published in Eastern Economist #377, April 29, 2001
Last week, we left the Easter pageant at its early stages, with the Sanhedrin demanding a miracle and Yulia Magdalene looking for a leader of men. As the story unfolds, first there was the celebration of the Resurrection, April 15, when the president, premier and speaker trekked, along with an entourage of hangers-on, to the midnight Easter service at four different Kyiv churches. Mr. Kuchma confessed to feeling somewhat otherworldly, while Mr. Yushchenko remarked how much he was banking on his “father.” Then – remember this is Ukraine, where things don’t always follow the usual order – came the trial and crucifixion, with father, son and speaker each playing their roles to the hilt.
It was now for the accused to make his plea before the Supreme Council. A number of Apostles had got together and collected 3mn palm branches from the faithful, which they stacked in boxes before the podium like a barricade to protect Mr. Yushchenko against possible attackers. Reporting on the various miracles that had taken place in the country during the previous year, including the healing of the unpaid and the feeding of the retired, Mr. Yushchenko spoke with calm and dignity and showed that the promises he and his followers had made had all been largely kept. He seemed to have understood that his father would not take this cup away. Even many foreign observers admitted that more than one miracle had indeed taken place in Ukraine at last, although they were still very skeptical about giving any shekels to rebuild the country’s temples.
At this point, the floor was opened and all the homeboys, leaders of factions and chairs of committees rose to speak. Karmazin the Fighter growled angrily: “This Government report does not include the fight against organized crime. Ukraine must repent, repent, repent.” A few oligarchs could be seen beating their breasts with one hand while crossing their fingers on the other. Udovenko the Ugly growled back: “Those who are against the Government are trying to get back into the soviet fold.” “Hear, hear!” shouted the peanut gallery. Zinchenko the TV Mogul howled, glaring up at them: “But this Government has done nothing to support freedom of speech!” A mass of mobile phones and beepers began to bang rhythmically on tables throughout the session hall. The gallery broke out in hisses and boos. “Order, order,” cried Pliushch the Speaker. Kononov the Green shrilled: “All of you are only thinking in terms of industrial society. We Greens favor a post-industrial society and I demand that the Government act on this.” Goshovska the SocPol sneered: “Sure, you paid the pensioners and fed the state workers on only 15 hryvnia, but what about statistics and indicators. In my books, raising one man from the dead isn’t enough to fix the country’s terrible life expectancy rates!” But when Vitrenko the Vitriolic tried to open her mouth, the speaker finally shouted, “Shut up! You’ve been sick for too long. You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
The verdict of the rabble was not long in coming. Crucify him, said 283 voices two days later. At that, a plump brunette suddenly threatened self-immolate, spilling gasoline over herself. A gallant bystander stopped her – although it turned out she had no matches anyway. “Down with the speaker!” 226 angry deputies now demanded, as Mr. Yushchenko was led away, obviously in great pain. The question is: will the father sacrifice the son, or will he rescue him at the last minute? Stay tuned for the next episode.
As if to counterbalance that national hate-in going on among the boys in Ukraine’s legislature, the buxom Ruslana Pysanka decided apply a woman’s touch. She decreed a love-in at the Park nightclub on April 20. Since the politicos were having their say on all kinds of important issues like who hadn’t got keys to the Cabinet bathrooms and why the premier had a corner office and Mr. Zinchenko did not, the popular weather anchor invited Ukrainian men to come prepared to perorate about love at this Kyiv hot-spot. As the sole judge of this impromptu contest, Ms. Pysanka is she who must be pleased. It might be more helpful of Ms. Pysanka, though, to play she who must be appeased. Perhaps she could enter the parliament in her role as the witch from Ogniem i mieczem and strike a little healthy fear into the hearts of those little men instead.
