BATKIVSHCHYNA'S OLD GUARD REBELS AGAINST OLIVER BULLOUGH ON THE LAST MAN WHY PHILANTHROPY IS NOT POPULAR YATSENiuK AND PLAYS INTO THE HANDS OF THE IN RuSSIA AND THE STRUGGLE TO IN UKRAINE GOVERNMENT SAVE THE DYING NATION № 11 (53) JUNE 2013 IDENTITY MYTHS OF UKRAINE'S EAST WWW.UKRAINIANWEEK.COM Featuring selected content from The Economist FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION |CONTENTS BRIEFING POLITICS Yulia’s Move: Tymoshenko s open letter, Off With His Head! Regardless questions as to its authenticity and of its motivations, the battle of what the opposition is doing Batkivshchyna’s old guard against Arseniy Yatseniuk is playing into the hands of the Yanukovych regime 4 6 FOCUS The National Reserve: Ignored Potential: As the discontented The background, nature and threats electorate in South-Eastern Ukraine of the Donbas identity seeks alternative forces to support, the opposition would be wise to take advantage of the opportunity before the 8 upcoming presidential election 11 ECONOMICS Towards the End of Poverty: Put in a Good Word for the Poor Oligarchs Nearly 1 billion people have been Oligarchs continue to imitate business in taken out of extreme poverty in Ukraine: they redistribute old Soviet industrial 20 years. The world should aim assets without creating any new ones and get to do the same again windfall profits at taxpayers’ expense 14 16 NEIGHBOURS SOCIETY British journalist and writer Oliver Help Thy Neighbour: Why Bullough: There will be much fewer philanthropy is not popular in Russians than we used to have in Ukraine the world 18 22 HISTORY CULTURE & ARTS The Virus of Rebellion: The 1953 Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla uprising initiated by Ukrainian political Monastyrska on performances prisoners in the Norilsk forced labour with Placido Domingo, the camp was the first step towards the roles of powerful women and downfall of the GULAGs Ukrainian classical music 26 30 NAVIGATOR A selection of films to The Donbas of Halychyna: watch and festivals to Chervonohrad with its two names, visit in June from The identities and worlds Ukrainian Week 32 34 E-mail [email protected] Tel. (044) 351-13-87 www.ukrainianweek.com The Ukrainian Week № 11 (53) June 2013 Editors address 37 Mashynobudivna str., Kyiv, 03067, Ukraine Founder ECEM Media GmbH Print Novy Druk LLC, 1 Mahnitohorska str., Kyiv, 03056, Ukraine Publisher ECEM Media GmbH Ordering number 13-6727. Sent to print on 13 June 2013 Address Austria, Am Gestade,1, 1010 Vienna Print run 15 000. Free distribution State registration certificate КВ № 19823-9623ПР 19.03.2013 Head of editorial board Roman Tsupryk Our partner Editors Anna Korbut, Natalia Romaneс, Shaun Williams № 11 (53) JUNE 2013|THE UKRAINIAN WEEK|3 BRIEFING| 6-12 June Journalists disclose en- Two more crossovers, MPs The opposition blocks emies of the press. The Viacheslav Kutovyi and the VR, demanding that top three are Mykola Az- Volodymyr Kupchak, leave the President delivers his arov, Viktor Yanukovych Batkivshchyna annual report to parlia- and Interior Minister ment in person Vitaliy Zakharchenko Yulia’s Move ast week, Yulia Tymoshenko released her latest open letter, which contradicted her unity- Loriented rhetoric, causing many to wonder whether the ex- premier had actually written it. During Tymoshenko’s incarcera- tion, her interviews have occasion- ally appeared in the press, and the party press-service has circulated statements and commentaries on current events. But it has long not been a secret that most of these texts were written at the Bat- kivshchyna headquarters under the control of its top leadership. As for the last letter, which has caused so much controversy, sources within the party confirm the most telling is the proposal to did not actually include such de- that that it is an authentic appeal, reject a single candidate in the cision. Having spoken with some although complete conviction is first round of the election, in or- influential people from Bat- only possible when one receives it der to avoid a struggle among the kivshchyna, The Ukrainian from her own hands. current opposition threesome for Week received explanations re- Tymoshenko’s call to put an the right to be such a candidate. garding one of the possible moti- end to the provocation of opposi- Not only opposition support- vations behind Yulia Tymoshen- tion between the government and ers, but also numerous party ko’s addresses. Arguably she thus the opposition along the “fascist” members of the lower, middle demonstrated that she does not – “anti-fascist ” line and even sus- and higher echelons of the oppo- merely want to be a repressed pend the Rise Ukraine! campaign sition forces felt that the an- symbol of the opposition, but still for this. Instead, she is proposing nouncement of such candidate has her eye on the status of a real “to sit at a round table” with the