Pittsburgh symposium focuses on emerging Ukraine (03/21/99)

Pittsburgh symposium focuses on emerging Ukraine

by Gina Bombaci Peirce

PITTSBURGH - Fifty members of the local university community and others interested in Ukraine gathered on February 23 at the University of Pittsburgh for an all-day symposium, "Ukraine: Taking its Place on the World's Stage."

The symposium was organized jointly by the university's Center for Russian and East European Studies and the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors. PCIV is the local host of Community Connections (CC), a program sponsored by the United States Information Agency's Office of Citizen Exchanges to provide professional training to citizens of several former Soviet republics. Since December 1996, through this program PCIV has hosted eight groups of visitors from Pittsburgh's unofficial sister city of Donetsk.

Ten entrepreneurs who work in small businesses in Donetsk were guests of honor at the symposium. They provided an insider's perspective to the discussion of topics such as Ukraine's current economic situation and doing business in Ukraine. The event was moderated by Stephen Haluszczak, CC project coordinator.

The symposium opened with a presentation on the topic "History and Identity" by Hanna Chumachenko, a visiting Fulbright Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh from Kherson. Prof. Chumachenko discussed the rethinking of Ukrainian history that has occurred since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. According to Prof. Chumachenko a revival of 19th-century academic discourse, which was suppressed under Russian and Soviet domination, is under way. Open and active discourse, she noted, is vital to the development of a strong national and ethnic identity among Ukrainians. Prof. Chumachenko also mentioned Ukrainian participation in international academic exchanges and the increasing interest of American scholars in Ukrainian studies.

Dr. Taras Filenko, an ethno-musicologist from Kyiv, continued the topic of "History and Identity," discussing the "double identity" that formed in Ukraine during the Soviet period as the public, official culture co-existed with the private "kitchen" culture. He also noted that the cultural traditions of Ukraine were suppressed during this period, with most of the Ukrainian cultural elite executed or sent into exile under Joseph Stalin. As a result of repressive Soviet policies, a split developed between the cultures of western and eastern Ukraine, and politicians from western Ukraine became the driving force in the push for independence from the USSR in 1990-1991.

Kateryna Dowbenko, Ukrainian language instructor at the University of Pittsburgh, spoke on the theme of "Language and Identity." She emphasized that language serves as a vehicle of the greater culture. She noted that the development of the Ukrainian language was interrupted by increasing restrictions on its use imposed by Russian tsars starting in the 17th century and, by the beginning of the 20th century, the Ukrainian language had been banned in schools, book publishing and theater performances.

After the formation of the USSR, the study of Russian became compulsory in all Soviet republics, while the study of local languages was discouraged. Although the Constitution adopted in Ukraine in 1996 makes Ukrainian the official state language, Russian remains the primary language used in many large Ukrainian cities - a condition that has impeded the development of a strong national identity in Ukraine, she noted.

Dr. Bob Donnorummo, associate director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies, and Gail Shrott, executive director of PCIV, spoke on the topic "U.S. Interest in Ukraine."

The next part of the symposium focused on Ukraine's economic situation and business in Ukraine. Dr. Donnorummo pointed out that in the 1990s Ukraine's economic depression was almost twice as great as the one time U.S. experienced in the 1930s, and CC program participant Anatoliy Nikitin provided additional statistical information on the Ukrainian economy. Dana Krupnyk, a student of the university's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, discussed the need for foreign aid programs designed to best fit the needs of recipient nations such as Ukraine and proposed the creation of a consulting center to advise foreigners on how to conduct business in Ukraine.

Dr. Filenko discussed distinctive features of business culture in Ukraine, and how a lack of understanding of this culture has led to the failure of many Western ventures there. Victoria Vasilieva, a CC program participant, noted that there is no historical precedent for the transition of former Soviet countries to a market economy and suggested a positive view of Ukraine's economic potential, citing relatively low costs for materials and labor that could provide savings for foreign investors.

Michael Komichak, host of the local Ukrainian Radio Program since 1950, presented the symposium topic "The Ukrainian Diaspora" and discussed activities in the U.S. in the areas of politics, scholarship, commercial ventures, humanitarian organizations, information resources, religion and Ukrainian national traditions. CC participants, impressed by the interest of the Pittsburgh Ukrainian community in their visit, suggested establishing regular Internet contact between this community and the citizens of Donetsk.

The final section of the symposium focused on "Doing Business in America" and was presented by Rhonda Coast, president of International Development Resources. Ms. Coast started her own business in order to help people from different cultures work together more effectively. She discussed the importance of small business to the American economy and the resources that are provided to meet the need of small business.

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