RENAISSANCE OF KYIV: Mayor Omelchenko is driving force (11/10/02)

RENAISSANCE OF KYIV: Mayor Omelchenko is driving force

by Marta Kolomayets and Natalia A. Feduschak

KYIV - At age 64, Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko has hit his stride.

Not only does he lead Ukraine's most vibrant city, but he is emerging as one of the country's most important political figures. His fingerprints on Ukraine's economic, cultural and political development are everywhere.

He is the driving force behind Kyiv's renaissance and rapid economic growth. Under his tutelage, many of this ancient city's religious monuments are being resurrected, while the splendor of centuries past is being restored. Apartment buildings and office centers are going up at an unprecedented pace. Kyiv's skyline, once dark and dreary, is awash in bright lights, golden domes and ever-changing colors.

Mr. Omelchenko has tirelessly traveled across Ukraine and other parts of the world promoting the ideas of tradition, reform, and Ukrainian statehood. Although not everyone may always share his vision, he has nonetheless left a lasting impression on Kyiv and its residents.

"Ukraine is a strong nation, a nation with a history of more than 1,500 years," said Mayor Omelchenko in a recent interview at his surprisingly modest office in the heart of the capital. "The rebirth of Kyiv is the prestige of this nation."

Although Kyiv still faces many of the problems left by its Soviet legacy - an overactive bureaucracy that infuriates residents and businessmen alike, an aging sewage system, potholed roads and overcrowded housing - most Kyivites say that during his four years as mayor, Mr. Omelchenko's most important contribution has been putting the city's house in order.

"If there is construction going on in the city, the city is alive," said Mr. Omelchenko, who has spent over 40 years as a building engineer. "The role of a mayor is first and foremost a manager. For me this is a profound profession."

While Mr. Omelchenko said he is honored to be the Ukrainian Institute of America's Man of the Year, he is not willing to rest on laurels. More important than awards for him is to make Kyiv a thriving European capital with all the requisite attributes and amenities.

"Kyiv's development as a European capital, in my view, is the realization of a complex approach that supports a balance between urbanization and regeneration as well as improving the city's infrastructure," he said. "Especially, this includes preserving the historical aspects of Kyiv, its spiritual essence within a contemporary metropolis."

In life, as in his city, Mr. Omlechenko looks for truth and tranquility. "I try to approach life with harmony," he said, noting that it is important to have a balance that includes work and relaxation.

An avid sportsman who followed his own sons throughout the then-Soviet Union in boxing tournaments, Mr. Omelchenko has been a champion of various sports, including boxing, hockey, soccer, handball and swimming. The city of Kyiv supports various sports clubs and teams, but it is the athletes themselves that Mr. Omelchenko advocates.

"By supporting them, we promote an element of patriotism," he said. "We are proud as a nation to have such sons and daughters as the boxing Klychko brothers and our swimmers Yana Klochkova and Oleh Lysohir."

The athletes in return are grateful for the mayor's support. "He is like a father to us," said Vitalii Klychko, who is expected to fight world champion Lennox Lewis early next year. "He's always there for us."

So strong is the bond between the mayor and the Klychkos that the brothers are expected to attend the awards ceremony in New York City on December 9, where Mr. Omelchenko will be honored as the UIA's Man of the Year.

Being mayor of Kyiv was never Mr. Omelchenko's dream. A graduate of Kyiv's Institute for Construction Engineering, Mr. Omelchenko worked his way up the professional ladder. He began his career as a regular workman and eventually became first assistant to the director of HolovKyivMiskBud, the local government body that oversees construction in Kyiv.

In 1987 Mr. Omelchenko was sent to Afghanistan, where he worked as a construction consultant. Two years later, he was sent to Armenia to help with clean-up efforts after that nation's devastating earthquake. In subsequent years, Mr. Omelchenko worked as a deputy to the Kyiv City Administration, was appointed general director of Kyiv Reconstruction and held various upper level posts within this government body.

Mr. Omelchenko was appointed head of the Kyiv City Administration in August 1996 by presidential decree and in 1998 was elected head of Kyiv's city council. Since then he has proven to be a worthy political opponent, winning Kyiv mayoral contests in 1999 and 2002. As a testament to his popularity, in both elections Mr. Omelchenko won with more than 75 percent of the vote.

In spite of that popularity, some of his construction projects that are coming to define Kyiv have been subject to criticism. Most prominently, the new design of Kyiv's Independence Square has raised eyebrows and received many a negative comment from residents and the city's tourists.

Mr. Omelchenko said he welcomes the feedback and admitted that some "correctives" need to be made to the central plaza, but noted that Kyiv is still a work in progress. The final judgement will be made when his vision of the city is complete. That is still several years down the road. Still planned are myriad new office complexes, hotels, new transportation routes, and, importantly for the mayor, the resurrection of more churches and monuments that were destroyed.

Sharing his thoughts during an interview, throughout which Mr. Omelchenko chain-smoked Parliament cigarettes - "It's a bad habit, "he admitted - he spoke about issues near and dear to him. The following are excerpts from the conversation:

Q: What does Kyiv mean to you?

A: Kyiv for me is a measure of my existence - both spiritually and worldly. It is the limitless spring for my energy and passion. Kyiv is my lucky fate, given to me by God. Here, I received my education, began my professional career, met my intended, and my two sons were born here. In a word, Kyiv is my life, with all of its joys and tribulations. This beautiful city has a strong and positive energy.

