Indignation of Ukrainian scientists and sportsmen

Not only Ukrainian teachers of professional-technical schools, but also Ukrainian scientists are indignant because of state budget for 2016 and demand to accept some changes in this budget and to increase state expenses for National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU). Specifically, scientists expect additional 725 millions hryvnias from state treasury to finance Ukrainian science in 2016 year and emphasize problems of scientific personnel’s reduction, non-full working week and leaves without salary in the institutes of NASU. Moreover, Ukraine’s scientific researchers receive minimal financial maintenance from state and sometimes they even must pay for own expeditions and scientific missions. That’s why Ukrainian scientists held meetings on 16^th March 2016 in Lviv and on 29^th March 2016 in Kharkiv for saving National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Besides catastrophic situation in Ukrainian science, there are rumours in Ukrainian society that present state power intends to liquidate the Ministry of the Youth and Sports of Ukraine. On 25^th March 2016 National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOCU) has already declared against these plans of liquidation of sporting ministry before Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Such probable government’s step would endanger effective training of sportsmen and preparation process of Ukrainian delegation in the Rio-2016 Olympics and Paralympics. And generally the absence of special ministry of sports would threaten development of Ukrainian professional sport and physical culture in the country, so NOCU called to keep the Ministry of the Youth and Sports of Ukraine.   

Professional-technical schools on the brink of survival

High Council of Ukraine accepted state budget for 2016 year on 25^th December 2015 at 4:04 AM! Does any parliament work at night like Ukrainian votes? And all laws, what were secretly voted in Ukrainian parliament’s building, bring negative changes to Ukrainian society. So state budget-2016 isn’t the exception in this tendency, because at that night Ukrainian people’s deputies replaced financing type for professional-technical schools (PTS). From the moment of the foundation these schools were always financed from state budget and in 2016 they must be financed from local budgets: when it’s situated in the city of regional importance – from the treasury of that city, in another cases – from regional treasuries. And such innovations made financial collapse in educational system of the regions and put almost all Ukrainian professional-technical schools on the brink of survival and a lot of them may be closed in 2016, because local budgets don’t have necessary sums to finance vocational-technical education. Moreover, local officials don’t understand why they are forced by the government to finance PTS buildings what are on the state balance and aren’t communal property and nowadays there is no lawful mechanism to exclude them from the list of state property. Besides it, the majority of local bureaucrats are indignant to give cash for education of non-local youth who came to their cities from near-by towns and villages or even from another region. Searching better solution of the problem of PTS financing, Ukrainian parliament voted the amendments to the law about state budget-2016 and in fact returned state maintenance to professional-technical schools, but President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko put a veto on these amendments on 18^th March 2016, so budgetary 2016 year’s changes of PTS financing are still valid. And the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalia Yaresko, who had invented that changes and had proposed it to Ukrainian parliament, said that government would analyze current situation in PTS during the first quarter of 2016 year and could offer new replacements in state budget-2016.

