1995: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

At The Weekly: Jersey-Kyiv-Toronto

Just recently there were reports that 1995 was a most stressful year due to corporate downsizing. Well, we experienced some of that anxiety at The Weekly as well, as our publisher, the Ukrainian National Association, had to make some difficult decisions this year to stem the tide of expenses.

It was a year in which we had to bid farewell to an old friend, as Veselka (The Rainbow), the Ukrainian-language children's magazine, was closed down after 41 years of publication, and to our dear colleagues at the UNA Washington Office, as fiscal constraints forced the UNA to cut that operation from the list of its many fraternal benefits. It was a year in which the existence of Svoboda as a daily newspaper was threatened, but, thanks to its devoted readers, our 102-year-old sister publication was saved. And, in mid-1995 The Weekly was forced to double its subscription fees to cover rapidly rising costs, mostly for second-class postage.

On the bright side, we can say that the pesky issue of just how to spell the name of Ukraine's capital city was finally resolved this year. (Readers will recall that, in utter exasperation, our editor-in-chief at one point had suggested that Ukraine adopt the "Quayiv" variant.) "Kyiv it is" was our front page headline when someone in Kyyiv/Kyiv finally took charge and decided the issue. That someone was newly appointed Minister of Justice Serhiy Holovaty, acting in his capacity as chairman of the Committee on Legal Terminology. At its first meeting (October 14) after Mr. Holovaty's appointment, the committee decided that henceforth the spelling "Kyiv" would be used on all legal and official documents of Ukraine.

Thus, the decision came from where it should have come from: Ukraine. Until the "Kyiv" decision, it was the Ukrainian Mapping Agency's version of "Kyyiv" that we at The Weekly had employed. That same spelling - the only officially sanctioned spelling of Ukraine's capital - was adopted, also on the state cartographic agency's urging, by the National Geographic Society, Hammond and Rand McNally, as well as the U.S. Board for Geographic Names. (No, "Kyyiv" wasn't our own doing, though some of our readers continued to think it was and occasionally chided us in letters to the editor.)

Perhaps the decision to spell the city's name with one less "y" should be considered also as a money-saving measure. You see, we wrote the name of Ukraine's capital city 2,385 times in 1995. "Kyyiv" appeared 1,845 times before we switched to "Kyiv." Thus, we could have saved 540 "y" spaces had the decision come earlier, and, in terms of the newsbiz, that's a lot of ink.

There were several other notable events/issues at the Jersey City home office in 1995.

The year got off to a good start as Ukraine's first president, Leonid Kravchuk, visited the UNA and gave an exclusive interview to editors of The Ukrainian Weekly and Svoboda.

Then there was the issue of Tamara Koropet'ska's letter regarding use of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine. Everyone had to have a say. And then Ms. Koropet'ska had to respond, which, of course, elicited more responses. We promise: no more on the Koropet'ska issue in 1996.

Thanks to a fluke in the 1995 calendar, you, dear readers, got 53 issues of The Ukrainian Weekly this year instead of the usual 52 (there were more Sundays this year). Yes, this is issue No. 53!

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Getting back to Kyiv for a moment, during 1995 our press bureau there was "womaned" by Marta Kolomayets through mid-July. Khristina Lew served a three-month stint from July 6 through October 5. Then it was Marta, again, who returned to Kyiv for her fifth tour of duty in the bureau. In other news at the bureau, our faithful secretary Vika Hubska left our employ much to our dismay, and the downtown Kyiv apartment we had rented for office space was purchased by the UNA, much to our delight.

Our other press bureau, the one up north in Toronto, was inaugurated this year by our staff writer/editor Andrij Wynnyckyj. Our colleague was reassigned to serve as our paper's only full-time Canadian correspondent. He arrived in Toronto, or Etobicoke to be more precise, to work out of the Toronto area office of the Ukrainian National Association.

The Weekly's other staff writer/editor, Roman Woronowycz, spent time on the Olympic beat. As part of our continuing coverage of Ukraine's participation in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta - a rubric we've dubbed "On the road to Atlanta" - Mr. Woronowycz traveled to Carrollton, the small Georgia town one hour's drive west of Atlanta that is serving as home base and the official training site for Ukraine's athletes.

In October, editor-in-chief Roma Hadzewycz flew to San Francisco, where she was the keynote speaker at the second annual conference of the Ukrainian Professionals of Northern California. For the record, May 1995 marked her 15th anniversary as editor in charge.

Ika Koznarska Casanova, our part-time editorial assistant, ended the year by packing up for Vienna, where she and her family will live for the next half year.

Meanwhile, our editorial assistant-on-call, Yarema Bachynsky, continued to make his presence felt in many ways, mostly by appearing on the job when needed. He will be even more needed in 1996 as Ika takes a leave of absence.

Our supreme typesetter (hey, just because the UNA no longer has "supremes" doesn't mean we can't), Awilda Arzola, celebrated 15 years at The Weekly in December. We marked the occasion with an appropriate toast and a wish for at least another 15 years with "Willie." By the way, 1996 promises to be a special year for Awilda as she and her Angel announced their engagement on Christmas Day.

Serhiy "Sid" Polishchuk, our computer wiz and unofficial "King of Lomkaland" (which is what we call the area where we do The Weekly's layout) managed to survive another year - his third - with us.

On a much sadder note, Dozia Dubej, an employee of the Subscriptions Department of The Ukrainian Weekly and Svoboda, died after a brief illness on April 20.

* * *

Getting back to where we started... Feeling a definite need for some morale-boosting in 1995, we organized a party and invited all employees of the UNA's press/publishing operation to chip in and join the merriment. We think the party helped put all in a more joyous holiday spirit, so to speak. (Perhaps we should do this more often...)

And so, as 1995 draws to a close, we'd like to share some of that holiday spirit with our readers and writers. We thank all our correspondents, colleagues and faithful readers for their cooperation and their input. And, as always, we wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope that 1996 brings the fulfillment of your dreams.

In 1996 we pledge to continue covering developments in Ukraine from our (formerly Kyyiv) Kyiv Press Bureau, reporting news within the Ukrainian American and Ukrainian Canadian communities, and giving you the scoop on happenings anywhere else there may be things or persons Ukrainian.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 31, 1995, No. 53, Vol. LXIII

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