a mogul in Ukraine remains a far cry from tales of glitter, fortune and fame seen in the West. Most Ukrainians see marriage contracts as urban legends from Hollywood films with no relevance to local realities.“But when you leave home and cannot come back because of guards at the door … then it is serious,” said Marharyta Chervonenko, drawing a line through her 18 years of marriage.She married a big shot. Her ex-husband is Yevhen Chervonenko, an affluent businessman and former car racer. He is also a former transportation minister and was governor of Zaporizhya Oblast. Now he supervises preparations for the Euro 2012 soccer championship to be co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland.The Chervonenkos got divorced in 2007 without benefit of a prenup that would spell out how to divide the considerable assets. They went along with the “all-is-fair-in-love-and-war” scenario, so the split has become quite nasty.“Since then, I have been through raider attacks, bankruptcy and threats,” she said. “He once told me that I broke up with the system, not just him.”Fearing she would be left with nothing after divorce, Marharyta launched a fight over the couple’s assets two years ago along with a public campaign to defend her rights and help others in similar situations.Under Ukrainian law, divorcing couples must split everything they accumulated in marriage 50-50 – unless there is a contract, of course. The Ukrainian rich, however, rarely list assets in their own name. They declare only small official incomes, a path that leads to a lot of mystery and insinuations in turbulent times.The Chervonenko case seems to be just like that.When the former racer landed in politics, he transferred some of his businesses to his wife’s name, she said. Their properties had a different story.In court, a judge managed to revoke Marharyta’s rights to their house in a prestigious Kyiv suburb and her mother’s flat in Yalta. The ex-husband, however, was not a beneficiary.A former friend who had officially given these properties as presents to the Chervonenko family suddenly decided to take them back and won the case.Marharyta did not give up and continues appealing the verdict. Her daughter from a previous marriage also filed a lawsuit against her former stepfather, alleging that he denied her entry to the flat where she is still formally registered.Yevhen Chervonenko refused to comment on personal matters.This messy case is likely to drag on.“These processes take years,” said Zoryslava Romovska, author of Ukraine’s Family Code.“A defendant pretends he is sick, and then his lawyer is sick. Then, they are both on a holiday and so it goes in circles.”According to Justice Ministry statistics, every second marriage ends in divorce in Ukraine. But, strangely enough, prenups are still frowned upon.“A prenup will not guarantee you love, but it will ensure stability,” Romovska said.For instance, a husband moves in with his wife into her flat. Under civil law, he can live there indefinitely. However, authorities will make him leave in the event of divorce, if there is a contract. Contracts can be beneficial in other ways, too, spelling out responsibilities.“You cannot contract how many times a week you should kiss each other,” laughed Romovska. “However, no one can stop you from specifying that a woman is responsible for raising children and a man for making money.”A prenup is free in form, she added, and lawyers usually include whatever the couple thinks is important. Family law does not clarify the division of responsibilities. It says that only material rights can be discussed in a contract. But its author, Romovska, argues that domestic duties have a direct relationship to the joint assets.An average prenup costs Hr 800. However, even lawyers ignore them.One lawyer who might have wished he had a prenup is Serhiy Vlasenko, famous for defending Victor Yushchenko’s case in the Supreme Court during the disputed 2004 presidential vote. On the waves of the Orange Revolution, the popular uprising, Vlasenko set the stage for Yushchenko winning the presidency.Famous after appearing on television during the legendary court case, Vlasenko married a model and socialite, Natalya Okunska.Although it was not his bride’s first marriage and she had children, the lawyer failed to arrange a prenup. Accusing each other of adultery and assault, they divorced last September. Okunska hooked up again with her previous husband, himself high in political echelons and father of one of her children.“It’s all over the papers, I have nothing to add,” said Vlasenko, chary on words.In earlier interviews, he denied beating his wife and specified that he provides for the children in line with a financial agreement they had. Okunska, however, is complaining that she was exploited and then left with nothing.Romovska said in cases like these, there could be psychological reasons behind the mess.“Like any other divorcees, the women of oligarchs are left with a scar,” said Romovska. “Despite a car, a house and a dacha left by their husbands, they keep lamenting for their former status and money.”Not all of them, however. A Ukrainian dancer who married a distant cousin of Sophia Lauren, the famous Italian actress, said she wanted neither.“We bought a wedding dress and a tuxedo with my own money,” said Olga Kopitsa, now 32, reflecting on her marriage with Roberto Skala, now 35. “I thought the rest would come in its own time.”At a concert in Pisa, he spotted her on stage and in a few months they got married. When Kopitsa got pregnant, they moved in with his family in Naples. She claims to have felt like a prisoner there.“He rarely worked and only partied with friends,” she recalled. “His family watched my every step. I was allowed a bath only once a week and could only watch TV until nine in the evening.”She finally escaped on the pretense of a holiday in Ukraine. Kopitsa said all she wanted was a divorce to start a new life at home. But without a marriage certificate, it seemed impossible. With the help of the Italian Embassy in Kyiv, she located their marriage certificate and then divorced under Ukrainian law. In Italy, however, she may still be considered officially married. “We didn’t have a prenup. We had nothing,” she shrugged.Skala was not immediately available for comment.Most lawyers, however, recommend a contract in the event of marriage to foreigners, since divorce laws vary wildly. The Economist magazine even published “A Globetrotters Guide to Divorce” for those born in one country, married in another and working somewhere else.In Ukraine, a woman was traditionally blamed for divorce. High-profile cases were hushed up. Across the ocean, things were different. Backed by the prenup, Trump wife No. 1 wrote a self-help book for divorcees. Trump wife number No. 2 co-starred in a reality show “Ex-wives Club.”Marharyta Chervonenko seems to have started a trend by going public with her version of “The War of the Roses,” the 1989 Hollywood hit movie starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.She founded an organization called “I Am Strong” to help abandoned wives. She says in marriage she felt like a horse running in a circus arena. She now claims to be better off helping others get over the same.
