DOCSLIB.ORG

The Discreet Charm of Ukrainian Elite

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

#9 (103) September 2016 Changes in the living standards Pavlo Klimkin on foreign policy Creative destruction: of Ukrainians in 25 years challenges and priorities ideas on Ukraine's evolution THE DISCREET CHARM OF UKRAINIAN ELITE WWW.UKRAINIANWEEK.COM Featuring selected content from The Economist FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION CONTENTS | 3 BRIEFING 24 A trap that didn't close: How the controversial aspects 4 The war of all against all: What to of Slovyansk liberation expect of the fall season in Ukrainian are interpreted on both sides politics of the front line ECONOMICS 27 Leonidas Donskis on the ideological 7 Trotting towards a better life: profile of Vladimir Putin How the living standards of Ukrainians changed in 25 years FOCUS 28 Andriy Parubiy: 10 Ukraine of Dignity: “If we lose the state, The moment of truth there will be nowhere left to fight Pavlo Klimkin on priorities for foreign corruption” policy and Ukraine’s society Verkhovna Rada Speaker on the NEIGHBOURS change of generations in politics 12 A strategic reserve of diplomacy: How 30 Creative destruction Europe is preparing for the possible Economist Vitaliy Melnychuk on presidency of Donald Trump building Ukraine into an open access 14 Yes, I’d lie to you: The new manner order of dishonesty in politics and its HISTORY consequences 46 From autonomism to statehood: SOCIETY The evolution of Ukrainian elite 20 Everyone gets a piece? Where is the and its state-building concepts debate on ownership of firearms in CULTURE & ARTS Ukraine today 50 Festivals of handmade goods, 22 The revelations of the "Russian street food, jazz and short films: Spring": Glazyev-gate as a hint at why The Ukrainian Week offers Russia failed to stir up an insurgency a selection of art and culture events across south-eastern Ukraine in 2014 to attend in September E-mail [email protected] www.ukrainianweek.com Tel. (044) 351-13-00 The Ukrainian Week #9 (103) September 2016 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 #9 (103) September 2016 | THE UKRAINIAN WEEK THE UKRAINIAN WEEK | #9 (103) September 2016 BRIEFING The war of all against all Bohdan Butkevych he new regular session of the Verkhovna Rada started on September 6. It looks like actors on Ukraine’s political scene, probably with the exception of Petro Poroshen- ko's Bloc and Arseniy Yatseniuk’s People's Front, have great expectations and am- Tbitious plans for this fall seasons. Major oligarchs are likely to step up their game. The situation in the presidential team is not at its best either. For over a year, rumors circulated stubbornly about the dissatisfaction with his po- sition of Chief of Staff Borys Lozhkin. Reportedly, President Poroshenko did not give this former media manager, who is used to managing a huge holding company and inde- pendently making serious decisions, enough room for maneuver. Instead, he used him simply as a liaison officer to communicate with the oligarchs. However, Borys Lozhkin wants real and relevant powers, which he will obviously not get. So, he finally decided to KOZLIUK STANISLAV BY PHOTO quit. Officially, he will now be dealing with investments in the respective Council under #9 (103) September 2016 | THE UKRAINIAN WEEK 6 | BRIEFING | the President, and will remain his adviser. Lozhkin also continue in Parliament. The same old bunch of and Poroshenko have a very close business rela- Lyashko's and Tymoshenko's professional "fighters" tionship, so he will stay on board of the president's will stage another attack in Parliament against the team. In fact, entertaining political ambitions is tariffs, appear on TV channels owned by their oli- too early for him, even if he has some. Instead, the garch sponsors with rueful speeches, and demand appointment of Ihor Raynin, businessman, politi- the overthrow of the "chocolate factory." cian and formerly Deputy Head of Kharkiv Oblast The situation will be further exacerbated by the Administration, indicates that Poroshenko is not ex-members of the Party of Regions, using their going to change his style, and will keep only those still powerful media channels, such as Inter owned administrators who will not question his authority by Dmytro Firtash and Serhiy Lyovochkin, Rinat and decisions. Akhmetov's Ukraina and Yevhen Murayev's News- People's Front, in turn, will only try to sit tight One. Taking into account that Serhiy Lyovochkin, and not to recede from the positions of the Minis- ex-Chief of Staff for Yanukovych and one of the ter of Internal Affairs in the person of Arsen Ava- top players of the Opposition Bloc, still has a sig- kov and the Justice Minister in the person of Pavlo nificant number of his people in all parties