In any country the capital city is the center of gravity for monetary currents, topnotch specialists, and the latest political trends. The capital on one hand, is a catalyst, and on the other, a mirror of the whole country. The capital models future changes and reflects all problems and attainments of a given country. This is especially true of post-Soviet states.
The following interview with Kyiv’s mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko is on the Ukrainian capital’s current realities and prospects.
I AM A NATIONALIST!
The Day: Kyiv’s progress in developing the city infrastructure and efforts to conform to European standards are generally known. Where do you think progress could have been better?
Mayor: In fact, I believe that people living in Kyiv are superior to those elsewhere in Europe in terms of human virtues, diligence, and talent. The only thing that we probably still lack is a sense of pride in Ukraine’s achievements. A concept that would make every resident of Kyiv say proudly, “I am a nationalist!” Being a nationalist means loving Ukraine, one’s native land and people.
As for living standards, our basic educational level is the highest, but our medicine is lagging far behind. Thank God, our people are inherently healthy individuals and our medics are so skilled they can perform most complicated surgeries, figuratively speaking, with a pair of scissors and an ax — and I mean operations considered absolutely unique in the West. The economic situation remains the most pressing problem. We have problems in manufacturing, the output of foods and nonfoods remains low. Recently, when visiting Moscow and St. Petersburg, I was impressed by the changes taking place: industrial and GDP growth; this year they expect an extra $19 billion to the [city] budget. That is why bread sells cheaper in Moscow and St. Petersburg than elsewhere in Russia. In general, the Russians pay less for bread than we do in Ukraine, something that has never happened before in our history. We must increase production; we have no alternative.
I can’t say that the past four months has been a success or that it will take place in the first half of the year. There is only one reason: production increase in Ukraine during the first quarter was 3.5-4%, yet this does not even cover the inflation rate. Last year, Kyiv showed 12.5% industrial growth, I told all my subordinates not to make a big thing out of it, because I regarded it as just a sign of the year’s stability, meaning there was no decline and we would not race down the hill.
This year, industrial output [in Kyiv] registered 32%. Now I call this growth and we can feel it in the economy, taxation system, and jobs. I can bet that the end of the year will show similar growth, so don’t blame me if I win.
As for construction in the capital, in terms of its scope, rate, and results, I think it is one of the biggest in Europe. Statistically, every fourth housing unit built in Europe is in Kyiv — incidentally, every fifth hryvnia in the national budget also comes from the capital. Construction quality can be judged by such projects as the clinic on Mostytska St., the Metro station Dorohozhychi, the Bone-Marrow Transplant Center, and the clinics in Kharkivsky and Troyeshchyna residential districts. They all answer to European standards. Next year we plan to make available a million square meters of housing.
I think that Kyiv will conform to all European standards in three years, five at the most.
I WANT TO KNOW WHY GRAIN WAS TAKEN AWAY FROM UKRAINE
The Day: Bread supplies form an extremely serious problem in Ukraine. Kyiv kept bread prices low for a long time, some even complained that it had a privileged status. Odesa is known to have increased the prices four times. Recent events show that the problem is now in Kyiv, too, and will remain acute.
Mayor: Last year’s grain crops were the lowest in the years since WW II. A mere 24 million tons, including corn, millet, oats, and barley. Maybe this is the reason — and maybe the fact that 3 million tons were lost at the elevators due to low humidity.
I happen to know something about agriculture. I was born and grew in the countryside and learned from my parents that even in the postwar years the Soviet Union did not export grain. In 1933, there was famine in Ukraine. Not because there was no grain, but because Stalin ordered it exported and the party obliged.