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Alberta Approves Memorial Day For Ukrainian Genocide
EDMONTON, Canada -- Premier Ed Stelmach's voice cracked as he spoke about an Act introduced and passed unanimously Thursday that makes every fourth Saturday in November an official memorial day in Alberta for the Ukrainian famine and genocide, or Holodomor.
"I do this with a great range of personal emotion," said Stelmach, whose grandparents immigrated to Alberta from Ukraine a century ago.In a speech heavily peppered with Ukrainian phrases and words, Stelmach called the famine forced upon Ukrainians in the early 20th century "one of the most heinous atrocities of modern history." He outlined how millions of people from his ancestral home were starved to death by Soviet policies that stripped grains from Europe's traditional "bread basket.""My grandfather and grandmother were amongst those early pioneers who came to Alberta in the late 1890s," Stelmach said. "Marie and I still maintain the original farm that they settled on, till the same soil that they did and . . . "The premier took a long pause before continuing, "And we also give thanks for the abundant crops that soil yielded."Sadly, he said, the dark black soil of the Ukraine his own ancestors treasured could not offer the same happy yields through the early 1930s.The Act was introduced by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gene Zwozdesky - who is also of Ukrainian descent.
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Those are the damning results of a poll released on Nov. 11. The survey was commissioned by the Washington-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology and funded by the United States Agency for International Development.“The Orange Revolution provided the chance for major changes to take place in the nation. But the survey results suggest that this opportunity was not utilized by Ukraine’s political elite,” said Jamie Dettmer, IFES’ director for communications and advocacy.Of 1,218 citizens surveyed between Oct. 17 and Oct. 28, only 15 percent believe that they live in a democratic country. Ukrainians were almost unanimous in their deep disappointment with the current economic and political situation in the nation, with 93 percent registering this sentiment.The survey suggests complete frustration in a society that once had high hopes for change. “Political standstill is stalling reforms and sidelining the development of state institutions that could help Ukraine overcome crises and reach economic growth,” Dettmer added.The poll results were made public on the very day that Victor Yushchenko, Ukraine’s increasingly unpopular president, announced he would delay plans to hold a snap parliamentary election. If an early election happens at all, it will probably take place next year at the soonest.“It would not be reasonable to hold elections during the year-end holidays,” Yushchenko said during a trip to Warsaw on Nov. 11.The poll results became known a day before the Verkhovna Rada voted on Nov. 12 to oust presidential loyalist Arseniy Yatsenyuk as acting speaker. A total of 233 out of 450 members voted to get rid of Yatsenyuk, 34, as leader.The rising public dissatisfaction comes a year before a presidential election campaign expected to feature rivals Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Party of Regions leader Victor Yanukovych.Fed upThe polls also found that 76 percent of citizens believe Ukraine is moving into chaos. It shows the highest disappointment rating in recent years of any IFES-commissioned poll, its director, Rakesh Sharma, said.In February 2005, just after the Orange Revolution, some 43 percent considered Ukraine to be on the way to stability. In September 2007, during pre-term parliamentary elections, some 47 percent said that the country is becoming more stable.The picture is so much bleaker today. “It’s impossible to live and to expect that everyday life will become more worthwhile,” said Valentyna Dudenko, a Kyiv pensioner. “I don’t trust anyone in power anymore.”While the 2004 Orange Revolution was seen as a major victory for democracy in post-Soviet Ukraine, the poll clearly shows that two bitter parliamentary elections since then have eroded public trust.The poll indicated that citizens see corruption to be as widespread as ever and don’t believe the nation’s justice system is capable of defending basic human rights. Citizens polled by the IFES study said the most corrupt institutions in the country were parliament, police, customs and the educational system.Citizens are feeling the pinch of inflation, and see worsening relations with Russia as one of the most serious problems.The IFES poll shows that 84 percent don’t trust Yushchenko, 83 percent don’t trust parliament, 72 percent don’t trust the government and 63 percent mistrust Tymoshenko. The villain of the Orange Revolution – Yanukovich – was not unscathed, either. Some 64 percent distrust him, the polls indicate.“The [political elite] killed the hopes of Ukrainians from the Orange Revolution for a better state and nation,” said Mykhailo Nodelman, a Kyiv teacher who supported Yushchenko in 2004. “The president is the first to blame.”Its not only the president, but the entire presidential system of government that bothers people, too. In the IFES survey, only 25 percent favored a presidential system of government. A bit more, or 38 percent, would prefer a parliamentary system of government. Only 12 percent support the status quo, a mixed parliamentary-presidential system with unclear divisions of authority.The poll showed that only 3 percent of Ukrainians think political parties serve the interests of the population, while 56 percent said parties serve their own interests. “Ukraine’s political elite don’t understand that power means responsibility. The power must serve people, not itself,” said Kyrylo Nesterov, a university student. “I don’t see any sense in voting at the elections. My vote will change nothing.”More elections aren’t the answer, citizens say. According to the IFES poll, more than three quarters believe that an early election won’t help and a similar number believe they don’t have any influence on decision-makers.A glimmer of hopeDespite the overwhelming pessimism, analysts do not think Ukraine is on the verge of collapse. “If you were to ask people in Western Europe what they think about their politicians, they will also be heavily disappointed,” said Sergiy Taran, the director of International Democracy Institute. “People like their political elites only in authoritarian countries.”Taran said that Ukrainians' highly negative feelings today are a threat only to the current political elite. “This political elite has become bankrupt, just like its predecessor before 2004,” he said.But, unless new faces emerge, voters will be confronted with the same old choices on election ballots.
