Global News Journal
Beyond the World news headlines
Always a marriage of convenience in Ukraine?
He was a suave central banker and she a “gas princess”, a young politician desperate to make her mark. In 1998 Yulia Tymoshenko, now Ukraine’s prime minister, said she knew her destiny lay with Viktor Yushchenko, who went on to become president.
“We understood that we are a team,” she said at that time.
It’s an assertion Yushchenko disputes — a clash of views that has defined this partnership since they overturned a Soviet-style leadership in the 2004 “Orange Revolution” and vowed a modern, Western future for Ukraine’s 47 million people.
Then they stood shoulder-to-shoulder — her revolutionary speeches firing up crowd after crowd, his more academic approach comforting those who feared she was reckless in her pursuit of power.
Is the American dream over for Georgia and Ukraine?
When thousands in the streets of the Ukrainian capital Kiev and the Georgian capital Tbilisi overthrew Soviet-style rulers, many felt warm in the embrace of the West.
Western support for the opposition — open and behind the scenes – helped many people overcome fear of Soviet-style reprisals to stand for days outside Georgia’s parliament in 2003 or to pitch orange tents on Kiev’s main thoroughfare in late 2004, providing a lasting image of “people power” overthrowing a stale leadership.
Washington, or at least organisations with close political ties with the Bush administration, had courted opposition parties in both countries, coaching in the methods of democracy or securing “regime-change” as they sought to end the rules of President Leonid Kuchma and Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze.
But the new leaders, and their teams, soon found that the attentions of an adoring West didn’t last for long. Ukraine’s team of President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko soon fell apart. The West grew tired of the constant bickering of the Ukrainian leaders, unable to agree on almost any policy, while a resurgent pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovich, who lost a rerun of the presidential election, encouraged unity in his own party and rose in popularity.
I agree the Chinese have made a substantial investment in America. So has the Middle East. If you read the blog I said that the Chinese and American’s have no desire for confrontation because our economies are so interdependent. It is in there look again. Ryzer really the one that thinks there is significant hostilities between US and China. I just saying if the poop hits the fan (war) we would default on all that investment. Hurting the Chinese more than the Americans cause their investment has been spent in benefit of America. Essentially giving us a Zero balance do to any enemy on a massive investment.
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Can not agree more with Oleg Polischuk. I believe, it’s a correct picture. And it’s also true, it wouldn’t be easy for Ukraine to survive as a democratic and an independent state being positioned between two powers and having such a division within itself. Unfortunately for Ukraine it is too close to Russia and thus in it’s security zone. And that has nothing to do with “Russian’s Imperialism”. It just is. Relationships between Russia and NATO are on a negative side; off course, Russia doesn’t want its adversary even closer to it’s borders. Would you? But it makes especially hard on Ukrainian politicians, whatever group they belong to. It doesn’t leave much room for maneuver. It reminds me mythical story of Phaeton being torn apart by opposing forces. I wish Ukraine and it’s people best of luck on their thorny way.