KUCHMA`S FAILED AUTHORITARIANISM

Ukraine's O range Revo lution
KUCHMA'S FAILED
A UTHORITARIA NISM
Lucan A. Way
1.11('' ''' A . U '' '.r. "uiswfIl proft'JSor of politi('ol S('lt'nc·t' at Tt'mplr Uni .
,'rrsit.~' , it a lOO4 -100.~ ";sili"ll S<"holar 01 Iht' /lon '" rd .... cudl'nr.'· fm
Illfl'rtl<lI",,,,,1 and "\rt'o Stud'l'l Ifl';l rurrl'nll,. 'Hillflll a bt.}(>~ '''' Ihl'
,m,'"dl'l /0 "",Iwrttar;o" ('" " ",Iida' i" n i" Brlaru.•. .\fold"" a . Run""
and Utrulfll' . Fro'" O.-tobrr to Dt'u nrbrr lQO.l.. hl' sl'n't'd us "n ""l'r"".
,;.",,,1 "h"l'rl"l'r in tht' Utr"mia" l'll'r';on .'.
M ' '''l a<;~O\Inl. of UlrairlC"~ Orange Revo lution have focu"'" on the
lruly remar lable mas. prOiesl. lhal foJlo... -ed the rigged l.econd-rtlund
pre.idenllal >'Ole of 21 ~ovembe r !OO-t BUI there is. another Silk 10 Ih"
Orange Re vol ulion Ihal has ft'Cei>ed much Ie.. anennon. The e'emual
viCIOr) o f OPf"O"ll;o" candldal" V,klOr Yushcbenko "'a• .11'0 Ih.. prod_
ucI of seve re ....calne'I.e' m the old regime and irs leade r' s failure 10
l eep hi. 0...n allies in line. il .... as Iragn....mal ion al lhe 101' Ihal led nr"
10 Ihe decay of aU lhori larian Male in,lilulion' and e~'en l uaJly 10 lhe rail
uf Pre, ide m Leonid Kuchma.
Ukraine und...r Kuchma ' , prcsidenC)· ...."-, a model ..-a... of "compenlive aU lhurilar iani-m"_a civilian nondemocrat ic regime wuh regu larly
hd d elec uonv Ihal a re co mpelillve but e ~lremd y unfair. In wch re gimrs, dc moc rauc insututions c ~isl and are regarded as the prin" p"1
nlr,m, o f tlOta in,"g and e xercivmg poh lical auth ority, but I'l'.... erhold..."
violal... lhoS(' rules ' 0 oflc n lhal rhc r"'g mle fails 10 meet mimmal dc monalic 'landard,.' lncumho.'m, regularly harass oppos mon leaders, cen'''I Ih,' m",h a, and alieniI'I 10 falsify elccli"n results. Vc I d el'lion' a,,,
regularty h" ld and remain co mpetitive, and opp'hition candidal"~ "an
and !><lll1ct imes do win.:
Rarc ly ha~ a rcgimc tiel''' so compeutivc wnh a govcm mcm as un,k moc ralic '1 ' U k r;lI n,, '~ under Kuch11la. Thc co mhinali"n of highly
um!<'mo,,;ralic p,actic" , and real pcnucat cornpenuon was fif'! cvidcnr
in the lrcalment of thc " pro,i llon during .. Iecl j on ~. In COlllrasl 10 fu lly
uuthonruriun c ou ntries M, ch as Bela rus, "'ppo, itiu n ~ a n d i l1 me' were
1)2
neither ja ii<'d nor harmed from running.. hut they faced extremely brutal
hara"ment. In the run up to the 2004 presidential elecnon. there appear
to have been at least two attempl' on Yushchenko'x life: 1110M notnbl y,
he suffered dioxin po isoning that severe ly disfigured his face shonly
hefore the elections.
A similar <'mnhinatulII of ahuse and competition prevailed on election day itscl f. ln pure ly amhuritarian I'I'g imcs. overw helming VOle fraud
ensures that. whatever the real stale of public opinion. the inc umrn,nt
will win. In cOl11pelitive authoritnnan regimes. hy contrast. there i, a
limit to the numher and percentage uf votes that the government Can
sleal outrig ht. [n the 2002 Ukrainian parl iamenlary election. for example. Kuehma ens ured that the regime would enjoy nbsoknc support
in such closed ctccrornl preci nct, as prisons. huspilal" and military
h,ISCS, hut was still unable to stop an oppos iti"n cu"li tio n known 'IS
"Our Ukraine" fr"'n winning more scah II1,m any othcr parry.' In thl'
21104 pre,idenllal election. de,pite maximum efforts by the authorities
to manipulate the ballonng, the vote theft is e,timated to have ""en ""
more than 10 pe rcent.
('om par,,!ive au,horit"r i,m regimes arc also distinctive in their treatmcm of the media. In fully authoritaria n regimes, the uppovitiun is
almost completely e xcluded from all large-audie nce media outlets, and
criticism of the governme nt appears only in small-circulation newspape rs and o n Ihe Interne t. I n compe titive authorita rian regimes. by
co ntrast. "pposition joumal ist, face severe harassmcnt but are still sOmetimes ublc to esc ape repression ami get their mcssugc across throug:h
large-au dience media. Beg inn ing in the 1990s. Kuchma gradually tightened control over media. bU! he was neve r ahk 10 c""' pletely shul off
cnncism of his regime.
Despite the fom lal priv atilatioll of m",t ele..: tmnie m...dia in 199590. the govern ment retained informal control over ,llm"'1 :tli the major
television networks. The two major news networks. Illlf."r and 1+1which re presem mughly 50 percent of the viewt'r market - had hy th...
late 19lJ(h co me under the control of Olc ksandr Zinc hcnk o and Viktor
Mcdvedchuk of the progovcrnmcnra l Social Democ ratic Party of Ukrai ne
tU'lited) (S DI'U( OJ). Moreov<or. Kudlma·s "HI-in-Iaw, VikttlT Pindluk.
took control o f Novyi Kanul, ICTV. and STB. together rcprcscnung
an"th<·r 15 to 25 percent of the news marker.
