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UKRAINIAN PREMIER SAYS ORANGE CABINETS HAVE 'EXHAUSTED' ECONOMY. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych on November 10 accused the cabinets of Yuliya Tymoshenko and Yuriy Yekhanurov, which were formed by victors in the 2004 Orange Revolution, of weakening the country's economy, Ukrainian media reported. Yanukovych was speaking at an "extended meeting" of the ruling coalition and the government in Kyiv. "The ideology of social populism has extremely exhausted the economy and led to a number of problems," Yanukovych said. According to Yanukovych, the social spending promised by the two former cabinets cannot be sufficiently covered by budget revenues. "The largest state monopolies Naftohaz [gas pipelines operator] and Ukrzaliznytsya [state railways] have been pushed to the verge of bankruptcy. Privatization revenues have been simply eaten up. I ask -- 'Where is the 25 billion hryvnyas [$4.95 billion] from the privatization of Kryvorizhstal [steel mill]?' -- and find no answer," Yanukovych said. JM
UKRAINIANS WRITE 'DICTATION OF NATIONAL UNITY.' Two Ukrainian radio channels on November 9 broadcast a dictation in Ukrainian intended to check the knowledge of the state language among schoolchildren, students, and anyone else willing to undergo such a test, Ukrainian media reported. The measure, called a "dictation of national unity," was taken within a wider framework of observations of the Ukrainian Language Day. Those who send their transcriptions to Ukrainian Radio will have a chance to get awards funded by two organizations promoting education and culture among Ukrainians -- the League of Ukrainian Patrons and the Prosvita Association. "There is no need for contests or any other measures [to improve the situation of Ukrainian in public life]," League of Ukrainian Patrons head Mykhaylo Slaboshpytskyy told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "It is just necessary for the 5,000 families of the power vertical to simply start speaking Ukrainian. It would be an avalanche that would make all servants and would-be lords immediately start speaking Ukrainian." JM