Ukraine 30 — Gloomy reflections on the Nord Stream 2 agreement

Humiliated and Insulted

PART 4: When Political Nonsense Becomes A Virtual Reality

As an epilogue to my multipart analysis entitled ’Ukraine 30 — Gloomy reflections on the Nord Stream 2 agreement — Humiliated and Insulted’, this time I will specifically focus on the ongoing processes of the Ukrainian society.

While elaborating this extremely complex subject, first of all I would like to focus on the selection methodology of leaders of Ukraine and their key people over the last 30 years, while also paying attention to the oligarchs. I believe the representatives of these two categories, along with their actions, are highly responsible for defining, or more precisely, for delimiting the social thinking in Ukraine and for directing it into that certain channel we see today.

Similarly to the previous parts of my analysis, this time I also go back to the period of the USSR and its break-up, for a simple reason: the processes of the Ukrainian society still carry strong imprints from the former Soviet influences. 30 years was not enough for Ukraine to get over the Soviet nature of social thinking, and to leave behind all the bad conditionings associated with it.

Let me bring a simple example (which will obviously be divisive). Think of the national anthem of Ukraine, saying ’Glorious spirit of Ukraine shines and lives forever’, and compare it with the anthem of the Russian Federation. Even for the independent Ukraine it was not allowed to have an inspiring, powerful anthem. These kinds of privileges have always been reserved for Moscow and the Russian nation.

The Russians obviously had no interest in making it easier for Kyiv to leave the orbit around Moscow. However, in order to keep Ukraine in its own sphere of influence, Russia had to find an appropriate partner in Ukraine. Frankly, it was quite an easy task for them. We have seen Ukrainian presidents who were ready to follow Moscow’s instructions in order to develop their own prosperous family business. Apart from them, we have also witnessed a prime minister who was simply called ’Gas Princess’. Not so long time ago we had a ’Chocolate King’, not to mention the ’Boxer’ who has been the mayor of Kyiv for years. The list will be complete with the comedian ’Ze’ a.k.a. ’Zele’, the TV star, ’The Servant of the People’ who declared the necessity of protection of minorities, so he clarified that using of the phrase ’national minority’ was unacceptable, so please everyone use the expression ’national community’ instead. Well, Mr President, thank you very much. However, in your campaign, you promised a little bit more than that.

There is no other country in the world, where there have been so many state leaders stamped with such labels, not to mention that these persons came into power in rapid succession! In Ukraine, however, it has happened, moreover, with public support. Because people who have been ’well trained’ for many years have voted for all this in the spirit of democracy.

With a systematic work, influencers of social processes in Ukraine (both internal and external actors from both East and West), have succeeded in persuading people to believe the campaign promises of one certain presidential candidate who promised to the people exactly what the character he had played promised in a TV-series of Russian productions. What else can you call it than political nonsense or even political bizarre?

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As a result of the ’gradual accustoming’ can be mentioned the fact that by now people in Ukraine have not only got immunity against oligarchs, but practically there isn’t even significant dislike towards them. These tycoons can even receive applauds by crowds when they pose for photo-ops on the steps of a hospitals or churches, documenting their donations. No one cares that they are stealing money all the time, taking away the hope of a better life from ordinary Ukrainian citizens.

As an important sphere of influencing social processes, the method of triggering conflicts among different national minorities is relatively new in Ukraine. The brilliant influencers of high politics began to focus on this topic about a decade ago, but after 2014, this issue gained new momentum and there has been no end to it. According to government statements, Ukraine has to wage war not only in the East but also in the West. Additionally, in my opinion, all national minorities are seen and handled by them as internal enemies. In the light of this, it is worth reconsidering the above-mentioned comic decision of Zelenskiy regarding the use of different words as part of these processes.

And one more simple example: just like twenty or thirty years ago, in Ukrainian pop music video clips luxury cars, modest business-looking men and luxurious women, pool parties, palm trees, blue skies still dominate today. It is a kind of treats for the people to dream on — watching this, by the end of the day you may be satisfied with the mere virtual experience. And it works. The systematic training of the Ukrainian society has been done really well. Good job! But be aware: the order ’Stay dead!’ is now within the reach as well.

This apathetic society, of course, has less problems with the acceptance of the fact that there is no hope of joining the EU or NATO (adding that, in real terms, this hope was lost in 2014 for good) or that the U.S., the biggest ally, betrayed Ukraine, similarly to Germany in the case of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, , what, realistically, could be considered as a devastating blow against our country.

However, part of Ukrainian society can see all this realistically. These people are the ones who are leaving Ukraine and trying to build up a better life elsewhere. That is why we have huge Ukrainian communities all around the world. But apparently there are still good patriots left in Ukraine who do not need the virtual reality created by the Russia-oriented or pro-American politicians and their own domestic oligarchs.

Realistically thinking, one thing must be mentioned about the Nord Stream 2 and the gas transit route to Europe bypassing Ukraine Namely, that the loss of transit tariffs is a really sore point for Kyiv, for this always has been a very important financial source, but gas as an energy source represents not the future but the past. Ukraine’s gas transit and gas supply system, which is based on theft, has long been unsustainable, the price of gas for residential consumers is becoming more and more expensive, and the benefits of the gas sector are being concentred in hands of a few people. If there is no transit revenue, it will be a little harder for Naftohaz and Ukrainian oligarchs to steal more. Does anyone have any problems with this?

The systematic ’education’ of the Ukrainian society over the past 30 years, that suggested not to deal with gas prices and state-level theft, but rather to believe in ’princes and princesses’, has been successful. But it’s time to return to the real life, because this method has also helped unsuitable leaders into power. And as a result our Homeland became a state fully sponsored by the IMF, and, after the betrayal of the U.S. and Germany, now remained without a reliable ally. (Please, forget about those millions of dollars and the missile defence system ’Iron Dome’, promised recently by the White House. It is nothing more than words.) But we must believe: ’Ukraine is not dead yet!’ Fortunately, there are still lots of people who believe in it.