While the Ukrainian leadership is building yesterday’s model, Russia is seeing public rallies which Valentyn Nalyvaichenko thinks will have far-reaching consequences. In his words, these events, aimed at qualitative changes, are bound to bring in new political faces. Will Vladimir Putin win the elections? Who can become a real alternative in Ukraine? To what extent is Ukraine prepared today to face worldwide challenges? This is the subject of a brief interview with Valentyn NALYVAICHENKO, chairman of the Our Ukraine political council.
“AS PLAYERS, WE ARE NOT PRESENT IN WORLD POLITICS”
To what extent do you think Ukraine is coping with world challenges today?
“We are not present now, as players, in world politics. Yanukovych stood some good chances at the beginning of his presidency, but they have been lost. The Americans as well as the Europeans are saying so – not only because they are all demanding the liberation of Tymoshenko, Lutsenko, and other oppositionists (undoubtedly, they must be released and allowed to take part in the elections) but also because the entire civilized world is saying: you are radically changing the direction of your development, you are rebuilding Putin’s post-Soviet model. In this case you will not be among the leaders of global development. It is just impossible.”
Is the opposition united in this question?
“I think so.”
On the other hand, you can see with the naked eye now that the state-forming instruments are being ruined.
“When a Soviet model is being built, they are not needed in principle. Everything is simple: all you need is control and account. This is what is exactly happening – we can see what role the Tax Administration, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Interior Ministry, and the Security Service are playing. As the events are taking this course, we have no alternative. The space is more and more narrowing. All this team is interested in is how to cling on to power.”
For this very reason, our newspaper has pointed out that the Communists recently began to focus on geopolitical issues. Their actual gist is to get back to Russia and come up with a new Pereiaslav.
“This branch of the Kremlin has never had other programs.”
“THIS WILL BE PUTIN’S FIRST DEFEAT IN PEOPLE’S MINDS”
Should Putin win the elections, who can become a real alternative to the present-day team in Ukraine?
“The Russian secret service needs no partners here. Their logic is simple: those who do not agree with us will go to prison cells, and those who do will work in prison camps and factories.”
Let me put the question differently: who on the Ukrainian side will be able not to allow being treated the way the Kremlin wishes?
“This may be a united team that takes a European attitude. I think there are personalities in Ukraine, who can be guided by a modern Ukrainian idea, not to kowtow to the Kremlin, and play like a united national team. This can be done by a team that will offer the entire Ukrainian nation a model that is neither patriarchal nor Soviet-style or oligarchic. These should be normal lucid heads which love their people – and the people will then love them. The further path is to join the EU and NATO. We should soberly appraise our strength and abilities. Nobody has been investing in the rejuvenation of this country for 20 years and, what is more, nobody has invested in the elite. For example, as soon as Finland gained independence, it began to invest fantastic amounts in Finnish-language schools and the central Finnish newspaper. And we?”
And we are still misoriented because the educational level and outlook of many people, who were and still are holding various offices, are at a low level.
“Indeed, no educated and patriotic people have been holding offices. I mean people who are aware of the situation rather than those who are wielding jingoistic slogans. There will be a change of generations in any case. The only question is how long the current leadership will keep itself afloat by way of falsifications.”
What kind of alternative do you see in Russia?
“Russia is following our way. The alternative in Russia is growing out of a civic society. Putin has already lost in the minds of people. The movement “For Fair Elections” will not vanish – it will be moving upwards. This is an alternative against which the Stalinist textbook has no recipe.”
