Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Ukraine‘s lawmakers scuffle in parliament on Nov. 12, the day the Verkhovna Rada voted to dismiss Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk, symbol of the doomed Orange Revolution alliance between President Victor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. AP Ambassador takes issue with New York Times

In a letter published on Nov. 15, Ukraine’s ambassador to America, Oleh Shamshur, objects to a news story on Nov. 4, headlined: “As Ukraine staggers, its leaders quarrel.”

Shamshur wrote: “I am positive that we shall overcome all the difficulties no matter how complicated the process of our development may look from the outside. Centuries of struggle for independence and freedom have taught us to uphold them.”

The letter appears to have been written before Nov. 12, when the latest round of parliamentary fisticuffs broke out among deputies on the day a majority voted to oust presidential ally Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Verkhovna Rada speaker.


Blik newspaper owner starts Forbes Romania

With advertising spending expected to be lower next year, now seems an unlikely time to start new media ventures. But U.S.-based Science Letter on Nov. 18 wrote that Forbes is set to launch its 10th and latest local-language edition, Forbes Romania, in partnership with media group Adevarul Holdings in Romania.

Adevarul (Truth, in Romanian) is a Bucharest-based company owned by politician and businessman Dinu Patriciu. Its holdings include Kyiv-distributed newspaper Blik.


Prospect of Ukrtelecom sale whets appetites

While most people seem to be hunkering down financially and counting dwindling amounts of their favorite currency, the telecommunications industry is salivating at the prospect of a big development: the possible privatization of Ukretelecom.

In many ways, the privatization of the Ukrainian government-owned telecoms monopoly makes sense now. The government is cash-strapped and could use the money. Private investors would hopefully be the tonic needed to push the telecoms company more aggressively into the latest technologies. “Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko recently signaled that the privatization of state incumbent telecoms operator Ukrtelecom would go ahead, with the proceeds being used for a new stabilization fund intended to stabilize the country’s troubled banks,” Asia Pacific Telecommunications Insights notes in its Dec. 1 edition. “A 92.8 percent stake in Ukrtelecom is currently held by the State Property Fund, and there has been a long debate concerning whether the privatization would go ahead or not.” But holding on to Ukretelecom during a worldwide recession makes sense in other ways. The value of Ukretelecom has dropped to $1 billion, “as little as a fifth of the value of some previous estimates,” Asia Pacific Telecommunications Insights notes.

“Some observers believe the privatization should be postponed until the financial markets pick up, while others such as Valentyna Semenyuk-Samsonenko, who manages the State Property Fund, oppose the selling of strategic state assets, believing they are best managed in the hands of the state,” the newsletter notes.

It goes on to name some of the possible suitors, including several Japanese operators; Hungary’s Magyar Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom; Telekom Austria and Russian Sistema holdings Comstar-UTS and MTS, as well as Russia’s third largest mobile operator Megafon.

The industry publication says that Ukraine’s Alfa Group, which owns VimpelCom and Golden Telecom, might not have the money to compete.

“For the time being, President Yushchenko and the government led by Tymoshenko appear to be in agreement over the privatization, but political infighting over the details is likely to cause problems,” the newsletter wrote. “However, just as the two political factions were able to come together to agree on the IMF funding package, they could collaborate in the privatization of state assets to secure vital funds to see Ukraine through the global economic crisis.“


Nation keeps shrinking: Now 46 million people

Qatar News Agency’s on Nov. 14 found it worthwhile to note the latest statistics from the Ukrainian State Statistics Committee: Ukraine’s population lost 255,000 people this year, dipping to 46 million citizens. The trends: “From the beginning of the year, 375,000 people were born and 567,000 people died in the country. Migration processes – more Ukrainians than ever leave their native land to search for better life abroad – added to the negative demographic balance. There are 31.3 million urban residents and 14.7 rural residents in the country now.”


Movie sets box-office records in Ukraine

According to Entertainment Business Newsweekly on Nov. 23, Paramount Pictures Corporation announced that its DreamWorks Animation movie “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” made box-office history in both Russia and Ukraine.

“The continuing saga of the Central Park Zoosters bowed in Russia to the biggest opening day ever for an American film and set the record for the biggest opening day of all time in Ukraine,” the newsletter said. “In Russia, the film opened on 841 screens, grossing $2.81 million. This record establishes ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ as the second biggest opening of all time in the country, besting all previous animated feature releases. In Ukraine, the film opened on 92 screens to a gross of $396,000.”