By NELDA MASCHMEYER
The Ukrainian ambassador to the United States spoke Wednesday in the Herald R. Clark Building as part of the Kennedy Center Ambassadorial lecture series about Ukraine’s evolution into an independent country.
Anton Buteiko began by saying that he considered it a pleasure to speak at BYU. He said he had been told that people at BYU were very informed on Ukraine.
“I am afraid that as I talk here today, you know more about Ukraine than I do,” Buteiko joked.
He said he wanted to explain about Ukraine, because it’s not an easy task to tell all the changes that have happened in the past nine years. He related some of Ukraine’s history: in 1918, Ukraine was called the People’s Republic of Ukraine, but when Russia overtook it, no one protested its crushed independence.
Buteiko said that on the eve of Ukraine’s declaration of independence in 1991, when 92 percent of Ukrainians voted for independence, there were statements, even by the United States, that Ukraine should not become independent. He said three years were lost before Ukraine was really accepted as an independent country.
When Ukraine became independent, there was a question of what to do. Buteiko said the decision was made to join Europe as a country.
He said it is mainly hard for the older generation to change their mindset from communism to a more democratic state.
“Only time can help this mindset. After all, before 1991, all the energy was in trying to put everyone into a communist mindset. Now everyone must be converted to a democratic mindset,” Buteiko said.
“I am sure Ukraine has contributed greatly to the European Union,” Buteiko said.
“We have also contributed to the security of the U.S. No other nation can say it has destroyed more than 2000 nuclear warheads mainly aimed at cities of the United States,” Buteiko said.
He said from the beginning of its independence, the philosophy of Ukraine has been that it would be the home of any ethnic people that wanted to live there. He said Ukraine has tried to build up and maintain friendly relations with its neighbors. He said in a historically short amount of time, Ukraine has built up the foreign service much faster than the rest of the former Soviet Union.
There are now Ukrainian embassies in 57 countries around the world. He said this development is only possible because of Ukraine’s powerful intellectual potential.
“Russia is one of the only places which has had a hard time accepting our independence. Actually, it has probably been hard for both of us to adjust — for the Ukraine, it was hard to adjust emotionally, which in turn made Russia impatient,” Buteiko said.
He said a strategic partnership has now been developed with Russia.
Buteiko said good relations have been established with the U.S. by maintaining a joint program of cooperation. He said Ukraine has worked with several countries to send satellites into orbit.
Buteiko answered questions as to the long-lasting effects of Chernobyl.
“Unfortunately, we need a lot of money to close up Chernobyl. We have been promised some money so far but not enough to close it up yet,” Buteiko said.
A student raised a question on the cement casing around the Chernobyl plant that is cracking and leaking gases. Buteiko said the reason for the cracking cement is that the casing was built too quickly. He said there are special projects at the moment to remove the harmful substances.
Buteiko said he considers BYU a beautiful campus. He said he has been informed that BYU is very prestigious, and he has talked with graduates from BYU who are held in high esteem.
“I want to tell you, you are lucky to be at BYU,” Buteiko said.
Professor Phil Bryson, professor of managerial economics, said he attended the lecture because he is interested in what goes on in Eastern Europe and Ukraine.
“I thought something very interesting in the lecture was Buteiko’s explanation on how Ukraine abandoned claims to those nuclear weapons. This act is a tremendous political and historical feat,” Buteiko said.
Kira Gulkomorse, 21, from Kyiv, Ukraine, a teacher of Ukrainian at BYU, said she was interested in attending the lecture because she teaches a Ukrainian history course and also because she is from Ukraine.
“He gave a great lecture. I think ambassador Buteiko is a good representation of Ukraine. He performed well,” Gulkomorse said.
