I’ve had a slew of news stories I’ve been wanting to write individual posts on, but as they kept piling up I thought this was the best way to share them with everyone. Happy reading!

In Ukraine

• NATO Hits the Catwalk at Ukraine Fashion Week – “Ukrainians must change their attitude towards NATO” – encourages the famous Ukrainian designer Olena Dats. Together with the Institute of World Policy, she has developed a Euro-Atlantic collection, presented at Ukrainian Fashion Week.
• Higher birth-defect rate seen in Chernobyl area – The findings, reported in the journal Pediatrics, stand in contrast to a 2005 U.N. report stating that there is no evidence of an increased risk of birth defects or other reproductive effects in areas contaminated by radiation from the Chernobyl accident.
• Russian Dubbing Controversy in Ukraine - In Ukraine, legislation from January 2008 requires films to be dubbed. However, cinemas continue to broadcast Russian films with the original soundtrack. TV-channels either synchronize or dub only a small number of Russian films — all others are shown with Ukrainian subtitles.
• China’s Ukrainian Moves - China’s play in Ukraine could deliver a serious blow to Russia’s broader geopolitical plans of extending its sphere of influence in the post-Soviet area. Meanwhile, the key question in Kiev will be how to best adapt to this new dynamic.
• Memorial in Ukraine to remember victims of Soviet oppression which probably spawned Ukrainian Communists Determined To Erect Stalin Monument
• Yushchenko: Court’s decision to strip Bandera of hero title aggravates confrontation among Ukrainians – “Such provocative techniques are particularly cynical and dangerous on the eve of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. They are contributing to the split, rather than uniting the society…” said Yushchenko.
• 300th anniversary of first Ukrainian constitution written by Pylyp Orlyk being celebrated – Ukrainian national patriots are celebrating the 300th anniversary of First Ukrainian Constitution written by Pylyp Orlyk, the press service of the Ukrainian People’s Rada nongovernmental organization has reported.
• Deputy minister: Ukrainians treated by EU consulates as in communist Russia - Ukrainian citizens face a “Visa Berlin Wall” when trying to enter the EU and the visa requirement procedures of European consulates are similar to those in communist Russia,
• Olga Kurylenko: Bond girl admits she will ‘never date a rich Russian’
• PM: Ukrainians hope to get visa deal when Canadian leader visits - The Ukrainian authorities hope to conclude several important agreements when Canada’s prime minister visits Ukraine, in particular, a deal on visa regime simplification, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said during a meeting with Canadian Ambassador Daniel Caron.
• ‘Ukrainian Only’ School In Crimea In High Demand - “This is really a referendum on Ukrainian education in a Ukrainian environment,” school principal Natalia Rudenko told RFE/RL, adding that “people are voting [on the language issue] with their feet.”
• Students In Kyiv Demand Resignation Of Ukraine’s Education Minister - Tabachnyk was named to the post on March 11. One of his first decrees removed the Ukrainian-language examination from the list of tests required for bachelor degrees

Politics

• Ukrainian women berate ‘Neanderthal’ PM for sexist remarks – Mykola Azarov enrages feminist groups by suggesting women are unsuitable for high political office
• Ukraine Premier Accused of Discrimination - Women’s rights groups have filed suit against Ukraine’s prime minister in a Kiev court for saying that government reforms are not “a woman’s business,” their leaders said Thursday.
• National Memory Institute under assault by new leaders: History institute is to be taken over by communists. – “The new authorities are rolling back all the important national gains that have been achieved over the last years,” Vyacheslav Kyrylenko, leader of the “For Ukraine” parliamentary faction told a Ukrainian television station on March 30. “For four years the Institute for National Memory has existed and now they will liquidate it.”
• Ukraine’s Yanukovich Scraps NATO Body – Ironically, some of the boldest moves in Ukraine’s ties with NATO came when Yanukovich was prime minister for a time under former President Leonid Kuchma in the early 2000s
• Ukrainian parliament fails to dismiss education minister Tabachnyk
• Yulia Tymoshenko: I have faith that the judges won’t destroy the Constitution with their own hands - Yulia Tymoshenko noted that the question of the legitimacy of the coalition in the Verkhovna Rada concerns not only Ukraine but the entire world. “Cooperation with the new authorities in Ukraine and the format of Yanukovych’s international visits is being tied to this. And life in the country will depend on whether there is a fair, just, legal and constitutional coalition in the Verkhovna Rada,” she believes.
• Yanukovych was praying with Lytvyn, and Tymoshenko with Yushchenko
• Yanukovych sees ‘cultural autonomy’ for Ukraine’s regions – official - He has said that he would like to make Russian a second state language, but the balance of power in the country makes it unlikely that any political force could secure the votes in parliament necessary to change the constitution.
• Yanukovych abolishes Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration center - The move is likely to be seized on by the opposition as a sign that Yanukovych wants to move the country away from Europe and the United States and towards Russia.
• Ukraine to reconsider decisions of ex-president Yushchenko - The court ruling says that those who died ahead of 1991, that is, ahead of the emergence of an independent Ukrainian state, can’t be regarded as its citizens.
• President Yanukovych rules out merger of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine
• Ukraine leader leans toward Moscow - Ukraine’s president has taken steps to wean his country away from NATO and the European Union, and move toward Russia, the presidential Web site said Saturday.