A, a result. during the later years of the Kuchmu regime . direct censorsh ip over the co ntent of news programs became more widespread.
thorough. and speci fic. In early 2002. the prc videntiul administration
heg" n distr ibut ing Il'mniki {liter ally "subjects" or "themes")-detaikd
dIrect ives uhout ho w certain news ileITIS should be portrayed and which
ev<'nt, ,hould be ignored. For e xample. lemniki coverage of the political opposition W,IS sup puscd to emphasi/_e i n-fi~hting between leaders
"nd to ponray them "s supportcrs of e xtremist et hnic demands. Ce rta in
IJJ
individu,t1s, such as opposition Icader Yuliya Tyn"'s henko, were supp",ed l<l h.: entirely icnored. The covcrnmcnt al", cut bal'k on live lal k
shows and re stricted guest appearances to a narrow group of people
trusled by the admim'lnttion ,'
At the same time, the tlppl"ition continued to bave aCce" to high"
circulation ne wspapers such as the Socialist Panys Sil,,(i I'i.<l; ('"Rural
New,'), Even more impurtanlly, in the runup to the eleclion, Ihe "1'1'''sit ion controlled Channel 5, which """ounted for 5 perce nt of th... news
market in late 2(K)4 and was available in many cities Ihroug hmll Ukruinc.
The op position also do minated the Internet as a political ve nue. In short,
while the op position was severely disadv antaged relative to the gov _
ernrncm. lt could not be silenced.
Tbe combination of autboritarian practi"es and re,,1 competition alw
prevailed in the relatio n'hip bel ween the president "n<lthe parliament.
In m"ny key areas, the presidem had sig mflc.uuly more power-c-dc jure
as well as de faeroe-t han did the pati ialTle lll, Kuchma WaS able to "ppoi nl Ihe prime mi nislCr "n<l a ll members uf the cabi net as well as
regional and disl ll"t representatIves. But in contrast tn legislatures in
iament never bel',nne a puppurcly au thoritarian regi mes, Ukraine ',
pet of the presidelll. It refused 10 pass man}' of KUt:hma's economic -reform
measures in lhe l<o190x. and in 200fl-200l, it successfully rebuffed
Kuchm,,' s e ffortx 10 furt her stre ngthenthe presidency.
Thru ugltout the post-S oviet era, the Ukrainian parliame nt has func tioucd as a ke y xtaging grou nd for o pposition ae tivil}' by giving
depu ties relalively easy aCo'e" to media and immu nily from prosccunon. Ace ord lllg to ihc law, deputies ca n he prosecuted only if
parliamenl votes to lift Ihe ir iIIIni Un ity-which has ha ppened e ~ t re rn d y
rarely. Wh ile such immunity attracted many corru pt busine ssme n to
rUn fo r parliament. it also created a safe h"v{'n for o pposition leadcrs ,
Thu x, ...... biIe pari lament often had little p" we r over COVerlll1lcnl po licy ,
il provided deputies with legi timacy and a public slaCc to r{'gi"er
di,,{'nt a nd to invngnrc protest. In November :W()(), Socialist Party
lender Otcksandr MOlO/ used the parjiam... nlary ve nue 10 publicize
nccustulons that Klll" bm'l had ordered lh{' murde r of nppo'ition journ"li" (leorgi Gon gadze- mt eve nt tbat generated the firs t major crisis
in the Kuchmu regime ,
""rI
Bas es of t he Regi me
ln order to understand bot h the limitations on ,Jemoc r"cy "nd the
reasons why authoritari" ni, m never became consolidated in Ukrmn{',
we need to e~aml11c the institut ional and political bas'" "f the Kuch ma
legime. Com p"'i tiv{' authoritarianism under Kuchm" was built on two
mai n pillars: first, an extensive set of largely inform ,,1 authoritarian
institutio ns and proce"es th,1I xerved to luml' s opposhionists and In
'"
r" l"fl .: Ie~l iun re ,ulb; and ....,~oJld. a c....Iilion o f oh~"n: h ic (0....,,,,, in
parhamem and in the ad minislraliun tllal organized support for Kuc hm" ,
cum~lmg for hi, p:llronagc.
~1 ""'1 academic sludic;; of the pruc"", o f democratic Iran. ilio n con C""uat.. 1'J.,c n,iH'ly o n formal la.....' and cons tit utions_ Unfunu nalcly.
;;u<"h a foc us ofle n dr.l ....., allcnlion ,,"'ay from a regimo:", author;tari" "
ftalurcs ... hich in the p""'I--cold W :;u era are rarely ...ritten do... n or
made e cpficir. w este rn «ooom ic donlin""",,\' and the international legitim acy o f de moc racy fo rce ma ny regi mes to adop t fo rmall y
"de mocrauc" consntuuons .. hil... they rely u len, i n "]y" 00 informa l rules
\0 remai n ;lUloontarian. '
Kuchma ' , brand of authori ta rianism " ·a, su<tai ned by a Iargdy· jof.....
mal !>el of institutions, mducell1oCms. and penah ie s used 10 di~coura~t'
UI'I'O'ili on and stimulate vote fraud duri ng t'hXlIons. Public mvrnu li" n' such a' the lax adnumstrauon . the police. schools, and h" ' pita l'
had-,n aUdllion 10 Iheir !"rmal la,h nl collecting taxe s. pre \'enllng
crime. ,,"d provid ing t'ducalion and heahh services-s-a .•el of i"t"rmal
funcuons a ssociated with keepin g Ihe incumbent regime in power. For
example. lax policies and other law , were selecli ve ly enforc ed. targeting businesses and individual , who supported the "pposili"n. A' Yevhcn
Marchu k, former he ad 01' the Ukrainian Sccuru y Sen ice (S BU) said, " [1
Iyour husines" isll"yal In the authonuc s, they will ignore "r twal" " k
,my,hing. If you are di-loyal. you or yo ur business will he 'l ua, hed
immed ialely:" Bu sinc"e~ lhal helped the OppoSilion were the frequent
viC lnn, of ha ra" me nl by la x aUlhmil ies . the prosecutor' s (,Hiec. alld
other government ag",ncies !
C re a ti ve Vote Theft
During election lime, slill other gO\'t'mmenl instilulion" such a' ho,·
!,nals. ",l1oo."Ils. and military ba-~s. b«amc l ey instrum"ns in tile regime' ~
v,J(t'-slcali ng errort~_ Those in charge of . uch m'il.ilUlion~ wc~ t'xrected
10 hell' mobilize vote. and envure high VOle shares in ,uppt.," of lhe
incumbt<nt regime . In lhe 2()().1 election, one·foonh o f Yan ukovyc h' s
local ca mpaign represenrauves were head, of universitie', ,,11oo."I1~, or
ho>.puals, and lhey mobilil ed -,u pl'0rC in ofl..n " <"T)' creative "ay~. For
eum ple, an (O b~cn-er i n on~ hos pital in the ~oulhe",lern ci ly of
Dniprupeuonl reported llul Ih~ h~ad o f Ihe hOlopilal bad claimct.l dou ble
Ihe aelua l numbe r o f pane e tv in the hos puat, and then mol>ililt'd
Yan ukovych ,upponCl"l> 10 H)IC tin behalf (Of lhe vinual paticr us.
