The Ukrainian Week

5 August, 2021	Breaking news	Belarusian NGO chief found hanged in Ukraine The chief of an NGO that provided aid to people fleeing Belarus was found hanged in Kyiv. His friends said he had been followed by "strangers."
14 June, 2021	World	A plea for Navalny Should we trust the main Russian opposition?
2 March, 2021	Politics	Frontline politics Local election shows that the era of political monopoly in Luhansk Oblast is drawing to an end
24 May, 2020	Breaking news	Ukrainian police detain far-right activists for hooliganism against pro-Russia party HQ Seventeen members of a far-right group have been detained for attacking the headquarters of Ukraine’s largest pro-Russia political party in Kyiv
30 October, 2019	Politics	Voting as a mirror image of voters Who voted for whom, or to what extent voter preferences coincide with the results of their choices
24 May, 2018	Politics	The art of the impossible The opposition in Ukraine is mostly reactive and it chooses actions that will be most useful for criticizing the current Administration or gaining the attention of a specific part of the electorate. What Ukraine needs most right now is a consolidating program and a party that could present its own alternative for the country
23 March, 2018	Politics	Vote busters What those in power and opposition are likely to do to improve their rates and mobilize the electorate
19 September, 2017	World	The illusion of difference How the Russian opposition sees Ukraine
15 September, 2017		Great Russia’s tiny enemies The place of freedom and free people in today's Russia
19 October, 2016	Politics	New Donetskites How generations shift in the electoral field of the former Party of Regions clans
27 June, 2016	Politics	Beneficiaries of peace initiatives Elections in the occupied parts of Donbas will boost the strength of the Opposition Bloc in Ukrainian politics. Its strategic goal is to return Ukraine into Russia’s orbit
13 October, 2015	Politics	The Return of the Many-Headed Hydra The Party of the Regions supposedly no longer exists in current Ukrainian politics, but it’s sent several columns out to the local elections
26 June, 2015	World	The Pit of Fear Why the Maidan in Ukraine has discouraged Belarusians from protests against their authorities
18 May, 2015	Politics	Dangerous Liasons How and when are Ukraine’s reactionary forces most likely to strike back
18 May, 2015	Economics	Shaking the Foundations Cutting access to their financial resources is the most effective way to leave the representatives of the old regime with no chance for comeback
23 October, 2014	Politics	Back to Black? The parliamentary election may bring only few “new faces” to parliament
10 May, 2014	News	Massive arrests of opposition activists start in Belarus On the eve of the Men’s Ice Hockey World Championship to take place on May 9-25, numerous opposition activists were arrested. As of May 9, at least 28 political inmates are kept at prison isolators in Minsk
21 February, 2014	Politics	Opposition signs Agreement to solve crisis with Yanukovych Opposition leaders and Viktor Yanukovych signed the Agreement to Regulate the Crisis in Ukraine at the Presidential Administration on February 21. The text has been promulgated by the President's press-service
19 February, 2014	News	Yatseniuk: Yanukovych threatens to put opposition leaders in jail President Viktor Yanukovych threatens to put opposition leaders in jail, journalist Sviatoslav Tseholko wrote on Facebook quoting Batkivshchyna leader Arseniy Yatseniuk
28 January, 2014	News	Another round of talks: January 16 laws will be cancelled; Yatseniuk rejects Viktor Yanukovych’s proposal to become premier The meeting of President Viktor Yanukovych and his working group with opposition leaders is over after four hours
27 January, 2014	Politics	Uncompromising: Yanukovych and the opposition The Yanukovych regime has refused to compromise even after the deaths of several protesters, and there is no indication that any number of victims will change this
26 January, 2014	News	Opposition leaders declined a deal offered by Yanukovych Opposition leaders declined a deal offered to them by Viktor Yanukovych during the renewed negotiations on Saturday, January 25th.
30 November, 2013	News	Ukrainian opposition calls for early elections and national strike The oppositional parties of Ukraine form national resistance headquarters and prepare for the national strike, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, head of the oppositional party “Batkivshchyna,” said during the press conference on the 30th of November.
