PUSHCHYA-VODYTSIA: LAND PLOTS 
FOR OBEDIENT SERFS

The national system of distributing "boons" to necessary people has been worked out for hundreds of years. If the gifted are somewhat indifferent to doggies, kittens or they need a more solid present, a factory, mine or at least a bazaar may be presented. Our country, as you know, is great and rich, but the same is not true for its law and order. Therefore the history with the transfer of 200 hectares of land to certain important individuals, as per decision of the Kyiv City Council dated September 30 and October 21 was nothing unnatural in the modern history of Ukraine. 
Added to that, there is even something positive about it. Land was always a prized possession in our country. Getting land resources in all times gave the recipient a special status. It worked exactly this way for the nobility in Russian empire. Other parts of the society were considered lower and when presented with land they were honored, as for example, were the obedient serfs for their service.
In fact, 150 "best people" of Ukraine just got a small gift, market price of which is US Dollars 70-100 million (based on the calculation USD 4 thousand for one hundredth part of a hectare (sotka) - corresponding to average market price for land plots in the suburban resort of Kyiv - Pushchya-Vodytsia). Thus on an average, the value did not exceed half a million per recipient. But this also varied from case to case.

Family of the Minister of Transport and Hero of Ukraine Georgiy Kirpa, received the largest share: Georgiy Mykolayovych and Inna Georgiyivna had 8.4 hectares (valued at USD 2.5 million). More than 20 individuals received from 2 and above hectares, value of which equals about USD 1 million each. Others got less - on an average 1 hectare. Some poor ones got just such tiny pieces as 23 sotka (one hundredth part of a hectare, worth less than USD100 thousand). We even feel sorry for them: it's no money for a Ukrainian state official?!
Overall, the list of 170 receiving "free of cost support" from the Kyiv City Council was surprisingly a very informative one. 
Apart from Georgiy Kirpa, three of his cabinet colleagues are also there: the modest defender of the deprived and abused Mikhailo Papiev (Minister of Labor and Social Policy - 0.8 hectares) and two from the law enforcement bodies - Minister of the Interior Mykola Bilokon (0.85 hectares) and the Minister of Defense Olexandr Kuzmuk (1.11 hectares). Given by the fact that five hectares went to Volodymyr Satsiuk, the deputy head of the Security Service of Ukraine, the ministers were rewarded modestly. 
Among those made happy are many parliament members: Stepan Gavrish (6.22 hectares) and Olexandr Zadorozhniy (5.9 hectares), Nestor Shufrich (3.22 hectares) and Ihor Sharov (1.85 hectares), Raisa Bogatiryova (1.82 hectares) and Juliy Joffe (0.96 hectares), Bohdan Hubskiy (1.46 hectares) and Katerina Vashchuk (0.97 hectares)... there is some tendency towards pluralism as well: among the recipients there is ex-Speaker of the parliament Ivan Plyushch (0.77 hectares), who is now in the opposition faction. 
Among the rest, there are so many interesting names and surnames on this list ...
To be frank, presents are presents. In the 16th century one of the Moscow kings uttered an immortal sentence that it is all the same to him - to lose serfs or to make them free. In our case clearly the latter category is more applicable. 
However, in their efforts to do the best, it came out as usual. And the point is not that the land for present was "communized" into a health resort area. Here the legal vulnerabilities were well taken care of. In September this year, the Kyiv City Council transferred more than 530 hectares of territory of Pushchya-Vodytsia from the category of forest to category of recreational zone and handed them over to the State Department in Charge (known as DUSYA). So much land was never given to a single user...
As the well informed weekly paper Delovaya Stolitsa (Business capital) stated, that a second series of activities and expansion were expected. But they didn't have to wait too long. Three weeks from now it was revealed that no expansions are planned. The land plots will be used to "endear" very important persons. By that time the list was already prepared. 
During the past century the formula for allocating land plots to begging lackeys, beating their forehead, have somewhat altered. The initial form "Serf Ivashka, son of Semyon, prays and beats his forehead in front of the noble-hearted king, so that, you, the king, become merciful to your serf and ordered an evaluation of his qualities" has been replaced by more modern innovations and terms. The content, however, is unchanged. 
The rest - are mere technicalities. "Bending down" the Kyiv City Council for the second time in a month was not difficult as well (It will be interesting to know, what were the arguments used to convince Omelchenko, the Kyiv mayor). 
The irony of the situation emphasized the fact that, last fall the Kyiv City Council threatened to take to the court a decision taken as early as Prime Minister Kinakh's times, which offered a rest house in Pushchya-Vodytsia for sale bypassing any competitive bid to the Joint Stock Company with closed liability "Football Club - Dynamo (Kyiv)". At that point the Chair of the permanent commission of the Kyiv City Council in charge of the city's construction and land use Mykola Legeza referred t these lands as "eternal possessions of Kyiv", and that no one, even the Cabinet of Ministers could make any changes behind the back of the city administration.
