There are people in the history of every country, who promote its development. Yevhen Marchuk is a figure of this kind for Ukraine. He is a champion of statehood, analyst, and strategist. His vision of this country’s development was and still is ahead of time. When Mr. Marchuk was an active politician, he had to work in a difficult time, when the system and the people who created it were not interested in professionals and patriots of Ukraine. Politicians, journalists, and society as a whole were not prepared for real changes and for having Mr. Marchuk as head of state. This is why the chance in the 1990s was missed. Society made progress after some time, but there was no person who could lead the country. But even in that reference frame, Mr. Marchuk, who held high governmental offices, managed to lay a lot of the groundwork first for the making and then for the tactical and strategic development of this country. He has always been feared because he is better. Mr. Marchuk was and still is the one best prepared, from all angles, for ruling the state. The people who worked with Mr. Marchuk or just know him well tell a lot of stories from his life, which confirm his reputation as a true professional and a man of high moral standards. For the younger generation of today, it is a role model to study and follow. It is all “Marchuk’s school.” And the best “pupil” in this school will lead Ukraine onto the right path. It is necessary today not to miss a unique chance to make use of Mr. Marchuk’s expertise in the current hard times. The best must, at last, win in this country. God grant you a long life, Mr. Marchuk!
“MARCHUK’S BASIC QUALITIES WOULD NOT HAVE LET THIS COUNTRY SLIP TO THE CURRENT SITUATION”
Oleksandr SHARKOV, Major-General, ex-chairman, Main Directorate of Intelligence, Security Service of Ukraine:
“I greet Mr. Marchuk and wish him good health and happiness. I would like all the external factors associated with a person like him to be more favorable to the Ukrainian state and each of us. Mr. Marchuk remains a much needed person – he was recently invited to head, on a nonprofit basis, the Ukraine-NATO cooperation secretariat. He is well experienced and highly knowledgeable, particularly in the matters of international relations and NATO. I must say, with due account of our current relationship with Russia, that Mr. Marchuk is very well informed about all the negotiations we conducted with that country, as well as about the ‘Big Treaty,’ Crimea, and many others.
“He is a hardworking and conscientious person – he always worked until very late, and you could find him in his office room at 2 a.m. As a politician, he has toured all over Europe in order to look into the practical side of the matter, establish contacts with statesmen, and see the way policies can be pursued practically.
“There were just a few rather creative periods in my life. One of them was the time when I worked with Mr. Marchuk and headed the Ukrainian intelligence service. He created such an atmosphere of work that I was free to do all that I considered necessary without having to be bothered by superiors. When I first came to the US and entered the CIA director’s office room, the official in charge of Eastern European affairs introduced me as follows: ‘General Sharkov who is forming the Ukrainian intelligence service the way he knows it.’ And the CIA director bowed to me, for he is not free to do what he can.
“I remember an instance when we were to draw up a strategically-important document. Mr. Marchuk held a briefing and said: ‘This material should be prepared by the end of this week. But I request you not to entrust this to senior operatives. They will write a document from their viewpoint, whereas I need a government-style approach.’ He was 100-percent right. Unfortunately, a very unpleasant thing occurred in Russia: a senior operative was made president – it is a wrong level, a major blunder. This man’s mentality and horizons have remained the same.
“The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was a self-financing body, so there could have been the same embezzlement there as in other departments. But Mr. Marchuk never intended to steal even one budgetary coin. Besides, he is rather a modest person, there were no extravagances in his interior, nor did he have any special demands about vacations. When Ukraine saw the first foreign-made cars, we could acquire four autos, and I suggested that Mr. Marchuk use one of them for official purposes. But he continued to use his Volga. And when the CIA director visited Ukraine, he was carried in this very car. Our guest even asked: ‘Why is your car so noisy and slow?’
“When Yevhen Marchuk was running for the presidency, the SBU supported him because many knew and respected him. His advantage was that he came to the security service as an operative in the rank of lieutenant and rose to the highest level of SBU chairman. He was a skilled operative, officer, and then politician. I have always believed that if Marchuk had won the presidential elections, the history of Ukraine would have evolved in a different, more positive, way. Mr. Marchuk’s basic qualities would not have let this country slip to the current situation. We would have no oligarchy, for it is Kuchma who gave it life. He should be accused of not only the Gongadze case, but also of other political and historical crimes. He must be brought to justice and stand trial for fostering oligarchy. Ninety nine percent of what is going on in this country is the result of an oligarchic system that flourished due to corruption. Marchuk would not have allowed this.”