Meanwhile state power and local authorities can’t divide their duties in reference to professional-technical schools, its teachers don’t see their wages in the pockets and students don’t get their scholarships for 2-3 months. Many Ukrainian PTS have debts for the utilities, that’s why some PTS and its dormitories have already been disconnected from heat, electricity and/or water supply in first months of 2016. And PTS students are mainly children from destitute families or from large families where only one parent has a job, and there also orphans, half-orphans and invalids, so these young persons don’t have money to get private high education or to graduate from some university or academy in general, because their relatives haven’t possibilities to favour in it. That’s why after finishing nine or eleven classes of secondary school, Ukrainian needy youth enter professional-technical schools to get any working vocation and to have unique chance to earn in the life. Acquiring professional knowledge and skills in Ukrainian PTS, children become builders, plasterers, bricklayers, electricians, electric welders, locksmiths, car mechanics, drivers with categories B and C, computer operators, sellers, cashiers, cooks, confectioners, waiters, bartenders, restaurant or hotel administrators, hairdressers, manicurists, makeup artists, tailors, seamstresses, carpenters or woodcarvers, florists, etc. And cutting of PTS state financing can cause its final closing. Since the beginning of 2016 professional-technical schools don’t receive even guaranteed state expenses to buy food for the students-orphans, so PTS workers ask local businessmen for their contributions that the orphans don’t starve, like it happened in Kamyanets-Podilskyy in Khmelnytskyy region, or local volunteers gather needful sums and help PTS, for example, in Teplodar in Odesa region, or teachers use product reserves from own neighbouring vegetable gardens, which are often planted near PTS in small towns in Ukraine. Professional-technical schools’ students survive how everyone can and here are some their stories. Nadia studies in Ostroh High Professional-Technical School in Rivne region and she is from a large family, her mother is invalid and father is unemployed, so she borrows cash in godmother or granny to buy meal, at the same time Vasyl, who is also studying in that PTS, is orphan, his scholarship was his mean of subsistence and nowadays he can hope only for outsiders’ aid. Sofia from Novovolynsk Professional-Technical School no.11 (Volyn region) gets money from her father, who is sole breadwinner in the family with four children, because her mother is in decree. Nadia from Uman Agrarian Lyceum (Cherkasy region) said journalists that her fellows worked at night or in the day-time, arranging with lyceum’s management about their possible absence. And 17-year-old orphan Serhiy is studying in specialized group for disabled students in Uman Professional Lyceum no.9, so he worries what will be with him and where he’ll go in the case of closing of this professional-technical school, where he is able to get some occupation and to live in its dormitory. Though what must PTS teachers do, if they don’t get salary for their teaching and often work, feeling regular starvation, as one of Mukachevo teachers-protesters told journalists about the state of health of some his colleagues? So the workers of professional-technical schools from various Ukrainian regions organized large meeting in Kyiv on 28^th January 2016 to attract the attention of state power to solve PTS problems and to return its state financing. That’s why PTS teachers and students blocked traffic on the roads, for example, Kyiv-Chop road in Mukachevo in Transcarpathian region https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoS26WrYuEI, and Kovel-Zhovkva road in Novovolynsk in Volyn region https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I845B1FwpVo, and also protested near city councils and state regional administrations in Lviv, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, Odesa, Zaporizhzhya regions, etc. But those protests aided a little, because the majority of town councils couldn’t allot any payment to local PTS. And the examples of PTS financing from local treasuries, when Kharkiv city council allotted money for the needs of Kharkiv PTS for all 2016 year, Chernihiv town council found costs to pay teachers’ wages and students’ scholarships in the first half-year of 2016, Drohobych and Ivano-Frankivsk city officials could give financing of salaries and scholarships only in January of 2016 – there are the exclusions in present state of the affairs of Ukrainian professional-technical schools.

So I guess it’s a duty of Ukrainian state power and local officials not to leave PTS teachers jobless and poor children uneducated and without free acquiring some profession. Or do they think in another way? Though children of Ukrainian statesmen, of course, don’t acquire knowledge in Ukrainian PTS. Children of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and of the Head of Ukrainian parliament Volodymyr Hroysman prefer British high education, as numerous Ukrainian media sites tell. And where did elder daughter of Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalia Yaresko enter after finishing Pechersk School International in Kyiv? Ukrainian journalists are silent about it. But I don’t think that two daughters of this inventor of liquidation of PTS state financing, which have American citizenship and had possibility to go to such prestigious secondary school in Ukrainian capital, will work seller, waiter, manicurist or seamstress or will get any other vocational-technical education.

At least. Where are real reforms of this Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine, which enjoyed to get credits from International Monetary Found and from diverse world governments and global financial organisations during almost two years? Or is it one of “planned reforms” of current Prime Minister Yatsenyuk’s government – to destroy Ukrainian professional-technical schools and to make Ukraine a country of destitute uneducated people? So why does President Poroshenko not stop this destroying?

Free Savchenko!

Free Savchenko! Such slogan is actively heard around the globe especially in March of 2016 before declaring the sentence of Russian state investigation against Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, stolen by Russians in Ukraine and moved to Russia in 2014. Savchenko had her last floor in the court of Russian city of Donetsk in Rostov-on-the Don region on 9^th March 2016 and Russian judges will state final sentence on 21^st-22^nd March 2016. Eariler Russian state prosecutors wanted 23 years of the imprisonment for Ukrainian officer, though Russian authorities hadn’t any right to judge Ukrainian citizen, captivated by Russian citizens on Ukrainian state's territory. Because there are huge breaches of international laws and the proof of lawlessness and absurdity of that accident. Moreover, Savchenko is such Ukrainian citizen who did her duty like a soldier of Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2014, participating in anti terroristic operation in Donbas. Besides it, she rejected all Russian accusations. That’s why I also wish: “Free Savchenko”. 

Donetsk Filtering Station stopped its work

Donetsk Filtering Station supplies drinkable water to Donetsk, Avdiyivka and neighbouring populated settlements, so it’s important object of Donbas infrastructure. This station is located in so-called ATO buffer zone between cities of Avdiyivka and Yasynuvata in Donetsk region and it is regularly fired during Ukrainian-Russian military conflict in the East of Ukraine. In the summer of 2014 the station functioned with stoppages owing to fights near Donetsk and then shells often hit that station in May and August of 2015. Nowadays Donetsk Filtering Station doesn’t work again since 13^th March 2016 after short-term restoring of its functioning since 4^th March. The station is shelled by Russian fighters in the last days, as it is told in the official reports of the press-centre of Ukrainian General Headquarters of anti terroristic operation. Lasting shells menace complete destruction of Donetsk Filtering Station, that’s why Ukrainian side called the occupants to stop military actions at least in the station area and to let Ukrainian masters into the station to repair it. Because long-term water absence threatens to people lives of local settlements. And it can cause humanitarian disaster to 480 000 local inhabitants and an epidemic of dysentery and hepatitis in the region, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine declared in its recent appeal. So Ukrainian state needs world help to solve this difficult situation and to stop military conflict in Donbas in general. 