Therefore, I have one question. Who gave orders and on why it so happened that 3.2 million metric tons of wheat shipped out of Ukraine just across the land frontiers. And there are also maritime boundaries — Odesa, Mykolayiv, Kherson... Imagine: 3.2 million metric tons of hard wheat! It would have kept all of Ukraine supplied during the year. Can you picture a good farmer lugging all the wheat he has to the market to sell it for token money when the harvest was scarce, only to return a month later to buy that same wheat, paying three times as much? We have been buying grain since January and paying three times the price we charged back in September. What kind of macro economy can exist in Ukraine given such approach? In fact, it is characteristic not only of agriculture, similar things happen in the industry and other sectors.
Starting in December, all regions have increased bread prices. I kept them unchanged in Kyiv January through February, and till May 10. Who had a right to turn the mayor of the capital city into a grain procurer? Since January I have been looking for grain in Kazakhstan, Turkey, buying from barges at Odesa. Nineteen million hryvnias paid, but I have grain, enough for May and for the better part of June.
Yet this does not solve the problem. You won’t find a single country where the government would refuse to be responsible for the procurement of grain, because bread remains a key foodstuff.
Actually, the outcome of this problem may have the worst consequences for me, because I keep it in the limelight. And you know why? Because there are cities like Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Vinnytsia, each with at least 300,000 residents. There are governors and mayors with grain plantations in all those cities. They are responsible for them. Kyiv has a population of 3 million in an oblast with less grain fields than anywhere else in Ukraine because of Chornobyl. In addition, the governor of Kyiv oblast seems blissfully unaware that the city, apart from everything else, is the center of Kyiv oblast. No other city, not Bila Tserkva, but Kyiv! All he knows is the status of Kyiv as the Ukrainian capital, meaning that I, not him, must take care of bread supplies. The governor’s office in Kyiv has a staff of about 1,000 and all of them make use of the city’s amenities.
I promise you will all know the truth about that grain, and for one reason only: I found a high ranking official who shares my views, Ukraine’s State Security head Leonid Derkach. The man kept silent for a long time and then, in a recent interview with the Kievskie Vedomosti, he said he wanted to know the truth. I only wonder what kept him silent so long. Last but not least, Yevhen Marchuk [secretary of National Security and Defense Council] called to say, “You are right. We will investigate the food situation.”
For example, a loaf of bread sells for 1 hryvnia 65 kopeks in Kharkiv. In Kyiv, it is 1 hryvnia 12 kopeks. I feel guilty nonetheless.
And I want to know the truth: why was 3.2 million metric tons of grain taken out of Ukraine?
THE COMPETING CHURCHES WON’T GET THE KEYS FROM TEMPLES AFTER RESTORATION
The Day: There are several points relating to religion we think need clearing up. Firstly, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) has accused one of your subordinates, Andriy Tkachuk, who is head of the Directorate for Religious Affairs, of favoring certain religious groups. By the way, this newspaper has been receiving letters to the same effect. What do you think of this problem? Secondly, still on the UAOC — it being the only Orthodox Church without its own cathedral in Kyiv — how do you feel about their request that St. Andrew’s Church be handed over to them? And a third question: would you please explain once again who will take possession of the newly rebuilt St. Michael’s Monastery and the Dormition Cathedral in Pecherska Lavra (Monastery of the Caves)? Has this property finally been delimited between the Kyiv and Moscow patriarchates?
Mayor: First of all, I learned of the complaints surrounding Tkachuk only recently — from the newspapers, by the way. I personally have received none, although I often meet with clergymen representing different branches of the faith. I have instructed my deputies to look into the matter, so I can’t comment further at the moment. I believe the most effective solution would be to build a new church, although, for various reasons, a site for this on the Left Bank is still to be allocated. I agree that the UAOC has no money for construction, but that’s a problem, for all the other churches; there are no large-scale donations on the horizon and parishioners can’t afford to fill the poor box themselves.
