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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Parade of the President’s Salad Years

13 November, 2012 - 00:00

Nothing had changed. The same Khreshchatyk, the same special vantage tribune, open ZIL limousines dating from Soviet times, and that same Soviet address of the military parade leader: “Comrade Officers!”, “Comrade Paratroopers!”, ending with “Comrade Defenders of Our Motherland!”, sounding burlesque, addressed to the joint brass band. What does a military band have to do with defending their “Motherland?”

And there were quite a few other “lapses.” The Defense Minister spoke from the tribune, delivering a concise account of the Ukrainian leadership's attainments in domestic and foreign policy. His was the usual grandiloquent spiel, implying that those in power were spending sleepless nights trying to keep their people happy. And we had all thought that domestic and foreign political matters were the President's prerogative. However, the Guarantor of the Constitution silently watched and listened and had nothing to tell the nation on Independence Day. From recent history we remember our beloved tongue-tied Leonid Brezhnev struggle up the rostrum to address the Soviet people building the communist paradise come November 7, no matter how the Communist Party General Secretary felt physically.

And the military review. It was supposed to show the Ukrainian public and diplomats present the grandeur of the national Armed Forces. For me everything that transpired was typically Russian - or should I say Soviet? In a word, outdated. I even noticed a foreign military attache smile sarcastically. And the TV host covering the event was blabbering on about Smerch multiple rocket launcher covering 72 square kilometers with a single salvo. Who are they going to kill at that range?

The military and sports parades were made to blend one into the other, bringing back nostalgic memories. In fact, this trick was first devised by Stalin. Six old automobiles moved along Khreshchatyk in a retro show, causing raised eyebrows: what was that supposed to mean or symbolize? Fortunately, no Avto ZAZ Daewoo cars followed. Meanwhile the VIP stand was all smiles and approving nods. The President looked pleased, perhaps thinking back to his salad years. I did also, but with the thought that my eight year-old son need not return there.



Photo by Viktor MARUSENKO,The Day:

THE PRESIDENT MIGHT ENVY THE SUPREME COMMANDER: WHAT GRACEFUL RANKS!



Photo by Viktor Marushchenko,The Day:

PEOPLE AND TRIBUNES HAVE BEEN CHANGING, CRUX OF THE MATTER HAS NOT



Photo by Oleksiy STASENKO,The Day:

THE WRONG SIDE OF INDEPENDENCE



Photo by Oleksiy STASENKO,The Day:

FOR EACH THEIR OWN HOLIDAY

 

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