Congratulations, Ukraine! You’re turning 28. You’re no longer a new state, recently born from the ashes of the Soviet Union.
You had a troubled childhood: collapses in industrial production, hyper-inflation, corruption. You saw a financial crisis in 1998, and spent many of your early years in poverty.
Things started to turn around in your teens. The economy picked up. You defeated one corrupt politician in the 2004 Orange Revolution. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
As you entered early adulthood, you fell in with a bad crowd: people like ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych (the very man the Orange Revolution opposed!), his son, the businessman Serhiy Kurchenko, politician Yuriy Boiko, and the oligarchs. They said they were your friends, but robbed you blind and left you broke.
But in 2014, you rose up and ousted them. You took your first steps toward kicking the corruption habit. It wasn’t easy, and you were attacked by your neighbor, Russia. You’re still fighting that battle — at a tremendous cost — to this day. But with the help of your friends, you’re getting back on your feet.
Five years later, you are turning 28. You have endured hardship, you have been knocked down, but each time you got back up. You have shown more resilience than many could imagine, grown stronger, proven your critics wrong. Unlike rockstars Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse, you have avoided joining the “27 Club.” But you are hardly out of the woods yet. Defeating corruption is a life-long process.
And you’re not so young anymore, Ukraine. It’s time to quit drinking and smoking, to keep reforming health care, to work hard, to push European integration forward, to build strong institutions, to promote justice and fairness, and to increase defense capabilities.
It won’t be easy, but we believe in you. Happy birthday, Ukraine!
