According to Korrespondent, Moroz played a key role in revitalizing the Communists and Yanukovych’s camp and bringing them to power.
Korrespondent, one of Ukraine’s leading Russian-language newsmagazines, has dubbed Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Moroz 2006’s “Personality of the Year,” praising his “pragmatic calculation” in consolidating the coalition that allowed Viktor Yanukovych to make a remarkable comeback as prime minister last summer.
In its Jan. 11 issue, Korrespondent describes Moroz as the “great schemer” for his strategic abandonment of the Orange camp, which spearheaded the revolution of the same name in 2004, in favor of the so-called Anti-crisis coalition in parliament, led by Yanukovych’s Regions party In addition to paving the way for Yanukovych’s premiership, the move also surprised many by propelling Moroz, who served as speaker in the 1990s, back as chair of the legislature.
“The decision of Moroz, in spite of the opinion of influential members of his party, made possible the creation of the parliamentary coalition from Communists, Socialists and representatives of the Regions party,” Korrespondent wrote.
“This golden act of the Socialists’ leader helped Viktor Yanukovych’s team take its stunning revenge on its sworn opponents from the Orange Revolution, fully changing the political landscape of the country.”
According to Korrespondent, Moroz played a key role in revitalizing the Communists and Yanukovych’s camp and also bringing them to power.
“In other words, Moroz determined the course of development of Ukraine for at least the next few years, ” the magazine wrote.
“We believe Moroz changed the course of the country by deciding to side with the so-called Anti-crisis coalition, not with the Orange one,” Korrespondent chief editor Vitaly Sych told the Post.
As a result, President Viktor Yushchenko has seen his powers diminish ,and Yanukovych has been strengthened, Sych said. “In a word, the whole political landscape in Ukraine has changed in just over a year.”
Taras Kuzio, an adjunct professor at the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University, took issue with the magazine’s choice.
“Moroz should not be made personality of the year for reversing the gains of the Orange Revolution,” Kuzio said.
Kuzio called Moroz’s impact on Ukrainian politics this past year “crucial,” as “The Socialists represented the swing faction, without whom the Orange or Anti-crisis coalitions could not be formed.”
Moroz should not have received the title of “Personality of the Year” for simply shaking things up and defecting from the Orange camp, Kuzio said. “If this was the reason for the prize, then Yushchenko should also have been honored in 2005.”
“Moroz should also not receive this prize because of the damage he has done to the center-left camp in Ukrainian politics,” Kuzio said, adding that because of Moroz, the Socialists will not be represented in the next parliament.
“In the short run, Moroz, by keeping the [Socialists] in the Anti-crisis coalition, is assisting the old guard in returning to office and, as a former leading [Socialist] personality Yuriy Lutsenko has said, in restoring ‘Kuchmism,’” according to Kuzio, referring to former President Leonid Kuchma and his regime.
Korrespondent’s article includes a timeline of Moroz’s career, from his student days at the Ukrainian Agricultural Academy to his role in the “Tapegate” recordings that implicated Kuchma in the 2000 murder of muckraking journalist Georgy Gongadze, and the resulting “Ukraine Without Kuchma” movement that Moroz headed.
Moroz founded Ukraine’s Socialist Party in 1991 and was parliament speaker from 1994 to 1998. He came in third in the first round of the 2004 presidential election, garnering 5.81 percent of the vote.
When making their choice, Korrespondent’s editorial team considered the “consequences” of the actions that each individual considered for the “Personality of the Year” title had upon the course of events in Ukraine during the year, the magazine said.
Moroz is the fifth person that Korrespondent has chosen for “Personality of the Year” since the magazine began awarding the title in 2002. Last year the distinction went to former prime minister and current opposition firebrand Yulia Tymoshenko.KP Media publishes Korrespondent and the Kyiv Post, the company’s flagship publication.
