“He plants trees which will be of use to another age,” said the Roman poet Caecilius Statius. This phrase captures the idea of a far-sighted leader who is focused on the distant future beyond their own lifetime. As Viktor Yushchenko celebrates his sixty-seventh birthday this week, those words may well be applied to Ukraine’s much maligned and often misunderstood third president.
OP-ED
Brian Mefford: Rethinking Yushchenko
Opposition leader and presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko greets thousands of his supporters during a rally on the main square in Kyiv on Nov. 22, 2004. Yushchenko called on tens of thousands of supporters gathered in Kyiv to continue their protests against alleged fraud in a crucial presidential election "until victory."
