DOCSLIB.ORG

Inside Ukraine, #6, March 2010

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Inside Ukraine, #6, March 2010 CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Policy Documentation Center International Centre for Policy Studies I NSIDE U KRAINE #6, March 2010 Inside Ukraine, #6, March 2010 Table of Contents NEWS OF THE MONTH 3 ISSUE OF THE MONTH 6 KEY EVENTS IN APRIL 16 Editorial Board Authors Gaspar BERGMAN Ivan POLTAVETS Head of Secretariat, Soderkoping Process, Senior Analyst, ICPS Kyiv [email protected] Rt Hon Stephen BYERS Ievgenii ROVNYI Member of Parliament (UK); Researcher, ICPS Chairman of the Board, YES [email protected] Vira NANIVSKA Director of the ICPS Nicu POPESCU Research Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations Olga SHUMYLO ICPS supervisory board e-mail: [email protected] www.icps.com.ua/eng The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Inside Ukraine’s editorial board, nor those of the ICPS Supervisory Board. Inside Ukraine, #6, March 2010 News of the Month The transition of power is over Coalition building: Mission complete The transition of power after a presidential run-off On 2 March, Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn dissolved about five weeks ago is over in Ukraine. Although the “democratic coalition,” as it failed to provide former Premier Yulia Tymoshenko initially refused enough deputy signatures. The next day, the VR to recognize the victory of her rival, Viktor Yanu- passed a vote of non-confidence in the Tymoshenko kovych, it was a peaceful transition. As the third Government. peaceful transition of power in Ukraine, the coun- try’s democratic achievements—rare among FSU After a week of fruitless negotiations among fac- countries—merits applause. tions, it became clear that neither BYT nor NU-NS, the second and third largest factions in the legisla- The executive now stands consolidated with Presi- ture, would join a coalition with Party of the Regions. dent Viktor Yanukovych and Premier Mykola Az- But with individual members of each faction willing arov from the same party and supported by a ma- to consider such a coalition, the situational major- jority in the Verkhovna Rada that is both pro-presi- ity amended the VR Regulations to allow a coalition dential and pro-Cabinet. This fact alone should to be made not only of factions, as required by the improve the government’s ability to reach decisions Constitution, but also of individual deputies2. and to implement them, which will greatly improve Ukraine’s short-term prospects. The “Stability and Reform” coalition was formed on March, consisting of 235 deputies: the Party Financial markets have reacted positively both in of the Regions (PR), Communist Party (CPU) and Ukraine and abroad to the swift transition: Volodymyr Lytvyn Bloc (VLB) factions in their en- tirety, plus 6 deputies who crossed the aisle—six • Risk premiums paid on external Ukraine’s sover- each from BYT and NU-NS, and four others who had eign debt went down. left these factions earlier. • Ukraine’s stock market has gained 47% since the Deputies from both ruling and opposition factions beginning of the year, one of the best results for have requested the Constitutional Court of Ukraine world stock markets. to rule on the legitimacy of the new coalition. The President pledged to call snap elections should • Credit ratings, both sovereign and some corpo- the Court recognize that the coalition-building ap- rate, improved slightly. proach violated the Constitution. However, the short-term benefits of the fast transi- Moreover, the new coalition still has not proved its tion are counter-balanced by the lack of long-term decision-making capacity, as there have so far been stability in the current power set-up. The postpone- no votes on bills that might be divisive. ment of local elections, breaking the rules in cob- bling a coalition, and the public uproar over some appointments are all factors that will undermine the long-term stability of the current Government, leav- ing the threat of a snap Rada election in the air. 2 Legislation states that a deputy, who leaves the faction http://www.businessweek.com/news/200-03-5/ should lose the mandate. However, voting against the ukraine-stocks-climb-to-highest-since-june-2008-on- faction is permitted. It is unclear why BYT and NUNS imf-budget.html faction do not insist on implementation of this norm. 3 Inside Ukraine, #6, March 2010 Silence of the oppositions who was second runner-up in the Presidential elec- tion, took up his new position as Deputy Premier for After the fall of her Government, Ms. Tymoshenko