should be a culmination of an en- political player that it is too soon government in order to deter- tire Rise Ukraine!, and after some to write off. The Rise Ukraine! mine a plan of action regarding time, criticized the resolution ap- campaign quickly transformed European integration. However, proved on May 18 in Kyiv, which into a travelling promotion plat- The month in history 7 June 1848 12 June 1918 14 June 1941 Paul Gauguin, The Bolshevik government The mass Soviet deportation of French painter signs a preliminary peace Estonians, Latvians and Lithu- and a founder of treaty with the Ukrainian anians to Siberia begins. The Impressionism, is State headed by Pavlo Baltic States commemorate the born Skoropadsky victims of communist repres- sions on this day 4|THE UKRAINIAN WEEK|№ 11 (53) JUNE 2013 |BRIEFING The National Football The NBU issues a The Kyiv DistrictC ourt rules that the Team wins the match regulation to limit daily VR Speaker should stripP avlo Baloha against Montenegro settlements in cash to and Oleksandr Dombrovskyi of their 4:0, thus retaining UAH 150,000 from MP IDs and voting cards. Both were the chance to play in September 1, 2013 FPTP candidates whose victory in the the 2014 World Cup 2012 election was appealed in court form for the opposition leaders, ality, which is forming in Ukrai- who are competing amongst nian politics. She still sees herself A No-Win Situation themselves, while slogans for the as the only agreed nominee with a release of political prisoners and real chance of defeating Yanu- for Ukraine her in particular during these “in- kovych, and to achieve this, she surgent actions” ring ever more expects to be released from The signing of the Memorandum on closer coopera- quietly. prison and have her conviction tion with the Eurasian Economic Commission by Mykola “Yatseniuk is playing for the overturned in the short term. Ac- Azarov on behalf of Ukraine in Minsk, signals that for the long-term, which will not end in cording to this logic, it would be second time since the Kharkiv deals, Moscow is foisting 2015,” says a well-known member wise for Yulia Tymoshenko to Ukraine with a game it cannot win. According to this of the opposition who is not the maintain her vagueness on the is- document, instead of the previously announced “oppor- fan of Arseniy Yatseniuk. “Having sue of the nomination of a single tunities to defend national interests” it gained generally obtained Batkivshchyna, he will opposition candidate for as long unfavourable obligations. More specifically, clause 3 in- be able to successfully capitalize as possible, otherwise she will dicates that “Ukraine declares its intent to comply with on this asset in the forthcoming lose her own chance. the principles … of the Customs Union and Common Eco- presidential election and However, if the letter was not nomic Space, refrain from actions and declarations di- strengthen his starting position in written by Tymoshenko, then rected against the interests of the Customs Union and the new political cycle.” Tymosh- several scenarios are possible. Common Economic Space”. Obviously, the Kremlin can enko possibly considered this sce- First – the group in Bat- use this as an argument against European integration. nario, and there is no way that kivshchyna that is involved in Meanwhile, the final version of the Memorandum turned she would be in favour of it. She is this is trying to use the ex-pre- out to be much less favourable in the part that Ukraine not yet ready to declare this mier as heavy artillery and last insisted on. Among other things, the representative of openly, so she is coming up with hope in the battle for influence in Ukraine will not be able to attend all meetings of the other arguments in favour of a the party, which they are losing at Commission, as was initially the case, only on (and on three-pronged attack: a single op- an alarming rate under the Yatse- condition of!) an invitation of Chairman of the Council or position candidate can only be niuk – Martynenko pressure. The the Board and on the agreement of all members of the determined by the electorate with second option – Batkivshchyna is EEC Council. Moreover, this only pertains to open meet- their votes; it is necessary to trying to gracefully withdraw ings and “without the right to participate in decision- avoid a repeat of the Kaniv Four from the long-drawn and overall making”, even on issues that affect the interests of (an alliance of presidential candi- ineffective Rise Ukraine! cam- Ukraine. Nor will Kyiv be able to receive the documents dates in the 1999 presidential paign, and also avoid the nomi- and decisions of the EEC, the Commission and its bodies, election that collapsed eventu- nation of a single candidate, since other than those that contain “information with limited ally); the teams of opposition in light of the latest polls, this circulation”.