Posted on 07/02/2005 6:27:50 AM PDT by Lukasz
Ukraine's new prime minister, Yulia Timoshenko, accused Russia yesterday of pursuing Stalinist methods.
The comments by the businesswoman turned icon of the "Orange Revolution" showed that strained relations between Kiev and Moscow have little chance of improving while she is in office.
Betraying contempt for Russia's political establishment, she described the refusal of its prosecutor-general to drop fraud charges against her as an "ineffective attempt to break unwanted politicians".
Mrs Timoshenko, 44, whose reformist zeal and distinctive braids won her heroine status alongside the presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko when they swept away the old order late last year, cancelled an official visit to Russia two months ago. She had been told that a warrant against her on fraud charges remained in force, and said yesterday that Russia was living in the past if it thought such methods would achieve results.
"Some Russian politicians still pursue out-dated Stalinist methods. But they do not understand that times have changed," she said.
"This is no longer an effective way to break people. Russia has to come to terms with the fact that Ukraine is a strong and independent country with strong, independent politicians."
Russia indicated that it would continue a criminal case against Mrs Timoshenko even though she was now Ukraine's prime minister.
She has rejected charges alleging that she wanted to inflate the price of gas contracts to the Russian military when she ran a gas company in the 1990s, a position that made her the richest businesswoman in the country.
Mrs Timoshenko now plans to restructure Ukraine's gas and oil supplies, which are still linked almost exclusively to Russia. "Perhaps [Russia's prosecution] have got to do with the fact that I am working hard to diversify our interests in the energy sector."
Funny how the murder of several million of one's Countrymen can affect your perspective
Tell it on the mountain. Thattaway girl!
Is she related to this guy?
What Ludasz fails to mention is that the current prime minster of the Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, embezzled gas from Russia. She went from $0 net worth to $11.5 BILLION net worth in just 5 years. The Gas Princess has 4 jet planes and a company of Spetsnaz for body guards.
Yep. That's when they begin calling Putin a Stalinist. Right about the time he starts enforcing laws against criminals.
Ukraine Churches Unite to Defend Christian Ethics Curriculum in Schools (Oranges cut Christians out)
oh this is rich from the unabashed socialist who wants government set prices on the unfree market. Who keeps talking about taking back over 3,000+ businesses, etc.
Why am I not surprised that you find her agreeable?
Julia Timoshenko kept a total of twenty-two bodyguards on her payroll, all former Spetznaz commandos, graduates of the Red Armys most elite killing academy.
The file on her was maddeningly thin, consisting of a few rumpled Ukrainian press clippings of dubious veracity and a number, underlined twice and adorned with large question marks. The number was $11,000,000,000, the gross revenue of Timoshenkos virtually unknown Ukrainian company. Not even Coca-Cola earned that much from its combined international sales.
Could we have lunch later in the week? I quickly agreed.
Good, she smiled. Its all set then. Ill send the plane to you.
Plane?
You can fly down to Dnepropetrovsk in the morning, and the jet will bring you back to Moscow by six.
I tried not to sound over-eager. I can catch a commercial flight. I dont want to tie up your company plane.
Dont worry, laughed Timoshenko. I have four of them.
As we drove along the tarmac, passing a gigantic Antonov cargo plane whose hold gaped open like the mouth of a feeding whale, a sparkling apparition came into view. It was Timoshenkos jet. Its underbelly was painted gold, as was the lettering on the sleek dark-blue fuselage. The letters formed the words Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine, in English on side and in Ukrainian on the other. On the tailfin, rays of a painted sun formed a golden halo around the fiery UESU logo. Have a nice flight.
Along the way, she struck up an alliance with Dnepropetrovsks regional governor, a wily former collective-farm boss by the name of Pavlo Lazarenko. (This was the very same Lazarenko who would end up in a San Francisco jail, charged with large-scale money laundering and receiving seventy-two million dollars directly from Timoshenko . Lazarenko granted Timoshenko the provincial energy concession, making her de facto boss of hundreds of state enterprises, which functioned or shut down operations at her whim.
Timoshenkos big break, however, came on the day of my mugging, when Lazarenko was appointed prime minister of Ukraine. One of his first moves in office was to wrest half a dozen lucrative energy concessions from several big private groups and give Timoshenko a nationawide monopoly on the import and distribution of Russian natural gas.
Thus UESU was born, and Timoshenko gained control over nearly 20 percent of Ukraines gross national product, an enviable position that probably no other private company in the world could boast.
"There have been sins of commission too, especially on economic policy. They've been screwing up, comments one western diplomat in Kiev. The most egregious example came when Ms Timoshenkoa formidable revolutionary, but a rash prime ministerimposed price caps on fuel, alleging an anti-Ukrainian conspiracy by Russian energy firms. Predictably, this measure led to fuel shortages. Mr Yushchenko's intervention to remove the caps provoked a contretemps; the president was rumoured to have suggested that the prime minister might consider resigning. Other missteps include a failure to pass the measures needed to get Ukraine into the World Trade Organisation."
Timoshenko's a loose cannon and an incompetent. This Orange Revolution turned out to be a farce.
Thanks for posting Lukasz. I know of no requirement for you to substantiate anything about anyone in an article written by someone else.
Those of us who read are responsible to understand what's being said and judge the authorship as well as what the posters support.
Not everyone is in favor of liberty for all. Russia and Russia lovers head the lists.
Ukraine may need to grow into freedom and they may have to keep some scummy company until they can decide who is a builder, who is a profiteer and who intends to destroy their bid for true independence no maatter the source. It is also hard to untangle webs of the destroyer types so that takes time and clear sighted faithfulness.
I don't think I have ever seen such an open admission of russophobia.
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