5 November, 2013	Politics	Klitschko Knocked Out? The scandalous tax amendment and efforts to aggravate mutual distrust in the opposition
23 September, 2013	Politics	The Klondike for the Opposition Protest sentiments are escalating in the Donbas. But distrust for politics and inert opposition make the dissent purely pragmatic and local
23 September, 2013	Politics	European Choice for Yanukovych as a weighty bonus in the upcoming presidential elections
2 August, 2013		Why Should Ukrainians Care About Navalny? Yet another opposition activist in prison has a cumulative effect on the whole post-soviet sphere
8 July, 2013	News	Yanukovych may “reincarnate” into a premier with extended powers in 2015 Premiership with extended powers for Viktor Yanukovych may well be an alternative to the “victory at any price” in the 2015 presidential race. Read a detailed report in the article Operation Premier Yanukovych in the upcoming issue of The Ukrainian Week out on July 18
8 July, 2013	Politics	In Pursuit of the Presidency Vitaliy Klitschko is improving his rhetoric, but fails to give clear answers to crucial questions regarding the nation’s development
2 July, 2013	Politics	United Twice Despite the successful merger of the Front for Change and Batkivshchyna, the united party could face more dissent and lose voter support unless Arseniy Yatseniuk revises his approach to party building
27 June, 2013	News	Yatseniuk claims that the US is preparing a Ukrainian version of the Magnitsky list The US may impose personal sanctions against Ukrainian top officials if Yulia Tymoshenko remains in prison, said Arseniy Yatseniuk, the newly-elected head of the Batkivshchyna political board and head of the Batkivshchyna faction in parliament, according to Batkivshchyna’s press service
31 May, 2013	Politics	The Primaries Kick Off How the opposition’s declaration of deeper coordination could collapse into internecine warfare
24 May, 2013	News	*May 23 highlights*: European Parliament talks about Ukraine; US and EU Ambassadors visit Yulia Tymoshenko The European Parliament holds hearings on the political situation in Ukraine; US and EU Ambassadors visit Yulia Tymoshenko; Russia qualifies the statement of its General Counsel in Simferopol regarding Crimean Tatars as “inappropriate”.
21 May, 2013	Politics	Ukraine Does Not Rise - Questions Remain Unanswered The rally on May 18 – the biggest lately - provided no answers for protest-oriented voters
20 May, 2013	News	*Alexander Motyl*: democratically inclined Ukrainians have no choice but to support the democratic opposition, however “un-best” it is Ukraine’s opposition has major flaws and should make itself worthy of support, but democratically minded Ukrainians should prefer an adrift opposition to the authoritarian alternative, Alexander Motyl, American historian and professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, notes in his blog on The World Affairs Journal.
1 May, 2013	Politics	Big Demand, Scarce Supply The Ukrainian majority is waiting for a solid alternative to the Yanukovych regime, but existing candidates from the parliamentary opposition are currently unable to offer one
1 May, 2013		How to Come Forward? Democracy and the rule of law in post-Soviet Ukraine
14 April, 2013	Politics	Soft Authoritarianism The Yanukovych regime will continue the tactics of the creeping usurpation of power, trying to avoid decisive battles and unjustified image losses
5 April, 2013	News	*The Economist*: graft in Ukraine is so rife that it is hard to see how any money at all is left in the budget In Ukraine political power is a means of enrichment rather than governance while the opposition politicians are an extension of the business groups they claim to fight, writes The Economist.
31 March, 2013	Politics	Tactics Without a Strategy *The Ukrainian Week* takes a closer look at what lies beneath Svoboda's slogans in the interview with its leader Oleh Tyahnybok about the forms and tactics of political struggle, the prospects of a revolution, the interaction of opposition politicians and stereotypes about Svoboda
31 March, 2013	Politics	Oleh Tyahnybok: “The three opposition parties should not be required to act completely in sync” The leader of the Svoboda party spoke with *The Ukrainian Week*, about the “Rise Ukraine!” protest campaign, elections in Kyiv, the blockade of parliament, relationships with other opposition leaders, the struggle against stereotypes and other things
31 March, 2013	Politics	Keep Your Head Down! While the opposition continues to announce its latest radical initiatives, the Yanukovych regime is strengthening its positions
26 March, 2013	News	*Peter Hannaford*: the time has come for opposing forces in Ukraine to find a way to compromise over seemingly intractable issues “Ukraine can look to the U.S. for examples on how to work toward compromise,” Peter Hannaford, a member of the Committee on the Present Danger, once close associated with the late President Ronald Reagan, writes in his article for The American Spectator.
26 March, 2013	News	*Bruce Rickerson*: poisonous political atmosphere threatens Ukraine's domestic peace and international standing A compromise among relevant political actors in Ukraine will only be of benefit to Ukraine's stability and international standing and would bolster U.S. ties, Bruce M. Rickerson who formerly served in a professional capacity with the Organization of American States, the U.S. Department of State, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee writes in his opinion for UPI.
19 March, 2013	News	*Expert*: Yanukovych’s latest steps are signs of the regime’s isolation, illegitimacy, and weakness “Viktor Yanukovych must sense that his own cadres are grumbling and could at some point even be tempted to go against him,” Alexander J. Motyl, American historian and professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, writes in his blog on The World Affairs Journal.
