“What rift are you talking about? We’ve just united!”

The Day presents a selection of comments from the residents of the Tent City. The participants of the protest movement were asked the following questions, What made you join the protest? What is your vision of Ukraine ten years from now? Is the statement about a split in Ukraine true?

Mariya IVANOVA, 18, a Kyiv student:

“I was forced to take to the streets by the election campaign fraud. For example, my mother, who is an ethnic Russian, was afraid to vote for Viktor Yushchenko because he was portrayed as a nationalist. She was afraid that the new government would deport her to Russia. Now she has changed her view. It’s very easy to debunk all those myths about the opposition being fascist or nationalist. All we need is unbiased information. My friends, relatives, and I found the election fraud completely outrageous.

“Now Ukrainians have finally realized that they are a united nation. You know, Hegel saw man as part of the Absolute, who could identify himself only through perceiving the Universe. Likewise, every Ukrainian is now looking at himself through the prism of the whole nation. Ukrainians in fact felt quite different from each other. My granny, who lives in Rivne oblast, supported Viktor Yanukovych. Yet there are just as many people in the east who voted for Viktor Yushchenko. So, the problem of a split country is largely artificial and overblown. Ukraine is united, proof of which is Kyiv today, where residents of Odesa, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, and Lviv are standing shoulder to shoulder.

“Ukraine has enormous potential. In time it will be as good as any European country in terms of its development. After this event, after our unification in Independence Square, Ukrainians face a great future, at least as a nation.”

Anatoly SYDORUK, 36, a farmer from Kharkiv oblast:

“I’m certain that if the elections had been fair, Yushchenko would have received 60% of the vote in Kharkiv oblast. But our authorities organized a ‘merry-go-round’ with absentee ballots. As a result, at one polling station alone in our district, voters cast 53.4% of their ballots for Yushchenko, while all the other constituencies cast between 42% and 45% of the votes for Yushchenko. Judging by public sentiments, I can say that this is make-believe.”

“They mustered civil servants and public employees (personally, I know about teachers), who traveled with absentee ballots to all the constituencies in the oblast. So far we have seen no conflicts between the supporters of the two candidates, except the one in which the authorities (a fact we do not doubt) put out a contract on a deputy manager of the Yushchenko district headquarters. His car was stopped on the night before the election, and he was beaten black and blue. This was clear intimidation with which the authorities wanted to show their strength. As for the ‘political statements’ of our oblast administration chairman Yevhen Kushnariov, I’m certain that he was primarily protecting his business interests. I think his political career is over, because not a single person at any level will ever forgive him for what he did.”

Tayisiya VAVRYK, 43, an accountant from Kharkiv:

“I was driven to Kyiv by my desire for justice. This decision was quite unexpected. My husband is rather hostile toward politics and says that it’s no business for a woman. But when I found out about the election results, I was speechless and burst into tears. I could no longer stay at home, so I packed warm clothes and a loaf of bread and off I went. I only left a note saying, ‘I’m leaving and will return only with a victory.’ I have two children: Katia, 20, and Olenka, 17. I didn’t even have time to discuss my decision with them; this was my heart calling out. My heart nearly burst with pain. There is a boiling point for everything.

“In Ukraine’s east, stereotypes about Yushchenko the nationalist are very strong. All of this happened because there was no alternative information. It is being concealed all the time. Before leaving for Kyiv, I visited my mother, who lives in Kramatorsk. You know, public sentiments vary greatly here and there. I can feel that they are still living according to the principle epitomized in the Ukrainian saying, ‘My house is out of the way, so why should I care?’ Their hearts are so cold, and there is so much fear. In a state of fear a person can’t even say what s/he is thinking. “There is no split in Ukraine. These days it has become obvious who is who. Now I have this essentially female intuition that if we grow stronger in our efforts to overcome fraud, then Ukraine will no doubt become very prosperous. As an economist I can say for certain that the nation’s wealth depends not only on mineral resources but also primarily on how hardworking this nation is. No matter how they try to antagonize Ukrainians and turn them into enemies, we will be united, and we must stay united to bring our nation to prosperity. Now that we have managed to assemble here, we have become even stronger. I have met so many people here that my notebook is filled with addresses. I invite people and get invited. How can you talk about a rift after this? We’ve just united!”

Taras, 36, security guard at the Tent City and director of a small private business in Lviv:

“We are optimistic and firmly believe in our victory and that the truth will triumph sooner or later. We were brought to Independence Square in the belief that Ukraine must finally become an independent, European, and democratic state. We are on a peaceful strike; we are not disturbing anybody. Everybody is very friendly, and the Kyivans have given us a warm welcome. There are simply no other means to influence those in power. After all, we will not fight or wage battles against anyone. Our aim is to show our solidarity. Those people who came here did so from the heart. And you can see it for yourself if you talk to the residents of the Tent City. Nobody ordered us to come. We traveled here in our own car. In the early days of the strike the authorities put up strong resistance against such trips to Kyiv. Many buses were stopped halfway, and people walked to Kyiv on foot, hitched rides, or paid for taxi rides. There are people here from all the regions, and even Kyivans are not content to stay at home watching television. They spend the night in addition to taking part in the rally during the day. Of course, young people predominate in the Tent City, but they are not schoolchildren. They are students, young businessmen, and workers. It’s a shame that some politicians are calling us fascists. Perhaps they do not have a clear idea of what this term means. The fight for freedom is no fascism. It hurts me to hear this because my grandfather spent four years in a Nazi concentration camp. And I have never favored a nationalist and especially a fascist ideology. Patriotism is a different thing. Patriotism is pride in your country, your nation, and people who are now braving the cold, who have left their homes to stand up for their right to live without lies in a wealthy country, a country that should be wealthy in reality and not just on television.”

Victoria MUNTIAN, 44, a plant engineer from Kryvyi Rih:

“As for the split into east and west, I think this split does not exist among the people but on a higher level. I have never felt any negative attitudes from people living in the western region. I once visited Lviv and liked it very much, and the locals did not offend me in any way. Perhaps our lifestyles differ somewhat. We are more attached to our places; we have stable jobs because our industry is more developed. When people are afraid of losing their jobs, they are content to acquiesce to any conditions. They do not take an interest in politics, and hibernate. But if a thinking person pries himself off the couch and turns on the television or browses the Internet, such a person wakes up immediately and sides with Yushchenko. I have talked to my friends. Those who made at least minimal efforts to find out what is happening in the country sided with the opposition. Those who didn’t continue to believe that the country has a prime minister, who must traditionally become the head of state. This is a stereotype. This is not ignorance, but passivity and unwillingness to take any interest. But I didn’t hear any talk of Banderivtsi in Kryvyi Rih. I, for one, fell in love with people who come from western Ukraine. They are so politically erudite and so ready to fight for their freedom that they command colossal respect. And people must stop saying that they have nothing to lose. That’s not true: these are people who run their own businesses, students, people who have traveled across Europe and earned money there. They want to live a normal life. In my family everything began with my two daughters signing up to volunteer at the Yushchenko headquarters. They were observers and defended the interests in which they believe. I’m alone in Kyiv, because I was afraid to let them come here. Something snapped in me when I heard the phrase ‘revolutions are never made from the couch.’ I understood that I had to come here. After all, this entire movement is formed of individual persons, each one of us.”