The day after tomorrow, presidential elections will be held in Ukraine, the results of which can significantly influence the course of the country’s development. Unlike in Putin’s Russia, the outcome of these elections is not known in advance — 44 candidates (!) are running, and the main battle, according to all opinion polls, will be between three of them: the incumbent president Petro Poroshenko, the veteran of Ukrainian politics Yulia Tymoshenko, and the newcomer who has suddenly emerged as the favorite of the race, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Practically all the polls currently predict that Volodymyr Zelensky will come in first — he has 27% of the votes, which is more than any other candidate, but less than what is needed to win in the first round. Therefore, practically no one doubts that after the two leaders of the first round are determined, Ukraine will have a second round, on the basis of the results of which its president will be decided.
At the moment, sociologists, based on the results of various polls, disagree on the forecast of who will enter the second round together with Volodymyr Zelensky. According to some data, it should be the current President Petro Poroshenko, to whom they predict support at about 18% compared to 12% for Yulia Tymoshenko, while according to other data they are almost tied, having the support of approximately the same number of voters, which allows Tymoshenko to knock Poroshenko out of the presidential race.
Undoubtedly, these elections are an internal affair of the Ukrainian population, which, unlike many other nations in the world and especially in the post-Soviet space, has the opportunity to freely and competitively choose the leader of its state, and it must make use of this opportunity. We will try to look at it from the perspective of the interests of Muslims — both in this country, where we have many readers and friends, and in the post-Soviet space, many of whom consider it a strategic ally in the fight against a common enemy.
First of all, it should be noted that where there is smoke, there is fire, and unfortunately such a low rating of the incumbent president is a clear indicator of the disappointment of millions of Ukrainians with the results of his policies. In the five years that have passed since the Maidan, Ukraine has not become a new Switzerland or even a new Poland, as many had hoped, but remains a country with a relatively low standard of living and unemployment that has forced millions of Ukrainians into labor emigration, with corruption that continues, and with a smoldering war in the east of the country where Ukrainian soldiers continue to die every week.
The disappointment of ordinary people, who think first and foremost about the well-being and safety of their families and children, is absolutely understandable, as is the fact that without at least a partial solution to these problems, without the support of its people, no ruling power can feel stable. From our side we would like to say that the «Voice of Islam» team has no personal reasons for special love for the current authorities of Ukraine — many remember that our editor-in-chief Dmitry Chernomorchenko was not allowed to enter this country for politically motivated reasons.
We also remember, of course, the cases of Ukrainian authorities extraditing Muslim political emigrants and refugees and handing them over to direct enemies of Ukraine. It saddens us that under the leadership of the current authorities, Ukraine has not been able to realize its potential to become a gathering place for its potential allies among Muslims who were ready for it.
However, we cannot fail to note that despite the corruption and direct sabotage within the Ukrainian state system, today Ukraine as a whole is a much friendlier country and a favorable environment for those, including Muslims, who are persecuted by the post-Soviet regimes and resist their tyranny. In addition to isolated cases of handing over such people to be torn apart, there are many cases of the opposite (refusal to extradite, granting them asylum), opportunities for powerful public mobilization in support of such people, and grassroots self-organization of the civil sector, which makes possible things that are impossible in countries where civil society is either crushed or has not had time to form.
Today, Muslims — their organizations, centers, publishing houses — feel much freer in Ukraine than in Russia and other post-Soviet countries. This is clearly seen in the example of the territory that suddenly came under Russian control — Crimea, where these organizations, which existed without any problems under Ukraine, became victims of real terror, which we regularly report on our website. Incidentally, the Ukrainian authorities and diplomats are drawing the attention of the international community to these repressions and are providing consular assistance to their victims — their citizens — in order to keep these cases under control.
Whatever is said, even these significant possibilities are a consequence of the political course of countering the expansion of the «Russian world» embodied by the current President Petro Poroshenko. And what about his opponents?
Volodymyr Zelensky, who entered politics from the comedy show business «Quarter 95,» the Ukrainian equivalent of the Russian «Comedy Club,» raises legitimate questions: what can a country that is practically in a state of war, with a significantly more powerful enemy, expect when it is led not by a military figure, an experienced politician or a strategist, but by a comedian?
Furthermore, the fact that Zelensky does not hide his Jewish nationality is of course commendable, but the active support he receives from the oligarch of Jewish nationality, Ihor Kolomoisky, also raises questions, especially for Muslims. For example, all the people in Kolomoisky’s circle — such as Hennadiy Korban and Borys Filatov — do not hide their fervent pro-Zionist views and actively promote them in Ukraine, along with a corresponding attitude toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Today, under the leadership of a president who at least positions himself as a Ukrainian and a Christian, Ukraine is pursuing a balanced policy and actively developing friendly relations with Muslim countries, be it Turkey or the Arab world. Are Muslims interested in having the foreign policy of this country under the control of those promoted by the Zionist lobby?
Finally, while Petro Poroshenko at least takes an uncompromising position towards the «Russian world», which offers some opportunities, including for Muslim opponents and victims of it, Volodymyr Zelensky actively signals to the Kremlin that he is ready to «negotiate». It is probably not necessary to explain whose head will be demanded in the Kremlin as one of the first conditions for these «agreements» — this can be told by Russian-speaking Muslim political emigrants in Turkey, who once experienced the consequences of «warming» relations between Ankara and Moscow.
If everything is somewhat clear about Volodymyr Zelensky and the direction in which Ukraine’s policy will change if he is elected president, there are more questions than answers about Yulia Tymoshenko, despite her experience in politics. She verbally takes no less an uncompromising position on defending Ukrainian interests and independence from the encroachments of the «Russian world» than the current president. Moreover, she is supported by people like Mikheil Saakashvili, who accuses Petro Poroshenko of the discrepancy between his words and actions in this matter.
The problem with Tymoshenko, however, is that she is betting on social populism, i.e. she is coming to power with promises of a sharp reduction in the cost of utilities, gas, and an increase in pensions, salaries, and so on. Which, of course, would be welcome if the money could be found to pay for it. Will Tymoshenko be able to do this through the fight against corruption, as she promises, or, as many fear, will she resort to trading strategic interests and the country’s independence to fulfill these promises, as Viktor Yanukovych once did?
The answers to all these questions will soon be given by Ukrainian voters. We can only wish them wisdom and responsibility — because they have to make a choice that can affect not only their lives, but also the future of their descendants.