Issues of ATO participants out of ATO zone

Fighting against the occupants in the zone of anti-terroristic operation in Donbas, Ukrainian warriors are exposed to mortal danger, but outside ATO zone they have different social problems too. The worst are bad living conditions for mobilized Ukrainian men in military units and on military training ranges. One of the last examples of such conditions was the situation with the 128^th mountainous-infantry brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces. In the autumn of 2015 mobilized soldiers of that brigade were settled on Yavoriv military training range in holed tents in the middle of pools and mud without electricity and woods. In January of 2016, the 128^th brigade’s soldiers spent three nights outdoors during frosty weather without normal nutrition on the railway station of Dobrosyn in Lviv region, waiting for their departure on Shyrokyy Lan military training range in Mykolayiv region. Then local villagers and volunteers from the city of Rava-Ruska with its mayor brought hot meals to frozen warriors. But after that accident the 128^th mountainous-infantry brigade was again settled in holed and snowbound tents on Shyrokyy Lan military training range. http://zakarpattya.net.ua/News/150873-Biitsiv-128-i-bryhady-kynuly-na-polihoni-Shyrokyi-lan-v-zanesenykh-snihom-diriavykh-nametakh-FOTO

Horrible organization of way of life on Shyrokyy Lan training range was also in the 53^rd separate mechanized brigade, what became known after pedestrian pace of its soldiers from training range to Mykolayiv Military Public Prosecutor’s Office on 8^th February 2016. The 53^rd brigade wasn’t provided with drinkable water, food, woods, toilets, bath house, medicaments were obsolete. ATO fighters had to buy eatables, water to drink and to wash, petrol for cars, woods, as also had to repair military technique for own money. Sometimes it was needed to melt snow to get drinkable water and to warm up water to wash and in 60 persons lived in the 20-person tents. Besides it warriors of the 53^rd brigade didn’t receive whole wages for January of 2016, but only the few of their salary. That’s why soldiers of the 53^rd separate mechanized brigade protested https://news.pn/ua/public/154234, and management of General Headquarters of Armed Forces of Ukraine arrived to inspect living conditions on this military training range, though even then way of life for the 53^rd brigade didn’t become better, as it was proved on the videos of volunteers and journalists of “The First National” TV-channel, who had visited Shyrokyy Lan on 10^th  February and on 12^th February 2016. Journalists saw that soldiers had still lived in the tents with mud under feet and with holes, through which rain had been wetting their mattresses. Bath house wasn't linked to communications and muddy water wasn’t useable to drink, so further militaries continued to buy pure drinking water. It’s not strange that some soldiers fell ill, living in such way of life. In the end of February court arrested commanders of the 53^rd brigade for several days in the guardhouse, but they didn’t admit with this sentence. And since 2^nd March  there is no any information about the 53^rd brigade in Ukrainian media, as if total censorship exists on this topic in the press, so it isn’t known what is the present situation on Shyrokyy Lan military training range, unfortunately.

In general it was rather often reported the deaths of military men from health issues on training ranges and in the military units during spending anti terroristic operation in 2014-2016, what can be a proof of abnormal living conditions, created for mobilized persons there. Or another reason of this mortality – military commissariats mobilize men with health problems, especially with heart diseases, what is very spread cause of deaths in the official reports.

Military men of disciplinary battalion of Armed Forces of Ukraine, where it’s served punishment for discipline breaches in the army, have also health problems and absent due medical aid, as Commissioner of High Council for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska let know journalists on 3rd March 2016. http://www.ombudsman.gov.ua/en/all-news/pr/10316-qq-the-military-personnel-serving-sentence-in-the-only-disciplinary-batta/ Only medical assistant works in the disciplinary battalion and there is no one doctor. Sick militaries must wait own turn even for several weeks to be driven at the hospital (and 1-2 months to visit dentist), because disciplinary battalion lacks cars, petrol and convoy personnel to escort imprisoned quickly and carefully to the doctors. Moreover, 56 soldiers stayed in the 27-person building of disciplinary battalion at the moment of the examination of Ukrainian parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights.