the economy. He did that not only to the contrary to went into opposition and on 6 March, the three BYT his previous statements, but also agreed to a man- bloc parties and the five NU-NS bloc parties signed date with little capacity to implement his agenda. an agreement to establish an official opposition. Since Yulia Tymoshenko is not a sitting deputy, she Despite the seeming consolidation of the executive became head of the opposition’s coordinating coun- branch, some appointments could lead to competition cil and made Serhiy Sobolev, a BYT leader, premier between Presidential Administration and the Cabinet in the shadow Cabinet. of Ministers, though to a lesser degree compared to what happened under Viktor Yushchenko. Moreover, Other groups within NU-NS announced that they there are different business groups and interests rep- would form “alternative” oppositions. After talks resented within the Cabinet of Ministers itself. with Viktor Yanukovych about his possible role in a pro-presidential government went nowhere, Arseniy Kostiantyn Hryshchenko, a former Ambassador to Yatseniuk, the third runner-up in the Presidential the US and to Russia, is now Minister of foreign af- race, declared that in a matter of weeks he would fairs and Mykhailo Yezhel, a former Navy Admiral, present his own shadow Cabinet. Another NU-NS is Minister of Defense, the two positions directly ap- group Za Ukrainu led by Viacheslav Kyrylenko ap- pointed by the President. The appointment of Dmy- parently has no intention of joining any of the oppo- tro Tabachnyk, who has been criticized for his views sition groups, remaining in a political limbo. of Ukraine’s history and for remarks about Ukraini- ans from Western Ukraine, as Minister of Education So far, no actions by the President or Government and Science created a national uproar. action has caused major opposition comment. Other important appointments include those of bil- Appointments lionaire Valeriy Khoroshkovsky as chief of the SBU, the state security service, and Yevhen Bakulin as Not only did the President manage to secure a PR- president of NAK Naftogaz, Ukraine’s natural gas led coalition in the legislature, but he also had his monopoly. close ally appointed as Premier. Mykola Azarov, a former tax czar, First Deputy Premier and Minister Governors have already been changed in 7 oblasts. of Finance in both Yanukovych Governments, is a Both the Speaker and the Premier of Crimea were technocrat who will have to make a great number also changed. The bosses of law enforcement agen- of unpopular decisions. This appointment brought cies in many regions were replaced by representa- a long-awaited end to the standoff and confronta- tives from Donetsk Oblast. tion between President and Premier in Ukraine. Ser- hiy Liovochkin was appointed Chief-of-Staff in the Like the 2006 Yanukovych government, the 200 Az- Presidential Administration. arov government has only men. However, some key positions in the Yanukovych Administration have The new Cabinet of Ministers has a number of min- been filled by women from PR, including: Iryna Aki- isters with interests in big business. Andriy Kliuyev mova, First Deputy Chief-of-Staff and President’s became First Deputy Premier, Borys Kolesnikov was Representative in the Cabinet of Ministers; Olena appointed Deputy Premier for EURO-202 prepara- Lukash, First Deputy Chief-of-Staff and President’s tions, and Yuriy Boyko is now Minister of Fuel and Representative in the Constitutional Court; and Energy. Somewhat unexpectedly, Serhiy Tihipko, Hanna Herman, Deputy Chief-of-Staff. 4 Inside Ukraine, #6, March 2010 Visits West and East working agenda, compared to Brussels, because of the long decline in relations between Ukraine and President Yanukovych’s first official trip was to Russia. Russian Federation President Dmitri Med- Brussels on March. Mr. Viktor Yanukovych suc- vedev promised to revive the interstate bilateral ceeded in showing himself as a European politician commission, promote cooperation in energy and and a potentially reliable partner for the EU. The economic areas, and support the Ukrainian diaspo- President of the European Commission pledged to ra in Russia. It is likely that more specific points in conclude the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, Ukraine-Russia relations will be decided at the level provide macro-financial assistance, and introduce of Premiers, between Mykola Azarov and Vladimir visa-free travel for Ukrainians. President Yanu- Putin. kovych confirmed the country’s goal to deepen po- litical and economic cooperation with the EU. In both capitals, Viktor