Blogging the democratic revolution
The new Ukrainian government continues to contend with the fall out from the dealings of the last Kuchma regime. I mentioned yesterday that Yushchenko has shown a tendency to fall into a kind of minor-league imitation of his predecessor when reporting on his government’s actions. David Crouch notices the same thing: The suicide two weeks ago of former interior minister Yuri Kravchenko, a key witness in investigations into the outgoing leadership’s criminal exploits, has been widely blamed on the government putting its own interests before the legal process – a hallmark of ex-president Leonid Kuchma’s years in power. Mr Yushchenko’s…
To start off, if even haven’t read it, make sure to catch Daniel’s Ukraine roundup over at Bloggledygook. Now, there are two things regarding the situation in Ukraine that has made me crack a scowl lately, except it doesn’t have anything to do with what Ukraine is doing. It has to do with Washington. Tim Russo from Democracy Guy points me to an article in the Washington Post, while biased sounding as it is, throws out some numbers that just irritate me to no end. In the weeks after a popular uprising toppled a corrupt government in Ukraine, President Bush…
I meant to get this up this morning. My latest on Ukraine is up at Bloggledygook. The country’s Prosecutor General Pyskun has granted Mykola Melnychenko (Tape Man!) immunity in absentia. Also, Tape Man is under the protection of Boris Berezovsky, who has an interesting history of his own. Also, an interesting idea for a South Africa-style truth commission and some color commentary from former PM Pavel Lazarenko, who has had some, uh, legal problems here in the States. Go on a wade through the byzantine splendor of it all!
The LA Times has a good article on the many strange deaths that have shadowed the Orange Revolution. How Yushchenko handles the pressure in this time after the Revolution will tell us much about his ability to govern and the future of Ukraine. My take is here.
The so-called "tapegate" revolving around the murder of Georgiy Gongadze is but one of many recording-related scandals in Ukraine. One such long and torturous story (which also features Mykola Melnichenko and his recordings) involves a prominent banker whom former President Leonid Kuchma is said to have conspired to intimidate, jail and destroy. This story has gone largely unreported in the West. It is time to tell it. On March 13, 2000, Borys Feldman, President of Sloviansky Bank, which at the time was Ukraine’s most profitable commercial bank, was arrested and charged by authorities with failing to pay income tax on…
Yes, the Yulia Look is it. And not just the hair.
Dan McMinn at Orange Ukraine has a great post comparing “normalcy” in Ukraine in 2004 to normalcy in 2005. From the end: I’ve been having a debate, of sorts, with one of those folks who still believe “Yushchenko has ushered in fascism”. His only major argument, so far, is that Yushchenko’s call for all public officials not to visit the sauna is a major limit on people’s freedom. If you really want to, you can read our exchange here. I’d just like to say that when the worst I have to bicker with him about is a slightly silly political…
With all that’s been going on in the Middle East lately, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s happening elsewhere. At Bloggledygook I have an update on the situation in Ukraine, including the latest on the supposed suicide of Yuri Kravchenko and the implications of his demise.
Aussiegirl is following the prosecution of the Gongadze case, a journalist whose head was found missing under Kuchma’s regime. Here are quotes from Yushchenko. Also, has his head finally been found? Either way, the killers have been found. Secret police, no less, though that was expected. And a witness was recently injured after the killers were named. I’m thinking there may be more than these three. abdymok is all over the whole story as well, with lots of information. For some background info, he is a journalist for the Kyiv Post.
Orange Revolution reports that PORA has acquired contacts among uncountable numbers of youth in Russia, and that they are seeking ways to have a movement of their own. Yabloko’s Youth wing and a new movement “Moving without Putin” have signed a pact to consolidate youth groups opposed to the Putin regime. PORA has reported the expansion of contacts with Russian youth seeking to replicate the success of the Orange Revolution: That’s a good sign. In other countries such as those in Central Asia, opposition groups are fragmented, which makes it much harder to carry out their opposing. The consolidation of…
Abdymok has a great interview with a Dmytro Potekhin, who details how preparations for the Orange Revolution began, and how the money donated by some organizations was used. even amid all the media speculation about ???????revolution templates??????? last fall, few reported what pro-democracy activists were actually doing to set the stage for the non-stop demonstration against voting fraud that erupted in kyiv on nov. 22. Good point. And a good reason to read the interview.
Posted in the Ukraine Action Report, the speech basically thanks the European Union for their support, rejects the “neighborhood policy” in favor of full member status, explains how Ukraine will reform, and talks a lot about freedom and democracy. A great speech, overall, for a prestigious president.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!