In Ukraine lack of medical institution for physical rehabilitation and a few quantity of psychological help centres became serious problems for injured and invalid ATO participants, what decreases their chances to come back to more or less full life. And in such case disabled Ukrainian warriors certainly collide with huge employment problems, though job search issues can occur to various demobilized persons, especially when before their participation in ATO they worked in private companies. It’s also very sadly to certify, but it wasn’t put money in Ukrainian state budget-2016 for state compensations to those enterprises, institutions and organizations, which pay wages mobilized employees, so this fact generates a big risk of payments’ loss of soldiers, mobilized to the army, and further payments generally depend on decency and conscience of their employers.

Other current difficulty in the life of ATO participants is too slow process of giving them dwelling or lot of land by regional or local power for their participation in anti terroristic operation according to Ukrainian laws and it’s in spite of the growth of new buildings’ erecting in Ukraine. And defenders of Ukrainian territory frequently collide with infringement of their right of favourable free transportation in public transport, what is guaranteed in Ukrainian legislation too. So ATO warriors block the roads and organize meetings and pickets near regional administrations and city councils to attract society’s attention to these problems and let their difficulties would be solved by the authorities.

But, probably, the biggest disappointment in Ukrainian state power’s treatment to ATO fighters is sorrowful tendency to disgrace, accusation of desertion and criminal persecution soldiers in just ridiculous to such accusations situations. For example, in the end of July of 2014 year 42 soldiers of the former 51^st separate mechanized brigade, transformed and renamed later in the 14^th brigade, had been shot in ATO zone by the enemies during 10 days without possibility to defend themselves and their military technique had been burnt, they had asked for help, being surrounded by Russians, but any Ukrainian military assistance hadn’t arrive to them, so then they crossed Ukrainian-Russian state border just to save own lives from the death and found themselves in Russian country. Ukraine’s military management called them deserters and 20 of these 42 warriors, being under investigation’s pressure, have already agreed with the accusation and have got conventional terms of punishment, other 22 militaries are still fighting for their honour in the courts, not admitting the guilt. Thus, present state power criminally persecute Ukrainian defenders in the cases of their voluntarily leaving of the battle field even when it was mortal danger to stay there, instead of saving their lives and sending some military help in that accidents.

Ukrainian farmers' fight for the fairness

Since summer of 2015 Ukrainian farmers are protesting against changes in the Tax Code of Ukraine, proposed by Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. According to these changes, state recompense of tax on the additional value is cancelled to agrarian enterprises-producers (except exporters), farmland payment and fixed agricultural tax are increased very much in 2016. Demanding to reject government’s bill, agrarians held meetings near regional state administrations in the various regions of Ukraine in summer and on the beginning of December. Farmers also held large rallies in Kyiv on the 17^th December, bringing to the parliamentary building chopped off cow heads with fir branches, and on the 24^th December 2015, carrying there dead pig in the coffin with several funeral wreaths as the symbols of the farming decline. But exactly on the 24^th December the people’s deputies of Ukraine didn’t listen to Ukrainian peasantry and voted in favour of changing of Tax Code, abolishing special tax regime and enhancing taxes for the agriculture. So then during the next days (the 26^th-30^th December) at the different time farmers had been blocking many principal highways in the country, such as Kharkiv–Simferopol, Kyiv–Kharkiv, Chernivtsi–Kyiv, Odesa–Melitopol, Kirovohrad–Mykolayiv, Kyiv–Chernihiv, Zhytomyr–Vinnytsya, Kyiv–Chop etc. Nowadays agrarians warn that they’ll continue to block the roads if President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko doesn’t veto accepted bill or if the High Council of Ukraine refuses to restore preferential regime of the taxation for the farming. And resignation of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine, led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, denial from the idea to enhance farmland payment and fixed agricultural tax, necessity to accept laws about unique land tax and about family farms are another requirements of Ukrainian agricultural enterprises.

Ukrainian agrarians are justly indignant, because state recompense of tax on the additional value always gave them the possibility to buy beforehand seeds and fertilizers for the next harvest and a fuel for their agricultural machinery, and liquidation of this state subsidy plus new high taxes may strongly harm or even destroy farms in Ukraine. At least farmers will be obliged to increase prices for own agricultural production and to decrease a quantity of working places on their farms, so unemployment will enlarge among rural population, some farming enterprises may become bankrupt. If changes in the Tax Code of Ukraine from the 24^th December come into force, farmers will slaughter cattle, so all Ukrainians will fell the deficiency of milk and meat in the country.

From the other side Ukrainian peasants are angry that agrarian exporters which are mainly agricultural holdings, registered abroad or been in the part of bigger, often foreign holding, will continue to get 100% state recompense of tax on the additional value from Ukrainian state treasury. Though Ukrainian agricultural holdings buy farming production in the primary manufactures at much lower prices than they sell abroad! So where is conscientiously in Ukrainian state power? I completely support the claims of Ukrainian farmers in their fighting for the fairness!

