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Monday, January 21, 2008



A Macho Mayor at Lutsenko’s Police Academy


Much of Ukrainian politics can be construed as a one-way contact sport whereby a bunch of ballsy individuals bang the people silly in every conceivable way.

They turn power into money, and money into power. They turn votes into poverty, and poverty into votes. This perpetual bliss is called stabilnist, and it's the only thing that turns them on.


But when something — or someone — threatens to disrupt stabilnist and turn it into a two-way street, it’s nothing short of Apocalypse for them. The angels of stabilnist start crying blue murder. They can’t get enough of that sexy time!

Undoubtedly, the Lutsenko-Chernovetsky episode involved behavioral patterns that broke the rules of civil conduct. But there’s more to it.

By bringing the land issue out in the open, this episode also broke the not-so-secret behavioral code whereby political opponents often treat each other like friends, but treat their voters like shit. It’s the same code that helps certain individuals in the Kyiv City Council find common ground — or should we say, common land — and force Kyivites on the sidelines. At the end of the day, the people play by the rules while the politicians they vote for play with the rules.

Below is a fragment from Savik Shuster’s Svoboda talk show on Inter. The program aired Friday night, hours after the act. Lutsenko joins the studio on the phone, at approximately 04:00 minutes into this video.



Yuriy Lutsenko, Minister of the Interior: Good evening, dear Savik! Good evening everyone who’s watching and listening. Uh, I couldn’t miss this broadcast, despite having promised not to make statements for the media during the first 100 days of my office as Minister of the Interior. I will tell you briefly why today’s incident took place, and will outline it.

Today, a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council was held on the issue of land grabs in Ukraine. Uh, many different officials said feel-good things, and I was one of them. Without naming names, I cited cases of utter land lawlessness and land grabs of thousands of hectares worth of priceless Kyiv land — all of it without reference to the incumbent Mayor of Kyiv. I talked about similar things happening in Kyiv oblast and in the Crimean Autonomous Republic.

As the meeting drew to a close, I offered a hands-on solution. The Office of the Prosecutor-General should not just challenge the illegal activity of, say, the Kyiv City Council — which has already started pillaging hospitals, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Kyiv Fortress and so on — but to file charges and attach these contested land plots so that they will not pass into the hands of con artists.

After all the attendees favored the initiative to form a joint task force of Prosecution, MoI, and SBU, and to set up special land courts — for this problem concerns all of Ukraine — I finished my speech. After this, there was a statement by Chernovetsky, who said the following: “Viktor Andriyovych [Mr. President], Lutsenko extorted me for land, allegedly for police purposes, and if I refused, he promised to arrest my son.”

I was shocked. I remember one occasion…I met with Chernovetsky twice in my life: once at a Kyiv City Council session, and once in my office. So once — before the [2006 parliamentary] elections, before he became head of the City Council — he called me and told me that the former Kyiv City prosecutor is putting the pressure on a law enforcement officer to arrest my son, Stepan Chernovetsky, before the elections, on suspicion of involvement in the housing fraud of the Elita Center, which stole hundreds of millions worth of people’s money invested in the construction of dwellings.

I said, “Mr. Chernovetsky, here’s my credo: ‘I don’t fight the kids. This is a no-go.’” So I gave an order to Kyiv police to interrogate Mr. Stepan Chernovetsky, son of the incumbent Mayor, after the elections, so that it would not be exploited in the political faceoff. And when today he brutally exploited this — and turned the issue on its head — I was shocked. I said it was a lie. After that, 20 minutes passed. The meeting of the National Security and Defense Council finished. The President thanked everyone for a job well done and, accompanied by other officials, left.

I called out to Chernovetsky and said he was a liar — that he was the bastard in this situation, for normal people don’t act this way. I made a human thing, keeping in mind that even the Sicilian mafia doesn’t fight the kids, least of all the Ukrainian government. [Comment: The Sicilian mafia in La Piovra behaves differently. And much of the Ukrainian government, in fact, does behave like mafia.] And for this I got backstabbed with an absolutely untruthful and sordid accusation.

