You and I celebrate a wonderful holiday – the 70th anniversary of the foundation of Lugansk region. Your glorious land has always been a symbol of combination of rich historical legacy and industrial power.

Lugansk citizens can be proud of the history of their native land. Cossacks fought against invaders in these areas. The heroic deed of "Young Guards" during the Great Patriotic war became a bright page in the region’s chronicle.

Vladimir Dal' was born in Lugansk region, Borys Grinchenko administrated a district school here, a whole epoch is related to the name of Oleksiy Stakhanov.

Lugansk region is among five most powerful industrial and economic regions of Ukraine. Your production manufactured in the high-tech sphere is deservedly acknowledged as a trademark of world standards of quality and reliability.

These achievements became possible exceptionally due to you – hard-working people devoted to their work. Precisely you make up the greatest asset of the Lugansk region.
A Low bow to you for selfless labor for the state’s benefit.



Unfortunately, the Lugansk region is faced with more than enough problems and unsolved issues.

For the time being the Lugansk industrial complex is quite far from experiencing its best times. The so-called restructuring of a coal industry in late 90s inflicted a severe blow upon the city’s enterprises and the people.

There are many other challenges which you run into every day and which are apparent to us.

The governments which I headed considered the Lugansk region development programs as paramount.

Much could have been settled if we had been enabled to work, if the orange authorities had heard the Party of Regions’ appeals to cease their senseless policy and unite for the sake of the country’s future.

There was no mention about changing a frankly hostile attitude towards the entire southeast of Ukraine.

When they created the so-called democratic coalition following the illegal pre-term parliamentary elections last year, we called them to agree among themselves, assume the responsibility for governing the state and work - we will not interfere.

However, it proved to be beyond the orange’s strength to purify relationship of political rust.

Eventually, the misfortune coalition collapsed, and problems exacerbated.
The country in its development appeared to be thrown backward by many years again.
Moreover, not a full year of these democrats’ ruling exposed the peace on our earth to a direct threat.

Let us just ponder over that today the Ukrainians have to think not only about how to survive under conditions of exorbitant price growth practically for all goods and services. Today they are faced with the fact of disastrous worsening of relations with our neighbor – Russia. A possibility of military confrontation against the Russians is not excluded.
We are intimidated with the possibility of relocating the Caucasus conflict scenario to Ukraine.

But where is Georgia, and where are we?
And since when is it that Crimea has been regarded as the territory of "a frozen conflict"?

Certainly, nothing of a kind has ever existed. The Russian policy makers have never filed any territorial claims against Ukraine. And as for the "hot heads" in Moscow, we have plenty of them in our country as well.

But our authorities needed a conflict because when there is an external enemy, the society’s attention can be easily turned from the acutest internal problems to a threat to our sovereignty and integrity.

The authorities needed a slogan "The Russians are coming!", which has been almost forgotten since the "cold war", in order to retain their power.

And by now official Kyiv, "pulling up its trousers", is hurrying ahead of anti-Russian locomotive. And as it often happens to those having the incapacity complex, it is trying to outdo in its anti-Kremlin rhetoric the stalwarts of relationship with Russia on the force basis.

Definitely, this way is simpler. One does not have to think how to unite the people around a program of building an economically strong and politically stable state.

It is easier to call the Party of Regions Moscow’s hand and frighten the people with non-existent threats from the North once again.



In this uneasy situation when the orange coalition made the country no better than before, I want you to know.

The attempts to embroil us with Russia, to clash our people will not do.

We will not let this happen. To this end you have the Party of Regions – the most powerful and most monolithic political force.

And we have you – millions of like-minded people, our voters.

If the orange are going to wage war – let them fight but only among themselves. They are good only at doing this.

And we are not going to be at war – neither against our own people nor our neighbors.

We have work to do and have the power to establish order in the country at last.

We need stability, confidence in one another, calm and cool judgment.

The world does not enjoy its best times. Therefore, it is necessary to focus all efforts on offsetting negative trends in the financial sphere, drafting a plan of anti-crisis measures, clarifying gas prices, getting prepared for winter.

Understanding the drama of the situation, the Party of Regions cooperates with all whose assistance could help us to fulfill our program goals. The effective voting in Verkhovna Rada on a number of major laws testified this.

We hope to be supported not only in the issues of socio-economic sphere but also in such key problems as delegating maximum responsibility to local government bodies. The regions should eventually become the masters on their territory, and, I think, we are already approaching this goal.

Transferring power from the center to the regions will enable solving main problems both of Lugansk region and Ukraine on the whole.

A judicial reform should be carried out so that every citizen could find justice in court.

It is necessary to accomplish a tax reform so that businessmen should stop feeling as the authorities’ stepchildren.
These are the things to be engaged in, rather than telling tall tales about someone’s wish to seize Crimea!



You and I have passed complicated tests and you have always been at your best.

You have always remained firm and adamant when someone tried to infringe on your right to be yourself under the most intricate conditions of the recent years.

This time the orange authorities impairing your rights finally collapsed.

It collapsed because one cannot build the foundation of the mighty state through gambles, lies and populism. You and I knew this back in 2004. And as soon as the orange authorities broke up, the passer-through became a frequent visitor to Ukraine.

Applying foreign technologies they, similarly as in 2004, want to manipulate the Ukrainians again. Humiliating our people, minds and talents of the Ukrainian citizens they try to bend the people’s will to their own purposes.

But I am sure: the Ukrainians will never again become a blind instrument in the hands of foreign technologists. Neither in the west, nor in the east, nor in Crimea, nor in the center. Because long ago our people understood and got to the core of these passers-through caring only about their own benefit and the benefit of those who send them to us.

We will create a better life in our country ourselves.

And the first thing to be done is to establish a system of public administration which will forever leave behind the shocks we have undergone.

I am often asked whether there will be pre-term elections. I will tell you so: until the orange lose power forever, the country will not be able to develop normally. The orange should resign once and for all. And this task can be fulfilled only by the Ukrainian people at parliamentary and presidential elections.

We understand that they will cling to power using any methods: eyewash, threats and intimidation of people. They will make an attempt to deceive people again. Tell me, will we let them do it? I am sure that people in the west of Ukraine, in the center, in the southeast will not let it. Enough for the orange leaders to cheat and offend everyone.

We will not stand it any longer! The people will not let it. The Party of Regions will not let it.

We know that we are faced with more tests, patience checks. All together we should be prepared for them.

Any elections are possible. The Party of Regions is ready for them. Both for parliamentary, and, if any, for presidential ones.

Everything will depend on your will. If you say "yes!" we will run for elections and win together.

If you order us to look for compromise and reach an agreement we will consider this scenario as well.

In any case, we will win without any overseas assistance offered from anywhere. May everyone care about their own homes, and we will think about ourselves.

And to finish I would like to say that I feel among you as in a circle of relatives and close friends.

You know that I am chary of displaying emotions. But here, on our miner's land, I cannot and do not want to suppress my feelings. It is indeed so.

I trust in you. I believe in ordinary labor people of Ukraine, believe that together you and I will pass any tests – we are used to them. And in the name of our children’s future, in the memory of our fathers and grandfathers who defended our Motherland’s freedom with weapons in their hands, we will carry out our duty, a duty of our whole generation – and will not let break our friendship with our Russian brothers, will not let tear the country to pieces, and will maintain peace on our land.

I congratulate you, dear countrymen, on your nice and glorious anniversary!