1.
Vitaliy Masol
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Vitaliy Andriyovych Masol is a Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 1994 to 1995. He was confirmed as Prime Minister on June 16,1994, Masol graduated in 1951 from Kyiv Polytechnic Institute as an engineer. In 1971 he was awarded a doctorate in technical science, Masol was Head of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR from 1987 until 17 October 1990, when was forced to resign and was replaced by Vitold Fokin. He was forced into resignation by Ukrainian student protests and hunger strikes, Masol was once again reinstated by President Leonid Kuchma. Masol was against most of Kuchmas reform plans and openly so, Masol resigned on March 1,1995 continuing to attend meetings of the Verkhovna Rada
2.
Vitold Fokin
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Vitold Pavlovych Fokin, the son of a teacher, was appointed first deputy prime minister of Ukraine in November 1991. Today Novomykolaivka is located in Zaporizhia Oblast, Fokin graduated from National Mining University of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk. After Vitaliy Masol was forced to resign Fokin was appointed Head of the Council of Ministers of Ukrainian SSR on 17 October 1990, on 18 April 1991 Vitold Fokin was appointed the first Prime Minister of Ukraine. On 12 September 1991 Ukrainian parliament adopted its resolution on Succession of Ukraine where Ukraine was declared a successor of the Ukrainian SSR. On 22 August 1992 at a session of Ukrainian parliament President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk accepted a succession diploma from the exiled government of the Ukrainian Peoples Republic. He resigned on 8 October 1992 under pressure from the Verkhovna Rada, until May 1994, he was vice speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. He currently serves as chairman of the board of AOZT Devon. Interview of Fokin, Boulevard of Gordon,23 October 2012
3.
National Olympic Committee of Ukraine
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The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine is a non-profit all-Ukrainian public organization responsible for development, reinforcement, and protection of the Olympic movement. The committee has a right to represent Ukraine in the Olympic Games. The history of the Olympic movement in Ukraine started in 1952 when Ukrainian athletes participated at the Games of the XV Olympiad in Helsinki as a part of the U. S. S. R. During 1952 -1990 the Olympic movement in Ukraine was developing and strengthening its position in the countrys life, Ukrainian athletes constituted at least 25% of the composition of each USSR Olympic team. During the Games of the XXII Olympiad in 1980 some matches of football tournament took place in Kyiv and it was a great success. On the 22nd December 1990 the I General Assembly of founders took the decision to create the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the NOC of Ukraine was permanently recognized by the International Olympic Committee in September 1993. The NOC of Ukraine is working in accordance with the provisions of the Olympic Charter, the Ukrainian Constitution, for this purpose the NOC of Ukraine cooperates with state, public and other organizations. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine unites 40 Ukrainian Olympic sports federations, the NOC of Ukraine participated in 6 winter editions and 5 summer editions of the Olympic Games. Mr. Sergey BUBKA and Mr. Valeriy BORZOV are IOC members in Ukraine, the NOC of Ukraine has agreements with some world-known firms and companies. In 1995 the NOC of Ukraine started to publish its official monthly magazine Olimpiyska Arena, the NOC of Ukraine has wide relations with NOCs of neighboring countries and Olympic organizations. The representatives of the NOC of Ukraine are members of different international organizations and associations, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has close ties with Ukrainian sports centers abroad. The committees of friends of Ukrainian NOC were created and function now in the USA, Canada and this ceremony is a grate occasion to meet Olympic champions and medalists of all times, coaches and sports specialists. The sports «Oscar» is presented to athletes and coaches who won medals at the Olympic, Sports organizers whose contribution was recognized the most substantial also get this award. Since 2011 National Olympic Committee of Ukraine together with the Olympic Academy of Ukraine organizes the nationwide actions «The Olympic Book», during these projects each of over 20000 schools and each of 230 classes is provided with Olympic literature and sports equipment. The main goal is the development of the Olympic movement in Ukraine, promotion of healthy lifestyles, the Olympic lesson is the annual sports event which was initiated by National Olympic Committee of Ukraine since 2004. The Olympic Lesson is held in all regions of the country, over 40 sports grounds present different sports holding open training sessions and demonstrations. In the world there is a tradition to celebrate Olympic Day dedicated to the International Olympic Committee’s foundation. Olympic Day is a family sports holiday where everyone finds something what he likes, at this event people can feel like real Olympians
4.
