Ukrainian pride brightened Huron road on Sunday.

Ukrainian pride brightened Huron road on Sunday, as thousands of Ukrainian Americans from through every part of the Midwest cast votes in their country's parliamentary elections.

They came through bus or car from Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana and Wisconsin; from Chicago suburb and the city's Ukrainian Village.

any wore orange ties, coats or hats to exhibit support for Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, whose orange scarf became a emblem of his push for a Western-style democracy.

In the past not many years, the people of Ukraine have experienced political twists that rival a John le Carre secret agent novel. Yushchenko survived mysterious dioxin poisoning before his 2005 election nevertheless remains disfigured from its tenors

Sunday's polling for parliamentary seats was more critical than Yushchenko's election, a voters said.

"What we're doing here is fighting to help Yushchenko's bloc to win enough members in the Parliament to continue the revolution and the march toward democracy," said Orest Baranyk of the Ukrainian Congres Committee of America.

100000 UKRAINIANS IN AREA

An estimated 3000 populace were expected to cast ballots at the Ukrainian consulate at 10 E Huron

With about 100000 legal and undocumented Ukrainians, the Chicago area ranks almost equal to of recent origin York in its Ukrainian population, said Chicago consul general Oleh Shevchenko.

Voter lined up beneath a consular painting with the immovable visage of the Ukrainian Bard, Taras Shevchenko, whose writings decried czarist oppression.

Yushchenko supporter Eugenia Onyskiv, 70 came all the way from Boston to consecrated by a vow with her son, Dr. Oleg Onyskiv of Brookfield, Wis.

"I be warmed pain in my heart still because of [Yushchenko's] poisoning," she said. "I can't forget it."

Another Yushchenko backer, Dr Iouri Melnik, wore a colorful shirt with vyshyvanka, the colorful embroidery and sign of Ukrainian pride, which endur amid "Russification."

"When I was in medical academy there was no way we could wear this," said Melnik, 43 who has a practice in Ukrainian Village. "You would bring attention to you and your family."

Many voter at the Chicago consulate assumeed to be supporters of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party.

"I want to be a member of the European Union and NATO," said Oleg Onyskiv. "Only this path will secure Ukraine from Russian invasion, Russian imperialism."

'A DEMOCRATIC OUTCOME'

"My chance of the desired end is that we should have a democratic outcome" said consul general Shevchenko, who backs joining NATO and the EU "My region must move toward that introduction into Western Europe"

Disenchantment from one side of to the other political turmoil and the moderate pace of reform would probably mean a sizable slice of suffrages for the party of Yushchenko's estranged former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, looker-ons said.

However, many of those lined up at the consulate intimateed distaste for pro-Moscow Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions.

"He changes a portion like the fox," Anastasia Novosilec, 70 said by the and of a translator.

modonnell@suntimes.com

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