Miners' strikes in Ukraine

Miners’ strikes often happened in 2015 as in Kyiv as in Ukrainian regions. In the last year the largest meetings of the miners were held on 2^nd March, 22^nd April and 23^rd December in Ukrainian capital, when the miners the most frequently demanded in Ukrainian government to cease the destruction of Ukrainian coal industry and to pay their wages’ debts. In the spring of 2015 the workers of different Ukrainian coal mines claimed the resignation of Minister of Energetics and Coal Industry of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn, the growth of the financing of state coal mines, stopping of coal purchases abroad too. Though in December of 2015 Ukrainian miners from various cities also demanded the dismissal of all Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine, headed by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who had abolished state subsidies to coal branch of Ukrainian economics in 2015. Besides Kyiv miners’ protests, the workers of coal mines of Volyn region blocked Lviv-Kovel road to get their wages in October of 2015 and struck in Novovolynsk to stop the destroying of Volyn coal industry in December of 2015. In the last month of 2015 the miners of Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, organized meeting in the city for the retirement of the minister Demchyshyn, the liquidation of pension tax and the decreasing of public utilities’ tariffs for all Ukrainian citizens.

The miners of Lviv region had active public position too and struck actively in November and December, 2015. Thus, in the end of 2015 year the workers of “Lviv Coal Company” received only 42% payment for June, 2015 and 19% for July, 2015, so their biggest claim is a payment of their salary. And the new 2016 year was begun with miners’ strikes on “Stepova” state mine in the town of Hlukhiv (Sokal district of Lviv region) on 2^nd and 3^rd January 2016. On 4^th January miners from “Velykomostivska” and “Lisova” mines supported “Stepova” strike and all together demanded 78% debt salary for November and 100% salary for December, 2015. On the next day state enterprise “LvivCoal”, the proprietor of these three and another four state mines in Lviv region, paid its workers 24% of November’s debt, though, maybe, the real reason of such step was the-day-before criminal deal, opened by Chervonohrad Public Prosecutor’s Office for groundless non-payment of the wages at “LvivCoal”. Requesting  the rest of their wages for 2015 year, miners of “LvivCoal” diverse mines held meetings on the main Chervonohrad square on 5^th and 9^th January 2016. Not achieving desirable goal, miners blocked Lviv-Kovel route, one Chervonohrad significant street and the entry to the city of Chervonohrad on 11^th January. Then, on 12^th January, workers of “LvivCoal” and “Lviv Coal Company” stopped traffic on Lviv–Rava-Ruska highway of international importance, walking the pedestrian crossing the whole day in the town of Kulykiv and in the villages of Smerekiv and Volya-Vysotska to attract foreigners’ attention to the problems of Lviv region’s miners. And in the evening on the same day miners blocked Zhovkva circular road towards Lviv. But not being heard by their employees, Ukrainian state and local power,  Stepova” miners incessantly went on the crosswalk in the village of Soposhyn nearby Zhovkva, continuing to block Lviv–Rava-Ruska highway on 13^th, 14^th and 15^th January. And struck miners of Lviv region announced own future strike on 21^st January near the office of “LvivCoal” in Sokal, Lviv Regional State Administration and Chervonohrad City Administration in the case non-payment of their wages for the last two months till tomorrow. But it’s not only the problem of the delay of miners’ salary, there is also the question about tons of Ukrainian coal on the stores of closed Chervonohrad Central Concentric Factory of “Lviv Coal Company”. Ukrainian miners protested in 2015 and protest nowadays against Ukrainian government’s coal purchase in Russia! (in 2014-2015 years), the United States of America, the Republic of South Africa and Australia, while Ukraine’s extracted coal lies on Ukrainian state mines’ stores. So can such state power as present Ukraine’s government be named careful for Ukrainian nation? Exactly it cannot.                                          

Police reform - more PR than reformation

So-called police reform – it’s gross political PR plus large wastefulness from Ukraine’s state budget and here is the next example. This year on the Day of the Fight against Breast Cancer new patrol policemen presented rosy roses for ladies in Kyiv, Lviv, Vinnytsya, Chernihiv, Mykolayiv to remind women about the necessity of the examination their health. I’d like to ask you, my dear readers, how do you think? Is this a duty of policeman – to work a medical consultant? Has nowaday Ukrainian state power a conscience, when presents expensive roses (nearly 15 hryvnias per 1 rose) in the streets, while many Ukrainian families can’t have just normal nutrition because of high food prices in the shops?