When headlines began to scream that the US had granted political asylum to Maj. Mykola Melnychenko and to the family of missing journalist Georgiy Gongadze, many readers might be forgiven in thinking that the US was indeed “interfering” in the domestic affairs of Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry even called the decision by the INS “not in the spirit of partnership,” since Melnychenko is being charged with high treason at home. But asylum is granted upon application by a foreign citizen for refugee status – and the charge of high treason itself would seem to be proof positive that Melnychenko would be persecuted in Ukraine…
When she left with her two little daughters for Poland, Myroslava Gongadze told a Kiyevskiye Vyedomosti correspondent at Boryspil airport: “I’m leaving Ukraine for good.” Meanwhile, Lesia Gongadze was telling reporters: “My daughter-in-law’s in Poland for a rest. She’s got a return ticket.” Apparently Myrosia didn’t let her mother-in-law know she was running away from home…
The other day korespondent.net reported that Swiss police are investigating an account opened by third persons in the name of Melnychenko. Within a month, US $1mn made its way into the account from a US bank. Hey, boys, our account number is #1235-567-8-90 at the credit union on Chicago Avenue. We’d settle for half of that amount if you can get it there by Friday. •
–Pan O’s laundry ladies*
* The notebooks of Pan O are almost dry and parts are already being deciphered. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
RC#2: Confession, Crucifixion & Cosmic Celebration
published in Eastern Economist #376, April 15, 2001
Chystiy Chetver or Holy Thursday is historically the night of the Last Supper, when Christ followed old Jewish traditions and washed the feet of all his Apostles. In Rome, the Pope ritually cleanses the feet of select people in St. Peter’s; in most of Ukraine, it’s clean-up time in preparation for Velikden, the Great Day of the Resurrection. With all the Paschal holy days converging this year, though, not just Ukrainian housewives seem to have gone on a spring cleaning binge. Some high-profile spiritual cleansing has hit the headlines as well.
In Cherkasy, all the faiths got together – Christians Catholic, Orthodox and Mormon, Muslims, Buddhists – and confessed. A bit of salo during Lent, a little hanky-panky on the spring break, a bit of pork shashlyk at a neighbor’s wedding, and a deliberately squashed cockroach were the top sins of the day, according to a church insider. The Baptist’s head priest knew just how to get the faithful in the mood: “Ukraine is full of sins!” he thundered. “We must confess regularly to cleanse this country!” “Amen!” the ecumenical congregation thundered back.
Nor did this message fall on deaf ears: the Government in Kyiv went clean by holding a public confessional at Budynok Vchytelia – no doubt in preparation for the crucifixion it expects to face on April 17 in the Verkhovna Rada.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s own Easter drama continued to unfold. Like the turncoat Judas and weak-kneed Peter, the same deputies who eagerly formed a pro-reform majority last spring are now showing just how little faith they have in their chosen leader, as they all rushed to nail the Government on Apr. 19. Already 238 signatures have been collected on a draft VR motion to exercise a vote of non-confidence and registered in the VR secretariat. Unsurprisingly, 112 Communists joined the rightist oligarchs in forming a bloc to vote Viktor Yushchenko and his team out. The question is, what will resurrect reform in Ukraine if this comes to pass…
Indeed, at that very moment, Mr. Yushchenko was in Moscow facing Pilate Kasyanov, his Russian counterpart. The negotiation marathon went on for seven non-stop hours. On the table was a better deal with Russia on gas debts and the sale of imported Ukrainian pipes.
“My wife had a dream that you were a man to be reckoned with,” said Pilate. Mr. Yushchenko remained silent.
“If he is king of the Ukrainians, let him show us a miracle,” retorted Caiphas Viakhiriev, the squat head of the Gazprom temple, waving a fat finger at the tall, dark and handsome Ukrainian. “Let him pay his bills without access to our markets!”
Viakhiriev then called for a thorny 40% duty on all imported Ukrainian pipes over the current limit, so that his own temples would not face serious threats from any upstart temples to the south.
“We want a miracle!” howled the Russian steel barons.
“Show us a miracle,” sneered the Russan press.
While Mr. Yushchenko was facing his own trials, Mary Magdalene Tymoshenko was fending off persistent rumors that she wanted to replace the head of the Sanhedrin. Having herself only recently been released from prison, she was quick to do damage control.
“These stories are false and are simply aimed at splitting the Apostles,” she said with a toss of her glorious mane. “If there is a leader who will do good to my country and its people, I shall follow that man and his organization to the ends of the earth. I’ll even wash their linens.”
When asked who she thought this man might be, the Magdalene replied, “For me, it’s not important who he is, just that he be tall, dark and handsome and a true leader of men.” Clearly, this is one woman who is content to be the power behind the throne. Only it’s not clear that Rome is interested in there being a Ukrainian throne.
In the meantime, perhaps the world can look forward to seeing Ms. Tymoshenko wash someone’s feet with her hair…
Another cosmic event was celebrated on Holy Thursday: the 40th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s venture as the first human in space on April 12, 1961. When asked with whom they might venture into space, Ukraine’s political folks had put a new spin on the concept of shuttle diplomacy:
“With a nice girl,” said the sly Leonid Kravchuk, a former president and SDPU(o) member.
