From the Brink of Civil Strife to a New Election Campaign

By Ilya Khineyko

The most recent agreement by the three branches of government in Ukraine to hold elections on September 30, 2007 may not spell the end of the political crisis, which has plagued the country for the last two months.

“Today we can say that the political crisis is over,” Viktor Yushchenko told the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Serra on May 28, a day after Yushchenko, Oleksandr Moroz, and Viktor Yanukovych signed a joint statement, agreeing to set a date for early parliamentary elections on September 30. One cannot help but feel a strong sense of déjà vu regarding such confident pronouncements. After all, the political crisis in Ukraine, which began on April 2 when a presidential decree on the dissolution of the parliament was issued, was supposed to come to an end on May 4 when the president and prime minister agreed to hold early parliamentary elections. However, two important things were missing in the agreement: no definite election date was set and the signature of the third party, Verkhovna Rada speaker Moroz. At the time, it appeared that the Party of Regions had simply ‘disposed’ of the wily speaker whose party stood little chance of getting into the new Rada. These machinations, perhaps, provide a clue to understanding the tumultuous events of the last week that led to the Sunday agreement of the “Big Three.”

Ukrainian President declares national day to remember victims of communist repressions

On the 70th anniversary of the Great Terror Yushchenko signs a decree to honor the memory of the victims of communist repressions

By Ilya Khineyko

In the midst of his continuing standoff with the Verkhovna Rada, President Viktor Yushchenko took a step that supersedes the current political crisis. In a presidential decree signed on May 21 the president proposed to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Great Terror of 1937-1938 by making the third Sunday of May an annual Day of Remembrance for the victims of political repressions by the Soviet regime. The announcement was made the next day when Yushchenko visited the Bykivnia memorial site on the outskirts of Kyiv where those executed by NKVD were buried between 1936 and 1941. It was during the Perestroika era when the information regarding mass burials of the victims of Stalinist terror such as Kurapaty in Belarus or Levashovo near Leningrad was made public, which ultimately played an important role in the unraveling of the Soviet system.

The Little Russian: Verka Serduchka

By Ilya Khineyko

On May 12 Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka finished second in the annual Eurovision Song Contest that was held in Helsinki, Finland. Had she won, it would have been the second time since 2004 that a representative of Ukraine had taken home the prestigious title. Then, a talented Ukrainian singer, Ruslana, won the contest. Her triumph was rightly perceived as a victory for Ukraine, and Ruslana Lyzhichko received various state awards including the title of People’s Artist of Ukraine. Reportedly, Verka Serduchka’s strong finish may bring to her creator, the man behind the mask Andriy Danylko, a similar type of recognition, such as the title Hero of Ukraine. There was also speculation that Danylko might become an honorary citizen of his native city of Poltava. Yet, such honors may not quench the controversy, which only in part stems from the fact that Verka Serduchka is played by a man in drag.

Divided legacy: Victory Day in Ukraine

By Ilya Khineyko

In Europe and North America the allied victory over Nazi Germany is commemorated on May 8. Ukraine, like most other countries of the former Soviet Union except the Baltic states, celebrated Victory Day on May 9, a Soviet statutory holiday introduced by Leonid Brezhnev in 1965 to commemorate victory in what was officially defined as the Great Patriotic War. The difference here is not merely in terminology. While in the West it is an occasion to remember the past and pay tribute to the surviving veterans, attitudes towards Soviet victory in the war are very much part of the current political discourse on the post-Soviet space.

The crisis is over?

Yushchenko and Yanukovych agree to go to the polls this summer.

by Ilya Khineyko

On May 4, the political crisis in Ukraine evidently came to an end. As the BBC reported “Ukraine’s president and prime minister have agreed to hold early parliamentary elections in a bid to end weeks of political deadlock.” Later that day, speaking to his supporters on the Maidan premier Yanukovych urged all citizens of Ukraine to vote in the upcoming elections.

“Those who want to hold elections, those who initiated them will receive an answer from you. You will decide who should be in power in this country. You will be able to give the mandate to politicians in the near future.”