Leonid Hrach Rejects Sympathy

"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."