and fac- Petrenko. Also, the party bigwigs will think hard tions, there is no doubt that they have good chances about what to do next. The current rating of this of success. Add to that other parallel columns, such political force, which only two years ago won the as the new party Zhyttya owned by Murayev and election with a landslide victory, gives them hope Rabynovych, Nash Krai, Vidrodzhennya, and Us- to enter the Parliament with just a couple dozen pishna Kraina owned by ex-Tax Minister under Ya- MPs as a maximum. This is way too little. There- nukovych Oleksandr Klymenko, a new party based fore, PF starts thinking about new political projects on Yanukovych’s Foreign Minister Leonid Kozha- in the right-wing field. Vilni Lyudy ("Free People") ra's Socialists, Vasyl Volha's Left Union, etc. led by MPs Andriy Levus and Serhiy Vysotsky come Two more liberal projects that appeared this in handy here. It is also important to keep in mind summer on the political map of Ukraine should Azov headed by Andriy Biletsky, who has repeat- also be taken into account. These are the former edly declared his political ambitions and whose cu- Democratic Alliance led by MPs and formerly inves- rator is reportedly Arsen Avakov himself. The split tigative journalists MPs Serhiy Leshchenko, Mus- of PF should not be expected yet, but some assump- tafa Nayem and Svitlana Zalishchuk, and Mikheil tions are already safe to be made. Saakashvili's future party known as "Khvylya”, the Wave. They are already organizing protests against the Prosecutor General's Office during its conflict PERHAPS THE MOST WORRYING FACTOR FOR BANKOVA with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and de- IS THE SIGNS OF DISCONTENT AMONG THE OLIGARCHS, fiantly calling not to give Ukraine the visa-free re- gime and the IMF tranche through stalled reforms. WITH WHOM POROSHENKO ALLEGEDLY HAS SO FAR As the fall comes, they will make things hum using BEEN ABLE TO FIND COMMON GROUND their media visibility and are likely to join the camp of those who want early parliamentary elections. Their main competitor will be Samopomich for- Yet, the main purpose of the ruling coalition mally led by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, which has will be to keep calm in the Parliament for as long suffered a major blow in the Hrybovychy garbage as possible. Both the Presidential Administration dump fire scandal, but nevertheless still has its and Yatsenyuk's team very clearly understand that 7–8% support, and which shares its electoral base they will hardly be once again as lucky as they were of urban intellectuals, and the claim for the "third in spring, when the turmoil around the resignation force" title with the newly minted liberals. The situ- and appointment of the Cabinet and Prime Minis- ation requires Sadovyi and Co. to pick up momen- ter helped them avoid early elections. Those wish- tum, since their image losses suffered in the last six ing to rock the situation to achieve early parliamen- months threaten the party's future. tary elections are plenty. But perhaps the most worrying factor for The very first and most obvious beneficiaries of Bankova is the signs of discontent among the oli- a parliamentary crisis would be the populist front garchs, with whom Poroshenko allegedly has so far represented by Batkivshchyna and Oleh Lyashko's been able to find common ground. This is primar- Radical Party. These political forces are persistent- ily Mr. Kolomoisky. Rumor has it that Ihor Kolo- ly looking for issues that could stir up discontent in moisky is planning to go on the offensive as soon as the Ukrainian society already perturbed by the war the fall comes to recover his position in the oil and and economic hardships. Such issue will obviously gas sector. Besides, we should not forget about UK- be the utility tariffs. ROP party, the political arm of Kolomoisky who is In fact, the "populist alliance" already rehearsed known for diversifying his political assets. There- protest rallies in spring and summer. But while at fore, he might venture to create additional political that time they only managed to bring to the streets "satellites." the party activists and rally laborers for a pretty pen- This autumn season is promising to be no less ny, in the fall, when Ukrainians receive new higher fun than the last fall or this spring. Any alliances utility bills, the number of those not willing to pay and coalitions are possible in an attempt to stir the and ready to protest is likely to rise significantly. pot, which is rather dangerous in the current situ- There is no doubt that the show under the slo- ation of the delicate balance that Ukraine is trying gan of "fighting for the nation's happiness" will to keep.
Recommended publications
  • AA-Postscript 2.Qxp:Layout 1