Leonid Kuchma
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Leonid Danylovych Kuchma is a Ukrainian politician who was the second President of independent Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, Kuchma won re-election for an additional five-year term in 1999. His presidency was surrounded by numerous scandals and the lessening of media freedoms. Corruption accelerated after Kuchmas election in 1994, but in 2000–2001, on his watch the Ukrainian economy continued to decline until 1999, whereas growth was recorded since 2000, bringing relative prosperity to some segments of urban residents. During his presidency, Ukrainian-Russian ties began to improve, after a successful career in the machine-building industry of the Soviet Union, Kuchma began his political career in 1990, when he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada, he was re-elected in 1994. He served as Ukrainian Prime Minister between October 1992 and September 1993, since July 2014, Kuchma has been Ukraines representative at the semi-official peace talks regarding the ongoing War in Donbass. Leonid Kuchma was born in the village of Chaikine in rural Chernihiv Oblast and his father Danylo Prokopovych Kuchma was wounded in World War II and eventually died of his wounds in the field hospital #756 when Leonid was four. His mother Paraska Trokhymivna Kuchma worked at a kolhoz, Kuchma attended the Kostobobrove general education school in the neighboring Semenivka Raion. Later he enrolled in Dnipropetrovsk National University and graduated in 1960 with a degree in mechanical engineering, the same year he joined the Communist Party of Soviet Union. Kuchma is a candidate of technical sciences, after graduation, Kuchma worked in the field of aerospace engineering for the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnipropetrovsk. At 28 he became a director for the Bureau deployed at the Baikonur cosmodrome. At 38 Kuchma became the Communist party chief at Yuzhny Machine-building Plant and he was a delegate of the 27th and 28th Congresses of the Communist Party of Soviet Union. By the end of the 1980s, Kuchma openly criticized the Communist Party, in 1982 Kuchma was appointed the first deputy of general design engineer at Yuzhmash, and from 1986 to 1992, he held the position of the companys general director. From 1990 to 1992, Kuchma was a member of the Verkhovna Rada, in 1992 he was appointed as Prime Minister of Ukraine. He resigned a year later, complaining of slow pace of reform and he was re-elected into parliament in 1994. Kuchma won a victory against the incumbent President Leonid Kravchuk, receiving strong support from the industrial areas in the east. His worst results were in the west of the country, Kuchma was re-elected in 1999 to his second term. This time the areas that gave him strongest support last time voted for his opponents, during Kuchmas Presidency, he closed opposition papers and several journalists died in mysterious circumstances
5.
