Serhiy KUNITSYN: We can take it until April 1

The goal of democracy is to involve young and middle-aged voters not given to nostalgia in the election, presidential aide and former Prime Minister of the Crimean Autonomous Republic Serhiy Kunitsyn believes. And the recipe of political effectiveness lies in renouncing confrontation as the chief method of political behavior.

When you resigned you did not quit mainstream politics and, no matter what is taking place on the peninsula, your opinion is important. Why?

This is no exception, but the rule. Only for the Communists in the former Soviet Union resignation entailed ruin, arrest, and being silenced. Now these same Communists, while reaping the benefits of democracy, are hatching plans how to do away with it and seize absolute control over society. If they had the power, they would have made mincemeat out of the democrats. By dismissing me Leonid Hrach only weakened his own position as, apart from myself, he now has one more opponent while I have another ally, the present head of the peninsular government, Valery Horbatov, who was quick to realize that the Communists will never opt for democracy and truth. Besides, there has been a growing awareness that the wrong person was dismissed. The situation in the Crimean legislature is crucial, because due to constant vote rigging, the peninsular parliament cannot adopt any legal resolutions.

The For A United Ukraine convention named you 54th on its party ticket, with many candidates above you having less political weight. Do you think you will make it into Verkhovna Rada?

First, I am tenth on my party’s slate, quite a respectable place. That is why I don’t have any bad feelings. Secondly, we think that our bloc will get 20% of the vote and that means over sixty candidates will get elected. Third, several candidates above me on the ticket will take executive offices and thus drop out from the race. Fourth, all elected deputies have equal rights, regardless of their place on the party ticket. Most importantly, had I looked for a job in Kyiv, I would long ago have had a major one in the capital. But I preferred to stay in the Crimea because I want to work to radically improve the situation and life here. Besides, it’s about time Ukraine got rid of its Communist stigma, and the Crimea is a good place to start.

There is a widespread belief that Crimean politics is based not on programs and laws, but on personal links and agreements among politicians. How true is this assumption?

The human factor really has a big role in politics but it should have its limits. By contrast, the entire relationship between the parliament and government hinge on how well their leaders may come to terms with each other. This is the result of having no law on the Crimean Cabinet of Ministers and the style of running the legislature by a speaker who is convinced that he is above the law and can hand out all the important positions to his boys. Recall that Leonid Hrach has earlier tried to legalize such a personnel policy by adopting an appropriate resolution which was later overturned by the Constitutional Court. However, although the resolution was rendered illegal by the court, it was not canceled and Hrach behaves as if it were still valid.

What will happen if the leadership of the peninsular parliament remains the same after the vote?

Then all the administrative, interethnic, interfaith, and economic conflicts will be extremely acute. Since Hrach has already declared that he is ready to have it out in public with the president, the confrontation between the capital and autonomous republic will intensify. In the final analysis, this will lead to the Meshkov-style scenario, with Kyiv sooner or later forced to oust Hrach, cancel a host of illegal resolutions, rectify many things, and alter the constitution. But this time the consequences could be much worse.

What is your forecast for the elections in Ukraine and the Crimea?

Trends toward unity in Ukraine will lead to the emergence of a larger non-Left majority in Verkhovna Rada. In the Crimea everything will depend on whether the democrats will be able to unite. If so, the Crimean Communists will not only lose their grip on parliament, but 70% of new parliament majority will include professionals and pragmatists who will run the autonomous republic not according to a scenario of confrontation, as is the case now, but based on expertise and viable programs.

Another 20% of the vote will go to pragmatists representing such non- Left political parties as the national democrats, environmentalists, youth, women, etc. The present general trend will lead to a situation such that the For A United Crimea bloc that unites five parties, is supported by a dozen NGOs, and headed by professional pragmatic politicians, will win over 50% of the vote. Some fraction of the vote will go to the Crimean Tatars, the Russian bloc, and independent candidates. The remaining votes, but not more than 10%, will go to the Left.

What, in your opinion, will be the line-up in the next Verkhovna Rada?

I believe that Our Ukraine, For A United Ukraine, the SDPU(o), and several other Center parties will be able to unite in a majority that will form a government and assume responsibility for what is happening in the country. This will ensure stability in Ukraine.

What political and economic trends will dominate in Ukraine and the Crimea after the March 2002 election?

It is no secret that Ukraine’s foreign policy is now largely Russia-oriented and that is why closer economic and cultural links with Russia are inevitable. When this rapprochement is realized and the needs of Ukrainians for closer relations with Russia have materialized, many will become aware of the need to strengthen their European and transatlantic links, and, accordingly, steps to embark on a proper policy will be taken. In general, the year 2002 is the beginning of a presidential election campaign and its strategies and results will hinge on how much ground the Center will be able to gain in Verkhovna Rada.

What, in your view, lies in store for the present political blocs and parties? Will they survive? Will they become hostile?

Uniting is much more difficult than falling apart. The emergence of such blocs is a positive development which can lead to the creation of new political parties. The ouster of Viktor Medvedchuk will play a major role in politics and history of Ukraine. The SDPU(o), NDP, and a number of Center parties represent Ukraine’s strongest, most united, and qualified political teams, with their potential soon to reveal itself in deeds. Regrettably, so far Ukrainian politicians have failed to create a much wider and mightier political bloc on their base, but, perhaps, we will be able to see it.

What will your objectives be, if you win power in the Crimea and what role do you envisage for yourself? It was my own decision to run for office here, and I think I am young and experienced enough to help solve the problems in the autonomous republic. My major asset is that I know the local landscape with all its advantages, shortcomings, and bottlenecks. It’s not so important what office I have after the March election as that there is a group of pragmatic politicians with their professional vision of what they should do. It’s no secret that the Left has brought the autonomous executive to an impasse, and Leonid Hrach with his authoritarian ways must be held accountable for the present situation in the republic. When the positives are stressed, he is there ready to be commended. When, however, the problems are mentioned, he shifts the blame to the government and city mayors. The executive is in a dead-end and, were it not for the upcoming elections, the situation could be evaluated as a tragedy. But since the elections are due in three months, everyone is ready to tolerate the status quo for awhile, in the hope that everything will be changed in April. My role is that of a professional. Backed by several dozen NGOs, we, the NDP, are ready to sacrifice some of our political ambitions in order for the democracy to become a way of life on the peninsula.

Do you believe Crimea’s present status as a territorial autonomous republic is the best? Can it be changed in the future and how?

I was member of Verkhovna Rada in 1990 through 1994 and the decision to grant autonomy to the Crimea was based on the existing threat that separatist sentiments and attempts to cancel the 1954 act transferring the peninsula to Ukraine would get the upper hand. Considering international experience, such territories were typically granted special statuses, and Verkhovna Rada followed suit. Unfortunately, the status was not used to benefit the Crimea, because politicians preferred to focus not on creating a new society, but on conflict with Kyiv, other regions, and bodies of power. As a result, political adventurers opened the doors to the division of the peninsula among criminal syndicates causing the slow pace of its economic reforms, ban on privatization, and embezzlement of budget money. Once a better-off region, in its social and economic indicators the peninsula now lags far behind, with its potential recklessly wasted. Today, apart from adopting the attributes of power, such as a coat of arms, hymn, and banner, the regime, even given autonomous status, has failed to attain any tangible positive changes. But this is no reason to renounce this status. For the next several years, the goal for politicians is to try and breathe new life into the autonomy status immediately after the election in order to solve Crimea’s economic, social, interethnic, and interfaith problems.