“THE SOONER THE POTENTIAL OF MARCHUK WILL BE USED, THE SOONER THE UKRAINIAN LEADERSHIP WILL BEGIN TO TAKE EFFECTIVE STEPS”
Oleksandr YELIASHKEVYCH, Verkhovna Rada member, 2nd and 3rd convocations:
“Unfortunately, the leadership has been ignoring Mr. Marchuk’s experience and professional qualities in the past few years. For his participation could have helped fully solve or minimize the negative consequences of many problems that arise in this country. I hope the current political leadership of Ukraine will use the potential of such people.
“Suffice it to recall the historical milestones which could be deservedly classified as his personal merit. Firstly, it is settlement of the Crimea conflict in the mid-1990s, when it was a matter of serious concern whether or not the peninsula will be part of Ukraine. At the time, even the ‘president of Crimea’ – Meshkov – was elected. And, but for Mr. Marchuk’s firm and effective stand, we would have faced the last year’s problems 20 years earlier.
“I would also like to recall 1995 – Ukraine’s admission to the Council of Europe, an event directly associated with Mr. Marchuk as Prime Minister of Ukraine at the time.
Photo by Mykola LAZARENKO
“Obviously, one of my brightest recollections is his role in the 1996 constitutional process and his brilliant speech on the night of June 28. He managed to unite the assembly hall’s audience with his optimism and show the way in the right direction – the conflict that had emerged at night was instantly resolved, and Ukraine, in the words of Marchuk, ‘met the dawn with a new Constitution.’ These words must be written in the new Ukrainian history schoolbooks which will cover true history, not the one devised by Kuchma and his inner circle, where myths, speculations, and absolutely inadequate information get the upper hand.
“In 1999 I chaired a parliamentary commission that monitored the presidential elections. I know like nobody else how difficult it was for the presidential candidate Yevhen Marchuk to resist the dirty and cruel schemes of the then president Kuchma. Unfortunately, dirty methods won that year, and Kuchma defeated democracy and the Ukrainian people by rigging, crudely and cynically, the voting results. If Mr. Marchuk had been elected president at the time, Ukraine would be a full-fledged member of the European Union now.
“One can further enumerate the personal achievements of Mr. Marchuk as a statesman. But I would focus on his continuous, unchangeable, and principled attitude to Ukraine’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic entities, including NATO. But for his stand and effective actions, Ukraine would have even more pressing problems in the question of its defense capability.
“Speaking of Mr. Marchuk, I would like to emphasize: the sooner his potential will be used in the matters that need his skill, the sooner the Ukrainian leadership will begin to take effective steps and stop the series of the often fatal mistakes.
“Above all, I wish Mr. Marchuk good health, so that he can fully realize his potential in this difficult period of Ukrainian history.”
“A HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL, SELF-SUFFICIENT, WISE, AND PATRIOTIC PERSON”
Ihor KABANENKO, Admiral:
“The talent of a leader is a thing that has an impact on society. It is always multifaceted. Its dimension is apt decisions aimed at progress, not at process. In my opinion, General of the Army Yevhen Marchuk is a person of this talent.
“As time goes by, I can recall my first meeting with Mr. Marchuk, when he was minister of defense. It was about the armed forces reform – you always find satisfaction in communicating with a wise person who catches the essence of problems and takes into account a well-grounded viewpoint of his subordinates. He can listen to arguments, notice details, and draw the right conclusion, which, unfortunately, many executives are short of. Very few know that it is Mr. Marchuk who approved at the time the idea to build corvettes as an important point in the program of restoration of the national navy’s operational capability. We also constructively discussed and approved the Ukrainian Navy’s organizational structure, which made it possible to turn the scattered units, which were left in Ukraine after the Black Sea Fleet partition, into a systemic structure. What confirms that it was a right decision is the fact that this structure has existed without changes until now. I must also recall a very serious analysis of things during the Tuzla events – we outdid the Russians, in which Mr. Marchuk’s wisdom, analytical, professional, and managing qualities played a crucial role. I will always remember the minister’s words: ‘I congratulate you, Admiral, on being promoted to the highest officer rank!’ These seemingly simple words convey trust and respect, their intonation reminds us of our responsibility and the importance of persistent actions to strengthen naval capabilities. All this is of real value. There is so much to recall…
“And today, such a highly professional, self-sufficient, wise, and patriotic person as Mr. Marchuk cannot exist outside the difficult processes now underway in Ukraine. The state’s interests are very meaningful and concrete things for him, while an integrated system of views on the transformation of the national security and defense setup and the future of this country makes it possible to draw the right conclusions and offer well-considered recommendations.
“As I send Mr. Marchuk my birthday greetings, I would like to thank him for the lessons of life and for a serious school of leadership, and to wish him all kinds of earthly benefits: peace in Ukraine, family bliss, health, achievements in his public and professional activities, and, naturally, by naval tradition, seven feet under the keel and sails full of wind to ship of his life!
“Yours very truly, Admiral Ihor Kabanenko.”