Yevhen Marchuk
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Yevhen Kyrylovych Marchuk, born on January 28,1941, is a Ukrainian statesman and politician. During his career, Marchuk was prime minister of Ukraine, presidential candidate, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Marchuk is affiliated with the Ukrainian Den newspaper, edited by his wife. He has been a general in the Army of Ukraine since March 23,1994, yevhen Marchuk was born soon before World War II into a peasant family in Central Ukraine. In 1963, upon graduation from the Kirovohrad Pedagogical Institute, Marchuk was recruited by the KGB and steadily rose through the ranks of that organization. As an operative officer he served first in Kirovohrad Oblast, then in the republican KGB branch in Kiev as an intelligence and secret service officer, Marchuk has admitted specializing in secret police functions. However, he claims to have been a humane lawful agent, at first he was appointed the Ukrainian SSR Minister of National Security and Defence. That position held no power since local KGB, militsiya. The Soviet Union then collapsed, ending Marchuk’s service to the KGB and he headed the SBU until 1994. After the 1994 parliamentary elections, Marchuk became head of the liberal Social Market Choice faction, Marchuk was appointed the acting Prime minister of Ukraine on March 1,1995, holding the position of the first vice-Premier Minister in the cabinet of Vitaliy Masol. He was later promoted to the position of the Premier Minister on June 8,1995 and he formed his cabinet, which was confirmed on July 3,1995. After being elected to the Verkhovna Rada, he resigned on May 27,1996, Marchuk and Kravchuk became members of the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine before the 1998 elections. From April to December 1998 he was the leader of the party, from July 1998 Marchuk headed a parliamentary committee in Social Policy and Labor. When the SDPU refused to back Marchuk in the 1999 presidential elections, Marchuk was secretary of the National Security and Defense Council from November 10,1999, to June 25,2003. Later, he was the Defense Minister of Ukraine from June 2003 to September 2004, during the 2006 parliamentary elections Marchuk lead the electoral alliance which didnt make it into parliament, winning only 0. 06% of the votes. On December 6,2001, the Italian prosecutors office accused Marchuk of violating the UN embargo on supplying arms to parts of the world. The accusations remained, never investigated nor prosecuted, in May 2008, Marchuk was appointed one of the personal advisors to President Yushchenko. In June 2015 he was appointed by President Poroshenko a Ukrainian special representative in one of the subgroups of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine
6.
Pavlo Lazarenko
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According to United Nations, approximately US$200 million was embezzled by Lazarenko during 1996–97 from the government of Ukraine. Pavlo Lazarenko was born in a village of Karpivka that is located just outside a former Inhulets city on 23 January 1953 in peasant family, in 1970 he worked as a driver in the kolkhoz Zoria Komunizma in Shyroke Raion. From May 1971 to June 1973 Lazarenko served in the Soviet Army on the border with Afghanistan, after that in 1973-1978 he studied at the Dnipropetrovsk State Agrarian University in Agronomic Department. After graduating Lazarenko received a specialty of agronomist, from 1978 to 1983 he worked as agronomist, chief agronomist, and head of kolkhoz administration in the Kalinin kolkhoz, Novomoskovsk Raion. In 1984, Lazarenko was appointed a head of department of Tsarychanka Raion. From 1985 to 1987 he worked as a Communist party functionary in Tsarychanka Raion, in 1987-90 Lazarenko worked for the Communist Party of Dnipropetrovsk region in agricultural production and food industry sectors. In February 1990 he was elected a head of Agro-Industrial Complex of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, in August 1991 Lazarenko was elected as the first deputy of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor office, while he also was appointed a director of the regional department of agriculture. In March 1992, the President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk appointed Lazarenko the representative of President of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Lazarenkos candidacy was nominated by the council of working groups conference of the Dnipropetrovsk State Agrarian University whose decision was supported by over 200 groups. Leonid Kuchma at that time was proposing another candidacy of Valeriy Pustovoitenko, Lazarenko stayed at the governor position until June 1994. Although he sided with incumbent Kravchuk in the 1994 elections, he managed to close ties with the election winner. Upon recommendation of the Prime Minister of Ukraine Yevhen Marchuk, the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma appointed Pavlo Lazarenko the First Vice Prime Minister on 5 September 1995. As the government official in affairs, he was charged with a task of negotiating gas supplies with Russia. Already next year in 1996 Ukraine reported no debts to the Russian Gazprom for the first since its independence, in 1996 Lazarenko became Doctor of Economic Sciences. On 28 May 1996, Kuchma confirmed Lazarenko as the Prime Minister of Ukraine within the powers stipulated by the current Constitutional Agreement, on 10 July 1996, less than two weeks after adopting a new Constitution of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada approved the appointment of prime-minister. On 16 July 1996 Lazarenko survived an attempt on his life when a bomb exploded near his car en route from Kiev to Boryspil airport. While in charge of the Cabinet, Lazarenko reportedly exercised control over many lucrative business projects, at that time, he maintained a close business relationship with Yulia Tymoshenko, then the CEO of Yedyni Energosystemy Ukrayiny, a monopoly that imported Russian natural gas. Lazarenko was involved in a prolonged and bitter struggle for domination with the emerging Donetsk clan. Some Ukrainian media indirectly accused Yevhen Shcherban, the leader of the Liberal Party of Ukraine, conversely, others speculated that Shcherbans murder was a tit-for-tat order by the Prime Minister
7.