Electoral fa lsificatio n and intimid auon unde r Kuchma were rema rkably e xte ns tve. rho rc ugbly planned . and "e ll o rga nized. Re cently
reka'cd r<'cordin g, of re marh by Yeuukcv ych ca mpaign " 'urle r, indicare Ihal the govcrrunent made very speci fic I'lans In win 0 ) ' a margin " I
al>" uI 3 percent. Th i' mar gin w,,, !:lrge en ou gh 10 al' pear 'olid ,,,HI
'"
convincing. but cit...... ,-""ugh. for it 10 1001. as if the "I~[i"n h:l<l bee n
lfUly co mpeli.;"... To fuifi ll lhis plan. Ihe govern ment crea'ed an .. ~t .. n-
stvc. secret command-aed-comrot sUuClu re. Oi, n i",. and ell ies were
given norms for lhe .hare o f .he vote lhal needed 10 go to Yam, l ovl " h.
along ...jlh c\lraordinarily precr-e IA,UUC';"'" on ho.. and "h..... 10
steal votes.
In the city of Urnan. the Ukrainian )'oulh :\GO Znay I,I! drscovered a
!l0.'emmenl direcnve lhat li"e,J [he' dllferem types o f vOIe·mampul;l_
lion techniques (ballot ,'uffing. l>ritlC'ry. and rhe li ke) thaI IIo ere '0 ~
u!>('d in lhf, Xo ve mber 21 '«ond round of the 2004 pre,ioknhal e lee.
lion. and which d""lIkd the number of votes to he added hy cKh 01
Ihc'C' tec hniques at eac h polli ng station, In other
JI'I lllllel drrcc-
<:,,"",.
uve, we re Iss ued [0 e ncou rage vo,,,r intimidal ion . In Ihe M)ut hem
pro... ece of Zaporil hlhia. fr>r instance, many pollmg place ' rcc... i.'ed ~
....co nd inMructio n manual_il\ co ve r w as a slig hlly d ifferenl ,hade of
green tha n the i nlem alion~lly aJ'!lro,'ed one-....,hich indicated Ihal '01 er, should sign the ballol itself. thus eliminating the sec ....t "<>le. Ot her
elecuon workers rt'f'Orted that Ihey .... ere w id to euo w multIple ...onng
by buvload s o f o ut-of-t own v i,i1<>r' carryi ng 3b,enl(>(> hallm" l' in;lIly.
in case these meas u re' did nOI produce the rig ht re, ult,. thl' gllVl' nlrllent
had a backup plan. ha... ing ,1I re,rdy prepared signed and slamped pre·
" incl rcpons before the e tcctiou.
Kuchma est ablished "11 eMen,; ...e syste m of nW" ntive' 'md puni, h·
men t' to mak e ' lire Ih at elec ti o n " ff ici a ls co ope rated wit h the
go ...emmc nt direcu ...c•. He u.sed the Iu adm iniSl ralion , the 1',, 1i,·e . ;,"d
olher go ve rnment agenc ies tn coerce businesspt: ople, poliucianv. and
stal" officials inlo !lacking the regi me during elec tio ns. Keith Ihrden
has ar1!u..d Ihal Kuchma o ften encou raged corru ption because in form ation abo ut , uch activities could be used to blackm a il Iho '" 1I1volved
imo suppor1ing Ihe rc gunc. Secret recordi ngs of Ku.:hma, released in
!(IOCJ.-!OOI, r~v~alllo ....' ~ used hlad.m.oilto secure rural 'uI'PUr1 111 h"
successful bid for reel«llon rn 1'N'l. In one of these record ings, he tells
the head o f the tn ;administration:
II'. ne«•....., for " In ..ort"" 10 ' 0 10 ev<'T)' COIl<'Cl i v~_farm htad ,n every
v,ll_ge and y: 0... rnend. yOll undeN..... clearly how mwh makn. l "'...
tla'-e on ~·ou th"l youcould r,nd you"..lf injai llomorm.. . ,. And I ...
i' prob.obly
Ihan e_ gh 1lW" 'i,,1 on ""cr)",,01I«">',,-f.rm ad . y",
or no? I'rol>.ol>ly ye'_Th"t', '" hy ,he polo"" ... Ihal i', lhe .......·..IC
, ll><'y
"II nave 10 . that ... la ~e 10 II.... us~l"nd tla"e a ..,riou. u l~ ..·" h
c....llecti.....-farm head.'
"'-"f'
Others com plied wnh government direcuves OUI o f fear of lo.mg Ihe"
juh,. After the first roun d of the !l~ elec tion . 14 dlslrict-level stdh.'
o fficia l, "ere fired in ''fe d' ...he re Yanukovych had dune poorly ,'
Many c lel't ion off icial, dl,o received sub-ta r uia l vide 1''')'111<'111\ if
,.
tlley com plied ",n il government dir,..cti~",. In the 2004 " Ie.:li"n, [II...
head of :Ii pollin!! precinct In Zaporilhlhia...hi<:h by 1TlO'>\ KCO"nl\ "'a.
among the I..JJ corru pt pro"'r'IC"c,.. reponed lhal polhng-'taliort workers
were paid ,,' Ira sum. dCl'C'lIding on how high t he vote " 'a\ for
Yan l1ko ~ )' c h . md how many r" l" lic;u ion techniques lhey u'><'d. In her
precinct. ,hoe " 'n,,.,. ",-cry polling ,ulion received roughly USS~ .(lllO in
the declio,,', lirs, round. Otller ",porI' give higher emmaIC\." 1l i\ im JX>""bk 10 1.110 " precisely how ...idc'l're3d such hli~ry W"'. hut If jus'
halt of Ukfamc ', .n ,noo polhng \ta""'" received 111al amoun!, 11 would
have equaled a government c , pendllu rc {If more than VS$ SO million.
In caw all the se loca l fal. ,ficalloll methods fe ll shott, Ihcr", ...·a \ a
mc,-h,mi'lil <II the n'r)' top III ",'",reel" Ihe VOle count. Fin,,[ " nle ,,,hul;,-
uon Was "''''lIm lled from the presid ent ial admin istration throug h a
computer system that "filtered" re' ull' from the Io<,:alilics through a ",'_
crer com puter server before Ihey rc,~hcd the Central Election ('''I11 n1 ,,,ion,
the agency fom'a]]y charged with lahulal," g final election re,ulls. o
The Power of th e Oligarch !>
The informal authoritarian in'lllullons and processes d;.,.;ussed ahou~
"ere complC'mented by a I~ coahlion of o ligarch s- ..eallhy, politIcally mfluent;;" individuals-c-.. ho organized poli tical ,uppo" for the
president. Ohgarchic rule in Kochma ' , l 'Lrall1e reflecled a p;lMlcu lar
rela tioo,h,p between econmnlc and political power. ~el)' SI milar to lhe
one in Russia under Boris Yeh-m and in ~foldo~a under Pctl"1l Lucin schi.
