January 23, 2010

Ukraine gets F from the Heritage Foundation

According to GMU's standard grading policy, Ukraine got F from the Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation' Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) ranks Ukraine as 162nd out of 179 countries with Uzbekistan (158th), Belarus (150th), Russia (143rd), and Tajikistan (128th).
According to the Heritage Foundation:
Ukraine’s economic freedom score is 46.4, making its economy the 162nd freest in the 2010 Index. Its score is 2.4 points lower than last year, reflecting reduced scores in six of the 10 economic freedoms. Ukraine is ranked 43rd out of 43 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is lower than the world average.
I am speechless. Can you really take these rankings without a reasonable doubt? The authoritarian countries have higher index of economic freedom than Ukraine. Have you tried running private company in Belarus or Tajikistan? I also like the fact that the Property Rights Index did not change at all while most indicators of economic freedom went down. Shouldn't there be some correlation between diminishing economic freedom and property rights protection?

The Economist Covers Ukraine…

The Economist covered Ukraine's presidential election in couple recent issues. But this week's print edition has TWO articles about Ukraine, including an article in the Leaders section: An Orange and Two Lemons and Five Years on in Kiev. My first reaction is that someone rushed to write these articles. I've found at least ten points which were overlooked. I don't want even to mention that the map of Ukraine has a weird format so that some provinces have Russian spelling while others have Ukrainian spelling. I hope that whoever wrote those articles knows that Ukrainian is the official language in Ukraine as much as Russian is the official language in Russia.

I want to hear your opinions about these articles. How many mistakes will you find?

January 21, 2010

If You Consider Conducting Research in Russia, ...

The American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies has the following announcement:
The AAASS is seriously concerned about the visa restrictions recently placed on foreign scholars working in Russia. Until the passage of the October 2007 law concerning long term, multiple entry visas, foreign scholars were able to work for an extended period of time (up to twelve months) on academic projects in Russia. The new law currently restricts their stay to 90 days out of any 180-day period,
read more

January 14, 2010

Assorted Links: 2010 Ukraine’s Presidential Election

  1. Ukraine's Presidential Election goes Twitter! If you are really interested in following Ukraine's Presidential Elections on Twitter, here is a site: http://www.electua.org/. However, I should warn you that most twits are in either Russian or Ukrainian.
  2. The Jamestown Foundation Blog has a very interesting post about the supposedly rising popularity of the technical presidential candidate, Mr. Tihipko. Tammy Lynch asks the following question: "Can Tihipko Spoil Tymoshenko's First-Round Party?". My answer is "NO" unless all reputable public opinion surveys had a really awful margin of error.
  3. Wikipedia has a page devoted to the 2010 Ukraine's Presidential Election. This page has a nice summary table that demonstrates a change in public support of main presidential candidates. Btw, I've never heard about the Research and Branding Group before. Have you? But it seems to be a very popular research organization in this particular table.


     

January 6, 2010

Orange Forever!

I've received a letter from Bishop Paul Peter Jesep, U.S. Spokesperson for His Beatitude Metropolitan Myfodii of Kyiv and All Ukraine, from Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Kyiv-Patriarchate. With his permission, I post it here. It's a very interesting reflection on political beliefs in the American-Ukrainian community:

"Ukraine's Orange Revolution lives! The country's cultural and spiritual reawakening shows that requiems and obituaries are premature. President Viktor Yushchenko has been criticized for his political and economic stewardship. Some of it justified. Although not yet recognized, his legacy is positive and significant. He is the first Ukrainian president who embraced and encouraged the country's distinct Eastern Slav consciousness. Yushchenko challenged his countrymen, Jew, Muslim, Christian, and non-believer to ask who they were as one Ukrainian nation. He reached out to Jews and Muslims as no leader has before to underscore their contributions to Ukraine. Ultimately, a country's soul is defined by its artists, writers, composers, and the language its people speak. Although unable to show a deft touch in educating those who identified with Russian culture in eastern Ukraine or the Crimea, Yushchenko nurtured a national reawakening. He did so, in part, at the expense of bread and butter issues during a worldwide recession.


 

Yushchenko showed no sympathy in dealing with Russia's national identity crisis. What does it mean to be Russian without Kyiv, the Mother of All Russian cities? His indifference fueled Moscow's ongoing efforts to marginalize Ukrainian culture, language, and history in the international media. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine is nothing more than a breakaway province. He incorrectly insists that it never existed as a nation prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union. Ukraine has a thousand year history. Its final incorporation into Russia occurred when Empress Catherine finally defeated the libertarian, free-spirited Ukrainian kozak state with its rudimentary democratic structure. Spiritually, there can be no Russia without Kyiv. Culturally, politically, and intellectually Moscow cannot let go of Ukraine because to do so leaves its own national identity in question. The Eastern Slavic soul beats in Kyiv, not Moscow, Novgorod, St. Petersburg, or anywhere else in Russia or Belorussia.


 

It's ironic that Viktor Yanukovych, the Moscow supported presidential candidate from eastern Ukraine, recently told the Associated Press that "the development of . . . democratic principle in our country" was a "price . . . too great." Yet Yanukovych benefits from the very freedom he criticizes in his campaign. During the Associated Press interview Yanukovych also mocked the Ukrainian language as "gibberish" and the messiness of democracy as a "variety show." He vows commitment to a Leninist "rule of law" and the restoration of the Russian language to its superior place.


 

Regardless of who is the country's president, the sky is blue if Ukrainians in the country and those in the Diaspora work to cultivate the Ukrainian language. If young artists, writers, dancers, musicians, composers, and Christian and non-Christian spiritual leaders in Ukraine nurture the Ukrainian-Eastern Slav soul then the wheat fields are golden. President Yushchenko opened the door. Complacency will shut it. The Orange Revolution is not about personalities. It is about ideas, values, and principles. It's about the culture of a people. Ukrainians are the only Eastern Slav people with the courage to wrestle with the challenges of democracy. Democracy is not about convenience. It is about liberty.


 

The Orange Revolution can and will live on so long as patriots and those in the Diaspora recognize the critical importance of promoting Ukrainian art, culture, language, and literature. It will not matter who is president so long as ordinary Ukrainians in Ukraine and the Diaspora work to nurture, preserve, and further the country's distinct heritage."

January 4, 2010

Good News for Ukraine’s Steel Industry

It looks like Ukraine's steel industry has better prospects in 2010 thanks to … the US International Trade Commission (USITC). The US steelmakers just won a case against surging imports of Chinese steel pipes.

WSJ writes that: "The ruling Wednesday (Dec 30) will result in duties of between 10% and 16% on future imports of Chinese steel pipes used to extract natural gas and oil. It is the latest in a string of trade decisions against China and threatens to further aggravate trade tensions between the two nations."

As far as I know, there are only few countries producing this kind of steel pipes in the world, including China, Russia, and Ukraine. Given the current state of foreign affairs, USA is more likely to buy steel pipes from Ukraine rather than from Russia. Happy New Year, Mr. Pinchuk and Mr. Akhmetov!