The Tsesarenko family living in an ordinary apartment in the ancient Ukrainian city of Kamyanets-Podilsky placed a long- distance call to Poland Friday evening October 5 to congratulate Leszek Miller on his appointment as Polish premier.
Nadiya and Vadym Tsesarenko (a former a teacher at a local music school; the latter a pensioner) are the parents of Premier Miller’s son’s wife. When approached by The Day, both were surprised: How could anyone have possibly found out about their being related to the Polish premier’s family? After all, theirs was an ordinary family in a city inhabited by 110,000. Nadiya recalls her daughter Irena’s trip to Poland as just another Ukrainian shuttle merchant. There she met Leszek Miller, Jr. at a cafe frequented by Warsaw University students. Naturally, her parents wanted to know about her sweetheart’s parents. They knew his father was the leader of a political party. In any case, they knew he would be the next Polish premier even last winter, because President Kwasniewski made it clear and the Left ratings were even higher than they would turn out during the elections.
One thing the Tsesarenkos know is that Monica-Aleksandra Miller, who was born and stayed in Kamyanets-Podilsky until she was eight months old, bosses her premier grandfather around, and that “new horizons are being opened for the city fathers, provided they want to see them.” The Tsesarenkos have big glass jars of home-pickled cucumbers ready, along with sacks of flour, potatoes, carrots, so they can have a festive-laid table ready for their son-in-law who loves varenyky [meat or cheese dumplings] and borsht among other Ukrainian dishes. “He said he was planning a visit to Kyiv and then he would come to our city. He asked if we have an airfield. We said we don’t know. We used to have an airport, but it’s been long closed. So we don’t know where he can land.”