Yanukovych assured his hosts that he would seek pragmatic, neighborly re- On 5 March, Mr. Yanukovych made his first official lations with them, and, thus, launched his multi-vec- visit to Moscow. The Moscow trip lacked much of a tor foreign policy. Testing President Yanukovych and his new team European Choice. Although President Yanukovych’s first foreign trip was to Brussels where he said that European integra- tion was a key priority in Ukraine’s foreign policy, he also added that Ukraine’s other priority was to enhance relations with Russia. Moreover, there is not a single word about European integration in the new coalition agreement, while there is a paragraph on strengthening mechanisms for bilateral relations with the Russian Federation and a paragraph on economic integration in the post-Soviet arena based on Ukraine’s national interests.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Ukrainian Weekly Press Fund: September of the Students for 2009 and Is Hosting Two CUPP Students (Artem Sokolskyi and Anna Yablonska)
    INSIDE: • Kateryna Yushchenko speaks out in rare interview – page 3. • German trial of John Demjanjuk to begin in November – page 4. • Kyiv law students compete in international competition – page 8. THEPublished U byKRAINIAN the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profitW associationEEKLY Vol. LXXVII No.41 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2009 $1/$2 in Ukraine Thousands celebrate dedication Yushchenko poisoning in the news of Parma’s Ukrainian Village as journalist uncovers PRU smear by Zenon Zawada “The investigative committee’s Kyiv Press Bureau assumption was that the conversation of ‘Roman’ and ‘Marta’ never would KYIV – Recent claims by Party of become public,” Mr. Leschenko reported Regions officials that First Lady of in his article published on October 6. Ukraine Kateryna Yushchenko stealthily “That allowed them to continue develop- added dioxin to her husband’s blood sam- ing the ‘dioxin-enriched blood’ scenario, ples to claim poisoning have been proven involve the American intelligence servic- false by Serhii Leschenko, a top es and build counter-campaigns around Ukrainian investigative journalist who the theme ‘there was no poisoning.’ ” writes for the Ukrayinska Pravda website. In fact, the voice of “Roman” on the Volodymyr Sivkovych, a Party of recordings is that of Roman Zvarych, the Regions national deputy and chair of the Yonkers, N.Y., native who became a close ad hoc parliamentary committee investi- advisor to Viktor Yushchenko during his gating the Yushchenko poisoning, claimed 2004 presidential campaign. on September 19 he had recordings that The voice of “Marta” is not Mrs. prove Ms. Yushchenko, using the pseud- Yushchenko’s, but that of Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • 323-344 Osipian Fall 08.Indd
    Political Graft and Education Corruption in Ukraine Compliance, Collusion, and Control ARARAT L. OSIPIAN Abstract: In this article, the author considers corruption in higher education in Ukraine, including such aspects as corruption in admissions to higher education institutions, corrup- tion in the academic process of teaching and learning, and corruption in administering the newly introduced standardized test for high school graduates. The author builds a grounded theory that explains the issues of compliance, collusion, and control. This theory is based on the idea of governmental control over corrupt higher education institutions. It implies a spillover of political graft in the academy, which facilitates educational corruption and suggests that the state may encourage the institutionally based culture of corruption in higher education. The author presents the implications of the current regime’s actions in the context of the educational reform taking place in Ukrainian higher education and argues that the ruling regime is interested in breeding corruption in academia to sustain its existence. Keywords: bribery, corruption, graft, higher education, reform, Ukraine orruption is a growing problem throughout the world. According to some estimates, Ccountries with transition economies are the most corrupt. Transparency International and World Bank surveys both show that Ukraine is an especially corrupt country.1 Accord- ing to the corruption perceptions index (CPI) that Transparency International calculates annually, Ukraine ranked 83rd out of the 91 countries surveyed in 2001.2 In 2006, Ukraine was given a score of 2.8, making it 99th out of 163 countries.3 A number of scholarly publications and national surveys in Ukraine confirmed that corruption is a problem.
