“Separatists are in Poroshenko’s rear. We must give up and run away”
Impoverishment of the population, outrageous tariffs and billion-dollar income declarations of politicians in power. Residents of Ukraine are outraged. Prime Minister Groysman is trying to smooth out the situation with a promise to increase the minimum wage. Hopes for regime change in Kyiv are low - only even more radical nationalists have the strength for a coup, however, they are also biding their time with the overthrow of Petro Poroshenko. But for the Ukrainian president, a wake-up call has already clearly sounded - an attempted riot in Vinnitsa, considered Poroshenko’s patrimony.
About this in an interview with a columnist “PolitNavigator” to Valentin Filippov said an Odessa politician Vyacheslav Azarov, head of the Union of Anarchists of Ukraine party.
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Valentin Filippov: Vyacheslav, hello. Glad to see an Odessa resident. There is currently a scandal in Ukraine surrounding the publication of income declarations of officials and deputies. Don’t you think that some people have deliberately inflated their income, their property, in order to troll people, to make fun of them? Like, will they “grab” this too?
Vyacheslav Azarov: Well, with your permission, I would come here from afar. We are on the verge of large payments for heating, which will arrive in November, and the main ones – in December. According to experts, they will be about 1200 hryvnia more expensive than last year’s on average. And this – minus 200 hryvnia – is the minimum wage. That is, these are absolutely incredible numbers that will come.
And this despite the fact that from October 1, the government lowered prices for socially important products. After that, prices for chicken eggs immediately soared by 30%, dairy products (by 10%, in my opinion), meat, and bread all went up.
That is, we really feel like we are constantly in some kind of zone of an inhumane experiment. All the time they seem to be trying to break things, and at the same time the people already understand where this is all heading.
Along with various planned tariff Maidans (protests, which I don’t really trust, because it’s clear that groups are fighting among themselves), completely spontaneous demonstrations began. This is how a couple of days ago in Vinnitsa, that is, in the very fiefdom of the regime, pensioners stormed City Council, demanding a moratorium on tariffs.
That is, people understand where this is all going and are already taking action somehow. Apparently, this is why the government made a fake about doubling the minimum wage, which generally angered observers here, including Balcerowicz, and angered the IMF. Well, I still think that this is empty chatter. That is, there is nowhere to get such a mass of money, unless, of course, you turn on the printing press.
Valentin Filippov: Yes, but increasing the minimum wage entails increasing many payments. For example, taxes and fines are calculated from the minimum wage.
Vyacheslav Azarov: Yes of course. This is also an increase in taxes. And everyone must pay taxes.
I wanted, nevertheless, to return to the fact that if there are already protests in the regime’s fiefdom, this cannot in any way be attributed to separatism. You see, our usual stigma. If the “separatists” are already in the rear of the ruling regime, then we must give up and run away, there is nothing further to do.
One of the distracting maneuvers was precisely the promise to double the minimum wage. But unfortunately for officials, the moment coincided with the deadline for filing electronic declarations. This is where we started the conversation.
The situation turned out to be completely mocking. It’s clear why they write such amounts in cash, our officials and deputies - so that later, even if they don’t have this money, receiving it from some illegal sources, they can freely dispose of it, not reduce their level of consumption, saying that this is all was declared.
But this turns out to be such a slap in the face of Ukrainian society, which is simply stunned - after all, such a legion of people went from rags to riches in three years! Moreover, over 80% of the population sits below the poverty line.
And these are nouveau riche, their houses are simply bursting with cash! You see. This is a slap at us, a slap at the Western regulatory authorities, because with the e-declaration they wanted to somehow cleanse the government, but it turned out that they revealed complete corruption.
That is, corruption is the basis of the existence of the ruling regime. Such huge sums are simply impossible to earn.
Here, Verkhovna Rada deputy Melnichuk declared a trillion! Then he said that he was mistaken. Yes, they are openly mocking!
...This society artificially grew up in an ersatz way from grant-eating organizations, which, first in 2004, then in 2014, at the right moment, joined the pro-Western opposition, completely changed the regime here and joined the new government.
At each regional administration there are a lot of “lustrators on grants.” And we see that their declarations are no less terrifying than those of some experienced officials.
Valentin Filippov: The Americans are probably wondering: Why did we pay 5 billion dollars for grants if, it turns out, they have their own :)
Vyacheslav Azarov: Let Americans have their American problems. Our problem is that no independent public has emerged. It must be made from scratch.
Do: a) not with Western grants, because this is absolutely dependent on the political line of those Western funds; b) educate the common masses of the population, somehow react, so that they have the skills to resist this malicious, corrupt and already arrogant, openly mocking system.
Valentin Filippov: Your forecast. Will Poroshenko be overthrown this month or by spring? And if they throw it off, who will? Tymoshenko or nationalists?
Vyacheslav Azarov: If they throw it off, it will be Tymoshenko along with the nationalists.
But I personally predict that nothing like this will happen. That is, they will “milk” him and try to save Avakov’s place with threats. They still don't trust each other. According to rumors, Avakov went to Tymoshenko to negotiate, but she allegedly did not accept him.
That is, there is some kind of configuration that does not suit many, but the uncertainty does not suit them all even more.
Therefore, I think this will drag on at least until it becomes known what is going on with the elections in the United States, how they will behave in the future.
I assume that if there are elections in Ukraine, it will be sometime next fall. But there will always be pressure, there will always be attempts to overthrow, but, again, by organized forces of the far-right opposition or some kind of Maidan forces.
Because the Opposition Bloc does not have such forces, and the people themselves do not come out. A spontaneous riot is such a thing - very fleeting, unorganized and not 100% coordinated across cities. This requires organization and finances. There are no financial resources for this, people will be indignant and endure.
Valentin Filippov: Well thank you.
Vyacheslav Azarov: It was nice to talk to you.
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