After that, Mr. Chernovetsky — in a manner he’s been acting all his life — hit me cunningly in the knee that still hurts from the days of Maidan. I’ve just been to the hospital and have made all the arrangements to document this. I gave Chernovetsky a face slap — all the governors have seen it. With the palm of my hand, I gave a man’s, or manly, if you like, slap to a person who lies and schemes in his position as Mayor of Kyiv. I must disappoint Mr. Oles Dovhy [Deputy Mayor of Kyiv, 27]. I will not make apologies, for I believe that it was an absolutely mean act — heaping lies on me after all I had done.

Oles Dovhy, Deputy Mayor of Kyiv: It’s not Chernovetsky you should seek apologies from, but from the people, and that’s it.

Yuriy Lutsenko: It’s absolutely mean to hide behind the President’s back, and it’s absolutely mean to hit a man in the knee under the table, for I know who does it — it’s jailbirds who do this. Apparently this skill will come in handy for Mr. Chernovetsky. But someplace else. I’m not going to apologize, and I believe that I acted as a human, as a citizen, and finally, as Lutsenko. In this case, I can understand Mr. Chernovetsky: He will buy off everything, just as he bought off Kyiv. He will buy off the doctors, he will buy himself a medical certificate [as proof of battery], and let him do it. I will remain Lutsenko and am not going to apologize to scoundrels and thugs.

Savik Shuster, Host: Thank you. That’s it.
Oles Dovhy, Deputy Mayor: Lastly…

Savik Shuster: Subject closed.
Oles Dovhy: I would like to add some detail…

Savik Shuster: No, subject closed. We have to take a commercial break.
Oles Dovhy: I didn’t ask…

Savik Shuster: Please, Mr. Dovhy [roar of applause]… That’s it. We’re closing. That’s it. We’ve heard both sides.
Oles Dovhy: I didn’t ask Mr. Lutsenko to apologize to Leonid Mykhailovych [Chernovetsky]. I would like to ask him to apologize...

Savik Shuster: …to the nation....
Oles Dovhy: …to the people…

Savik Shuster: That’s it. Thank you. We’ll be right back after the commercial break.


Below is an audio fragment from ICTV’s Svoboda Slova talk show, the arch-rival of Inter’s Svoboda — which Savik Shuster cloned when he changed channels last year. Chernovetsky can be heard licking his wounds in a rather pathetic way.



Leonid Chernovetsky, Mayor of Kyiv: He stormed out of the crowd, and hit me twice…uh…in places that men usually take pride in — that’s point number one.

Andriy Kulykov, Host: You mean the head, right? [Comment: What kind of sick freak are you? Can’t you think of anything else? Hasn’t it ever occurred to you that some powerful men in this country take pride in “places” other than the head?]

Leonid Chernovetsky: And point number two, he hit me in the face with his fist, and instantly he was held back by several ministers and administration chiefs. Of course, I naturally pulled myself forward to fight him back, but to my greatest disappointment, I didn’t have the opportunity. Now, that was a nightmare! Just imagine, what should we do in a country where a minister, in the presence of the country’s key figures, punches someone in the face and crotch?


Damn, I thought that turning the other cheek — or whatever — was the Christian thing to do. Isn’t it what you stabilnist folks preach to us?

Joking aside, most Kyivites would agree that Lutsenko and Chernovetsky owe them an explanation. After all, analysts consider them the two major contenders for the job, should mayoral early elections be held as promised by the Orange camp.

In the spirit of clean fighting, the two should settle the score by taking independently monitored polygraph tests on the land issue and by reporting the test results to the public. Let the public see whose side of the story has more truth to it.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” as the CIA motto goes.

Sources:
http://censor.net.ua/go/offer/ResourceID/73775.html
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zxVOMRZhO2E

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

In reference to the following which was mentioned by Lutsenko - yes, there are attempts to take 2,500 hectares of land from Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (which btw is a UNESCO World Heritage protected site)

http://www.unian.net/ukr/news
/news-231773.html

The monastery leases a land holding in the Boryspil area 40 km outside Kyiv near the airport which it leases. In good times the funds from raising livestock and growing grain, an bring in 3,000 USD daily to the Monastery. The going price for the land is 10-15,000 USD for one hectare.(The Boryspil area is known for some very highly suspect land deals and a highly respected lawyer who fought for villager rights was recently shot outside his home.)Though of course there is a moratorium on land sales completely but there are ways and means that circumvent the ban.

(I think I understood the article correctly but welcome any corrections.)

Luida

Anonymous said...

