--- Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> Chris Doss wrote:
>
> >Julia Tymoshenko, the country's photogenic and
> fiery
> >Prime Minister
>
> Indeed. What's her story? She looks great, but what
> are her politics?
>
Peter knows more than I -- I'm no pro. She's an oligarch. She's Khodorkovsky with funbags (ha, got to use that word again). In Russia, she's known as the "gas princess," having made her billions in the gas wars in Ukraine in the 1990s. (This is a touchy subject in Russia, as the Ukrainian elite made bundles in the 1990s stealing Russian gas transiting Ukraine to Europe.) Until very recently, she was wanted in Russia on, I believe, theft charges. She's a crook -- albeit a sexy one. The Ukrainians I know say she's a criminal.
AFAIK while in power she had a nationalist, populist agenda, reducing prices for Ukrainian consumers (probably good) while selectively pursuing criminal cases against her rivals in business and politics (probably bad).
In any case, the "Orange Revo" as perceived in the West is over (as is the "Rose Revo" -- Saakashvili's approval rating is 30-40%. Note that the tyrant Lukashenko's are 60-70%.).
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
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