As for UAOC claims on St. Andrew’s Church, I must point out this house of God is part of the St. Sophia National Museum complex. That was the case even under the Soviet Union. St. Andrew’s Church cannot exist separately from St. Sophia’s, much less can St. Sophia’s right of ownership be ignored or the church be rented out. The city does not have any right to decide the fate of this church. By the way, the St. Sophia complex itself is not in the best of shape these days. I have been sending letters to different prime ministers for the last three years, asking for permission to manage it — and I stress manage, not possess — for 3-5 years so I could repair and restore it, because the preserve’s administration cannot afford the costs. All my requests were turned down. When Viktor Yushchenko visited the place he was asked a lot of questions about its condition, very complex questions. He suggested the problem could be solved using voluntary student labor. But the questions put to him were different, about the very salvation of St. Sophia’s; there are a lot of very serious problems that don’t have such simple answers. I also wrote to the President, asking for additional authority... Still nothing.
A government committee, yet to be formed, will determine the status of St. Michael’s Cathedral. The fact that the Patriarch of Kyiv consecrated the temple does not mean that clergymen representing other Orthodox churches cannot perform religious services there. Perhaps they can take turns. Whatever the case, this temple, just like the Dormition Cathedral, will not be owned by any of the churches. Restoration work was paid for by the state and municipal budgets. If Patriarch Filaret or his parishioners or foreign investors paid it for, everything would be different. As it is, the Ukrainian Diaspora donated enough money to buy maybe just one church bell. And the same is true of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. Therefore, both the Dormition and St. Michael’s cathedrals will remain public property, preserved as historic sites.
Turning to rival claims made by the Kyiv and Moscow Patriarchates, I would like to remind all those concerned that nine or ten years ago their representatives, following consultations with Leonid Kravchuk and Ivan Pliushch, divvied up the churches in Kyiv. St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral went to Patriarch Filaret and the Dormition Cathedral to Metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan, and the same applies to St. Michael’s Monastery and St. Elijah’s and the Church of the Protective Veil in Podil. Elsewhere in Ukraine churches were distributed according to local degrees of influence. Let me stress once again, we had nothing to do with it. They did it themselves.
But I do believe that we will see them united. We will have a single Church. Without being spiritually united we can’t even think about national dignity or our future. On the day marking the ninth anniversary of Ukrainian independence [August 24], interior ornamental work will start in the Dormition Cathedral so the place can be consecrated August 28, 2001, marking both the Assumption and the cathedral’s 950th anniversary. This, however, does not mean that we will be presenting the keys to the UOC or anybody else.
The Day: Is there any talk of relocating the grave of Patriarch Volodymyr [who was buried under the pavement outside St. Sophia’s following a pitched battle between militia and mourners, who were intent on burying him within the cathedral’s grounds]?
Mayor: The latest from the clergy is that maybe the current site of his final repose is the best there is; the holy ground and the grave faces the entrance to St. Sophia’s. Of course, it would have been different we hadn’t decorated the grave in a befitting manner. Besides, reburial is legally possible only with the relatives’ consent.
GUERILLA TACTICS IN BUDGET WARFARE: BOMBING THE ENEMY ON ITS OWN TURF
The Day: You said Kyiv would become a truly European city five years from now. This involves solving a lot of problems and a lot of money. Where do you think you will get the money? Who will finance the city’s development; the state, or private investors?
Mayor: Kyiv receives only half the wealth created by its residents. For decades now, even following independence, the state has appropriated the other half. Why? Because the law on independent local government remains ineffective. The law says that the budget must be formed from the bottom up and not the other way around, so Ukraine can be “manually controlled.”
After the law on Kyiv came into force, the city budget, approved by the local council, acquired priority status. We adopted the current budget December 26, 1999. The Verkhovna Rada failed to pass the budget bill in December and did so only on February 17, introducing budget indices it saw fit rather than those approved by the City Council, which is against the Constitution. We objected to substantial reductions in the city budget and for almost half a year I have been struggling to defend the capital’s right to live in accordance with the law. Prime Minister Yushchenko filed a complaint with the President and Finance Minister Ihor Mytiukov complained to the General Prosecutor, accusing me of having breached budget law in the first quarter by not transferring the required amount to the state budget. The General Prosecutor investigated the case and sent a response to Mytiukov to the effect that the mayor of the capital had acted in keeping with the Constitution, because his budget has priority status under the law on Kyiv.
