April 12, 2013. Opposition Rally in Kharkiv

I have become deeply disillusioned with politics. However, recent events are such that it is impossible not to express one's attitude toward the actions of the current authorities. And how to express it? The civilized form — by supporting the protest demonstrations of the opposition. So when Yatseniuk, Klychko, and Tiahnybok announced the "Rise Up, Ukraine" rally in Kharkiv, I understood I had to go. First impression: surprise at the candor of the city authorities, who diligently blocked access routes to the rally gathering point. What surprises me most is the ease with which Kernes says that nothing special was done, and that everything happening in the center was the city's normal life. And it turns out that teachers were even herded to the Appeals Court — to obstruct the event! In a normal situation, a person who is obviously lying should, having destroyed their reputation, leave politics. Here, our mayor said something that in no way corresponds to what anyone who wished could have seen with their own eyes or in photographs.

And one can be certain that after this nobody will shoot themselves from shame, or even be dismissed as someone who lost face. Streets blocked by construction equipment.

The sign announces roadworks.

There are no works whatsoever Trams lined up in a dense row, cutting the square into sections Water being pumped from a manhole, flowing like a river across the square It is impossible to reach the opposition gathering point.

The photo shows a row of trams and flowing water; on the pavement stands a row of police not captured in the frame Somehow made my way around, ... ...in places had to walk along the kerb, stepping over the streams gushing between the paving stones Few people, and most of them are activists with party flags A particular mystery for me — the "Svoboda" activists The police cordon stands calmly, showing no aggression Alongside the uniformed personnel stand some other people with a similar expression on their faces Some groups of people look quite peculiar.

They didn't come to the rally; they were gathered for some other purpose.

Talking on phones...

Klychko is visible in any crowd...

People with phones watch from above After some time the column moves forward, passing through the gap between the trams Another set of barricades has been erected near the turn onto Moskovsky Avenue.

They include both trams and buses The column reaches the city council building.

Yatseniuk and Tiahnybok appear on the roof of a minibus... ...they haul Klychko up onto the roof.

For some reason he climbs up with difficulty...

Because of the flags, the podium is barely visible.

Curious officials peer from the city council windows Yatseniuk turned out to be the rally host Klychko cannot speak well.

There is one thing I would like to convey to him...

He speaks roughly like this: "The efforts of the opposition are doomed to failure...

(pause)... if they are not supported by citizens.

We cannot achieve success ...(pause)... if we cannot unite our efforts."

The thought is clear.

But if you transcribe his speech with pauses where needed, the picture looks sad.

Who would teach him to build a phrase starting with affirmation rather than negation — something like: "The guarantee of our victory..."

Klychko did, however, speak in Russian.

Alas, it often seems to me that fighting against Russian-speaking compatriots (and drumming into them that Ukraine is not their country) is, for a significant portion of our patriots, the most important task.

That they are splitting the country does not fit in their heads.

It is good that Klychko is not like that.

Tiahnybok is a far more experienced orator.

And, unlike our unprincipled authorities, who seem interested only in enrichment, he is the carrier of a far more dangerous ideology.

Don't think I'm exaggerating.

Read, for example, on the "Svoboda" website itself, an interview with a deputy from that political force, the author of a draft constitution of Ukraine.

They are dead serious about building a nationally segregated state where citizens' rights would differ substantially depending on their nationality!

Although here, in Kharkiv, Tiahnybok was reasonable and constructive...

Listening attentively...

The approaches to the city council are guarded by reinforced police units Went around to the side, tried to photograph the "three-headed dragon"... ...now Yatseniuk would hide, now Tiahnybok's flags would block the view...

The rally left a mixed impression.

Few people.

The fact that the party leaders, for whom the majority of Ukrainian citizens collectively voted, are demonstrating unity — that is very good.

I regard them differently; I think that President Tiahnybok would turn out even worse than President Yanukovych; though I hope that the opposition forces will have enough sense not to put forward such a controversial figure as Tiahnybok. And yet, protest is necessary. Are you in doubt? This is something not even students and lecturers have understood yet: https://osvita.ua/vnz/news/35358/ , https://www.president.gov.ua/docs/128d.pdf . Pay attention to the following: "39.2. Preparation of regulatory acts to bring the teaching workload standards at higher educational institutions in line with European standards, increasing the student-to-teacher ratio to 18" With the same ease with which Kernes calls the barricades on the streets the city's normal life, our president speaks of "bringing lecturers' workload in line with European norms" (in reality — of moving infinitely further away from those norms). One could speak at length about what the presidential decree means. The simplest way to put it is that this is simply the dismantling of what remains of a quality education system. A state in which Oleksandr Yanukovych doubled his billions in a year, where the budgets of security agencies are being inflated and the costs of servicing the "elite" are off the charts, has decided to economize on universities (which have long been on a starvation diet already). The number of lecturers will be cut by nearly half, and the share of self-study in students' work will increase dramatically. Some students will be pleased that studying will become easier. But the quality of education is linked to the availability of different lecturers, to real rather than illusory academic work, to genuine engagement with research. For our state, which pumps money into the pockets of oligarchs, this is not needed. But someone must stop it, mustn't they? Let us hope that the organizers of the Kharkiv rally will be able to stop this bulldozer. Good or bad as they may be, they need to be helped.