Posted on 11/25/2004 6:04:17 AM PST by Lessismore
MOSCOW, November 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Viktor Yanukovich on being elected president of Ukraine, reports the Kremlin press office.
Mr. Putin's message of congratulations, in particular, reads as follows:
"I congratulate you on being elected President of Ukraine.
"The Ukrainian people made their choice which is the choice for stability, stronger statehood and the further development of democratic and economic reforms. The majority of Ukrainians supported your intention to develop good-neighborly and multifaceted cooperation with Russia, all CIS members and other countries of Europe and the world.
"Russia and Ukraine are enjoying every possibility of raising their strategic cooperation to a higher level. The citizens of our countries who are linked by common historical and cultural ties are, thereby, becoming even closer to each other.
"The emerging Common Economic Space is gaining momentum. Realizing its potential has yielded good results already and it is promoting an increasingly more impressive commodity turnover and is providing new opportunities for the peoples of Russia and Ukraine. Our countries are parties to major international projects in the sphere of outer space, energy, aircraft building and transport. By joining our efforts we can do a lot to ensure European and international security and build a united, prosperous Europe.
"I appreciate your resolve to maintain cooperation in specific spheres and I am pleased to note the helpful contacts we have developed. Our further intensive dialogue will, undoubtedly, promote bilateral cooperation for the good of the two fraternal nations."
I usually pride myself on understanding most things in the news. I've seen this and other stories on the Ukraine the past few days and, I guess, I just don't understand this one. Will somebody put it in a nutshell for me, so I can follow this one with a degree of understanding?
I'm sure it is simpler than I know at this points.
Thanks in advance.
Kind of like when the Soviet general secretary would congratulate any new leader of a country behind the iron curtain.
For example, Putin's favorite is supportive of WOT and Iraq effort, while Euroweenie's favorite is against it.
Euroweenie's favorite is also supported by Soros.
And Powell.
Tough, huh. This is algebra, not 'rhytmetics.
The big game is to lure Ukraine to become another country to encircle Russia militarilly.
This is dangerous development full of nasty surprises.
I would also add that neither Powell, nor the rest of the government has taken a stand on either candidate. They just declared that they want to make sure the elections were fair and clean.
Other than that, your post sums up nicely my opinion in the matter.
Just another step in the return of the Evil Empire!!
Thank you so much. I've often thought this is what Putin was attempting to do, put the Soviet Union back together and, maybe, calling it something else.
Thank you for getting me up to speed.
I believe Stalin was quoted as saying something to the effect, "It is not those who CAST the votes but those who COUNT the votes who win elections."
Putin is acting in the finest tradition of Joseph Stalin.
Putin did the same exact thing in Russia a couple years ago when United Russia gave him basically a constitutional majority in the Diat and the power to do whatever he wants. Where was the outrage then? The 95% turnout in government strongholds when witnesses said almost no one was in line, horrible press coverage of the opposition, intimidation, the list goes on. I don't know about the advertising in Ukraine but here's an example of Russia's press coverage: The TV networks (all government controlled since Putin shut down the private ones) would show a boat full of Russian orphans and a huge party with food and balloons and everything all sponsored by: United Russia. The kids were having the time of their life. The network then showed the opposition, the Communists, but their footage was a bunch of fat men getting out of Mercedes and then very unflattering close-ups of the party leader's face when he spoke. It's pretty funny but bad funny. No idea why Bush has always supported this turd.
Hi,
Here is my understanding of the situation...
Being Hungarian (neighbouring country) and leaving in the west I developed my viewpoints...
May seem unorthodox to some...
So after the fall of the soviets, Ukraine stayed like an orphan with a nuclear arsenal. The west offered them a deal: Give up the nukes and we sort you out economically...
They give up the nukes but the help always find some excuses before arriving. So people slowly developed some nostalgy toward the old regime, where at least was some bread on the table, and some politicians developed more Moscow-friendly attitudes...
In the mean time, the Worldbank and the IMF become frustrated because after managed to suck dry some countries like Bulgaria and Romania with a great success seen a great opportunity fading away...
So the George Soros and the similar types started feeding the opposition with ideas of revolution and introducing 'democracy' and captured some of the younger generation's mind and radicalise them.
The recepie will follow the Serbian and Georgian models.
Without actual proof of the counts and numbers, they rejects the election result and force the government to give in by frightening with unrest, strikes, civil war and so on...
Then in the name of 'free market' ideas everything valuable will be sold to the west, and the public will slowly shift back to the stone ages...
(it is intersting to remember the Serbian case. At the time it was looking like a 'real' revolution broadcasted by the media, but the following less publicised election shown that the people actually drifted back to the 'original' setup, making it clear that the 'revolution' was fake.)
Ukraine is a large country of 48 million people, with lot of resources but poor....
That is the best sign of disaster.
The current representation of a corrupt soviet style government vs the democratic western-friendly one is a bit slanted.
The real question is that how to drag Ukreine out of poverty?
Paying foreign investors to do that who promising quick success but my disappear with the profit, or try to sort it out 'in-house' with Russian help, so the good part of the profit stays in the country (minus the part lost due corruption)
I do not mind to see more democratic developments there, but in this case I have bad feeling about the 'too much' foreign interests...
Democracy can not sort out all the problems, and I think that democracy is rather a price, a target of a society, and not a magic switch you can turn on and suddenly everything become bright and rosy...
Praying for the Ukrainians bump
Step One: Don't go back to the old teat.
The fact is Soros, France, every leftwing fringe group in the world, and the Chechen terrorists support Yushchenko.
Putin is a man who our President has declared, that he looked into his eyes and saw his soul. Our President has said Putin is a good man.
Putin's guy wants to continue being devoted to the War on Terror, the other guy wants to yank the troops immediately.
I'm sorry but I can't side with the culture of death here, and there candidate is Yushchenko.
Its about the EU vs the US. But its a little more than that. Its the EU and the Islamic terrorists vs the US and Russia. Russia had its attacks in Beslan. Since then he's pledged to fight terror. We've both experienced the battle firsthand, and at least they see the enemy. They didn't go the way of the EU's Spain.
I want to add, its not like its hidden, Yushchenko is the SOCIALIST PARTY CANDIDATE. Socialist for goodness sakes!
Not as it means much....
Today in Hungary the governing party is a leftover ex-communist party.... A socialist party
The previous (recently removed) president was communist-secret-agent-turned-into-a-bank-owner, and the guy after him is one of the most rich man in Hungary
On the other hand, the rightist party is full of middle-lower class people with huge amount of 'social' programs...
I guess that today the hundres of years old labels do not mean much. Would say more to see who is behind them
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