In the wake of the Ukrainian revolution, the country's long-besieged investigative journalists have turned one of the most secretive locations in eastern Europe into a haven for transparency and accountability.
Deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych's lavish 350-acre estate outside Kyiv -- which included an ostrich farm and a private lake complete with a full-size moored pirate galleon -- has been taken over by a team of Ukraine's investigative journalists.
They're using it as a base to study tends of thousands of documents found at the residence that are helping reveal the tale of the staggering corruption of Yanukovych's regime.
Their work may help Ukraine track down billions that were apparently looted from state coffers during Yanukovych's four years in office.
President's Son Won 50% of State Contacts
In a country where the average person makes $500 a month, Ukraine's new government says $37 billion went missing under Yanukovych, while another $70 billion flowed into offshore accounts -- though it's not clear how much of the latter amount was illegitimate. The government says its coffers are now virtually empty.
As an example of the corruption, the ousted president's son -- a 41-year-old dentist -- accumulated vast wealth during his father's short time in office and was reportedly worth $500 million in Nov. 2013. His various holding companies are reported to have won 50 percent of all state contracts in Jan. 2014.
The newfound freedom of Ukraine's investigative journalists is in sharp contrast with the country's recent record as one of the world's worst places for press freedom. In 2010, after Yanukovych came to power, the country fell from 90th place to 131st place in the annual press freedom ranking of the group Reporters Without Borders -- winding up behind Iraq and Zimbabwe.
The Ukrainian journalists have created the YanukovychLeaks website to publish their findings. Read more background here.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Ukraine Crisis: Jewish Views on Maidan Contradict Putin's Anti-Semitism Claims
Did Vladimir Putin really invade Ukraine to save Jewish Ukrainians from mounting anti-Semitism?
It seems a little dubious if you know much about Russia's president. Putin is the man who claimed last year that 80 to 85 percent of the first Soviet government was Jewish. He made the claim during a visit to Moscow's Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center.
Of course, the claim is ridiculous. The first Soviet government -- the Council of People's Commissars -- had just one Jewish member out of 16 commissars, as this item in The Jewish Press noted, calling Putin's claim anti-Semitic.
Jewish Ukrainian Leaders Denounce Invasion
Jewish Ukrainian Leaders Denounce Invasion
What about Putin's claim of invading Ukraine in part to save Ukraine's Jewish people from anti-Semitic attacks?
Of course, anti-Semitism is a critical issue in a country with Ukraine's history of anti-Jewish pogroms.
Yet, Jewish perspectives on this question contrast sharply with the claims of Putin and his officials. Here's a reading list:
- "Ukraine Jews appeal to Russia to 'stop aggression,'" Times of Israel, March 3, 2014.
- "Ukraine Chief Rabbi Accuses Russia of Anti-Semitic 'Provocations' in Crimea: Yaakov Dov Bleich Compares Behavior to Nazi Anschluss," Forward, March 3, 2014.
- "Who's Really Behind Ukraine's Synagogue Attacks," The Daily Beast, March 3, 2014.
- "Ukraine's Unfinished Revolution Sparks Hope for Jews -- Not Fear," Forward, Feb. 27, 2014.
- "Ukraine Chief Rabbi Accuses Russia of Anti-Semitic 'Provocations' in Crimea: Yaakov Dov Bleich Compares Behavior to Nazi Anschluss," Forward, March 3, 2014.
- "Who's Really Behind Ukraine's Synagogue Attacks," The Daily Beast, March 3, 2014.
- "Ukraine's Unfinished Revolution Sparks Hope for Jews -- Not Fear," Forward, Feb. 27, 2014.
- "It was worth living in this country to experience Maidan," Hadashot, Feb. 2014 (translated and posted on the website of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine; original article in Russian here).
- "Kyiv's Maidan is a Liberationist and Not Extremist Mass Action of Civic Disobedience," Andreas Umland et al., Feb. 2014 (also posted on the website of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine here).
- "An Open Letter on the Ukrainian Revolution in the Russian Language," Ukraina Syehodnya, March 3, 2014 (translated and posted on the website of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine; original article in Russian here).
- "If we don't win, Ukraine will leave the civilization's realm altogether," Ukrainska Pravda, Feb. 14, 2014 (translated and posted on the website of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine; original article in Russian here).
- "The new dilemma for Jews in Ukraine: Anti-Semitism, though a real threat, is being used by the Kremlin as a political football," Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz, Feb. 25, 2014.
- "NCSJ strongly condemns the most recent violent attacks against protestors in Kyiv, Ukraine," National Conference Supporting Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia (NCSJ), Feb. 19, 2014.
- "Ukraine Update #9," NCSJ, Feb. 26, 2014.
Ukraine Crisis: Only 15% of Russians Supported Action on Ukraine
As the crisis over Russia's invasion of Ukraine escalates, I thought it'd be useful to add my two hryvnias.
I'll be posting occasional news items I think are enlightening from my perspective as an investigative journalist of partly Ukrainian descent.
Here's an interesting take from Time Magazine. It reveals that only 15 percent of Russians actually wanted their government to intervene to help Ukraine's deposed president, Viktor Yanukovych, stay in power.
In the survey, conducted by the Kremlin's own pollster, 73 percent said Russia shouldn't interfere in what they believed was an internal matter for Ukrainians. (Russian speakers and Google Translate users can read the complete results here.)
The poll was carried out Feb. 1 and 2, before mass protests in Ukraine forced Yanukovych to flee to Russia. Ukraine's new authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Yanukovych for mass murder in connection with the killing of nearly 100 protesters by police and government snipers as he clung to power.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has vociferously denounced the overthrow of his ally Yanukovych and sent thousands of Russian soldiers into Ukraine's Crimea region shortly after.
The poll also found that 30 percent of respondents in Moscow and St. Petersburg predicted Russia could see a similar protest movement, particularly if faced with a severe economic crisis or poverty.
I'll be posting occasional news items I think are enlightening from my perspective as an investigative journalist of partly Ukrainian descent.
Here's an interesting take from Time Magazine. It reveals that only 15 percent of Russians actually wanted their government to intervene to help Ukraine's deposed president, Viktor Yanukovych, stay in power.
In the survey, conducted by the Kremlin's own pollster, 73 percent said Russia shouldn't interfere in what they believed was an internal matter for Ukrainians. (Russian speakers and Google Translate users can read the complete results here.)
The poll was carried out Feb. 1 and 2, before mass protests in Ukraine forced Yanukovych to flee to Russia. Ukraine's new authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Yanukovych for mass murder in connection with the killing of nearly 100 protesters by police and government snipers as he clung to power.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has vociferously denounced the overthrow of his ally Yanukovych and sent thousands of Russian soldiers into Ukraine's Crimea region shortly after.
The poll also found that 30 percent of respondents in Moscow and St. Petersburg predicted Russia could see a similar protest movement, particularly if faced with a severe economic crisis or poverty.
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