Is there any use of the “Orange plague”?

“Friends, I would like to address mainly the citizens of Ukraine. Could you help me, the citizen of Russia, decide on my attitude to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. Now in Russia the movement against the ‘Orange infection’ or ‘Orange plague’ (called differently in different regions) is gaining strength. Is it really an infection and plague? Or did it have more positive consequences than negative ones? Could you, please, share your experience?” This is the request the user nicknamed Not Indifferent placed in his blog at the website livejournal.ru.

It is true that the word combination “Orange plague” has become the burden of pro-Putin’s meetings in Russia. It is noticeable that nobody mention the Rose Revolution in Georgia (though it preceded the events in Ukraine) or the sanguinary Tulip Revolution in Kirgizia. It looks like the phantom fear of the peaceful and bright protest is deeply in the subconscious of the “Kremlin’s henchmen” and it cannot be dislodged out of there.

“Russia is now facing the enormous problem since the authorities are unable to assure peaceful change of power. Ukraine has had the absolutely invaluable experience showing that the power can be changed peacefully, through re-election and that the current authorities can accept its defeat. By the way, the current authorities can come back,” Russia journalist Semen NOVOPRUDSKY shared his ideas with The Day.

However, the word combination “Orange plague” is used not only by the members of Yedinaya Rossiya [United Russia] but also by the homegrown politicians from the Party of Regions, though in fact, this terrible “infection” did good to them.

Viktor Yanukovych, against whom the Orange were protesting, has been the legitimate and sovereign president of Ukraine for two years now. Not the antagonists or “victims” of the Orange Revolution are in prison now but its inspirers Yulia Tymoshenko and Yurii Lutsenko.

We asked the members of the Party of Regions to find at least something positive in the events of 2004. We should admit that not all of them were able to do it.

COMMENTARIES

Volodymyr MAKEIENKO, MP (fraction of the Party of Regions):

“I can see something positive since the society was not indifferent back then. People were sincere when going into the streets. The other thing is that they were deceived later and their expectations were never met. However, such events wake up the society. They are useful to everybody: politicians, those who are in power and in the opposition. It is useful for error analysis. This is positive.

“We also have independent media. We have different points of view. Representatives of various political forces speak at the state channel UT-1. It seems to be normal and good.”

Vadym KOLESNICHENKO, MP (fraction of the Party of Regions):

“I cannot say that Yanukovych came to power due to the Orange Revolution. In 2004 his victory was stolen.

“When the abovementioned events happened, the whole country and the Party of Regions expected the society to get healthier. The problems that existed in the country back then were not related to Yanukovych but to the current authorities of that time. Those were the problems we had inherited from the Soviet Union and the ones that arose because the power did not change and did not carry out any reforms. The society was in stagnation.

“Everyone wanted something new. However, unfortunately, those great expectations were crossed out in 2005. We came to know about ‘dear friends’ and other things…

“This is why I cannot find anything positive in the Orange Revolution and the main negative thing was that people were deeply disappointed. This is the main problem our society got.

“From the economic point of view we were taken back since the populism did not allow carrying out any systematic reforms.”

Iryna YANCHUK, director of the secondary school No. 26 of Zhytomyr, deputy of the city council from the Party of Regions:

“I have a good attitude to the ‘Orange’ events; I think they were positive for Ukraine. I remember that people expected a lot that they would be respected. Back then I accepted them sincerely and enthusiastically. However, we did not think that the leaders of the popular revolution would behave the way they did. I was deeply disappointed when I saw that President Viktor Yushchenko did not do anything he had promised. He had such a high rating that he could have done a lot. Anyway, people felt that they could protect their rights; they felt their connection with each other. It was a romantic holiday of freedom and spiritual animation.

“The elections after the Orange Revolution were more or less fair which is good. However, some people still doubt about the legitimacy of the third round of the then presidential election. Sometimes they say the same about the last election to the local councils. I became a majoritarian deputy, I was unaffiliated before and the Party of Regions nominated me. I had already been abroad then, visited Europe that is why I understood the democratization processes and supported them. When I came to Ireland after the Orange Revolution locals asked us about it and were very friendly. After that our expectations were practically crashed.”

Volodymyr FESENKO, political expert:

“I do not accept the term. If they speak about the plague, they hide the infection of revolution behind. The Russian authorities are afraid of this infection of revolution. They can see its continuation, its reincarnation in the current protests growing by leaps and bounds. They are trying to influence people’s consciousness, ‘calm’ Russia, backwoods and national outskirts that are just used to Putin and associate him with the stability.

“However, it is remarkable that not only the authorities but a large part of protestors and famous people dissociate themselves from the revolution. They ask not to associate them with the so-called ‘Orange plague.’ They reject even the term of ‘revolution.’ They say: ‘We are not revolutionists! We are not going to make a revolution!’ They rather support the new Russian perestroika and liberalization. However, Putin symbolizes everything they do not want in Russia. Here lies the main contradiction in the world-view of the angered people: they do not want to have Putin but at the same time they do not want any revolution. How can they get rid of Putin without revolution? Russians cannot answer this question so far.

“The attitude to the orange color, to the Ukrainian experience is an indicator. Common for the Russian authorities and opposition is that they deny and do not want any revolution.

“Our members of the Party of Regions would also prefer to forget about the Orange Revolution as a nightmare. They still have the complex of Maidan. Ironically, a lot of what they do can make those events repeat. It seems to me some of them realize it but they cannot do anything. Others think that the repressions against the leaders of opposition will protect them from the events of 2004.”

Oleksandr FORMANCHUK, head of the Expert Analytical Council at the Council of Ministers of ARC, co-head of the Association of Political Experts of the Crimea:

“It is obvious that in conditions of the civilizational heterogeneity of Ukraine we have inherited the fact that the Orange team came to power was historically inevitable. Thank God, it happened since people got a possibility to compare and assess. It is a valuable historical experience for the formation of the Ukrainian sovereignty. In this aspect the events of 2004 made a programmed historical stage. I do not take them negatively and we should not label them. Finally, this experience made a lot of people support the Party of Regions later. It is true that back then there was an attempt to find a national idea that, unfortunately, failed; however, the essential is that the Ukrainian people living at a civilizational gap had a possibility to assess.

“Today the Party of Regions cannot overcome the consequences of that period of time. For example, they cannot make Russian the second national language. It will not work. Why? Because a significant part of the society that did not accept it and will never do so demonstrated their will and everyone has to reckon with them. There are a lot of similar examples. The consequences of that period are still having a positive effect and make the political forces coming to power consider all of that. I do not think we can easily waste words even though I do not accept nationalists’ ideology of Narodny Rukh and the party Svoboda, I realize that these political movements exist in our society not because of someone’s evil intent, but because they represent a part of our society and all politicians have to take this into consideration.”

Interviewed by Valerii KOSTIUKEVYCH, The Day, Zhytomyr; Mykola SEMENA, Simferopol