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| Ambassador of Ukraine, Mr. Yurii Bogaievsky |
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| The recent events in Ukraine drew close attention to this nation, again, not only as a country with hospitable people, magnificent architecture and history and miles of gently rolling steppe, but as an example of democracy, pride and civility. |
| When voting for the new president became controversial, at the end of October and then in November of 2004, the world turned its attention to the suspect of vote-rigging. The Ambassador of Ukraine, Mr. Yurii Bogaievsky, talked to THE GUIDE about these events. |
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| Mr. Yurii Bogaievsky. |
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| THE GUIDE Could you tell us, in your own words, the sequence of events that has put Ukraine in the focus of attention of all the Europe and the rest of the world? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky In the past few months the people in Ukraine has shown the outside world a wonderful example of fight for civility and democracy. We had a troubled voting process in the country after the voting in the presidential election gave Mr Yushchenko, a leader of the opposition and former Prime-Minister, a small lead of just 0.5% against the Prime-Minister Mr Yanukovych which triggered a second-round ballot. The second round of voting took place after a period of rising tensions and manifestations of Mr. Yushchenko supporters? Who rejected the results announced by the Central Election Commission. In the following days the protests build, despite sub-zero temperatures. About 200,000 orange-clad (the color the supporters of Mr. Yushchenko wear) opposition supporters rallied at the Independence Square in the center of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. The Supreme Court, after days of deliberation, ruled for the annulment of those results and decided to have a revote of a second round. The third and decisive round of the presidential voting proceeded smoothly. The people of Ukraine did not accept the abuses and frauds in the electoral process and went to the streets, together, until the justice prevailed. After months, Mr. Yushchenko finally was considered the winner and was elected new President of Ukraine. |
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| The passion for the "new Ukraine" and the hope of a more united people by the Ambassador was inspiring. |
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| THE GUIDE And what are the expectations towards the new government? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky I, myself, and all my staff, are fervorous supporters of Mr. Yushchenko. We trust that many changes will happen now. The approach of this administration is much more dynamic and democratic, people are becoming more confident and relieved. But we have to see the expected results and decisions which millions of our people want to see. |
| THE GUIDE In what manners would the administration be different from the previous one? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky The proposal of Mr. Yushchenko is to open the doors wide to the rest of the world and focus on the acceptance of Ukraine into the European Union. The new government is working on a strategic foreign policy goal of EU membership, reorganized to add a real, rather than rhetorical, dimension and content to the process of integration into the European Union. Ukraine is a European nation. We have belonged to this continent for centuries, and the rest of Europe has to recognize this fact. |
| THE GUIDE Ambassador, what is the feeling when seeing your country walking towards these new times, after this unarmed "revolution"? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky It is a wonderful feeling. It is great to see Ukraine definitely gaining its identity, we have been a democracy for a little time, only 14 years, and suddenly we experience democracy this way... Never the Ukrainian people have been so actively involved in the politics and they were so eager to express what they felt. And the general feeling in Ukraine is of trust and hope to see changes that would really happen, to see Ukraine be treated as an equal member of the world community. We hope that President Yushchenko will lead Ukraine into a new era of democratic development and domestic progress. Our country has all the necessary potential for this. |
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| Mr. Yuri Demydenko, Second Secretary of the Embassy and responsible for the Cultural and Press matters in the Embassy. |
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| THE GUIDE How long have you been in Brazil? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky I arrived in Brazil on September 28th, 2001, so soon it will be 3 years of my diplomatic mission in this country, where I have the great honor and privilege to represent my country, Ukraine. |
| THE GUIDE Have you been to other places in Brazil? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky My wife and I already have had several opportunities to visit some other parts of this vast and beautiful country, namely the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina and we enjoyed the hospitality of good and very friendly people. During our contacts with Brazilians, we felt interest and respect for Ukraine and a sincere wish to develop with our country a mutually beneficial cooperation. |
| THE GUIDE Do you see many differences between the Ukraine and Brazil? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky Of course, there are many differences between our countries, and it's natural. Ukraine and Brazil have long and different histories, different but rich cultures and different but beautiful nature. These differences, however, do not prevent the desire of both nations to develop good and friendly relationship. |
| THE GUIDE How are the bilateral affairs between Ukraine and Brazil? |
Ambassador Bogaievsky There are many areas where our countries can and already cooperate fruitfully complimenting each other's economic development. For this, Ukraine and Brazil have the necessary potential. We have good perspectives for a mutually beneficial cooperation in the area of peaceful exploration of outer space, in the fields of energy and agriculture, as well as in humanitarian and cultural areas. I have to note with satisfaction that during the last two years we have also witnessed a stable tendency in the growth of volumes of our bilateral trade that has started only since 1991 when Ukraine has regained its state independence.
As Ambassador, I also acknowledge with great pleasure the growth of our partners in this country. The exchange of official delegations and business people has substantially increased, and it gives me all reasons to be very optimistic about the future of our bilateral relations.
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| THE GUIDE Are there many Ukrainians living in Brazil? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky There are approximately some 400 thousand citizens in Brazil who have Ukrainian descent. Although 90 percent of them were born here, there's a strong feeling among the Ukrainian community of its close kinship with Ukraine. Our Embassy and our consular offices in Rio de Janeiro and especially in Curitiba have good relationships with the local Ukrainian community and its leaders. On our part, we try to do our best to help our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Brazil to preserve there close links with Ukraine - the land of their forefathers. |
| THE GUIDE How is the government regime in your country? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky Presently, we have the presidential-parliamentarian system of power. According to the Constitution, the President, the head of state, is also the head of the executive power. We have the Government, or the Cabinet of Ministers, chaired by the Prime Minister, and the 450-seat Parliament or the Verkhovna Rada. Despite the differences within the political spectrum of the society, we witness a prevailing belief that Ukraine, as an European nation, which it has always been, will definitely continue to move ahead in adapting its political system with the present-day requirements and which will serve the best national interests of our country and its people. |
| THE GUIDE What is the foreign policy of your country? |
| Ambassador Bogaievsky Firstly, our foreign policy is aimed at promoting, the world over, the country's national interests and its potential. Secondly, it serves to build a mutually beneficial cooperation with the rest of the world. As any other country, we also have our political and economic interests in various parts of the globe. Since 1991, we have managed to establish good relations with many countries, and with a number of them, including Brazil, we are developing a partnership relationship.
Our foreign policy is open, and we base our cooperation with other states on the principles of mutual respect and the established norms of international law.
Today Ukraine is a very active player in international affairs and it is a recognized fact. |
Full country name: Ukraine
Area: 603,700 sq km
Population: 47.3 million
Capital City: Kiev (pop 2.6 million)
People: Ukrainian 73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%
Language: Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
Religion: Ukrainian Orthodox, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic, Protestant, Jewish
Government: Republic
Head of State: President Viktor A. Yushchenko
Head of Government: Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko
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