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When Love Hurts KIEV, Ukraine -- In Ukraine, bitter divorces among the country's influential and rich elite are just starting to make headlines of their own Twice-divorced real-estate tycoon Donald Trump knew how to get out clean.Along with a hand in marriage, he offered his former partners expensive accessories: pre-nuptial agreements. Ivana Trump and Marla Maples, with $25 million and $1 million in farewell dowries, respectively, even wished him well with his new brides.The painful divorce cases of the rich and famous, such as Trump, have been splattered all over tabloids in the West for decades. In Ukraine, such bitter splits among the country’s influential and rich elite are just starting to make headlines of their own.Juicy divorce details, assets in contention and even family photographs dominate the pages of such paparazzi publications as www.tabloid.com.uaYet the process of divorcing a mogul in Ukraine remains a far cry from tales of glitter, fortune and fame seen in the West. Most Ukrainians see marriage contracts as urban legends from Hollywood films with no relevance to local realities.“But when you leave home and cannot come back because of guards at the door … then it is serious,” said Marharyta Chervonenko, drawing a line through her 18 years of marriage.She married a big shot. Her ex-husband is Yevhen Chervonenko, an affluent businessman and former car racer. He is also a former transportation minister and was governor of Zaporizhya Oblast. Now he supervises preparations for the Euro 2012 soccer championship to be co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland.The Chervonenkos got divorced in 2007 without benefit of a prenup that would spell out how to divide the considerable assets. They went along with the “all-is-fair-in-love-and-war” scenario, so the split has become quite nasty.“Since then, I have been through raider attacks, bankruptcy and threats,” she said. “He once told me that I broke up with the system, not just him.”Fearing she would be left with nothing after divorce, Marharyta launched a fight over the couple’s assets two years ago along with a public campaign to defend her rights and help others in similar situations.Under Ukrainian law, divorcing couples must split everything they accumulated in marriage 50-50 – unless there is a contract, of course. The Ukrainian rich, however, rarely list assets in their own name. They declare only small official incomes, a path that leads to a lot of mystery and insinuations in turbulent times.The Chervonenko case seems to be just like that.When the former racer landed in politics, he transferred some of his businesses to his wife’s name, she said. Their properties had a different story.In court, a judge managed to revoke Marharyta’s rights to their house in a prestigious Kyiv suburb and her mother’s flat in Yalta. The ex-husband, however, was not a beneficiary.A former friend who had officially given these properties as presents to the Chervonenko family suddenly decided to take them back and won the case.Marharyta did not give up and continues appealing the verdict. Her daughter from a previous marriage also filed a lawsuit against her former stepfather, alleging that he denied her entry to the flat where she is still formally registered.Yevhen Chervonenko refused to comment on personal matters.This messy case is likely to drag on.“These processes take years,” said Zoryslava Romovska, author of Ukraine’s Family Code.“A defendant pretends he is sick, and then his lawyer is sick. Then, they are both on a holiday and so it goes in circles.”According to Justice Ministry statistics, every second marriage ends in divorce in Ukraine. But, strangely enough, prenups are still frowned upon.“A prenup will not guarantee you love, but it will ensure stability,” Romovska said.For instance, a husband moves in with his wife into her flat. Under civil law, he can live there indefinitely. However, authorities will make him leave in the event of divorce, if there is a contract. Contracts can be beneficial in other ways, too, spelling out responsibilities.“You cannot contract how many times a week you should kiss each other,” laughed Romovska. “However, no one can stop you from specifying that a woman is responsible for raising children and a man for making money.”A prenup is free in form, she added, and lawyers usually include whatever the couple thinks is important. Family law does not clarify the division of responsibilities. It says that only material rights can be discussed in a contract. But its author, Romovska, argues that domestic duties have a direct relationship to the joint assets.An average prenup costs Hr 800. However, even lawyers ignore them.One lawyer who might have wished he had a prenup is Serhiy Vlasenko, famous for defending Victor Yushchenko’s case in the Supreme Court during the disputed 2004 presidential vote. On the waves of the Orange Revolution, the popular uprising, Vlasenko set the stage for Yushchenko winning the presidency.Famous after appearing on television during the legendary court case, Vlasenko married a model and socialite, Natalya Okunska.Although it was not his bride’s first marriage and she had children, the lawyer failed to arrange a prenup. Accusing each other of adultery and assault, they divorced last September. Okunska hooked up again with her previous husband, himself high in political echelons and father of one of her children.