Ukraine: June 2008 Archives
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko has ordered the mass demolition of approximately 20,000 Soviet-era monuments throughout the country. This program is part of the commemoration of the Holodomor, the great famine of 1932-33. The Ukrainian government claims the famine was orchestrated by the Bolsheviks, targeting Ukrainian nationals. Yushchenko wants to cleanse Ukraine from symbols of the former totalitarian Soviet regime. Apparently five areas of western Ukraine have already completed the dismantling of such monuments.Vassily Vovkun, Ukraine's Minister of Culture and Tourism, has suggested that these Soviet-era monuments should be taken to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where they would be placed in a new museum that would be open for driving tours.
I wish I knew why Vovkun wants these monuments dumped in the Chernobyl Zone. Perhaps he views Chernobyl as a quintessential symbol of Soviet failure and would therefore be the perfect home for these monuments.
But why does he want to create a drive-through museum in the Zone? Has he forgotten that the Exclusion Zone is a controlled area? People need permission to enter and are required to be escorted by a guide. Currently, the cost for preparation of the permission documents and guide for one day is approximately $85, and that does not include transportation costs.
Hopefully Vovkun is not considering this as a money-making enterprise for Ukraine, because people will not want to spend that kind of money to see a bunch of Soviet-era monuments. Not only that, I'm guessing that most people are afraid to enter the Zone due to fears of radiation, so this museum would not get many visitors. I'm also willing to go out on a limb and say that people who do travel to the Zone are not going there just to see a museum of Soviet-era monuments. Some may drive through out of curiosity, but it will not be the primary focus of anyone's visit.
A new political party is taking shape in Ukraine. "United Center" (Yedyniy Tsentr) is being built by Presidential Secretariat Chief Viktor Baloha as a party intending to introduce new standards to local politics.
The party has scheduled its first convention on July 12, at which time it is expected to name its leader. Most experts believe current Verkhovna Rada Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk will be named head of the party.
Don't be surprised to see the new party work as part of a larger coalition. Talks are currently being held with Vladyslav Kaskiv of PORA, Yuri Kamazin of the Motherland Defenders Party and Yuri Kostenko of the Ukrainian People's Party. The Ukrainian People's Party and other smaller groups have already given unofficial consent to form a union with United Center.
Several oblast governors including Victor Bondar (Dnipropetrovsk), Vira Ulyanchenko (Kyiv), Mykola Kmit (Lviv) and Oleksander Dombrovsky (Vinnytsya) may also join United Center.
Further, people are wondering if Igor Rybakov from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Yuri But from Our Ukraine People's Self Defense Bloc will join the new party. They are the two Parliament members that left the democratic coalition last Friday, effectively killing the "Orange" majority.
It will be most interesting to see not only how this new party develops, but if President Viktor Yushchenko decides to walk away from Our Ukraine People's Self Defense Bloc to join forces with United Center. The new party has already been described as a pro-Presidential group. With Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko being hounded by the country's economic troubles, this could be an opportunity for Yushchenko to get a fresh start and bolster his standing prior to the 2009 Presidential election.
The party has scheduled its first convention on July 12, at which time it is expected to name its leader. Most experts believe current Verkhovna Rada Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk will be named head of the party.
Don't be surprised to see the new party work as part of a larger coalition. Talks are currently being held with Vladyslav Kaskiv of PORA, Yuri Kamazin of the Motherland Defenders Party and Yuri Kostenko of the Ukrainian People's Party. The Ukrainian People's Party and other smaller groups have already given unofficial consent to form a union with United Center.
Several oblast governors including Victor Bondar (Dnipropetrovsk), Vira Ulyanchenko (Kyiv), Mykola Kmit (Lviv) and Oleksander Dombrovsky (Vinnytsya) may also join United Center.
Further, people are wondering if Igor Rybakov from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Yuri But from Our Ukraine People's Self Defense Bloc will join the new party. They are the two Parliament members that left the democratic coalition last Friday, effectively killing the "Orange" majority.
It will be most interesting to see not only how this new party develops, but if President Viktor Yushchenko decides to walk away from Our Ukraine People's Self Defense Bloc to join forces with United Center. The new party has already been described as a pro-Presidential group. With Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko being hounded by the country's economic troubles, this could be an opportunity for Yushchenko to get a fresh start and bolster his standing prior to the 2009 Presidential election.
Two members from the Ukraine's ruling pro-Western coalition resigned today, leaving the Democratic forces one vote short of the 226 needed to establish a majority in the Verkhovna Rada.
Ihor Rybakov from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) and Yuri But from Our Ukraine People's Self Defense Bloc both resigned Friday, surprising leaders of both political groups. The "Orange" coalition, which has held a razor-thin Parliamentary majority since late last year, now holds exactly half the 450-seats in the Verkhovna Rada. It is unclear if the coalition will remain viable or if new elections will be required.
If a new ruling majority cannot be formed, President Viktor Yushchenko, by Constitutional statute, can call for new elections in 60 days. BYuT MP Valery Pisarenko believes this will not affect the ruling coalition because law allows for the replacement of a resigning member from a ruling coalition by another party list member.
Oleksander Efimov, a member of the Parliament rules committee, disagrees, stating the departures make the ruling coalition null and void. He said that Parliament will be unable to act on any legislation until a new ruling majority is formed.
Without a doubt, this is a surprising development. The Democratic coalition has already been on shaky ground due to the disputes between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko. It will be interesting to see if these deputies can merely be replaced, or if it forces a new election. The "Orange" coalition has demonstrated such a lack of unity that a new election would most likely put the opposition Party of Regions (PoR) back in power. A new election would also favor Yushchenko's desire to form a grand coalition with PoR, which could help him gain support for next year's Presidential election. Stay tuned - this could get extremely interesting.
Ihor Rybakov from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) and Yuri But from Our Ukraine People's Self Defense Bloc both resigned Friday, surprising leaders of both political groups. The "Orange" coalition, which has held a razor-thin Parliamentary majority since late last year, now holds exactly half the 450-seats in the Verkhovna Rada. It is unclear if the coalition will remain viable or if new elections will be required.
If a new ruling majority cannot be formed, President Viktor Yushchenko, by Constitutional statute, can call for new elections in 60 days. BYuT MP Valery Pisarenko believes this will not affect the ruling coalition because law allows for the replacement of a resigning member from a ruling coalition by another party list member.
Oleksander Efimov, a member of the Parliament rules committee, disagrees, stating the departures make the ruling coalition null and void. He said that Parliament will be unable to act on any legislation until a new ruling majority is formed.
Without a doubt, this is a surprising development. The Democratic coalition has already been on shaky ground due to the disputes between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko. It will be interesting to see if these deputies can merely be replaced, or if it forces a new election. The "Orange" coalition has demonstrated such a lack of unity that a new election would most likely put the opposition Party of Regions (PoR) back in power. A new election would also favor Yushchenko's desire to form a grand coalition with PoR, which could help him gain support for next year's Presidential election. Stay tuned - this could get extremely interesting.
