Had you but learned the way you ought. Version 2.0

Three years ago to the day, Ukrainians elected president in the first round while dealing with the Russian aggression. As many as 54.7 percent of voters supported Petro Poroshenko. Public expectations were incredibly high, especially considering the post-Euromaidan situation and the Kremlin’s attack. Experts frequently describe this phenomenon of “first-round victory” as evidence of the maturity of our society. Yes, the voters showed themselves to be really mature, for example, there were many cases of people from occupied parts of the Donbas traveling to the free zone to vote for Poroshenko, who had promised to finish the war in two weeks. However, we should not forget about the oligarchic consensus that first allowed the elections to go ahead, and then secured the presidency for Poroshenko and Kyiv’s mayoralty for Vitalii Klitschko. The oligarch Dmytro Firtash made it public during his trial in Vienna, Austria.

Speaking of the president’s achievements, modernization of the army is often listed as one of them, and it has in fact come far from the realities of 2014, although there are military experts complaining about his failure to build a professional army and equip it. The Association Agreement with the EU has been signed, but problems remain in that area. The signing of another agreement, that on visa-free travel to the EU, was announced by Poroshenko more than once, he even set specific dates for it, but it got postponed every time. It has finally happened, and the agreement will come into force in mid-June. This achievement may well turn out to be the greatest advantage, primarily psychological in nature, for the incumbent president.

PRESIDENT PETRO POROSHENKO MET IN LUTSK SERHII TORCHYNSKYI WHO PLANS TO TAKE PART IN THE WORLD INVICTUS GAMES / Photo by Mykhailo MARKIV

It is especially so when it comes to Poroshenko’s second term. He himself said at his latest news conference that any discussion of that issue was premature. However, we know that members of his entourage have repeatedly stated that Poroshenko will go for a second term and win the election. In this context, the media have recently published the results of a private survey of public opinion which was held for the Presidential Administration. To quote pravda.com.ua, “polling agencies SOCIS and Rating measured support levels of presidential hopefuls in March, and Ihor Hryniv presented their results during a meeting at the presidential office. Poroshenko would get 13.2 percent of the vote among those who have decided on a candidate and plan to participate in the election. The Fatherland party leader Yulia Tymoshenko was in the second place with 12.9 percent of the vote, with Poroshenko’s lead being within the margin of error, while singer and frontman of the Okean Elzy band Sviatoslav Vakarchuk came third, supported with 12.3 percent.”

Oleksandr SOLONTAI, expert, Institute of Political Education:

“Different people expected different things from Poroshenko. Some people expected nothing at all from Poroshenko – they only wanted the elections to take as little time as possible, in one round, so that Ukraine had a legitimate commander-in-chief in wartime. Some liked the idea of ‘turning over a new leaf” in order to adopt European standards of life. Some liked the idea that a self-made businessman was coming to power. Some liked it that Poroshenko was a compromise figure, for he had been both blue-white and orange, serving both Yanukovych and Yushchenko. Some did not like Tymoshenko, so they voted not so much for Poroshenko as against her. Many people voted for Poroshenko, thinking that there was no other choice – by the principle of choosing the lesser evil. Poroshenko’s election triggered a leap of expectations. I will remind you that battles for Donetsk airport terminals began immediately after the voting for Poroshenko. Those hostilities were much fiercer than all the previous clashes, including the ones in Sloviansk. That moment, in May, signaled the stage of a real war. This increased societal expectations for Poroshenko to resolutely finish the war by way of victory. And this became the greatest disappointment for Ukrainians because the war was not won and the Donbas was not liberated under Poroshenko, and he failed at least to halt the war. People are dying daily. Of course, this is not only his area of responsibility, but he failed to take the necessary steps in good time.”

Borys AZAROV, a former soldier of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, a veteran of the fighting for the Donetsk Airport (May-August 2014):

 “I remember very well the election day three years ago. Then, we had our equipment delivered to eastern Ukraine by air, and ballots were loaded aboard for the return voyage, because there was no way left to retrieve them by land. At that time, our expectations for the election could be described with one word – ‘hope.’ Ukrainians were choosing not only the next president, but also someone who would be able to overcome the vicious rules that had taken root in this country and give impetus to development. After the Euromaidan, everyone was expecting it, as the price paid for it was just too high to expect anything less. Of course, people also expected a speedy conclusion of hostilities. They believed Petro Poroshenko when he promised to finish the war in two weeks. He looked confident and conditions for it were present, in fact. Then, we all saw that instead of decisive action, clear orders, and imposition of martial law, he opted for procrastination, even though time was working against us. There was a sense of being left without choice. Soldiers demanded to be given an opportunity to vote. We were stationed at Yalta near Mariupol then, and we faced major obstacles as we wanted to vote for the future president. We got it done eventually. However, what do we have now? We see that we have been drawn into a trench war, when the parties to the conflict have registered each other’s positions and the situation does not change. Still, our lads keep dying daily. Poroshenko, who promised to end the war in two weeks, has not only failed to keep his word, but has continued to behave the same way: we often hear one thing being said and see another actually happening. His information policy is built around his personal interests as a politician and not the interests of Ukraine as a nation. It causes increased level of frustration and distrust of government. The enemy uses it. I am not coming back to the front, though I was one of the first to volunteer in 2014 and took part in the first long battle for the Donetsk Airport (DAP). I need to provide for my family, so I spend most of the time abroad. There are many people like me – veterans who are forced to adapt to civilian life and face a total lack of proper support. People are tired, but most of all, they are tired of lies and double standards. For example, Den/The Day was among the few media outlets to recall our 72nd Brigade’s part in the fighting for the DAP in the summer of 2014. I have not seen such materials elsewhere, at least. Instead, the media draw distinction between well-promoted subjects and persons and others, who have been forgotten, absent from the top news, left outside their format. Entire social classes have become like that due to the lack of public interest and attention of the authorities. It is the same with other aspects of our lives, where some things are silenced, while others are on the contrary overhyped as successes. People are very sensitive about it all.”