Author Archives: RomanInUkraine

Ukrainian gas oligarch Firtash arrested in Vienna on FBI warrant

This is a big deal. A potential game changer, though I’m not yet sure how. The oligarchs are hugely influential, and the narrative of this conflict has largely been ignoring them.

Industrialist Dmytro Firtash, one of Ukraine’s most influential oligarchs with close links to Russia through his gas interests, has been arrested in Austria at the request of the United States.

Austria’s Federal Crime Agency said on Thursday that Firtash was held on Wednesday on suspicion of violating laws on bribery and forming a criminal organization in the course of foreign business deals.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said: “Our embassy in Austria has confirmed that Dmytro Firtash has been detained at the request of the (U.S.) Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is now being held in a detention center.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/us-ukraine-austria-firtash-idUSBREA2C14V20140313

Putin Defends Ukraine’s Jews, Slams Ukraine’s Jewish Oligarchs

I’m very interested in an analysis of Ukraine’s oligarch’s in this crisis. Here’s a glimpse:

“Putin offered an intimate glimpse into the highly personal power politics playing out among the relatively tiny and tightly interconnected group of oligarchs—all men of a similar generation—who together control vast swaths of the post-Soviet economies. Putin called out one, `monsieur` Ihor Kolomoyskyi—either the second or third richest man in Ukraine and the newly appointed governor of Dnepropetrovsk, the country’s industrial hub—by name. “This man is a unique opportunist,” Putin remonstrated.

Kolomoyskyi is not unique, but he is a figure of collosal wealth and importance in Ukraine’s industrial behemoth of Dnepropetrovsk. Along with his friend and fellow oligarch Vadim Rabinovich, Kolomoyskyi also founded the successful Jewish News One TV station. He has also helped fund and recently inaugurated the Dnepropetrovsk Jewish cultural center, the biggest in the world. In a press conference that Kolomoyskyi held four days ago upon being appointed governor, he admitted that he had been put into place as part of a campaign of “expanding government outside of the purview of traditional politicians.” He also acknowledged that part of his job as the newly appointed governor of Dnepropetrovsk was to “tamp down separatism,” and spoke out against a century of Russian-driven partition of the land. Many Ukrainians assume that he had taken up the position mostly to protect his myriad business interests from being expropriated by the new regime.

Putin, however, had his own axe to grind against Kolomoyskyi on behalf of his friend Roman Abramovich, one of Russia’s wealthiest men. “He even conned our own Abramovich,” Putin asserted. Alternating legalese with tough guy slang, he explained Abramovich had transferred Kolomoyskui millions for a contract several years ago, and Kolomoyskyi other did not finish the job but pocketed the money. “I myself asked Abramovich why he did it later, and he told me he did not think it possible that someone would play him like that,” Putin explained. “This is a real life story. And that is the sort of bounder they wish to make governor!” The point to this brackish bit of business gossip, to put it as crudely as Putin did, was that the Ukrainian Jewish oligarch Kolomoyskyi out-Jewed Russia’s own top Jewish oligarch, Abramovich.

Putin then transitioned his rhetoric smoothly back to the “masked and unidentified armed groups of anti-Semites” running around Kiev with machine guns. Any resemblance to masked and unidentified armed men running around the Crimea with machine guns went unmentioned.

http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/165099/putin-defends-ukraines-jews-slams-ukraines-jewish-oligarchs

Red Army masses on Ukraine border: 80,000 troops and missile launchers spark invasion fear

Ukraine warned last night that 80,000 Russian troops were massing on its borders and could invade – as world leaders told Vladimir Putin to back off.

A senior security chief in Kiev said Moscow could launch a full-scale invasion and Russian troops would be in the Ukrainian capital within ‘two or three hours’ of the order to advance.

Photographs of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers close to Ukraine’s borders added to tensions.

Last night senior British officials told the Mail they had received reports about Russian troops massing on the border since Tuesday and were concerned by the show of force.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2579168/Ukraine-warns-scale-invasion-Russia-moves-artillery-close-borders-Kiev-security-chief-says-Putins-troops-run-three-hours.html

Lviv Mayor Sadovi vs. Svoboda Party

I like Lviv’s Mayor. He sometimes walks to work, in contrast with most Ukrainian politicians. (See for example, Hennadiy Kernes of Kharkiv). They keep small armies around them for security.

Both he and the citizens of this great city have maintain a level of civility that’s downright inspiring. (here, here, here, here)

He’s hugely popular, and staunchly refuses to join any political party. The nationalist Svoboda party considers Lviv oblast to be their turf. I don’t mind nationalism. I think it’s a good thing, actually. But Svoboda is just plain stupid. They have bad economic ideas. They seem full of narcissists and control freaks. They also don’t like L’viv’s mayor, Andri Sadovi. There’s a long standing dispute. And now this headline:

New Prosecutor General of Ukraine to Prosecute Andrii Sadovi.

The new prosecutor is in the Svoboda Party. He’s a well-known character who, rumor has it, hasn’t shown his own real income tax declaration in three years, declaring only 13,000 hryyvnias per year. Perhaps this isn’t such a strong condemnation in Ukraine where it seems everybody cheats.

I doubt they’ll be able to follow through against such a popular guy. It would cost Svoboda too much credibility. I doubt that’s even the goal. It’s probably just a message or part of a back-room compromise they’re negotiating for.

http://zaxid.net/home/showSingleNews.do?noviy_prokuror_otrimav_zavdannya_posaditi_sadovogo__dzherelo&objectId=1304342

I should probably add that the newspaper reporting this belongs to Sadovi. :)

Ahhh, Ukraine.

Two Old Maps of Europe

From 1689:

1686-map-of-Europe

1689 Cossaks state after Bohdan Khmelnystky’s death is conquered by Moskovia and Ukraine is divided between Poland and Moskovia. Look on Crimean Khanate

Lithuania includes such Western Ukrainian lands as Volinia, Podolia (now – Khmelnytsky and Vinnytsya regions) and Russia (!!!) = Halicia. Halychyna in XV-XVIII was marked on many maps as Russia or Red Russia (Червона Русь) and people of this lands called themselves as русини rusyny

Scotland and Ireland are still independent.

Transylvania is independent state Moldova, Romania, Walachia, Bulgaria and Serbia are united in one state or union.

1918-Ethnographic-Map

This is an ethnographic map of Europe from 1918 (printed in France).

You can see Ukrainians far on East and North-East – now Russian regions of Kursk and Voronezh, and Kuban and Don regions on South-East near Caucasus.

You might have heard that Kubal and Don were settled by kossaks after Sich was destroyed in 1775. Kyrylo-Mefoddivske bratstvo (brotherhood) of which Taras Shevchenko was a member believed that in future Don and Kuban will be Ukrainian states or autonomous regions of Ukraine.

Various ethnic groups and nations on Russian territory are marked and map is incorrect about Western Ukrainians on Polish and Slovakian territory (Lemky is the most significant group).

Basques and Catalans are there on the map.

Tymoshenko Family has 85 British Bank Accounts

“Prominent UK banks are at the centre of a dispute over allegations that numerous foreign accounts were set up in the name of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her family.

A leaked report, seen by The Independent, claims that 85 bank accounts containing millions of pounds were linked to Ms Tymoshenko and relatives.

This global review of Ms Tymoshenko’s finances was carried out as part of a wider investigation by Lawrence Graham, the London law firm, which was commissioned last March by the then-Ukrainian Ministry of Revenues and Duties of toppled president Viktor Yanukovich to trace assets allegedly misappropriated by the former prime minister.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/exclusive-uk-banks-in-row-over-yulia-tymoshenko-millions-9177693.html

Arseniy Yatzeniuk Speaking now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcjS-ENs4Cg

I cannot stand this guy. He is being elevated by the world bankers and western powers. The people haven’t even voted yet he’s been appointed.

When I was at a funeral of one the protesters (a distant relative of mine, actually, though I didn’t know him) one of the deceased’s friends who was with him on Maidan dedicated his whole few-minute speech to ranting about how Yatzeniuk and Tymmoshenko are enormous frauds.