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| Revolutionary times in Kyiv |
The
flight of President Viktor Yanukovych (and his government) from Kyiv may
bring some momentary satisfaction in many quarters, the resultant power vacuum will, I have no doubt, be rapidly filled by a new Ukrainian government. These developments may not however bring an
end to Ukraine’s crisis as there is a great deal of unfinished business.
The emergence of the Ukraine and Russia as independent states back in August
1991 was the decisive factor in bringing about the collapse of the much despised
former Soviet Union. In Ukraine the demise of
the USSR saw the start of a period of political and economic instability which
saw politics and big business become deeply entwined and the emergence of
supper rich oligarchs (something that also took place in Yeltsin’s Russia). The
former dissidents, democrats and the Ukrainian people lost out. Ukraine today
has a significant number of mega rich MP’s who have significant business interests
(not to mention control of large sections of the country’s media) who have
close links with the much hated oligarchs.
Recent and bloody
developments in the Maidan (Kyiv’s main square) may have swung the political
balance away from the increasingly autocratic pro Russian party that surrounded
the possibly soon to be former President Yanukovych. Even as President Yanukovych
revealed the terms of the peace deal (signed on Friday) the rats (so to speak) had been
jumping ship, unhappy at the prospect of facing some potential consequences for
their actions.
Yanukovych stalwarts were spotted fleeing to Kyiv's Zhulyany
airport, where aircraft records indicate that as many as 180 charter flights
have been registered since February 19th. On Friday 21st February, a roll call at the parliament
session on February 21st revealed that only 131 of the President’s Party of
Regions' 204 deputies were in attendance. A flight log, published online, revealed flights to international destinations as well as
locations in Ukraine's Russian-speaking south and east. The destinations
include Moscow, Frankfurt, Budapest, Istanbul, Kharkhiv, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk,
and Simferopol.
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| Unfinished business |
The recent debacle over the EU deal may turn out to have been
the final straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. The reality is that other
more pressing issues like institutionalised corruption, in the courts, the police
and state organs, problems with the banking system, secure land tenure and difficulties
many ordinary encountered while trying to make al living, run a small business or
simply to get through the winter have been feeding growing discontent for
years.
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