“Post-Euromaidan attitudes have frustration and apathy in common. Where they differ is activization of groups that were active before. People who were active have not turned idle, they are trying to get the ball rolling, they are coming together. On the one hand, this is a positive trend, but on the other, it reflects radicalization of active citizens brought exactly by disappointment. The revolution should be continued, it is unfinished, because one of the goals of the revolution, and we did a survey during the Euromaidan, was the struggle against corruption. However, corruption is like a wall which has stopped the country. The anti-corruption fight is going slowly. To fight corruption, we do not need to imprison this or that individual, but rather to effect a systemic restructuring of society and a full reset of government structures. This is what was not done following the Orange Revolution, and thus led to another revolution.
We have stopped in front of this wall. I am a committed optimist, and I believe that a sense of self-preservation at least should motivate people in power, and the people we call oligarchs too. After all, the present situation is very different from that after the Orange Revolution, for we are in a state of war now, even if a frozen one. We have no peace. If they fail to lead the society forward, if an internal disturbance adds to the war, it will be very dangerous for the country and for them too. Rinat Akhmetov tried to capitalize on these sentiments, and he lost half of his fortune as a result; this can happen to others as well. Russia has no use whatsoever for our oligarchs. Yes, they want everything to stay as it was. Moreover, the country is weak, so they want to strengthen their power. Still, one should not forget that the society, its active part are growing impatient. Although quantitatively, fewer people are ready for protests than before, because apathy is setting in, but the revolution does not need majority participation: just 15 percent of Ukraine’s population took part in the Orange Revolution, and just as many did so during the Revolution of Dignity, and that was enough for both to succeed. Therefore, activization and radicalization are two trends that are increasing. We must urgently do something. For example, look at the arrest of Hennadii Korban. Why was he the first to be attacked, why the notorious case of Yurii Boiko’s oil rigs is not being investigated, and what about the cases launched to investigate border crimes in Zakarpattia? I think that the authorities have chosen the wrong strategy.”
