She lives in virtual exile, many miles from her powerful husband, but displays his wealth ostentatiously. On her rare appearances in public she is surrounded by bodyguards who don’t allow journalists near her.
She is Lyudmila Yanukovych, Ukraine’s first lady.
Last seen with her husband, President Viktor Yanukovych, during his inauguration on Feb. 25, 2010, Ukraine’s first lady lives in the eastern city of Donetsk and appears in public rarely, usually visiting local theaters.
Observers say the absence of Yanukovych’s wife from public life damages the image of the president and Ukraine. It also places him alongside the authoritarian leaders of Belarus and Russia, whose wives are also hidden away.
Some think the reason she’s 500 miles from Kyiv dates back to the 2004 Orange Revolution, when she had one major – and combative — appearance in the national spotlight.
When tens of thousands in Kyiv hit the streets to protest her husband’s fraud-tainted election, she made a speech to supporters in Donetsk that swiftly became an internet sensation.
Speaking in a hysterical voice, she slammed the Orange protestors in ungrammatical and undiplomatic language, alleging that they received American money and support. She referred to “American tents with heating” and “American felt boots” that she claimed supporters of ex-President Viktor Yushchenko had a supply of in Kyiv.
Calling the pro-Yushchenko supporters, nearly a million people, a “coven,” she said people were given “[drug-] injected oranges” that made them a zombie- like crowd.
Not only was the speech itself widely mocked, but so was her fashion choice of a blue lambskin coat and a fur beret in the same color.
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said the speech was a turning point for the future first lady, who has been rarely seen since then.
Only one journalist, with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, has been granted an interview with the first lady. The fawning question-and-answer article, published on Oct. 7, is a lifeless and polished portrait of the first lady.
It describes the 61-year-old former steel plant worker as a religious person who does low-profile charity and is not willing to move to Kyiv to live with her husband because she is helping to raise her grandchildren in Donetsk.
In the interview, the first lady describes how she met Yanukovych after dropping a brick on her foot while working at the factory.
“I did not ask her any tough questions, including why she is not seen with the president, because I wanted to make a kind-hearted, positive interview. There are too many people who write negative, false stories about her and I wanted to support her,” said Halyna Novikova from Komsomolskaya Pravda, who wrote the article.
Denys Ivanesko, a spokesman for the presidential administration, said it would be impossible for the Kyiv Post to talk to the first lady.
“The role of first lady varies in each country. There is no rule. Lyudmila Yanukovych is not a public person and not a state official, so we do not comment on her,” Ivanesko said, adding that she also does not have a personal spokesperson or assistant who can be reached.
The absence of Yanukovych’s wife from Kyiv has led to gossip in political circles and, more seriously, harm to the country’s reputation.
“When we see leaders with spouses it sets a good example of family values. … Public people should build both their public and private lives on human values,” said Kateryna Levchenko, president of La Strada women rights organization.
Oleh Rybachuk, a former presidential administration chief-turned-civic activist, said the public absence of the first lady is damaging the image of the country and puts it in a club of states like authoritarian Belarus, where the wife of strongman President Alexander Lukashenko, Galina, is also living in exile.
She has lived in a village since her husband took office in 1994. Meanwhile Lukashenko’s personal life remains a mystery, spurring rumors over who is the mother of his seven-year-old son, who is often by his side.
Former Russian first lady Lyudmila Putina has been absent from the public eye since 2009, feeding rumors about the private life of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Of Ukraine’s four presidents, only the wife of the first president, Leonid Kravchuk did not perform any public duties. The spouse of Yushchenko, U.S.-born Kateryna, was the most public first lady.
She not only engaged in charity events and public duties but also visited art and fashion shows and often spoke to media.
Despite the distance from her husband, the first lady keeps him close when driving: She has been pictured in a $30,000 Honda Odyssey minivan with his portrait in the front window.
Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected]
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