The deputies were especially annoyed over the fact that for the 23 hectares of land sold the city's budget received only 5 million Hryvnias. "But the real price of these lands - are close to 48 million Hryvnias (that is 400 thousand US Dollars per hectare). In addition, 15 hectares of these lands are forests", - remarked angrily the city's elected representatives...
But the vapor was whistled away with time. Exactly a year after, these very deputies "raising no dust or noise" gave away 23 times more land free of cost. But they adhered to the procedures. And the city budget received nothing, and no one even dared mention the fact of "eternal possessions." Although the list includes quite a few of those begging lackeys, close to the city administration, in principle, people, close to the mayor's office, got left-over from the Czar's table. 
The newcomers were allowed to fell the trees and clear the forest, no matter who needs how much - evident reason for that perhaps was improvement of health as felling of the trees will greatly contribute to the status of the locality as a climatic resort. 
Out of the 227 hectares only 17% has been formally handed over as private property. The rest - are put on lease for 49 years. This has two purposes. On one hand, the happy land user as if formally has not received a lot. On the other hand - if people start having "second thoughts" it is be possible to play with the nerves, promising to take those lands back. 
Again, in our country pieces of public property handed over to private hands were far more attractive. Ihor Bakai, head of the Dusya mentioned above, may very well share his experience of privatizing for himself, his favorite Trakhtemirivskiy natural park (sanctuary), whose land area is almost immeasurable. Just the fact is that it is far from Kyiv, and it is better that way. 
As far as the consequences of these decisions are concerned... yes, they smell fishy, - well, both the presenters and the recipients in their majority are not fastidious people. A country like Ukraine, where the words "state official" and "corruption" are synonymous in all international ratings will somehow survive such a scandal. 
Till now, we have the information that only Raisa Bogatyriova is prepared to refuse the gift. Others, as per their statements, are "not aware". Well, that is a ground for a pleasant surprise: suddenly, one single stroke and there appears half a million dollars more. Bravo, what else can be said...
In principle, no one will ever dispute the right of the king, leaving his throne to make gifts to his servants. The problem is that, our country is a republic and whatever has been given out, until recently was the property of the people of Ukraine. This fact may quietly be ignored. And "black people" will pass by the next long fence, built quickly by the king's men. 
But now on the eve of the elections, a rare chance came up, when people constitute the electorate, and therefore, people should like those in power. But what happened does not in any way speak in favor of the authorities. And its good that it happened in Kyiv - chances for getting votes in favor of those in power is bleak here. Given the right turn to this campaign it can be turned into a nation wide scandal. Especially for the fact that, presently, "all the king's men" are grabbing everything that their eyes can see, in Crimea and in the Carpathians. Sources say that, the city mayor's office is already discussing the issue of handing over the land in the area of Exhibition of Economic achievements to the State Department in Charge (read - concrete civil servants?).
Thus the opposition cannot but use this opportunity "offered" by the presidential administration of Ukraine. The opposition is demanding the creation of a parliamentary investigation commission on this matter. If the case does not end there, the materials will be juicy and interesting. The Greens have joined their forces in this campaign; moreover, it is worth their participation. The Kyiv inhabitants should also take active part - after all, they will be the first to be driven away from the territory of the new homes built in this resort area. 
In any country of West Europe or event that of Central Europe such incidents would have led to serious governmental crisis, some posts being left vacant in the government. And that too on the eve of the elections, no Western image maker would ever even dream of such things in his or her worst nightmares. 
Media would have dug a full hole for anyone having the slightest link to this scandal. In those "wild" lands, ministers are fired under such grounds as enjoying a free flight by air invited by a company, validly considered to be a form of commercial bribery. Thus these "dacha issues" are never on the agenda in Paris or Brussels for the past 30 years and in the countries of our closest East European neighbors - for the past 10 years. The last such people to leave the Slovak government were in the mid 90's.
Ukraine, of course, is no Europe, but it is not yet to be called Central Asia. Therefore, the actors, who are "not aware", have a chance to be acquainted with what should be the ethics of a civil servant and what are the staggering differences between these ethics and the way the civil servants have got used to act.

Ihor Maskalevych

(Reprinted with permission from the 
editorial, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia ¹ 45 (520), November 6 - 12, 2004)