Ukrainians lament 'lost hopes' after Orange Revolution

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Chicago Trubune

Ukrainians lament 'lost hopes' after Orange Revolution
President Viktor Yushchenko, onetime agent of change, now the incarnation of dashed dreams

By Alex Rodriguez | Tribune correspondent
April 5, 2009

KIEV, Ukraine—Night after night, he appeared onstage here in a downtown plaza, his face ashen and pocked with cysts from a poisoning attempt on his life. At his feet were legions of Ukrainians wedged shoulder to shoulder, gleefully screaming his name until their throats were raw.

Viktor Yushchenko was the agent of change, followers of the 2004 Orange Revolution believed, a pathway to an era when rule of law would supplant corruption and cronyism. In the West, politicians held him up as the bulwark against Russian aggression. Not long after he led daily demonstrations that culminated in his ascent to the presidency, oddsmakers had him on their shortlist for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Today on the streets of Kiev—where Ukrainians cram into bank lobbies to pull their life's savings out before the money vanishes into Ukraine's economic black hole—Yushchenko is the incarnation of dashed dreams.

"This presidency has been all about lost time, lost opportunities and a lot of lost hopes of Ukrainians for a better life," said Dmitro Kazmirchuk, 28, a Kiev businessman. "No leader has ever been as trusted by Ukrainians as Yushchenko was. And now the people won't trust anyone anymore."

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Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-ukraine-yushchenko_rodr.apr05,0,1980388.story

[aquart]

1. Know how they feel.

[izquierdista]

2. A leader can't just be against stuff

He has to lead by putting forward programs that put people to work, build the economy and the infrastructure, teach the children and care for the sick and elderly. In my visits to the Ukraine, I saw people going about their daily business, but the government was sitting on its hands, doing nothing. No road improvements, no building projects, no social welfare programs, nothing. They have swung from communism to the other extreme, where nothing happens unless someone with money thinks he can make more with some idea.

[Vidar]

3. Thanks for the first person report.

[TheLastMohican]

4. This is what happens

to puppet governments appointed in Washington D.C.
How much money did we spend on that fiasco through NGOs? Was it close to 60 million dollars and Kathy Chumachenko as an agent of influence?

[bemildred]

5. Who knew globalization and Reaganomics would suck? nt