Outside, protesters and police still wait side-by-side for a decisive shift in the crisis.
Posted on 12/01/2004 8:14:32 AM PST by anonymoussierra
The Kremlin is maintaining a wall of silence on Ukraine, apart from saying the political crisis must be resolved without foreign pressure.
However, Russia is clearly watching the events with intense interest.
What happens in Ukraine matters a great deal to Moscow, not least because this could result in another foreign policy blunder for President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian leader visited Ukraine twice during the election campaign, in order to support the pro-Russian candidate, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Mr Putin was also the first foreign leader to congratulate Mr Yanukovych when he was initially declared the winner of the now disputed election.
Russia's blatant intervention makes a mockery of President Putin's accusation that the West is meddling in Ukraine and his statement that no-one should interfere in the electoral process.
The Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, fuelled more controversy when he was welcomed at a pro-Yanukovych rally in eastern Ukraine at the weekend.
Mr Luzhkov's attendance was strongly criticised by Yulia Tymoshenko, the firebrand aide of the Ukrainian opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko.
"Politicians in Russia should simply watch what is happening. Ukrainians can find their own decision, and do what their country needs", said Ms Tymoshenko.
Post-Soviet imperialism?
At the heart of President Putin's foreign policy is a desire to formally maintain Russia's sphere of influence in the Commonwealth of Independent States - the countries that made up most of the Soviet Union.
However, writing in The Moscow Times this week, Nikolai Petrov of the Carnegie Moscow Centre argued that Mr Putin's actions had led to a rise of anti-Russian sentiment in Ukraine and around the world.
"The Kremlin's enormous investment in the Ukrainian election not only failed to strengthen but actually weakened Russia's standing on the world stage", said Mr Petrov.
"This intervention disrupted the Kremlin's ongoing attempt to integrate post-Soviet space, which even before this election, was widely viewed as neo-imperialistic."
Nevertheless, on the domestic front, Mr Putin has moved to place more power in the hands of the Kremlin since the Beslan school siege in the summer, and without much international censure.
The Russian leader is still regarded by the West as an important ally, particularly in the war on terror.
While Ukraine has made no secret of its desire for closer European integration and membership of Nato, President Putin is known to be extremely wary of an enlarged European Union on his doorstep.
Instability
In this highly-charged atmosphere, Mr Putin has been accused by his critics of trying to split Ukraine.
Some in the mainly Russian-speaking east of the country are opposed to any move towards Europe, and have been demanding greater autonomy.
Russia, with important EU trade links in mind, won't want to widen the current rift in EU-Russian relations by aggravating Ukraine's instability.
However, it would not be the first time that Moscow had encouraged separatism in the countries of the former Soviet Union, notably in Georgia and Moldova.
So, might Russia intervene militarily in Ukraine?
The respected Russian defence analyst, Pavel Felgenhauer, thinks such a scenario is highly unlikely.
"Putin's Russia does not have the military power to send in the tanks and dominate foreign countries", says Mr Felgenhauer.
"We cannot even bring Chechnya into line. What could we hope to achieve in Ukraine, with its rebellious population of nearly 50 million?"
Outside, protesters and police still wait side-by-side for a decisive shift in the crisis.
She has a lot at stake in this election. She is wanted on corruption charges in Russia after money laundering millions and then fleeing to Kuchma's protection. Being in government grants her immunity.
But I wonder if the BBC considers Putin's die hard backing of Bush (as in the only leader to vocally support Bush's reelection, something ole Blair, Sharon or Berlusconi didn't dare say a word about) as a foreign relations blunder?
55% of Russian's backed Bush vs something like 15% of Brits. Do the math on the next British elections.
Sorry, last time I checked, the Communists in Russia had 13% of parliment and in Poland they were reelected to run the government.
Thank you
Oh and all those poor oligarchs like Berezovsky and Gusinsky enjoy your moral support. They'll continue to pay you back by sponsoring the American Democratic party, or didn't you know they all belonged to the Friends of Gore club?
If you talking that way I tell you that in Poland there is NO communist party, it is socialistic. In this party 80% of members never been in communistic party and the rest had there not important functions. In Russia except of Yabloko every party is communistic. Of course you don’t care about it, because you are Russian propagandist.
In Russia except of Yabloko every party is communistic.
Really? Wow, better tell that to Rodina, to SRS, to the Greens or a dozen other parties. The communists have 13% of the vote there, from what I recall of the last elections. Yablaka is a semi-socialist party.
