Ukraine's orange-blue divide

Similar to the red-blue political split in the US, it has brought the government to a standstill – forcing emergency elections Sunday.

from the September 28, 2007 edition

Page 2 of 2

Page 1 | 2

"I was one of the first to arrive in Kiev, and the streets were already full of people passionately supporting Yushchenko," says Anatoly Romaniuk, a political scientist at Ivan Franko University in Lvov. "For many of us, it was the moment when we would finally begin to build a truly independent and democratic Ukraine."

The Greek-Catholic Church, an amalgam of Orthodox rites and Catholic dogma that was banned during Soviet times has since revived, now holding the allegiance of more than half of religious believers in western Ukraine, says Andriy Yurash, a religion specialist at Lvov State University.

Along with two Ukraine-based Orthodox sects, the Greek-Catholic Church came out in full support of the Orange Revolution. "During the Orange Revolution the church held daily services in the main square of Lvov to pray for its success," says Mr. Yurash.

In Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, the predominant Russian Orthodox Church, which is led by the patriarch in Moscow, opposed the Orange Revolution and has given its official blessing to Yanukovich in the current elections. "It is gradually becoming clear to us that this split between east and west Ukraine has very deep civilizational roots and will not be easily overcome – if ever," says Yurash.

While many are disillusioned, some still hope for reconciliation

Though Mr. Yushchenko was vaulted into the presidency in fresh elections following the Orange Revolution, the hope that he might find ways to heal Ukraine's divisions has fizzled out amid squabbling in the Orange camp and persistent political crisis. Following parliamentary polls last year, Yanukovich's party came roaring back with a plurality of the Supreme Rada's 450 seats and, after a lengthy Blue versus Orange struggle, a dispirited Yushchenko was compelled to name Yanukovich prime minister. Opinion surveys suggest the current elections may do little more than reproduce the same lineup.

Some experts fear popular exhaustion with democracy may play into the hands of extremists, such as the radical nationalist Svoboda party, whose support is growing rapidly around Lvov, or the old-line Communist Party, which is still strong in the east.

Ruslan Koshulinsky, Svoboda's deputy chairman, says people in Lvov increasingly want to see the half-hearted measures of Yushchenko and Tymoshenko swept aside. "In a spiritual sense, we are still under Russian occupation," he says. "We respect freedom, but steps must be taken to unite the [Ukrainian] ethos, or we will never be independent."

But, surprisingly, some of the toughest characters from Ukraine's tragic past insist that the only route to salvation lies through compromise and reconciliation.

"In other parts of Europe people who were on opposite sides of the barricades in civil conflicts have long since shaken hands and moved on," says Gumeniuk. "When is it going to happen here?"

1 | Page 2