The Choice of the Regions
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#11 (93) November 2015 The analysis The role of micro-business How Ukrainians are coming of local elections in Ukraine's economy to terms with the Holodomor THE CHOICE OF THE REGIONS WWW.UKRAINIANWEEK.COM Featuring selected content from The Economist FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION CONTENTS | 3 BRIEFING 26 Polish Politics in a New Era: 4 Long Live Stability! What the victory of Elections as a trip to the past conservatives spells domestically and internationally 7 Hanne Severinsen on what local ECONOMICS elections show about legislation, mainstream parties and prospects of 28 Life on the Edge: the regions What is happening with FOCUS microbusiness in Ukraine today? 8 Oligarch Turf Wars. 2.0: 31 “We wouldn’t mind change ourselves” Triumph of tycoon-backed parties How the micro-merchant regionally and debut of new crowd survives independent movements 34 Algirdas Šemeta: 10 Michel Tereshchenko: "Criminal law is used “We have to clean all in business all too often" of Hlukhiv of corruption” Business ombudsman on The newly-elected mayor the government and business, on plans for the the progress of reforms and the adoption town’s economic revival of European practices in Ukraine SOCIETY 12 The More Things Stay the Same: Donbas remains the base 38 Do It Yourself: for yesterday’s Party of the Regions, How activists defend community but democratic parties interests when undemocratic forces make serious inroads control local government POLITICS 40 Karol Modzelewski "The seed of authoritarianism has sprouted 14 Tetiana Kozachenko: in the minds of Eastern European “We are like pain in peoples due to frustration the neck for all those interested with liberal democracy" in staying in their seats” Polish dissident and leading Director of Lustration Department ideologue of the Solidarność on sabotage and prospects movement on Poland’s struggle of cleaning up the government for independence and current threat 18 Most Wanted: to Eastern European societies A Crib Sheet for the President 43 Leonidas Donskis on how Whom the Administration should add Ukraine and EU can help each other to its sights after Ghennadiy Korban HISTORY 20 Crimea, the Theatre of the Absurd? 44 The Gen-3 Mission: Crimean Tatar activist Tamila Tasheva on Beating the Holodomor effect persecutions in the occupied peninsula How much time Ukrainians need to NEIGHBOURS get over the post-genocide syndrome? 22 Andrius Kubilius: CULTURE & ARTS “One step for Ukraine is to try and 49 Alla Lazareva on clichés about create a solidarity front of similar Ukraine and a blow to illusions countries” Lithuania’s ex-Premier on his of the left in a new French post-revolutionary societies and threats documentary to Ukraine’s European integration 50 Contemporary photography, 24 Master of Emergencies: new music and Gypsy Orchestra: Russia’s Defense Minister The Ukrainian Week offers a selection as a possible next president of events to attend in November E-mail [email protected] www.ukrainianweek.com Tel. (044) 351-13-87 The Ukrainian Week № 11 (93) November 2015 Editors address 37 Mashynobudivna str., Kyiv, 03067, Ukraine Founder ECEM Media GmbH. Publisher ECEM Media GmbH Print run 15 000. Free distribution Address Austria, Am Gestade,1, 1010 Vienna Our partner State registration certificate КВ № 19823-9623ПР 19.03.2013 Chief Editor Dmytro Krapyvenko Editors Anna Korbut, Lidia Wolanskyj № 11 (93) November 2015 | thE UKRAINIAN WEEK thE UKRAINIAN WEEK | № 11 (93) November 2015 BRIEFING Long Live Stability! Roman Malko n theory, the minute the final results of the local elections were declared publicly, the country was supposed to start life anew. The President and many of those interested in I the election process more than once repeated that the transformation could not be completed without full overhaul of the government machine. Over and over again, they blamed phoто bY UNIAN bY phoто № 11 (93) November 2015 | thE UKRAINIAN WEEK 6 | BRIEFING | those from the camp of predecessors for hamper- Actually, President Poroshenko has grown very ing the victorious stride of reforms. But, the cul- wary of all this revolutionary chaos. He is a man prits don’t stand a chance from now on, they said, of money, and money doesn’t like much fuss. If the while using the culprits’ methods to persecute President believed even a little that he can change competitors, create political projects to steal votes the country, he would have done so with all the from others, and control the election process. In “green light” he has. But he is more concerned with short, those in power expected pretty good results stabilization. It is now becoming clearer why his for themselves. response to some events Ukraine underwent was In practice, something went wrong. Right after so obscure. Why wasn’t martial law introduced exit-polls showed low support for the party of the after the aggressor invaded the country? Why was President and its