Dmytro Tabachnyk
Encyclopedia
Dmytro Tabachnyk is an Ukrainian politician, science and education minister of Ukraine since March 11, 2010. Tabachnyk has the equivalent of a doctorate in historical science, has the title of professor, and is a current member of the Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine.
.
Initially he worked in the State Archives as a curator of materials about the Kiev chapter of the Komsomol
.
In 1990 he became a delegate to the Kiev City Council. From 1991-92 he was a consultant in the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada
. From 1993 he was in charge of Information and Press for the Cabinet of Ministers.
In 1994 he became the head of the Committee to elect Leonid Kuchma
as president of Ukraine where he was accused of falsification of sociological data.
Tabachnyk was a Member of Parliament from March 1998 through March 2003 for Labour Ukraine
.
In November 2002 through February 2005, he served as vice premier in the First Yanukovych Government
. April 2006 through December 2007, Tabachnyk was a vice premier in the Second Yanukovych Government. He became a Party of Regions
MP again following the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election
.
In 1996 he was accused of influencing peddling the Supreme Court regarding the death penalty given to a terrorist action perpetrated by a Russian national in Simferopol.
He was forced to resign from Parliament because he illegally procured for himself the military title of colonel.
From 1997-8 he was an advisor to President Kuchma.
In 2002-2005 he became vice-premier minister of Ukraine under Victor Yanukovych. During this period he was involved with the scandal of donating letters by Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky
to the Ukrainian archive in Kiev which had previously been stolen from the Lviv archives.
In March 2006, he was elected deputy on the Supreme Council of Crimea from the For Yanukovych!
Bloc.
and thus Tabachnyk was installed, the Lviv
branch of Forward, Ukraine! started to collect signatures in support of the dismissal of Education and Science Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk. On March 17, 2010 the Administration of the Ukrainian Catholic University
appealed to the education community in Ukraine to come out publicly about the situation in the education field after the appointment of Tabachnyk as education and science minister. According to them "Tabachnyk has been openly and publicly humiliating the Ukrainian intelligentsia, as well as Ukrainian language
and Ukrainian culture, kindling hostility among the various regions of Ukraine, vindicating the human-hating Stalinist regime, which has been condemned alongside fascism for crimes against humanity by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe; he doubts the sacrifices born by the Ukrainian people in the times of the Soviet totalitarianism". 5,000 people hold a rally in Lviv in support of Tabachnyk's dismissal on March 17, 2010. Vyacheslav Kyrylenko
, leader of For Ukraine!, stated during the rally that his party would work tirelessly to oust Tabachnyk from his post. Kyrylenko has introduced a resolution asking the Ukrainian parliament to dismiss Tabachnyk; the vote could take place as early as March 30, 2010. The initiative is being supported by other opposition groups, including Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko.
Faced with widespread these protests Tabachnyk stated on March 17, 2010 he would keep his ideas about the country’s history to himself. Tabachnyk also promised not to backpedal on the "progressive educational reforms" (the Bologna education system and independent testing, which claims to "objectively determine students’ knowledge and is a critical component in ensuring they can enter university without paying bribes") that have already been introduced. President
Victor Yanukovych had campaigned on the promise to abolish testing in 2009. As late as March 15, 2010 his deputy, Hanna Herman, maintained they would be eliminated. Herman also stated Yanukovych had privately met with Tabachnyk on March 15 and put him on notice. “He had to promise the president to hide under lock and key his personal views and anti-Ukrainian statements and strictly follow the education policy approved by the parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers. If he breaches that agreement, the president will take an adequate decision”.
By March 17, 2010 four of western Ukraine
’s regional councils had passed resolutions calling for the minister’s dismissal. A host of civic and student organizations from all over the country (including Kherson
in southern Ukraine
and Donetsk
in eastern Ukraine
), authors and former Soviet dissidents
also signed petitions calling for his removal.
Tabachnyk has dismissed these campaigns against him as “witch hunts” stating “If they don’t like my articles, they should turn to the editor
s who published them.”
At same moment rectors of some leading Ukrainian colleges and universities, intellectual and cultural leaders of Ukraine applied to the President and Prime Minister of Ukraine, the chairman of the Supreme Rada, in support of Dmitry Tabachnyk. They named opened propaganda campaign against Tabachnyk in this position as “gamble and speculations of certain political forces”. Authors of the said statement recalled a positive results of Tabachnyk's work in a position of the vice-premier in Yanukovych Government in the past.
