Margaryta Shurikova,
pensioner
“Our party did great work. Their agitation was the most influential during the election campaign. Here in Ukraine it will be hard for communists to unite people. In the new parliament, the communists can change little because Ukraine is under the rule of the U.S.”
Evheniy Shulga,
pensioner
“Communists now don’t fight for the freedom of Ukrainians. They can do nothing now, because they’re underneath the (ruling) Party of Regions. In the Soviet era, communists had great impact. Now such tycoons as (Economy Minister Petro) Poroshenko ruined the economy and destroyed factories. They’re rich and we are poor.”
Anna Yarmak,
Raboche-Krestjanskaja Pravda (Worker-Peasant Truth) correspondent
“It’s great poverty in Ukraine. The death rate is high. People are dying. The pension is at Hr 1,000 ($125 a month). That’s why (Communist Party leader Petro) Symonenko is so popular among us. We remember how good we used to live: everything was very cheap or even free. We need to make a revolution as (Vladimir) Lenin did.”
Yasya Anshakova,
unemployed
“People vote for communists because they’re tired of the capitalists, so Ukrainians still believe that casting ballots may change something.”
Halyna Savchenko,
pensioner
“The living conditions are bad now. I am a Soviet Union woman. Even Vanga predicted the restoration of the USSR. I believe in it.”