“With my party mates like Sharov and Derkach. We’d make a great team!” beamed the bearded Dmytro Tabachnyk, a former Chief-of-Staff and member of Trudova Ukraina.
“With Bilka and Strilka [two soviet dogs who flew in space] – they know the way back to earth,” said well-grounded Green Party member Ihor Gavrilov.
“If I fly into space, I’d like to come back to a cleaner earth,” noted independent Oleksandr Yeliashkevich. “That means I’d have to take away so many people that there wouldn’t be any space in the shuttle.”
“Why go into space?” retorted the ever-pragmatic Viktor Pynzenyk, head of Reformy i poryadok. “I’d rather stay on the solid earth.” •
–Pan O’s laundry ladies*
* The notebooks of Pan O, which accidentally found their way into our washing machine, are in the process of being dried and a scribe has been hired to decipher his notes. Earliest estimates are two weeks.
Chystiy Chetver or Holy Thursday is historically the night of the Last Supper, when Christ followed old Jewish traditions and washed the feet of all his Apostles. In Rome, the Pope ritually cleanses the feet of select people in St. Peter’s; in most of Ukraine, it’s clean-up time in preparation for Velikden, the Great Day of the Resurrection. With all the Paschal holy days converging this year, though, not just Ukrainian housewives seem to have gone on a spring cleaning binge. Some high-profile spiritual cleansing has hit the headlines as well.
In Cherkasy, all the faiths got together – Christians Catholic, Orthodox and Mormon, Muslims, Buddhists – and confessed. A bit of salo during Lent, a little hanky-panky on the spring break, a bit of pork shashlyk at a neighbor’s wedding, and a deliberately squashed cockroach were the top sins of the day, according to a church insider. The Baptist’s head priest knew just how to get the faithful in the mood: “Ukraine is full of sins!” he thundered. “We must confess regularly to cleanse this country!” “Amen!” the ecumenical congregation thundered back.
Nor did this message fall on deaf ears: the Government in Kyiv went clean by holding a public confessional at Budynok Vchytelia – no doubt in preparation for the crucifixion it expects to face on April 17 in the Verkhovna Rada.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s own Easter drama continued to unfold. Like the turncoat Judas and weak-kneed Peter, the same deputies who eagerly formed a pro-reform majority last spring are now showing just how little faith they have in their chosen leader, as they all rushed to nail the Government on Apr. 19. Already 238 signatures have been collected on a draft VR motion to exercise a vote of non-confidence and registered in the VR secretariat. Unsurprisingly, 112 Communists joined the rightist oligarchs in forming a bloc to vote Viktor Yushchenko and his team out. The question is, what will resurrect reform in Ukraine if this comes to pass…
Indeed, at that very moment, Mr. Yushchenko was in Moscow facing Pilate Kasyanov, his Russian counterpart. The negotiation marathon went on for seven non-stop hours. On the table was a better deal with Russia on gas debts and the sale of imported Ukrainian pipes.
“My wife had a dream that you were a man to be reckoned with,” said Pilate. Mr. Yushchenko remained silent.
“If he is king of the Ukrainians, let him show us a miracle,” retorted Caiphas Viakhiriev, the squat head of the Gazprom temple, waving a fat finger at the tall, dark and handsome Ukrainian. “Let him pay his bills without access to our markets!”
Viakhiriev then called for a thorny 40% duty on all imported Ukrainian pipes over the current limit, so that his own temples would not face serious threats from any upstart temples to the south.
“We want a miracle!” howled the Russian steel barons.
“Show us a miracle,” sneered the Russan press.
While Mr. Yushchenko was facing his own trials, Mary Magdalene Tymoshenko was fending off persistent rumors that she wanted to replace the head of the Sanhedrin. Having herself only recently been released from prison, she was quick to do damage control.
“These stories are false and are simply aimed at splitting the Apostles,” she said with a toss of her glorious mane. “If there is a leader who will do good to my country and its people, I shall follow that man and his organization to the ends of the earth. I’ll even wash their linens.”
When asked who she thought this man might be, the Magdalene replied, “For me, it’s not important who he is, just that he be tall, dark and handsome and a true leader of men.” Clearly, this is one woman who is content to be the power behind the throne. Only it’s not clear that Rome is interested in there being a Ukrainian throne.
