Stormy weather, a court order banning protests and an overwhelming display of security made for a predictable outcome for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s trip to Kyiv on May 17-18 – the first visit by a Kremlin leader to Ukraine’s capital in nearly four years.
Medvedev pledged his country’s support to aid Ukraine’s economic recovery by creating mutually profitable joint ventures and said Russia would use its influence on the world stage “to advance all issues related to Ukraine, including International Monetary Fund and World Bank support.”
“The visit provided Medvedev a forum to showcase the Kremlin’s success in increasing its political and economic clout in Ukraine.”
– Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta Center for Applied Political Studies
For many Ukrainians, the parts of the visit they will remember five years from now are not the pledges made and agreements signed, but pictures of a large wreath falling on President Viktor Yanukovych’s head. But the visit meant a lot to the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
“The visit provided Medvedev a forum to showcase the Kremlin’s success in increasing its political and economic clout in Ukraine,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta Center for Applied Political Studies, who referred to the deal signed on April 27 to grant Ukraine up to $40 billion in gas subsidies in exchange for extending its lease on its Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea by 25 years.
On May 17, Ukraine and Russia signed five additional treaties on land border demarcation and cooperation to develop Russia’s GLONASS global satellite communication system, science and education, culture and banking. The presidents also approved three joint statements on regulation of the Transdnister conflict, European security and on security in the Black Sea region.
But for people on the streets, it seems leaders spent more time worried about security in Kyiv during the summit. The Kyiv Oblast Administrative Court issued an order banning public demonstrations in Kyiv for the duration of the visit.
Ignoring the court order, about 50 activists of the nationalist group Svoboda gathered on Sofiyivska Square to protest what they called Moscow’s attempt to turn Ukraine into a vassal state. A smaller group appeared briefly the next day at Shevchenko Park in front of the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, where Medvedev delivered a lecture to the school’s law students.
Also at the park, Volodymyr Chemerys, an organizer of the Ukraine Without Kuchma nationwide protest in November 2000, attributed widespread public apathy about the visit to disenchantment.
“[People] don’t see much difference between former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her successor, Mykola Azarov, who both support the interests of big business.”
-Volodymyr Chemerys, an organizer of the Ukraine Without Kuchma nationwide protest in November 2000
“People are fed up with political shenanigans and are unwilling to stand behind the opposition leaders they supported five years ago” during the Orange Revolution, Chemerys said. “They don’t see much difference between former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her successor, Mykola Azarov, who both support the interests of big business.”
Opposition leaders, including Svoboda’s Oleh Tiahnybok and Tymoshenko, have accused Yanukovych of selling out national interests and limiting constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and free speech since taking office in February.
Journalists, especially foreign media, were surprised by the tight security measures imposed during the visit. They were asked to show up hours ahead of a joint press conference by the presidents on May 17, pass three security checks, and were forbidden from reporting directly from the venue, where the presidents made no unexpected announcements and answered only two questions.
Speaking at a meeting of Tymoshenko’s shadow government on May 18, former Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk said the statements signed by the presidents contradict Ukraine’s stated foreign policy goals of seeking accession to the NATO military alliance and the European Union.
“I believe we are seeing an attempt by the Kremlin to steer our country’s foreign policy course away from membership in NATO and the European Union to membership in the [Russian-led] Collective Security Treaty Organization in order to tie Ukraine to Russia’s foreign policy machine,” he said.
Members of Yanukovych’s administration, however, deny such claims. They insist that their leader is steering Ukraine on a pragmatic and balanced path, improving relations with both Russia and the European Union. They also pledge that Kyiv will work towards EU integration.
“I have the impression that the more intensive and real our contacts with Russia are, the more interested Europe is in us,” said Hanna Herman, deputy head of the president’s administration.
Kyiv Post staff writer Peter Byrne can be reached at [email protected].
