April 4, 2007
Things are exciting in Ukraine these days. We are far from the action in Kiev, but there are nightly reports about gathering demonstrations there. This is a constitutional crisis and a power struggle (and many other things) all rolled into one. It is difficult to sort out fact from rumor.
Viktor Yushchenko, the president (elected in the Orange Revolution of 2004) has lost most of his power (and charisma). The Prime Minister (defeated in 2004) and the Rada (uni-cameral parliament) have out-maneuvered him all fall, passing laws stripping him of his powers. He has not gathered enough support in the Rada to block these moves. They don’t have enough votes to impeach him.
So he acted first. Claiming that their political maneuvers have been unconstitutional, he signed a decree to dissolve the Rada. They have continued to meet in the parliament building, as crowds gather outside.
The Rada has asked the Constiutional Court (roughly, our Supreme Court) to rule on the constitutionality of the president’s decree. They have been placed under a deadline (by the Rada?) of three days. They are disinclined to act. They have not ruled yet on the dozens of such cases filed by each side in the past 12 months or so.
Most telling is the reactions of the people we meet or no. Here, most support the Prime Minister, and are disdainful of (or bitterly disappointed in) the President. They do not believe that the poisoning of Yushchenko in 2004 was intentional, nor that it can be pinned on his opposition (or, ultimately, on the KGB and President Putin of Russia). They counter that it could have been a disease, like herpes, which appeared suddenly on his face. There are many such competing theories.
If any do believe he was poisoned by his political opponent, they do not say so aloud (at least here in Dnipropetrovsk).
The signing of the decree of dissolution of parliament stunned the adults we know. When they heard the news, their faces blanched. They are worried about military reprisals (or, reprisals by the internal police) if the demonstrations turn violent. They believe that provocateurs could pay others to begin violence, and that the violence would be used as a justification by one side or the other to impose martial law, or worse. So far, the military has said that it will act according to the Constitution, and that means they are loyal to the President as commander in chief. The Prime Minister and the Rada believe they are in control of the “internal affairs” police.
People we know here have stopped ignoring “those crazy politicians” in Kiev as they have for the past few months. Television aired an extraordinary overnight session of the Rada, and now, local and national channels, BBC and other news organizations are providing updates frequently on this fast-moving situation. The students were talking quite energetically in the hallways yesterday – most are opposed to Yushchenko and support the other Viktor (Yanukovich, the Prime Minister). The politician who stands to gain here is Julia Tymonenko, the charismatic blond with braids wrapped around her head. “They are fake. Everything about her is fake.” “But her hair is so beautiful.” “And that is the ONLY thing to admire.”
The new parliamentary election has been called for May 27. The Rada is mobilizing to call a presidential election. To do this, they need to impeach Yushchenko, find him incapable of leading by reason of health, or, for Yushchenko to resign. They cannot impeach him if they are dissolved.
So, that is the update from here. I hope you are well, and enjoying the melt.
Linda
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Ukraine Bulletin # 7
March 22, 2007
I’m learning so much here. My Russian is improving, and I am beginning to read Cyrillic, which is hard. Each day is a big day, and Ukraine is changing so fast that all current guidebooks are already out of date. Anyway, this is the former Soviet Union, for sure. That said, it is a place that seems to be “riding two horses”. Small businesses (un-permitted, unregulated, uninspected, probably untaxed) are popping up everywhere – on milk crates on the sidewalks, in basements. My impressions are probably mistaken, but as far as I can tell, the state (i.e. Ukraine) owns more than 99 percent of the land. It is an astounding thing, and I can’t quite understand it. People own houses, but they lease the land the houses sit on for a small amount, from “the state”.
There is trash, literally, everywhere. Dumps are open pits or gullies, and as far as I can figure out, trash is never collected from the overflowing dumpster bins. It is an efficient form of recycling, as cats, ravens, rats (though I haven’t seen any), sparrows and dogs tear open the bags and eat the contents. People do, too, and I’ve taken to separating out the trash that could be people food, and putting it in a box to the side of the dumpster, weighted down by a couple of returnable bottles (redemption is less than one cent). It’s always gone the next day. So to “pick up” the trash would be to deprive these creatures of their food source. Still, plastic bags fly around everywhere, and get stuck in trees like kites.