In other words, the Verkhovna Rada and Cabinet acted contrary to the Constitution in regard to Kyiv, being fully aware they had no right to do so.
The Day: In other words, justice can be restored in this country sometimes.
Mayor: That’s right. On three occasions, the VR budget committee admitted that the 225 million hryvnias taken from the Kyiv budget actually belongs to the city. The Cabinet objected and in the end the issue was put to a vote in Parliament and the money stayed in state coffers. Now this is not theft but highway robbery, because theft is when you come home and discover that someone has picked the lock, entered, stolen things, and left. Highway robbery is when you are stopped and told you have a choice: your money or your life.
More than 200 million annually makes a billion over five years, enough for what we had planned for the capital and more. Honestly, in five years we could apply to host the 2008 Summer or Winter Olympics, as we would have all the necessary facilities: stadiums, transport, roads, communications, hotels and tourist sites. I have the vision and it just would take hard cash. Last year, 180 million and this year 225 million hryvnias was transferred to the state budget. Simple arithmetic shows that we have lost 400 million hryvnias in the two years after the enactment of the law on Kyiv. And this money has been taken from us illlegally.
The Day: How can you solve this problem?
Mayor: If I can’t solve it amicably before July 1, I will sue the Cabinet and Verkhovna Rada and bring the matter before the Constitutional Court. I have been acting like a guerrilla for half a year, bombing the enemy in its territory, which is correct as the mayor of the capital is right; no one can revise the city budget approved under the law.
You know how they explained the taking away of the money from Kyiv? Ukraine owes a lot to the International Monetary Fund. I reply that I didn’t make any loans and don’t you know that Kyiv has no debts? You made the loans, so where is that money? No answer.
That’s how I communicate with ministers. You must understand that nothing can be achieved without struggle. I keep asking why our pensioners are not paid their monthly 118 hryvnias as decided by the Verkhovna Rada. Kyiv was prepared to start paying as of January 1. But no answer, as in many other cases.
The Day: You mean Kyiv has no debts whatsoever?
Mayor: June 6 will mark four years of my mayoralty: three years as appointed by the President and one year as decided by the Kyiv electorate. I have never borrowed any money. You think investors, bankers, haven’t visited me or received no letters from the Cabinet? There have been dozens of meetings, but the terms they offered I rejected. Haggling would usually start at 12 percent annually. They would start telling about their laws according to world standard, and then the interest rate would be up to 14.8 percent. In the end it would be at 17 percent. And who is going to repay such loans?
All countries doing business with IMF have ended in default. Russia realized this earlier than we did, last year. Then they told IMF: either you lend us money and let us spend it the way we choose or just don’t bother if you don’t trust us. IMF says Ukraine is a corrupt and Mafia-run, so you can borrow from us, but then you must buy from us, with our money, things we don’t need — and neither do you. You must buy from us, because you have our money. That’s the formula. Can one do business with them on such terms, being of sound mind? Ukraine has done just that for the past 4-5 years. I call this self-contempt and disregard for the people.
Wait and see: if no tranches are forthcoming from IMF come June 10- 15, it will mean that they are convinced the National Bank of Ukraine has, mildly speaking, pocketed $200 million. I think that in a situation like this any civilized country would wait for the public to hit the roof...
THROUGH STRONG REGIONS TO A STRONG STATE
The Day: How do you think a second chamber in parliament would affect the capital? Would you, as Mayor, receive additional levers to influence at least the state budget?
Mayor: There are different examples of countries with bicameral parliaments. Japan, for example, is doing just fine. Russia struggles to keep afloat. My personal opinion is that one chamber would suffice for a structurally stable society, with one, two or three strong parties, or a coalition, representing the people’s will in Parliament and Cabinet.