Politica.lleadcrs '" most coumncs rely on the support o f bus,"ess m"eres", bUI ,t " "nly in olig arc hic ,y.stem. that the bu,ine,,·(lwn ... rs
thl'msclvcs hold leglSlmive seats or other offici al posts. Thes<" 01 igarl'hs
onc n gained their wt.":l lth through access to chcnp prrvauzauon. ,t"tt."
monopolie s. o r budget ary res"url'e s, ,111<1 m" ny of them joined parlia ment primar ily to nhta in legal imm unity or to lohhy fo r ,h,' if owo
econn m\c interest,.
A, in Ru" ia, the number and wealth of oligarchs e colooe d in Ukraine
in the 19'Xk. In 2000, the slale tax in'J>«lor reponed that .1K6 l.f the
-t50 de putie, in parliam.:nt were fou nd..rs of .1,954 bu,ir>e.,....s. cnntro l·
ling 25 percent o f the cou ntry ' s impons and 10 percent of m exports.
Some o f them---!\ead of the SDPUtO ) Vi~tor ~ftd ~td('h ul and Fatherland Pany luder Yul iya Tyrno vhe e ko (no.. the c o u n tr)' ~ pr ime
miois(CT~"'Cd go\emment conlKt~ to ~ain accevs. 10 lucrativ e energy
resources. ~l an y other. have been accused of u~ing go vernn ....m conIl<'Clion\ 10 promoie a .. ide ra nge of "'"ine.,.... ~ and indusme•.
Partly in exc hange for acc,"," to Male resources, oligarch. helped 10
mobilize pohti cal 'tIppon for Kuchma in the late 199(),. and early 2000.,
"ften drawmg directly on theIr firm'. Like Ye hsin . Kuchma relied C\I~nsively " n u ligarc h·controlled t ~ lc v i . ion nClworh aod n" "" I"'l"" r, .
'"
Tde~ i sion
tycoon ViLlor \k-dvcdch ul of the SDPUCO ) "'-a~ the dri ving
terce be h ind the distr ibut ion of [he u",,,,ti [ha l controlled lde vhion
oe ...., O lig..rc hv In other ind usl ri", aIM'> drev.. on th"" ...orkfon;es to
.u J>POn Kuchm a. ln the 2004 dec lion, II .... ...s ...idel)' reponed Illal worl·
cr. in car. p ipe. steel, co al. and e nergy pla ms o '"" no:d hy prorc gim c
o lig arch s we re rnnb.li /ed 10 . ho.... up al dc mons tt auonv. vote for
Yauukovych. and in one somc",h"l , Iran!;", instance hold a " ' tri Le" 10
draw nueminn 10 the "danger" po,cd by nppnsllioll "cll vily " Suc h
Ilw(h;,n isms 01' po l it ;",,1 mobil i f at inn were (spcc;" Ily ""pml,tIll bccau w
olthe lad of strong po litical parties.
Insr.' ad of creat ing a sing le propre videnua! p;,rty. Kuchm ... much
lile Boris Ye ll, in, relied on suppofl from a variety of , mailer parties.
kd b)' often-c ompcnng olig arc hs, Ralher than affi lialmg ...nh one single
gn .... p. he d islr ibmcd polilic:;Il and economic resources 10 mulli ple and
compeung faclion ' . hopi ng lhus 10 pre' em an~' one of lhem from becoming 100 _!rong and posing a ch:;lllenge 10 his rule. A . :;I re sull. hIS
su ppo rt in parliamenl and within his 0 "'0 admim. tralion "'as rooled
solei}' in the short -te rm economic
-mrerests of a large and confusin!!
arra y of small faCllons and in(omt;L1 grouping s, In earl y ~OOO. sur port
for Kuchma in pa ru.unem W,I, divided betw.... n Vi!..l"r ~l .. d,'edchul ·,
SDI' U(Ol. Yuliy a Tymos hcnkos Fatherland Party. 'llul th c new rarty (I I
l-k g "'"' c rc"led hy the h""d of the laS a'hn inistrmion. I\-lylola !\,,,rov.
and bier lalen ovcr by VillOr Y'lIlul nvych, There w"s " short-lived
auc m pt befor e lhe 200 2 parliam en tar y e leel i"n , HI c re a tc 'I
proprevidemial party called MFor a United Uktaine." apparenlly moo·
eled on Punn's United Russia and headed b) Kuc bma'v forme r chid of
sl;lff Vo lody my'r L)lvyn. Bm "00II afler the 2002 o:lectioo. Ihi, group
Qu idly disinleguled inlo 'lC'pat:;lle faction s.
,,,If
Th e Sy st em C ra cks
For a lime. Ihe combinatio n nf auihoruanan Slate crructures and ohllarchic rule served to concentrate e xecutive power. Yetthis system also
contained the scedv of its own destruction. In swrk COlllr,ISI to Communivt Party appamtch iks "r SAlJ om ci'll'. oliga rchs pmvide a we"J,; support
base: The y do nm talc ord" rs easi ly. are by nalure inc rclhbl y opportu·
nislic. ,lAd bave a weak ... nsc of loyally. In Ukraine , lhi. utnnuucty led
them to turn again'l Kue llma at a moment ... he n he seemed \u lllCrable .
llt.c resull .... a~ a fragmental ion of lhe authorhartan stale 'IruCl ure~. eyenlOally' causlO~ a rej:inlC eri~is dunn~ lhe 20l» ele.:tion and Ihe end of
K uchma's rule.
The oligarcllic 'l,lctn creased key opportunities for Opr(l~ilion force'
10 emerge. Finol. ca ri tal fliglli. ...bile bad for Ukrainian economic de velormenl . ...-as importa nt in creanng anu-incurnbcnt so urce. of po we r.
,\ Ilhnug h III,: reg ime's tax adrmuistration could h;tra'~ o pposi tion busi.
ncsscs to the poin t o f closure. it Was unal'ole tu touch money that had
hee n , ...m ahmad _Sccr...t recordings from 2lXIO re veal Interior Miniq ... r
Yuri Kras'ehcnko l'o mplaini ng 1O Kuchma that money sent abrnad "i'
e ~tremcly difficult [for th... govcmmcmtro grub."!' Once the o ligarch,
had accumu lated c nuugh fund, ahmad, they represented very ,eriou,
indepe ndent threat' ... v... n if Kuch ma shut down their hu, ,,,,, ,,e , in
Ukraine.
