Ukraine Presidential Election March-April 2019

[ML]

Zelensky leading in polls.

Separate polls by the pollster Rating Group and the Democratic Initiative Foundation found roughly 27 percent of voters intended to back Zelenskiy against roughly 17 percent for Poroshenko. Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister, was battling for second place with Poroshenko.

The DIF poll and another by the Kiev Institute for International Studies, however, showed her falling behind by roughly 4 points.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/comedian-volodymyr-zelensky-played-president-tv-now-favorite/story?id=62038641

- - - - -

My spouse is dismayed by the prospects of Zelensky for President, not because he is a comedian nor because she is happy with Poroshenko or Tymoshenko.

She says Zelensky:
Has zero experience in governing or managerial.
He has no plan.
He has no idea about who will be in his cabinet.

And she is appalled that some in Ukraine are saying:  Reagan was in show business, so why not Zelensky?

She knows that Reagan had managerial experience as head of labor union, and was governor of California for 8 years.

[msmob]

The USA elected a comedian, too

A string of failed businesses and zero clue re how to chose a team to govern..

The Ukrainians might be fed up of Oligarchs and Politicians..

Can a comedian be any worse? They nearly had a boxing champion..

[SteveInBoston]

Tand I are on our way to NYC so she can vote at the Ukrainian consulate tomorrow.  It looks like there will be a run-off election between the top 2 unless Z can pull in a simple majority tomorrow.  T hopes the votes for the other candidates will go to Poroshenko in the run-off.  If it was only 2-4 % difference I might agree with her, but it looks like Z will be the next Mr Ukraine.

[Boethius]

The election was set deliberately for a time when the cities empty, as residents go "home" to plant potatoes.


"Professional" politicians, the former Soviet nomenklatura, have been running Ukraine since 1991.  It is officially a basket case.  So, I don't think someone with no government experience could do worse.


This post was composed without the aid of google.

[Boethius]

Final results of the presidential election, according a national exit poll:

Zelinsky - 30.6%
Poroshenko -17.5%
Tymoshenko - 14.2%

There will be a run off on April 21.

This post was composed without the aid of google, but was composed from information obtained from a national exit poll.

[Boethius]

The Ukrainian papers are saying that Zelinsky is Kolomoisky's protege, a way for Kolomoisky to enrich himself. 

This post was composed without the aid of google.

[tfcrew]

The USA elected a comedian, too...Can a comedian be any worse? They nearly had a boxing champion.

 

[tfcrew]

The Ukrainian papers are saying that Zelinsky is Kolomoisky's protege, a way for Kolomoisky to enrich himself. 

This post was composed without the aid of google.

"Enrich himself" even more?
Used google to look up Kolomoisky which then directed me to wiki...
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihor_Kolomoyskyi  So I didn't really need google after all.

[krimster2]

so a guy who stars in a TV show where he plays the President of Ukraine will now actually become the President of Ukraine???            Check X

and he’s a Galician Jew                                                                           Check X


And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Chernobil: and the third part of the waters became chernobil; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.    Check X

I’d better stop there, and say no more, otherwise later, they’ll ALL come back to this post
and ask, how’d he know, and I’m afraid I’d have to “plead the fifth”?
fond memories of my time on the Dnieper down in Zaporizhia
the Kakhovka Reservoir looked endless as big as an ocean surrounded by green hills carpeted in spring flowers
this is where the main battle will be fought

some rude beast slouching towards bethleham

slovo to moy brat in Novorossiya

[msmob]

so a guy who stars in a TV show where he plays the President of Ukraine will now actually become the President of Ukraine???            Check X

and he’s a Galician Jew                                                                           Check X

Should his ethnicity / religion matter ? I guess it makes more sense if he will be Kolomoisky's stooge.

slovo to moy brat in Novorossiya

I thought the Kremlin had modified their aims to "Malo rusiya" ?
 

[Boethius]

Should his ethnicity / religion matter ? I guess it makes more sense if he will be Kolomoisky's stooge.

Well, it should kill the comments by Russophiles about the "anti Semitic" nature of Ukrainians - posters like Natural and GenMish.


Of course, Poroshenko has a Jewish father, and Tymoshenko has a Jewish mother (so, by Jewish law, is Jewish), so for the true anti Semites Ukrainians are genetically predisposed to be (sarcasm), neither of them should be successful in Ukrainian politics either.


