UKRAINIAN EMBASSY RECEPTION IN WASHINGTON
CELEBRATES U.S. PRESIDENT'S INAUGURATION
Sponsored by the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) with
the support of 10 Ukrainian American organizations

By Yaro Bihun., Special to The Ukrainian Weekly
The Ukrainian Weekly newspaper, Ukrainian National Association (UNA)
Parsippany, New Jersey, Sunday, February 1, 2009

WASHINGTON – The January 20 inauguration of Barak Obama as the 44th president of the United States was celebrated at many festive gatherings in and around the nation’s capital, among them a gala reception at the Embassy of Ukraine on the following evening.

Sponsored by the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) with the support of 10 Ukrainian American organizations, the joyous event attracted close to 300 guests, including representatives of the U.S. government and congress, former U.S. ambassadors to Ukraine and leaders of the Ukrainian American community.

A lot of the attention of the guests, however, was focused on two very famous ladies of Ukrainian descent who were there that evening: Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, who completed her second journey into space aboard the space shuttle in November 2008, and Oksana Baiul, the figure skating gold medal winner for Ukraine at the 1994 Winter Olympics. There was also a little bombshell dropped by her shuttle commander about the astronaut’s future plans.

The evening’s host, Ukraine’s Ambassador Oleh Shamshur, opened the evening by recalling the previous day’s inauguration ceremony on the National Mall, which he attended. He found it “extremely inspiring,” he said, especially the “spirit of hope” that was prevalent in the unprecedented gathering of nearly 2 million people who came to witness the event.

He said he saw in the new president a leader with a “sober appreciation of the current situation” and one that was “ambitious enough” to resolve the problems facing his country. As for the new U.S. administration’s affect on the future of the U.S.-Ukraine bilateral relationship, which had developed a solid base over the last four years of the Bush administration, Ambassador Shamshur expressed the hope that “we will be able not simply to move on but to reach a new qualitative level in our relationship.”

One of President Obama’s foreign policy advisors during the election campaign was William Miller, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in the middle1990s. In his remarks at the reception, he noted the “spirit of  hope and optimism” conveyed on the Mall. At this time in our country’s history, he said, it was fortunate “that we have a president who is there because of his merit, his intellect and his sense of possibility,” and one who represents the aspirations of all Americans.

Ambassador Miller likened the Mall in Washington to the Maidan in Kyiv, the birthplace of the Orange Revolution, which, he admitted, has left much still to be done. “What you saw on the Mall yesterday was the real thing. It’s the spirit of democracy. It’s the spirit of a free people. And we share that as Americans with the Ukrainians. And I’m very proud of this close relationship,” he said.

“This is a celebration of achievement, of human accomplishment, of human dignity and freedom, and I’m happy to be a part of it with you,” Ambassador Miller added. Another former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Steven Pifer, was at the reception but did not address the gathering.

Also speaking at the Embassy reception was U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.). He said he looks forward to working on the administration’s agenda of the 111th Congress with the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, the USUBC and many individuals in the room who had worked with him in the past.

The subject and tone of the evening changed when USUBC President Morgan Williams called Olympic champion Ms. Baiul to the microphone. She recalled the astonishment and pride with which she, at the age of 16, mounted the medals award stand at the 1994 Winter Olympics to receive her gold medal and watch the flag of Ukraine be raised.

She kept her remarks very brief, but spent much of the evening interacting with her excited fans. She was also interviewed for the Voice of America “Chas-Time” Ukrainian television program. A native of Odesa, Ms. Baiul came to the Embassy with another prominent Odesa expatriate, concert pianist Maxim Mogilevsky and his wife, pianist Svetlana Smolina.

The arrival of the space shuttle astronauts was delayed somewhat because of the rush-hour traffic in Washington. When they arrived they were immediately introduced and joined in the singing of “God Bless America” and “Mnohaya Lita” (Many Years).

Introducing captain – her rank in the U.S. Navy – Stefanyshyn-Piper – and six of her shuttle colleagues, Mission Commander Christopher Ferguson noted that she was one of only a few women astronauts to lead space walks outside the shuttle. On their last flight in November, she ventured out into space three times, he said, bringing her career space-walk total to five, in the two shuttle missions she flew.

She did a wonderful job, Commander Ferguson said. And then he added: “My only regret is that – to NASA’s disadvantage and, of course, to her professional advantage – she’ll be leaving NASA coming up this summer. She’ll return back to the Navy, which is a great thing for the United States Navy. They can’t wait to have her back.”

A native of St. Paul, Minn., Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper received her commission from the Navy ROTC Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she received a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1985. She was accepted as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1996. In her two flights on the shuttle, she spent 27 days in space – more than 33 hours of which were spent “walking” in space.

Speaking in both English and Ukrainian, Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper apologized for being late – agreeing with Ambassador Shamshur that “it is far easier to fly in space than it is to drive through the streets of Washington” – and expressed her appreciation for the warm welcome she and her colleagues received. This was her second reception at the Ukrainian Embassy, she noted – the first being after her first shuttle flight in 2006.

After a video presentation about the November 2008 mission of the shuttle, Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper was kept busy by her many fans in attendance – among them four young ladies from the Voloshky dancers of Philadelphia – posing for photographs, discussing her experiences and autographing NASA-supplied photographs of the most recent space shuttle crew.

The sponsor of the event, the U.S.- Ukraine Business Council [USUBC], which fosters expanding bilateral commercial-economic relations, recently reached its goal of having 100 member corporations and interested institutions by the end of 2008 – the 100th member being Microsoft.

Mr. Williams said that the reception was intended not only to celebrate the inauguration of President Obama but also the “strong bond of friendship between the people of Ukraine and the people of the United States.”

Among those who realize the value of this relationship and have spent lots of time, money and effort to keep it going, he said, are the supporting organizations that helped in organizing the event: The Washington Group, Ukrainian American Bar Association, Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, Ukrainian-American Environmental Association, Ukrainian Americans for Obama-Biden, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Ukrainian Federation of America, Ukrainian National Women’s League of America and the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation.

The leaders of these and other organizations were present at the reception, he said, adding that maybe “two or three” of them may well be joining the Obama administration. “And it’s going to take all of us working together to keep Ukraine high on the agenda here in Washington,” Mr. Williams said.

Photograph One: Andrew Bihun of The Washington Group (left) joins U.S.-Ukraine Business Council President Morgan Williams in raising a toast and singing “God Bless America” and “Mnohaya Lita” in honor of the new U.S. president. Next to them in front of the Embassy main reception room are (from left): Olympic figure skating gold medalist Oksana Baiul (behind Mr. Williams), Andrea Knihnicky and Emily Knihnicky of the Voloshky dancers of Philadelphia, Solomia Dutkewych, astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, and pianists Svetlana Smolina and her husband, Maxim Mogilevsky.

Photograph Two:  Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper was, undeniably, the Embassy inaugural reception’s most photographed guest. Here she is seen with four members of Philadelphia’s Voloshky dancers: Andrea and Emily Knihnicky, Anna Borelli and Melania Trypupenko.