Russian Federation (1:4 Parties & Organizations)Last updated:
Back to Europe
Na Maydane prodolzhaet narod bastovat', eshche pobedy net. Khotya segodnya mozhno skazat', chto odna pobeda uzhe est' - ehto otpravleno pravitel'stvo vo glave s Yanukovichem v otstavku. No Yanukovich zayavil, chto ehto ne legetimnoe reshenie. Na chto glava parlamenta Litvin otvetil, chto on s chlenami ego pravitel'stvo uzhe v otstavke i ehto zakonno i ne nado soglasiya prezidenta. Seychas u nas snova Kvasnevskiy i Solana, a zavtra priezzhayut nablyudateli s Evrosoyuz, ikh mnogo budet.More (9/17-12/01 2004) here"On Maidan the people continue to demonstrate, there is still no victory, although today one can say that there already is one victory - the government with Yanukovich at its head has been fired. But Yanukovich declared, that it's not a legitimate decision. Head of parliament Litvin answered that he (Yanukovich) and members of his government are already fired and that it is legal and doesn't require the president's agreement. Kvasnevskiy and Solana are here once again, while tomorrow observers from the European Union are coming, there will be a lot of them."
Yushchenko kazhdiy vecher pristupaet na Maydane i rasskazyvaet lyudyam o proiskhodyashchikh sobytiyakh i resul'tatakh peregovorov, a takzhe ubezhdaet vsekh prodolzhat' bor'bu. Za nim idut milliony i otstupat' nikto ne nameren. Na Maidane seychas nakhoditsya bol'she 500 tysyach chelovek, a vchera posle Verkhovnoy Rady bylo bol'she milliona lyudey. Televidenie pokazyvaet vse sobytiya na Maydane v pryamon ehfire. Ilona kazhdiy vecher na Maydane. MOLODETS!!!
"Every evening Yushchenko speaks on the Maidan and tells the people about the goings on and the results of the talks, and also convinces everyone to continue the struggle. Millions follow him and no one is willing to give up. On Maidan right now are more than 500 thousand people, while yesterday after the parliament there was more than a million. The television shows all the events on Maidan live. Ilona every evening is on the Maidan. GOOD GIRL!!!!"
Otpravila tebe nezakonchennoe pis'mo potomu, chto ishezaet informatsiya, a ya neskol'ko raz ne smogu pisat' odno i tozhe, ustayu. Kristina peredaet tebe privet ogromniy. Begu kormit' svoikh geroev, prishli s Maydana.
"I sent you an unfinished letter because the information kept disappearing, but I can't write the same thing over and over again, I'm tired. Kristina sends you a huge greeting. I'm off to feed my heroes who have just come from Maidan."
Dzieki
Excellent.
Great posting of pictures, thanks for the pings!!
niema za co :}}}
bump n ping!
Thanks!
An honest question for you Lukasz... What is the difference between socialism and communism?
_Please_ do not let all the hard work your (our) ancestors have done to keep Poland alive (and now free) come undone because of socialism. You must move away from government control and not be duped by the word game (socialism = communism). Otherwise, you are only a step away from being under control once again.
For the sake of Poland and the good of its people it is imperative you and your countrymen (and women) understand this basic fact!
From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
COMMUNISM:
Main Entry: com·mu·nism
Pronunciation: 'käm-y&-"ni-z&m
Function: noun
Etymology: French communisme, from commun common
1 a : a theory advocating elimination of private property b : a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed
2 capitalized a : a doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian socialism and Marxism-Leninism that was the official ideology of the U.S.S.R.
b : a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production
c : a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably
d : communist systems collectively
SOCIALISM:
Main Entry: so·cial·ism
Pronunciation: 'sO-sh&-"li-z&m
Function: noun
1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
(I have below used an online translator to put these dictionary entries in Polish. I apologize if it's harder to understand the translation than the English. It doesn't look to me to be that good of a translation.)
Translation from Poltran.com...
komunizm
1: teoria broni¹cy eliminacja prywatnego posiadania (maj¹tek)
2:(Spieniê¿any - Komunizm)
A: doktryna osadza³a na rewolucyjny (rewolucjonista) *Marxian* socjalizm i *Marxism-Leninism* który by³ oficjalna ideologia *U.S.S.R*.
B: a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production
C: koñcowa scena (stadium) spo³eczeñstwa w Marksistowskiej teorii w którym pañstwo (stan) wysuszy³ (wysch³) daleko i ekonomiczne towarki s¹ rozprowadzane *equitably*
D: Komunistyczne systemy kolektywnie
Socjalizm :
1: Wszelki rozmaitego ekonomicznego i politycznych teorii broni¹cy zbiorowa albo rz¹dowa w³asnoœæ i administracja œrodków produkcji i podzia³u (dystrybucja) towarek
2: a:system spo³eczeñstwa albo grupa (grupowaæ; grupowy) ¿yj¹cy (mieszkaj¹cy; zamieszkanie) w którym nie ma ¿adnego prywatnego posiadania (maj¹tek) b: system albo stwarzaæ warunki dla (warunek; pod warunkiem) spo³eczeñstwa w którym œrodki produkcji s¹ posiadane i kierowany przez pañstwo (stan)
3: scena (stadium) spo³eczeñstwa w Marksistowskiej teorii przejœciowy miêdzy kapitalizmem i komunizmem i rozró¿ni³ (rozró¿niony; odró¿ni³) przez *unequal* podzia³ (dystrybucja) towarek i p³ac¹ zgodnie z prac¹ zrobi³ (zrobiony)
Thanks for the pings! I appreciate it!
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