I’m guessing that the trash isn’t collected because it’s no one’s responsibility to do so, and there’s no punishment for heaping it up as high as you like. It’s an odd thing that makes me want to put plastic bags on my hands and PICK IT UP! Or start a Green- Up Day. I’ve looked up the history of the anti-litter campaign in the United States, surely one of the most successful public information campaigns ever. It began in 1953 with a national commission. Arbor Day began in the late 1800s, in Nebraska, with one fellow who thought it would be a good idea to plant trees.
The city I’m in has many bazillionnaires, ritzy clubs and dance halls, Mercedes-Benzes. So far I’ve seen more posh cars than tractors, even though I’ve traveled through farmland by train. About two miles from the city, there are no cars to be seen. There are apparently horse carts, but I saw no horses. I did see one fellow walking his bike, with pirated firewood strapped on it.
We are downstream from Chernobyl – about six hours by fast train. But even here, there have been effects of the radiation. For instance, for two years, no cucumbers grew (a problem which locals attribute to “acid rain” connected with the radiation). Many people have had respiratory problems that won’t go away; others have seriously inflamed thyroids. Since Chernobyl, they don’t eat the river fish, and those who can afford to buy water don’t drink the tap water. Certainly Chernobyl is not the only source of the pollution. Sewage, medical and industrial waste, and heavy metals go directly into the river, and thence out to the Black Sea. The beaches around Odessa, once gorgeous, are now trashed with garbage and sewage and not recommended for swimming..
So, the vodka makes sense. It must kill a lot of things.
As I expected, the people I have met don’t understand that American farms can fail, and do. They don’t know much about our unemployment rates or lack of health insurance. They don’t know much about rural America, or that we have homeless people. In fact, a list of what they are not aware of is a good indicator of what Hollywood, MTV and now the Internet are really not depicting at all. I’m hoping to visit a hospital and an orphanage soon. No one can really tell me where the poor in this city live. There are sheds and odd corners that seem to be occupied. And the train station in Kiev was filled to the brim with sleeping homeless people one cold winter night last month.
Under the Soviet system, every family was guaranteed a place to live. I don’t know if they paid for it. But now that Ukraine has “free” enterprise, rents are skyrocketing. It must be galling to pay for something your government promised you for free. One pensioner cannot live in this city because his pension is 350 hryvnias a month (he was an engineer) – about $70. Rent in an apartment, with utilities, would be $80. He lives in a farmhouse outside of town, and is depressed, practically friendless, and sees no purpose to his life. He is nostalgic for the old days, when the government was predictable.
This city is filled with high-end European fashion boutiques and cosmetic shops. It’s somewhat comforting to see that these stores have almost no customers, and the salesgirls spend their time on their cell phones and fixing their hair. One cotton sleeveless button-down shirt, designer made, but could be bought in Wal-Mart for $4.99, was $200. There are outrageously gorgeous malls here, run by the Dnipro Mafia. We are told that is why the malls are good, and carry good produce. Capitalism is seen here as a crashing failure which led to nothing on the store shelves. Under the Mafia, you see, things get delivered and paid for.
The Mafia jumped into a vacuum left by a new government that can’t seem to govern. The parliament is filled with “millionaires”. Many of the members are young, too. What do they know? Still, one can’t help wishing the Mafia would take over trash collection.
So I’m busy planting window boxes to counteract the gray post-winter scene. I don’t have a green thumb but I’m trying not to kill the plants.
Linda
I’m learning so much here. My Russian is improving, and I am beginning to read Cyrillic, which is hard. Each day is a big day, and Ukraine is changing so fast that all current guidebooks are already out of date. Anyway, this is the former Soviet Union, for sure. That said, it is a place that seems to be “riding two horses”. Small businesses (un-permitted, unregulated, uninspected, probably untaxed) are popping up everywhere – on milk crates on the sidewalks, in basements. My impressions are probably mistaken, but as far as I can tell, the state (i.e. Ukraine) owns more than 99 percent of the land. It is an astounding thing, and I can’t quite understand it. People own houses, but they lease the land the houses sit on for a small amount, from “the state”.
