World Movement Expresses its Condolences on the Passing of Ukrainian Participant

Democracy Alert

[June 3, 2010]

World Movement Expresses its Condolences on the Passing of Ukrainian Participant

Central & Eastern Europe
Printer-friendly version

On May 29, 2010, Ilko Kucheriv, President of the Democratic Initiative Foundation (DIF) in Kyiv, Ukraine, and World Movement participant, passed away suddenly at the age of 55.  He had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer. He leaves behind a wife and two daughters, as well as an enormous group of friends and colleagues, to all of whom the World Movement expresses its sincere condolences.  

Mr. Kucheriv was the founder of DIF, a leading think tank that focuses on deepening democracy in Ukraine. Since its founding in 1992, Mr. Kucheriv and his institution engaged in research and debates concerning public attitudes on political, social, and economic issues. They commissioned exit polls for major Ukrainian elections, including the 2004 presidential elections, which helped to expose the massive electoral fraud that led to the Orange Revolution. Widely recognized as one of Ukraine’s most prominent nongovernmen­tal activists, Mr. Kucheriv was active in Ukrainian civil society for almost 30 years.
 
Mr. Kucheriv had just returned from the World Movement’s Sixth Assembly in Jakarta, Indonesia when he was diagnosed with cancer. Before he passed away, he posted a message on his organization’s Web site about his health and about his experiences at the Assembly. His remarks are available in Ukrainian at http://dif.org.ua/ua/home/kvroewrgk45hrp and excerpts in English follow:
 
Dear Friends:
 
I want to thank everyone who is supporting me and to tell you how things look and what happened.
 
I traveled to Jakarta (Indonesia) for an international conference—the 6th Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy, but before that, on the advice of a doctor I went to a chiropractor to realign my spine to get rid of the pain before my trip. The chiropractor did a few manipulations of my spine to ease the pain but as a result the pain grew worse. And when I was in Jakarta, it was difficult for me to work. Incidentally, I will write about this wonderful and important conference elsewhere; it was a gathering of leaders of civic organizations from all around the world, those who had dedicated their lives to build democracy. The conference was useful and constructive. I was especially impressed by the appearance and speech of the Indonesian President Bambang Yudhoyono. This speech has now been translated into Ukrainian and I will be publishing it soon. It is a good example for “speechwriters” and also for our Ukrainian presidents. Incidentally, Indonesia, just as Ukraine, suffers from corruption. But what happens there is that in Indonesia, the father of the president’s son-in-law is in prison for corruption. It’s interesting; would this be possible in Ukraine?
 
But getting back to my health. When I returned home, following the advice of my wife I went for some X-rays and it turns out that the problem was elsewhere. I was quickly diagnosed with lung cancer. And now I am undergoing treatment…
 
I feel the tremendous support from many people. People are calling me and writing from Ukraine, Europe and the USA… I am very grateful to everyone. This is very important for me.
 
I remain an optimist. None of us knows how much we will be given. This has led me to reconsider all my values and particularly the value of time. I want to spend it in the most effective and thoughtful way. I have taken up yoga again, just as I did in the 1980s before Chernobyl; I have been going to church. I have been thinking about my work and my organization; I believe that people can and should strive to change the world for the better.
 
I remain deeply grateful to you all,
 
Ilko Kucheriv
Kyiv, May 28, 2010

 

 
 
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) has started a "Help Ilko Fund" to support his family at this time.  If you are interested in donating, please contact the UCCA at ucca@ucca.org.