-
The View From the Other Side
May 17, 2013 | 23 comments
-
Cyprus Uber Alles
May 10, 2013 | 9 comments
-
After Hugo
May 3, 2013 | 16 comments
-
Theory and Practice of Terrorism
April 26, 2013 | 24 comments
-
Border Security Games
April 19, 2013 | 26 comments
At Large
Hardball in Ukraine
One woman has turned out to be the prime victim of this combat.
There is a presidential campaign in Ukraine due in 2015 and political supporters of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko want her out of jail by then. The current president, Viktor Yanukovich, certainly does not share that view and especially does not want her challenging for his presidential seat. The news just released that the 52-year-old Tymoshenko was being investigated for an alleged role in the murder of a rival businessman and his wife in 1996 is seen by many as a way to keep her incarcerated and thus not a factor in the future Ukraine. To inhibit her ambitions further, even her personal lawyer has been brought up on other unrelated charges. Political life in Ukraine can be dangerous to your health, personally and publicly.
To European and American observers the former prime minister seemed to be right out of central casting. Very attractive and affecting the blonde braids of traditional Ukrainian women, Ms. Tymoshenko had pulled off what initially appeared to be a good deal in 2009 in the pricing of her country’s gas contract with Russia. She even had established a good relationship with the often difficult to reason with Vladimir Putin.
By 2010, however, Tymoshenko had narrowly lost a presidential runoff to Viktor Yanukovich, one time truck driver who had honed his political skills during the Soviet years. In the course of his evolution to top level political operator, he had developed strong contacts with several key Ukrainian business moguls, most important among them the oligarch billionaire, Rinat Akhmetov.
By 2011 the beautiful Yulia was on trial in Kiev for having signed what was now being characterized as a “sweetheart deal” for Russia and economically unfair to her own country. This was an ironic turn of events because it was President Yanukovich who had always been considered rabidly pro-Russian to the point of having been thought of in some circles as a Russian “agent.” At least that’s how his political opponents had always spoken of him.
As odd as all this may seem to the Western observer, it’s quite typical in a country where the former president, Viktor Yushchenko, who assisted by Yulia Tymoshenko’s money and charisma was credited as heroically leading the “Orange Revolution” that ousted Leonid Kuchma, the former strongman of the Ukraine. Yushchenko brought “multi-party democracy,” as the European media had called the new politics of Ukraine. Then in a relatively sharp turnabout from the days of 2004/5, Yushchenko testified against his blonde revolutionary partner at her trial in 2011. He later referred to her role in the gas negotiations with Russia as “criminal by nature.” Of course the fact that Tymoshenko already had stabbed her revolutionary companion in the back by charging his circle with large-scale gas deal corruption tended to sour the relationship.
Shifting allegiances is reportedly as prevalent in the Ukraine as graft in many forms at all levels. Local violations of building, fire, and police codes are said to be solved primarily with appropriate payments to the bureaucrat in charge – not unknown elsewhere, but endemic in Ukraine. Perhaps the most egregious fraud yet revealed is that of the deputy chief of the Ukrainian State Secret Service. He had purchased his college degree after never having even once attended any classes. According to foreign and domestic investors alike, the overall economy of Ukraine suffers from this widespread corruption and slick business deals are the natural way of commerce.
The concept of Ukraine seeking a closer relationship with the European Union remains a popular issue, though recent financial difficulties in the EU have dulled hopes of supporters of that eventuality. The whole idea of the expansion of NATO was dealt a blow by Moscow several years ago. Efforts by Kiev to encourage greater ties with the West have been steadfastly opposed by the Kremlin, though when Yushchenko was president he did succeed in gaining Ukraine’s membership in the World Trade Organization.
Yulia Tymoshenko’s strength internationally always has been based on her brains and beauty. The problem is that both these attributes, after initial success, have been turned against her domestically. Even her Ukrainian braids have been attacked as political charlatanism. She has been accused of being primarily a Russian-speaker, a not unreasonable allegation as her home area of Dnepropetrovsk is mostly Russian-speaking. (Yanukovich also comes from the same region, but no one complains about his Russian fluency.) Even Tymoshenko’s Ukrainian heritage is questioned as her father’s family were all Latvian. Her famous Ukrainian surname is really her husband’s. The braids are her own. Nothing is out of bounds in Ukrainian politics.
Yulia Tymoshenko reportedly has been doing poorly in prison and is now in a hospital ward for treatment of a herniated spinal disc. Yanukovich inadvertently has kept her in the public eye by introducing the possibility of a trial on her alleged role in the 1996 murders. Most analysts agree Ukrainians have come to expect their politics to be on the rough side. There is not much evidence to the contrary.
About the Author
George H. Wittman writes a weekly column on international affairs for The American Spectator online. He was the founding chairman of the National Institute for Public Policy.
Job| 1.25.13 @ 8:19AM
smells fishy....what we can learn here is that when you control the dialog you can do anything. this saga is reminiscent of of the equally dubious Bo Xilai scandal in China.
KennesawJack| 1.25.13 @ 9:49AM
Any truth to the rumor that Yanukovich and Obamarx were separated at birth?
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.25.13 @ 3:04PM
...or is there any truth to the rumor that while intoxicated, she drove off of a bridge and swam away, leaving a companion behind in her abandoned submerged vehicle to drown/ asphyxiate...
PolishKnight| 1.25.13 @ 10:19AM
I don't know how it evolved the way it did, but the Ukrainian gas deal with Russia is awful in a variety of ways: They're paying MORE for gas than anyone and, in addition, handed over the port of Sevastopol over to the Russians for a half century lease. For overpriced gas! Amazing.
