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Jan Maksymiuk

Also by Jan Maksymiuk

August 29, 2005
Moldova: Chisinau Marks Liberation Anniversary, But Some See It Otherwise

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and other senior government officials on 24 August took part in solemn celebrations of the 61st anniversary of the liberation of Moldova from the Nazis by the Soviet Army. On the same day, a group of demonstrators in front of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau denounced the Soviet liberation of Moldova as "occupation" and urged an official reinterpretation of the country's 20th-century history.
August 29, 2005
Belarus: Two Georgian Youth Activists Remain Jailed In Minsk

Zubr protesters on 26 August Giorgi Kandelaki and Luka Tsuladze -- two activists of Georgia's Kmara, an organization that was very instrumental in deposing the Georgian government during the bloodless Rose Revolution in 2003 -- were arrested in Minsk on 24 August, reportedly because the authenticity of their passports raised official "doubts."
August 24, 2005
Ukraine: Greek Catholics Move Headquarters To Capital

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar (file photo) Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, celebrated Mass for some 3,000 believers outside a cathedral under construction in Kyiv on 21 August, thus marking the move of his church's headquarters from Lviv to Kyiv. The move was approved by the late Pope John Paul II and confirmed by his successor, Benedict XVI. Simultaneously with the transfer of the headquarters, Cardinal Husar changed his official title from Major Archbishop of Lviv to Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halychyna (Galicia).
August 21, 2005
Belarus: German Broadcaster Makes Waves With Russian-Language Plans

The regime brooks little criticism In June, Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle announced its plans to launch a Russian-language information program for Belarus called the "Belarusian Chronicle." Official Minsk has so far remained silent about plans for the daily show, which is scheduled to begin in October. But many of Belarus's opposition and pro-democracy circles -- who in theory could only benefit from such an endeavor -- have reacted with alarm, indignation, and even hostility. They want Deutsche Welle to speak Belarusian to Belarusians.
August 16, 2005
Ukraine: Pollster Maps Out Post-Revolutionary Moods

Protesters for and against the government in November 2004. A new poll found increased faith in the ballot box but accompanying rifts in society The Washington-based International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) recently published its conclusions from a survey of 1,265 Ukrainians in late February that was devoted to perceptions of the Orange Revolution and its consequences. Pollsters explored perceptions of last year's presidential election, attitudes toward the mass antigovernment demonstrations that followed the second round of voting on 21 November, and postelection expectations for Ukraine.
August 12, 2005
Poland/Belarus: Warsaw Seems To Be Losing Duel With Minsk Over Ethnic Organization

Why is former SPB head Kruczkowski suddenly unacceptable to Warsaw? After two rounds of reciprocal diplomatic expulsions and the recalling of Polish Ambassador to Belarus Tadeusz Pawlak last month, the conflict between Warsaw and Minsk over the Union of Poles in Belarus (SPB) appears to be entering a calmer stage. Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Alyaksandr Mikhnevitch said last week that Minsk is ready to start talks with Warsaw on solving the present crisis in bilateral relations. Polish Sejm speaker and leading presidential candidate Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, who earlier did not rule out closing the Polish Embassy in Minsk, responded immediately that Poland should not reject the possibility of discussing the ongoing standoff.
July 22, 2005
Moldova: Will Dniester Shooting Incident Mark Turning Point In Relations Between Chisinau, Tiraspol?

The headquarters of the Transdniestrian government Moldova has lodged an official protest with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), accusing Russian peacekeeping troops of unprofessional conduct during an incident this week. Moldovan Reintegration Minister Vasile Sova said Russian soldiers guarding a bridge 40 kilometers east of Chisinau fired in the air after demanding that three civilians who had been taking photographs hand over their film. The bridge over the Dniester River is near the unofficial boundary between Moldova and the breakaway region of Transdniester. The incident could impede a settlement of the Transdniester conflict, which was recently given a boost by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
July 19, 2005
Belarus: Expelled U.S. Academic Says Minsk In Anti-Western 'Cleanup'

President Lukashenka has increasingly politicized Belarusian education Last week, Belarusian authorities gave U.S. professor Terry Boesch and his two daughters 24 hours to leave the country. Boesch, who taught business and law at Belarusian State University in Minsk since 2003, says the government did not explain its decision to deny his visa extension. But as RFE/RL reports, the professor believes his case is part of a campaign to rid Belarus of Western influence ahead of next year's general elections.
July 15, 2005
Moldova: Transdniester Leader Shows Interest In Kyiv's Settlement Plan

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko met in Ukraine on 14 July with Igor Smirnov, the leader of Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester. According to the Ukrainian president's official website, Smirnov agreed to cooperate with Kyiv in implementing the plan that Yushchenko proposed in April aimed at settling the Transdniester conflict, which has been simmering between Chisinau and Tiraspol since a war between the two sides in 1992.
July 13, 2005
Belarus: Film About Partisans Goes Against Official Grain