You hit the nail squarely on the head!!!!!

Lutsenko has broken the "code of dishonor."

And there's Chernovetsky, whining about how he didn't have the chance to hit Lutsenko back.

Yeah, right.

The little Martian is undoubtedly relieved and thankful that someone held Lustenko back.

Chernovetsky looks to me like a schoolyard cry-baby.

This is a tempest in a teapot, as far as any "fighting" is concerned.

But it sure blew the lid off the code of stabilnist.

Good job, Lutsenko!

Taras said...

Luida,

As I understand, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra pays the villagers a joke of a rent. But the price the dealers offer them appears to be even more of a joke.

According to this report, the average price of a sotka (1/100 of a hectare) of Boryspil rayon land went from $4,002 in January 2007 to $6,012 in May 2007. Do the math.

I can’t believe the UNIAN report says nothing about that, except for a vague mention of the wholesale factor.

If those people sell, they will get robbed big time.

Elmer,

It is indeed a tempest in a teapot, considering the trials and tribulations of Kyivites during the two years of Chernoco's rule.

Anonymous said...

«An ambulance was called to the mayor’s reception room on Friday. After an examination, Chernovetskyi was diagnosed with closed craniocerebral injury and provided with first medical aid,» the report reads.

According to the report, Chernovetskyi is on sick leave.
http://www.ukranews.com/eng/article
/96402.html

Lutsenko called it correctly as that Cherno would go with injury.
Luida

Anonymous said...

http://www.ukranews.com/eng/article
/96196.html
"...after the scuffle and especially after the inadequate behavior of Chernovetskyi after the scuffle, the low rating of the mayor has declined significantly. Chernovetskyi should not have made a victim of himself. Instead, he should have stressed that such methods of political communication are inadmissible," Situations Modeling Agency Deputy Director Oleksii Holobutskyi said.

According to him, Lutsenko has started the campaign on snap elections of the Kyiv mayor.

"Lutsenko can stand future scandals and accusations from the opposition for a while, resign loudly, and start the election campaign. He is a hero in the eyes of an essential part of voters in Kyiv," the expert said. "

Lutsenko for Mayor? He could go for it and Kyivites would be behind him.

Luida

Taras said...

Speaking of head injury, I recall a December 2006 episode in which Titan riot police dressed in civvies were summoned to the Kyiv City Council to quell a BYuT rebellion against the 300 percent utility hike.

A BYuT member sustained a concussion. Check out these reports in Ukrainian:

UkrPravda1
UkrPravda2
UkrPravda3
ProUA1
ProUA2
ProUA3

Anonymous said...

While pro-Cherno supporters are picketing and Cherno's right hand guy is calling for Lutsenko to apologize - a demonstration is taking place "Give Chernovetsky a bashing" organized by a People's Self Defense deputy "I - Kyivite" where dvds are being handed out with the flim "Land in Illumination" and green ribbons with the words "Stop Chernovertsky"
http://www.unian.net/ukr/news
/news-232039.html

Luida

Orest said...

Let every politician in the land take a lie detector test and then we will see the real truth come out. Because as we all well know the "truth is out there".

Taras said...

ROFL:)! That’s not the whole story, though! So let me be your humor consultant:)

“Zemlya v illuminatore” (the Earth through the porthole) is a multilevel wordplay on “Lyonya Kosmos” and the land issue.

It is the first verse of “Trava u Doma” (“The Grass at Home”), a space travel-themed hit song of the 80s performed by Zemlyane (The Earthlings).

Anonymous said...

Just a bit more comedy - or farce.

Yushchenko has ordered an investigation into "The Slap."

"The Slap Heard 'Round Ukraine."

Soooo - let's investigate slaps.

But let's not investigate corruption or thievery.

And most certainly, let's not actually do anything about corruption or thievery in government.

I think I have a headache.

Taras said...

Join the club, Elmer.

This is standard corruption-fighting procedure in Ukraine. "The Slap" takes priority over "The Substance"

Orest,

If every Ukrainian politician took a lie detector test, the world would run out of lie detectors.

So, not to put a strain on the world polygraph supply, I’d start with the two politicians I’ve already selected. But, to tell you the truth, here in Ukraine it already sounds a little utopian.

Yep, Ukraine is definitely one of those “the-truth-is-out-there” places.