And would a real qualitative reformation of the militia into police begin with a systematic breach of state legislation? On 7^th November new law “About National Police” (was accepted by Ukrainian parliament on 2^nd July 2015) came into force and Ukrainian militia officially was renamed Ukrainian police. As I wrote in the previous article http://thoughtsanddreamsfromukraine.blogspot.com/2015/12/police-reform-with-georgian-colouring.html, the Head of National Police of Ukraine Khatia Dekanoidze had been assigned despite of the demands of the 21^st article of this law. The same thing happened with the assignment of the First Deputy Head of National Police of Ukraine. On 4^th November 2015 this post was headed by 29-year-old Oleksandr Fatsevych, a military man by his high education and job experience (he graduated from Odesa Institute of Land Troops and worked a paratrooper in the 79^th Aerial-Mobile Brigade of Ukrainian Army). Earlier O. Fatsevych managed Kyiv Patrol Police since 12^th June 2015 and was allocated on the post of the leader of Patrol Police of Ukraine on 6^th November 2015, being the First Deputy Head of National Police of Ukraine at once and infringing Ukrainian laws. Fatsevych was born in Russia and moved with his parents in Ukraine in 1998, he is Russian-speaking person, like so-called reformers of Ukrainian police structure from Georgia, about whom it’s written in the last article on this blog.    

Instead of Oleksandr Fatsevych, on 16^th November 2015 Yuriy Zozulya was appointed the Head of Kyiv Patrol Police, the ex-leader of Lviv Patrol Police from 20^th August 2015, who had worked a private policeman in the newly-created Kyiv Patrol Police before these two state appointments. As the head of police Dekanoidze and her first deputy Fatsevych, Zozulya hadn’t high juridical education and sufficient job experience in Ukrainian state legal-protective institutions to govern Kyiv Patrol Police or Lviv Patrol Police according to the demands of the law “About National Police”, so his appointments are the breaches of that law too. Y. Zozulya’s biography is very strange, because there are nowhere his official biographical data nowadays. Almost after his assignment in Lviv Patrol Police he told Lviv journalists at special press-conference that he lived in private house nearby Kyiv and drove own car, but he refused to call his jobs before his police era, like he didn’t say where his parents and wife worked. Instead of it journalists of Lviv media online Zaxid.net and Lviv newspaper “Ratusha” learnt and published the information about Zozulya’s seven infringements of Ukrainian Rules of Road Movement in 2014-2015, and it’s curious to know that the seventh time was happened on 26^th August 2015, when he has already been the manager of Patrol Police of Lviv! Besides it, the newspaper “Ratusha” wrote in September 2015 that Y. Zozulya had been detained in Ukrainian state custom-house “Yahodyn” on 13^th August 2014 because of his import of the medicaments with prohibited narcotic and psychotropic substances in Ukraine. So such people get influential assignments in “reformed” police.  

Further, I would like to write about big difference of the wages in the bound of present police system in Ukraine. On 4^th December 2015 Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov announced the future salaries for the top management of National Police of Ukraine in 2016 year: 98000 UAH/month (~4246$) for the Head, 70000 UAH/month (~3033$) for the Deputies Head, nearly 30000 UAH/month (~1300$) for the leaders of structural and territorial police subdivisions, 6163 UAH/month (~267$) for new private police officers.

But as of 5^th December 2015, the official vacancy site of State Employment Centre of Ukraine (www.trud.gov.ua) proposed jobs with very small salaries for police officers. Thus, it’s open job offer for a guard in Kyiv Detention Facility with a salary 2500 hryvnias per month (~108$), the junior inspector in Odesa Detention Facility – 1450 UAH/month (~63$), junior inspector in the South Borstal in Odesa city – 2000 UAH/month (~87$), junior inspectors in Odesa Borstal – 2100-2400 UAH/month (~100-104$), a guard in the Department of Guard Police of Lviv region – 1580 UAH/month (~68$), a militian! in the Department of Guard Police of Lviv region – 2100 UAH/month (~100$), junior inspector in Lviv Borstal – 1600 UAH/month (~69$), a guard in Cherkasy Detention Facility – 1800 UAH/month (~78$), junior inspector in Chernihiv Borstal – 1450 UAH/month (~63$), junior inspector in Korosten Borstal in Zhytomyr region – 1550 UAH/month (~67$), junior inspector in P’yatykhatka Borstal in Dnipropetrovsk region – 2000 UAH/month (~87$), junior inspector in Vinnytsya Borstal – 1650 UAH/month (~71$), a guard in the Department of Guard Police of Volyn region – 1900 UAH/month (~82$), junior inspector in Kharkiv Borstal – 1800 UAH/month (~78$), junior inspector in Oleksiyivska Borstal in Kharkiv city – 2200 UAH/month (~95$), junior inspectors Derhachivska, Dykanivska and Kuryazka borstals in Kharkiv region – 1800 UAH/month (~78$), junior inspector in Oleksandriya Borstal in Kirovohrad region – 1700 UAH/month (~73$), junior inspector in Novyy Buh Borstal in Mykolayiv region – 1450 UAH/month (~63$).