• Russian Relations
• Russian, Ukrainian leaders hold private meeting in Moscow - This was the second meeting of the two leaders in five weeks. During an official visit in early March, Yanukovych as the newly elected Ukrainian president reiterated his willingness to improve ties between Moscow and Kiev
• Top Ukrainian MP warns Russian could takeover as national language - The speaker said the preservation of the Ukrainian language was essential for the preservation of Ukrainian statehood, and called for state regulations to support the development of the language.
• Moscow Seeks to Shut Down Ukrainian Cultural Autonomy Groups in Russia - These various actions may seem contradictory to some, but in fact, they reflect a deeper and longstanding set of Russian attitudes, one that many in the West are loathe to admit or even share: the current Russian leadership and those in neighboring countries it can put pressure on do not view Ukrainians as a separate nation worthy of a separate state.
• Ukraine’s foreign minister names areas of cooperation with Russia - Hryshchenko was quoted by the Ukrainian UNIAN news agency as saying that Ukraine’s pressing short-term problems, as well as medium-and long-term issues could not be resolved without cooperation with Russia in these areas.
• Ukraine offers Russia role in gas pipe plan with EU - Ukraine’s new leadership said on Friday it was inviting Russia to join the European Union in a plan to revamp Ukraine’s gas pipeline network, which carries crucial supplies of Russian gas to Europe.
• Integrate for low gas prices, Russian Deputy PM tells Ukraine - “We employ a completely different approach to Russia-Belarus relations [than Russia-Ukraine relations,] including energy pricing because Russia and Belarus are building a Union State,” Shuvalov said.
• Russian servicemen to partake in Victory Day parade in Ukraine, Belarus

Abroad

• Honouring Robeson overlooks his sympathizing with Stalin – After a visit to the U.S.S.R. in 1934, he became captivated by the Soviet experiment. He accepted the Stalin Peace Prize from Moscow. He defended the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact. He made excuses for the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. He praised the paper promises in the Soviet Constitution to punish racial discrimination and respect ethnic minorities. He chose to overlook the mass deportation and murder of minority groups that Stalin suspected of treason.
• Transformers 3 – Ukrainian Army Casting Call in Chicago - It was also revealed this week that armies from Ukraine and Iran would be portrayed in the film… Especially looking for Ukrainian (Or Ukrainian looking types) men 5’10” to 6’1″, clothing size 38 regular to 44 regular who know how to handle a gun. Please post all your sizes from your shoe size to your hat size [or head measurement] Please let me know if you know how to handle a gun.
• Influential Ukrainian newspaper in the news: Ukrainian Voice celebrates 100th anniversary
• Demjanjuk trial hears how Nazi guards recruited - Soviet prisoners of war used by the Nazis as death camp guards weren’t told what they were agreeing to do when they signed up to serve the Germans, an expert testified Wednesday in the trial of John Demjanjuk.
• Easter Sunday means church for many - “This year both calendars are the same, so all Christians in the world, be they catholic, be they protestant, be they orthodox, celebrate this special week,” said Father Lukie.
• Harper holding back 10-year-old plan to build Ukrainian museum received a negative response Ukrainians already have their village which sparked outrage from the Ukrainian community Ukrainian museum about more than pioneers
• German victim is first to break silence on Red Army rapists after 65 years - A German woman has become the first of an estimated 2million victims of rape by Soviet soldiers in the Second World War to break the taboo on talking publicly about the crimes.
• Transformers 3 Filming Approved for Gary, Indiana; Will Double as Ukraine - The scene will be “rather simple” and portrays vehicles approaching the industrial property. The city will double as Ukraine in the film.

Sports

• UEFA president to visit Ukraine - An update will be given on the state of preparations in the host cities, and visits will take place to all four stadiums that will stage matches at UEFA EURO 2102.