On January 29, 1918, 400 Ukrainian cadets defended Kyiv against 4,000 invading Bolshevik troops, as Bolshevik Russia sought to overthrow Ukraine’s independent government.
The love-bombing air assault continues. They need every vote they can get.
Tymoshenko goes after Tihipko-Yatsenyuk-Yushchenko voters. Yanukovych stands little chance of winning over Yatsenyuk-Yushchenko voters, but he does have some chance with Tihipko voters.
Channel 1+1 follows both candidates on their campaign trails.
Same rallies, same concerts, same receptions, same promises, same interviews, same endorsements.
Yanukovych in Mykolayiv: I don't get much sleep at night, but I think everything will be alright.
Your powerful voice has been heard all over Ukraine.
Tymoshenko in Lviv: I want to ask you to help me not to lose this main, important battle of this particular presidential election.
More updates. In Kyiv, where people break bones on icier-than-ever sidewalks or burn themselves by falling into negligently open manholes, Yanukovych scored 16%. This prompted Deputy Mayor Irena Kilchytska to declare herself a Yanukovych supporter.
Speaking at a rally in Lviv, Tymoshenko also said this: “Had I lived in 1918-1919, I would have definitely been among the Sich Riflemen. Because it was a real struggle for the freedom and glory of Ukraine.”
With Ukraine still part of the USSR, the move symbolized the Ukrainian resurgence (or rather its early perestroika-driven signs) after centuries of foreign domination.
If you’re looking for a parody of the Orange Revolution, look here.
They didn’t make it to Kyiv as grassroots protesters five years ago. Now they have their chance — as paid political tourists — outside the Central Election Commission building.
(The practice has gained currency since the decline of the Orange Revolution and has been employed by Yushchenko, Tymoshenko and Yanukovych alike.)
Some look joyful. Some look drunk. Some look stupid. Some blame Yanukovych for going unpaid for hours. Some huddle before the cameras to prevent the reporters from shooting the scene.
Let me take the liberty — and the headache — to translate the refrain of this love song.
Russian singer Nikolai Baskov: I’m not afraid to tell you that I hate us to be apart From dusk till dawn I’ll be the one who needs your answer On the spot
And I’m not afraid to insist That your love for me persist The woman in white you put up a fight This heart of mine could not resist
Baskov: The most beautiful woman of Ukraine, dressed in white, Yulia Tymoshenko! Russian singer Alla Pugacheva: Nikolai Baskov and Yulia Tymoshenko!
Baskov: This was the dance of the year! I hope Ukrainians will remember it. I’ve never had such a luscious woman dressed in white.Pugacheva: Come on! Quit lying!
Baskov: By the way... Pugacheva: Come on, come on...
Baskov: Yulia Vladimirovna, by the way, I’m single. [audience explodes with laughter] Pugacheva: You know, quit kissing up please! We just made the Prime Minister feel good because — what, everyone’s having fun, dancing — and she’s working, working. Hahaha!
Here you go: 1 kilo of rice+1 kilo of vermicelli+1 bottle of sunflower oil+1 can of condensed milk. Drink responsibly! Courtesy of MP Oleksandr Dubovy (BYuT).
When interviewed, they say it’s from Tymoshenko. They say it’s bribery. They say it’s basically their own money. And they take it.
In Greece, they would have torched the whole place. In Ukraine, they complain and let the slave mentality take over.
In rural Ukraine, they take those hard-to-get certificates of land ownership — a pork barrel cause championed by Tymoshenko and frowned upon by the OSCE.
How many of those who take Tymoshenko handouts will vote for her? I don’t know.
All I know is Chernovetsky scored 32% of the vote — twice — with his handout campaign in Kyiv.
She believes in every one of us being a bovine believer in her holiness.
PM/presidential candidate Tymoshenko: My darlings, I cordially greet you with the bright holiday of Christmas! More than two thousand years ago, in Bethlehem, baby Jesus was born, the one who changed the world. The Lord came to earth and gave us hope, forgiveness and salvation. His New Testament became the firmest foundation on which our civilization was built. He gave us the main commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And I dream that humanity will live by this exact rule that we got to know from childhood.
0:00-0:39
Enough.
How on earth did you learn that rule in your childhood? Didn’t you grow up in the atheist city of Dnipropetrovsk in the ‘60s like I grew up in the atheist city of Kyiv in the ‘80s? Didn’t you marry the son of a Communist Party boss? (I didn’t.)
You love your voter as yourself? Tell it to Jesus.
If you live in the land of the “Ukrainian Bell Carol” but speak Russian only, he’s your man.
Presidential candidate Yanukovych: New Year and Christmas are again coming to our house — with goodness, with hope, with faith that we all will be better off. I know we can overcome the difficulties. We’ll find ways to happy and joyful. Our kids will be growing up healthy. There will be tranquility and abundance in our every family. Accord, peace and prosperity will again rule supreme in our state.
0:00-0:33
He forgot to mention one of his elixirs of tranquility and abundance:
Medvedev: This time, Kyiv, we request That you pay us cash for gas Putin: Not those tangos-fandangos And unruly Yushchendogs 1:38-1:45
That’s as closely as I can poetically translate it.
Ющенками (plural declined form) is a portmanteau of Ющенко and щенок (Yushchenko and dog). Literally, щенок means a puppy, but when applied to humans it means a dog.
I first heard this portmanteau during the Orange Revolution, from an elderly Yanukovych supporter who kept screaming “Вы щен-ки! Вы щен-ки!” (“You’re dogs! You’re dogs!”) Vastly outnumbered, she faced a cheering crowd of “Ю-щен-ко! Ю-щен-ко!” (“Yu-shchen-ko! Yu-shchen-ko!”) supporters.
And guess what? Nobody laid a finger on her. Nobody swore at her. Meanwhile, Yanukovych would call Yushchenko supporters “kozly” (“jerks”) and “Orange rats.”
He wouldn’t apologize until the Orange Revolution hit him hard. When he did apologize, he justified himself with a neo-Biblical interpretation of the word kozly (literally, goats) as meaning traitors.
We made the Top 3 grain exporters, leaving Russia far behind.
We did this and that.
We lost 12% of our GDP. No, you don’t want to mention that if you’re a PM who’s running for president.
PM/presidential candidate Tymoshenko: One more thing, my darlings: We can and should take pride in the fact that it was in 2009 that more babies were born in Ukraine than ever since independence! And it’s your joint effort! [giggles] Our joint effort! Because if the country starts setting records in giving birth to Ukrainians, it means we’re really doing fine.
So delayed childbearing means *we’re really doing fine*?
How many more delayed births does it take to stem depopulation and reproduce the almost 7 million people we’ve lost?