Sambir
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Sambir, is a city in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. Serving as the center of Sambir Raion, It is designated as a city of oblast significance. It is located close to the border with Poland, Sambir is situated on the left Bank of the Dniester river. The city stands at the crossroads and it is the cultural, industrial and tourist center of modern Ukraine. The fifth largest city in the Lviv Oblast, distance to the regional center by rail for 78 miles, by road 76 km length of the city from the South-West to North-East is 10.5 km, and from North-West to South-East 4.5 km from the hotel. The center is located at the height of 305,96 m above sea level, the city is an important road connecting Eastern and Western Europe, North and South. Through Sambor electrified railway tracks, trunk pipelines and power lines, the history of the cities Sambir and Staryi Sambir, which are both situated in Halychyna, in the Lviv Oblast by the Dnister river, begins in a place currently known as Staryi Sambir. This was founded in the 12th century and served as an important center of the Halych Princedom, in the 13th century, the Tatars destroyed it, and in the year 1241 it was burnt down. The latter began to be called Staryi-Sambor, or the old city, the village of Pohonicz was first under the rule of Rus, in 1340 became part of the Kingdom of Poland. The foundations of the city of Sambir were laid in 1390 by the voivode of Kraków, Spytek of Melsztyn. The king granted his loyal companion, for his services, enormous pieces of land. It is not possible to exactly when the village of Pohonicz was founded because of the lack of historical sources. It may be assumed that, it being on the important commercial and strategic crossroads near the Dniester and its tributary Mlinuvka, it served as a center for fortification. The Dniester and the Mlinuvka add a charm to Sambor. The grant of rights led to people flocking to the city – Poles, Germans, Russians. From the citys founding, Spytko saw to its development and granted it many rights, in January 1394, King Wladyslaw Jagiello, at Spytkos request, exempted the inhabitants from paying various taxes. Not for very long, however, did Sambor benefit from his actions for the good of the city, in 1399 Spytko participated in the war against the Tatars, in which he was killed on 12 August 1399 near the river Worskla. After his death, the Sambor properties passed to his wife, the Dniester had already played an important role as a natural water route leading to Akerman near the Black Sea
8.
