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Reminders of the ongoing war in Ukraine landed Thursday afternoon on Mount Pleasant Street NW across the street from the Timken Co.’s world headquarters.
A dozen people of Ukrainian heritage from Cuyahoga County carried signs and Ukrainian and U.S. flags, and demanded that Timken end its business connections with Russia.
In March, the bearings maker announced ventures with European Bearing Corp. and United Wagon Co., both based in Russia. The announcements came days after Russian troops moved into the Crimea and began supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Since then, Ukrainian groups in Cleveland — about 50,000 people of Ukrainian descent live in Cuyahoga County — have complained about Timken’s decision.
COMPANY’S STANCE
The company has countered that the business move was in the works long before the dispute between Ukraine and Russia began.
“We entered the Russian market more than 20 years ago, as part of our growth strategy and in the interest of our shareholders,” Gloria Irwin, manager for corporate communications, said in a statement issued Thursday. “Our business dealings have always been shaped by our core values, and we continuously evaluate how and where we operate to ensure our commitment to them.”
Timken operates in 28 countries, and Irwin said the company monitors instances of social and political unrest. “Like the rest of the world, we share concern over the situation in Ukraine,” she said.
People who protested Thursday want that concern to translate into ending business ties with the two Russian companies.
“Is it part of your global expansion policy to kill people?” asked Pavlo Karpyn, a Parma resident. Karpyn said he has worked with other Cleveland-area Ukrainians to send supplies to residents and soldiers in Ukraine. The protest grew out of weekly meetings held by the group.
The United States and some European countries have placed economic sanctions against Russia as retaliation to the fighting in Ukraine. Karpyn said those sanctions don’t apply to Timken’s business ventures, but added that he believes other companies have curtailed business activities with Russia.
One of the protesters was Aleksandr Nechyporuk, who wore a brace on his right leg.
Nechyporuk, through a translator, said he was wounded in the leg and an arm by shots fired during a February protest at the Maidan square area in central Kiev.
Cleveland-area doctors with ties to the Ukraine helped bring Nechyporuk here for treatment at the Cleveland Clinic.
Nechyporuk, who is from Lutsk in eastern Ukraine, said students began protesting Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych’s failure to sign an agreement aligning Ukraine with the European Union. Those protests grew into a fight for democracy, he said.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| 1209S NTN | 45 | 85 | 19 |
| 2308S NTN | 40 | 90 | 33 |