The railway station in Ternopil. Valerij Vjatjaninov meets his daughter Zhenya who just arrived on the night train from the capital Kiev where she studies at the university.
Ternopil, a city with 250 000 inhabitants is in western Ukraine.
Several of the industries that were here during the Soviet times are now closed and the area is one of the poorest in Ukraine.
But the new market economy is succeeding, at least when it comes to real estate prices. The houses where the Vjatjaninov family lives cost around 600,000 dollars.
- Valerij Vjatjaninov
“Houses like that or that can only businessmen afford. Those who make
business or those who are working illegally abroad and send money they obtained for their work to Ukraine.”
The family is typically Eastern European and glass jars with vegetables from the own garden litter their home. Irina works as a tax inspector, a relatively new profession, not relevant in the Communist era, but many new rules have now been implemented in Ukraine. Most people generally have a minimal understanding of the tax system and most receive their wages illegally.
- Irina Vjatjaninova
“Our people are not used to.. don't understand the difference between white and black salary and the consequences in their pensions. The shadow money obtained today in the envelopes and when the pension age comes they will obtain the lowest pension. They are just living in the present.”
The family house is heated with Russian gas. But as a consequence of
Ukraine's steadfast westward orientation, applying for membership of both the EU and NATO, pressure from their eastern neighbour is being more and more heavily felt. Ukraine owes huge sums for unpaid energy.
- Irina Vjatjaninova
“The gas prices have not increased that much it is affordable for our
family but I am afraid for the threat of increased prices previously
announced from "Uncle Putin". But I hope that will not happen.”
From the house, abandoned Soviet factories can be seen. The huge level of unemployment strengthens the will amongst Ukrainians to join the EU. Valerij has run his own business for 15 years, employing five to install heating systems, like here - in one of the city's schools.
- Valerij Vjatjaninov vid simbassäng
“Look here, the floor is heated...”
The EU is by now the largest trading partner with the Ukraine. The membership process will put severe demands upon the country to clean up its huge black market economy.
- Valerij Vjatjaninov
“I think it is a good process, it would be progress if Ukraine could
enter into the EU. It would make us obey the law and rules more.”
Ukraine, with 47 million inhabitants is like all Eastern European states, ethnically diverse. There are both Catholic and Orthodox churches and Polish, Hungarian and Crimean tartar are spoken besides the main languages of Ukrainian and Russian. Here in the western part of the country, which belonged to Poland and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire before the Second World War Russia is seen as dangerous, especially after the Georgia conflict this summer. People here feel a stronger connection towards Western Europe.
The parties are not ethnically oriented but still there is political
chaos. In the main square, President Yushchenko's party demonstrates against the Prime Minister’s party, the different government coalitions vary wildly. After independence in 1991, the economy crashed. But in the last few years it has had an annual growth of around 10%.
- Valerij Vjatjaninov (pointing out through window)
“There will be a store built where you see the blocks it will be built in one year.”
Valerij Vjatjaninov is a native Russian, Irina is Ukrainian. Neither of them has any great trust in the politicians that rule over them.
- Valerij Vjatjaninov
“There is no problem with Russian or other languages in Ukraine as far as I know. Those questions are discussed by the politicians when they need to obtain more votes.”
In the streets of Kiev, there are clear signs of the country's new wealth, even though average salary is around 300 dollars a month.
- Valerij Chali, dept dir Int. prog director Razumkov centre
“The real division is between rich people and poor people. I think we have a dramatic situation in that. It is a result of capitalism after the break up of socialist system.
Valerij Chaly works at a research institute in Kiev, debating issues that the country will face on the road towards EU membership.
- Valerij Chali, dept dir Int. prog director Razumkov centre
“So new rules of plays, transparent rules of plays of business and
politicians. We have many businessmen in parliament. It is not the right way to support political reform.”
There is a huge amount of corruption due to lack of clear rules of law, that is something that needs to be dealt with in Ukraine, where the general opinion is that politicians can be bought. Business interests here have a great influence over politics today, and even in the judicial system, bribes are common.
Kataryna Panova is a TV Journalist who has reported extensively on several cases of corruption. For instance, where land in government forests has been sold for private housing.
- Kateryna Panova, free-lance journalist
“They were so sure what they were doing that they were not afraid to give me all the documents, I could take them. I was shooting with a hidden camera and they would say how did we get this land? aah they would say we gave the bribes to this person, to this person, we gave the bribes to well, the head of the region and to take this forest away and they were not afraid of anything.”
