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

Going Round In Circles

The Council of Europe reports look discouragingly similar

The Presumption of Guilt

Thomas Hammarberg, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, talks about his mission in Ukraine, the local judiciary system and the Tymoshenko case

Courtroom Drama

Valentyna Telychenko: "Dependent courts are a bigger problem for Ukraine than the imperfect Criminal Code"

Ukrainian Justice - Perception and Practice

Mikael Lyngbo: Ukraine has decent legislation,but gaps in procedural process

Potemkin and Kafka: Ukraine’s “New Method” For Fighting Corruption

Corruption is a big problem in Ukraine. The country's ranking on Transparency International's list of corrupt nations in 2010 dropped to number 134 in the world

The Importance of Values

Andres Herkel: 'The problem of Ukrainian politics consists of the perception that deputies' money is more important than their personal traits.'

Freedom House: We Will Continue To Tell the Truth

Freedom House President David Kramer: “It looks like Ukrainian leaders are using the judiciary to prosecute their opponents” *

The Need for an Internal Factor

The country in which tortures and inhuman jail conditions are of a norm could not negotiate on the Association Agreement

PACE is Concerned. What’s Next ?

The Draft PACE Resolution outlines the problems with democracy in Ukraine, but does not provide for any sanctions

Judicial Takeover

Those in power have removed all barriers from the path to a loyal Supreme Court

Hurdles for NGOs

Ukraine’s public organizations are hampered by outdated legislation and red tape

“Those In Power View Us As Antibodies Who Must Be Isolated And Destroyed”

Yuriy Lutsenko told The Ukrainian Week about the manner in which Ukrainian courts interpret justice, why Orange politicians lost power and his future plans

Justice in Kyiv

The government has failed to convince either Ukrainians or the international community that the Tymoshenko case has nothing to do with politics. The Ukrainian Week asks Europeans their opinion on the trial against former Premier Yulia Tymoshenko and the situation in Ukraine

People of Action

2011 was defined by Ukrainians able to overcome inertia

Struggle for Independence

The London-Edingburg confrontation around the Scotland’s independence referendum date exacerbates

Christian Vanneste: “When the Door Is Open, the Spirit of Freedom Always Enters”

French MP Christian Vanneste twice submitted a proposal to the French National Assembly to consider a bill on recognizing the Ukrainian Holodomor as genocide against the Ukrainian people. In 2009, the European Parliament recognized this tragic event of 1932-33 as a crime against humanity, but the French legislature did not follow suit.