Q: Are you planning the spiritual, cultural and economic rebirth of Kyiv in parallel? How should this be done?

A: We are not only planning this in parallel, but already much has been done in this direction over the course of several years. We don't separate spiritual rebirth, cultural development or economic growth. These are all aspects of one process, which is difficult to separate because each complements the other and all are mutually dependent.

But the spiritual aspect I see as a priority, because that is the impetus that enlightens Kyiv's citizens about their city as their home. Without solidifying the foundation for a higher spirituality and Christian morals, our city and all of Ukraine don't have a future. Spirituality and culture have a great influence on the development of other processes as well, in particular, the process of economic development. At the same time, economic development is the material base for the development of spirituality and culture.

Q: Who influences you in the development of Kyiv?

A: Without a doubt, world trends in architecture and construction influence me. Kyiv has its own design and architecture school with many traditions and famous names. I would like to point out that Kyiv is the "Mother of All Rus'" cities; it is more than 1,500 years old. During these centuries, many architectural styles flourished in the city and the city's master plan changed.

Kyiv inherited almost 4,000 monuments of historic, cultural and architectural value. Of those, 51 are under UNESCO patronage. It is our responsibility to preserve them and save them from ruination or vandalism. We have created a special department for the preservation of these treasures.

Secondly, many memorials, particularly cultural ones, were destroyed by the rule of the Communist regime. Among them were true architectural masterpieces, for example, the Uspenskyi Sobor of the Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery and tens of others. For all ancient cities, a large problem is development, which takes place on so-called protected territories.

To completely stop construction in the historic part of the city is completely impossible and it's pointless. You still have to change the engineering infrastructure. Time passes and memorials crumble and then you have the problem of not only renovating, but in part, reconstructing these objects. Therefore, whereas in the 19th century you had residential buildings, today commercial and office centers are opening up within them.

This is a natural process, and an analogous situation is occurring in European countries. So you know, we are very carefully learning their approach to city planning and trends in architecture. One can say that in the expansion of Kyiv, I am influenced by European architecture and its school of design.

Q: How can Kyiv attract more tourists and become a popular travel destination?

A: Tourism is beneficial and income-generating for our city. On the one hand, we generate funds for the city's infrastructure and other needs. On the other hand, it is an important channel for introducing foreign guests to the culture of our country, the architectural and historic monuments and today's level of development in the capital. The positive impressions our guests receive will be shared with their friends and family members, and they can find out more about our country and the life of our people.

Today we see an increase in the number of tourists. Year after year, more and more tourists come to Kyiv, but to say that we have experienced a breakthrough would be an exaggeration. There are several reasons. First of all, this can be explained by a lack of information about Ukraine and Kyiv. Furthermore, the information in the foreign media about the situation in our country and its capital is not always objective. Secondly, we only recently made an essential step forward in streamlining the overly bureaucratic system of registering entry visas for people who want to come to Ukraine. Work in this direction needs to continue.

The third direction in which we are actively working is to develop a tourism infrastructure, including building hotels. By the year 2010 we are planning to construct four or five five-star hotels, 10 to 12 four-star hotels and 30 to 40 three-star hotels. For modern tourism needs to be met, we need to pass laws on the hotel/service industry, which clearly identify legal, economic and organizational foundations for this business. And this will become a positive impulse for bringing more tourists to our city.

Q: What relationship do you see between Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora?

A: As mayor of Kyiv, I would like Kyiv to be the capital for not only Ukrainians who live in Ukraine, but for all Ukrainians throughout the world. For this to happen, Kyiv should maintain its Ukrainian spirit and nurture Ukrainian traditions. To put it succinctly, I would like relations between us to be much tighter. The epoch of the Iron Curtain has ended, and we are open to the world. We need for the world community to accept us, not as a part of the former Soviet Union, but simply as Ukraine and not a country that is associated only with the problems of Chornobyl and international scandals.

It so happened historically that Ukraine has a very large diaspora that is dispersed among various countries and continents. The feeling of nostalgia is a very human and natural emotion. You can carry it your entire life and even pass it on to your children born in a foreign land. Today we are open, and our motherland can be visited by anyone who has the opportunity and the wish to do so. I believe that these visitors can become our informal ambassadors on all levels. There are no limits to our cooperation.

Q: What does it mean to be Man of the Year?

A: This honor is not only an honor for me but for my entire team at City Hall. With great pleasure I can say in the last years I have been able for form a mighty team of like-minded individuals, people who have a rich professional life experience and are talented organizers. They are the ones who have given me the opportunity to achieve positive results in our capital city.

So, becoming Man of the Year will not allow me to rest on my laurels but will be a stimulus to continue my work for the good of Kyiv and Ukraine.

Marta Kolomayets is a contractor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) based in Kyiv. A former editorial staff member (1982-1984, 1988-1996) and Kyiv correspondent for The Ukrainian Weekly, she has also written for the Associated Press, Newsweek and The Chicago Tribune. Kyiv has been her home for the last 11 years.

Natalia A. Feduschak is a freelance journalist who has written for The Washington Times, The Denver Post, The Wall Street Journal and other U.S.- and Canada-based publications. She divides her time between the United States and Ukraine. She is also a former staffer of The Ukrainian Weekly (1985-1987).

This article is the second in a series about the "Renaissance of Kyiv."

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