This post was composed without the aid of google.

[krimster2]

so lemmee see now...
how does this cracker crumble?
Igor Kolomoisky literally “owns” Zelensky by the fact he owns the media that brodcasts Zelnesky’s shows, he signs his checks...

so is this just an elaborate back door for Kolomoisky to take back what he lost and more....

is Donald Trump making America Great????   hahaha!!!

will my druzya at "Internet Research" understand they need to start spreading zhid disinformtsa to drive a wedge between the people and the government in Ukraine
what a golden opportunity to even further suppress popular support for Ukrainian statehood
when you can factually claim it's being run by zhid crooks who are looting Ukraine on a massive scale
with that image in mind how many young ukrainians will want to die for their country
increasing apathy to antagnism
watch how this fractures Ukraine when Putin puts on the pressure
yet another historic opportunity for volchik
it all has to be over and one with in just 5 more years
and can't proceed until next year when gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine are complete
wild card is Trump, Trump needs to be in office when volchik makes his move

[Boethius]

Kolomoisky is a ruthless killer, not just a crook.  He is forbidden from entering the US as a "danger to national security".  He has been implicated in many deaths, not just of rivals, but of those who dared to sue him.  He makes Trump look like a choir boy.


This post was composed without the aid of google.

[krimster2]

so when Kolomoyskyi briefly became governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Putin called him a "unique” (cough)zhid(cough) crook," and said that the citizens of Dnipropetrovsk were unhappy to have him as their Governor and would be much more satisfied having a Russian as Governor instead!!!
short while later the conflict in Eastern Ukraine erupts!
this is the pattern to watch!
when you hear the first news of Kolomoyskyi sinking the National Bank of Ukraine, you'll have only a short time left, before it's all over
the script has already been written and tested, as fool proof as you can get
Kolomoyskyi rigged the lawsuit against him in London that ended a few months ago from within the Ukrainian government, the result of that was he WON and Ukraine lost and Ukraine owes him millions on top of the billions he stole!!

get the prelude ready for Act II of the Tradgedy called “Ukraine is not dead yet, but we just sent for the priest”!!

Kolomoyskyi--->NBU looted and collapsed like Privat Bank--->social unrest--->right sector angst--->Putin--->paka ukrainia

[JayH]

It is a very serious time for Ukraine -- with a potential for vastly different outcomes.
There is no doubt that all of us wanted( expected?) more of Poroschenko government  and have been left  frustrated on many reforms needed. Some candidates sort to run on  reducing utility costs by dramatic amounts and tripling pensions  -- all very desirable but impractical.
Poroschenko is being blamed for the huge rises in basic costs -- but -- in simple terms there was no choice.The fact is that this has caused great hardship for many people -- and in any country it would be a hard sell to tell people that the short term pain is necessary to try and create a better future.
Most western observers would prefer a steady as she goes and no dramatic changes in Ukraine  direction-- even with a considerably flawed administration.
The problem gets serious when a hollow candidate like Zelenskiy whose motives and backing are  suspect capitalises on a TV persona of popularism .
Any concession to Russia now will prove a disaster for Ukraine .

Volodymyr Zelenskiy could become the country’s next real-life leader. If his show is any guide, Ukrainians should be worried.

This is quite a long article that explains in a lot of detail some of the realities of electing a Zelenskiy.

Ukraine’s TV President Is Dangerously Pro-Russian



.Servant of the People gets a number of things wrong. Most of the characters speak Russian most of the time. In reality, in Ukraine, Ukrainian is spoken publicly at least as often as Russian. The vast majority of Ukrainians who speak out for the Ukrainian language and culture are hardly radical putschists. Corruption is widespread, but it’s not quite the monster that Holoborodko—and Western journalists—imagines it to be. And rather than chide Ukraine, the West would be delighted if it took off economically and politically. These inaccuracies may be forgiven as campaign hyperbole.

Unforgivable is the absence from the show of Russia or Russian President Vladimir Putin. In its alternate universe, Crimea and Donbass are not occupied. There is no war. There are no deaths. There is no mention of Russian attempts to quash Ukrainian independence since 1991. This curious absence suggests either that Zelensky, who serves as the show’s executive producer, has no idea how to deal with a very real existential threat to Ukraine or, far worse, that he doesn’t believe that there is one. At best, then, a President Zelensky would be prone to serious mistakes in his relations with Putin; at worst, he might be willing to make concessions that would hollow out Ukrainian sovereignty.