I’ll also note several current food prices in Ukraine for better understanding of this unfair imbalance in as though “reformed police”. 1 egg – 2,20-2,25 UAH, 1 packet of the milk – 11-13 UAH, 1 long loaf – 7 UAH, 1 butter (200 grams)  – 17-18 UAH. How can so few money be proposed to private police officers for their work in the borstals, the detention facilities and the departments of guard police nowadays? How can the Head of National Police earn more than some junior inspector in a borstal in 68 times (comparing the wages in the amount of 98000 UAH and 1450 UAH)? And as Lviv police officers informed the journalists of “Lviv news” http://lvivexpres.com/news/2015/12/06/69918-policiyi-lvivskiy-oblasti-zatrymuyut-vyplatu-zarplatni on 6^th December 2015, the police officers of Lviv region hasn’t yet received their wages for October 2015!, except policemen from Lviv Patrol Police, who haven’t wages delay. May the legislation be complied well in the country, when such diverse attitude to the workers and so various salaries exist even in the bound of police system? How can so large payment be fixed for the top management of "new police", while Ukraine's official minimal wage is only 1378 hryvnias per month (~60$) indeed? 

Police reform with Georgian colouring in Ukraine

The most discussed so-called reform in Ukrainian state is the transformation of militia into police and its main “reformer” is advertised Georgian Ekaterina Zguladze-Gluksmann, who was appointed the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine on 17^th December 2014. Earlier she was Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia during one month in 2012, the First Deputy Minister of two Georgian ex-Ministers of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili and Bacho Akhalaia in 2006-2012, and Deputy Minister of V. Merabishvili in 2005-2006. Her two Georgian bosses are arrested and stay in jail nowadays. On 17th February 2014 Kutaisi court convicted V. Merabishvili to 5 years of imprisonment for the appropriation of unfamiliar property, the embezzlement of Georgian police’s money and breaking up the oppositional meeting on 26^th May 2011, and on 20^th October 2014 he was sentenced to 3 years in the prison for the abuse his official status (Merabishvili headed Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia since 18^th December 2004 till 3^rd July 2012 and was Georgian Prime Minister on 4^th July–25^th October 2012). On 22^nd October 2014 B. Akhalaia, former Minister of Defence of Georgia in 2009-2012 and former Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia on 4^th July-18^th September 2012, was convicted by Tbilisi court to 7,5 years of imprisonment for the exceeding his state power and the organization of the tortures in Georgian prisons. E. Zguladze was assigned on the post of Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs on 19^th September 2012 after the resignation of Minister B. Akhalaia, which was the main demand of Georgian society after published shock video of prisoners’ tortures in Tbilisi Gldansk jail no.8. So under such circumstances Ekaterina Zguladze became minister in Georgia and headed Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia till 20^th October 2012. So how did Zguladze work the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia? Did she know about their bosses’ activity and do nothing to change a situation and say nothing to the Georgian society? Then she was the accomplice of their crimes. Or did she not know how they were working? But then she was absolutely unworthy of her appointment! It’s incredible how companion-in-arms of such Georgian politicians from Saakashvili's team can be advertised in Ukraine. And here are another two examples of her first deputy minister’s activity in Georgia. E. Zguladze was that person who was communicating with Georgian journalists and told them about rightness of Georgian police during cruel breaking up the oppositional meetings in Tbilisi on 6^th May 2009 and on 26^th May 2011. And on 26^th April 2009 the place of living of the participants of Georgian “Academy of the Stars” reality show - one Tbilisi building totally tumbled down and two participants perished. That accident wasn’t fully investigated and guilty wasn’t found. Perhaps, it happened thanks to Ekaterina Zguladze, who had been the wife of Gega Palavandishvili at that time, the director of this “Academy of the Stars”?

It’s also interesting to know if Ekaterina Zguladze-Glucksmann has French citizenship, because in 2011 she got married with Raphael Glucksmann, French journalist and the counsellor of ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili. Ekaterina and Raphael have common small son Alexander, who lives in Paris according to numerous French media online, so her husband and son are the citizens of French state, of course. Other curious thing is the reason of such her state posts in Georgia and Ukraine, because she hasn’t juridical education and hadn’t any previous experience in police system before her appointment in Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. As French journalists wrote in the article “Ekaterina...police minister of two countries” on 9^th April 2015 http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/l-obs-du-soir/20150409.OBS6834/ekaterina-ministre-de-la-police-de-deux-pays.html, she was called princess of Georgia for her night life in the youth and was assigned Georgian police vice-minister only thanks to her knowing all Tbilisi designers and DJ’s and visiting all fashion events in Georgian capital.        