In the meantime, perhaps the world can look forward to seeing Ms. Tymoshenko wash someone’s feet with her hair…
Another cosmic event was celebrated on Holy Thursday: the 40th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s venture as the first human in space on April 12, 1961. When asked with whom they might venture into space, Ukraine’s political folks had put a new spin on the concept of shuttle diplomacy:
“With a nice girl,” said the sly Leonid Kravchuk, a former president and SDPU(o) member.
“With my party mates like Sharov and Derkach. We’d make a great team!” beamed the bearded Dmytro Tabachnyk, a former Chief-of-Staff and member of Trudova Ukraina.
“With Bilka and Strilka [two soviet dogs who flew in space] – they know the way back to earth,” said well-grounded Green Party member Ihor Gavrilov.
“If I fly into space, I’d like to come back to a cleaner earth,” noted independent Oleksandr Yeliashkevich. “That means I’d have to take away so many people that there wouldn’t be any space in the shuttle.”
“Why go into space?” retorted the ever-pragmatic Viktor Pynzenyk, head of Reformy i poryadok. “I’d rather stay on the solid earth.” •
–Pan O’s laundry ladies*
* The notebooks of Pan O, which accidentally found their way into our washing machine, are in the process of being dried and a scribe has been hired to decipher his notes. Earliest estimates are two weeks.
RC#1: Revolving & Revolting
from Eastern Economist #375, April 8, 2001
The term “dizzy blonde” took on new meaning this week in Ukraine – only the blonde in question was hardly at fault if her head swam a little by the time it was all over. No doubt the national news audience also felt a little as though they had got themselves caught in a haywire revolving door. Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s heroine-in-waiting, found herself released from the Lukianivka Prison in central Kyiv by the Pechersk District Court on Mar. 27, 2001. The Prosecutor General protested the decision and late in the evening on Mar. 30, Ms. T was summarily hauled back in when the ruling was overturned by the Kyiv Municipal Court. The ink had barely dried again, when the Supreme Court overruled this ungalant move and Ms. T was released once again. Like a good cycle in a spin-washer, maybe this experience will count as a turn in purgatory and remove a little of the mud that has attached itself to Ms. T over the years…
But lest rank-and-file Ukrainians start to feel some sympathy for the former president of Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine, UT-1, Mr. Kuchma’s own television channel – “own” in the sense that, as the first state channel it clearly toes the Administration line – was quick to insert a spin of its own in the evening news. When she was originally arrested Feb. 13, Ms. T was recovering from the flu at her dacha and a doctor accompanied the warrant officer to make sure she wasn’t faking things. Of course, while in prison, like any proper Ukrainian inmate, Yulia was allowed to receive “care packages” of food and other goodies from the outside. But wait, folks! This lady was not getting your ordinary list of basic food groups from her babusia – brinza and salo with a side of black bread. SHE, our intrepid UT-1 reporter was quick to emphasize, was brought exotic things like – gasp! – kiwi and avocado and condensed milk. To the average western expat, this may not ring any bells, as all kinds of exotic hothouse items have been available year-round for decades. But for former soviet citizens who were not Party elite, these three items represent behind-the-counter deals with special connections as they were usually “v defitsiti” – that haunting phrase for shortages that as often as not extended to soap and toilet paper. As if that were not enough to forever condemn the hoity-toity Ms. T before the proletariat, the camera then showed her testifying in court that she could not eat anything. So-o-o, Ms T. is not only a spekulantka, but an out-and-out liar, seems to be the message from UT-1.
Which may or may not be why a number of people are very hot and bothered about that same national TV channel. Premier Yushchenko restricted himself to an appeal to the president to fire the channel’s boss, Oleksandr Dolganov. Flamboyant ex-Kiyevskiye Vyedomosti owner, Deputy Mykhailo Brodskiy played the knight errant, declaring that he would take the station’s studios by storm and not budge from the place until Dolganov was fired. Perhaps realizing he would miss his kiwis and avocados, the portly Brodskiy soon changed his mind and gave the channel seven days’ notice of impending seige instead…
Not too concerned about Ms. T or avocados, President Kuchma was busy this week making astonishing proclamations that undoubtedly sent tremors of fear through international financing institutions. “We should learn to live without the IMF,” he announced, “although relations with Fund are important for Ukraine’s credibility in the world.” Therefore, the president declared as a thousand scribes wrote down his words, “I shall no longer veto any economic laws. Up until now, the president has been used as the bad guy by the government. I’m putting an end to this. From now on,” he warned a shocked Verkhovna Rada, “I’m going to sign all your bills into law and you’re going to have to live with the consequences. That’s the way it ought to be.” Could that be the faint sound of corks popping somewhere in bowels of the VR cafeteria?