    [Show full text]
  • Yes 2012 Report.Pdf
    CONFERENCE OPENING Dear Friends, Today, countries are in a global race that gets faster and faster. I am not a political scientist - as an art collector I like to use art when I speak about global challenges. Let me use the famous photographer Andreas Gursky’s “Boxenstopp” as an analogy. A pit stop in Formula 1. One team is blue and yellow. This is Ukraine; these are Ukraine’s colours. What is the Ukrainian team doing? I believe - reforms. In the global race, reforms are pit stops allowing you to change and speed up. Some countries which were slow before improve their position. Like cars that put on the right new tires and fill up with the right amount of gasoline, they can overtake others. Others put on the wrong equip- ment or lose too much time in the pit stop and fall behind. I hope Ukraine’s team will be successful. And I hope for all of us this conference will be an intellectual pit stop where we refuel and re-equip ourselves, take in new energy and ideas, to help all our respective countries become smarter, better, more productive, more just. For this, we have fantastic speakers with us in Yalta, political leaders, business leaders, social leaders, intellectuals. I look forward to our discussions. Victor Pinchuk, Founder and Member of the Board, Yalta European Strategy 1 AGENDA 9th YALTA ANNUAL MEETING Ukraine and the World: Addressing Tomorrow’s Challenges Together AGENDA Thursday, September 13 21:20 – 21:25 Welcoming Remarks Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland (1995-2005); Chairman of the Board, Yalta European Strategy
    [Show full text]
  • FROM DESPAIR to HOPE LGBT Situation in Ukraine in 2014
    FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE LGBT situation in Ukraine in 2014 LGBT Human Rights Nash Mir Center Council of LGBT Organizations of Ukraine Kyiv 2015 From Despair to Hope. LGBT situation in Ukraine in 2014 This publication provides information that reflects the social, legal and political situation of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community in Ukraine in 2014. Here are to be found data and analyses on issues related to the rights and interests of LGBT persons in legislation, public and political life, public opinion, and examples of discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation etc. Authors: Andrii Kravchuk, Oleksandr Zinchenkov Project Manager of Nash Mir Center: Andriy Maymulakhin The authors would like to thank NGOs Association LGBT LIGA, Gay Forum of Ukraine, Lyudy Bukoviny, LGBT Union You Are Not Alone and all active participants in the LGBT Leaders e-mailing list and Facebook groups who collect and exchange relevant information on various aspects of the situation of LGBT people in Ukraine. Very special thanks to J. Stephen Hunt (Chicago, USA) for his proofreading of the English text and long-lasting generous support. The report is supported by Council of LGBT Organizations of Ukraine. The report “From Despair to Hope. LGBT situation in Ukraine in 2014” was prepared by Nash Mir Center as part of the project “Promoting LGBT rights in Ukraine through monitoring, legal protection & raising public awareness”. This project is realised by Nash Mir in cooperation with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, within the framework of the program "Promotion of human rights and rule of law for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in Ukraine" which is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
    [Show full text]
  • EURASIA DAILY MONITOR Volume 5 , Issue 125 (July 01, 2008)
    EURASIA DAILY MONITOR Volume 5 , Issue 125 (July 01, 2008) OLIGARCHS WIELD POWER IN UKRAINIAN POLITICS By Taras Kuzio The leading Ukrainian magazine Korrespondent (June 12) published its annual list of wealthy Ukrainians. The most surprising new information was the estimate of Donetsk oligarch Renat Akhmetov’s wealth. Akhmetov, the head of Systems Capital Management, is worth $31.1 billion, making him the wealthiest person not only in the CIS but also in Europe. This revelation comes on top of the highest real estate purchase ever recorded in Britain to Olena Franchuk, the wife of Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Pinchuk and daughter of former President Leonid Kuchma (London Evening Standard, February 26). The purchase was for 80 million pounds ($160 million). London is fast becoming a refuge not only for Russian but also Ukrainian oligarchs. Russian political exiles, such as Boris Berezovskiy, flee to London while Ukrainian exiles (Ruslan Bodelan) flee to Russia. This is testimony to the different approaches to money laundering and due diligence undertaken by the United States and the EU. In the U.S. former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko was convicted and jailed in 2004 for money laundering $120 million into the United States, $40 million less than Franchuk paid for her new London home. Four years of political instability in Ukraine have not damaged the ability of Ukraine’s oligarchs to increase their capitalization during President Viktor Yushchenko’s administration. Political instability has not affected the economy, which has continued robust growth; purchasing power is high and foreign direct investment is at record levels. According to Korrespondent editor Vitaliy Sych, Akhmetov’s estimated wealth has doubled in the past year because of three factors.