Another former Georgian politician Khatia Dekanoidze became the Manager of National Police of Ukraine on 4^th November 2015. Kh. Dekanoidze graduated from International Affairs Faculty of Tbilisi State University, was rector of Police Academy of Georgia in 2007-2012 and Minister of Education and Science of Georgia for over 3 months in 2012. As she told on Ukrainian television program “Secular Life” (1+1 TV-channel) on 13^th March 2015, present Georgian state power accused her in the embezzlement of 10 millions of state money in the period of her management of Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. Then various Georgian media wrote that ex-minister Dekanoidze had allowed some Georgian high schools to enter educational partner program with American high schools, so only students of these select Georgian high schools could get American diplomas. Several Georgian media online (for example, www.ambebi.ge and www.news.ge) also confirmed in October of 2012 that Khatia Dekanoidze and David Saakashvili, the brother of ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, had secretly got married and he had left his first wife and their children in 2013. At that time Dekanoidze neither refuted, nor proved correct such information. It’s unknown if Kh. Dekanoidze and D. Saakashvili are still together, but they are living in Kyiv now, as M. Saakashvili talked Ukrainian journalists about his younger brother’s current residence. Why was such foreigner fixed by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko as the best candidate for the head of new “reformed” police of Ukraine in spite of valid Ukrainian legislation? It’s the enigma for Ukrainian society. Though according to the 21^st article of new law “About National Police”, accepted on 2^nd July 2015! by Ukrainian parliament, the head and the deputies head of Ukrainian police must have high juridical education, job experience in law field 7 and more years, the experience on the leading posts 5 and more years. As You understand, Khatia Dekanoidze doesn’t correspond to these demands of Ukrainian law, finally like Ekaterina Zguladze-Glucksmann and Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov don’t correspond too.

But these Georgian women aren’t unique Georgians in the management of “reformed” Ukrainian police. George Grigashvili, who had governed Patrol Police of Tbilisi in 2004-2006 and Patrol Police of Georgia in 2006-2012, was appointed the Head of Internal Security Department of National Police of Ukraine on 15^th November 2015. It’s curious to find out that new Ukrainian policeman G. Grigalashvili wrote zero revenue in his Revenues and Expenses Statement of 2014 year. Neither he, nor his wife and his two daughters didn’t earn money in the last year and they got sole profit in the amount of 112 thousand hryvnias from the alienation of immovable and movable property. The real estate data are also absent in Grigalashvili’s income statement and his family has only one car. 
Does present Ukrainian state power sincerely think that Ukraine is perfect place for all unemployed politicians-failures from Saakashvili’s team, including Georgian ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili? Nowadays M. Saakashvili leads Odesa State Regional Administration since 30^th May 2015, when he was assigned by P. Poroshenko. M. Saakashvili asked for his "comfort management" to allocate someone of his political comrades on the post of the Head of Department of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Odesa region and Giorgi Lortkipanidze, another Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia of ex-Minister Vano Merabishvili, was allocated on this post on 15^th June 2015. So isn’t it an international corruption – to appoint the comrades-in-arms of one politician, besides it foreign politicians, on state posts in Ukraine? And here isn’t the explanation that Ukraine’s President Poroshenko gave them Ukrainian citizenship before their appointments. All Georgian politicians from Saakashvili’s brigade, including himself, are Russian-speaking statesmen in Ukraine, though every Ukrainian statesman must speak Ukrainian, because this is a sole official language in Ukraine, so it is clear to be not only corruption, but the infringement of Ukrainian laws plus a huge disrespect to Ukrainian state and Ukrainian nation. So is it the sense of the transformation of militia into police – to infringe Ukrainian laws, accepted even by "after-Euromaydan" state power?

Holodomors' Victims Commemoration Day

In the XXth century Ukrainian nation suffered three holodomors - huge famines that was artificially made by Soviet state power in 1921-1923, 1932-1933 and 1946-1947 on the different territories of present Ukrainian state. For sure, it's terrible condition to live 24 hours per day with constant murderous claim to eat something, it's horrible to see hungry deaths of parents and babies, neighbours and fellows, to know about the existence of the food in the country, but...not for Ukrainians. Perhaps, it's impossible to learn all emotions of people, who were perishing from holodomor. So we can only remember the millions of Ukrainians who became the victims of three holodomors in the last century, to read the memories of their alive relatives and holodomors' witnesses, to watch documentary films about these tragedies in former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and just to light a candle every year on the last Saturday of November.