BERLIN — “Klitschko brothers, Chornobyl, a ‘granary’ during the Soviet Union times, and maybe also the Crimea.” In the opinion of Niko Lange, the head of the Kyiv office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, these are the associations of an ordinary Germans about Ukraine. Niko Lange has been heading the branch of the German foundation for four years and has been dealing with Ukraine for about ten. These associations, he believes, show that Ukraine’s image in Germany is quite vague, and is characterized by the absence of a concrete idea. “For example, there is a widespread idea that Ukraine is an appendage of Russia. Often people are scared when they learn Kyiv has nothing to do with Russia.”
After the Orange Revolution and gas conflicts over the past years a stable awareness that Ukraine is an independent state has appeared. But most Germans do not know, Lange points out, how big Ukraine really is, how close to Germany it is, and what cultural roots Ukraine has. “Ukrainian history is known only among specialists,” says Lange and adds that Germany also has highly incorrect ideas about Ukraine: “In almost every second television detective show, criminals connected with organized crime come from Ukraine. If a prostitute appears, one can bet she is also from Ukraine. Thus, Germans also assist in spreading the wrong idea about Ukraine.”
Harald Herrmann, the culture advisor of the German embassy in Kyiv since summer 2009, also thinks that in Germany Ukraine is “seen in a very one-dimensional manner,” mainly negative. He enumerates the key notions: Chornobyl, problems with gas supplies and an AIDS epidemic. In his opinion, the fact that Germany’s eastward looks are often directed at Russia is caused by the fact that perception of power of the Soviet Union, which was seen as a bloc, still has an impact. So they overlook Ukraine as a county in-between, and therefore Ukraine still remains unidentified.” The Soviet heritage can also be seen in the fact that the Russian language, on the territory of Eastern Europe, is the most important language of international communication, and Ukrainian is seldom studied in Germany.
Herrmann thinks that the fact that many Germans do not know how culturally diverse Ukraine is, that Ukraine is a country with an ancient culture, and that Kyiv is one of ancient cities of Europe, is a particular problem. “In the West and in Germany, Ukraine is hardly taken as a source of artistic and cultural treasures, as history rich in traditions from the Middle Ages until present, and as a place with a thriving cultural life,” says the advisor of the German embassy.
Ursula Koch-Laugwitz, the head of the Kyiv office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation since May 2009, sees the main reason for the negative image of Ukraine first of all in the gas crisis of 2009. According to her observations, reports of mass media about the activity of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which spied, for example, on the German journalist of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Konrad Schuller also worsen the image of Ukraine. Besides, she supposes, another problem lies in the lack of “functional city partnerships,” and in the small number of direct contacts between people of both countries.
Lange supposes that Ukraine did not do much to create a positive image in the world. According to him, the Orange Revolution was a positive event, one during which people took their fate into their own hands. However, he adds, during the following years information was rarely positive. Meanwhile, the advisor of the German embassy Herrmann points out that Ukraine still did not manage to show its positive sides. “Approaches to the country’s marketing, like other countries do it to show themselves, are only beginning in Ukraine. It is difficult to understand what Ukraine actually is and why one should pay attention to it.”
Koch-Laugwitz highlights: “Very few German tourists come to Ukraine, since it doesn’t have a developed tourist infrastructure appealing to tourists who don’t speak Ukrainian or Russian.”
She lays the responsibility for the lack of a unified image of Ukraine first of all on mass media: “That’s a pity that editors decide that exactly correspondents based in Moscow and Warsaw should write about Ukraine, and budgets for business trips are also limited.” And the fact that currently there is only one permanent German journalist in Kyiv shows that, according to her, the interest to Ukraine is small.
In the opinion of Lange, the problem is that “Germany doesn’t know for sure what it should do with Ukraine.” For example, it shows more of social interest and a substantial openness in discussions to Poland, with which historical relations of a different quality have been maintained.
Herrmann supposes that the EU has a tendency to focus more on what happens inside the EU borders, and is very reluctant to see what happens outside. He sees it as a psychological barrier first of all, as traveling without problems or currency exchange in the EU are commonplace.
In the opinion of Herrmann, Germans should by all means know that besides Ukrainian traditions, artistis and cultural life exists here, like lively literary groups, which become more interesting for Germany, or big festivals, like the International Poetry Festival Meridian Czernowitz (held in early September), the movie festival Molodist (which has a long tradition already), the festival of contemporary music Two Days and Two Nights / 2D2N in Odesa, the Lviv Book Forum or Hohol-Fest in Kyiv. Lange thinks it is important that more people in Germany should know that Ukraine is an independent country, that it is not Russia, that people here, culture, politics and history differ from Russian ones, and that Ukraine is not a small appendage to Russia, but a country with more than 45 million citizens and a huge territory. Therefore, Germany should learn how interesting Ukraine is for Germany, which needs to enter new markets. “Even if at present not all conditions are observed, Ukraine is destined for cooperation. It is bigger than Poland, for example, and is also not very far away.” In addition, Germany must learn about the cultural and intellectual heritage Ukraine possesses.
At the same time, German representatives see possibilities to improve the image of Ukraine abroad. For example, Lange believes that Ukraine should start by highlighting its successes, not just its problems. Holding the Euro-2012 is a wonderful opportunity for this, he stresses. In the opinion of Herrmann, the image of Ukraine should be better expressed in advertisement, for example, relating such positive aspects as Carpathian national traditions, the multiculturalism of Odesa, or famous Crimean resorts of the 19th century. The Euro-2012 championship is an especially big chance to transform the present prejudice into a positive image. “It is difficult to do it on your own, for in 2012 Ukraine will host all of Europe, which will look at it,” points out the cultural attache of the German embassy. Koch-Laugwitz supposes that Ukrainian embassies could also make their contribution, act as a bearer of the image and provide more support for an open dialog, for example, with German society. “Foreign policy is also a policy of image,” she says. In her opinion, Ukraine should think thoroughly about how it can change its image. “The guarantee of European standards in everyday life would obviously become a catalyst,” she says. In addition, Koch-Laugwitz regards the Euro-2012 as a chance to work hard on the image of Ukraine, to get rid of the effect left from the acts of intimidation the SBU did. “But one can’t do it simply by pushing a button. If some ‘enthusiastic’ employees spoil the image, then the best campaign will give no result,” underscores Koch-Laugwitz.
