Ukraine in Regress: The Tymoshenko Trial

Ukraine is currently experiencing a political crisis. The main opposition leader, ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is standing trial charged with abusing her office, in agreeing to an energy deal which was detrimental to the national interest. The international community has supported her defence that the trial is not about corruptıon, or her actions whilst in office, but a vendetta to kill off her political career. Ukraine has been facing many months of international criticism focusing on the political motivations behind the trial. President Yanukovych has also not received support from Russia as he did in the past. The Russians have refused to renegotiate the gas contract that is meant to be at the heart of the trial. These developments ultimately narrow the focus of attention to the semi-authoritarian regime in Kiev and the violation of the rule of law. The democratic aims and ideals of the Orange Revolution as expressed by Tymoshenko were never fully given the opportunity to materialise. Aspirations toward 21st century European norms are now being replaced by a European norm of the 20th Century: authoritarianism. The result of the Tymoshenko trial will be indicative of whether Ukraine will become a developing, reforming democracy, or a Belarus-style wasteland of shattered hopes and lost illusions.