There is trash, literally, everywhere. Dumps are open pits or gullies, and as far as I can figure out, trash is never collected from the overflowing dumpster bins. It is an efficient form of recycling, as cats, ravens, rats (though I haven’t seen any), sparrows and dogs tear open the bags and eat the contents. People do, too, and I’ve taken to separating out the trash that could be people food, and putting it in a box to the side of the dumpster, weighted down by a couple of returnable bottles (redemption is less than one cent). It’s always gone the next day. So to “pick up” the trash would be to deprive these creatures of their food source. Still, plastic bags fly around everywhere, and get stuck in trees like kites.
I’m guessing that the trash isn’t collected because it’s no one’s responsibility to do so, and there’s no punishment for heaping it up as high as you like. It’s an odd thing that makes me want to put plastic bags on my hands and PICK IT UP! Or start a Green- Up Day. I’ve looked up the history of the anti-litter campaign in the United States, surely one of the most successful public information campaigns ever. It began in 1953 with a national commission. Arbor Day began in the late 1800s, in Nebraska, with one fellow who thought it would be a good idea to plant trees.
The city I’m in has many bazillionnaires, ritzy clubs and dance halls, Mercedes-Benzes. So far I’ve seen more posh cars than tractors, even though I’ve traveled through farmland by train. About two miles from the city, there are no cars to be seen. There are apparently horse carts, but I saw no horses. I did see one fellow walking his bike, with pirated firewood strapped on it.
We are downstream from Chernobyl – about six hours by fast train. But even here, there have been effects of the radiation. For instance, for two years, no cucumbers grew (a problem which locals attribute to “acid rain” connected with the radiation). Many people have had respiratory problems that won’t go away; others have seriously inflamed thyroids. Since Chernobyl, they don’t eat the river fish, and those who can afford to buy water don’t drink the tap water. Certainly Chernobyl is not the only source of the pollution. Sewage, medical and industrial waste, and heavy metals go directly into the river, and thence out to the Black Sea. The beaches around Odessa, once gorgeous, are now trashed with garbage and sewage and not recommended for swimming..
So, the vodka makes sense. It must kill a lot of things.
As I expected, the people I have met don’t understand that American farms can fail, and do. They don’t know much about our unemployment rates or lack of health insurance. They don’t know much about rural America, or that we have homeless people. In fact, a list of what they are not aware of is a good indicator of what Hollywood, MTV and now the Internet are really not depicting at all. I’m hoping to visit a hospital and an orphanage soon. No one can really tell me where the poor in this city live. There are sheds and odd corners that seem to be occupied. And the train station in Kiev was filled to the brim with sleeping homeless people one cold winter night last month.
Under the Soviet system, every family was guaranteed a place to live. I don’t know if they paid for it. But now that Ukraine has “free” enterprise, rents are skyrocketing. It must be galling to pay for something your government promised you for free. One pensioner cannot live in this city because his pension is 350 hryvnias a month (he was an engineer) – about $70. Rent in an apartment, with utilities, would be $80. He lives in a farmhouse outside of town, and is depressed, practically friendless, and sees no purpose to his life. He is nostalgic for the old days, when the government was predictable.
This city is filled with high-end European fashion boutiques and cosmetic shops. It’s somewhat comforting to see that these stores have almost no customers, and the salesgirls spend their time on their cell phones and fixing their hair. One cotton sleeveless button-down shirt, designer made, but could be bought in Wal-Mart for $4.99, was $200. There are outrageously gorgeous malls here, run by the Dnipro Mafia. We are told that is why the malls are good, and carry good produce. Capitalism is seen here as a crashing failure which led to nothing on the store shelves. Under the Mafia, you see, things get delivered and paid for.
The Mafia jumped into a vacuum left by a new government that can’t seem to govern. The parliament is filled with “millionaires”. Many of the members are young, too. What do they know? Still, one can’t help wishing the Mafia would take over trash collection.
So I’m busy planting window boxes to counteract the gray post-winter scene. I don’t have a green thumb but I’m trying not to kill the plants.
Linda
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