22 February, 2013	Politics	Game of Endurance The Party of Regions` attempts to intimidate the opposition with early elections or responsibility for the breakdown of European integration have not given the desired result so far, so an escalation of resistance can be expected in the near future
8 February, 2013	Politics	Acting Leader The leader of the biggest opposition faction in parliament appears too inconsistent and unpredictable to inspire trust in the majority of Ukrainian voters
8 February, 2013	Politics	A Crack in the United Opposition? Centrifugal tendencies in the united camp - the battle for mutual destruction has not begun yet, but the preconditions for it are in place
8 February, 2013		Why I Don’t Trust Opposition Leaders Opposition leaders are lost because they don't have moral vaues that would give them orientation. It's time that they ask themselves, "Do the people need us?"
9 January, 2013		Thoughts by the Fence Paradoxically, gigantic Russia with its cultural and ethnic diversity is much more monolithic in its fundamental ideologies (and hence collective illusions) than the compact and seemingly more homogeneous Ukraine.
17 December, 2012	Politics	Andriy Pyshnyi:The further Ukraine is from the Customs Union, the better The newly-elected MP and right-hand man of Arseniy Yatseniuk talks about the Customs Union,the threats of referendums under the new law and why the current Administration does not welcome young and progressive middle class
26 November, 2012	Politics	No Illusions Ukraine’s majority needs to accurately assess the potential of the current opposition. This will help spare the country from further disappointment and preserve hope for an alternative project
19 November, 2012	Politics	A New Reality The protest near the CEC showed that the opposition is not capable of building effective strategies to counteract the government, at least for the time being. It lacks coordination and well thought out joint actions.
31 August, 2012	Politics	Leading Without Leadership Yanukovych’s regime has turned Yulia Tymoshenko into a symbol of resistance, yet her real influence on the opposition is waning
31 August, 2012	Politics	They Call Themselves the Opposition There are no blatantly odious characters among the United Opposition’s parliamentary candidates, yet some might easily jump ship after the election
24 August, 2012	Politics	Left Hook by Klitschko’s UDAR Party The Vitaliy Klitschko brand could be a cover for many potential party switchers associated with oligarchs, and these politicians are unlikely to be controlled in the future by the UDAR party leader
14 August, 2012	World	From Blogger to Logger? How and why one of Russia’s leading opposition figures has been accused of stealing timber
2 July, 2012	Politics	Watch out for Provocations! As the Ukrainian opposition successfully overcomes hurdles erected by the ruling Party of Regions, the authorities are being forced to increase efforts to sow conflict and discredit the opposition in the eyes of voters
19 June, 2012	Politics	All or Nothing for Mr. Yatseniuk In his pursuit of laurels, as the united opposition’s leader, Arseniy Yatseniuk has found himself in a position, which could bring an end to his political future. The only chance for him to maintain his prospects as a national leader is to purge the united opposition of people serving oligarchic and anti-Ukrainian interests
5 June, 2012	Politics	Saving Colonel Hrytsenko Civil Position, the party of former Defence Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko, has a special place among opposition forces that prefer to ignore efforts to unite and which have few chances of entering parliament independently in 2012
5 June, 2012	Politics	Political Deuces Pseudo-opposition and unpopular projects could steal as much as 10% of the opposition’s votes and play a destructive role in electoral commissions
5 June, 2012	Politics	A Royal Gift to the Government A number of facts suggest that the Presidential Administration is promoting Natalia Korolevska’s political project. True or not, she is now playing into the hands of the government in its efforts to take control of the future parliament
22 May, 2012	Politics	Questions Without Answers Vitali Klitschko’s rapid political ascent is due to his readiness to say what most voters want to hear. Yet, it is currently too early to talk about any strategic vision of the nation’s development
22 May, 2012	Politics	Vitali Klitschko: “The Opposition Should Unite In the Parliament” Vitali Klitschko’s Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) refuses to run under a single party list with Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna and Arseniy Yatseniuk’s Front of Change in the upcoming parliamentary election. From now on, it is the only opposition political force other than the ‘united opposition’ that is confidently crossing the 5% threshold.
3 May, 2012	Politics	Weapons Against Opposition As its popularity ratings plummet, the Party of Regions will find administrative resources and falsifications insufficient and will have to actively employ spoilers against the opposition. The latter’s excessive ambitiousness will only give the advantage to Bankova Street*
3 May, 2012	Politics	Through Union to Conflict? Batkivshchyna and the Front of Changes, two most popular opposition forces, presented the Declaration of Unity signed by Yulia Tymoshenko and Arseniy Yatseniuk. They announced plans to run under one list in the upcoming parliamentary election.
27 April, 2012	Politics	Command Post Exercise The main players facing off in the parliamentary election campaign this autumn have begun to deploy their party structures.
