The State of Freedom in Ukraine
POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 04:23
VIEWED: 12109
PAGE 9 of 12
Ukraine is broken, but its civic activists are trying to build a new country - http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21697000-ukraine-broken-its-civic
-activists-are-trying-build-new-country-clean-up-crew
Quote:
IT is easy to despair of Ukraine. The war-torn country has been engulfed by political crisis for nearly two months. The “Revolution of Dignity” that overthrew the corrupt, authoritarian government of President Viktor Yanukovych two years ago brought no revolutionary change. Corruption is still rampant. Key reforms are incomplete. The separation of powers between the president and prime minister remains vague. The oligarchs are still entrenched and the old political faces are having a makeover. The government is paralysed. Foreign aid is frozen. And the shenanigans around the formation of the new government seem painfully familiar.
On April 10th, after weeks of vacillation, the prime minister, Arseniy Yatseniuk, whose popularity had plummeted along with Ukrainians’ living standards, offered to resign. His two-year term produced mixed results. His government managed to raise the absurdly low price Ukrainians are charged for gas, and reduce the country’s dependence on Russian supplies. Public procurement—a big source of corruption—became more transparent. But his administration was tarred by corruption scandals and stalled reforms.
Mr Yatseniuk’s offer of resignation was followed by dissension and backroom horse-trading. The squabbling exemplified Ukraine’s lack of a responsible political elite. On April 14th the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, voted in a new government led by Volodymyr Groisman, the speaker of parliament and a close ally of President Petro Poroshenko. Oleksandr Danyliuk, a former consultant at McKinsey, is to be finance minister. The new administration is backed by a thin coalition between Mr Poroshenko’s bloc and Mr Yatseniuk’s party, which despite its miserable ratings will retain key cabinet posts, including the Ministry of the Interior.
Ukraine-watchers could not escape a feeling of déjà vu. Twelve years ago the Orange Revolution was followed by a period of misrule by then-President Viktor Yushchenko. At the time Mr Poroshenko, who was one of Mr Yushchenko’s lyubi druzi (“dear friends”), epitomised the betrayal of the revolution’s hopes.
Yet in at least one respect the current situation is different: the energy of the Revolution of Dignity has not dissipated. Instead it has carried over into civil society. With international support, Ukrainian civic groups are trying to force the government to follow through on the promises of the Maidan uprising to reform a corrupt, oligarchic post-Soviet system.
On a Kiev street parallel to the presidential administration building, dozens of young activists are shaping a new European-style state, building parallel institutions and drafting laws that are pushed through parliament. Some 50 of the leading non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have formed a coalition, oddly styled the “Reanimation Package of Reforms” (RPR) in English, that is pushing bills, staging protests, monitoring reforms and holding weekly meetings with MPs.
RPR includes two dozen groups with expertise on reforms such as decentralisation and the fight against corruption. “We have real sway,” says Vadym Miskyi, a 26-year-old RPR organiser who was on Maidan two years ago. The network also includes independent media organs and some 40 young members of parliament who call themselves Euro-optimists. Many of the young activists, encouraged by the success of Georgia’s reforms in the mid-2000s, are rallying behind Mikheil Saakashvili, a former Georgian president and now the governor of Odessa, who is spearheading a national anti-corruption movement.
Unlike the Georgian reforms, which were zealously enforced from the top, the changes in Ukraine are less visible. Yet they have broader support. Daria Kaleniuk, the head of Anti-Corruption Action Centre, one of the RPR’s member groups, says one reason corruption may seem to be getting worse is that it receives more media expoNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Putin's a great and strong leader for his people. He doesn't care about political correctness, global warming, the U.N., Ketchup-Gigolo John Kerry, or any of the limp-wristed douchebag Europeans. He says 'fuck you' to the whole suicidal world. We could/should be doing great things with him.
"President Vladimir Putin announced forming a national guard last month, saying his former chief bodyguard, Viktor Zolotov, would be put in charge of it. Putin said the force would focus on the fight against extremism and organized crime, but some observers saw its creation as a reflection of Kremlin fears of possible anti-government protests amid an economic downturn.
Communist Vyacheslav Tetekin said during Wednesday's debate that his party sees a link between the move and the sagging economy."
http://fireflyfans.net/mreply.aspx?q=y&mid=996209
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The Ugly State of Russia’s Economy
As Putin himself pointed out in his recent speech, of the 200,000 businesspeople against whom the authorities brought criminal charges in 2014, 83 percent lost their businesses. More proof of how dire the threat to property rights has become in Russia is the country competitiveness rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum: of the 140 countries listed, Russia ranks 120th for property rights protection, 116th for minority shareholder protection and 108th for judicial independence.
“Russia requires the political willpower to implement major political reforms, starting with the establishment of an independent judiciary and finishing with allowing the media to operate independently.
Addressing these challenges is key to reviving investment activity and putting the economy on track toward sustainable growth. However, restoring the system for protecting property rights and improving the business climate in Russia requires the political willpower to implement major political reforms, starting with the establishment of an independent judiciary and finishing with allowing the media to operate independently and launching a full-scale fight against corruption.
If the Russian authorities make real moves in that direction, the economy will snap back. If they don’t, capital flight will persist and the economy will continue to stagnate.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sergei-aleksashenko/ugly-state-of-russia
s-economy_b_8804916.html
As we continue to witness Putin move in the opposite direction he needs to, as suggested in this article, hope for Russia recovering is thin. Remember, the arms race was about the Soviet Union spending money on its military it did not have in order to keep up with the West. Now it's Russia hoping to do it alone. Will history repeat itself? Will Russia collapse?
