Dear Viktor Fedorovych!
Ukraine will soon mark 20 years of independence. It is a good time to examine the state of the nation and draw conclusions about what needs to be done as your team takes power.
Ukraine, as a state, has more problems than achievements. Those in power have failed to meet the nation’s expectations. This is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with corrupt power and an undefined foreign policy. It’s divided historically, politically and by values.
Over the years of independence, wild capitalism and brutal political fights for power have degraded and diminished the nation. Too many now define achievement as attaining high office and big money.
The wealth and moral gap between the people and the political elite is widening. Today the country is ruled by an oligarchic and amoral elite.
Mr. President, people are looking to you for leadership. The view of many in your administration that ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is to blame for everything is a position of leaders who are unsure of themselves. The essence of the problem is very different, in my opinion.
Legacy of oligarchic control
The faces who rule are changing. But the philosophy remains unchanged. The current image of Ukraine was formed by Leonid Kuchma. It was under his rule, from 1994-2005, that oligarchic capital and clan power were formed. Society split into poor and rich; those in power became surrounded by bootlickers. Viktor Yushchenko, in power from 2005-2010, buried the national idea in political ashes. In other words, your predecessors left you with a difficult legacy.
New approaches are needed. But, after having analyzed your first steps as president, I have every reason to say that nothing is changing radically. Your orderly seizure of power in the executive and legislative branches should allow your administration to approve the needed democratic laws, the budget and fulfill election promises.
Instead, what we get is more promises of reform.
The parliamentary majority under your control is ruling by force rather than by law. The coalition, citing the difficulties of life, is turning to an unlawful style of rule. Coalition leaders think they can replace law with political expediency.
The Constitutional Court judges, with their slave psychology, can rule anything constitutionally “legitimate.” To be free, we have to be the slaves of law, Cicero once wrote – not the slaves of leaders, but the slaves of law.
‘Lawlessness…and corruption’
Dear Viktor Fedorovych, you have plenty to think about here. But most attention should be given to the following:
First, you have to pay close attention to how the Constitution and laws are observed. Your team has many people who want to continue along the path of lawlessness, permissiveness and corruption. They’re developing a taste for solving complex problems by force. This has nothing in common with democracy.
Now that you have a unified and obedient team, there is hope and trust from those who are tired of political squabbling. Start making changes now. You have enough power to push your team to do good and responsible governing along a democratic path.
Some of your team members are so carried away with their new offices that they are publicizing their views and plans, forgetting that their job is to fulfill your program. Deciding whether or not to observe the Constitution, as some of your officials are doing, is a dangerous trend.
For example, Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Semynozhenko and Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk have decided that the Ukrainian state language is not compulsory, in defiance of the law. This is not the path of a civilized society.
If we continue interpreting the Constitution freely, we might soon end up with political persecution. As president you need to tell the Ukrainian people whether the current Constitution is working and who its guarantor is.
Nation’s values
The second problem concerns the issue of values, the human factor. Every state is based on an ideological, legal and spiritual foundation. But some on your team are pursuing an anti-national agenda.
You cannot ignore the splits within Ukraine, exacerbated by those who do not want to understand the delicate and intricate relationship between people and power.
If your team has not been formed on the basis of skills and values, but rather on the basis of nepotism and favors, it is difficult to expect clear and predictable actions.
A state official’s values, political and professional knowledge are parts of the whole. Values are not labels on your handkerchief that you can just peel off. Every one of us, as Alexandr Pushkin once wrote, has to have “the call of honor.” Without it, cleverness has no social weight.
Toadyism has started gaining force. Peter the Great once wrote: “If someone licks your feet, squash them with your foot before they start to bite.” You should think about these wise words.
Foreign policy
One of the most important presidential tasks is defining foreign policy. Ukraine hasn’t got one now.
Depending on who is in power, we either move West or East. This is impossible. We should move from unrealizable fantasies to modern reality, define Ukraine’s role in the European security system and finally approve a foreign policy course, as required by the Constitution. Nothing we have done so far can be called a serious foreign policy that reflects people’s interests.
Time to act is now
Believe me and my experience, Mr. President, time flies. If you fail to use the positive starting opportunities, it will work against you, making it difficult to do anything radical and deep.
I am writing all this because these problems are hurting me, the person who set the basis for the independence, democracy and rights and freedoms of the Ukrainian nation.
Using Chinese wisdom: “The one who points to my mistakes is my teacher, the one who points out my correct actions is my friend, and the one who is a bootlicker is my enemy.”
I wish you all the best.
Respectfully, Leonid Kravchuk.
Leonid Kravchuk served as Ukraine’s president from 1991-1994. This letter originally appeared on the Ukrainska Pravda online newsite and is reprinted with the author’s permission.