On March 20, 2010 Ukrainian national television broadcasting company — Inter
— made live sociological interrogation at prime time
, asking respondents to answer a question if they are supporting Tabachnyk in position of Science and education minister or against him. Results were that 67 % have supported him in this position and 33 % said that he has to be resigned. It being said that about 30 thosands respondents voted.
A website
was created to support Tabachnyk in position of Science and education minister. It contains open letter
to President and Prime Minister of Ukraine “from representatives of intellectuals, mass media and the non-governmental organisations of Ukraine in support of Dmitry Tabachnyk on a post of the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine”. Everybody can join this iniatiative and sign this letter.
Former President Viktor Yushchenko
did warned his successor, Viktor Yanukovych
, against appointing Tabachnyk as minister “This is a minister who can only bring division in higher education
and in Ukrainian education
.
On March 19, 2010 the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea had applied to President Viktor Yanukovych
, the Verkhovna Rada
(Ukrainian parliament), and the Cabinet of Ministers
to keep Tabachnyk in position of Science and Education Minister of Ukraine. While by March 25, 2010 the Volyn Oblast
council (parliament of the province), Lviv Oblast
council, Ternopil Oblast Council
, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
council, Rivne Oblast
council, as well as Sumy
municipal council
, Lutsk
municipal council and Lviv
municipal council had applied to same institutions with the exact opposite demand.
On March 27, 2010 over 2,000 students supporting Tabachnyk hold a meeting in Odessa
. Participants proclaimed they wanted to show their support to new minister and reforms in his Ministry.
On March 30 a total of 202 lawmakers with 226 needed voted for a bill on Tabachnyk's dismissal. A new bill was registered the same day; "We'll do that until this man leaves Ukrainian education" Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense faction member Viacheslav Kyrylenko stated.
On May 13, 2010 Tabachnyk announced Ukraine and Russia intend to develop a common textbook for history teachers. March 2010 Tabachnik had stated that Ukrainian history textbooks contained "simply false" information and announced his intention to rewrite them. He also promised to personally re-read high school books on history, literature and humanitarian subjects.
which includes the thesis that western Ukrainians aren’t really Ukrainian
. In an article for the Russia
n newspaper Izvestia
Tabachnyk wrote last year: “Halychany (western Ukrainians) practically don’t have anything in common with the people of Great Ukraine, not in mentality, not in religion, not in linguistics, not in the political arena” “We have different enemies and different allies. Furthermore, our allies and even brothers are their enemies, and their ‘heroes’ (Stepan Bandera
, Roman Shukhevych
) for us are killers, traitors and abettors of Hitler’s executioners.”
Tabachnyk also denies the Holodomor, considering it an invention of foreign historians for political motives.
and is loathed by some opposition politicians and branded as being "anti-Ukrainian"
.
On March 12, Member of Parliament
Viacheslav Kyrylenko of the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc faction registered with the Ukrainian parliament a draft resolution to dismiss Tabachnyk from the ministerial post. On March 30 a total of 202 lawmakers with 226 needed voted for a bill on Tabachnyk's dismissal. Kyrylenko will register new bills "until this man leaves Ukrainian education".
A request to dismiss Tabachnyk by March 25, 2010 was made by the Volyn Oblast
council (parliament of the province), Lviv Oblast
council, Ternopil Oblast Council
, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
council, Rivne Oblast
council, as well as Sumy
municipal council
, Lutsk
. municipal council and Lviv
municipal council in an appeal to President Viktor Yanukovych
, the Verkhovna Rada
(Ukrainian parliament) and the Cabinet of Ministers
. On March 19, the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea asked parliament, government and Yanukovych to keep Tabachnyk in the minister post.
.
Career
In 1986 Tabachnyk graduated from the faculty of History of the Kiev UniversityKiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
.
Initially he worked in the State Archives as a curator of materials about the Kiev chapter of the Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
.
In 1990 he became a delegate to the Kiev City Council. From 1991-92 he was a consultant in the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
. From 1993 he was in charge of Information and Press for the Cabinet of Ministers.
In 1994 he became the head of the Committee to elect Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk...
as president of Ukraine where he was accused of falsification of sociological data.
Tabachnyk was a Member of Parliament from March 1998 through March 2003 for Labour Ukraine
Labour Ukraine
Strong Ukraine ; former Labour Party Ukraine , is a political party in Ukraine registered in August 1999. The party claims to have over 80,000 members as of mid-May 2010. It is currently negotiating a merge with the Party of Regions....
.