Outside the presidential office, there are a few hundred protesters. The Land Bureau of Kiev, which registers land ownerships has been subject to an illegal take-over and was occupied by force.
- Vitalij Homenko, employed at the Land Bureau
“They robbed the bureau, they took away our documents, savings and
properties. The police present during the attack denied to identify the raiders.”
Even in this case, the protesters alleged that the judge had been bribed. "The bandits should be imprisoned" is written on the posters. But still, just the possibility of freely demonstrating was unthinkable during Soviet times, so this is considered as a step forward.
- Vitalij Homenko, employed at the Land Bureau
“The testimony proving that we are a real democratic nation is all the people all the staff members gathered here. We were not organized or forced or paid for being here.”
EU flags fly together with blue and yellow Ukrainian. But EU membership cannot be expected earlier than 2020, and many see the integration process as going too slowly.
- Kateryna Panova, frilansjournalist
“It hasn't changed, nothing has changed recently and it doesn't seem that the Ukrainian judicial system is trying to improve itself to enter the European Union.”
- Valerij Chali, dept dir Int. prog director Razumkov centre
“We understand what we have to do but unfortunately (we) do it very slowly, that is the problem.”
Zhenya, the daughter of the Vjatjaninov family studies International
Science at the university. Her friends have mixed feelings towards Europe and the future of Ukraine.
- Vadym Kramar
“Neither EU nor NATO will achieve any results (in changing Ukraine).
- Raman Russkoj
“We will obtain more but we also may lose much more of the benefits from Russia and other countries that are outside of the EU.”
- Lisa Oliynyk
“The issue of entering the EU is for us just a question about a visa free zone.”
- Zjenja Vjatjaninova
“My best hope is that Ukraine will become finally one of the members of the EU and it would not be without entering into NATO.”
13th Airborne battalion trains patrolling at their base in Zhytomir. Since independence in 1991, the defence force has been reduced from a respectable 800 000 men to 180 000 this year. Together with a new NATO-aligned organization and training procedures, this has meant a huge change.
- MajGen Boris Kremenetskij, responsible NATO-integration, Ukrainian Defence Forces
“For the Ukrainian military it is a huge experience. We analyse our
experiences, lessons learned and use this experience to update or upgrade this program.”
The state program for reforming the defence force has as a priority
NATO-cooperation and some units, like the 13th Airborne already have
achieved the lower NATO standard.
- MajGen Boris Kremenetskij, responsible NATO-integration, Ukrainian Defence Forces
“Specially designated units within the nation, they train according to NATO standards and procedures and so on, so in the case of necessity these units can be deployed within NATO forces and already be operational.”
Ukraine has participated in several international peace keeping missions, in Iraq and Kosovo as well as others. Training for this takes up a large part of the exercises, like searching cars for weapons at check-points. Many of the soldiers here have participated in missions abroad.
- 1st Lt Andrej Marchuk, Platoon leader, 13th Airborne battalion
“Every day we have to study something new to obtain new experience
because, for example, I have only one mission but two mission, three
missions, it is the more experience, the better.”
The budget of the defence forces is low, under one percent of the gross domestic product, and even though Ukraine takes part in the NATO Partnership for Peace program the country was not accepted into the Membership Action Plan at the NATO meeting in April this year. Eventually there will be another decision at the meeting in December but until then the capacity of Ukraine to face external threats has grown dramatically.
- MajGen Boris Kremenetskij, responsible NATO-integration, Ukrainian Defence Forces
”For sure it has increased cooperation with NATO increased capabilities.”
It is President Yushchenko and the young western-oriented elite who have most strongly been pushing for NATO-membership but the Communist party as well as the majority of people do not want this. NATO membership is seen as an unnecessary irritation to Russia, who several times have spoken in dubious terms about the independence of Ukraine. So there are fears that Russia might capitalize on the present political turmoil.
- Valeriy Chaly, dept dir Int prog dir Razumkov centre
“The real threat in Ukraine is that some politician in Ukraine can use the situation and ask support of some countries around us for help. In the presidential elections, for example, and that is a threat for stability.
Following the presidents harsh criticism of Russia during the Georgian conflict, many Ukrainians fear their powerful, eastern neighbour. At the same time the disillusion towards their leaders since the Orange revolution four years ago, is at an all-time high.
- Valerij Vjatjaninov
“The hopes we had were destroyed, as it appears by now, by the politicians we supported.”
- Irina Vjatjaninova
“I hope that everything will stay within it's own borders. That Russia will stay within it's borders, Ukraine within it's and then we will not have an Abkhaz scenario in Ukraine.”
