Ukraine once again proved that is on the way away from Communism and single-party politics with the recent Presidential elections held on October 31 (first round) and November 14. The incumbent, President Leonid Kuchma was re-elected with 56% of the vote and his challenger, Petro Symonenko, received just 38%. In the West, Kuchma did very well (over 90% in some oblasts) while Symonenko gained over 50% in several Eastern oblasts. (The so-called Red Belt, that includes Donetsk, where Kevin spent a year working with farmers). We're not sure what this means for the future of Ukraine, but both of us are happy the Communists were defeated. That's got to mean SOMEthing good, right? Still, the Financial Times may have got it right when it wrote (11/16/99) that Ukrainians have paid a heavy price for peace and stability. "The main beneficiaries," wrote the FT, "have been a small band of business and bureaucratic oligarchs who now control much of the economy." We agree that Kuchma still has a lot of work to do and a lot of promises to keep. And we think that the West shouldn't walk away, but nor should it just throw money at the problem. Support to small businesses, entrepreneurs, non-governmental organizations and study abroad programs all should reap huge dividends for generations to come.

We love Ukraine and are working hard to make our wonderful world even better. We hope that after you check out this page, you should have a good idea why Kevin came here for six months and stayed for four years!

• City of Kiev
• Dacha (Country House)
• Our apartment
• Dinamo Kiev