In November 2002 through February 2005, he served as vice premier in the First Yanukovych Government
First Yanukovych Government
The first Yanukovych Government was the Ukrainian cabinet of ministers between 21 November 2002 and 5 January 2005, led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych had been elected Prime Minister of Ukraine with 234 votes, only 8 more than needed....
. April 2006 through December 2007, Tabachnyk was a vice premier in the Second Yanukovych Government. He became a Party of Regions
Party of Regions
The Party of Regions is an Ukrainian political party created on October 26, 1997 just prior to the 1998 Ukrainian parliamentary elections under the name of Party of Regional Revival of Ukraine. It was reformed later in 2001 when the party united with several others...
MP again following the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election
Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2007
Early parliamentary elections in Ukraine took place on 30 September 2007. The date of the election was determined following agreement between the President Viktor Yushchenko, the Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Moroz on 27 May 2007, in an attempt...
.
In 1996 he was accused of influencing peddling the Supreme Court regarding the death penalty given to a terrorist action perpetrated by a Russian national in Simferopol.
He was forced to resign from Parliament because he illegally procured for himself the military title of colonel.
From 1997-8 he was an advisor to President Kuchma.
In 2002-2005 he became vice-premier minister of Ukraine under Victor Yanukovych. During this period he was involved with the scandal of donating letters by Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky
Mykhailo Hrushevsky
Mykhailo Serhiyovych Hrushevsky was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian, and statesman, one of the most important figures of the Ukrainian national revival of the early 20th century...
to the Ukrainian archive in Kiev which had previously been stolen from the Lviv archives.
In March 2006, he was elected deputy on the Supreme Council of Crimea from the For Yanukovych!
For Yanukovych!
"For Yanukovych!" was a political alliance in Crimea between the Party of Regions and the Russian Bloc during the 2006 Crimean parliamentary election....
Bloc.
Minister of education and science of Ukraine
On March 11, 2010, the day the Azarov GovernmentAzarov Government
The first Azarov Government was appointed on March 11, 2010 as part of the "Stability and Reform" coalition between the Party of Regions, Lytvyn Bloc and the Communist Party of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament...
and thus Tabachnyk was installed, the Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
branch of Forward, Ukraine! started to collect signatures in support of the dismissal of Education and Science Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk. On March 17, 2010 the Administration of the Ukrainian Catholic University
Ukrainian Catholic University
The Ukrainian Catholic University is a Catholic university in Lviv, Ukraine, affiliated with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The ceremonial inauguration honoring its founding took place on June 29, 2002...
appealed to the education community in Ukraine to come out publicly about the situation in the education field after the appointment of Tabachnyk as education and science minister. According to them "Tabachnyk has been openly and publicly humiliating the Ukrainian intelligentsia, as well as Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
and Ukrainian culture, kindling hostility among the various regions of Ukraine, vindicating the human-hating Stalinist regime, which has been condemned alongside fascism for crimes against humanity by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe; he doubts the sacrifices born by the Ukrainian people in the times of the Soviet totalitarianism". 5,000 people hold a rally in Lviv in support of Tabachnyk's dismissal on March 17, 2010. Vyacheslav Kyrylenko
Vyacheslav Kyrylenko
Vyacheslav Anatoliyovych Kyrylenko is a Ukrainian politician; former Minister of Labor and Social Policy, former Vice Prime Minister, former partyleader of Our Ukraine and current leader of the party For Ukraine!.-Biography:...
, leader of For Ukraine!, stated during the rally that his party would work tirelessly to oust Tabachnyk from his post. Kyrylenko has introduced a resolution asking the Ukrainian parliament to dismiss Tabachnyk; the vote could take place as early as March 30, 2010. The initiative is being supported by other opposition groups, including Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko.
Faced with widespread these protests Tabachnyk stated on March 17, 2010 he would keep his ideas about the country’s history to himself. Tabachnyk also promised not to backpedal on the "progressive educational reforms" (the Bologna education system and independent testing, which claims to "objectively determine students’ knowledge and is a critical component in ensuring they can enter university without paying bribes") that have already been introduced. President
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Victor Yanukovych had campaigned on the promise to abolish testing in 2009. As late as March 15, 2010 his deputy, Hanna Herman, maintained they would be eliminated. Herman also stated Yanukovych had privately met with Tabachnyk on March 15 and put him on notice. “He had to promise the president to hide under lock and key his personal views and anti-Ukrainian statements and strictly follow the education policy approved by the parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers. If he breaches that agreement, the president will take an adequate decision”.