A montage of images from the film Prague, 13 July 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The 40th international film festival in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, which took place last week, showed a rare bird in the world of cinema -- a Belarusian feature film. The film, which bears the double title "Occupation -- Mystery Plays," failed to win a prize at the festival but its 33-year-old director, Andrey Kudzinenka, did not appear to be particularly upset.
July 01, 2005
Moldova: Chisinau Tables Stabilization Proposals For Transdniester

The Transdniester government headquarters in Tiraspol Moldova presented a list of proposals on 30 June intended to stabilize the situation in the country's security zone -- a long, narrow strip of land along the Dniester River separating the secessionist region of Transdniester from the rest of the Republic of Moldova.
June 28, 2005
Ukraine: Kyiv Secures Turkmen Gas Supplies For 2006

Presidents Yushchenko and Niyazov in March in Ashgabat On 24 June in Ashgabat, Naftohaz Ukrayiny head Oleksiy Ivchenko signed what he described to journalists in Kyiv as "four historic agreements" with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov.
June 22, 2005
Belarus: Minsk Set To Rein In Ethnic Polish Organization

Belarus has a 400,000-strong Polish minority A Minsk-Warsaw diplomatic clash in May over the Union of Poles in Belarus (SPB) took a new turn earlier this month after the Belarusian authorities deprived the SPB of the possibility to print its weekly, "Glos znad Niemna," and produced two bogus issues of the publication. Warsaw, which sponsors the activities of the SPB, has reportedly suspended financing "Glos znad Niemna," demanding that Minsk recognize the SPB new leadership elected during a congress in March as well as the new editorial staff of the weekly that was appointed after the congress. Some Polish minority activists in Belarus believe that Minsk's recent steps against the SPB are being orchestrated by the KGB.
June 18, 2005
Ukraine: Government Seeks To Recover Investors' Trust

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko 18 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Ukraine held a World Economic Forum roundtable in Kyiv on 16-17 June at which senior Ukrainian officials sought to allay investor fears surrounding previously announced plans to reverse some privatization deals. Officials also wanted to reassure the business sector that the country is firmly set to follow a path of market-oriented reforms made possible by 2004's Orange Revolution.
June 14, 2005
Belarus: The Slow-Boiling Dictatorship

A Belarusian political analyst recently compared the Lukashenka regime's repression of its political opponents to cooking a live frog in a kettle. If a frog is thrown directly into boiling water, it will almost certainly jump out and save its life. But if a frog is put into cold water and heated gradually, the poor creature will boil to death largely unaware. The latter method, the analyst argued, perfectly reflects the way in which Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime has been dealing recently with political dissent.
June 10, 2005
Moldova: Parliament Approves Kyiv's Plan For Transdniester

The headquarters of the unrecognized Transdniester government in Tiraspol With a vote of 96 deputies of the total of 101, the Moldovan parliament on 10 June passed a declaration endorsing the plan for the Transdniester conflict settlement that was proposed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko nearly two months ago (see "RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldovan Report," 6 June 2005).
May 26, 2005
Ukraine: Yushchenko, Tymoshenko Clash Over Gasoline

Yushchenko and Tymoshenko (right) in the days of the Orange Revolution The hottest news in Ukraine last week was not the Eurovision song contest in Kyiv -- an unusual event in this post-Soviet country by any standards. The real shocker was a report in the Kyiv-based weekly "Zerkalo nedeli" that President Viktor Yushchenko suggested that Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko should tender her resignation over her incompetence in dealing with the country's fuel crisis.
May 25, 2005
Eastern Europe: Warsaw Turns Up Diplomatic Heat On Minsk Over Polish Group

Polish President Kwasniewski (in file photo) is taking a tough line over the Polish minority in Belarus A full-blown brawl flared up between Minsk and Warsaw earlier this month, with mutual diplomatic expulsions and a heated exchange of acrimonious accusations.
May 17, 2005
Belarus: Spy Agencies Open Presidential Election Season

President Lukashenka is still popular among pensioners Last week the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Nikolai Patrushev, accused Western nongovernmental organizations of plotting a government overthrow in Belarus during the 2006 presidential election. The Belarusian KGB swiftly and eagerly echoed these charges, claiming additionally that it has already thwarted specific steps taken by ill-wishers of the Belarusian government in this direction. The allegations of the Russian and Belarusian Chekists seem to have inaugurated an international publicity and propaganda campaign focused on Belarus's 2006 vote.
May 12, 2005
Belarus: Washington Set To Work For Change

Bush called Lukashenka's Belarus "Europe's last dictatorship" U.S. President George W. Bush pledged in Riga on 7 May that the United State will remain committed to the advance of democracy in Belarus. "The people of that country live under Europe's last dictatorship, and they deserve better," Bush said at a news conference following his talks with the presidents of the three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. "The governments of Latvia and Lithuania have worked to build support for democracy in Belarus, and to deliver truthful information by radio and newspapers. Together we have set a firm and confident standard: Repression has no place on this continent."

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