Lviv Oblast
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Lviv Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv, the oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4,1939 following the Soviet invasion of Poland. The territory of the former Drohobych Oblast was incorporated into the Lviv Oblast in 1959, the oblasts strategic position at the heart of central Europe and as the gateway to the Carpathians has caused it to change hands many times over the centuries. The regions historically dominant Ukrainian population declared the area to be a part of an independent West Ukrainian National Republic in 1918, but this endured only briefly. The region and its capital city take their name from the time of Galicia-Volhynia, when Daniel of Galicia, during this time, the general region around Lviv was known as Red Ruthenia. The region only became part of the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939, when it was annexed to the Ukrainian SSR. It was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, when almost all local Jews were killed, local Poles were expelled and Ukrainians expelled from Poland arrived. Given its historical development, Lviv Oblast is one of the least Russified and Sovietized parts of Ukraine, with much of its Polish, the region is also notable for having declared independence from the central government during the 2014 Euromaidan protests. The terrain of Lviv Oblast is highly varied, North from there are the wide upper Dniester river valley and much smaller upper San River valley. These rivers have flat bottoms covered with deposits, and are susceptible to floods. Between these valleys and Beskyd lies the Precarpathian upland covered with deciduous forests and its also the area of one of the earliest industrial petroleum and gas extraction. These deposits are all but depleted by now, in the central part of the region lie Roztocze, Opillia, and part of the Podolia uplands. Rich sulphur deposits were mined here during the Soviet era, Roztocze is densely forested, while Opillia and Podolia are densely populated and mostly covered by arable land. In the central-north part of the lies the Small Polesia lowland, geographically isolated from the rest of Polesia but with similar terrain. The far North of the lies on the Volhynia upland. The climate of Lviv Oblast is moderately cool and humid, the average annual precipitation is 600–650 mm in the lowlands, 650–750 mm in the highlands and up to 1,000 mm in the Carpathians, with the majority of precipitation occurring in summer. Prolonged droughts are uncommon, while strong rainfalls can cause floods in river valleys, severe winds during storms can also cause damage, especially in the highlands. The climate is favourable for the cultivation of sugar beets, winter wheat, flax, rye, cabbage, apples and it is still too cold to successfully cultivate maize, sunflower, grapes, melon, watermelon or peaches in Lviv Oblast
9.
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
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The Ukrainian SSR was a founding member of the United Nations, although it was legally represented by the All-Union state in its affairs with countries outside of the Soviet Union. From the start, the city of Kharkiv served as the republics capital. However, in 1934, the seat of government was moved to the city of Kyiv. Geographically, the Ukrainian SSR was situated in Eastern Europe to the north of the Black Sea, bordered by the Soviet republics of Moldavia, Byelorussia, the Ukrainian SSRs border with Czechoslovakia formed the Soviet Unions western-most border point. According to the Soviet Census of 1989 the republic had a population of 51,706,746 inhabitants, the name Ukraine, derived from the Slavic word kraj, meaning land or border. It was first used to part of the territory of Kievan Rus in the 12th century. The name has been used in a variety of ways since the twelfth century, after the abdication of the tsar and the start of the process of the destruction of the Russian Empire many people in Ukraine wished to establish a Ukrainian Republic. During a period of war from 1917-23 many factions claiming themselves governments of the newly born republic were formed, each with supporters. The two most prominent of them were the government in Kyiv and the government in Kharkiv, the former being the Ukrainian Peoples Republic and the latter the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. This government of the Soviet Ukrainian Republic was founded on 24–25 December 1917, in its publications it names itself either the Republic of Soviets of Workers, Soldiers, and Peasants Deputies or the Ukrainian Peoples Republic of Soviets. The last session of the government took place in the city of Taganrog, in July 1918 the former members of the government formed the Communist Party of Ukraine, the constituent assembly of which took place in Moscow. On 10 March 1919, according to the 3rd Congress of Soviets in Ukraine the name of the state was changed to the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic. After the ratification of the 1936 Soviet Constitution, the names of all Soviet republics were changed, transposing the second, during its existence, the Ukrainian SSR was commonly referred to as Ukraine or the Ukraine. On 24 August 1991, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic declared independence, since the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine in June 1996, the country became known simply as Ukraine, which is the name used to this day. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, several factions sought to create an independent Ukrainian state, the most popular faction was initially the local Socialist Revolutionary Party that composed the local government together with Federalists and Mensheviks. The Bolsheviks boycotted any government initiatives most of the time, instigating several armed riots in order to establish the Soviet power without any intent for consensus, immediately after the October Revolution in Petrograd, Bolsheviks instigated the Kiev Bolshevik Uprising to support the Revolution and secure Kyiv. Due to a lack of support from the local population and anti-revolutionary Central Rada, however. Most moved to Kharkiv and received the support of the eastern Ukrainian cities, later, this move was regarded as a mistake by some of the Peoples Commissars
Soviet Union
Donald Quarrie
Steve Williams
Gert Metz
Pietro Mennea
Philippe Clerc