    [Show full text]
  • ENGLISH Only
    FOM.GAL/5/10/Rev.1 16 December 2010 OSCE+ ENGLISH only Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović 16 DECEMBER 2010 Regular Report to the Permanent Council Introduction I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the Permanent Council on the heels of the OSCE Summit, which was so generously and capably hosted by the Kazakh Chairmanship. I am aware that many had other expectations and aspirations for the Summit. But I am here to tell a different story. Human rights issues and media freedom issues did not sidetrack the Summit. Indeed, the Summit was an endorsement of and a clear sign for OSCE Institutions such as my Office to redouble their efforts to engage with and assist the participating States in meeting their OSCE commitments. Consider, if you will, Paragraph 5 of the Astana Commemorative Declaration, which, in part, states, “We stress the importance of the work carried out by the OSCE Secretariat, High Commissioner on National Minorities, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and [the] Representative on Freedom of the Media, as well as the OSCE field operations, in accordance with their respective mandates, in assisting participating States with implementing their OSCE commitments.” To those of us who work in the media-freedom field of the human dimension, the Astana Summit is a landmark event. Why? Because the Summit participants, the participating States, in their tense negotiations that came down to the final hours, recommitted their nations to the fundamental principles that guide this Office.
    [Show full text]
  • General Information About Ukraine
    General Information about Ukraine Introduction The purpose of this document is to give a general overview of Ukrainian economy and the city of Slavutych to potential investors. The information provided covers a broad range of subjects to help potential investors understand Ukraine’s developing economy and was gathered from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund. Ukraine is rich in culture, history and natural resources. The government of Ukraine is transforming its economic structure to a western market economy and continues solving problems related to this change. More detailed information about Slavutych, the hometown of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers, is provided. As the date of the Chornobyl NPP closure approaches, the Ukrainian government is taking steps toward economic diversification, including educating and attracting foreign and domestic investors. This guide aims to provide valuable information about investment opportunities, geography, people, government, and the economy of Ukraine and Slavutych. Geography Ukraine sits at a favorable strategic position between Europe and Asia and is the second-largest country in Europe. The contemporary city of Kyiv is Ukraine’s capital and one of the biggest cities in Europe. With a population of almost 3 million, it stands preeminent as the administrative, economic, research, cultural and educational center. The President, Supreme Council (Verhovna Rada), all ministries and government departments are all located in Kyiv. Location Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia Time zone GMT +2:00 Area Total 603,700 sq. km (slightly smaller than Texas ) Land 603,700 sq.
