Russian celebrity TV host and socialite Ksenia Sobchak flew in to Kyiv to record a Dec. 11 interview with opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko for her program Sobchak Live at Dozhd (The Rain) TV station and to glance at the EuroMaidan protest that has entered its fourth week. The heavyweight boxing champion's brother, Wladimir Klitschko, also the top boxer in the world, came to the interview but stayed mostly silent.
Sobchak poked at the Klitschko brothers and found some sore points when asking about Vitali’s political career as an opposition leader and declared presidential candidate for 2015. Yet the elder brother could not clearly articulate whether he wanted to be president.
Vitali Klitschko also dismissed a law passed by parliament in October that bans registration of candidates who have residency abroad and pay taxes — a measure seemed aimed to knock out the candidacy of the German resident.
“The law is not retroactive. It comes into force on Jan. 1, 2014. And for the last year my only job was being a lawmaker in Ukraine,” he told Sobchak.
Sobchak pushed Klitschko to reveal the names of his sponsors, but he didn’t. When Sobchak mentioned that the huge expenses of his party must be backed up by somebody, he replied, “Tell me what are the huge expenses and I’ll tell you who’s paying.”
As in previous interviews, Klitschko said the most part of the costs are covered from his own pocket, but added that the expenses are not that enormous because he is already famous.
Sobchak listened to that response and continued, asking, “Is the name of Dmitry Firtash familiar to you?”
She pressed: “Many sources in Ukraine told me you have close connection to Firtash. Does he help you financially?”
Klitschko denied any connections, saying the only partnership he has with Firtash is through the Klitschko brothers’ boxing company that has a contract with Ukrainian Inter TV station, co-owned by the businessman.
Speaking of the European Union association agreement, which triggered EuroMaidan when President Viktor Yanukovych rejected the deal on Nov. 21, Klitschko admitted that “the transitional phase will be painful” because of the demands to rise the gas prices for households.
“But Ukrainians are ready to endure. We must see the long-term strategy,” he said.
Klitschko mentioned that he has to watch what he says carefully as anything can be used against him, and illustrated it with the recent case, when he was filmed swearing at Bankova Street on Dec. 1.
“I addressed the provocateurs very emotionally, and used all the resources of Russian language,” he told Sobchak, smiling.
Sobchak complimented Klitschko on the evolution of his public speaking skills and demanded to know what kind of training he had. Klitschko claimed he never had any, but admitted that giving speeches had been very hard for him in the beginning of political career in 2006.
When asked about his attitude to Ukrainian nationalists, led by Klitschko’s current opposition ally, Svoboda Party leader Oleh Tiahnybok, Klitschko thought for a moment, and replied: “They are not my heroes.” He also said that he didn’t approve the toppling of Vladimir Lenin statue in Kyiv on Dec. 8.
“We should not fight the monuments,” Klitschko said. “A war with monuments doesn’t make life of Ukrainians any better.”
Kyiv Post lifestyle editor Olga Rudenko can be reached at [email protected]