Anot hl'r source uf plliitica l independe nce wa, the robust insti tution
of pari "lmentary immulllty. which forbad... crim inal prosecution of par1iamentary deputies while th... y were in office. Suc h immunity protected
bmh crimmals a nd o ppos ition leaders. In the runup tn the 2004 clccti"o, this tllC,,,U that thc leadcrs o f th... opposition c;unp aign -"lInn't
all of whom were parliamentary deputies, inchiding Yu, hc hcnk u him 'cit-did not hav e to fe"r imprisonment or intcrrognnon hy nic
"'It hori tic ,.
The opposition also benefited from the oligarc h,' tenden,'y to distribute their reso urce, widely " mong any and all groups that might hI.'
influential. As a result, Yushchcn ko received secret contri bution' from
nume rous business so urces in 2002-200}, ....·hl' n he bl'came "'idcly
vie.... cd a.S a favori te in the 2004 pre sidentia l elections. Dav id Zhv,mia,
a key Yu, hch enk n fundr"ise r, boasted in Marc h 2004, "I don 't know of
" finanl'i,,1 gro up in Ukraine, or even in RU" ia, which doesn't W,II11
Yushcheo"o to become prcsident. Yu,hc hcoko ha' 00 pro hl ~m wilh
muncy."" Eve-n Rinat AkhmC'tov, the oligarch from Eastern Ukraine
who ultimately threw hi, s upport behind Yanukovych. reportedly con mbmed to Yu' hc henk n 's campaign in late 2110 J .
Finillly, Kuo: hmil" d i'lri hution of re,"u rce' anHmg co mpet ing gmu p'
increased the chance" rhtu these resource' would fall into the " wrong"
hands. Sec ret reco rdi ngs from 200n reveal Viktor Y'lnuk o vyc h, then
governor o f Donet'k. complili ning to Kuchmil thill hy giving budgc\:lry
fund, l<ll heo- pr im~ mini,tcr Viktor Yushc henko , Kuo: hma was "giving
muney!O the enem~' .... Understand? We arc strengthening them! ..,j It
would soon become obvious th,ll Yan ukovyc hs concern' were well
founded.
These op portun ities for inde pendent action cmhedded in the oli garch ic syste m allowed for ke y defectio ns begin ning in 21101. when
Kuchmas former bod yg uard Myko lil Melnychen kn relenxed rccnrd inge which hinte d that the pre,i dent ha d ordned the murder of
opposition journalist Genrgi Gougadze. and reveal~d a s(arlling degree of corruption and "h usc of powe r. The relea,e of the tapes severely
undermin ed Kuc hm,,' , rcpuliltjon buth al hume and abroad. For the
f'irst time since he was elected in 1994 , he seemed vulnerable to overthrow . Simultaneously . YU' hche nkn. whnm Kuc hma had appointed
prime minister in lat e 1999, emerged a, Ukraine' s most popular politi cian. To Kuchllla ' , undou bted dismay, a viable al ternati ve to hi, rule
emerged al preci\Cl~ Ihe
~nou,ly und" rmm"d .
~a rne
mom,'nl Ihal his OI', n popularit)' wa,
T'he Oppos it ion C rys ta ll izt's
" lI ile Kuchma wU h'lood inilial calls for his re~ignaljon follo.. ing lhe
relea", of II\(' tap"s. lhe eri.., led to a gr.ldual hemorrliaging o f his "'hng
coalition. Wilh a te .. important nceptiom. tho! I"adc:nh,p of the proYu, hch...'1Iko movement had all ~n c!O'o('ly t~ to Kuchma- l1lI"I"'t JU'1 a
re.. years or even month, prior to the S o..ember e..'mh. '· Yu,h chenl ..
himself once even claimed thaI Kuchma was like a ~ falher to him." "
Yuliya T)'mo"hc nko. the leader o f the radical wing of the pro- YU'hchenlo
mo~CfIl('nt. led a pro- Kuehma parhame ntary faction in 1991l-:!l)1X). Petro
P oroshenko, Yu,hchenko', ad ... i....... and Iundraiser and lhe head of the
only prl>-- Yu,h..·hc nko Ic!e"'i"i"n , talion. "Iarted hi, political career 10 Ihe
progo~ cm rJl<'nl SDPU\O) and was a found ing member of Yanulo"'Fh',
Party of Region, . The he;,d of Ihe Yushche nko cam paign. Ok l , ;md r
Zinchcnko. ..as umil eurty :!flO) a leader o f the SD£>U(O ) and the head of
Ihe ~i rul ..nl l~ pmpre' i'knti;,1 1111<, r lel.. ~i, i on «anon.
The , un i\';<1 of Kuchm,,' , n:gi me was furthe r thr eatened .... h,·11 numerous members of the gun'TIl lllenl ;lIld lhc regime ' s majnrit ~ [ac t inn in
parfinmcnt defe cted l<> Ihe ('I'I",,,iliun in the month, hd nre Ihe elc,·lill l1 .
In mid-SeplemOer 2()fW. p" r1 i "m el\' ;" ~ 'peaker Volud ymyr l. ~ t ... yn. wh"
h"d o nce he aded the prnp" ', id"nti,,1 racnon in parli"1ll" nt <l lld t>.:e n
cun, ider"d one of Kuchmu.s c1u"" t allies. publicly broke "ilh Kuchm<l.
hringing abou r ~o other deputies with him. Undt- r Lylvyn ' , kader'hip.
the parliament ' uh,cque nlly became the fi"l gu~emm<,nl~l in'tiIU""n
in Ukraine 10 bad the demo nsuarors " 'hen_ five days after the ,t~rt of
the proresav. it decl ared the '-Ccond·round resu lts invalid and demanded
that a repeat second round be held on ~ember ~6. II "a, thu' Kuchma ' ,
erst"' hlle ~llies ...ho ga...e lhe oppos, tion ils first I>a...: within cenlral
m'lituti"n,.
T)'mo.henl.o. P,...ovhenko. and Zmchcnlo-sometime' referred III
as the temperament. purse, and brain o f rhe Yushche nko mo.·emenlpro... ided key fin anc ial and organizational support that helped to
channelthe eoorrnou. gra.,rooh anger over lhe stolen elecuonv making the revol ullon J'O'sihle. A_th e " Pro'ilion faced ""rinu. harassment
from aUlhorit ies and vinual uclu_ion from mO,,1 media. Po roshe nko ' s
stridenlly pro- Yu,hc h....nkc Channe l j pla yed a partic ularly ,mpOrtanl
ro le d uring the de mon'l ratio ns. Beginning in the ear ly hour, of SoHo mber 22. after it became clear Ihal Ihe go"emm"nt had slulen the
second rou nd . Cha nnel j hccame a key mobilizi ng tool for Ihe ol'l""i.
lion , sho wing piclUre, of ~oung people wa ving o range Yu. hche nl o
banner.•. and ca lling on people to come 10 lndepe ndcnc" S'I u:lre to
"de fend their eo n, liIUli"n;!l tig hts." Th ruughou l Ihe c~enls. Cha nllel
'.iaV IIroadcaMon large lele~ i s ion screenv bo th arou nd the square and
around the co untry .
In addllion to or~anilall onal mu"Cle. the d...reClor~ pm..id..d in..alu·
"Ilk Ilnanciat resou rces. T he "Pl'osilion movement relied e xtensively
OIl co ntr illutimls fmm dOllle 'lic h"sine"es. Ro" ghly a third or th.., Com mince 01 :'<ationa l Salv ation thai managed the Yuvhchcnko moveme nt
during Ihe Ora nge Re ~oI Ul i o" C"",iSle.! o f b"sines' pe...pl",. .'''cc"rdmg
to ..>u~es within lhe oppo!>ilioo. tbe mo\e~nl had rai..al al 1C':b1 VSSIOO
milli"n by mid- Dece mber ::!004. While a rccenl account in lbe ....am'"
has sUllllestN lhal lhe Un ited Slates orchestrated the eve m, in Ukraine
by fina nc ing ci..il society and othe r groups." il is clear tllal lhe " PfIOs i·
lion had pll'nly o f domestic w urcc, of funlling. and Ih;1I il was hurdly
dependent on money from abroad.
D'lIllc" ic c mllrihulions hel ped In pay fur Ilolh lhe ele<:lion e,,,n·
paign a nd lhe revulutiun it-cl f. Th ro ughout the count ry. suc h Iund v
paid for campaign offices. advernsmg, and equl pm..-m for roc k-c"n.
cen-vlylc rallies. a, ... e ll a, lhe ubiquilou, orange-logo "Carve, ilnd
banners. On el~t ,oo day. dome,tic funding covered lhe coerof tranvpottauon for oh..... rvers and o f lho" ....oos of S.lOO video eamC:-r3S to record
~iola lloo, of the el~t"rallilw. During tile revolution ilse lf. these fund,
paid fur lents. camp kiteh{'ns , styrofoam flouring , heater s. food. and
tra,n ,1Iul hu, f"re , for thousands or demonstrators.
~
Wh..t Went Wrong on Election D..y~
Fr:;ogmenlalion J.l lhe lop. togetbe r "ilh 'irnng rei!iooJ.1 di fference~
bet,,«n eastern :;ond western Ukraine. led 10 :;0 Pi'-nial bre..l do"n of the
aUl horiiarian ,tate etructures dcnng and directly a fter lhe second ruund
of ~"llng on No ~ ~ mhe r 2 1. The fiN failure occurred on ..lcCli"n d" y'.
App" ...."ll)'. lh.. gove rnment h;"J expected lh"t the CICl'11l1l1S would ge n·
e rally Il l' co ns ide red Hawe d-s-bu t a ls" lhal rhc rc wo uld lie rea l
co ntroversy amo ng pans o f lhe " PflOsition and w e stern gove rnme nts
alile as 10 whethe r lhe eleclioo had '" fact been stole n. Such a !>Cenario
would have significa ntly darnpened lhe Western response as " 'ell as the
demonsnators' mcuvarion 10 lale 10 the SIr«h.
Mu sl nOlabJy. there was a fail ure 10 deliver the vote in fa vor o f
Yan uk o~ y c h in pan s o f we"e rn Ul< ra ," ~ , which st rongl)' hack e d
Yushcheuko and tended lU ~ iew Y" nUkO\')'l:h ' , campaign '" part 0 1' ;111
effort by Russia to "coJonil{'' ' Ukrninc.Tnthc western pr"~illc,, " r L ~ i ~ .
for example. police and ta~ authorities refused to d" lrillulc " hsen lee
baliOl cc ru ficates proba bly intended for use In mulu ple ~uling. In some
cave" local ilulhurilie s may even ha\'e fK illlJ. tC'd minor fraud in fa' Of
of Yu, he henku.'·
T he t'orea kdu,,'n o f authoruarian Slr uCl u re s " 'as not limited IU
Yushclleoko ~lrongholds. however. El~t ,,'n ·day audio reco rdtn!,':, ,,,g -
'"
thaI YanukoY)"Ch camJ'.ll ign official, " ere bulh ~u rpn.,..d and concerne d al 11M: rc~u lh coemng in from peo-Yanckovych province" SUdl
as Khark.,- in the nonllea 'I,- ln some cases, n appeared thaI vote-stealg"~l
in!,': ",ea sur" , had failed bcca uw o f the co ns c knl lOu,nc" of ]""al
"Frida". For e xample . nun) offki ah. a, I Ob"'Tvcd in Zaporith/ liia.
the ""Ier mlh designed 10 dls<]U;i1 1fy
li kely' Yu,hdl<'n;'u ",pl'"rh:r, f,o", ca' ling Ih" i, 11"1101,, A, nn " 1',,11
worker told me. -n make, no sen-e [n e xclude the", people . l knuw .. ho
[they] are . They arc' my netg hborv,"
In ot her caw s . rbe fa ilure: of some o ffici als 10 ;", i, \ in ihe vore me n
apf'Ca~ (0 has".. been rool.ro in a fear of the lega l con-.equenn" if they
....ere caught. T1le la.... III Ulr;u~ SU pIllal"s muh ipk·)'car priwn te rm,
fo r c.. rta in ly l"'s o f el ec tora l ma AlpU lat lOn. O ne poll ",orke r in
Zapo ri7h711ia e , plalned Ihal many of her colleagues 1I"d been 1,"1('1 ccared
'0 a"j_, in Illc falsificauon effon,.l>ecau'e "even II" you arc paid on , ..
wll" ",,111(, 10 SI( in rri",n 'u tlla( ,orne ,andidale « Ill winT "
The re"lll wa, 'hat (h., indde n.'e of e lec(m al fmml, ",lIi<::11 "'1Il he
roLl~hly mea sured by compari ng (he re sults of the very dirty November
2 1 co mC' t withth... relalively clean December 26 vole, "' a, h i ~ lI l y ' po..
radic.f n the provin~. o f Ztb rpallia. Sumy, alld Kirovoh rad. significant
vot... 1...... f1 is ev idem from t...... greater Ihan 10 percenrage-pomt dllfer ..
ence III Yushc......m e's s·ot... chare, alld in lhe ca...: of
frum tbe
significanl decrea-e in tumuu I.ln IllO'oI olh...r provmc..... ho" ever. lhen:
'ce rn' 10 have be... n rema rkabl y htt le , ucees,ful fra ud on :-lovc mber
21," The ra,lure o r ",'cal ne" of fal, ificat ion c rron . in some pr ovruc... _
Ills'anl Ihat Yusbchcnko received overwhelm'n g 'uprun in (he we_Iern
pan , of the country. ,.' well a' a fairly high ,hate of VU!<" in many
densel y populated ea-rc rn and southern province s-including 24 per..
ce nt in Kharkiv and Zapmi7h7hia.
