“Yulia is the only man in Ukrainian politics.” This little sentence, very popular in Ukraine, makes smile. Yet, it is a very happy expression which rightly makes think of the Ukrainian passionaria’s temperament...
“Yulia is the only man in Ukrainian politics.” This little sentence, very popular in Ukraine, makes smile. Yet, it is a very happy expression which rightly makes think of the Ukrainian passionaria’s temperament. Raised to the symbol of liberty during the Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko looked like Marianne leading its people on to the barricades. The moral strength and the vertiginous ascent of this glamorous revolutionary fascinated the whole world.
Educated in the Soviet bleakness of Dnipropetrovsk (Eastern Ukraine), young Yulia took advantage of the obscure business world in the “perestroika” context, before she came into politics in the late 1990-ies. Vice Prime Minister from 1999-2001, her tandem with Yushchenko triumphed over the former regime in 2004. Surrounded by the aura of glory, this woman of action acceded to even more power with her becoming Prime Minister immediately afterwards. In 2005 she found herself to be the third most powerful woman in the world according to the magazine Forbes.
A worrisome power and ambition in the eyes of very powerful oligarchs of the country, when this “Iron Lady” with radical methods has undertaken a crusade against corruption. But the struggle for influence within the orange coalition blew up the young government in September 2005, the ensuing political crisis undermined the well-intended ideals of the new regime and the Ukrainians who had gathered a few months earlier in Kyiv felt disillusioned.
The political split between the disfavoured Prime Minister and the Ukrainian President has been to the advantage of yesterday’s enemies. The gas war with Moscow came at just the right time to destabilize even more the governing authorities, Yanukovych and his people returned to power after the legislative elections in March 2006.
In 45, Yulia Tymoshenko does not give in, nonetheless. Ousted from power the attractive opposition leader with porcelain hue keeps hardening and challenging the pro-Russian forces in the Rada (Ukrainian Parliament). Her political bloc is gaining the ground, but her vigorous style and policies remain ambiguous after seven months only at the Head of the Government. Her pro-Western bent appeals to Western Ukraine, yet, her harsh decisions repel Eastern Ukraine turned towards Moscow.
Then, her opponents stir up the past in order to throw a shadow of trouble on her good intentions. From 1995 to 2001, Yulia Tymoshenko’s power grew in the obscure Ukrainian energy sector. Nicknamed “the gas princess” she became one of the richest persons in Ukraine at the time of president Kuchma before turning against the corrupted system and her former colleagues. A betrayal which resulted in 42-days imprisonment in 2001 as well as in her being sued many a time for «fraudulent practices», even in Russia. Yulia Tymoshenko claims it to be a plot, but she must struggle firmly to convince her electors.
She takes good care of her image, that of a woman of strong belief, strict and modern at the same time. She fights on all fronts, as close as possible to people. Her grace and charisma make a contrast on the bleak Ukrainian political landscape. And when she unties her traditional blond plait for a day, this new style image is at once on the tour of the country. The pretty and fiery Yulia knows how to charm an audience and she is well aware of it. She defends the right causes such as democracy and she makes it known. For some she is a fame-seeker, for others she is heroic. Her determination to clean up Ukraine's shadowy post-Soviet economy and politics is truly arresting for everybody.
Despite very tight scheduled days, she does not let her fatigue show. In a quiet atmosphere of her office in the fashionable kyivian district of “Podil”, she welcomes her guests, very neat and feminine. Yulia Tymoshenko gives the impression of a strong woman determined to regain power. And now with two years away from the next presidential elections, she is waiting for her time. For her, “the revolution is not over yet”…
© Cyril Horiszny
