Ukrainiana

Even Without Shyrka, We Still Have Zasyadka

What did I miss? Here’s a recap of all major events that escaped my blog while I was out of town:

No shyrka, at least not yet. The ‘NUNS on the Run’ turned themselves in after meeting with President Yushchenko, or so it seems. In other words, they acceded to the Orange Coalition agreement. Let’s see what happens next week, when it comes to the Speaker vote.

Zasyadka redux. There was another mine accident on Saturday. 44 miners were hospitalized, two of them in critical condition. No fatalities, so far. Vice Premier Andriy Klyuev, a miner early in his career, vowed to close the most dangerous area of the mine. (As though the 101-person death toll from the accident two weeks ago wasn’t enough ground.)

Coalition bribery caught on candid camera? On Friday, BYuT went public with cell phone videos of what it claims are attempts by MP Volodymyr Sivkovych, PRU, and former BYuT member Mykhailo Brodsky to bribe Orange MPs into sabotaging the Orange Coalition. MP Sivkovych, a former KGB operative, refuted the allegation and called the videos an invasion of privacy, arguing that the conversation had nothing to do with bribery. He also filed a complaint with the Office of the Prosecutor-General.

Natural gas prices to rise a little more, payable in roubles. Gazprom talks about revising next year’s anticipated price of $160 per 1,000 cubic meters to as high as $190, citing accelerating price deals with Turkmenistan. The Russian gas monopoly also insists on switching the trading from dollars to roubles. And by the way, Russia holds parliamentary elections today.

Lytvyn strategist shot dead. Oleh Sheremet, the man who liaised with a team of American public relations consultants in the Lytvyn Bloc campaign, was murdered on Friday night. Sheremet also ran a consultancy that dealt with lucrative land issues in Boryspil rayon (county) neighboring Kyiv to the east.

The upcoming week, a litmus test for the Orange Coalition, is going to be packed with events.

Sources:
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2007/12/1/67688.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2007/12/1/67685.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2007/12/1/67680.htm