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Monday, February 01, 2010

Yanikevich, Yakunovich, Belakovich, Yakubovich... Crimeans Misspel Yanukovych

Krasnoperekopsky rayon, Crimea, Ukraine
Ukrainians, 43.4%
Russians, 33.2%
Crimean Tatars, 17.2%
Belarusians, 1.2%
Molodovans, 0.6%
Poles, 0.3%

In this predominantly Russian-speaking rayon (county), some people got it right: Yanukovich (Rus) or Yanukovych (Ukr).

Others got it wrong. Some people even misspell the Party of Regions!



Yanukovich (it’s Yulia we don’t trust and it’s Yanukovich we respect)
Yanikevich
Party of the Region
Party of Ragions
Yanukevich-Party of Regions
Fiodorych
Party of the Ragion
Yanakovich-Belakovich-Yanikovich (if he raises pensions)
Yanukovich
Yubkovis
Yanukovych
Yanukovich
Nik...Yanukovych
Yukovich
Yanukovych
Yankovich
Yanukovich
Yanukovich
Yakunovich
Viktor Yakonovich only
Yaku...Yakunovich
Yankovych, Yankovych only
Yanukevich
Yakunovich
Yankovich
This...what’s his name…Yakuboivich
Yakubovich
Yakubovich
Yakunov...Yakunovych
Yaknukovych
Yanyukovich
This...Yankevich...or what’s his name?
Yanukovych (there’s a million parties out there)
Yakunovich-Yakunovich-Yakunovich (Man 2: I voted for him last time — he didn’t make it, and this time... Man 3: For him only! Man 1: Yakunovich! He’s a stable man, he’s a stable man. Last time — last time — he didn’t make it... Man 2: That’s right! There were changes when he was PM — changes for the better.)


Talk about groupthink.

H/t WolandDeMorg on Twitter

Video embedded from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ZJnv7bh38

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Well, they seem to be like vilage dwellers for me. In remote settlements I don't think so that Hungarian citizens are familiar with parties and politicians.

Lingüista said...

That's right -- the problem of democracy: how people solidify into I-already-know-it rather than keeping an open mind. But it's an international phenomenon: the Americans have the birthers, those who think Obama=Osama, those who say "President Hussein", those who believe he is a Communist, or a Nazi, or a Commie-Nazie, or a Socialist, or that he is changing the country into something thoroughly un-American...

khabar said...

Timoshonka...

Taras said...

Ropi,

Rural yes, remote no — not geographically, at least:)

Compared to Russia, Ukraine is a densely populated country. Crimea is not the only Russified region of Ukraine, but it’s the only region where ethnic Russians outnumber ethnic Ukrainians.

I laughed my ass off listening to all these versions. I even thought it was some sort of negative astroturfing. But having interviewed some people on the streets of Kyiv, I can only say you never know.


Lingüista,

Americans can be babes in the woods about many things, including geography. Still, I can’t think of any accurate analogy to this video.

Things can change if Blagojevic runs for president:)


Khabar,

Any related man-on-the-street interviews:)?

khabar said...

Taras,

my youtube is blocked.

I have a map, though.
Human Development Index in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UN_Human_Development_Report_2009.PNG

I wonder whom you guys should thank for that yellow spot in the green field is not orange yet?

Taras said...

Khabar,

I think we should thank ourselves: for not holding our government accountable and for not moving up the ladder.

I’ve raised this subject repeatedly. Oligarchy (kleptocratic commoditism) hurts human development, whether it’s a boom or a bust.

Whether it’s autocratic or democratic, oil-and-gas or metals-and-chemicals, richer or poorer, it only goes so far.

I do support capital punishment for corruption.

But I don’t support a “dictatorship of law” over the rule of law.

Lingüista said...

I'm wondering, Taras... Is Yanukovych a 'difficult' name, in Russian or in Ukrainian? Could this explain the trouble in remembering it, at least for some of these people?

Blagojevic for president -- now there's a thought I hadn't had... :-)

khabar said...

Georgia as well is placed in the same "yellow" category.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/UN_Human_Development_Report_2009.PNG
They don't have commodities of their own, if one doesn't count Azeri oil flowing through pipes on their territory for a source of a serious revenue. :)
I for one, think that HDI is more socialist-slanted index, even if such opposite approaches as in the US and Canada are resulted in "dark green".

As for "dictatorship of law" this mem jumped as antithese to both "dictatorship of proletariat of the 80s" and "dictatorship of capital of the 90s" and are not being mentioned so often anymore.
A bit off-topic, but when they were opening special economic zone here in Sovetskaya Gavan, it took, the tellie said, Federal legislation change so that this particular regional project could have been realized.
If true, this is the way to "the rule of law".