Tomorrow, Ukraine will vote for its next President. While I have lost count of how many people are in the running for this first round (last I checked, it was 18?!?), tomorrow will determine in which direction Ukraine will head in the next 5 years.
Memories of the Orange revolution are still fresh in my mind; in the hopes for Ukraine to inch ever further West than before, I used my measly grad-student savings to fly 2,000 miles to vote at one of the Ukrainian embassies in the U.S. By now, I am no longer a citizen of Ukraine, and therefore cannot vote in this election.
Yet I watch with trepidation. So much has transpired in Ukraine over the past 5 years. My native language has gained much ground over the Soviet-imposed Russian; people were hopeful for alliances with the West. Yet the "gas wars" Russia was quick to employ as punishment made the West wary of letting Ukraine in too close, and once again the Ukrainians found themselves walled-in between opposing powers that overlook the little guy.
So which of the walls will the Ukrainians choose to approach with high hopes this time? I am afraid this question will keep me up at night for quite some years to come.
The perverse incentives of academia
6 years ago
3 comments:
I'm finally back and catching up after long holiday!
Yes, it will certainly be interesting to see what happens with the election tomorrow. I didn't know that you were not a citizen still, did you lose that automatically for some reason or did you chose to leave it behind?
It must be so frustrating not having a vote any more. I hope you get a government that will protect its people's interests first and foremost.
HGG - Ukraine does not recognize dual citizenship, so I had to make a choice when I became eligible to become a U.S. citizen. Given that I plan to stay in the U.S., I made my choice accordingly, but not without much, much sadness.
Cath - it is frustrating, especially since once again I worry that the people winning have their own interests in mind (I don't trust either of the run-off candidates...)
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