Reprinted from hartmannreport.com
In 2021 the Zelenskyy declared a campaign to "de-oligarchize" his nation, having diagnosed Ukraine's political & economic crises as tracing back to the corruption by the morbidly rich
Viktor Medvedchuk was the Rupert Murdoch of Ukraine. He ran a rightwing television network and owned TV stations across the country, while simultaneously being one of the richest men in that nation. He promoted hate and division, tax cuts for the rich and gutting the Ukrainian social safety net, and supported some of Ukraine's most toxic politicians.
Like many of today's American oligarchs, he owned hundreds of politicians, who consistently voted in Parliament, state, and local governments to protect his businesses, wealth, and influence.
Then came Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who successfully campaigned for president on a Teddy Roosevelt-like anti-corruption platform and, like both Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, declared outright war on politically active oligarchs.
As a result, today Medvedchuk is hiding out in Russia, his media properties having been sold to smaller companies that are not oligarch-owned or -influenced. Without the persistent rightwing poison Medvedchuk's TV and other media properties had spread daily throughout Ukraine, the country is now looking at a more democratic future than does America.
Essentially, what Ukraine's president and parliament did with their 2021 "deoligarchization" (yes, they actually call it that) law was to say to Ukraine's billionaires:
"You may be rich, and you may have whatever political opinions you want, just like every Ukrainian. But because average Ukrainians don't have access to millions or billions to sway public opinion or buy politicians, we will no longer allow you to use your vast riches to corrupt our nation to your own advantage at the expense of average working people." (My words, not Zelenskyy's.)
In 2021 the Ukrainian president declared a campaign to "de-oligarchize" his nation, having correctly diagnosed his country's political and economic crises as tracing back to the corruption of Ukrainian politics by that nation's morbidly rich.
"In order to succeed, Ukraine must become a rule of law democracy that works in the interests of the many, rather than the few," Zelenskyy declared on May 18, 2021, fully nine months before the Russian invasion.
His campaign against Ukraine's oligarchs was as big a threat to Putin's network of rich enablers as were the EU's sanctions or Robert Mueller's prosecutions of them. Some speculate it was the final straw for Putin, provoking his February, 2022 invasion. It was getting a lot of favorable publicity in Russia, and that threatened Putin and the oligarchs who keep him in power.
Zelenskyy had made clear his goal of eliminating from Ukrainian political life the vast power and influence of that country's oligarchs.
"There is no limit to our ambition," he said in that 2021 statement. "Every Ukrainian is acutely aware of their country's vast untapped potential. In order to realize this potential, we must create a fair and functional system that protects the rights of the entire population rather than safeguarding the interests of the oligarchs. The foundations of this system are currently beginning to take shape. "
"Our ultimate objective is to destroy the traditional oligarchic order and replace it with a fairer system that will allow Ukraine to flourish."
The law, which went into effect June 7th of last year, defines oligarchs as people who meet three out of four criteria, and limits their behavior in six ways that essentially reduce their political influence to that of average Ukrainians.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