    AA-Postscript 2.Qxp:Layout 1

    TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 INTERNATIONAL British MPs to vote on recognising Palestinian state LONDON: British lawmakers yesterday a tremendous amount of pressure on Gaza in which more than 2,000 enough, called on MPs to lead by exam- and that the illegal settlement enterprise held a non-binding vote on recognising the current government and the next Palestinians and dozens of Israelis were ple. has no validity”. Palestine although government minis- government, which is likely to be a killed. “There is a lack of political will and Britain’s former international develop- ters will not take part, in a sign of the Labour government, to recognise The Palestinian Authority estimates our moral compass is missing,” the for- ment minister Alan Duncan, a political sensitivity of the issue. Palestine as a state,” Morris told AFP in at 134 the number of countries that mer Foreign Office minister told Sunday Conservative MP who is due to travel to The debate is being closely watched an email. have recognised Palestine as a state newspaper The Observer. Gaza with Warsi later this month, said the internationally after Sweden incurred “The UK recognising Palestine could although the number is disputed and “Somehow we have to breathe new country had an “historic and moral duty” Israeli wrath this month for saying it will give decisive momentum to more EU several recognitions by European Union life into these negotiations, and one of to recognise the state of Palestine. recognise Palestine. The symbolic vote is states following suit,” he said. Some pro- member states date back to the Soviet the ways we can do that is by recognis- Britain abstained in 2012 from a vote on a motion put forward by Grahame Israel Labour MPs will vote against and era.
  • U.S.-Russian Relations Potomac Paper 22

    U.S.-Russian Relations Potomac Paper 22

    PPoottoommaacc PPaappeerr 2222IFRI ______________________________________________________________________ U.S.-Russian relations The path ahead after the crisis __________________________________________________________________ Jeffrey Mankoff December 2014 United States Program The Institut français des relations internationals (Ifri) is a research center and a forum for debate on major international political and economic issues. Headed by Thierry de Montbrial since its founding in 1979, Ifri is a non- governmental and a non-profit organization. As an independent think tank, Ifri sets its own research agenda, publishing its findings regularly for a global audience. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Ifri brings together political and economic decision-makers, researchers and internationally renowned experts to animate its debate and research activities. With offices in Paris and Brussels, Ifri stands out as one of the rare French think tanks to have positioned itself at the very heart of European debate. The views expressed herein are those of the authors. The United States Program at Ifri publishes a series of online policy papers called “Potomac papers”. They present analyses of U.S. policies, politics and social debates, and are reviewed by experts before publication. They are written either in English or French, with a one-page executive summary in both languages. Dr. Laurence Nardon, Head of the U.S. Program at Ifri, is the editor. Many thanks are extended to the Russia/NIS Center at Ifri, whose team kindly agreed to review the
  • Reforms in Ukraine After Revolution of Dignity

    Reforms in Ukraine After Revolution of Dignity

    REFORMS IN UKRAINE AFTER REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY What was done, why not more and what to do next This publicaon was produced with financial Responsibility for the informaon and views set out assistance from the EBRD-Ukraine Stabilisaon and in this publicaon lies enrely with the authors. The Sustainable Growth Mul-Donor Account, the EBRD makes no representaon or warranty, express donors of which are Denmark, Finland, France, or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, informaon set forth in the publicaon. The EBRD Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, has not independently verified any of the informaon the United States of America and the European contained in the publicaon and the EBRD accepts Union, the largest donor. The views expressed herein no liability whatsoever for any of the informaon can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion contained in the publicaon or for any misstatement of the EBRD or any donor of the account. or omission therein. The publicaon remains the property of the EBRD. REFORMS IN UKRAINE AFTER REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY What was done, why not more and what to do next Editors Ivan Miklos Pavlo Kukhta Contents Foreword 4 Introducon What was done, why not more and what to do next: Ukrainian reforms aer the Revoluon of Dignity 7 Chapter 1 Polical economy of reforms: polical system, governance and corrupon 10 Chapter 2 Macroeconomic policies 35 Chapter 3 Rule of law 48 Chapter 4 Energy policy 75 Chapter 5 Business environment 87 Chapter 6 Land reform 101 Chapter 7 Privasaon and SOE reform 112 Chapter 8 Healthcare reform 132 Chapter 9 Ukraine and the European Union 144 Annex 1 Report on reforms in 2016-17 162 Annex 2 The role of the government and MPs in reform implementaon in Ukraine 167 About SAGSUR (Strategic Advisory Group for Support of Ukrainian Reforms) 173 Glossary of terms 174 Foreword Foreword | 4 Foreword Maeo Patrone and Peter M.
  • Inside Ukraine 33

