Great Big Smacking Sound

By Dr. Myron Kuropas

That great big smacking sound you hear coming from northeast of Ukraine is old Vlad, Putin, that is, smacking and licking his lips.  He‘s preparing to swallow Ukraine whole, not tomorrow, but soon.

President-elect Viktor Yanukovych hasn’t even been inaugurated and already “Vlodko” is interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs, making noises, beating his imperialist drum. Calling Stefan Bandera a criminal, Russian Prime Minister Putin criticized President Viktor Yushchenko for declaring the OUN leader a Hero of Ukraine. When he was the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, an ex-KGB colonel, the same rapscallion who on April 25, 2005 declared that the collapse of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20^th Century”, is now deciding which Ukrainian heroes are acceptable to the “czar”.  

Congratulating Mr. Yanukovych on his victory, Putin suggested that Ukraine play a more active role in Russian-dominated regional organizations such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).   You mean like the role Ukraine played after the Treaty of Pereyaslav, Mr. Putin?   Or in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?  Those “active roles” really worked well for the Ukrainian people, right? 

I think we can all agree that the two heroes of the Orange Revolution, Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko, squandered a golden opportunity during the last five years.  Both allowed personal differences to get in the way of the common good.   The Viktor/Yulia squabbles began as a Kabuki dance, morphed into a soap opera, and ended as a Greek tragedy.    

So what now?  What do North American Ukrainians, who in one way or another have hoped, prayed and worked for an independent Ukraine for so many years, do now that a Russophile is President of that independent Ukraine? Especially after he has already assured Putin that the Russian fleet will be allowed to remain in Sevastopol after the Black Sea treaty expires in 2017.  

Two basic options regarding our future role vis--vis Ukraine are gaining traction.  The first suggests that we should ignore Ukraine and refocus our attention on the needs of our communities here.  The other option says we should become the “conscience” of Ukraine, observing what happens, calling attention to mistakes, and offering suggestions.  Both ideas have merit.

Many of us have become weary of Ukraine and her problems.  We’ve become “Ukrainianed out”, as it were.  It’s easy to say,   “Nay mastyat’ sobi holovy” and be done with it.  It’s their country, after all, so let them run it.   They wanted Yanukovych, they can have him.  “Tak yak sobi postelyat’, tak budut' spaty.” So there!  Besides, we have problems in our own backyard.  Our communities aren’t exactly booming these days. They’ve been on automatic pilot for years; it’s time, some argue, to grab the wheel and start steering again.  These are comforting thoughts, of course, but guess what.  It ain’t gonna happen.  Ukraine is an addiction that’s hard to kick.  Besides, who has the temerity to tell his friends that he’s going to the back of the canoe and leave the paddling to others, especially now that Ukraine is heading for the rapids again?

The second option, serving as Ukraine’s conscience, is laudatory but it ain’t gonna happen either.  A conscience is only of value if it’s heeded.   There are two problems. Ukrainian leaders over there believe they know everything and the Diaspora is not perceived very positively. 

To restore some of our credibility, our community leaders might begin by congratulating Mr. Yanukovych on his victory ... now that Yulia has conceded defeat, of course.  They could wish the new President success, ask how our communities can help, and request a meeting at his earliest convenience.  We’ve nothing to lose. 

Will Ukraine return into Russia’s embrace under Yanukovych?  I doubt it.  Putin may be smacking his lips but so are the oligarchs who run Ukraine. Their interests lie with the West, not Russia.  Besides, the elections have proven that Ukrainians live in a democratic state.  Foreign observers gave our people high marks for their behaviour during the election process. You’re too late, Mr. Putin.  Ukraine has matured.  Ukrainians are not Russians.

Will Ukraine ever right itself politically?  Not if the gridlock among Parliament, the President and the Prime Minister remains unresolved.  The struggle for power among these three entities, and the fact that there is no corrective, no clear-cut constitutional separation of powers, has paralyzed the Ukrainian government.

Nevertheless, Ukraine remains a pluralistic nation that enjoys a relatively free press.  The electorate is educated and informed.  The people may be disillusioned and skeptical but they’re not beaten.  Ukrainians over there have assured me that “Ukrayina ye i bude”.  As OSCE election observer Orest Deychakiwsky has wisely observed, these are not the earmarks of a nation ready to become a puppet state of Russia.