Saturday, September 22, 2012
Big money pulls all the strings
Olha Rudenko, in her excellent 'KyivPost' article, highlights what everyone already knows - Ukraine's major political forces are to a large extent a sham - they are generously sponsored by a tiny number of country's mega-rich oligarchs for their own self-interest.
These oligarch's aim is to 'hedge their bets', Whatever the electorate decide, they can be reasonably sure their business empires will remain intact and their massive wealth unassailable.
Valeriy Portnikov points out in a recent article, any sanctions by Western countries against Ukrainian politicians and highly-placed officials in punishment for the roll-back of democracy in the country will not cause much distress for Yanukovych himself, his closest circle, or these oligarchs. Their assets and interests will remain largely untouched.
He concludes:
..Ukrainian society [is a] a society of collaborators who lose their heads at the mere sight of the illegally enriched 'nouveaux-riches'.
While the opposition looks to the oligarchs for funding, while Ukrainian intellectuals run to them for funds for grants and other handouts, while Ukrainian universities take money from them, and even brag about this, while Ukrainian voters delight in observing giant objects constructed with money earned by unclear- or rather clear means, Yanukovych invincible!
..the people who love to talk about the democracy in the West then sell themselves for pennies, and even justify this all... deserve nothing better.
This is the question - are great swathes of Ukraine really ready for western-style democracy? Do they want this style of government at all?
p.s. So many candidates, particularly in the simple majority constituencies, are handing out food parcels, children's gifts and trinkets that this means of bribing electors is frequently not very productive. Votes simply forget who gave what and when..
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Along those lines, here is an article from Ukrainian Pravda detailing a "pyramid" voting scheme, and how votes are bought for 50 to 300 hryvnia.
http://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2012/09/21/6973235/
If you watch the videos - standing around and waving balloons is not much of a campaign.
It looks downright stupid and silly.
One of the comments is very telling:
"Вже тепер очевидно – тисячі українців продадуться за 300 гривень з принципу "цей дав хоч щось, а ті нічого", і будуть чекати наступних виборів. Щоб їм знову дали хоч "щось". І повсякчас нарікатимуть на жебрацьке рабське життя."
В цій фразі основна причина нашого з вами бідування
"It's very clear now - thousands of Ukrainians sell themselves on the principle of 'these gave something at least, and those gave nothing,' and then they wait for the next elections. So that "someone" will give them "something." And the whole time they will complain about their beggarly, slave-like life."
Exactly.
In her last campaign, Tymoshenko begged the people not to sell their votes, not to betray their "holy obligation" to vote.
So it goes in Zookraine.
The national anthem is - "Ukraine is not dead yet."
It ought to be - "Ukraine is not dead yet - but it's on life support, and under the Party of Regions, the plug will be pulled."
The national slogan ought to be:
"If you think life is tough - try living in Ukraine. And if you want to try living in hell- try living in Russia."
The national motto is: "Will sell my vote to anyone."
The only thing that makes sense right now is NOT to vote for the mafiosi from the Party of Regions and the Commies.
The unbounded, boundless stupidity of people who are still willing to vote for those mafiosi is extremely difficult to understand.
Until one looks at the comment under the Ukrainian Pravda article.
seig heil der fuhrer governor yanusvoloch, servant of Master Biker Lover Putler and Master Biker "The Surgeon"
meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow
By the way - I've made the same mistake.
It's Vitaly, not Valery, Portnikov.
And he and Mykola (Nicholas) Knyazhitsky are 2 of the brightest, best beacons in Ukraine.
Along with Mustafa Nayem, who is from Afghanistan and speaks excellent Ukrainian and Russian, and Olena Prytula, and Katya Gorchynskaya, and Victoria Sumar, and Serhiy (Serge) Leshchenko.
And Tetyana Chornovil, who just got doused with a bucket of green paint when coming home to her apartment - an excellent, excellent journalist who is running for Parliament.
And Sonya Koshkina, from lb, who got attacked via an "investigation" by Roman Landik's father, Roman of the infamous hair-pulling and dragging-a-poor-girl-by-the-hair-around-a-restaurant-lounge episode.
Goddamn the mafia in the Party of Regions and Communist Party. Goddamn the idiot thug yanusvoloch, and zArazov, and and Yefremov, and Lavrynovych, and Ganna Goebbles German, and the Clucking Hen Olena Bondarenko, and the Rabid Dog with the Magic Arm, "Conductor" of piano voting Chechetov, and чорнорота the "black mouth" Inna Boogooslonskaya, and Pshonka and Kuzmin and Firtash and Kolomoisky and the rest.
Why can't Ukrainians get rid of them?
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