    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.
  • A Battle of the Billionaires That Has Split Ukraine

    A Battle of the Billionaires That Has Split Ukraine

    Ukraine’s Rada “Snap Elections” – A Battle of the Billionaires that Has Split Ukraine By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya Region: Russia and FSU Global Research, November 01, 2014 Theme: Media Disinformation, US NATO Strategic Culture Foundation 1 November War Agenda 2014 In-depth Report: UKRAINE REPORT Before the October 26, 2014 snap or, as they say in Ukrainian, “special” parliamentary elections in Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko did his best to present the Minsk Protocols, a truce or ceasefire agreement, signed a month and a half earlier, on September 5, and the subsequent peace plans discussed in the Belarusian capital of Minsk as a victory for his government against the forces of Novorossiya in East Ukraine’s self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic. In actuality, the situation in Ukraine was much different. Kiev had been militarily defeated in East Ukraine and could no longer continue with the war. Before the Rada snap elections, President Poroshenko, who was elected a few months earlier on May 25, was trying to display a show of strength to Ukrainians. Poroshenko was merely putting on a show for domestic consumption, specifically for the nationalist voters and minority of aggressive hardliners who wanted to continue the fighting in East Ukraine. Petro Poroshenko’s hawkish bravado and theatrics was intended for selling the ceasefire with the breakaway oblasts of Donetsk and Lugansk to the nationalist hardliners in Ukraine and to hide his government’s defeat. Poroshenko went so far as to even revamp his government with a militarized and hawkish image. To promote this pro-war image, President Poroshenko intentionally selected the cluster-bomb using Stepan Poltorak, the head of the Ukrainian National Guard leading the charge in East Ukraine, to replace Valeriy Heletey—who falsely claimed that Russia had invaded Ukraine to conceal the defeat in East Ukraine—as Kiev’s new defence minister on October 12, 2014.
  • URGENT ACTION NEWSPAPER EDITOR ABDUCTED in EAST UKRAINE Sergei Dolgov, the Editor of a Ukrainian Newspaper, Has Been Missing Since His Abduction by Armed Men in June

    URGENT ACTION NEWSPAPER EDITOR ABDUCTED in EAST UKRAINE Sergei Dolgov, the Editor of a Ukrainian Newspaper, Has Been Missing Since His Abduction by Armed Men in June

    UA: 215/14 Index: EUR 50/039/2014 Ukraine Date: 5 September 2014 URGENT ACTION NEWSPAPER EDITOR ABDUCTED IN EAST UKRAINE Sergei Dolgov, the editor of a Ukrainian newspaper, has been missing since his abduction by armed men in June. Media reports suggested that he had been killed, but eyewitnesses and relatives believe he is being held in the Ukrainian city Zaporizhhya. The deputy editor of Khochu v SSSR (“I want to be in the USSR”) told Amnesty International that at around 12pm on 18 June six armed, masked men in civilian clothing stormed the offices of the newspaper in Mariupol, a city in the south east of Ukraine, and brutally dragged Sergei Dolgov into a car parked in front of the office. The men took all the technical equipment from the offices with them. The newspaper employees contacted the police, and Sergei Dologov’s wife has since filed several complaints with the police and other authorities. The police opened an investigation, but an officer working on the case reportedly said that there were different Ukrainian forces active in Mariupol that the police would not necessarily be aware of and “it might well be that Dolgov is being officially detained rather than having been abducted”. The head of the Ukrainian government security agency, Sluzhba Bezpeky Ukrayiny (SBU), in Mariupol said in an interview published by media on 21 June that Sergei Dolgov had been arrested by the National Guard of Ukraine and is being held in Zaporishia. However the SBU denied having any information about his detention or whereabouts ever since.
  • Nuclear-Backed "Little Green Men"

    Nuclear-Backed "Little Green Men"