    [Show full text]
  • Inside Ukraine 33
    Inside Ukraine October 16, 2014 №33 Content The Government Policy . 1 The President summed up the peace plan implementation . 1 A breakthrough in anti-corruption legislation . 3 Economic Situation . 5 Donbass losses from Russian aggression . 5 Separatists seek “energy autonomy” . 7 Political competition . 9 Diversification “Privat-style” . 9 Increasing role of Serhiy Lyovochkin . 10 Inside Ukraine 33 The Government Policy Experts’ criticism regarding presidential adminis- This issue can be resolved by identifying and punish- tration’s mistakes in information policy on Donbas ing those responsible for provocations and unrest. issues has brought positive results. Communication The Verkhovna Rada has adopted a package of between the President and citizens became more anti-corruption laws proposed by Petro Porosh- regular. Recently, he has summed up the first month enko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The package includes of his peace plan implementation. Stopping the en- laws on prosecutor’s office, determining final ben- emy along the frontline and decrease in the number eficiaries of legal entities, anti-corruption strategy, of casualties have become the key achievements of the National Anti-corruption Bureau and National the plan. Peaceful settlement of the conflict remains Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. On the only possible option for the President. the same day, the President established the National Nevertheless, the President took several regional Council for Anti-Corruption Policy with similar trips in order to inspect the level of defense capabil- functions as those of the National Commission. ity and made several appointments in security block. This testifies that the President and the Prime Min- Russia’s attempts to destabilize the situation in Kyiv ister will be trying to personally control the issue of using protests of radical groups and law enforcement combatting corruption.
    [Show full text]
  • Separatists and Russian Nationalist-Extremist Allies of The
    Separatists and Russian nationalist-extremist allies of the Party of Regions call for union with Russia Today at 17:38 | Taras Kuzio The signing of an accord to prolong the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea by 25 years not only infringes the Constitution again, but also threatens Ukraine’s territorial integrity. If a president is willing to ignore the Constitution on two big questions in less than two months in office, what will he have done to the Constitution after 60 months in office? As somebody wrote on my Facebook profile yesterday, the Constitution is now “toilet paper.” The threat to Ukraine’s territorial integrity is deeper. Since President Viktor Yanukovych’s election, Russian nationalist-extremist allies of the Party of Regions have begun to radicalize their activities. Their mix of Russophile and Sovietophile ideological views are given encouragement by cabinet ministers such as Minister of Education Dmytro Tabachnyk and First Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Semynozhenko. Calls, which look increasingly orchestrated, are made to change Ukraine’s national anthem, adopt Russian as a state language, transform Ukraine into a federal state and coordinate the writing of educational textbooks with Russia. On Monday, Russian nationalist-extremist allies of the Party of Regions in the Crimea organized a meeting on the anniversary of the Crimea’s annexation by the Russian empire that demanded a full military, political and economic union with Russia. Russian nationalist-extremists in the Crimea were marginalized by ex-President Leonid Kuchma after he abolished the Crimean presidential institution in 1995. Then Deputy Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk undertook measures to subvert and undermine the Russian nationalist-extremists who came to power in the peninsula in 1994.
    [Show full text]
  • The Oligarchic Democracy: the Influence of Business Groups On
    42 THE OLIGARCHIC DEMOCRACY THE INFLUENCE OF BUSINESS GROUPS ON UKRAINIAN POLITICS Sławomir Matuszak NUMBER 42 WARSAW September 2012 THE OLIGARCHIC DEMOCRACY THE INFLUENCE OF BUSINESS GROUPS ON UKRAINIAN POLITICS Sławomir Matuszak © Copyright by Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia / Centre for Eastern Studies Content EDitors Adam Eberhardt, Wojciech Konończuk EDitorS Anna Łabuszewska Katarzyna Kazimierska Translation Ilona Duchnowicz CO-operation Nicholas Furnival Graphic Design Para-buch CHARTS Wojciech Mańkowski PHOTOGRAPH ON COVER Shutterstock DTP GroupMedia Publisher Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia Centre for Eastern Studies ul. Koszykowa 6a, Warsaw, Poland Phone + 48 /22/ 525 80 00 Fax: + 48 /22/ 525 