DR.
TARAS KUZIO: ON THE 5th ANNIVERSARY OF THE 2014 UKRAINIAN REVOLUTION,
EUROMAIDAN REVOLUTION, OR REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY (Революція
гідності)
Dr.Taras
Kuzio has British citizenship, but is based in Toronto, Canada.
He is an expert in Ukrainian affairs, has received a BA in Economics
from the University of Sussex, an MA in Soviet Studies from
the University of London, he holds a Ph.D
in political
science from the University of Birmingham, and now he is a
postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. He spoke in the
non-sponsored Uke Tube Ukrainian Video, on the 5th
anniversary of the 2014 Euromaidan revolution. Below are the full
remarks of that video
(https://www.facebook.com/uketube/videos/2226210774324495/).
The
Revolution of dignity occurred five years ago beginning on 21
November 2013 culminating in the revolution on 18-23 February 2014.
Review of positive and negative points.
Ukrainian
Diaspora discussion forums seem to ignore election of Donald Trump
and Brexit referendum: Polls should be ignored with regard to the
next Ukrainian presidential elections.
Positive:
Compare post-Euromaidan vs post-Orange revolution. Yuschenko era was
depressing to watch. Ukrainians were disillusioned compared to
Euromaidan. Domestic progress made in economic reforms, financial
reforms, social reforms, energy sector reforms. Ukraine created large
number of institutions to fight corruption. Some difficulty getting
traction, but they won't be dismantled, and will produce results.
Wired
Magazine article on transparent government contracts and
procurement process described Ukraine's new online government
contract bidding process as "one of the best in the world"
(https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ukraine-revolution-government-procurement?fbclid=IwAR1smyOr7kdCVzThyZZY9QNJkOjuAW66rhp6QYGZO3NhiQf3db4hksi6vdQ).
Closing of loopholes in Ukraine is saving up to $6 billion per year.
Banking system in Ukraine is approximately 50% smaller prior to 2014
- many banks were simply laundering institutions, e.g. Ihor
Kolomoyskyi's (ПриватБанк)
laundered $5.5 billion over ten years, was closed in 2016.
Kolomoyskyi is angry at Poroshenko over this loss and this is why he
is supporting Yulia Tymoshenko's presidential campaign. Value
added tax (VAT) refunds. Нафтогаз
України previously consumed 3-5% of
Ukraine's government budget. Today it is the largest contributor to
the budget, no longer a cash-cow for corrupt presidents. Jailing
elites has been problematic. Whoever is elected in 2019 must produce
results with Ukraine's anti-corruption court, i.e. putting people in
jail. Household utility prices in Ukraine are better now. Yulia
Tymoshenko claims she is pro-EU and pro-NATO. But she is
lying when she says she is anti-IMF and pro-EU.
Nation
building in Ukraine has been successful. New draft law in front of
parliament promotes Ukrainian language even further. Ukraine adopted
requirement, quotas for Ukrainian language content in television,
radio, print (similar to Quebec). Tremendous progress moving beyond
the Soviet-past, communist past: laws on #Decommunization
and removal of all Lenin monuments in Ukraine. Changing names of
streets, villages, and towns, not to be linked to the communist past,
Soviet past. Decentralization has been successful. More money is now
being kept locally.
Spiritual
independence: The granting of
autocephaly to Ukraine is one of President Poroshenko's greatest
achievements. This is comparable to the disintegration of the USSR in
1991.Leonid
kravchuk, the first President of Ukraine from December 1991 to July
1994. Putin wants Russian World (Русский
мир) as a new substitute for the USSR.
New monument to Volodymyr the Great in Moscow is ludicrous since
Moscow (and Russia) didn't exist in 988 when Kyiv-Rus was
Christianized. Ukraine has achieved its spiritual independence from
Russia. As of November 2018, Constantinople made their decision,
there is no Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Tomos of autocephaly
to be granted prior to Ukrainian presidential election, 2019 We can
already see cracks in the Russian Orthodox Church. One of the biggest
myths in Ukraine is that East Ukraine is Orthodox and West Ukraine is
Catholic. Most Orthodox parishes are in central and Western Ukraine.
Few churches are in Donbas. Who will head the new Ukrainian Orthodox
Church? Not everyone wants Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko).