The
Lady’s Not for Burning
By Volodymyr Kish
By
now, most of you have undoubtedly read more than you might have wanted to about
the scandalous conviction of Yulia Tymoshenko by the Ukrainian authorities in a
trial that was closer to being farce than any semblance of justice. The whole
process and the ludicrous result has been justifiably condemned by almost everybody. Even Putin and the Russians are
squirming in embarrassment.
Since then, all the
experts and pundits on Ukrainian political affairs have written reams of
analysis trying to figure out why President Yanukovych and his minions
persisted in proceeding with such a bone-headed strategy, one that practically
guarantees that the Ukrainian government will become a pariah to the Europeans and
most of the free world.
The general thrust of
most commentary is amazement and incredulity - can Yanukovych and the
Regionnaires really be that obtuse, that nave about the consequences of their
actions? Does Yanukovych really think he can eliminate political opposition
without sacrificing his EU ambitions? Is there perhaps a deeper nefarious
conspiracy at work here? Is all this maybe just clever manipulation by the
gnomes in
What has been missing
in all the noise is what I believe to be the most important factor that has
governed Yanukovych’s behaviour throughout, and it is the exact same factor
that governed his predecessor, former President Yushchenko in his seemingly
incomprehensible and suicidal fall from grace, namely the irrational and almost
misogynistic desire for revenge at being bested by a woman.
There exists within
the Slavic culture a strong historic element of male-centric chauvinism. Within the last century in particular and
throughout the period of Soviet rule, men have claimed and exercised absolute
political and economic power throughout
Your typical
Ukrainian or Russian male does not take kindly to being beaten by an opponent
in whatever conflict or competition they engage in. Nonetheless, there is no special shame in
being outdone by another male. However,
to be bested by a mere woman strikes at the existential heart of the Slavic
male ego. To be defeated or shamed by a
woman, and a pretty one at that, is insufferable.
Just how insufferable
was clearly demonstrated by Yushchenko’s visceral and irrational behaviour of
the past few years. Despite being
outwardly a smart, civilized and cultured man, he sacrificed his principles,
the goals and values of the Orange Revolution, and the short term future of the
whole country, to what appears to be nothing more than a Neanderthal desire to
destroy Yulia Tymoshenko for having exposed his limitations and incompetency as
President. Had it not been Yulia but a
male antagonist, I doubt whether Viktor would have reacted as badly as he
did. But it was Yulia, and his male ego
had been badly bruised, so Viktor sank into a vengeful funk, ruining not only
his own historic legacy, but dragging Yulia and the whole country into his
personal heart of darkness.
What President
Yanukovych has done over the past few months is gone down the same vengeful
road as his predecessor. In the cut
throat world of the street thug that was Yanukovych’s training ground, personal
honour and reputation was everything. To
be politically emasculated by a woman was an unpardonable sin to his ego that
could not be left to stand. I strongly
believe that political calculations played but a minimal role in Yanukovych’s
actions against Yulia. This was a
visceral settling of scores at a very emotional and primitive level.
In the end, I also
believe that Yanukovych will pay the same price as his predecessor, sinking
into historical ignominy because of the inability to rise above personal
grudges. As for Yulia, it is clear that
this lady is not for burning, and we have not heard the last from her yet.