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Western media and governments may have edited out the manifestations of extreme nationalism and anti-Semitism which disfigure the Ukrainian opposition’s rabble-rousing but history will record that in the run up to the disputed presidential elections, key opposition leaders, including Viktor Yushchenko, Julia Timoshenko and Alexander Moroz, defended anti-Semitic publications and accepted the backing of neo-Nazi groups as well as US and EU and so-called “civic society” NGOs. Nor were the anti-Semtic apologetics of the Ukrainian opposition unknown to key OSCE observers and EU parliamentarians who nonetheless ignored the dark shadow across Yushchenko’s campaign preferring instead to abuse his rival.

How do you say Sieg Heil! in Ukrainian?

Here we go again. Those dirty jew-hating Nazi Ukrainians are better off subjugated by Russia than free. If only Stalin had killed more of them. </Russophile>

Hold on there. That 'accepted the backing' thing is overblown in a parliamentary system like Ukraine's, as is any blanket statement calling these groups Neo-Nazi and extreme nationalist. We could call out the Yanukovych team for being endorsed by Communists and labor leagues as well as their own brand of extreme nationalists. As to Yush being anti-semitic, I won't argue that--but I will point out that BOTH sides have that fault, and you can't dispute THAT.

Certainly, there are ties to groups that were fighting on the side of the Nazis in WWII that have endorsed Yushchenko. Those groups were fighting the Communists, too! There is certainly a real issue for discussion, which you may address to Ukrainians, as to just how pro-Nazi Ukraine was while it was fighting on the side of the Germans during WWII. The Commies are obviously not going to avoid saying they were 100% Nazi in an effort to smear Yush.

I don't know about Moroz. But as to Timoshenko--yes, she's dirty. That doesn't necessarily tar the man she campaigns for in this system--it's darn hard to keep clean and get elected in the Ukraine, from what I read, and money is hugely important in this election, too. And it's not like Timoshenko's hand in the till isn't dwarfed by Kuchma's giant iron fist, whose regime explicitly endorsed Yanuk and stole the election and half the country. Lest you forget, Yanuk was PM of the kleptocracy under Kuchma, too.

What you are printing here is the anti-Yushchenko propaganda that the hard left is putting out in a bid to keep him out and install the Russki puppet. I respect your opinion, and I'm curious as to why you dislike Yushchenko so much. I am not reflexively saying that I like him, but I get the impression that any positives that come up about this situation you are looking to refute. Why?