Blogging the democratic revolution
David McDuff posts the translated political declaration on his blog. The topics it covers are both broad and general, positive and negative. The negative is quickly reinforced with the positive, however. It looks pretty sober, in any case.
Let the laughing at Putin ensue: Belgium ???????? President Bush scolded Russia for backsliding on democracy Monday and dined on lobster risotto and filet of beef with French President Jacques Chirac (search ). Three days before seeing Vladimir Putin (search) in Slovakia, Bush admonished the Russian leader to “renew a commitment to democracy and the rule of law.” Putin has raised alarms in the West by consolidating power, rolling back democratic reforms and curbing press and political freedoms. Bush said the United States and all European countries “should place democratic reform at the heart of their dialogue with Russia.” The…
Nathan has got the news roundup for all of you. The parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are on February 27. Luckily, that is a Sunday, which means I will have plenty of time to be posting on it as well. If there’s anything the tin-pot despots there know, it is when to pick a good day for rigged elections! I don’t even think I have to say that Russia is backing the current regime. UPDATE: More on the Rainbow of Revolutions from Aussiegirl. Here’s my favorite quote from the article she posted: Moscow has been careful to appear impartial this time,…
Sure, I could just go to the Kyiv Post or Maidan and wrap up all the news for you guys. But Discoshaman just does it better!
For some reason, JerseyGOP has Yulia Tymoshenko has their 80th Babe of the Week. This is not surprising to most of us why she would be up there, but I am posting this because there are pictures.
For those who don’t know, the Jackson-Vanik Act was basically an embargo that restricted trade between them and the United States. I’ve written McCain about this and I’m glad to see something happening. From the Action Ukraine Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Representatives Henry Hyde and Tom Lantos today introduced legislation to lift the Jackson-Vanik restriction on Ukraine. Senator McCain issued the following statement: “The recent ‘Orange Revolution’ in Ukraine marked a huge victory for the advancement of democracy in the world. The Ukrainian people made clear that they would not stand idle as a…
Discoshaman has posted his news roundup and promises a more full one tomorrow. Out of the links was an editorial in the Kyiv Post regarding the reprivatization reviews: The process of reviewing shady privatization deals, recently announced by President Viktor Yushchenko????????s administration, makes us a bit nervous. It????????s true that some recent ???????privatizations??????? of valuable state properties have been pure thievery, scams devised to steal plum industrial enterprises from the Ukrainian polity and put them in the pockets of a rapacious elite. But it????????s also true that, if investigators start looking under rocks, they????????ll find something fishy with almost every…
I was just made aware of this website created by Marcin Skubiszewski, a man from Poland who participated as an election observer in Ukraine during the December 26 rerun. This website deals with his experience, including his impessions of the voting process and any irregularities that occurred. It is very detailed in all regards, and includes many photos. It is a very, very interesting website. UPDATE: As testimony to the differences in elections compared to the west, Marcin offers me this photo.
In a sweeping post, The Faces of G comments on the new alignments: Several key anti-U.S. states have been more public in their movements and alignments. A week ago, North Korea boasted of its nuclear weapons. Syria and Iran get together to build a ‘common front’ Änothing new, just a PR stunt reallyÅ. Today, Russia stated it would continue to help Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear program. On Wednesday, CIA director Porter Goss warned that a Chinese military build-up could tip the cross-strait military balance with Taiwan. China didn’t like those remarks, but must at the same time walk a diplomatic tightrope,…
Ukrayinska Pravda comments: The biography of Yulia Tymoshenko can be learnt not only by the official chronicle, but by her photos as well. At the same time, every stage of her life can be distinguished exactly. The reason for this is that every stage of Yulia Volodymyrivna????????s life is indicated with the change of the style. Acute observation.
