FOR THE RECORD: Inaugural address by President Viktor Yushchenko

The following is a transcript of President Viktor Yushchenko's inaugural address, as delivered on Kyiv's Independence Square on January 23. (Translated from the Ukrainian by George Sajewych.)

My dear Ukrainian people!

Esteemed guests!

My esteemed Ukrainian community!

Ukraine's Khreschatyk and Independence Square!

Today Ukraine is a free and independent nation. We have thrown the burdens of the past off our shoulders. No one will ever dare to dictate to us how we are to live and whom to elect. I became president through the will of the Ukrainian people. We - you and I - are its sons and daughters. Today I want to speak to you, looking directly into your eyes.

It is a great honor to be able to address a free people, who hold in their hands not only the Ukrainian flag but the destiny of their country as well. Here, in front of the people, I want to continue my oath of office. I pledge to you that we shall change Ukrainian life. My victory is the victory of all the Ukrainian people and of every citizen individually.

For this victory I thank the Lord God, who has given us faith, hope and love. It is through them that we triumphed. I pray that we shall preserve them forever in our hearts.

I thank the Ukrainian people for their great trust. I thank all and everyone who responded to my words: "I believe in Ukraine. I know what my duty is. And together we shall overcome." We have discovered for our country its road into the future.

I thank all and every citizen, no matter for whom he voted. My victory is everybody's victory. Everyone has the right to search for his vision of his country's path. Everyone has the right to choose those political colors that are dearest to him.

But, my dear friends, dear Ukrainians, our common choice are the colors of the Ukrainian flag. They unite all of us. Those who live in the east and those who live in the west. Those who live in the north of Ukraine and those who live in her south.

I thank my team, which worked for our win. You, my dear brethren, were unwavering on the road we traveled together. And I am confident that you will be as tireless in the work that lies ahead.

I thank my family, my wife, my children and grandchildren. They were with me in the most difficult days. You are here with me today at this celebration. I know you will always be my hope and my support.

I bow deeply before my father, Andriy Andriyovych Yushchenko - a teacher in the small village of Khoruzhivka in Sumy Oblast, a prisoner of Auschwitz, Dachau and Buchenwald - whose true teachings guided me throughout my life and brought me to this high honor of leading my country. I thank my mother, Varvara Tymofiyivna, for her love and her prayers, which have protected me. I beg her forgiveness for all the pain that her maternal heart has had to endure, especially in the past four months.

Dear friends! I am proud to stand together with you in this place! Two months ago, millions of people came out onto this square, as well as onto squares and streets all over Ukraine. Our brothers and sisters, parents and children, and neighbors stood day and night, in the snow and the bitter cold. Ukraine watched for every move and listened to every word that was spoken here. Ukraine's collective heart beat here on the square. Free people all over the world, as well as our countrymen scattered throughout distant lands, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us. Here, on Independence Square, Ukrainians became, in the eyes of the world, a modern Ukrainian nation.

A courageous stand awakened our souls. We all felt ourselves as citizens of Ukraine. Dignity, a sense of honor and charity were awakened in us. Armed only with faith and conviction, the people achieved a wonderful peaceful victory. This is a victory of freedom over tyranny, of law over lawlessness, of the future over the past.

Every citizen of Ukraine became a winner. We succeeded in gaining a fair election and on December 26 we met our destiny. We freely chose the path along which we are ready to proceed onward and upward.

Our choice was the result of our entire history.

We chose prosperity, for poverty should not dishonor the soil tilled by a farmers' plow. We chose justice, for lawlessness should not become the norm in a land that saw its laws codified a thousand years ago in the "Truth of Rus." [Rus'ka Pravda].

We chose freedom, for tyranny should not rule over the successors to the Kozak republic that 300 years ago gave the world its first Constitution. We chose independence. For we are the heirs of generations of those who dreamed about a Ukrainian state, and fought for its freedom with their sweat and blood. The Ukrainian state is a reality, and with our choice we confirm this. Our victory is a celebration of is statehood.

On this day let us remember the heroes who sacrificed their lives for this victory: the martyrs of the Auschwitzes and Gulags, the victims of the Holodomor Famine-Genocide, the deportations and the Holocaust. They are looking at us today, from the heavens, and I'm sure they are proud of us!

We have made our choice, for we remember who we are, whose children and grandchildren. It is not in the past that we should search for answers to the challenges of the future. However, we shall always preserve our roots. Only thus will we remain true to ourselves. Only thus will we truly remain victorious!

Our choice has given rise to high expectations. They are proper. And they are absolutely realistic. We have everything we need to be successful. The riches of our land are inexhaustible. The talents of our countrymen are respected by the entire world. Through work and through will we shall accomplish all there is to accomplish!

I am president of all of Ukraine. I carry the responsibility for the functioning of the mines of the Donbas and the Dnipro regions, of Black Sea ports and of the trade routes of Halychyna. I will do everything in my power so that the farmers of Slobozhanschyna and Podillia always have a good harvest. The riches of Ukraine lie in the riches of its regions. I vow to preserve these riches and multiply them.

We, the citizens of Ukraine have become a united Ukrainian nation. We shall not be divided by the languages we speak, nor the religions we profess nor the political positions we choose. We have one Ukrainian destiny. We have one Ukrainian pride. We are proud to be Ukrainians.