The way things are in Ukraine, we will have lots of parties for the next decade, maybe longer, meaning that we may need a bicameral Parliament. The President did a good thing setting up a committee to work out the foundations of such changes. This way they won’t be made haphazardly. How should it be formed? Last year I read some documents saying governors and heads of oblast councils, and also mayors if elected by the populace. Such a motley crowd that can’t be regarded as the chamber capable of protecting local and regional self-government.
What is actually the idea of the second chamber? Strong regions mean a strong and prosperous state. The policy underway in Ukraine cannot produce an economically strong state. And if a country is economically weak it becomes even more dependent than a colony. The economic and financial policy must be built through the regions, beginning with local self-government, from bottom to top. Therefore, my stand is this: the form of the second chamber must be carefully studied and membership determined. The Constitution must specify that the House of the Regions be entitled to veto decisions made by the Lower House.
The Day: Do you think that senators should be elected or appointed?
Mayor: Election is the only way. If the new House includes senators appointed by the President, then why not give access to Cabinet ministers? What’s the difference? If the House is to be truly regional, it must consist of only those elected by the people. I am like any resident of Kyiv. The time will come when the man in the street in Kyiv will say he doesn’t need me as mayor.
How can a chamber be formed other than by an election? Another thing is that some of the MPs may work part-time, considering that they are chairmen of city councils or regional people- elected governors. Who is left? Deputy governors and deputy mayors. There must be mayors and vice mayors, as in Russia. Then the deputy mayor can work full time in the second chamber and the mayor may visit the chamber now and then.
GOVERNORS ENVY ME
The Day: There are certain divergences in Russia. A lot of Russians consider that Moscow is undeservedly rich. At times they claim the city pockets the lion’s share of all funds. It is as though Moscow were subject to protectionism. What about Ukraine? How would you compare the status of Moscow in Russia and that of Kyiv in Ukraine?
Mayor: At present, Kyiv does not have more rights than any given regional center. Another thing is that regional center show worse industrial and economic potential. As for budget formation procedures, Kyiv is on equal footing with Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia or Lviv. Moscow, apart from its status as the capital city, uses its right as a federal entity. Moscow has its own government, so that decisions passed by the Duma of Moscow can be neither approved nor changed by the Duma of Russia.
Moscow’s federal entity status makes the city twice economic and financially provided for than say, Vladimir, Tula or St. Petersburg. These hurt regional feelings. As for regions in Ukraine, they envy me, hopefully in a good way; after all, I live and work in the same city as the President.
Before the President visits a region, calls are made, warning the local administration. The place is tidied up, fences painted, portholes filled and asphalted, so the head of the administration can count on retaining his seat. I am sure that if the President visited any of the regions without prior warning he would find reasons to fire the governor. Here in Kyiv the President rides around without warning the administration...
The Day: Is working that close to the Presdient an advantage or a problem?
Mayor: It’s not so good for my health; I can never relax. And it’s an advantage for the residents. You know what governors say (I am on friendly terms with all of them) after the President’s visit? “Now we can rest for a couple of weeks. Why? The President visited for two days. We met him with bread and salt, and saw to his hotel accommodation. Then he left and we got so tired after three days. Now we can relax.” I am being frank with you. No one enters his office in Kyiv earlier or leaves later than I do. I am not showing off. That’s an old administrator’s habit.
I NEED AN EXTRA YEAR TO COMPLETE MY PLANS
The Day: A few words about ecology, if you please. What are the environmental guidelines in Kyiv, in terms of fresh water, waste disposal — particularly the garbage disposal plant constantly polluting the atmosphere, and the problem of Pyrohovo, which is still to be solved?
Mayor: The Dnipro and Desna status is good and our water purification conforms to all the regulatory documents. In fact, our drinking water is better than anywhere else along the Dnipro, yet it doesn’t mean that our water is better than in Paris, London or Helsinki. In Paris, tap water is served even at plush restaurants.