In particular, some executives of YUKOS and MENATEP testified to the Senate, a huge blow to Putin in a hearing that is entitled “Democracy in Retreat in Russia”: The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing yesterday (February 17) on “Democracy in Retreat in Russia.” The star witnesses were Steven Theede, the embattled Yukos oil company’s chief executive officer, and Tim Osborne, a member of the board of directors of Group Menatep, Yukos’ parent company. In a written statement provided to the committee and posted on its website, Theede accused the Russian government of carrying out “a ruthless…
Lyndon Allin notes at once that Putin’s government is losing legitimacy and stomping on its own support, but a strong democratic movement doesn’t exist to topple him any time soon. Bright People in Senate Will Not Save Kremlin By Nikolai Petrov, Thursday, February 17, 2005. Page 9. Ä…Å Political stability now hangs by a thread. This thread is not the president himself but his popularity, constantly slipping of late. The state is rapidly losing its institutions and its legitimacy. And instead of looking for new sources of support, the government keeps destroying the ones it has. Putin continues to rely…
Veronica Khokhlova reports that she is not exactly sure why he wants to resign, but it seems to be about oil. Roman Zvarych said this on Channel 5 yesterday: I won’t allow any businessmen, who are also Ukrainian parliament members and hold very powerful positions in the oil refinery sphere, to interfere directly in the work of my ministry. I also won????????t allow the actions and decisions of certain members of the government to try getting members of my family involved in corrupt schemes. That is rather vague to me as well. But read the rest of her post, as…
Previously it was unknown how many companies the government was going to review, but One Eyed Cat report that at least 3000 deals will be reviewed by the government for fraud. That’s definitely getting the job done quick! UPDATE: From the comments, a link to a similar article, but with a picture of Yulia.
Aussiegirl posted some excerpts out of an article giving some background on Kateryna Yushchenko. I believe I’ve seen this article before, or one like it, back around December. It details a lot about how she worked in the U.S. government and has always held a deep commitment to seeing a free Ukraine. Check it out.
David McDuff posts what a Russian MP says about Russia-Latvia relations being the worst out of all near abroad countries. Here is the part he posted, and what I consider very interesting: “This isn’t Russia’s choice, it’s Latvia’s,” he stressed. He said “calls to normalize relations have not been heeded by the Latvian side”. “We can see this in the example of the campaign of provocation unleashed in Latvia in connection with the approach of the 60th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War ÄWorld War IIÅ,” the MP said. Kosachev said the international affairs committee is closely following…
Yulia Tymoshenko was handed her first major victory against the oligarchs when the courts anulled the previous sale of Kryvorizhstal. 7 February 2005 — A Ukrainian court today ruled that the privatization of the country’s largest steel enterprise, Kryvorizhstal, was illegal. The decision paves the way for the 2004 sale — for a reported $800 million to a domestic consortium called Investment Metallurgical Union — to be annulled. The reversal was announced one day after Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko said the government plans to review thousands of privatizations carried out by governments that served under former President Leonid Kuchma. ……
Aussiegirl says it’s because the new government is going to go forward on persuing the Gongadze case, as well as taking away Kuchma’s pension. I, on the other hand, believe she is wondering when us boys on the internet will leave her alone.
Andy has posted all news Russian for the week, covering domestic, international, near-abroad, and economics issues.
Discoshaman has got it all summed up for you today, so check it out. UPDATE: Dan McMinn notes that the honeymoon period is over. And Aussiegirl posts the entire transcript of a speech by Ambassador John Tefft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, on the challenges ahead for the United States and Ukraine.
If there ever was a dedicated fanboy of older women, it is me. Well, maybe not, but Orange Revolution posted a good picture I seemed to have missed from Yulia’s photo gallery. Karate chop!
Abdymok has a map of the governor appointment in Ukraine.
Andy notes that the only opposition party in Russia today is the communists. Actually, the KPRF has been the main opposition party in Russia for most (if not all) of the last decade. I haven’t followed it’s fortunes all that closely for a few years but, several years back, it seemed to have comfortably reconciled itself to working within the new, more democratic, system. In the late 1990s the KPRF dominated the Duma and, instead the legislative process grinding to a halt before a brick wall of communist obstruction, the Duma during that period was one of the most effective…
That’s what Daniel Drezner is asking, and as easy as it is for us to discuss theory on these issues, it is much harder to put into practice. Personally, just looking at a map of the region, I take hope in that it is surrounded on three sides by now-free countries. When the time comes, I think Poland and Ukraine will play a big role in supporting “regime change” just as Poland aided its friends in Ukraine this time around. In any case, he wants your own ideas on how it should be done. Leave some comments there if you…
Andy notes that rallies are taking place all over Russia, from both sides of the Putin/Pensions issue. Young members of the Young Yabloko party wearing orange scarves and bandannas also attended the rally. “The orange I’m wearing does not mean that I support the current Ukrainian leadership, but it is a symbol of freedom and democracy for me,” said Alexei Leontyev, 22. “People achieved what they wanted in Ukraine, and I want the same for Russia.” I guess that means the protesters aren’t all communists.