Alarm signal for Ukrainian society

Ukraine is rightfully considered in the world as a country that guarantees the rights of its citizens and the freedom of assembly, rallies and speech. But the foiled launching of the book Without Putin by Mikhail Kasyanov, ex-premier of Russia and head of the civic and political movement Russian People’s Democratic Union, and journalist Yevgeny Kiseliov on December 17 at Kyiv’s Premier Palace hotel may call into question the gains that our country has achieved in the past few years. This extraordinary event occurred in a hotel co-owned, according to the Russian media, by Aleksandr Babakov, Vice Speaker of Russia’s State Duma.

The authors had made all arrangements for the ceremony in good time, rented a hall, and invited journalists, political scientists, and politicians. But approximately an hour before the beginning, the light in Sofiivsky Hall was cut off to forestall this event, although a Ukrainian-Russian business forum had been held here some time before. About a dozen tough-looking guys entered the hall and began to silently watch Elena Dikun, the Russian ex-premier’s spokesperson, and a few journalists and photographers who had managed to come into the hotel.

A hotel employee with a badge that bore the name of Yurii Novitny at first warned the photographers that it was forbidden to photograph here without the administration’s consent and then asked all those present: “Are you staying at this hotel?” Although the journalists said they had come at the invitation of book launching organizers, he requested everybody in quite a tough manner to leave the premises.

The Ukrainian journalists, who were on the street, photographers, political scientists, representatives of the Presidential Secretariat, and even the book’s coauthor Yevgeny Kiseliov were flatly denied entry into the Premier Palace. Then, in the same peremptory tone – “You’d better leave the hotel” – the author was also ousted.

The above-mentioned hotel employee refused to answer The Day correspondent’s question why the ceremony was canceled. The hotel administrator Iryna Sharoyevska thus explained to The Day why the launching of the Russian oppositionist’s book was derailed: “We had a power cut.” Kiseliov, who was on the street, commented on this as follows: “You ought to reflect on this case, my dear Ukrainian colleagues. I have never thought the Kremlin has such long arms. This causes at least an unspeakable surprise in me who has lived and worked in Kyiv for 18 months. I could not even think that Moscow can rule the roost in Ukraine so effectively.”

The President of Ukraine’s official representative for energy security, Bohdan Sokolovsky, who had come to attend the ceremony, was also unable to enter the hotel. He said the following to The Day about this: “I am a member of the presidential team, and I will say frankly: I am shocked. My impression is that some islets of non-freedom are cropping up in Ukraine, including Kyiv. It is a very alarming signal for Ukrainian society as a whole. I think it is the most shameful incident in the last while. This perhaps suits the Cabinet and the law-enforcement bodies. But this absolutely does not suit President Yushchenko. For it is not a Ukrainian principle, not the principle of our president. I believe we must see in this case to what extent this event complies with the current law, our Constitution, and human rights in general. And, beyond any doubt, human rights and freedoms were violated here.”

The launching was still held an hour later at the InterMedia Consulting news agency. Among those invited was the agency’s founder, owner, and general manager Uliana Lozan who had suggested holding the ceremony at her place. The hall was full to capacity. Many editors of the Ukrainian media, journalists, political scientists, representatives of the Presidential Secretariat, including the president’s spokesperson Iryna Vannykova, and Yurii Ruban, director of the National Institute for Strategic Research, came to see the launching of a book written by a Russian oppositionist. The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc was represented by Oleh Medvedev, an advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine. There was nobody from the Party of Region and the Lytvyn Bloc.

Russian ex-premier Kasyanov apologized to the journalists for failing to hold a full-scale ceremony in a normal atmosphere. But it is the Premier Palace owners or administrators who should have apologized. Yet there were neither apologies nor explanations on their part.

“I am, naturally, very surprised that this happened in Kyiv. I am astonished by the very fact of pressure. I went through things like this in 2007. This has happened more than once. I was given this treatment in almost all cities of Russia, and there was psychological pressure on my colleagues. From the moment I assumed the office of premier, I always adhered to the position that Ukraine is an independent state and nobody should ever look down their noses at it, no matter what points we discuss in the sphere of gas or security. Ukraine is a separate sovereign state, as is Georgia. In the two years when Viktor Yushchenko was the premier, we successfully resolved a lot of problems, including gas debts,” Kasyanov noted.

Telling about the book, the ex-premier explained that it is written in the form of dialogues that explain what he considers to be the important political events and the personal features of certain characters. “It is a source of information about the atmosphere in which some important decisions were made. As a political figure, I think it is important. Kiseliov helped me explain these things. It is now the right time to tell about the political component of certain events and various political actions,” the Russian opposition leader noted.

Asked by a Ukrainian journalist what must happen in Russia for the book’s title, Without Putin, to become a reality, Kasyanov said:

“The country used to live without Putin, and many of us are living without Putin even today. I am sure we will all be living without Putin in the near future. When will it happen? The situation is very difficult. Ukraine is now having a normal transitional-period situation. You have the basis of a democratic state, and nobody doubts that elections exist here as an institution and the leaders are ensuring this. Nobody doubts that you have freedom of the press.

“Our situation is radically different, and it can only be changed by way of a serious transformation of public opinion. To be more exact, there should be a consolidation of public opinion and the elite — I mean the elite of educated people, not the one that is now in power, the elite of people who are not indifferent to what is going on in the country and abroad and who can no longer tolerate the way the authorities, starting from policemen, are humiliating the populace in all possible ways.”

The book’s coauthor Yevgeny Kiseliov does not rule out that in Russia a situation can emerge that is similar to what happened in Ukraine in 2000 – the Ukraine without Kuchma campaign. “There was demand here in Ukraine, and the society needed such a campaign. The society was full of discontent. The need for a Ukraine without Kuchma was part of the minimal consumer basket. A demand for a Russia without Putin is only beginning to enter the category of essential goods. I hope that this process may go at a fast pace. Indeed, Russians are slow to harness but very fast to drive,” the Russian journalist said.

The head of the all-Russian civic and political movement Russian People’s Democratic Union confessed that he has no plans of changing power in Russia. “Our main goal is to inform people. We can at least do this via the Internet and by meeting ordinary people and our party activists. We are really doing these things so that people understand that there are other individuals who think the way they do. People should feel that they are not alone,” Kasyanov said.

At the same time, the Russian oppositionist rejects the revolutionary way of changing the regime and favors evolutionary development of his country. “I think most Russians desire this kind of development which any civilized society adheres to today. This means the elections which will take place sooner or later. As a European state, Russia wants to be part of the civilized world. The duty of Russian politicians and statesmen is to abide by the constitution that says in the clear voice that Russia is a democratic state. That the government is not observing the Russian Federation’s constitution and international treaties is the problem of this government. But if everything is being done contrary to the constitution as far as fundamental freedoms are concerned, this means that these people have stamped out the basics of a constitutional setup in Russia. And the law says it is the gravest crime, which is stated on the first page of our constitution,” Kasyanov emphasized.

At the same time, Kiseliov, who has been working in Ukraine for 18 months and has first-hand information about the situation with Ukrainian freedoms, admits that there are indeed a lot of problems in a democracy. However, he cautions Ukrainians against the illusory attractiveness of the order that exists now in Russia. “I keep hearing complaints from Ukrainian MPs and politicians, but I am saying to them: May you never find yourselves in the conditions of apparent order. I can see that Ukraine is now toying with the tempting idea of a strong hand. But I have a question: To what extent does this country need a strong government in the Russian interpretation of the word? This raises a strong doubt in me,” the Russian journalist noted.