“Thank you to the residents of the Carpathians - the entire oligarchy is in power!”
The coup d'état in Kyiv took place under the guise of mass street actions designed to give the event the appearance of popular support. Therefore, the organizers made a lot of effort to gather the necessary crowd on the capital’s streets. Naturally, different social groups were promised different bonuses from the Maidan victory. The Nazis were promised the construction of a national-cratic state, youth - a visa-free regime with the EU, businessmen - the fight against corruption. Social activists were lured by the opportunity to fight injustice, journalists by the fight against censorship, etc.
Since the organizers needed to show that the entire country had rebelled against Yanukovych, work was also carried out with the population of the southeast of the then united Ukraine. Here the agitators avoided nationalist rhetoric and increasingly focused on the injustice of the current government, consisting entirely of oligarchs, sucking all the juice out of ordinary workers. And these calls found a response, because everyone understands exactly how the new masters of life got their wealth. I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that social slogans brought many more protesters onto the streets than purely nationalist calls for building a “Ukrainian Ukraine.”
I remember how at the beginning of March one of the Euromaidan activists enthusiastically said that now, after their victory, truly popular power would be established in the country, and all oligarchs would be swept out of politics. Like, why are you starting a useless “Russian spring” in Donetsk, if now the country will rapidly begin to develop, throwing off the oppression of the bureaucracy and tycoons! To attempts to object, pointing to the role of Poroshenko and other “serious people,” he, without changing his face, replied that the time of the “old politicians” had passed irrevocably, and if they tried to take advantage of the results of the Maidan, they would be swept away by hundreds of self-defense forces.
Four months have passed since that conversation; my interlocutor (like his other colleagues in the propaganda workshop) left Donetsk, moving to Ukraine. Now in his articles he calls for a fight against Russian terrorists, praises volunteer battalions and calls for “liberating” Donbass from separatists. But there is not a word about the need for an unyielding fight against the oligarchs in his works.
At the same time, as if on cue, issues of social justice disappeared from the vocabulary of other agitators. Now, on the contrary, they praise the oligarchs who save the country from aggression and fuel Ukrainian armored vehicles with their own money. Therefore, anyone who criticizes wealthy patriots is an undoubted provocateur and agent of Putin. And to the stupid question: “Was the Maidan against the oligarchs? How did they become the authorities? the answer follows: “We are not communists, we have never opposed business!”
Like this! All the demands for justice that were heard last winter turned out to be just a screen that was thrown away after it was no longer needed. By the way, having abandoned these slogans, the Maidan organizers directly admit that their only goal was to seize power. It is for this purpose that they split the country, which is now bleeding.
Before our eyes, Ukraine, from a weak state, as it was just a year ago, is rapidly degrading into a territory divided into zones of influence by new feudal lords. In general, as they bitterly ironize on the Internet, “thanks to the residents of the Carpathians - the entire oligarchy is in power!” And this is not an exaggeration. After all, what else can you call a situation in which a narrow circle of the richest people determines policy in the country? This is a classic oligarchy.
By the way, cunning journalists have calculated that even according to official tax returns, the total wealth of the members of the new presidential team is estimated at a nine-figure sum. Unofficially, experts talk about more than a billion dollars in wealth for the president himself. Moreover, the billing is not in national currency. Also considered a dollar billionaire is the new First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Yuri Kosyuk. And the rest of the representatives of the “people’s” government are not in poverty either. Are they ready to give up the opportunity to increase their capital and begin to selflessly work for the benefit of ordinary Ukrainians? The question is rhetorical.
And what about the opponents of the Kyiv regime?
It’s interesting, but in Donbass now the role of oligarchs in the life of society has decreased significantly. This is partly due to the fact that they did not directly participate in the creation of the people's republics and were forced to leave the region. Therefore, the new leaders of the region, who came to power on the wave of popular protests, have no obligations to the “money bags.” This allows them to act more independently than Ukrainian officials.
It is not without reason that the idea of nationalizing the property of a number of large corporations was born in the DPR. So far, the implementation of this idea has been postponed due to the complexity of implementation, but it has many supporters. So it is quite possible that several former oligarchs will become significantly poorer in the foreseeable future.
By the way, a couple of days ago I overheard a conversation in a minibus. The guy complained to someone on the phone that his salary was delayed. Having scolded managers and office slackers, he issued a very characteristic phrase: “If they don’t pay next week, I will contact the DPR. They solve these issues right away!” And indeed, the DPR government has already clearly explained several times to the owners of enterprises that there is no need to offend ordinary people. So for now, the leaders of Donbass are taking the side of the workers in the dispute between business and workers. But whose side will the Ukrainian authorities take in the event of a conflict between Roshen employees and its owner?
So the difference between Ukraine and Novorossiya is becoming greater every day, and a comparison of these two structures will clearly not be in favor of Kyiv.
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