satellites, their leaders began to the investigation of the killings on the Maidan so declare witch-hunt plans to reveal those who failed messed up? And why some of those who should long to deliver the expected result. Could the President have been in jail never even got close to the Pech- be sorry now for launching the dangerous game of ersk Court? “local elections” and blessing the transformation of Social frustration with the government is grow- the campaign into a freak show? One can only guess. ing. Low voter turnout and meager support of those He is a skillful player who never betrays emotions. whom people have completely lost trust for are But we don’t need his emotions. The mere fact that evidence of this. The fact that Svoboda is return- the President’s party failed to garner high support, ing into the political orbit, the Right Sector’s rates as planned in the top cabinets, means that someone are growing, and the support of Samopomich and will be held responsible for this. So far, Ukrainian Batkivshchyna is going up against the backdrop voters have outsmarted expensive spin doctors. of the shrinking Poroshenko Bloc results and the The current outcome has brought about many plummeting rates of Premier Yatseniuk’s Popular unexpected surprises, opening old sore wounds Front, will surely push the top players to seek more which had bothered those in power before but reliable allies who are not infected with revolution- seemed like something that doesn’t need emergen- ary zest. In fact, these allies are already available: cy treatment. For instance, the landslide victory ultimate alliance is probably a matter of time. In of Ghennadiy Kernes, the No1 enemy of Ukraine’s this situation, no one should be surprised by the current Interior Minister Avakov in Kharkiv, and government’s obsession over repeated elections brilliant results for the Opposition Bloc and its clone party, Renaissance in South-Eastern Ukraine, pretty good support for Samopomich which stole DEalS BEtwEEN THOSE IN POWER the votes of young and middle-class pro-Ukrainian AND THE Old GuaRD, WHICH electorate (the Poroshenko Bloc apparently count- ed on them, among others) – all this can hardly PROACTIVE VOTERS lamENTED abOut, qualify as an accomplishment that will leave the maNIFESTED THEMSELVES CLEARLY IN THE ELECTIONS power holders happy. Clearly, these newly-revealed results should not be interpreted as a revanche of the former Region- in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiysk where, polls sug- als or the defeat of those currently in power. Lo- gest, ex-Regionals could get confident victory. This cal governments have changed to some extent, and could be just one element of the deal those in power this is good. The triumph of the Poroshenko Bloc have to carry out in order to ensure further quiet along with its numerous satellites did not hap- and comfortable existence. pen, but they still managed to garner a pretty de- Unfortunately, Ukraine’s agenda for today fo- cent result compared to all other projects. There cuses on the notorious stability. This includes the is hardly a local council all across Ukraine where comeback of “professionals” and “solid managers”, at least one Poroshenko Bloc candidate will not be rather than what the country actually was hoping present. What background these people have is a for. This stability does not include any additional different matter. Poroshenko Bloc’s unscrupulous moves to tilt the system that has been built care- franchise of its brand to various culprits from the fully for years. The promises of massive lustration past has stirred much public outcry already, while of prosecutors and judges, huge success in reform- elections in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiysk, both in ing civil service and struggle with corruption, bold Eastern Ukraine, that were disrupted at the very reform initiatives and profound reboot in various last day, confirmed earlier mistrust for promises sectors should not mislead anyone. about clean-ups and overhauls. The deals between The latest elections were the litmus test that representative of those in power and the old guard, was quite revealing. The second round of mayoral which many proactive voters had lamented about elections is about to take place in mid-November. during the campaign, manifested themselves clear- For some, it’s a second chance to confirm or debunk ly. In fact, this could be for the better. It means that our worst fears and prognosis. We will soon find at least some I’s are dotted, so mainstream parties out how those in power and society do in this test, no longer have to bluff and pretend to be who they whether Ukraine will have a chance to switch from are not. Fortunately, Ukrainians have at least some words to action, and actually launch the vital pen- reasons to feel safe for a little while: the force and dulum of change, or whether it will regress, along security bloc has been reinforced, reliable people with its dreams, back into “stability”.