This (report on the Ukrainian election sent from Congressman Bob Schaffer) is exciting stuff:
The parliament is meeting now but without the president’s supporters or the Communists. After several speeches, they called Yushchenko to the podium to swear him in as the new president (escorted to the podium with guards). The Rada Speaker Litvin walked out. Then the TV station (only one station covers anything about the election and it only covers 30% of the country) went off then cut to news and footage from earlier in the day. This is similar to the revolution in Georgia.
It seems the opposition has now claimed control of the parliament and most likely named Yushchenko as the president. He walked to the podium with a Bible and a copy of the oath in his hand. 300,000 pro-Yushchenko supporters are in the city square and watched what I described above on a jumbo TV. They’re celebrating what they believe is their new president. Provocateurs are infiltrating the crowd. Special forces are said to be moving in to disband the crowd. This is now a clearly declared revolutionary effort. A confrontation seems unavoidable now.
It’s very tense here. School has been cancled (again) for tomorrow. I’ll report more as I learn it.
Now we hear Yushchenko is headed to the city center to address the masses. His lieutenants will be giving instructions to the people outside the Rada building on “what to do.”
Telephones in the outlying towns have been shut off.
Now we hear there are Russians in Ukrainian special forces uniforms. I’ll report more as I learn it. May God bless and protect Ukraine and her people.
A representative of the Greek Catholic Church (a man who appeared to be a priest — dressed as one) announced at the demonstration that he was speaking on behalf of the Greek Catholic Churchn the Kyiv Patriarchiat and several Protestant denominations (Lutheran was the only specific one I heard but there were several others). He said this coalition of churches recognizes Yushchenko as president.
Yuschenko is now leading 1 million people from the square and surrounding streets to the administration headquarters of the Ukrainian government. He is in front of the column and many fear he is vulnerable to getting shot. They should be at the steps in 15 mins. Keep in mind, this is where the Russian special forces are stationed, dresses in Ukrainian garb.
If violence comes to define this revolution it will likely be within minutes.
The Georgian President (surrounded by Orthodox priests) just appeared on Ukrainian TV congratulating and encouraging the opposition supporters and “President” Victor Yushchenko. He spoke in Ukrainian which is verysignificant.
The Russian special forces just stopped the crowd approaching the administration headquarters. Bob
Sent via BlackBerry
(Via Glenn Reynolds, who has more, including a statement from Vaclev Havel.)
This whole thing reminds me of the Gorbachev/Yeltsin manuevering, when tanks were sent in, and Russia’s fragile new freedom was preserved.
The presence of the Greek Catholic Church patriarch is highly significant, as in the past, the Orthodox Church worked with the Communists to suppress the Greek Catholics. (This ancient religious schism is highly significant in the Ukrainian nationalist movement, and I have discussed it before here and here.) It should be noted that the Greek Catholic (aka Uniate) Church is in the Western Ukraine, while the Orthodox is in the East. This religious split naturally tends to mirror the election results:
The dispute has split this former Soviet republic down the middle, with the Ukrainian-speaking West mainly behind Yushchenko and the Russian-speaking east backing Yanukovich.
I read these depressing reports earlier about the rigging election results, and I am glad to see that Yushchenko’s people are putting up a fight. The Ukrainian people have suffered enough, and for far too long. (Unfortunately, some of their suffering was caused by Americans like Walter Duranty).
I’m glad to see the blogosphere helping, and I hope Yushchenko prevails!
Comments
3 responses to “Crossing my fingers for Ukrainian freedom . . .”
Thanks for the link.
CC
Eric, are you a Ukrainiologist? Even if not, here are some other interesting points about Ukraine’s East/West split …
L’viv, the cultural capital of the Western Ukraine, is only recently a Ukrainian city. Actual data is disputed, but after 1387, L’viv was colonized by settlers from Poland and was, essentially, a Polish island in Ukrainian ethnic territory, under the Polish name of Lwow. After 1792, when it was annexed to Austria, it took on the official name of Lemberg and received further settlers among the middle classes of Germans and Jews.
Because of its history, L’viv and, indeed, all of Western Ukraine, has long been oriented toward Krakow and, more recently, Vienna. Unlike Kiev, for example, L’viv shares a cultural history with the rest of Europe. Catholicism (even the Western Catholicism of its Polish citizens). The Renaissance. The Enlightment. Industrialization. Modernism. By contrast, Russian territory went from Medievalism to the WWI in one fell swoop.
The interesting thing is that this is the same split that divides Serbs and Croatians, substituting Turkey for Russia in the case of the Serbs.
Thanks for visiting, and for keeping us informed, CC.
Good history, bink! I’m not a Ukrainianiologist, but people close to me are Ukrainian descent, and I’m interested in the culture and history.
Lvov, by the way, was treated by the Nazis as part of Poland: pure hell during WW2.
Thanks!