Or perhaps Mr. K was simply recognizing the inevitable as the VR finally passed a new Criminal Code. This mothballs the decrepit old soviet Code, which dates from 1961 and, much like Microsoft Word, has been continually kludged by amendment, to the point that it, too, resembled nothing more than spaghetti code. The biggest news here is that Ukraine has decided that the Council of Europe does matter after all: the death penalty has been abolished in favor of life sentences. What’s more important to the rising class of Nouveau Russkies is that the confiscation of property will now be used only in cases of “serious” crime. That means that those who siphoned billions of dollars’ worth of oil and gas needn’t worry that their mansions in Koncha Zaspa are at risk. But woe betide those who dare trample the president’s flowers at the Shevchenko monument: they’d better kiss their Ladas and their .06-hectare country plots good-bye. The other guys will only have to worry about fines and penalties – and let’s face it, 100 minimum monthly incomes is not too big of a fine for a boy who brings home the bacon from one of Ukraine’s dirty steel mills or a commercial bank. But one ex-vice premier may be glad to hear that a little correctional work for petty crimes is supposed to replace the pre-trial detention that is the current practice. Perhaps Ms. T will now have to clean out the loos at Privatbank?
–Pan O’s laundry ladies*
* The notebooks of Pan O accidentally found their way into our washing machine. Best estimates are that it’ll take about three weeks to blow dry the pages and decipher his missives. Sorry.
The term “dizzy blonde” took on new meaning this week in Ukraine – only the blonde in question was hardly at fault if her head swam a little by the time it was all over. No doubt the national news audience also felt a little as though they had got themselves caught in a haywire revolving door. Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s heroine-in-waiting, found herself released from the Lukianivka Prison in central Kyiv by the Pechersk District Court on Mar. 27, 2001. The Prosecutor General protested the decision and late in the evening on Mar. 30, Ms. T was summarily hauled back in when the ruling was overturned by the Kyiv Municipal Court. The ink had barely dried again, when the Supreme Court overruled this ungalant move and Ms. T was released once again. Like a good cycle in a spin-washer, maybe this experience will count as a turn in purgatory and remove a little of the mud that has attached itself to Ms. T over the years…
But lest rank-and-file Ukrainians start to feel some sympathy for the former president of Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine, UT-1, Mr. Kuchma’s own television channel – “own” in the sense that, as the first state channel it clearly toes the Administration line – was quick to insert a spin of its own in the evening news. When she was originally arrested Feb. 13, Ms. T was recovering from the flu at her dacha and a doctor accompanied the warrant officer to make sure she wasn’t faking things. Of course, while in prison, like any proper Ukrainian inmate, Yulia was allowed to receive “care packages” of food and other goodies from the outside. But wait, folks! This lady was not getting your ordinary list of basic food groups from her babusia – brinza and salo with a side of black bread. SHE, our intrepid UT-1 reporter was quick to emphasize, was brought exotic things like – gasp! – kiwi and avocado and condensed milk. To the average western expat, this may not ring any bells, as all kinds of exotic hothouse items have been available year-round for decades. But for former soviet citizens who were not Party elite, these three items represent behind-the-counter deals with special connections as they were usually “v defitsiti” – that haunting phrase for shortages that as often as not extended to soap and toilet paper. As if that were not enough to forever condemn the hoity-toity Ms. T before the proletariat, the camera then showed her testifying in court that she could not eat anything. So-o-o, Ms T. is not only a spekulantka, but an out-and-out liar, seems to be the message from UT-1.
Which may or may not be why a number of people are very hot and bothered about that same national TV channel. Premier Yushchenko restricted himself to an appeal to the president to fire the channel’s boss, Oleksandr Dolganov. Flamboyant ex-Kiyevskiye Vyedomosti owner, Deputy Mykhailo Brodskiy played the knight errant, declaring that he would take the station’s studios by storm and not budge from the place until Dolganov was fired. Perhaps realizing he would miss his kiwis and avocados, the portly Brodskiy soon changed his mind and gave the channel seven days’ notice of impending seige instead…
Not too concerned about Ms. T or avocados, President Kuchma was busy this week making astonishing proclamations that undoubtedly sent tremors of fear through international financing institutions. “We should learn to live without the IMF,” he announced, “although relations with Fund are important for Ukraine’s credibility in the world.” Therefore, the president declared as a thousand scribes wrote down his words, “I shall no longer veto any economic laws. Up until now, the president has been used as the bad guy by the government. I’m putting an end to this. From now on,” he warned a shocked Verkhovna Rada, “I’m going to sign all your bills into law and you’re going to have to live with the consequences. That’s the way it ought to be.” Could that be the faint sound of corks popping somewhere in bowels of the VR cafeteria?