    REPORT THE POLISH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Nuclear-Backed “Little Green Men:” Nuclear Messaging in the Ukraine Crisis POLSKI INSTYTUT SPRAW MIĘDZYNARODOWYCH PISM THE POLISH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS The Polish Institute of InternationalAffairs (PISM) is a leading Central European think tank that positions itself between the world of politics and independent analysis.PISM provides analytical support to decision-makers, initiates public debate and disseminates expert knowledge about contemporary international relations. The work of PISM is guided by the conviction that the decision-making process in international relations should be based on knowledge that comes from reliable and valid research.The Institute carries out its own WARSAW research,cooperates on international research projects,prepares reports and analyses and collaborates with institutions with a similar profile worldwide. JULY 2015 POLSKI INSTYTUT SPRAW MIĘDZYNARODOWYCH AUTHOR:JACEK DURKALEC THE POLISH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS UL.WARECKA 1A, 00-950 WARSZAWA ISBN 978-83-64895-45-6 (epub) TEL. (+48) 22 556 80 00, FAX (+48) 22 556 80 99 ISBN 978-83-64895-46-3 (mobi) [email protected], WWW.PISM.PL ISBN 978-83-64895-47-0 (pdf) THE POLISH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Nuclear-Backed “Little Green Men:” Nuclear Messaging in the Ukraine Crisis Author: Jacek Durkalec Warsaw, July 2015 © Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych, 2015 Copy editor Brien Barnett Technical editor and cover designer Dorota Dołęgowska This study was commissioned by the Nuclear Security Project (NSP) of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). The views expressed in this report are entirely the author’s own and not those of the Nuclear Security Project.
  • Migration and the Ukraine Crisis a Two-Country Perspective This E-Book Is Provided Without Charge Via Free Download by E-International Relations (

    Migration and the Ukraine Crisis a Two-Country Perspective This E-Book Is Provided Without Charge Via Free Download by E-International Relations (

    EDITED BY AGNIESZKA PIKULICKA-WILCZEWSKA & GRETA UEHLING Migration and the Ukraine Crisis A Two-Country Perspective This e-book is provided without charge via free download by E-International Relations (www.E-IR.info). It is not permitted to be sold in electronic format under any circumstances. If you enjoy our free e-books, please consider leaving a small donation to allow us to continue investing in open access publications: http://www.e-ir.info/about/donate/ i Migration and the Ukraine Crisis A Two-Country Perspective EDITED BY AGNIESZKA PIKULICKA-WILCZEWSKA & GRETA UEHLING ii E-International Relations www.E-IR.info Bristol, England 2017 ISBN 978-1-910814-27-7 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-910814-28-4 (e-book) This book is published under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 license. You are free to: • Share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format • Adapt – remix, transform, and build upon the material Under the following terms: • Attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. • Non-Commercial – You may not use the material for commercial purposes. Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission. Please contact [email protected] for any such enquiries, including for licensing and translation requests. Other than the terms noted above, there are no restrictions placed on the use and dissemination of this book for student learning materials / scholarly use.
  • Ukraine 2014

    Ukraine 2014

    TheRaising Chinese Red Flags: QLZ87 Automatic Grenade An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing LauncherConflict in Ukraine 2014 Jonathan Ferguson & N.R. Jenzen-Jones RESEARCH REPORT No. 3 COPYRIGHT Published in Australia by Armament Research Services (ARES) © Armament Research Services Pty. Ltd. Published in November 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Armament Research Services, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organisation. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Publications Manager, Armament Research Services: [email protected] CREDITS Authors: Jonathan Ferguson & N.R. Jenzen-Jones Contributors: Yuri Lyamin & Michael Smallwood Technical Review: Yuri Lyamin, Ian McCollum & Hans Migielski Copy Editor: Jean Yew Layout/Design: Yianna Paris, Green Shell Media ABOUT ARMAMENT RESEARCH SERVICES Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist consultancy which offers technical expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field.ARES fills a critical market gap, and offers unique technical support to other actors operating in the sector. Drawing on the extensive experience and broad-ranging skillsets of our staff and contractors, ARES delivers full-spectrum research and analysis, technical review, training, and project support services, often in support of national, regional, and international initiatives. ARMAMENT RESEARCH SERVICES Pty. Ltd. t + 61 8 6365 4401 e [email protected] w www.armamentresearch.com Jonathan Ferguson & N.R.
  • Ukrainian Oligarchs and the “Family”, a New Generation of Czars—Or Hope for the Middle Class?

    Ukrainian Oligarchs and the “Family”, a New Generation of Czars—Or Hope for the Middle Class?