We have taken an irreversible step toward democracy. Only democracy can preserve what is most dear to every human being - one's family and children, peace and tranquillity, work and prosperity. Only in a democratic state are human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity held in the highest esteem. Only in a democratic Ukraine will the brilliant palette of languages, cultures and views become the wealth of this country.

I vow that everyone will be able to teach their children in the language of their parents. Everyone will be able to pray in their own house of worship. Everyone will be guaranteed the right to hold their own views. We will be able to listen to one another because we will have freedom of expression and an independent press. We will all be equal before the law. Independent courts will protect the rights of every individual. I see Ukraine as a state governed by the rule of law.

We shall create a democratic government - honest, professional and, certainly, patriotic.

The wall that separated elected officials from the people will be torn down. Our renewed government will be aware of its obligation to work for the good of the citizen and the state. Being in the government or in the opposition will be equally honorable, if one is serving one's country. We will have a moral government, able to unite society.

Only in unity and only in a democracy will we achieve our national goals. You have told me so at thousands of meetings. I shall carry out your will. You want to have jobs and a fair wage, and you feel bitterness when you are forced to leave your families in search of work abroad.

We will create new jobs. Everyone who wants to work will find a job and receive a fair wage. Nothing will limit your initiative, nor your desire to provide for your families. Everyone who provides jobs for others will get our support. Honest work will be respected.

We will become a prosperous nation.

You are seeking justice.

I will do everything so that no one is cheated. The fruits of economic growth will become accessible to all. We shall advance, but we will not leave behind those who have grown ill or tired in the autumn of their years. The government will return to the people every last kopiyka of its revenues. Pensions will increase, as will assistance and the scope of social programs. Public health, the protection of mothers and children will have the highest priority of my government. We shall become a nation united.

You seek to be free of constant extortion. You want to live and work honestly, and to legally receive the money you have earned.

We shall destroy the system of corruption in our country; we will take the economy out of the shadows. Taxes will be lowered, but everyone will pay them. Business will be separated from the government. Government funds will not be a feeding trough for anyone. Government jobs will go only to those whose expenses correspond to their declared incomes.

We shall become an honest nation.

You want to be masters of your own communities. You do not want high government officials to decide everything for you. We shall return power to local communities. The community will itself decide the affairs of its neighborhood, village or city. You will elect your own local leaders, you will raise your own revenues and you yourselves will spend them. We shall be a nation of self-governing communities.

You demand that your children be protected from decadence, you desire to live not by bread alone. We shall preserve our spiritual heritage. Along with you I will tirelessly tend Ukraine's cultural preserves, protecting its ancient trees as well as its saplings. Our roots will not allow the winds of history to blow us about as tumbleweed. Through our culture the world must recognize our uniqueness. We shall be a nation of high culture.

We will be a modern nation in a dynamic global world, and we will become equal among equals. The future of Ukraine lies in the best possible educational system, high science and cutting-edge technology. I will do everything so that the intellectual potential of our nation is put to work. We shall become first and we shall become the best!

Ukrainians will find their rightful place in the community of nations. Ukraine will be neither a buffer, nor a field on which others will compete. We are ready to respect the interests of other countries. But for me, as well as for you, the national interests of Ukraine will be paramount!

We greet our neighbors, to the East as well as to the West, with good will and respect. I will do everything possible to develop stable cooperation with all countries. Ukraine will become a dependable partner in the fight against old and new threats: tyranny, war, poverty, natural disasters and terrorism. The universal search for ways to guarantee security and prosperity is a responsibility of Ukraine as well. We are ready for it.

Our path into the future lies on the road taken by a united Europe. Together with its peoples we belong to one civilization, we share the same values. History, economic prospects and the interests of the people give a clear answer to the question of where we are to seek our destiny. Our place is in the European Union. My goal is to see Ukraine in a United Europe!

Europe is where Ukraine can realize its historic chance to develop its potential. Our national strategy is to go toward that goal boldly, directly and with determination. European standards will become the norm in our social life, in our economy and in Ukrainian politics. Every step toward Europe opens up new possibilities for millions of Ukrainians.

Just recently, entry into the European Union seemed a very distant possibility, but free European peoples have more than once accelerated time. Chunks of the Berlin Wall, the Warsaw roundtable and our own Independence Square in Kyiv have become symbols of these rapid changes. Ukraine is discovering itself in the history of Europe in the third millennium. We are no longer on the periphery of Europe. We find ourselves in the center of Europe.

Dear friends! We have set for ourselves some ambitious goals. To the very last cell of my being I am convinced that these goals will soon turn into glorious deeds. I will do everything in my power so that all Ukrainians, without exception, come to believe in themselves, in their country, their homeland. We have already demonstrated that we can dream bold dreams and work tirelessly. We do not shun self-sacrifice and we can achieve success!

We are beginning a new chapter in Ukrainian history. It will be a wonderful chapter. It will describe our unity, our courage, our readiness to help one another.

There is a special place reserved in this history for this Kyiv square. It is here that we will multiply our strength and share our joy. This square is the symbol of a free nation, a nation that believes in its strengths and forges its future. Our national blue-and-yellow flag will always wave over us, as will resound above us with a million voices Ukraine's national anthem.

Everything that we hope for, my dear friends and countrymen, will come to pass. Believe in Ukraine, love Ukraine, serve Ukraine.

Glory to every one of you! Glory to the Lord God! And glory to Ukraine!

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 30, 2005, No. 5, Vol. LXXIII

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