30 March, 2012	Politics	Election Tango It looks like the latest local by-election was a platform for testing mechanisms that could be used in the 2012 parliamentary election
30 March, 2012	Politics	The Return of the Prodigal Son, Who Never Left Home Despite implementing large-scale image-building projects, which were largely directed towards the European audience, Petro Poroshenko has no alternative choices for the nation’s development. He has always been part and parcel of the post-soviet oligarchic system
30 March, 2012	Politics	High Demand, Zero Supply None of the existing opposition parties really seek demonopolization, separation of business and government, or desovietization
30 March, 2012	Politics	Longing for a Right-Wing Force Ukraine has an objective demand for a right-centre alternative aiming at liberating and supporting private initiative, radical separation between government and business, and the rapid de-sovietisation of society
24 February, 2012	Politics	Getting Ready to Give “a Punch in the Face”? The government is searching for mechanisms to offset the huge loss of popularity over the past two years. It appears that administrative leverage, manipulations and falsifications are going to be applied on a massive scale.
5 February, 2012	World	Agitated or Awakening? The mass protests of Russian “Decembrists” in the country show that Russian society has been re-booted
5 February, 2012	Politics	Korolevska's Gambit Will Natalia Korolevka’s ambitions work in favor of the ruling party?
30 January, 2012		False Notes In the Music of Revolution Russian intellectuals have again fallen out with each other
30 January, 2012	Politics	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
27 January, 2012	Politics	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” *
27 January, 2012	Society	Unreal Realpolitik Cécile Vaissié: “Democratic traditions work only when the government is balanced by an independent judiciary and freedom of speech”
27 January, 2012	Politics	“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
25 January, 2012	Politics	People of Action 2011 was defined by Ukrainians able to overcome inertia
13 January, 2012	Politics	2011 Decembrists The Russian opposition brought tens of thousands to Moscow’s streets but is scared of a revolution
5 December, 2011		Opportunists Ukraine does not have any other elites except these – the corrupt, opportunistic, demagogic elites that only care about the real future of a coterie of companions rather than that of the country at large
29 November, 2011	World	Yanukovch Won’t Stay Long Boris Nemtsov, Russian politician and a leader of the Solidarity opposition movement and People’s Freedom Party (PARNAS), talks about Yulia Tymoshenko’s case and the mistakes of Russian democrats
28 November, 2011	Politics	The Triumph of Subordination By voting for legitimization of the regime’s polling rules, the opposition laid the groundwork for its own demise
27 October, 2011	Politics	Quasi-Opposition Despite faking intense activity, the political opposition in Ukraine has failed to do anything significant to win back public trust
26 September, 2011	Politics	Law For Enemies: Court Out to Confer The surprising pause in the Yulia Tymoshenko trial is more evidence of the trap in which the government has found itself.
15 July, 2011	History	Raising The Flag Without Fear Heorhiy Moskalenko and Viktor Kuksa raised the blue-and-yellow flag in Kyiv 45 years ago
15 July, 2011	World	A Well-Designed Duma The Kremlin is being forced to be creative to assure a landslide victory
5 July, 2011	World	“The Regime Will Not Last More Than Two Years” Siargei Vysotsky, leader of the Belarusian Freedom Party, speaks about Alexander Lukashenko’s dead end, anti-Russian sentiments and clerical servility
4 July, 2011	Politics	Phantoms of Ukrainian Democracy Political betrayals, ideological chameleons and crossovers: an opinion on the opposition
16 June, 2011	Politics	Dominic Fean: “The West Is Not Sure Cases Against The Opposition Are Free of Politics” The French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) recently published a report titled “Economic pressure and Ukraine’s security policy.” IFRI is one of the most influential private think tanks in France. Its list of invited speakers includes Ukrainian presidents Viktor Yanukovych and Viktor Yushchenko
12 April, 2011	Politics	Rallying Non-Stop Government policies and an inert opposition stir new protest movements
21 January, 2011	Politics	The Fist One Gone The Czechs don’t know if Bohdan Danylyshyn is innocent but have granted him asylum
21 January, 2011	Politics	Is there still hope? On the one hand, the Danylyshyn case creates a precedent, while on the other, it fits in with the context of re-evaluation
30 December, 2010	Politics	Rough Landing For Ex-minister Lutsenko Reasons behind Yurii Lutsenko’s arrest
30 December, 2010	Politics	An Open Address of Ukrainian Intellectuals In Defense of Yulia Tymoshenko The absurdity of and political motives behind the charges brought against Ms. Tymoshenko are obvious
30 December, 2010	Politics	Everyone To Prison? The government put much more pressure on its predecessors before the New Year