Friday, February 28, 2014

Ex-President Viktor Yanukovych’s first public appearance

Ex-President Viktor Yanukovych has called press conference in Rostov (Russian Federation) not far from Ukrainian border. Nothing but rumors was known about where he is since last week. It was said that he was "not overthrown", but was forced to leave Ukraine after threats to his life. He told a news conference that he will fight for his country. As about those who removed him from leadership he called them as "young neo-fascist thugs". Victor Yanukovich also said that he got a refuge in Rostov from his old friend.
Read more about this press conference at:
See video about the press conference at:

The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday approved a cabinet headed by new Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk




KIEV, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday approved a cabinet led by new Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk (1). The new interim government, which has gathered well-known politicians and prominent figures of the anti-government protests, was supported by 331 lawmakers of the 411 present in the parliament. Earlier in the day, 358 legislators supported a bill to dismiss the former government. The parliament approved Vitaly Yarema (2), a lawmaker from the "Fatherland" party, as first deputy prime minister. Meanwhile, far-right politician Alexandr Such (3) and businessman Vladimir Groysman (4) were appointed deputy prime ministers. Former Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk (5) was named deputy prime minister for European integration, while Ostap Semerak (6), a former adviser to Yatsenyuk, became minister of the cabinet. Andriy Deshchytsya (7), a veteran diplomat, was given the foreign affairs portfolio, while Admiral Igor Tenyukh (8), former commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, became defense minister. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov (9), who was appointed earlier this week, has kept his post. Pavlo Sheremeta (10), a well-known political analyst and founder of the Kiev-Mohyla Business School, was made economy minister, while Alexandr Shlapack (11) took the post of finance minister. Oleg Musiy (12), the coordinator of the protesters' medical camp, was named health minister; actor Eugene Nischuk (13), a narrator who was cheering protesters from the stage during the anti-government rallies, became culture minister, while Dmytro Bulatov (14), an activist who was severely beaten during the protests, was appointed as youth and sports minister. Maksym Burbak (15), a lawmaker from the "Fatherland" Party, was approved as infrastructure minister and his comrade Lyudmyla Denysova (16) became social policy minister. Lawmaker Pavlo Petrenko (17) was appointed as justice minister and Sergiy Kvit (18), president of the National University of Kiev-Mohyla Academy, took the post of education and science minister. Lawmaker from "Svoboda" party Igor Shvaika (19) became agriculture minister, his party ally Adnriy Mokhnyk (20) became ecology minister, while Yury Prodan (21), who served as energy minister in 2007-2010, was appointed as minister of fuel and energy. Earlier in the day, Yatsenyuk said that the main task of his government is to lift Ukraine's economy, preserve the territorial integrity of the state and follow the course toward European integration. Describing the members of the new cabinet as "political kamikaze," Yatsenyuk said that his government has to make unpopular decisions, which would displease many Ukrainians in the short term.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-02/27/c_133148411.htm

There is no more monument to Lenin in Poltava




The rising tide of demolition of remaining monuments to Vladimir Lenin has finally reached Poltava. On February 21, soon after the bloody events on EuroMaidan in Kyiv the monument in Poltava was toppled by furious crowd. You can see this video at

Two years ago I happened to visit Seattle (Washington). United States of America was always in the forefront of struggle against communism. Nevertheless the monument to Lenin in Seattle was erected in 1988 shortly before the fall of Czechoslovak communism during the 1989 Velvet Revolution.   

The monument to Lenin in Seattle
Despite popular belief, the monument to Lenin in Seattle was not toppled in the demonstrations during the fall of communism. Furthermore, it is pretty well cared by the local community. There is a cozy cafe next to the monument and I must say that such a neighborhood doesn’t annoy visitors at all. There are monuments to Lenin in Las Vegas, New York City, Atlantic City (New Jersey). In Sweden there is a monument to Lenin in Vittsjö.
The monument to Lenin in Vittsjö

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Armed men storm Crimea parliament



About hundred men armed with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades seized the Crimean parliament and government buildings early on Thursday morning. They hoisted a Russian flag over a barricade. Those who occupying the parliament building in the regional capital, Simferopol, did not come out to voice any demands. They wore black and orange ribbons, a Russian symbol of the victory in World War II. The men also put up a sign saying “Crimea is Russia.” Anatoly Mogilev, Crimea’s prime minister, tried to hold talks with the rebels but they refused to explain their action or negotiate, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. An estimated 2,000 ethnic Tatars gathered outside the Crimean Parliament in Simferopol to show their support for Kyiv and a united Ukraine. There were scuffles with pro-Russian separatists who denounced what they called “the bandits” who had seized power in the Ukrainian capital.

Read more at

President Vladimir Putin puts troops in western Russia on alert in drill



( February 25, Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin ordered an urgent drill to test the combat readiness of his armed forces across western Russia on Wednesday, flexing Moscow's military muscle amid tension with the West over Ukraine. Russia said the exercises were not linked to events in Ukraine, where the ouster of a president who turned his back on the European Union and sought closer ties with Moscow has raised worries in the West over possibility of military intervention.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the training drills were not linked to events in Ukraine, and Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said they had been previously planned. He said they would involve about 150,000 military personnel. The western district encompasses most of western Russia and borders Ukraine, which lies between NATO nations and Russia. Forces must "be ready to bomb unfamiliar testing grounds" as part of the drill, Shoigu told a Defence Ministry meeting.
The United States and European nations have warned Russia against military intervention in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that Putin has called a "brother nation" and wants to be part of a Eurasian Union he is building in the region.
Russian officials have said Moscow will not interfere in Ukraine, while accusing the West of doing so. Interfax cited the speaker of the upper parliament house, Valentina Matviyenko, as saying on Wednesday it would not use force. But Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that Russia's interests and its citizens in Ukraine were under threat, language reminiscent of statements justifying Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008, when he was president.
Shoigu said the drill would also test the counter-terrorism measures in place at military units. Russian officials have referred to some of the Ukrainian opposition forces whose protests pushed Yanukovich from power as "terrorists".

The full article is available at
 

Berkut police unit disbanded

On 25 February 2014 acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov signed a decree on the dissolution of the elite Berkut police unit. The unit had 4,000-5,000 members stationed across Ukraine. It is still not clear what will happen to many Berkut officers, but acting interior minister said more details would be given in a briefing on Wednesday.
The history of Berkut Police Unit
The order to organize the OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) in the USSR was issued in 1987.  The first units in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic were formed in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Lviv and Donetsk and were based on selected units of Soviet Internal Troops of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union it was decided to organize such units in every regional center as part of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine. On January 16, 1992 the order was issued to create quick reaction force (QRF) units "Berkut", which was fully implemented by the start of 1993.



Defensive line of "Berkut" unitmen in riot gear by the building of the Cabinet of Ministers during 2013 Euromaidan protests.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Have you seen something like that?



A video that is still circulating on social media shows Yanukovich’s toilet in his former 129-hectare estate at Mezhgirya near Kyiv. The following link will let you to see this video (sorry for comments told in Ukrainin language, but as it comes to visiting a toilet, probably it is not so much important ).


To see another amateur video showing the same restroom click at