Thc regi me 's fail ur... 10 'I e a l a' man y vOle, a, planned in mO_1pan .
o f Ih... country forced il to ov... rplay ,ts hand in p lace, il did c"nl rnlmo st nOlabl)' Yan ukovych ' s home province o f Donetvk -c-th uv making
rh... fa lsifica tion ot>\I0 U, '0 Ihe pulllic and ' 11... outvid... ",orld. On Ih...
mom Ill! after the pull . had closed, gove rnm...nl o fficial, IIlcrea",d
lhe official figure for CounlT)' wide turnuur from 711.7 to ~ O.7 perce nt.
In order to heal Yu, hche nk" hy the planned ~ percent. the guve rn.
mcnthnd ro incre ase lUttl"'ll in [June t, k alone In a patently implau,i hle
96percclll , whiell Wa, an 18 perccurage -point increase fr" m th e fir<l
round.
By it,e1f. Donel _k appears 10 bave aceo,mted fur between onc-quarIe r and one .. third of all vOle~ stolen on behalf o f Yanuko_'ych. Observe..
reponN Ihal many poll "'ark n in thai pro~illCe engaged in npo:n and
rublic hallot stuffing. no! e.' n ,m ...mpling to conceal lhe fraud. Such
aClio ns mad e lh e VOle m en o bvio u s 10 all h UI th e mo .t arde n l
Yanul ovych , upporters. Undeni able evidence o f ove l1 fraud in Oonet,I< ,
ignored
Ul
corr ected m;, 'ak",
111
Done"".
'"
Ktrovohrad. and other regions wa' e •...,nllal in gene rating the ~inu"lI}
un"nuno•." and ~lin~mll inte rnational eon<kmnalion o f the elections.
The Re vol ution
,\ breakdow n of central cUnl m l in the da~" after the So,"cmber 2 '
'101en ~ ote und c rnu ned e rr"n, [0 ,uPI'''''' demon 'tral i",, _. 011 tile rnorn-
ing. a ftcr. when de mou-uarors began tog.nher on [ndcpcnd,:nce Square.
m'lIly ""um"d [hill III,' authorities "'tlu!<l , hut un acc"" In Kyi \'. Th,'
govern ment was c learly prepared for .fOllie l ind of p, ole't ('Ill houg h no
nne ea pecrod t he scale 'h al evc r ucally emerged). Even in t hc ,,",cnee of
a stimul us crea ll-.J by a 'lolen electi on . 11M: o pt>O"i lion had " mught ""cr
50,000 on to the streets o f K y i ~ in an ilkgal de mon'lrali,," in early
:\o\'e n,t>er. Kuchma Ii'"' warned on I..levi,ion before the second round
thaI hRn olutiOll ... ill nOl be tolerated!" "nd police chid M) lola BilolOll
aI'PC"rro on I.-le,'i,iollio .."urc "Ic"'eu Ih,u in Ukraine. in conlra>1 10
Georgia. Ihe police "uld de fend -It", COll"ilUlIOIlal orde r.- In the pro\'ince of Kirovohrad . here I observed the second ro und, many po lling
'Iam",s had a jcuer fro m Bilol on post.:'d allh.:' door. war m ng "Ole,," 10
re frain from "u nconstnunona! ac ts" after the eleclio n.
Yt·t ill the c ritic al 411 hour s after the second round , Sov!,'rnmenl dfor I, 10 h,,11 th" ",,,rl'h " I' " ,oslly ....e ster n Ukrniniauv into Kyiv ".. ere
,Iu nning ly ineff...cl iv.... The l'o mma nd str ucture of Ihe po lice in t he-,c
crincal hours was ~'c ry weal. As I wlln"s",d dr iving from Klm" uhrad 10
K ) i ~ on lhe nig ht uf Ncvcmber 12. pollee m SO~ pro\'ll>Ces ( Kinwoorad.
Zhuomir. \1 )l>o lai\' ) actively hindered moveme nt 10 Kyi\'. ", hile in
otber pro>'inc..." f b ' i\'. Tcmopil. Olcrk.."y. Kyi\' city II""y dId so only
,por"(!ically o r even. as in Lviv. ussist"d I"" prolC, IO,," IT}'ing 10 gel 10
K) l\'. Opposi lion aCII\'lSl' reponed that parhamenlary derulle' were
able 10 UM' the ir slalU' 10 inumidate policeme n into laki ng down read I>locks. By :-Io\' cm ber 2.1. bu,"", and car- c.ul)'l ng de m'"N ral"r' "'ere
al>k In mo ve free ly inlo Ihe !,'apila!.
Equ ally importan t. the , ' al<" rail way "ppe "r, 10 h" , e pla yed both
sides , faci hlaling the transport of regime supporters from eastern Uk fa inc
Il' enga ge in multiple \'utin g, but als" allo.... ing the oppu silion ·, bulk
purl'h""" of truin licle ls 10 bring protc srcts 10 Kyiv. :\, III "I" r u f Tran, ponanon Geo rgiy Kirpa pa id dear ly for Ihi, fai lure 10 hinder t he
0pJ1'O"ilion-Yanu ko\'ych repo rtedly punched OU I 1"'0 of K il'J"l ' ~ teeth.
II olI.O appears Iha l in some cases local ofrlcials ~i~led rhose Il)ing 10
~ c t 10 Kyiv , Prote, lor s from lhe western province o f Temooiltold me
Ihal ,,,,me ,Iale-uni.'er,il) dc:an. and cily·,.(!mini.tralion officials he lped
10 or~ ..nile Iran..portanon to the capual.