“It’s all over the papers, I have nothing to add,” said Vlasenko, chary on words.In earlier interviews, he denied beating his wife and specified that he provides for the children in line with a financial agreement they had. Okunska, however, is complaining that she was exploited and then left with nothing.Romovska said in cases like these, there could be psychological reasons behind the mess.“Like any other divorcees, the women of oligarchs are left with a scar,” said Romovska. “Despite a car, a house and a dacha left by their husbands, they keep lamenting for their former status and money.”Not all of them, however. A Ukrainian dancer who married a distant cousin of Sophia Lauren, the famous Italian actress, said she wanted neither.“We bought a wedding dress and a tuxedo with my own money,” said Olga Kopitsa, now 32, reflecting on her marriage with Roberto Skala, now 35. “I thought the rest would come in its own time.”At a concert in Pisa, he spotted her on stage and in a few months they got married. When Kopitsa got pregnant, they moved in with his family in Naples. She claims to have felt like a prisoner there.“He rarely worked and only partied with friends,” she recalled. “His family watched my every step. I was allowed a bath only once a week and could only watch TV until nine in the evening.”She finally escaped on the pretense of a holiday in Ukraine. Kopitsa said all she wanted was a divorce to start a new life at home. But without a marriage certificate, it seemed impossible. With the help of the Italian Embassy in Kyiv, she located their marriage certificate and then divorced under Ukrainian law. In Italy, however, she may still be considered officially married. “We didn’t have a prenup. We had nothing,” she shrugged.Skala was not immediately available for comment.Most lawyers, however, recommend a contract in the event of marriage to foreigners, since divorce laws vary wildly. The Economist magazine even published “A Globetrotters Guide to Divorce” for those born in one country, married in another and working somewhere else.In Ukraine, a woman was traditionally blamed for divorce. High-profile cases were hushed up. Across the ocean, things were different. Backed by the prenup, Trump wife No. 1 wrote a self-help book for divorcees. Trump wife number No. 2 co-starred in a reality show “Ex-wives Club.”Marharyta Chervonenko seems to have started a trend by going public with her version of “The War of the Roses,” the 1989 Hollywood hit movie starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.She founded an organization called “I Am Strong” to help abandoned wives. She says in marriage she felt like a horse running in a circus arena. She now claims to be better off helping others get over the same.
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Alberta Approves Memorial Day For Ukrainian Genocide
EDMONTON, Canada -- Premier Ed Stelmach's voice cracked as he spoke about an Act introduced and passed unanimously Thursday that makes every fourth Saturday in November an official memorial day in Alberta for the Ukrainian famine and genocide, or Holodomor.
"I do this with a great range of personal emotion," said Stelmach, whose grandparents immigrated to Alberta from Ukraine a century ago.In a speech heavily peppered with Ukrainian phrases and words, Stelmach called the famine forced upon Ukrainians in the early 20th century "one of the most heinous atrocities of modern history." He outlined how millions of people from his ancestral home were starved to death by Soviet policies that stripped grains from Europe's traditional "bread basket.""My grandfather and grandmother were amongst those early pioneers who came to Alberta in the late 1890s," Stelmach said. "Marie and I still maintain the original farm that they settled on, till the same soil that they did and . . . "The premier took a long pause before continuing, "And we also give thanks for the abundant crops that soil yielded."Sadly, he said, the dark black soil of the Ukraine his own ancestors treasured could not offer the same happy yields through the early 1930s.The Act was introduced by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gene Zwozdesky - who is also of Ukrainian descent.
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Russia and Ukraine
Struggling Ukraine Braces For Tough IMF Medicine
KIEV, Ukraine -- The global economic crisis has hit with hurricane force in Ukraine, which faces turmoil as it seeks to comply with the terms of an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund, experts said.
