Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Brahar struck a nerve with Ukrainians when he suggested that a retired woman sell her dog to pay her natural gas bills. The comment provoked a storm of criticism and a wave mocking memes on social media.
“If [her dog] is an elite breed in the yard, then she can sell him… at any moment and pay with ease,” Brahar, a 25-year-old lawmaker with the Servant of the People party said in response to a call by pensioner Lyubov Kolyucha during Holos Narodu, a live political talk show, on Jan. 31.
The 66-year-old Kolyucha said on the show that her pension of Hr 2,000 (around $80) is not enough to pay her gas bills.
Brahar publicly apologized for his comment the next day.
“I want to emphasize that I did not intend to offend anyone. I just wanted to draw attention to the cases of injustice when people who do not need help use subsidies while hiding their estates and luxurious lifestyles,” Brahar wrote on Facebook.
Kolyucha told journalists that she does not intend to sell her pet – a 14-year-old mixed breed named Sharik. The woman says she receives around Hr 1,300 (about $52) in subsidies, which is still not enough to pay for her gas bills.
“I would tell him to sell his brain! And he should think to whom, where and what he says,” Kolyucha told BBC Ukraine. “He just disgraced himself. He showed (the lack of) his humanity, his intellect and showed who is in Servant of the People.”
Lyubov Kolyucha, a 66-year old retiree, pets her 14-year-old dog Sharik in the village of Adzhamka, Kirovohrad Oblast on Feb. 2, 2020. Lawmaker Yevheniy Brahar suggested that Kolyucha sell her dog to pay her gas bills if the dog is of “elite breed.” (Valeriy Lebid)
Several members of the Servant of the People party have criticized Brahar for his comment on the Holos Narodu political show.
“On behalf of the leadership of the faction, I apologize to anyone who may have been offended by these words of Yevheniy Brahar. We don’t support them, this is not and cannot be our position,” deputy faction head Yevheniya Kravchuk wrote on Facebook.
Meanwhile, social media has erupted with jokes and memes skewering Brahar’s comments. The Kyiv Post translated and explained some of the funniest ones.
“Did you pay for gas? Damn, say something! Look me in the eyes! Where the hell are we going?”
“When gas workers knock at your door.”
“All dogs go to Oblgaz.” (Oblgazes are regional companies that distribute and transport gas in Ukraine, such as KyivOblGaz, LvivGaz, OdesaGaz, etc. It’s where Ukrainians pay their gas bills directly.)
“No bills scare us.” The photo shows former lawmaker Oleh Lyashko with his dogs.
“First they came for the dogs, and I did not speak out, because I was not a dog…” The meme references Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem about the Nazis’ rise to power in Germany.
“That moment when you learn that you will be payed in purebred dogs.” The photograph shows Andriy Kobolyev, CEO of Ukraine’s state energy company, Naftogaz, who has been criticized for his high salary.
A dog depicted as a crypocurrency that looks somewhat like Bitcon.
One user went further and created an offer selling Brahar as “an elite animal” on OLX, an online marketplace for used goods. “Sell Brahar – buy a dog,” the offer reads.
