Operation Rescue

by Ron Popeski KIEV - Ukraine has asserted its own identity more than most former Soviet republics, enjoying all the attributes of statehood, but its role on the international stage is yet to blossom. Almost the size of France, a population of 52 million and a standing army of 700,000, Ukraine sometimes feels that the West is still looking at her as "an afterthought to Russia".

by Vincent J. Schodolski Moscow - When my family and I arrived in Moscow five years ago we decided to spend our first Saturday afternoon in Gorky Park soaking up initial impressions of the new country we had come to live in.

by David Zenian KIEV - Between a hotel room and the open air cornerstone of what once was a 14th century church, the Armenians of Kiev are mobilizing into a community in the new Diaspora which until two years ago was nothing but part of the pseudo-nation called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

by David Zenian KIEV - After more than 300 years of almost uninterrupted Russian subjugation, Ukrainians today are hard at work re-establishing their identity. But progress is slow, and facts like the country's near total reliance on Russian gas and oil - and thus the ability to starve its economy - cannot be ignored. Unlike Armenia, where the ethnic language was almost unscathed during more than 70 years of Communist rule, large regions of Ukraine, especially in the east, were on the brink of total Russianization before independence 17 months ago.

by David Zenian KIEV — Ludmila M. Zadarojna remembers her days as a student at Yerevan University with nostalgia. She also refers to life in the former Soviet Union as the "good old days." Ms. Zadarojna is neither a politician nor a government official. But like many intellectuals, she refers to the former Soviet Union as "a land of opportunity." "I did not shed a tear when communism collapsed. Times change, and so do ideologies. What hurts is what communism took away with it as it died," she said with visible sadness in her eyes.

by David Zenian Moscow - Russia's transition from communism to a market economy has triggered an unprecedented rise in organized crime, including protection rackets, smuggling, gambling, drugs and prostitution. The upsurge is not only claiming dozens of lives every day, but could also shake the very foundations of the democratization process of President Boris Yeltsin, according to a recent report prepared by an international organization for its visiting experts and staff members.

by David Zenian Moscow - Working in the Kremlin office of the late Communist dictator Joseph Stalin can be eerie at times, but then these are changing times in the corridors of power of what once was the Soviet Union. The collapse of communism has brought down enough walls and cracked wide open not only the doors of the inner sanctums of the former super power, but also the iron gates of the suburban Moscow homes of former Party and Politburo bosses.

by David Zenian KIEV - Fear of the effects of the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl still traumatizes many Ukrainians seven years after the nuclear disaster, and Mayis Khemchian is one of them. "The only bright spot is that I had a child before Chernobyl. I don't know how my life will end, but my nine-year-old Gariné is healthy," Khemchian said. At 35, Khemchian is frail and "looks older", all because of serious exposure to nuclear radiation at the Chernobyl site three years after one of the world's longest-lasting disasters.

by David Zenian MOSCOW - The apathy of most Russians with politics has not curtailed the number of political parties in a country where until recently the "rubber stamp" was the only tool of legislation. Today, in the free and democratic Russia, 34 parties - ranging from monarchists, to Greens, to various shades of liberals and socialists - are officially registered, but nearly all are small and insignificant. One reason for the lack of enthusiasm is the deep aversion among the people to any political group with dues and membership qualifications.

by David Zenian MOSCOW - Life is an uphill battle for aspiring artists around the world, but in Russia even big names like long-established sculptor Frederick Sogoyan are in trouble. "At some point in my life I believed in art for art's sake because my works were subsidized by the Soviet government. Appreciation and reward by the authorities went hand in hand," Sogoyan said in a recent interview. "In effect, I was paid to create. Not anymore."

KIEV - Gen. Wilhelm Martirossian and Heinrich Altounian are two Armenians of diametrically opposed backgrounds whose popularity has skyrocketed since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the birth of an independent Ukraine. One is a career officer who has served his motherland well. The other has fought everything the Communists stood for, and was exiled to Siberia along with other dissidents. Gen. Martirossian is the Chairman of the State Committee in charge of social welfare for the 700,000-strong Ukrainian armed forces.