    Ukrainian Oligarchs and the “Family”, a New Generation of Czars—or Hope for the Middle Class? Since achieving independence over 20 years ago, Ukraine has strived to attract and increase foreign investment and spur individual entrepreneurship and small and medium sized business creation. Optimism ran high at the outset; yet, today the Olha Holoyda, “oligarchs” and the political “family” associated with JD/MBA President Yanukovych dominate the economy and wealth creation in Ukraine. This project focuses on the current complex landscape, the control held by Research Country: relatively few individuals, and the legislative efforts Ukraine to improve the business enabling environment Date Published through the Commercial Law Center, a project August 2013 funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. IREX 2121 K STREET, NW, SUITE 700, WASHINGTON, DC 20037 T +1 202 628 8188 F +1 202 628 8189 WWW.IREX.ORG This research brief was funded by a grant from the United States Department of State. The following opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IREX or the U.S. Department of State. SCHOLAR RESEARCH BRIEF RESEARCH IN CONTEXT In November 1993, I arrived in Kyiv to work as an attorney in private practice, representing multinational corporations in establishing businesses, joint ventures, export/import operations, and in starting other potentially profitable arrangements in this newly opened, emerging market. At that time, Ukrainian citizens, the far- flung Ukrainian diaspora, and international observers held much optimism for the country’s development into a thriving economy with opportunity for all classes.
  • Humanitarian Access and Local Organisations in Ukraine Veronique Barbelet

    Humanitarian Access and Local Organisations in Ukraine Veronique Barbelet

    HPG Working Paper Humanitarian access and local organisations in Ukraine Veronique Barbelet September 2017 HPG Humanitarian Policy Group About the author Veronique Barbelet is a Research Fellow with the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Acknowledgments The author would like to thank all those that facilitated interviews and contacts. The author is grateful for the time local organisations spent openly sharing their first experience of humanitarian assistance. This report benefited greatly from Sofya Bourne’s review of literature in Russian, and parts of her literature review are integrated into this report. Finally, the author would like to thank the peer reviewers, and Eva Svoboda and Matthew Foley for their comments and edits. Humanitarian Policy Group Overseas Development Institute 203 Blackfriars Road London SE1 8NJ United Kingdom Tel. +44 (0) 20 7922 0300 Fax. +44 (0) 20 7922 0399 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.odi.org/hpg © Overseas Development Institute, 2017 Readers are encouraged to quote or reproduce materials from this publication but, as copyright holders, ODI requests due acknowledgement and a copy of the publication. This and other HPG Reports are available from www. odi.org.uk/hpg. Contents List of acronyms iii Executive summary v 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Scope and methodology 1 2 The Ukraine crisis: humanitarian response and humanitarian access 3 2.1 The conflict 3 2.2 The humanitarian crisis: needs and response 5 2.3 The access problem in Ukraine 6 3 International actors
  • Analyzing the Involvement of Oligarchs' Philanthropy

    Analyzing the Involvement of Oligarchs' Philanthropy

    Shouldn’t, Wouldn’t, Couldn’t? Analyzing the Involvement of Oligarchs’ Philanthropy Foundations in the Ukrainian Protests of 2013-14 Hanna Söderbaum Uppsala University Abstract: This article analyzes the agency of wealthy businessmen-politicians’ philanthropy foundations during the Ukrainian Maidan protests of 2013-14 in which crowdfunding and grassroots mobilization constituted key distinctive features. As the role of these philanthropy foundations remains obscure, this article aims to bridge this gap in our knowledge of Ukrainian politics and society. The protesters strived to achieve social change and democratization similar to what was being purported by wealthy businessmen-politicians’ foundations during the years leading up to the protests. However, since the protesters specified one particular aim as “de- oligarchization,” the involvement of these organizations is puzzling. What did these foundations do at this critical point? To what extent can their actions or inactions be explained by the institutional and framework constraints of the foundations, the strategies of the wealthy businessmen-politicians behind the foundations, and the lack of the foundations’ legitimacy in the eyes of the civic sector activists? The analysis covers different types of foundation and is based on semi-structured interviews involving the foundations’ representatives, think-and-do tank analysts, and Maidan activists, over the years 2011 to 2017. The findings show that the organizational entities were largely directed by their respective founders. This indicates a dependence of the philanthropic organization on the political affiliation of the founder, rather than on the framed ambition of the foundation. Similar to the impact of philanthropic organizations in other institutional contexts, the impact of philanthropy foundations on the Maidan social movement proved marginal.