The President of Ukraine has awarded by his decree the Order of Yaroslav
the Wise to Leonid Hrach, Speaker of the Supreme Council of the Crimea
and leader of the Crimean Communists, for special merits in Ukrainian state-building
and a sizable contribution to the socioeconomic development of the autonomous
republic. The Day's correspondent Tetiana Korobova contacted
the Crimean Speaker by phone:
"Mr. Hrach, I don't know what you accept in this case - sympathy
or greetings. When our President, who is mortally afraid of revenge by
the Left, awards an order to a Communist leader, two versions arise. First,
the President wants to compromise the ideological opponent in the eyes
of the working people. Second, the President wants to cajole, tame, and
use him in a certain game. Which of the two assumptions do you think is
more correct?"
"But why don't you have a third one? For the Constitution of Crimea,
putting an end to all the vacillations the Crimea has experienced for eight
years, gives us grounds to speak about a serious effort in building an
independent Ukraine and final establishment of the Crimea as part of it.
And you know only too well that nobody can buy, tame, or cajole me. And
I think, if you remember the uproar after the adoption of the Crimean Constitution
was called into question by many in Kyiv and Crimea, we must hope that
the order of Yaroslav the Wise will put paid to all such attempts. I can
add that the very constitutional context of the award is confirmed by the
fact that our two lawyers, chief of the Crimean Supreme Council secretariat's
law section Hryhory Demydov and his deputy Valentyna Shevel, have received
the title of meritorious. The Constitution of Crimea is our well-deserved
victory and distinction."
"In that case, if you consider sympathy out of place, please accept
our sincere congratulations."