But yes, it is strange that Yanokovich threw her in the brig over a deal favorable to Russia when he's clearly pro-Russian.
jazzimpaler| 1.25.13 @ 11:01AM
It's amazing how many inaccuracies are in this small article. And again, do we have any real conservatives left in US? Mr. Wittman is just another RINO if he can not see that Ms. Tymoshenko is a puppet of Hillary and Obama. Everything about her is as phony as her handlers. She is one of the richest women in the World thanks to the monopoly on gas and oil from Russia for the past 20 years. To defend her position she partnered with Mr. Lazarenko - the prime minister of Ukraine at a time - who made sure no one competed with her. Actually he did that in Al Capone style - by killing the businessmen. One of them - Mr. Shcherban was gunned down with his wife and two crewman next to the plane they landed with in Donetzk airport in 1996. Now Ukraine Attorney General Renat Kuzmin has finished the investigation with over 100 witnesses in this case. The two people who ordered the killings and who paid for it were Pavlo Lazarenko and Yulia Tymoshenko. Very distinguished company for Obama and Hillary who have plenty of dead bodies in their past.
Job| 1.25.13 @ 2:46PM
"Nothing is out of bounds in Ukrainian politics." Let's rephrase that to, nothing is out of bounds in politics.
The author sounds like a birther when he says, "Perhaps the most egregious fraud yet revealed is that of the deputy chief of the Ukrainian State Secret Service. He had purchased his college degree after never having even once attended any classes." We should be conditioned to swallow this kind of malfeasance without any problem.
One thing for sure though, Skinny Pete was right when he said: "never mess with mother nature, mothers in-law and mother effin Ukrainians.
loulou| 1.25.13 @ 1:04PM
The Uks are just being Uks.
Dimitry_Aleksandrovich| 1.25.13 @ 1:52PM
To many in the former Soviet Union who look favorably upon Russia anyone associated with the Western backed "color revolutions" (such as the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine, the Rose Revolution in Georgia or the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan) is at the very best going to be looked at as an agent of Washington D.C. or London. George Soros was a major financial backer of the "color revolutions" and Moscow has always said that the largely anti-Russian events were influenced by the U.S. State Department and the C.I.A..
The worse thing for the Ukraine is to align itself with the west rather than Russia and Tymoshenko and Yushchenko were part of the "Orange Revolution" aligned with the West. Being that the Russian people have their roots in the Kievan Rus it is only natural that the Ukraine fall in Russia's sphere of influence.
Job| 1.25.13 @ 2:52PM
In the fog that passes itself off for news its nice to read comments like yours and Jazzimpalers; it really helps ferret out the truth.
the addage, "believe half of what you see and none of what you hear," needs to be ammended to, consider half of what you see and none of what you hear or read. second hand info is second hand info.
Rhoetus| 1.26.13 @ 11:47PM
Russia is more corupt than Washington DC
Abdullah| 1.27.13 @ 12:31PM
The thing with Ukraine hard for foreigners to understand is - the country is made up of two different and antagonistic parts - East and West. It is not like North and South in the old USA, where both parts came to be from the same home country, good old England. East Ukraine is home to mostly Russian-speaking and Russian-leaning folks, while the West Ukraine is made-up from parts (Poland, Hungary and Romania) of defunct Austrian-Hungarian empire, mostly during the past 100 years, from WWI to WWII. And Europeans have long memories and their grudges never die. Western Ukraine, of course, is Westward-looking, while East is Russia (Eastward)- bound. Timoshenko made a Western bet, Yanukovich - Eastern. Just my two cents.
Seek| 1.25.13 @ 3:32PM
It may trouble some people here to read this, but Yulia Tymoshenko was a featured guest speaker at the 2007 convention of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. I was there that evening in the banquet hall. She got a very warm reception. So what does that say about CPAC?
Pecos Pete| 1.25.13 @ 6:43PM
Nothing.
Seek| 1.25.13 @ 8:47PM
So is that what's been on your mind lately?
cicero| 1.25.13 @ 4:48PM
Why go all the way over to Ukraine when you can write about much the same stuff right here. Who was responsible for the sweet heart deals with Solyndra and E123? Who has become fantastically wealthy without ever having held a job in the real world, and never drew a real paycheck until he got elected to a seat in a legislative body? Who is now looking to buy a $37million estate in Honolulu (I read this just before the Nov. election, and about a friend putting the 50% down payment, but have seen nothing like it since). Whether this is true or not, the fact that it is out there and has not been denied is interesting. The level of corruption in our own government, and the shovelling of trillions of dollars to special interests without any budget or accountablilty, makes anything going on in the Ukraine small potatoes.
Job| 1.25.13 @ 5:22PM
i just wish i could turn 1000 dollars into a hundred thousand in ten months trading futures. just don't know if i could stop trading after that because it's "too nerve racking."
hrgfue | 1.25.13 @ 7:52PM
NFL,NBA,2013 Fashion kickoff for u
sydney escort | 1.25.13 @ 10:19PM
That's too bad. She's so lovely
Rhoetus| 1.26.13 @ 11:20PM
The only thing I'd want if I lived in Ukraine would be an airline ticket out of the country. One of my great-uncles immigrated there from Czechoslovakia because of his ignorance when (at the end of WW2) the Russians promised him a farm.
Michele San Pietro| 1.27.13 @ 11:16AM
There's nothing new about the above. In any country which has gone through decades of oppression, the path toward normality is long and rough. Ukraine is no exception to the rule.