 A Rich, Cursed Land By Glen Willard |
The country Ukraine is a vast and rich land. Our cover cartoon pictures a Cornucopia as symbolic of this fact.
The word itself means literally "horn of plenty." My Internet googling informs me that the word was first used in the English language in 1508. Also that Zeus (Jupiter) was committed by his mother Rhea to the care of the daughters of Melisseus, a Cretan king. Amalthea, one of the nurses, hung Zeus in a cradle from a tree, so that he could be found neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor in the sea. They fed the infant deity with the milk of a goat. Jupiter broke off one of the horns of the goat and gave it to his nurses, endowing it with the wonderful power of becoming filled with whatever the possessor might wish. So the 'Horn of Amalthea' became the symbol of plenty, and whoever had it in his or her possession would never starve.
Anna Reid in her book Borderland A Journey Through The History Of Ukraine, describes Ukraine as "Flat, fertile and fatally tempting to invaders..." Thus, in this one-half sentence a reason for the title to this article is concisely stated.
Ukraine has truly been blessed with fertile soils and a mostly favorable climate. Nowhere on earth is there more land covered with the rich black soil known as chernozern. It's for good reason that in the past Ukraine has had the appellation as "the breadbasket of Europe" or "the breadbasket of Russia."
The vast steppes of the south and east have been described for centuries by others with tall stories. Again, credit to the author Reid above, where she repeats some of these stories. Such as: leave a plow in a field overnight and in the morning the plow might not be found due to the new grass; about the numerous bison herds; the rivers so full of fish that a spear would stand upright without support, and tales by others with magnificent stories of the beauty of the country where so many varieties of fruit trees could flourish. The land is full of rivers large and small.
But alas, Ukraina, the "borderland," has no natural borders or boundaries. The Carpathian Mountains to the west, notwithstanding their wonder and beauty, provide no significant barriers.
So for centuries, millennia really, the inhabitants of the land have found it treasured by others. So, invaders came and frequently took and destroyed or became new users of the land. Large areas of the land have been frequently left open and unoccupied until finally resettled again by others strong enough or desperate enough to reclaim the fertile ground.
The people now known as Ukrainians are but the last inhabitants. But they have been here perhaps since as long ago as the 4th or 5th centuries. Until recently they have never been a nation as such. We all know of the history of Kyivan Rus, the time of the Cossack Hetmanship. But those were not nations. And those relative brief periods were filled with their own wars and times of invasion or "times of ruin."
The history of the Ukrainian people until recent nationhood has mostly been periods of oppression. The most typical Ukrainian has been a poor serf, slave or peasant. Whether under Russia, Poland or Lithuania, even Austria, Hungary and Romania - and sometimes the Tatars, the Ukrainian was but a presence, a subject of other empires, nations or peoples.
Present day Ukraine with its current boundaries (more or less) did not come together until after World Wars I and II, and finally 1954. And that period since the first war was mostly hellish for the inhabitants of the lands. A revolution post that first war saw many Ukrainian lives lost. Besides revolution, there have been pogroms, famines, the two wars and Chernobyl. Ukraine has been a bloody battleground with millions of lives lost. I've not mentioned the horrors of the Nazis, the displacement of whole peoples during Soviet times, the purges, prison camps, secret police and other atrocious and deadly events and circumstances that caused much more loss of lives. Just beginning to sort out and think through the horror of the Stalin-caused famine of 1932-33 would cause pain.
But now Independence. A new nation, Ukraine, freedom and democracy for all. With the Orange Revolution of the past year, there is hope. There is peace. Now Ukrainians have their lands, their nation. The people can return to the bounty of their land and have the benefits of this horn of plenty, this Cornucopia.
Sure, most Ukrainians are still poor. But since Independence, significant progress has been made. A few years ago the streets of Ukrainian cities were mostly free of automobiles. Now there are traffic jams, and parking spaces are scarce. There are shopping malls and supermarkets. Ukrainians in large numbers travel outside Ukraine, and they can afford this travel on vacations to foreign lands and exotic places.
Economically, the country has come a long way. The currency has been relatively stable for several years. Inflation has been controlled within reason. Employment has improved. Pensions, still inadequate, have been raised and, moreover, they are being paid. There is a real estate boom in the cities.
The country is on course to become a part of the World Trade Organization; possibly some day to join the European Union.
So, what's to worry?
Nothing, perhaps.
Except that Ukraine, post Independence and post Orange Revolution, may just shoot itself in the foot. As the comic character Pogo once said, "We have seen the enemy and he is us?"
Political instability can cause economic stability. And right now the Orange Revolution looks shaky. President Yushchenko has fired the government after only a few months and as I write this article is attempting to form a new government. Elections come next March, creating further uncertainty. There will likely be stalemate for some time. That unfortunately may be the best we can hope for. Count out new foreign direct investment any time soon.
Right now it appears a lot of politicians are reforming alliances. That's a big worry. What caused the fractures that necessitate the dissolution of the government? Is all this reshuffling we will see caused over disputes about policy? The country's direction politically? Or economically?
Or is it in reality about money and power? Money and power being close to the same thing in Ukraine. In other words, the same old game as pre Orange Revolution. Is this a part of the continuing fight over the assets of the State?
Greed, money, power are the curses of this land Ukraine in the 21st century. As rich as this country could be, corruption, lack of leadership and the fact that all the players seem to care about is themselves are truly a plague on Ukraine.
They say that politics make strange bedfellows. In Ukraine, money and greed appear now to dictate associations.
The current situation bears watching.
Is there no one concerned about the welfare of the people of this would-be rich country?
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More in the section:
Rising Stakes
Read also previous issue' articles:
Are Ukraine's Political Habits Unique?
Is Ukraine's Economic Growth Speculation-led?
Ukraine is Drifting to the West - Slowly but Surely
The Unfinished Orange Revolution?
Vacuums, Reforms and the Need to Regain the Initiative
Pirates of the 21st century
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