Record at border: over 350,000 people enter Ukraine in one day!

June 26, 2012 (Information Centre Ukraine-2012) Ukraine’s state border was crossed in one day by the largest number of people during the recent period: over 340,000, along with 68,000 vehicles, the State Border Service reports, according to Information Centre Ukraine-2012. Let us note that passenger and transport flow saw a substantial increase during the quarter-final matches played in Donetsk and Kyiv. Starting from 5 June, the border was crossed by almost 5.7 million persons and 1.2 million vehicles.
Border guards expect the passenger flow to grow further, and in particular, forecasts are made that the number of fans from Spain and Portugal coming to the semi-final match between the national teams of these countries to be played in Donetsk will increase.
The following means of transport were admitted to cross the border for entering Ukraine during the last 24 hours: 25,377 cars (23,290 of them through “green corridor”), 634 buses, (362 of them through “green corridor”), 114 passenger trains, 255 aircraft and 80 ships.
The following means of transport crossed the border to leave the country: 38,053 cars (36,423 of them through the “green corridor”), 692 buses (389 of them through the “green corridor”), 11 passenger trains, 245 aircraft and 75 ships.
The State Border Service is emphasizing that delays in customs clearance of participants and fans have not been recorded, the border is free, and it can be easily crossed.

Ukrainain PM got a beer from the head of Swedish supporters camp Ola Sjostedt

(June 14, 2012 Ukrainian News) The head of the Swedish supporters camp, Ola Sjostedt, has given Prime Minister Mykola Azarov a beer after losing a bet that the Swedish national football team will win its match against Ukraine. The Swedish football fan met with the Ukrainian Prime Minister in the Cabinet of Ministers building. While waiting for Azarov, the Swede told the press that he had already visited Ukraine 11 times and that he liked the country very much. In addition, he said that he would remember his meeting with the Ukrainian prime minister and that he would definitely tell his friends about it. Ukrainian journalist asked whether he was married. 

"I am married to football," he replied, smiling.  He said that he worked as a programmer in Sweden. Azarov entered the room when the Swede was telling journalists about his experiences. 

"Well, should we drink beer?" the Ukrainian prime minister immediately asked.

 In response, Sjostedt surprised Azarov by taking six bottles of Swedish beer out of a plastic bag.

"I will support you on Friday because I want you to defeat the English," Azarov said.

Sjostedt and Azarov drank some beer and Azarov described the Swedish beer as classy.

"I earned this beer honestly," Azarov said.

He asked Sjostedt to tell his Swedish friends that they are very welcome in Ukraine. The Swedish fan presented Azarov with a scarf bearing the symbols of the Swedish national football team and the Ukrainian prime minister presented him with an embroidered clothing and a bas-relief with a view of St. Andrew's Church. On June 11, Azarov visited the official fan zone in Kyiv where he bet a bottle of beer that the Ukrainian national team would win.  The prime minister said that he was ready to bet a bottle of brandy with any French football fan that the Ukrainian national team would defeat the French national team.

See video about the meeting between Ukrainian PM Mykola Azarov and Ola Sjostedt at

http://www.itv.com/news/2012-06-13/swedish-fan-buys-beer-for-ukraine-pm-after-losing-bet/

City self-government flag comes back to Kyiv from Stockholm for the first time after a 360-year absence

May 31, 2012 (THE DAY WEEKLY DIGEST).
A total of 21 items, including ancient seals and parchment pictures, a flag and an armorial, are part of the exhibit “Old Kyiv Self-Government Relics” which was recently opened at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. Many of them are being displayed in Kyiv for the first time. What really astonishes one is the scope of the exhibit. According to the organizers, eight institutions, including museums, archives, and libraries, from five countries – Sweden, Germany, Russia, Poland, and Ukraine – took part in preparing the event.
“It was planned to hold about 350 events as part of the 1,530th anniversary celebrations, but this exhibit is of special importance because some relics are coming home after a long absence,” Kyiv’s Mayor Oleksandr POPOV says. “We would like as many people as possible, especially the younger generation, to see these unique things.”
The oldest relic exhibited is a Kyiv seal that dates back to the first half of the 16th century. This rarity, furnished by the Sheremetievs family museum, is being displayed for the first time in public. What is also coming back to Kyiv from Stockholm after a 360-year break is the city self-government flag kept at Sweden’s State Trophy Collection.
One of the most valuable artifacts, which, incidentally, came from Germany, is Georg Ortenburg’s Armorial of 1602-04 (part of Conrad Gruenenberg’s Wappenbuch, 1408). The massive paper manuscript comprises 20 drawings and about 2,000 coats of arms, including the oldest known picture of Kyiv’s coat of arms.
Also among the exhibited items there is a plaque from the burial place of Kyiv Burgomaster Ivan Skazka, dated 1647. The exhibit also displays two unique documents: the rescript of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on appointing Danylo Polotsky as Kyiv vogt (reeve), dated June 20, 1667), and the rescript of Peter I on approving Dmytro Polotsky’s appointment as Kyiv vogt under the decree of Hetman Ivan Mazepa.
There also are such important historical sources as copies of mid-17th century drawings by Abraham van Westerfeld, a participant in the military campaign of Lithuania Hetman Janusz Radziwill. Among the other mementos of that period are sketches of Cossack flags from Radziwill’s archive, which were captured in 1651 in Kyiv and are currently stored at the Russian National Library. The German Ambassador to Ukraine, Hans-Juergen Heimsoeth, said in his welcoming address:
“This exhibit proves that, from the 15th century onwards, Kyiv was deeply involved in European history and enjoyed medieval self-government. This shows European traditions in Ukraine’s legislation and governance.”
The Swedish Ambassador, Stefen Gullgren, also emphasized the importance of such exhibits as a factor of integration and cooperation:
“We have been fruitfully cooperating with Ukraine, including the National Historical Museum, for many years. On the whole, it is 15 years of cooperation between Swedish and Ukrainian academics. A profound study of history is of paramount importance because it contributes to a better understanding of the present day. And it is important that we are the masters of history, not the other way round.”