We started drilling artesian wells because we had no alternative. Trust my word, I had consultations with Academician Paton and leading scientists from the Institute of Water Chemistry. I studied special literature and finally arrived at the conclusion. If ever they say it was wrong, I will be the only one to blame. It was my own decision.
For so long as there are lines at artesian wells and people keep asking for new ones closer to their homes, drilling will continue. Ten years from now, after everybody gets rich and can afford bottled water; we will plug and store the wells. In case of a disaster, God forbid, people will use them.
Garbage disposal. We are building another garbage disposal plant in Obukhiv, worth 12 million hryvnias. In four years we will keep our places spotlessly clean. As for Pyrohovo, 168 families will move into new apartments by the end of the year.
The garbage disposal plant by Lake Vyrlytsia will be re-equipped for garbage processing, without incineration, because the smoke is really very harmful. We have a draft contract with an Austrian firm worth $200 million. I visited Vienna a week ago and I think we’ll sign it this June. There is a garbage disposal plant in downtown Vienna and the architects decorated the facade so no one walking or riding past will ever guess what’s going on inside. And there is no smokestack in sight. A huge copper ball camouflages it with trees planted on top. In fact, it is the city’s major architectural attraction. If we sign that contract, we will have a similar facility operating in Kyiv three to four years from now.
The Day: Talking of architectural attractions, are you satisfied with Kyiv’s visage, considering its age-old reputation as a city-park? At present, St. Sophia Square. looks a bit like Senate Square on account of the chain circling the Bohdan Khmelnytsky statue.
Mayor: Let me tell you this: having two architects means having three different concepts, and having three adds to the number considerably. Architects are very stubborn people, there is little use trying to make them revise their ideas. That’s why there are boards and councils of architects all over the world. I am not pleased to see the chains on St. Sophia and St. Michael’s squares, but the councils of art and architecture decided this; the decisions were passed by a majority of votes. I have to fight them, too, because I am not a doctor or scientist and I have built certain things over the past 40 years. I think that the old historical and architectural part of the city must be preserved. I don’t like the decisions made by the architectural council — I mean things built on the crossing of Pushkinska St. and Shevchenko Blvd, or on Chervonoarmiyska St. And I shared with the President my view on what they did to the Verkhovna Rada on Sadova St. Of course, by doing so I didn’t make more friends... And you can see that we are making improvements in the new residential districts, yet there is no feeling of satisfaction; it’s probably in our blood, never being content with what has been accomplished.
The department store Ukraine is scheduled for a major repair; Lybid Hotel has submitted proposals; some refurbishment will be done on the Circus. Now what are we supposed to do with that obelisk on Victory Square? How to get rid of it? You see, when shaping Victory Sq. 40 years back, they ought to have built something else instead of the Circus, Lybid Hotel, and department store Ukraine. They should have left the Jewish Bazaar. Then it would have been a real square.
The Day: The Israeli Ambassador recently visited the editorial office. She was surprised that such a beautiful city was not part of the European tourist itinerary. Do you have any plans in this direction?
Mayor: Yes, we do. But this takes three to four five-star hotels. We will have them. Leipzig Hotel will be ready this year, and Teatralna and St. Sophia hotels at the end of the next year. In June we’ll start on Besarabka (the proposed Dawoo international business center), using our own resources. We won’t wait any longer. It will be ready in 2.5 years. In addition we need to repair city roads, communications, and parklands. I think tourism will be a major source of budget income within three years.
Actually, I need an extra year to complete my plans. When the Verkhovna Rada passed the laws on Kyiv and mayoral elections, a clause was added without a vote to the effect that I would be elected for a term ending with that of the people’s deputies at all levels. It means that I will remain in office for three years, although I should have four years under the law. In other words, they stole a year from me. Now if I had that year I would remove the militia headquarters, [City] Court, and Fire Department from St. Sophia and St. Michael’s squares. Then we would have truly historical sites. Well, maybe someone else will do so.