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How is your post about the state of freedom in Ukraine?
So, did you hear about the personal information that some assholes in Kiev released on 4,000+ journalists? These journalists apparently committed the crime of being registered with, and covering the conflict in the Donbas.
Quote:
A Ukrainian hacker group published on 7 May, an extensive list of names and personal details of numerous journalists, who had covered the conflict from the rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine. The leak has raised concerns about the safety and welfare of the journalists, many of whom are affiliated with international media organisations.
The hackers published the list on a website called Myrotvorets (Peacemaker), claiming that they had gained access to the computers of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine used to keep track of the list of registered journalists granted to work in the area. The hackers claimed that they felt justified in making the information public "because these journalists collaborate with fighters from terrorist organiations," the Wall Street Journal reported.
The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement denouncing the leak, which contains private information, including cell phone numbers and email addresses of around 4,500 journalists from across the world. Some of those in the list have acknowledged having experienced extreme ordeal in the detention centres of Donetsk.
The organisation's Europe and Central Asia programme coordinator Nina Ognianova said, "Publishing journalists' private contact details puts them at risk. At worst this action could be read as a thinly veiled call to target them."
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ukrainian-hackers-leak-personal-information-t
housands-journalists-1559923
Since journalists travel over large areas, covering conflicts in many regions, this also puts them at risk from jihadists and other extremists, some of whom are working hand-in-glove with the neo-Nazis of Ukraine.
Ukraine is a giant cluster-fuck. You don't hear much about it in the press anymore because it's not going so well. Right now, it looks like the post-Soviet space - if not worse- when formerly state-controlled enterprises were being snapped up by gangsters and oligarchs. The power struggle is between various oligarchs, the Nazis, and some ethnic minorities like the Mejili Tartars. Ordinary people don't stand a chance in the melee. THAT is the state of freedom in Ukraine.
Next time, try posting on-topic. If you really want to post something about Russia, make your own thread.
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You can't build a nation with bombs. You can't create a society with guns.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
How is your post about the state of freedom in Ukraine?
So, did you hear about the personal information that some assholes in Kiev released on 4,000+ journalists? These journalists apparently committed the crime of being registered with, and covering the conflict in the Donbas.Quote:
A Ukrainian hacker group published on 7 May, an extensive list of names and personal details of numerous journalists, who had covered the conflict from the rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine. The leak has raised concerns about the safety and welfare of the journalists, many of whom are affiliated with international media organisations.
The hackers published the list on a website called Myrotvorets (Peacemaker), claiming that they had gained access to the computers of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine used to keep track of the list of registered journalists granted to work in the area. The hackers claimed that they felt justified in making the information public "because these journalists collaborate with fighters from terrorist organiations," the Wall Street Journal reported.
The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement denouncing the leak, which contains private information, including cell phone numbers and email addresses of around 4,500 journalists from across the world. Some of those in the list have acknowledged having experienced extreme ordeal in the detention centres of Donetsk.
The organisation's Europe and Central Asia programme coordinator Nina Ognianova said, "Publishing journalists' private contact details puts them at risk. At worst this action could be read as a thinly veiled call to target them."
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ukrainian-hackers-leak-personal-information-t
housands-journalists-1559923
Since journalists travel over large areas, covering conflicts in many regions, this also puts them at risk from jihadists and other extremists, some of whom are working hand-in-glove with the neo-Nazis of Ukraine.
Ukraine is a giant cluster-fuck. You don't hear much about it in the press anymore because it's not going so well. Right now, it looks like the post-Soviet space - if not worse- when formerly state-controlled enterprises were being snapped up by gangsters and oligarchs. The power struggle is between various oligarchs, the Nazis, and some ethnic minorities like the Mejili Tartars. Ordinary people don't stand a chance in the melee. THAT is the state of freedom in Ukraine.
Next time, try posting on-topic. If you really want to post something about Russia, make your own thread.
Thank you for attempting to reign him in.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
How is your post about the state of freedom in Ukraine?
Next time, try posting on-topic. If you really want to post something about Russia, make your own thread.
Since Russia is fighting wars on several fronts and pulling all the strings the rebels in the Ukraine dance to, the state of Russia's economy is definitely germane to this topic. Fuck you if you don't like it.
It also addresses Jongstraw's post about the attributes of your fearless leader Putin. He is making all the same mistakes of the past that brought down the Soviet Union.
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"How is your post about the state of freedom in Ukraine?"
THETHREESTOOGES to Putin: I can't quit you!
SAGAN: We are releasing vast quantities of carbon dioxide, increasing the greenhouse effect. It may not take much to destabilize the Earth's climate, to convert this heaven, our only home in the cosmos, into a kind of hell.
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Quote:OMFG! I laughed my ass off!
THETHREESTOOGES to Putin: I can't quit you!
It seems that the people who keep claiming I'm a Putin fan girl spend about 10X (if not more) time talking about ... Putin!
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You can't build a nation with bombs. You can't create a society with guns.
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They go on ... and on ...
If they're not moaning about Putin they're sighing about Russia. If they're not focused on Russia they're detailing everything about Putin. It's like listening to your bff going on about their latest obsession ... and then he ... and he's so ... and later he ... stupid, boring and pointless.
They should just stop already and do something a little bit more intelligent, insightful and interesting. There's literally an entire universe out there that's alien to the human mind for them to notice.
But they can't.
SAGAN: We are releasing vast quantities of carbon dioxide, increasing the greenhouse effect. It may not take much to destabilize the Earth's climate, to convert this heaven, our only home in the cosmos, into a kind of hell.
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