A more ccoccned and coordinated go\'emmcm effort 10 " lock pmt"'s1Of' from corning into Ih... capilal would h.a\'e .i~ni fican l ly h;l m p..~ lho.:
demonslralions. ll'\ou ~h lhe Ukraiman pn>IC'IOI"> "ere bulh angry and en -
'"
Ihu~la'lic. t.... y
fOf u amr k. !hei r Scrh,an
coenterp.. 'h had been In October 2tXXl. Tk p!'Ok"'<lon llul ~ upon
Belg rade in that year had brought "" eaJ'Oll~ and bu lldUlcrlo to deal ..-ilh any
," n(:
1'10I
as ....ell
org;on i r~ a.~.
plllice ""sislaJ1ce." Uy COfllfa'<t. prole'!o!'> in Ukraine had 1\0 choice hut h>
pull ...."r when lit... p"Ii ~~ cho"" l<l wa~ c them down 'Ml lhe highway.
The m"" important breakdown "I ce ntral "uth"rily occurred in 111l'
capital it, elf. The may" r. the local po lice. the city adnuubrration. and
the ~ a' l majority of fe,ide m' openly baded the r r<>1estor, . T ile cuy
go,'em",.'m ,,11 0,,"'00 proll..,tors 10 sleep o n lh" l i!'>l floor of lhe aum m-
tstr auon b uild in g and p ro vid e d key logistical a"i,la nce 10 the
dcmonstrat;<ms. As one organizer e aplaieed. ~ All 1be i'we' of food•
...arcr, bio toile,<. and cleaning were sol..ed duc 10 the raci that Ike
organl1en. of lhe demonstral ion c lost'ly coop.nled with Ky' v c il) admmislralion.... Ev('1)' morning ten 10 twelve dump rruckv were carr)' ing
garbage rrom Kyiv !?"
Finally, Tara' Kuzic has noted that. iuthe wake "llhe stolen ...coud
round . large secli"", "f the polic(', milit ary, and iruelli j;ence ,,' rvi<,:e,
bo: gan t" break openl y with the regime, On Chan nel ~ as weu ,1' on llie
stage 'cl up o n Independence Squa rt , many !!" vernlTK' n1-agency lead('r,
publicly ..x p~ss ..d op(lO'I ilion 10 lhe regime. In the ea rly day's "f tn.:
de mons trat ions, lht inlelligence st'rvices pro'·ided the opposi tiun wuh
laped phone conversati"ns among Ya nul ov)'ch sta ff. re sealing the
ca ndid ate', d irect com plicily in the falsificalion euons.
,\1 thc ""10" nmc , man y '«urily olficials bf'gan openly que'lIomng
lhe Iegilimacy o f lhe Ku,·hma go\'ern lTK'lll. Kuzio "l""le, a ..ccllrily guard
al the pre sidential-ndministranon building: "J dun ' t know whe ther
Kud una or Yushche nko i' no w pre sillen!."" On Novcml>c r 2H, Kud nna
report edly resisted call, lU lise force againsl proleslor s , Yel b)· lhis p" inl,
such a move would ha ve been imlTK'nscly' risky, II is II l ely lhal many
~eurily forces would hav.. refused 10 follow orde rs to s upp~" Ill<:' .....monsl rJ.lions, and it i' JIOssi ble Ihat such orders ,," ou ld have 'parked
,·iolenl conflict tocl"'« n the drffcrem hranches of govcrnlTK'lll. "
T he unex pec led l) ma"i\'(' demonslralions terrified many cll"e
Yanulo' )'c h all;"s nuo a.....ndonmg shlp. In lhe da)'s enc r the de mon'tra tion s tocgan , lWO of Yan ul ovyeh ' s ma in public repre, enlali"",, - h i,
l'antpaigll manager and I'll ' repre'Cnlarivc in par hamelll ~i 'lalle("d Ihe111S<'lves from rhc candidate. Simuhancoll,ly, largc I1 U I1l t>e r~ Ill' I'rev iol" ly
pro-Yanukov ycb depulie, lrom the variou, prc rcgimc factions III parlia·
111,'n l de fecte d 10 the oppoSlllon, ~ lko lai Tome nko, a leader In the
Yu§hchenlo camp, noted lhat lTlO'il o f the,.... dc feclo", were bu~ i oc"people
who llld no( ,,"arI1 10 he left on lhO' losing , ide. By rmd-Decembe r, it had
become clear IOmosllhal supporti ng Y;lnu~ovy·ch wa, a had ca~r mo"e.
Wilho ul , ,,e h busi ness (;and governme nt) su pport. many prov incial
Yanulov ~'ch campaig n hf'ad<ju:u1ers had to move OUI of lheir I ge. CC'ntraJoffice' imo morc mode ,' iw'adqu:tne",. On ly the sincere and m h'~'ed
,~
aClivists rcm"i nel!. ~c 'tnr Shufrich. an ardent Yan ukovych supporter. co111·
memed. " The ral, are swimmmg from nne [s ide] 10 the other: '"
Bo, in" " " s noded to support Yushchenko In the repeat second round
on Decem ber 26. Alo ne polling station Ih"l I visited in the southern
p",,'ince of Mykolniv . an aulo-lran' pon worker rrom Kyiv tuld Olt." Ihal
hi, I"", had rcnuilcd him and Iony of his cowork"rs 10 help represent
Yushchcnko a[ pulli ng stat ions around the country. Al anOlher polling
stillion in the same province. the head of a" agricultural firm in Temnpi l
repon ed Ihal he had scm two husjo"ds of his employees to acl '" ob wlvers for Yushchcuko. A wide range of businesses provided a 101,,1 or
6JXlO obwrvcrs ;n eastern Ukrai ne for rhc repeat secood round .
[n sum, most accounts of the Orang:e Revo lution have focused on the
truly sur prising and hislOricaJly momc ruous displ ay or mas< prote st by
the idcnlixtic youth who braved Kyiv's icc-cold ,Ireels afln the stolen
sel"md round on NovemlX'f 21. Yet 10 fully understand Uknune ', re..,,IUliun. one needs III look closely ," the h,"es nf Kuchm a's rule. T he
collapse "f KlIc hma ' , compcthivc aulhoritarian regimc was rooted in
its inherent weakness and the resulting Irngmcr uauon of Ihe Inp ec ho
elons of powe r, Kuchrn,,' , brand ul" oligarchic rule ended up spreading
ih resources too widely among 100 many people whom Ihe president
could nOI control. As a result, Kuehma wa, brought dow n at the hand s
or hi, own ronner allies, O nly lime will 11'11 whelher the upponunilies
c reated by Kuchmu's f'lll will lead 10 the emergcnc c of a new demo cralic <lTder nut or the ruin, of the old regime.
NOTES
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