Offsetting Populism

The Constitutional Court is bringing social policy out of the legislative field to be manually managed by the government. This signals preparations for the election

The President's Secret Service

Whose interests will the new SBU Chief protect?

Court on Demand

The Constitutional Court is losing its reputation as an independent arbiter and is turning into yet another component of the presidential hierarchy

Lawyer Oleksiy Bahanets: “Not a Single Witness in Court Said That Yuriy Lutsenko Was Guilty”

Court hearings in the Yuriy Lutsenko case are over. So are lawyers’ debates. Just days ago, Kyiv Pechersk District Court ruled that the verdict would be announced on February 27. Apparently, prosecutors feel they have to rush, possibly to forestall the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights

Investigators On the Rise

Several law enforcement officers who were responsible for producing cases against Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko have been promoted. Intriguingly, almost all of them have been moved to Ivano-Frankivsk

Life After Euro 2012

If the Ukrainian government does not change its domestic policies, the country will face international isolation and subjugation to Russia after the 2012 European Football Championship

European Integration For the Sake of Appearance

Ukraine failed to make good on its commitments in its first year in the Energy Community and wants to pass the buck to the EU

The Price of Uncertainty

Ukraine is losing the fight for Azerbaijani gas to the more aggressive Russia and Turkey

Shot In the Foot

The current government is incapable of improving social justice even as it scrambles to imitate efforts to do so ahead of the autumn parliamentary election

How Ukrainians Turn Into Russians

In the past two decades, the number of people who identify themselves as Ukrainians and their share in Russia’s population has dropped in half.

Constrained Freedom: the Government is Cleansing the Information Space Prior to the Election

The closer the 2012 parliamentary election is, the more actively the government is curbing freedom of expression

Chairman of the PACE Socialist Group Andreas Gross: Kyiv May see Another Maidan

Andreas Gross criticized the actions of the Party of Regions, a political partner of the group he heads, in his interview with The Ukrainian Week

Davos and Cherry Varenyky

Attendees at the 2012 World Economic Forum in Davos primarily discussed the future of capitalism and a coming “great transformation.” Guests at Viktor Pinchuk’s “Ukrainian dinner” were told, unconvincingly, that Kyiv is on the right track.

Korolevska's Gambit

Will Natalia Korolevka’s ambitions work in favor of the ruling party?

In Search of a Scam for Two

The plans to decrease Ukraine’s dependence on Russian gas disclosed by Mr. Azarov’s Cabinet are still nothing more than a populist campaign. Thus, they look like yet another “mutually beneficial” deal with the Russian Federation

Energy Quasi-Empire

Some post-soviet republics have staunchly chosen to diversify their energy flows. As a result, they are successfully exiting the trap of energy dependence

What Impressed You Most in 2011?

Historians, diplomats, writers and musicians share their brightest memories of 2011 with The Ukrainian Week

French Accent

Alain Guillemoles talks about what the French don’t know about Gazprom and Ukrainians don’t realize about their own energy prospects

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Pipes

Russia’s gas talks with Ukraine are just a small element of its geopolitical game. The jackpot is control over energy supply to Europe

A Soft Wall

The Ukrainian government may lose its last allies in Europe with its intransigence on human rights and political repression

Agenda For The Opposition

The coming parliamentary election may be an incentive to change the situation in the country if the opposition manages to rise to higher-quality politics

The Family Holds the Reins

A recent reshuffle in the government reveals how much power Bankova Str. has concentrated in its hands

The Council of Europe Is Not Ready to Make Ultimatums

Although the conclusion of the PACE resolution on Ukraine contains a paragraph, which in principle allows the imposition of sanctions, none of the heads of this international organization are actually ready to define such possibility.

Political Retribution

"Tymoshenko case is more political than the Khodorkovsky case"

An Opinion Poll (Part II)

On 15 December 2011, the PACE Monitoring Committee unanimously approved the Draft Resolution titled The Functioning of Democratic Institutions in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Week has interviewed Ukrainian and European politicians to learn their opinion on the developments PACE finds disturbing in Ukraine

An Opinion Poll (Part I)

On 15 December 2011, the PACE Monitoring Committee unanimously approved the Draft Resolution titled The Functioning of Democratic Institutions in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Week has interviewed Ukrainian and European experts, lawyers and political analysts to learn their opinion on the developments PACE finds disturbing in Ukraine