KHARKIV'S LESSON FOR KYIV: STOP BICKERING, START

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KYIV 000337 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL UP SUBJECT: KHARKIV'S LESSON FOR KYIV: STOP BICKERING, START WORKING TOGETHER SUMMARY: -------------- ¶1. (SBU) In the face of the mounting economic crisis, Kharkiv Oblast political leaders have set aside long-running political rivalries and started to work together. The cooperation spans the political spectrum and has provided political cover for such unpopular measures as tranport fare increases. Preparations for the Euro 2012 European soccer championships jointly hosted by Ukraine and Poland represent a key area of cooperation. The economic situation in Kharkiv is deteriorating, but the city's major industries are not yet laying off workers. The rise in natural gas prices is straining local budgets and forcing tough decisions on funding for social programs. END SUMMARY. CRISIS BRINGS POLITICAL COOPERATION -------------- ¶2. (SBU) During the Ambassador's February 3-4 trip to Kharkiv Oblast, Governor Arsen Avakov told him that the economic crisis has pushed Kharkiv's political leaders to find common ground and work to stabilize the economic situation in the region. Avakov, a Yushchenko appointee, explained that he, the Oblast Council controlled by Prime Minister Tymoshenko's bloc, and Party of Regions Kharkiv Mayor Mykhailo Dobkin have spent the last three years fighting each other. Avakov said that just as everyone had grown tired of the conflict, a new enemy appeared, the economic crisis. He said the continuous bickering of the national government provided a powerful negative example to Kharkiv. Avakov said that he has reached a compromise with Dobkin and the oblast council to put aside controversial issues, such as Russian language, and focus on economic and social issues that they can all agree on. He said that Kyiv is so focused on political infighting, the oblasts have been left to fend for themselves. ¶3. (SBU) The Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, Myroslav Pitsyk, described the transformation in Kharkiv politics as "remarkable," but not an isolated event. He told us that in the last six months most of the regions where there was significant conflict between the oblast and municipal leadership have found a way to work together. He said that the one exception was in Transcarpathia Oblast. Mayors and Governors feel abandoned by Kyiv and are increasingly cooperating to deal with the economic crisis, according to Pitsyk. He said there is significantly more cooperation between all major parties at the oblast and city level than at the national level. MAKING TOUGH CHOICES JOINTLY -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Mayor Dobkin told the Ambassador that Kharkiv could no longer afford to continue the political fighting of six months ago. He said that Kyiv has abandoned the oblasts and cities, "so we have to find our own solutions." Dobkin emphasized that he and Avakov realized that only by cooperating could they hope to address the economic crisis. He said that an example of their cooperation could be seen in the recent doubling of fares for public transportation. Fares had not been raised since 2001 and needed to be raised in accordance with the rise in fuel prices and inflation. Ordinarily, Dobkin explained, his decision would have been subject to intense criticism by Avakov and the oblast council and used as political leverage against him. He noted that a similar rise in fares in Kyiv resulted in a conflict between Kyiv Mayor Chernovetsky, President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Tymoshenko. Dobkin told the Ambassador that he, Avakov and the oblast council reached a compromise agreement to unanimously back the fare rise prior to the public announcement. He said he could not have imagined this six months ago. PREPARING TO PICK UP UKRAINE'S EURO 2012 SLACK -------------- - ¶5. (SBU) Avakov and Dobkin cited Kharkiv's preparation for the Euro 2012 championship soccer tournament as an important area of cooperation. Dobkin told the Ambassador that, because Kharkiv is a reserve city, it has to be better prepared than other cities in order to have part of the competition moved there. He said that delayed construction and difficulty in financing projects in Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk boosted Kharkiv's chances of hosting some of the tournament. He said that the city and oblast had divided KYIV 00000337 002 OF 003 responsibility between them, so that each could focus on its own projects. The city is focusing on a new airport terminal, stadium, and hotels, while the oblast is working on roads and a new airport runway. Dobkin said that he was proud of the role private firms were playing in the city's Euro 2012 preparations. OLIGARCH INVOLVEMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ukrainian oligarch and owner of Development Construction Holding Company (DCH) Aleksandr Yaroslavsky told the Ambassador that his firm is Kharkiv's major private partner in Euro 2012 projects. He said that DCH recently reached a deal with Kharkiv on a forty-nine year lease for the city's airport in return for major renovations to the existing terminal and the construction of a new terminal. Yaroslavsky said he is nearly finished with a major renovation of the Kharkiv soccer stadium, where his team Metallist plays, in return for partial ownership of the stadium. He said that the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) had inspected the nearly complete stadium earlier that day and said that it met their standards for the Euro 2012 tournament. Yaroslavsky said that with a completed stadium and fully funded airport project, Kharkiv is well placed to take over for other Ukrainian cities that will not be ready in time for 2012. WORSENING ECONOMY, BUT NOT YET DIRE -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Avakov described the economic situation in Kharkiv as "worsening, but not yet dire" and that Kharkiv benefits from not having major chemical or metallurgical plants. The three main industries in Kharkiv are machine tools, power generation equipment, and education. Avakov said that TurboAtom, a turbine manufacturer and Kharkiv's largest single employer, had long term contracts with Russia, Mexico, China and India that would keep manufacturing going in the near future. He said the city has not been hit with large layoffs. Most of the economic pain is currently confined to the retail sector as worried people cut back on spending. Avakov and Dobkin both explained that they were only receiving eighty percent of their approved budget from Kyiv. This was forcing them to cut social programs and trim administrative costs. Avakov said that he has cut forty percent from his office's budget and cut oblast projects from 116 to four. Only the most fundamental programs will remain, such as providing insulin to pensioners and heating the homes of the rural poor. Dobkin said that Kharkiv is getting by right now, but the city's situation could rapidly deteriorate without a nation-wide plan for economic recovery from Kyiv. HIGHER GAS PRICES STRAINING BUDGETS -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Dobkin told the Ambassador that this year's rise in Russian gas prices was a looming threat to cities across Ukraine. Cities buy gas from regional gas suppliers at the new higher price, but cannot pass along the increased cost to residential users. Kyiv heavily subsidizes gas for residential users, but the subsidies remain pegged to last year's gas price, leaving municipal budgets to absorb the shortfall. Kyiv will not allow them to raise prices for residents to cover the gap in subsidies. Avakov said that the rise in gas prices is also forcing the oblast to find alternative ways to provide heat to homes and businesses because increased gas prices have left a forty percent hole in the oblast budget. The oblast is running pilot projects using wood waste, sunflower husks and electricity to power municipal centralized heating systems. The oblast is also experimenting with modernizing some municipal systems. Avakov said Kharkiv oblast replaced the entire municipal heating system in Chervonoarmeisk and it now provides better, more reliable heat while using eighty percent less natural gas. Avakov said that the gas price increase would mean a fifteen to twenty percent increase in the prices of milk, bread and meat in the oblast. This will come as people's incomes stagnate or drop and could lead to social unrest. COMMENT: -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Kharkiv seems to have been spared the worst of Ukraine's economic downturn so far, although empty billboards and vacant storefronts in the city's main shopping district KYIV 00000337 003 OF 003 testify to the pain in Kharkiv's retail sector as people cut back on discretionary spending. The newfound political cooperation among Kharkiv's political leaders in the face of the economic crisis is an example Kyiv would be wise to follow. TAYLOR