You're reading: “To Kill Yulia” book tops sales

Tiny paperback under provocative title has been a bestseller in the capital’s bookshops since it first appeared on the shelves in February

A tiny paperback under the provocative title “To Kill Yulia” has been a bestseller in the capital’s bookshops since it first appeared on the on the shelves in February. Salespeople say they’re not surprised.

The catchy title, with its clear reference to the country’s former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, and the fact that its priced at only a dollar, have been fueling sales of the book, according to shop attendants at Bukva, a popular bookshop in downtown Kyiv. They say that sales of “To Kill Yulia” have been 20 times higher than any other publication in their shop.

The book’s author, Yuriy Rohoza, doesn’t deny that “To Kill Yulia” was a public relations project to promote Tymoshenko ahead of the March 26 parliamentary elections, in which Tymoshenko’s political bloc figures among the favorites. His only objection is to allegations that his work was ordered by the fiery female politician or her Fatherland party.

“I’ve known Yulia Tymoshenko for a long time, and I admire her both as a person and as a leader,” said Rohoza, a screenwriter known for his work on the popular Ukrainian television series “Den Rozhdeniya Burzhuya” (The Bourgeois’ Birthday), which came out in 2000.

Rohoza now works for Ukraine’s top-rated television station Channel 1+1, which used to air the series, but he has been close to Tymoshenko and the country’s political elite since 2001, when he started working as Tymoshenko’s unofficial advisor. Last fall, President Viktor Yushchenko fired Tymoshenko, who has since been in opposition.

Rohoza said that his book, which portrays Tymoshenko as a victim of Yushchenko’s ‘corrupt’ inner circle, is the voice of a person disillusioned by the ideals of the Orange Revolution.

“It is my personal civic project to reveal the truth to Ukrainians, showing them that they have been fooled,” said Rohoza.

In the 95-page plot, the author only slightly changes the names of his real-life characters.

For example, the main villain is someone named Viktor Pincheruk, whose name closely resembles that of the son-in-law of former President Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Pinchuk. Pincheruk hires a hit man to slay the country’s prime minister, whom the author refers to simply as Yulia, a hard-working, uncompromising public servant ardently dedicated to changing her country for the better.

Although the murder plot fails, Yulia’s high-minded intentions are nevertheless undermined by the coordinated actions of a selfishly motivated group of people who abuse their close ties to the president to erode his trust in Yulia.

Rohoza’s work echoes the claims of Oleksandr Zinchenko, the real-life former secretary of President Yushchenko’s administration, who last September accused presidential confidants, such as the head of the National Security and Defense Council, Petro Poroshenko, of corruption and plotting to remove Tymoshenko from office.

The author uses simple, often explicit language, arguing that “the truth is more easily perceived when presented in a humorous and comprehensible way.”

Oleksandr Krasovytsky, director of the Kharkiv-based Folio publishing house, which published “To Kill Yulia,” said that more than 1.7 million copies of the book were printed – the biggest edition in his company’s history.

“We agreed to publish the book because it promised to be very profitable and it did not contradict our editorial policies, as all the names had been changed,” Krasovytsky said, adding that Folio didn’t ask for any money up front.

According to Krasovytsky, his expectations have been confirmed, and most copies have already been sold in Folio’s bookshops around Ukraine. He said the highest sales figures were recorded in Kyiv’s Bukva and Znannya book shops, located on the city’s main street.

Rohoza said that he still doesn’t know the reaction of Tymoshenko, who he insists did not take part in the writing of the book. But he hopes that she will use his work to promote her party.

“I would even like Tymoshenko’s bloc to buy up part of the print edition and distribute copies of the book for free,” Rohoza said.

The Tymoshenko bloc’s press service was not available for comment as the Post went to press.

Meanwhile, the head of the Socialist Party, Oleksandr Moroz, referred to in Rohoza’s book as a character who supports the actions of Tymoshenko’s opponents, called the book “a dirty political order.”

“If a person bases her election campaign on lies, then it becomes clear what she is really worth,” Moroz was quoted as saying about Tymoshenko during a press conference in Poltava region.

Rohoza denied allegations that he was pursuing commercial or any other interests with his book, claiming that his only motivation was his personal conviction.

According to Rohoza, his honorarium for the book was purely symbolic – about $200.

“Maybe I simply had a little more of an opportunity to express my civic position thanks to my name and good contacts,” said Rohoza, adding that he’d be happy if his vote on March 26 was multiplied by a thousand votes from people persuaded by his book.

“There were people who created economic miracles in their countries in a couple of years – think Eva Peron or Charles de Gaulle,” Rohoza said.

“I believe Tymoshenko is that kind of person.”