(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Two years after the start of the Euromajdan revolution and a year and a half after Petro Poroshenko was elected president, disappointment and anger have taken root in Ukrainian society. The government's promises of reform and modernization are not being followed by action, and people's patience is running out, says Ukrainian author Serhij Zjadan.
It can create a fatal situation.
“The dissatisfaction is growing, the demands of the population towards the authorities are getting tougher, and the efforts are getting higher. The fact that the power apparatus does not understand this can mean that it is going completely wrong. I am afraid it will end in bloodshed, in a real civil war with great human losses, ”says Zjadan.
He believes Ukraine's residents are in a psychologically difficult situation where the "betrayal from the authorities" will no longer be tolerated.
"We've lost a lot of people, it's moved a lot of blood, and everyone's worn out. At the same time, we feel that the authorities stand in the way of progress. The reforms, the visions and the real changes have failed. "
Civil society leads. Zhadan's attitude is echoed in a recent poll by Rating Group Ukraine for the International Republican Institute. There, 83 percent of Ukrainians say they are dissatisfied with the Kiev parliament. Two-thirds believe the country is not moving in the right direction, while support for President Poroshenko has dropped from 55 to 24 percent in one year.
In particular, the authorities' limited ability to deal with corruption and bureaucracy creates frustration. In order to grant Ukrainians visa freedom, the EU has demanded that it be easier to investigate corruption. However, Parliament has met the government's new bill with so much opposition that constant revisions have been necessary and the EU deadline is about to expire.
Earlier this week, Transparency International's Ukraine chief Oleksii Khmara wrote about the anti-corruption work that "the little bit of progress has been due to the efforts of the Ukrainian civil society, not the politicians".
"Poroshenko talks about European values, but they are not expressed through action. The social development that is actually taking place is largely due to the voluntary initiative and efforts of ordinary people to tear down old structures, ”says Zjadan.
Thinking Soviet. The 41-year-old author recently visited Oslo, among other things to go for a bath at the Literature House and to meet Norwegian PEN.
During that time, according to Zadan, the president has spoken but not acted, Crimea has been annexed by Russia, while Russian-friendly separatists have taken control of parts of eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko has had to draw up many of the country's policies in cooperation with Russia and the EU.
But the absence of reforms and progress is not due to interference, says Zadan. The main problem is the mindset of the past. “Those in power do not understand simple principles such as not being able to break the law or steal simply because you have come high. Nor do they realize that they must do what they promised during the election campaign. Why don't they understand? Because their mentality is left behind in the old system, ”says Zjadan.
"Although the war would end tomorrow and Putin be replaced by a president who gives us back to Crimea, relations between countries are ruined. There are too many killed, injured and imprisoned. ”
Precisely the view of the Soviet legacy is central to the conflict between the authorities and civil society, according to Zhadan – not the question of whether Ukraine should join closer to the EU or Russia. "Either we continue to be influenced by Soviet ideology, or we free ourselves from it and move on. At the moment, civil society is renewing Ukraine, while the authorities are left in Soviet thought patterns, ”says the author. He believes the country's elected officials must soon stop pursuing what he calls "a poorly hidden form of sabotage". Otherwise, Zjadan thinks, it can go really bad.
"Yanukovych escaped to Russia, but the new rulers may not be able to leave," he points out.
Post Soviet chronicler. Serhij Zjadan debuted as a lyricist as a 17-year-old in 1991, and many Ukrainians know him best as a poet – and talk-singing vocalist in the creature band Sobaki v cosmossi (Dogs in Space). He nevertheless made his international breakthrough with the novels Depeche Mode og Anarchy in the Ukr. Here he portrays the broken life of the first generation of Ukrainians who became adults after the fall of the Soviet Union – in an original, rhythmic and poetic form of prose. German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung has called Zjadan "a unique language endowment", while Swedish reviewers have drawn parallels to Dave Eggers and Marcel Proust. The first Norwegian translation will be released in 2017.
Zhadan's birthplace Starobilsk in eastern Ukraine is less than 100 kilometers away from the trench front of Ukrainian soldiers and Prorussian rebels today. The relationship with Russia will never be the same again, he believes.
"Those who have been soldiers, or have been directly affected by the war in one way or another, will never be able to look at Russia the way they did before. Although the war would end tomorrow and Putin be replaced by a president who gives us back to Crimea, relations between the countries are ruined. There are too many killed, injured and imprisoned. ”
No war against Pushkin. Zhadan writes in Ukrainian, but speaks Russian as a native speaker. When he meets his international publishers and other contacts abroad, Russian literature often forms a common reference background. The talk goes in Russian. Being at war with a country that is not only close to one's neighbor but also has much in common with Ukraine historically and culturally, describes Zadan as "a painful process".
“We must keep our minds clear and not become barbarians. We all understand that this is not a war against Pushkin or Tolstoy, "he says, adding:" In Russia, too, the war has led to a split among cultural people. Many former Ukraine-friendly writers have stood on Putin's side. For them, Ukraine has become a fascist state. On the other hand, you have those who do not accept the Putin worldview. It is important to keep them connected. ”
Many of Zhadan's travels over the past year have gone to areas near the front, where he has held readings for soldiers and civilians. He insists that one should not exaggerate the importance of culture in an extreme situation like war. Nevertheless:
“Authors fix maximum subjectivity in writing, and it allows them to act with a soothing voice. They can resist propaganda, not get carried away by fiery words and say things differently than the media and politicians. For some Ukrainians it is important. "
