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Martha Bohachevsky Chomiak Now that the Orange (R)evolution is over, critical times begin. The tents are gone, and the or ange ribbons barely peek out from the drizzly snow. One feels as if the winter ball, with its crystal lights and festive dress and dancing music, is over. The bleak February mists that blur the line between the earth and the sky weigh heavy on the soul, on shoul ders and especially on boots. Daily snow covers treacherous ice patches, forcing one to hunch down. Drums and chanting have ceased; petty crime that all but stopped during the revolutionary days (much to the surprise of all) has gone up all of a sudden. Euphoria is being replaced by political sour grapes. Ukrainians have a word for a regular work ing day—a day that is not Sunday. Roughly, it is constructed from terms for day and let there be; working is added if the day is indeed a workday. Workdays are hard after a protracted high, albeit one without liquor as the Orange Revolution was. That in itself was very significant in a country in which cognac used to be served almost routinely with a friendly cup of coffee during 11 A.M. meetings. The cognac was gone a decade ago, replaced by better cups of coffee, but the work ethic and especially teamwork is taking longer. Centuries of serfdom and decades of Soviet totalitarianism, grafted upon layers of colonial and local bureaucratic culture, are taking a long time to scrape off. The euphoria of independence in 1990 and 1991 was not strong enough to jolt the country into an open political society—it never is, as we know all too well from other historical examples. It is unrealistic to expect that political democracy and economic transparency will emerge as a result of one election. Yulia Tymoshenko, the nominee for Premier, will face a harder battle than Condoleeza Rice did. And Ukraine has more political parties than the United States has. Yet the orange flag that some loner planted way up on the Independence girl in the square is still flapping bravely and I have been assured that the people who braved a three-week standoff in the bit ter cold are up to the work ahead. President Bush noted the victory of democ racy in Ukraine. Actually, it is much more. It is a victory of people who realize that they are capable of realizing their own ambitions. Those ambitions “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛЮТИЙ 2005 are the same as ours. In that we all are united. There are still those who maintain, despite all evidence to the contrary, that the recent orange revolution in Ukraine—the peaceful legitimate revo lution that brought the popularly elected president Viktor Yushchenko to power—is nothing but a geo political power play between Russia and the West. For such a long time Ukraine was seem primarily as an appendage of Russia, or a younger brother at best, that even the last 13 years of independence makes it difficult for many well meaning people to see the country as a self contained entity. The Orange Revolution—or better yet (R)evolution—refers to a three-week period of time between two sets of elections, one of which was fla grantly falsified. Tens of thousands of people con verged in the main square in the capital and stayed there day and night until new open elections were held that could not be falsified. A major reason why this revolution was successful is that Ukraine has a tradition of commu nity action and community organizations. That tradi tion is not well known because—in the manner of all oppressed groups—it is often articulated in lofty terms that mask the underlying concrete practical activities. The tradition proved responsive to the changed political climate. Non-governmental organ izations, workshops, consciousness-raising groups, various societies, have flourished in the last decade. Of particular significance are the various scholarly and student exchanges with the United States. People, regardless of age or status, return transformed from a protracted stay in the US. Work habits change, not only the worldview; appreciation of teamwork, if not teamwork itself, replaces passiv ity; and most importantly, the likelihood of success replaces philosophical lassitude. In this one sees indeed Western influence, but it is the same influ ence as is at work in other parts of the world. Ukraine proved to be more than responsive to it than some its neighbors. Indeed, one could just as easily argue that democratic modernization did not need to be imported into Ukraine. It was there all the time, merely dormant. Now we see it burst open. It is up to Ukrainians whether the flowers bloom orange in the spring. 17
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