Ukraine's New Hope

2016/5/26 17:01:43

How high can she fly now?

 


By Brian Whitmore for RFE/RL’s Power Vertical, May 25, 2016

 

So after holding her in captivity for 708 days, the Kremlin has finally released its most famous hostage.

 

And as a result, Ukraine might have gained something it has long lacked -- and badly needs a political figure with clear and unambiguous moral authority; someone unsullied by the past and uncompromised by the corruption of the current elite; someone who took herself to the brink of death for the sake of Ukraine and who flipped the bird at Vladimir Putin's kangaroo court.

 

Nadia Savchenko could -- and I stress could -- just turn out to be Ukraine's Vaclav Havel; or its Lech Walesa; or its Nelson Mandela.

 

She returns home a hero at a time when Ukrainians are deeply disillusioned with their post-Euromaidan leaders, frustrated by the slow pace of reform, and angry about the persistent stalling in the battle against corruption.

 

Ukraine's vibrant civil society has long been light years ahead of its political class -- even its pro-Western political class -- something that has become increasingly visible over the past two years.

 

As somebody who has suffered and persevered for the sake of their goals, Savchenko could now become a powerful lodestone for Ukraine's frustrated reformers.

 

She will also pose a moral challenge to the political elite -- from President Petro Poroshenko on down -- to live up to the promise of the Euromaidan revolution.

 

And she has a platform.

 

While in Russian captivity, Savchenko was elected to the Ukrainian parliament and is also a member of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly.

 

We will have in parliament the kind of people who are worthy of it. We will have a better life, as dignified human beings deserve to live, Savchenko said upon her arrival at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport.

 

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know how to do it. I won’t promise it will happen tomorrow. But I can tell you that I’m ready to die to make it happen.

 

Russian officials are clearly aware of -- and nervous about -- Savchenko's potential.

 

For complete text of the article, link below:

http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraines-new-hope/27757341.html

 

Illustration courtesy RFE/RL

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