By March 17, 2010 four of western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
’s regional councils had passed resolutions calling for the minister’s dismissal. A host of civic and student organizations from all over the country (including Kherson
Kherson
Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major ship-building industry...
in southern Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Donetsk
Donetsk
Donetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin region...
in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), authors and former Soviet dissidents
Soviet dissidents
Soviet dissidents were citizens of the Soviet Union who disagreed with the policies and actions of their government and actively protested against these actions through either violent or non-violent means...
also signed petitions calling for his removal.
Tabachnyk has dismissed these campaigns against him as “witch hunts” stating “If they don’t like my articles, they should turn to the editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
s who published them.”
At same moment rectors of some leading Ukrainian colleges and universities, intellectual and cultural leaders of Ukraine applied to the President and Prime Minister of Ukraine, the chairman of the Supreme Rada, in support of Dmitry Tabachnyk. They named opened propaganda campaign against Tabachnyk in this position as “gamble and speculations of certain political forces”. Authors of the said statement recalled a positive results of Tabachnyk's work in a position of the vice-premier in Yanukovych Government in the past.
On March 20, 2010 Ukrainian national television broadcasting company — Inter
Inter (TV channel)
Inter is the major TV channel in Ukraine. Based on it later was formed the whole new media group with variety of different other channels. Inter is among the top-rated networks in Ukraine, competing with such as 1+1 and Pershyi Natsionalnyi channels...
— made live sociological interrogation at prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
, asking respondents to answer a question if they are supporting Tabachnyk in position of Science and education minister or against him. Results were that 67 % have supported him in this position and 33 % said that he has to be resigned. It being said that about 30 thosands respondents voted.
A website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
was created to support Tabachnyk in position of Science and education minister. It contains open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
to President and Prime Minister of Ukraine “from representatives of intellectuals, mass media and the non-governmental organisations of Ukraine in support of Dmitry Tabachnyk on a post of the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine”. Everybody can join this iniatiative and sign this letter.
Former President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
did warned his successor, Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
, against appointing Tabachnyk as minister “This is a minister who can only bring division in higher education
Higher education in Ukraine
Higher education in Ukraine has a long and rich history. Its students, graduates and academics have long been known and appreciated worldwide. The pioneering research of scholars working in the country’s higher education institutions and academies, such as Dmytro Mendeleyev, Mykola Zhukovsky, and...
and in Ukrainian education
Education in Ukraine
There is nearly 100% literacy in Ukraine.11 years of schooling are mandatory. As a rule, schooling begins at the age of 6..According to Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn the amount of budget financing for the sphere of education reached about 6% of Ukraine's GDP in November...
.
On March 19, 2010 the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea had applied to President Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
, the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
(Ukrainian parliament), and the Cabinet of Ministers
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
to keep Tabachnyk in position of Science and Education Minister of Ukraine. While by March 25, 2010 the Volyn Oblast
Volyn Oblast
Volyn Oblast is an oblast in north-western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Lutsk. Kovel is the westernmost town and the last station in Ukraine of the rail line running from Kiev to Warsaw.-History:...
council (parliament of the province), Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939...
council, Ternopil Oblast Council
Ternopil Oblast Council
The Ternopil Oblast Council is the regional oblast council of the Ternopil Oblast located in western Ukraine. The council is composed of 120 members and is situated in the oblast's administrative center Ternopil....
, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. As is the case with most other oblasts of Ukraine this region has the same name as its administrative center – which was renamed by the Soviets after the Ukrainian writer, nationalist...
council, Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The area of the region is 20,100 km²; its population is 1.2 million...
council, as well as Sumy
Sumy
* 1897 - 70.53% Ukrainians, 24.1% Russians, 2.6% Jewish, 2.67% others* 1926 - 80.7% Ukrainians, 11.8% Russians, 5.5% Jewish, 2% others* 1959 - 79% Ukrainians, 20% Russians, 1% others...
municipal council
Municipal council
A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...
, Lutsk
Lutsk
Lutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
municipal council and Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
municipal council had applied to same institutions with the exact opposite demand.
On March 27, 2010 over 2,000 students supporting Tabachnyk hold a meeting in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
. Participants proclaimed they wanted to show their support to new minister and reforms in his Ministry.
On March 30 a total of 202 lawmakers with 226 needed voted for a bill on Tabachnyk's dismissal. A new bill was registered the same day; "We'll do that until this man leaves Ukrainian education" Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense faction member Viacheslav Kyrylenko stated.