As world leaders head to Washington for a summit on the crisis this weekend, Ukraine has the dubious distinction of being the first country to get IMF help this year, having been approved for a 16.4-billion-dollar loan last week.Ukraine received the first tranche of the rescue loan Monday, boosting state efforts to prop up banks amid a broad downturn, largely caused by a drop in the price of steel, the key export of this ex-Soviet republic of 46 million people.The Washington-based fund offered assistance once Kiev adopted a package of measures including "a prudent fiscal stance," Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, IMF mission chief for Ukraine, told reporters after the loan was approved.Those steps included a bank rescue programme, a zero-deficit budget for 2009 and movement towards "a flexible exchange rate" for the hryvnia, Ukraine's embattled currency.Some experts fear that could lead to a further devaluation after the hryvnia fell about 20 percent against the dollar in recent weeks."The purchasing power of Ukrainian consumers in dollar and euro terms will become worse. Much worse," said Dmytro Boyarchuk, the head of CASE Ukraine, an economics research centre in Kiev.Meanwhile, the balanced budget along with reduced tax revenues from the steel sector means the government will have trouble paying social benefits, Boyarchuk said."Next year we can expect many backlogs in the payment of pensions," he said.And in a move likely to cause grumbling this winter, Pazarbasioglu said Kiev had pledged "to correct the pricing policies in the energy sector," meaning an end to subsidized heating bills.Ukrainians face a 35 percent rise in their gas bills starting December 1, according to media reports.All this is unwelcome at a time when mass layoffs are expected in Ukraine's industrial east, work is frozen at numerous construction sites and more than 20 banks have received help from Kiev's central bank to ease liquidity problems.Experts described the IMF's terms as painful but necessary and argued that some measures were inevitable."The rise in gas fees would have happened anyway," said Ildar Gazizullin, an economist at the International Centre for Policy Studies in Kiev.The IMF loan restored confidence in Ukraine and its conditions "will force the politicians to focus and work together," said Peter Vanhecke, chief executive of Renaissance Capital Ukraine, an investment bank."With the IMF you get an international stamp of approval for your country," Vanhecke said in an interview.The decision to accept the IMF's tough medicine was a sharp turnaround for Ukrainian politicians, accustomed to handing out government largesse after years of rapid economic growth."Politicians will have to adjust their populist rhetoric and wean the populace off the idea that the government can guarantee social benefits when the money is lacking," the Kyiv Post, a weekly newspaper, said in an editorial.Aside from the economic fallout, some also fear the crisis could undermine democracy in Ukraine, which faces an ongoing political crisis that may lead to snap parliamentary elections early next year.Kiev's ruling pro-Western coalition collapsed in September amid feuding between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, former allies in the "Orange Revolution" of 2004."The economic crisis, as well the extended political crisis... have boosted society's desire for order, for the 'strong hand' model of government," said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Penta think tank in Kiev.That may increase the appeal of neighbouring Russia, where former president Vladimir Putin embarked on an authoritarian path during his eight years in the Kremlin, Fesenko added."There is some demand for a Ukrainian Putin," he said. "But it's not clear whether there is such a person."
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NATO Reaffirms Close Ties With Ukraine
TALLINN, Estonia -- NATO defense ministers on Thursday reaffirmed the alliance's commitment to assist Ukraine in its goal of joining the military bloc, a move likely to further strain the West's relations with Russia.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the meeting with Ukrainian defense officials was "productive" but that Ukraine still faced numerous obstacles before it could become a NATO member."It's clear that ... Ukraine still has some distance to go in being ready for membership in the alliance," he said.Ukrainian leaders need to bolster public support for NATO membership and address budget constraints for financing military reform, Gates said.Even the talks, designed to assess overall bilateral cooperation and whether Ukraine has met targets, is likely to anger Russia.Russia, which borders Ukraine, is vehemently opposed to Ukrainian membership in the military alliance and generally regards NATO as irrelevant after the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991.One thing NATO members receive is a promise of mutual defense if any of them are attacked by countries outside the alliance.NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer dismissed Moscow's objections to strengthening ties between the military alliance and Ukraine."A country's right to freely choose its security alignments is an important principle ... and it is a principle that we will not compromise," de Hoop Scheffer said.Earlier this year NATO leaders said at a summit in Romania that Ukraine could eventually become a member of the alliance.However, many NATO members are tepid toward the prospect of Ukrainian membership, given the country's political turmoil and a lack of popular support among the population for the military alliance.Ukrainian Defense Minister Yury Yekhanurov acknowledged the criticism of Ukraine and that Kiev was facing an uphill struggle in integrating with the military alliance. Much of the problem, he said, boiled down to a lack of money to implement reforms."Sometimes in Ukraine there is a lack of funds for necessary reforms in the security sector," Yekhanurov said.He said 19 non-governmental organizations are working with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to bolster public support for NATO membership.Ukraine and Russia have traded barbs in recent weeks, particularly over Russia's naval fleet in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol. Russia wants to keep its warships at the base after the current contract expires in 2017, but the current Ukrainian government insists that the ships should leave.Yekhanurov reiterated Thursday that Ukraine was unhappy with having no control over Russian ships anchored at the Sevaspotol base as this could draw the nation into an armed conflict with a third country.Russia used its Black Fleet ships stationed in Sevastopol in its war against Ukraine's ally Georgia in August.
.......................................................................................................................................................................
KIEV, Ukraine -- The global economic crisis has hit with hurricane force in Ukraine, which faces turmoil as it seeks to comply with the terms of an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund, experts said.