80 40 osw.waw.pl ISBN 978-83-62936-14-4 Contents THESES /5 MAIN SEctORS OF BUSINESS ActIVITY OF THE KEY UKRAINIAN OLIGARCHS /8 INTRODUctION /9 RESERVATIONS /11 I. THE EMERGENCE OF THE OLIGARCHIC SYSTEM AND ITS FORM IN 1991–2004 /13 1. The genesis of the oligarchic system /13 2. The formation of the clans /13 3. The beginnings of a system crisis /17 4. The Orange Revolution /20 II. THE OLIGARCHS IN 2005–2010 /23 1. The orange ‘oligarchic democracy’ /25 1.1. The business circles linked to the Party of Regions /26 1.2. ‘Orange’ business /27 1.3. The others /30 2. Tymoshenko’s conflict with the RUE Group /32 3. The attempt to form a grand coalition /32 4. The presidential election of 2010 /34 III. THE OLIGARCHS AFTER VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH’S VIctORY /37 1. The key groups of influence in the state administration/37 2. ‘The family’ – an attempt at a new quality /40 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond Colours: Assets and Liabilities of ‘Post-Orange’ Ukraine
    Beyond Colours: Assets and Liabilities of ‘Post-Orange’ Ukraine International Renaissance Foundation Kyiv 2010 Stefan Batory Foundation Warsaw 2010 Co-authors Grzegorz Gromadzki independent expert, Warsaw Veronika Movchan Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, Kyiv Mykola Riabchuk Ukrainian Center for Cultural Studies, Kyiv Iryna Solonenko International Renaissance Foundation, Kyiv Susan Stewart Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin Oleksandr Sushko Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, Kyiv Kataryna Wolczuk University of Birmingham The authors of the publication would like to thank Roman Wolczuk for his valuable comments on the report. Beyond Colours: Assets and Liabilities of ‘Post-Orange’ Ukraine International Renaissance Foundation Sichovykh Striltsiv (Artema) 46 04053 Kyiv tel. |38 044| 486 25 96 fax |38 044| 486 76 29 [email protected] http://www.irf.ua Stefan Batory Foundation Sapieżyńska 10a 00-215 Warsaw tel. |48 22| 536 02 00 fax |48 22| 536 02 20 [email protected] http://www.batory.org.pl Review and language editing Roman Wolczuk Proof-reading Maurice O’Brien Cover design by Teresa Oleszczuk Typesetting by K.I.S. Ltd. The idea of this publication emerged in the context of the growing mutual disillusionment between the EU and Ukraine in the wake of the 5th anniversary of the Orange Revolu- tion and the 2010 presidential elections. The International Renaissance Foundation and the Stefan Batory Foundation invited a group of international experts to write the report that would present the vision of where Ukraine stands not only five years after the Orange Revo- lution, but also almost 20 years after its independence. This publication is the result of the collective effort of this team.
    [Show full text]
  • Defying the Government, Marchers in Kyiv Honor The
    INSIDE: • Rule of law in retreat in Yanukovych’s Ukraine – page 2. • Volodymyr Viatrovych on “excising” Ukrainian history – page 8. • Annual swim meet at Soyuzivka Heritage Center – page 13. THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal Wnon-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXVIII No. 42 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010 $1/$2 in Ukraine Bus-train collision in Ukraine kills 43 Legitimacy of elections in doubt as rules changes are questioned by Zenon Zawada Kyiv Press Bureau KYIV – Ukraine’s local elections on October 31 have begun to lose their legitimacy both domestically and within the international commu- nity, which has criticized rules that have tilted con- trol of election commis- sions in favor of the rul- ing Party of Regions of Ukraine. “At the given moment, we have the impression that your legislation doesn’t conform to international Oleksander Prylepa/UNIAN standards,” Gudrun Mosler- A view of the aftermath of the deadly collision between a passenger bus and a Ternstrem, an Austrian Oleksander Prokopenko/UNIAN train outside of Marhanets, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. election observer represent- Volodymyr Podriezov, a deputy of the Kyiv Oblast RFE/RL life” and urged tougher requirements for the ing the Council of Europe, Council, leads a hunger strike outside the Central told the Komersant-Ukraina “physical and psychological condition” of Election Committee. Batkivschyna party activists are KYIV – Officials say 43 people died and newspaper, published on demanding that election commissions register the real passenger vehicle drivers. several were seriously injured when a pas- October 13. “Already we candidates of Batkivschyna instead of the “clone candi- senger bus collided with a train in eastern Road and railway accidents are common have the impression that dates” that were officially registered.
    [Show full text]