On May 13, 2010 Tabachnyk announced Ukraine and Russia intend to develop a common textbook for history teachers. March 2010 Tabachnik had stated that Ukrainian history textbooks contained "simply false" information and announced his intention to rewrite them. He also promised to personally re-read high school books on history, literature and humanitarian subjects.
View of Ukraine’s history
Tabachnyk is loathed by opposition politicians for his view of Ukraine’s historyHistory of Ukraine
The territory of Ukraine was a key center of East Slavic culture in the Middle Ages, before being divided between a variety of powers. However, the history of Ukraine dates back many thousands of years. The territory has been settled continuously since at least 5000 BC, and is also a candidate site...
which includes the thesis that western Ukrainians aren’t really Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
. In an article for the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n newspaper Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
Tabachnyk wrote last year: “Halychany (western Ukrainians) practically don’t have anything in common with the people of Great Ukraine, not in mentality, not in religion, not in linguistics, not in the political arena” “We have different enemies and different allies. Furthermore, our allies and even brothers are their enemies, and their ‘heroes’ (Stepan Bandera
Stepan Bandera
Stepan Andriyovych Bandera was a Ukrainian politician and one of the leaders of Ukrainian national movement in Western Ukraine , who headed the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists...
, Roman Shukhevych
Roman Shukhevych
Roman Taras Yosypovych Shukhevych was a Ukrainian politician and military leader, the general of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.-Childhood:Roman Taras Yosypovych Shukhevych was born in the city of Krakovets, Jaworow powiat, in Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria which is located today between Lviv and...
) for us are killers, traitors and abettors of Hitler’s executioners.”
Tabachnyk also denies the Holodomor, considering it an invention of foreign historians for political motives.
Political views
Tabachnyk has advocated expanding the rights of Russian-language speakersRussian language in Ukraine
Russian is a minority language in Ukraine It is the most common first language in Donbass and Crimea regions, the predominant language in large cities in the East and South of the country...
and is loathed by some opposition politicians and branded as being "anti-Ukrainian"
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment or Ukrainophobia is animosity towards Ukrainians, Ukrainian culture, language or Ukraine as a nation. It is widely present in Poland and in the former Soviet Union, mainly in the Russian Federation and in some parts of Eastern Ukraine...
.
On March 12, Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Viacheslav Kyrylenko of the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc faction registered with the Ukrainian parliament a draft resolution to dismiss Tabachnyk from the ministerial post. On March 30 a total of 202 lawmakers with 226 needed voted for a bill on Tabachnyk's dismissal. Kyrylenko will register new bills "until this man leaves Ukrainian education".
A request to dismiss Tabachnyk by March 25, 2010 was made by the Volyn Oblast
Volyn Oblast
Volyn Oblast is an oblast in north-western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Lutsk. Kovel is the westernmost town and the last station in Ukraine of the rail line running from Kiev to Warsaw.-History:...
council (parliament of the province), Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939...
council, Ternopil Oblast Council
Ternopil Oblast Council
The Ternopil Oblast Council is the regional oblast council of the Ternopil Oblast located in western Ukraine. The council is composed of 120 members and is situated in the oblast's administrative center Ternopil....
, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. As is the case with most other oblasts of Ukraine this region has the same name as its administrative center – which was renamed by the Soviets after the Ukrainian writer, nationalist...
council, Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The area of the region is 20,100 km²; its population is 1.2 million...
council, as well as Sumy
Sumy
* 1897 - 70.53% Ukrainians, 24.1% Russians, 2.6% Jewish, 2.67% others* 1926 - 80.7% Ukrainians, 11.8% Russians, 5.5% Jewish, 2% others* 1959 - 79% Ukrainians, 20% Russians, 1% others...
municipal council
Municipal council
A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...
, Lutsk
Lutsk
Lutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
. municipal council and Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
municipal council in an appeal to President Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
, the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
(Ukrainian parliament) and the Cabinet of Ministers
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
. On March 19, the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea asked parliament, government and Yanukovych to keep Tabachnyk in the minister post.
Personal life
Tabachnyk is married to Tatiana Nazarova, an actress of the Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian DramaLesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama
Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama is a theater in Kiev, Ukraine.Founded in 1926, the theater produces many important plays of Russian and Ukrainian dramatic art. Its repertoire consists of plays by famous playwrights such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Bulgakov and others...
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Honours
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicOrder of Merit of the Italian RepublicThe Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
(October 28, 1996). - Commander's Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke GediminasOrder of the Lithuanian Grand Duke GediminasThe Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this Order. The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke...
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