As world leaders head to Washington for a summit on the crisis this weekend, Ukraine has the dubious distinction of being the first country to get IMF help this year, having been approved for a 16.4-billion-dollar loan last week.Ukraine received the first tranche of the rescue loan Monday, boosting state efforts to prop up banks amid a broad downturn, largely caused by a drop in the price of steel, the key export of this ex-Soviet republic of 46 million people.The Washington-based fund offered assistance once Kiev adopted a package of measures including "a prudent fiscal stance," Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, IMF mission chief for Ukraine, told reporters after the loan was approved.Those steps included a bank rescue programme, a zero-deficit budget for 2009 and movement towards "a flexible exchange rate" for the hryvnia, Ukraine's embattled currency.Some experts fear that could lead to a further devaluation after the hryvnia fell about 20 percent against the dollar in recent weeks."The purchasing power of Ukrainian consumers in dollar and euro terms will become worse. Much worse," said Dmytro Boyarchuk, the head of CASE Ukraine, an economics research centre in Kiev.Meanwhile, the balanced budget along with reduced tax revenues from the steel sector means the government will have trouble paying social benefits, Boyarchuk said."Next year we can expect many backlogs in the payment of pensions," he said.And in a move likely to cause grumbling this winter, Pazarbasioglu said Kiev had pledged "to correct the pricing policies in the energy sector," meaning an end to subsidized heating bills.Ukrainians face a 35 percent rise in their gas bills starting December 1, according to media reports.All this is unwelcome at a time when mass layoffs are expected in Ukraine's industrial east, work is frozen at numerous construction sites and more than 20 banks have received help from Kiev's central bank to ease liquidity problems.Experts described the IMF's terms as painful but necessary and argued that some measures were inevitable."The rise in gas fees would have happened anyway," said Ildar Gazizullin, an economist at the International Centre for Policy Studies in Kiev.The IMF loan restored confidence in Ukraine and its conditions "will force the politicians to focus and work together," said Peter Vanhecke, chief executive of Renaissance Capital Ukraine, an investment bank."With the IMF you get an international stamp of approval for your country," Vanhecke said in an interview.The decision to accept the IMF's tough medicine was a sharp turnaround for Ukrainian politicians, accustomed to handing out government largesse after years of rapid economic growth."Politicians will have to adjust their populist rhetoric and wean the populace off the idea that the government can guarantee social benefits when the money is lacking," the Kyiv Post, a weekly newspaper, said in an editorial.Aside from the economic fallout, some also fear the crisis could undermine democracy in Ukraine, which faces an ongoing political crisis that may lead to snap parliamentary elections early next year.Kiev's ruling pro-Western coalition collapsed in September amid feuding between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, former allies in the "Orange Revolution" of 2004."The economic crisis, as well the extended political crisis... have boosted society's desire for order, for the 'strong hand' model of government," said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Penta think tank in Kiev.That may increase the appeal of neighbouring Russia, where former president Vladimir Putin embarked on an authoritarian path during his eight years in the Kremlin, Fesenko added."There is some demand for a Ukrainian Putin," he said. "But it's not clear whether there is such a person."
.........................................................................................................................................................................
NATO Reaffirms Close Ties With Ukraine
TALLINN, Estonia -- NATO defense ministers on Thursday reaffirmed the alliance's commitment to assist Ukraine in its goal of joining the military bloc, a move likely to further strain the West's relations with Russia.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the meeting with Ukrainian defense officials was "productive" but that Ukraine still faced numerous obstacles before it could become a NATO member."It's clear that ... Ukraine still has some distance to go in being ready for membership in the alliance," he said.Ukrainian leaders need to bolster public support for NATO membership and address budget constraints for financing military reform, Gates said.Even the talks, designed to assess overall bilateral cooperation and whether Ukraine has met targets, is likely to anger Russia.Russia, which borders Ukraine, is vehemently opposed to Ukrainian membership in the military alliance and generally regards NATO as irrelevant after the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991.One thing NATO members receive is a promise of mutual defense if any of them are attacked by countries outside the alliance.NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer dismissed Moscow's objections to strengthening ties between the military alliance and Ukraine."A country's right to freely choose its security alignments is an important principle ... and it is a principle that we will not compromise," de Hoop Scheffer said.Earlier this year NATO leaders said at a summit in Romania that Ukraine could eventually become a member of the alliance.However, many NATO members are tepid toward the prospect of Ukrainian membership, given the country's political turmoil and a lack of popular support among the population for the military alliance.Ukrainian Defense Minister Yury Yekhanurov acknowledged the criticism of Ukraine and that Kiev was facing an uphill struggle in integrating with the military alliance. Much of the problem, he said, boiled down to a lack of money to implement reforms."Sometimes in Ukraine there is a lack of funds for necessary reforms in the security sector," Yekhanurov said.He said 19 non-governmental organizations are working with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to bolster public support for NATO membership.Ukraine and Russia have traded barbs in recent weeks, particularly over Russia's naval fleet in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol. Russia wants to keep its warships at the base after the current contract expires in 2017, but the current Ukrainian government insists that the ships should leave.Yekhanurov reiterated Thursday that Ukraine was unhappy with having no control over Russian ships anchored at the Sevaspotol base as this could draw the nation into an armed conflict with a third country.Russia used its Black Fleet ships stationed in Sevastopol in its war against Ukraine's ally Georgia in August.