Or perhaps Mr. K was simply recognizing the inevitable as the VR finally passed a new Criminal Code. This mothballs the decrepit old soviet Code, which dates from 1961 and, much like Microsoft Word, has been continually kludged by amendment, to the point that it, too, resembled nothing more than spaghetti code. The biggest news here is that Ukraine has decided that the Council of Europe does matter after all: the death penalty has been abolished in favor of life sentences. What’s more important to the rising class of Nouveau Russkies is that the confiscation of property will now be used only in cases of “serious” crime. That means that those who siphoned billions of dollars’ worth of oil and gas needn’t worry that their mansions in Koncha Zaspa are at risk. But woe betide those who dare trample the president’s flowers at the Shevchenko monument: they’d better kiss their Ladas and their .06-hectare country plots good-bye. The other guys will only have to worry about fines and penalties – and let’s face it, 100 minimum monthly incomes is not too big of a fine for a boy who brings home the bacon from one of Ukraine’s dirty steel mills or a commercial bank. But one ex-vice premier may be glad to hear that a little correctional work for petty crimes is supposed to replace the pre-trial detention that is the current practice. Perhaps Ms. T will now have to clean out the loos at Privatbank?
–Pan O’s laundry ladies*
* The notebooks of Pan O accidentally found their way into our washing machine. Best estimates are that it’ll take about three weeks to blow dry the pages and decipher his missives. Sorry.
Rascalndear is my orange cat
Before I get into a standard diary-like exchange (aka blog) here, my purpose is to get all my Reluctant Capitalists columns on-line for those of you who have been in and out of Ukraine over the last 18+ years. So bear with me. This is gonna take a little time! I'm only sorry I wasn't able to continue to do this column in the last five years... needed a good researcher, like Nina Sarkisian, who worked for us for years as a translator. She was terrific at calling just about anybody up and getting them to give the poop. If anyone knows where she is today, tell her I'm looking for a great research assistant... :)
As luck would have it, my very first Reluctant Capitalists was about Yulia Tymoshenko. How timely, she smirks. And how revealing, she grins.
Now the story of how I got to write these columns was simple. RC began as a replacement for Pieter Stroop's Tip of the Week column in Eastern Economist, taken over by our favorite Scotsman, Euan MacDonald. Euan scribbled RC until he left EE in February 1997 for more serious stuff at the Kyiv Post, i.e., his girlfriend Katya. Next to pick up RC was the intrepid Marusia Hnatkevych, our Sakatchewan gal, a tiny but not token, as it turned out, Canadian. When Marusia got tired of having her tongue deeply embedded in her cheek, week after week, another Canadian, Evan took over. For the life of me can't remember his last name and don't have a copy of EE here in Yaremche, but it started with O, as his byline was "Pan O." (Aha! found it! Ostryzniuk). When Evan decided it was time to move on in March 2001, I picked up the gauntlet as a temporary lark. That lark took me through nearly 90 columns by the time EE as we knew it shut down in mid-2003.
As luck would have it, my very first Reluctant Capitalists was about Yulia Tymoshenko. How timely, she smirks. And how revealing, she grins.
Now the story of how I got to write these columns was simple. RC began as a replacement for Pieter Stroop's Tip of the Week column in Eastern Economist, taken over by our favorite Scotsman, Euan MacDonald. Euan scribbled RC until he left EE in February 1997 for more serious stuff at the Kyiv Post, i.e., his girlfriend Katya. Next to pick up RC was the intrepid Marusia Hnatkevych, our Sakatchewan gal, a tiny but not token, as it turned out, Canadian. When Marusia got tired of having her tongue deeply embedded in her cheek, week after week, another Canadian, Evan took over. For the life of me can't remember his last name and don't have a copy of EE here in Yaremche, but it started with O, as his byline was "Pan O." (Aha! found it! Ostryzniuk). When Evan decided it was time to move on in March 2001, I picked up the gauntlet as a temporary lark. That lark took me through nearly 90 columns by the time EE as we knew it shut down in mid-2003.
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