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[music]
AMBASSADOR PYATT:
[Begins in Ukrainian]
I'm very happy to be with you for my first video blog entry. This one comes in response
to a question from Lena Vorobey, and I'm here today at the Honchar Museum where I just spent
some time discovering the extraordinary collection of Ukrainian folk art and cultural artifacts
here.
Lena asked me, "What are you doing to get to know Ukraine?" And the answer is going
out, visiting as much of the country as I can but especially seeing sites like this
one, which explain the deep cultural roots that Ukraine has and place in context the
political decisions that Ukraine will be making in the months ahead, regarding its future
in Europe. I was incredibly impressed by the collection here, seeing the religious icons,
seeing the folk art, seeing the 400 years worth of traditions which have been collected
here. I was particularly honored that the museum director Petro Honchar was willing
to spend some time with me this afternoon, explaining why the specific objects were collected,
explaining what his father did to bring this collection together, even during Soviet times
when it wasn't so easy. I'm very, very excited about the opportunity to get to know more
about Ukraine's history, to get to know the Ukrainian people. This was a wonderful first
exposure to that history, and it was exactly the kind of event that I'm looking to do more
of in the weeks and months ahead as I get to know Ukraine better. The United States
is proud to have supported the Honchar Museum through our exchange programs and through
grants, and I can promise you I'll be back again in the future. And I want to congratulate
the museum and the museum leadership on their 20th anniversary. I'm sure there going be
another 20 years, successful years, to come.
[Ukranian]