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Russia and Ukraine
From Ukraine With Attitude-LONDON, England -- Olga Kurylenko talks to The Globe and Mail about playing one of the new Bond girls to Daniel Craig's 007 in Quantum of Solace, the latest entry in the durable franchise
Ah, the Bond Girl. Devastatingly beautiful, good with a gun (or a knife, a sports car, an atom bomb and even, in one spectacular instance of cheap 007 Freudian play, her neck-snapping thighs), devilish but gold-hearted (she really just wants to be loved), the Bond Girl is as reliable an archetype as Bond himself, if not more so.A swell Bond Girl will enliven even the worst late-period Roger Moore or Timothy Dalton franchise wheeze. Remember Grace Jones and her tower of laser-cut hair in A View to a Kill, or scary-perky Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist in The World Is Not Enough? Of course you do, because the 007 movies have always been more about the exotic, ludicrous women than the personality-deprived contract killer doing the Queen's dirty work.While the latest revival of the Bond brand has generated an enormous amount of ink about the suitability of Daniel Craig — probably because he's the first Bond since Sean Connery to take the part seriously and play against the camp factor, to wallow in Bond's dark, murderous well of self-loathing — the Bond Girls have yet to catch up.And, yes, my post-feminist friends, the producers still call them "girls." In the Bond world, you can blow up a building, fly a cargo plane, or plug any number of goons with hot lead, but if you're female, you're still not quite a grownup. Eva Green made a valiant attempt in Casino Royale to turn the Girl into a Bond Woman, but she got bumped off in the end.Enter Olga Kurylenko's Camille, another beautiful but damned creature with a scarred past (literally in this case) and a disarming pout. Already a star in France, Kurylenko will be familiar to North American audiences from Paris, je t'aime, wherein she played a vampire, or from her two other sexy-people-with-guns movies, Hitman and Max Payne.While Kurylenko hardly breaks the Bond Girl mould, it's not for lack of trying. In every scene she has to herself, the energetic actress practically inhales the screen, daring to out-sulk and out-glare Craig. But then, stuff starts to blow up and she's quickly relegated to the familiar damsel in (flawlessly made-up) distress role.Now that America has an African-American president, is it too much to ask for a Bond heroine who's not half 007's age and who wears army boots, not heels, to a shootout?The Bond films, after 21 previous instalments, are now entertainment machines. How do you make your mark as an artist when the franchise is more important than the players?Well, you know, it's funny, because I didn't feel that at all. For me, first off, it was my first time. Probably if you do only that kind of film, it becomes, you know, too much, and I don't want to do that. The goal is to do as many different parts as possible. But, for me, it was the first time I had to do my own stunts, and I had to learn so much, and it was so exciting! I've never done anything like this ever — why else would I do it?Watching you do action scenes in beautiful haute couture outfits was a marvel.Well, it was not haute couture! It was just simple.But pretty. How do you jump out of an airplane in a bespoke dress?In the last scene, I'm just wearing jeans, that was very handy. And in the first part of the movie, I'm wearing a skirt and I go on the boat, and what we chose is a bathing suit for under the skirt. It's perfect! It's one piece, so if I turn over in the skirt, it's not like you see my underwear! Ha! At the same time, it looks cool. This girl is always ready to fight, so she dresses accordingly, but at the same time she can't walk around in cargo pants, because she has to be attractive, because she uses her looks for charming people. She has to be in between. She goes for something cute, but at the same time very handy. No bling-bling, no diamonds, nothing crazy, because she's ready to run.Many actresses have played Bond heroines, and some have done very well after, but some less so. There is a belief that the role comes with a curse.No, no, I don't believe in that. I believe I'm going to keep working. I've already done a film after this, and I'm the main character. We can't generalize. It's about what you want to do. I want to work, I want to act, not just be present in movies. When you want something, you work on it.You are Ukrainian, but most of your work has been done in French. Now you're playing a Latino secret agent. Only in Hollywood!Yeah! Ha! But I think it's great, you know? Talk about transformation. That's why this job is so interesting, because you have to go in the skin of different people. They can be from all over the world. People ask me, when I am tanned, if I am Brazilian. I always get that. In Paris, in New York, people ask me what I am. So I knew it was something I could do, because I've heard it before.You're taller than Daniel Craig. Did they make you stand in a ditch?I don't think I am taller! No, no! But if I put heels on, I think I am the same height. But without the heels, he is taller.How many films do you have to make before the press stops calling you a "model/actress"?Ah, it's their fault! I don't know why they call me that! I think people just don't want to think, so they keep writing that. I guess they need to present that I was a model before, so they keep talking about that. At the same time, it is my past, but I don't do it any more, so what do they want me to do?The film has a very open ending. Are you in the next one?Ha! I don't think so! I mean, nobody has spoken to me about that. Ask the producers! There is no Bond Girl who ever came back, because each time they need new women, so I don't think it's going to happen.Are you ready for this sudden leap into global fame?I don't think you can ever be ready. It's all happening so fast, some days it's like a big wave coming at me. It's unbelievable. And it's fun! People say I am lucky, but it's not just luck, you have to know how to catch the luck. And it could end tomorrow, so I'm enjoying it and I appreciate it.PARTICULARS*Born Nov. 14, 1979, Berdyansk, Ukraine.*What's next? Olga Kurylenko's next film is Tyranny, about a man who participates in a brain-mapping experiment and begins to see images of what may be a conspiracy to take over the world. Then she returns to the Femme Nikita thing as a prostitute/hit woman in next year's Kirot.*Oh, those Communists! A Communist group in St. Petersburg, Russia, has accused the actress of "moral and intellectual betrayal" for starring in a film with James Bond, who of course is the arch-nemesis of the Soviet Union. Okay then.
