One of the few things that President Viktor Yushchenko hasn’t yet let Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych take away is his supposed spiritual leadership of the country. Yushchenko doesn’t seem to control much these days, and you don’t hear anyone referring to him as a democratic messiah anymore, but few observers have equated his weakness with moral corruption. That’s why the president’s recent decisions to award two dubious former officials with the country’s highest honors seems a bit strange.
Last month, Mykhailo Potebenko, who served as Ukrainian prosecutor-general under the thoroughly tainted administration of President Leonid Kuchma, was awarded the Yaroslav the Wise medal for his “great personal contribution to the building of a law-abiding state, the strengthening of legality and the rule of law, and his long years of conscientious toil.”
Yaroslav the Wise was one of the greatest rulers of Kyivan Rus, the medieval state that serves as the foundation of modern Ukraine. He introduced the first book of Ukrainian law 1,000 years ago. Mykhailo Potebenko is best known for overseeing investigations into the high-profile murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, which sparked years of political turmoil. Due to what today appears to have been a clear cover up, the masterminds of this crime have still not been brought to justice. Anyone familiar with that dark period in Ukrainian history will remember all the pathetic excuses, denials, cock-ups and endless delays exhibited by Potebenko’s office and the police force.
Following Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, the unsolved murders, abusive legal system and frightened media of the Kuchma-period seem like medieval history, but Yushchenko should remember it all well. As an opposition leader, his team cried foul when Kuchma handed out the Yaroslav the Wise medal, and other medals, to outcast foreign leaders and other unsavory characters.
Disturbingly, Potebenko isn’t an exception. Also at the end of last month, the hero of the Orange Revolution awarded former Kyiv Mayor Valentyn Zgursky with the honors of Prince Yaroslav. The presidential decree noted that Zgursky, who wrote the Kyiv chapter of Ukraine’s book of political-business clans, had “made a special contribution to the social and economic development of the Ukrainian capital.” Zgursky is one of the founding members the so-called Big Seven clan, led by Viktor Medvedchuk, who served as Presidential Administration Chief under Kuchma’s last years. Medvedchuk was a fierce opponent to Yushchenko. Ahead of the Orange Revolution, Yushchenko dubbed Medvedchuk a one of the most corrupt powerbrokers in Ukraine.
Yushchenko needs to explain himself to the Ukrainian people, to whom he promised justice and transparency. If he wants to salvage even a modicum of respect and admiration, the president will have to make his actions clear, even symbolic actions like handing out state awards.