Ah, the Bond Girl. Devastatingly beautiful, good with a gun (or a knife, a sports car, an atom bomb and even, in one spectacular instance of cheap 007 Freudian play, her neck-snapping thighs), devilish but gold-hearted (she really just wants to be loved), the Bond Girl is as reliable an archetype as Bond himself, if not more so.A swell Bond Girl will enliven even the worst late-period Roger Moore or Timothy Dalton franchise wheeze. Remember Grace Jones and her tower of laser-cut hair in A View to a Kill, or scary-perky Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist in The World Is Not Enough? Of course you do, because the 007 movies have always been more about the exotic, ludicrous women than the personality-deprived contract killer doing the Queen's dirty work.While the latest revival of the Bond brand has generated an enormous amount of ink about the suitability of Daniel Craig — probably because he's the first Bond since Sean Connery to take the part seriously and play against the camp factor, to wallow in Bond's dark, murderous well of self-loathing — the Bond Girls have yet to catch up.And, yes, my post-feminist friends, the producers still call them "girls." In the Bond world, you can blow up a building, fly a cargo plane, or plug any number of goons with hot lead, but if you're female, you're still not quite a grownup. Eva Green made a valiant attempt in Casino Royale to turn the Girl into a Bond Woman, but she got bumped off in the end.Enter Olga Kurylenko's Camille, another beautiful but damned creature with a scarred past (literally in this case) and a disarming pout. Already a star in France, Kurylenko will be familiar to North American audiences from Paris, je t'aime, wherein she played a vampire, or from her two other sexy-people-with-guns movies, Hitman and Max Payne.While Kurylenko hardly breaks the Bond Girl mould, it's not for lack of trying. In every scene she has to herself, the energetic actress practically inhales the screen, daring to out-sulk and out-glare Craig. But then, stuff starts to blow up and she's quickly relegated to the familiar damsel in (flawlessly made-up) distress role.Now that America has an African-American president, is it too much to ask for a Bond heroine who's not half 007's age and who wears army boots, not heels, to a shootout?The Bond films, after 21 previous instalments, are now entertainment machines. How do you make your mark as an artist when the franchise is more important than the players?Well, you know, it's funny, because I didn't feel that at all. For me, first off, it was my first time. Probably if you do only that kind of film, it becomes, you know, too much, and I don't want to do that. The goal is to do as many different parts as possible. But, for me, it was the first time I had to do my own stunts, and I had to learn so much, and it was so exciting! I've never done anything like this ever — why else would I do it?Watching you do action scenes in beautiful haute couture outfits was a marvel.Well, it was not haute couture! It was just simple.But pretty. How do you jump out of an airplane in a bespoke dress?In the last scene, I'm just wearing jeans, that was very handy. And in the first part of the movie, I'm wearing a skirt and I go on the boat, and what we chose is a bathing suit for under the skirt. It's perfect! It's one piece, so if I turn over in the skirt, it's not like you see my underwear! Ha! At the same time, it looks cool. This girl is always ready to fight, so she dresses accordingly, but at the same time she can't walk around in cargo pants, because she has to be attractive, because she uses her looks for charming people. She has to be in between. She goes for something cute, but at the same time very handy. No bling-bling, no diamonds, nothing crazy, because she's ready to run.Many actresses have played Bond heroines, and some have done very well after, but some less so. There is a belief that the role comes with a curse.No, no, I don't believe in that. I believe I'm going to keep working. I've already done a film after this, and I'm the main character. We can't generalize. It's about what you want to do. I want to work, I want to act, not just be present in movies. When you want something, you work on it.You are Ukrainian, but most of your work has been done in French. Now you're playing a Latino secret agent. Only in Hollywood!Yeah! Ha! But I think it's great, you know? Talk about transformation. That's why this job is so interesting, because you have to go in the skin of different people. They can be from all over the world. People ask me, when I am tanned, if I am Brazilian. I always get that. In Paris, in New York, people ask me what I am. So I knew it was something I could do, because I've heard it before.You're taller than Daniel Craig. Did they make you stand in a ditch?I don't think I am taller! No, no! But if I put heels on, I think I am the same height. But without the heels, he is taller.How many films do you have to make before the press stops calling you a "model/actress"?Ah, it's their fault! I don't know why they call me that! I think people just don't want to think, so they keep writing that. I guess they need to present that I was a model before, so they keep talking about that. At the same time, it is my past, but I don't do it any more, so what do they want me to do?The film has a very open ending. Are you in the next one?Ha! I don't think so! I mean, nobody has spoken to me about that. Ask the producers! There is no Bond Girl who ever came back, because each time they need new women, so I don't think it's going to happen.Are you ready for this sudden leap into global fame?I don't think you can ever be ready. It's all happening so fast, some days it's like a big wave coming at me. It's unbelievable. And it's fun! People say I am lucky, but it's not just luck, you have to know how to catch the luck. And it could end tomorrow, so I'm enjoying it and I appreciate it.PARTICULARS*Born Nov. 14, 1979, Berdyansk, Ukraine.*What's next? Olga Kurylenko's next film is Tyranny, about a man who participates in a brain-mapping experiment and begins to see images of what may be a conspiracy to take over the world. Then she returns to the Femme Nikita thing as a prostitute/hit woman in next year's Kirot.*Oh, those Communists! A Communist group in St. Petersburg, Russia, has accused the actress of "moral and intellectual betrayal" for starring in a film with James Bond, who of course is the arch-nemesis of the Soviet Union. Okay then.
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