The absence of Putin’s Russia has another implication. It’s impossible to understand Ukraine’s war in the eastern Donbass region—the inspiration for the show’s own civil conflicts—without an appreciation for Putin’s invasion and annexation of Crimea; his support for separatists in Ukraine’s southeast; his continued basing of several thousand soldiers there; his stationing of tens of thousands of Russian troops, tanks, and artillery units along Ukraine’s border; and his blockade of Ukraine’s ports on the Sea of Azov.

By ignoring all these facts, the show adopts Putin’s narrative—one that he began expounding years ago and then perfected during the Euromaidan revolution. Russia was forced to occupy Crimea and invade southeastern Ukraine, he insists, in order to save the country from the supposedly fascist junta that had ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, threatened the lives of Ukraine’s Russian speakers, and made plans to join the U.S.-led imperialist alliance known as NATO. The show effectively says Russians aren’t to be blamed for any of the country’s problems; blame Ukrainians, it argues, more specifically Ukrainian patriots who think they can rely on the West.

Throughout his five years in office, Poroshenko has consistently rejected Putin’s line and striven to make Ukraine a viable nation and state. In large measure, he has succeeded. Ukraine has a strong army that has fought the Russians and their Donbass supporters to a standstill. The country is increasingly integrated into Western institutions and is expanding its ties to the rest of the world. Poroshenko’s administration has adopted a raft of positive political, economic, social, and cultural reforms, and it has effectively left the Russian sphere of influence.

By contrast, if Servant of the People is any guide, Zelensky may well roll back these achievements and effectively bring Ukraine back into the so-called Russian world. Zelensky’s major strength—that he is identified with Holoborodko—is also his major weakness. He has got a few weeks before the next round of voting to make his own mark, but that, too, would be a problem; there is no hiding the fact that he has no experience in politics. Zelensky’s supporters hope that his advisors, especially the self-styled reformers who served under Poroshenko, will make up for his ignorance, but that’s unlikely. Their willingness to renounce Poroshenko when the going got tough bodes ill for their future dedication to Zelensky. Zelensky could end up completely on his own—or completely dependent on oligarch backers. On his own, he’ll fail as a reformer. As a puppet to powerful oligarchs, he would succeed as an anti-reformer. Whatever the outcome, a weak president would be just what Ukraine’s corrupt elite—and Putin—want.

Poroshenko is a known quality, which is his own strength and weakness. Many Ukrainians correctly see him as a steady hand who saved Ukraine from the brink of disaster in 2014-2015. Many also correctly see him as someone who has failed to defang the oligarchs and has imposed painful price hikes, mandated by the International Monetary Fund, on a struggling population. Five more years of Poroshenko would probably mean five more years of moderate reform, growing institutionalization and stability, and progressive integration into the West. But Poroshenko could also surprise Ukrainians. He just might worry about his historical legacy enough to conclude that he needs to do something dramatic—like a real crackdown on corruption.



http://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/01/ukraines-tv-president-is-dangerously-pro-russian/

[msmob]

An 'interesting' perspective - seeing it is being suggested - and not just by Poroshenko - that Zelensky may be a sock puppet for Kolomoisky - who fell out with Poroshenko

Zelensky's show is on ..  Kolomoisky's TV network


Kolomoisky .. 'pro Russian' and 'pro Putin' ?    That's like saying JayH is a fan of VVP

[southernX]

having watched all the episodes of ''servant to the people '' i cant agree with the article above on many fronts

id also point out its possible

 zelensky may deliberatly have ommitted the issues with crimea/russia  etc  from the tv show and stayed out of any foreign policy /invader provocations by doing so and focused on ukraines internal corruption issues etc and what that  change could and should look like within ukraine gov alone

given ukraine cant change russia , ukraine  does have the ability from its people to change itself



kolomoisky , may well be backing zelensky if he has issues with the poroshenko gov , which he has imo , rather than zelensky being his ''owned '' sock puppet
not forgoing he will take advantage if a situation presents itself , but with poroshenko its not so easy

SX

[krimster2]

you people in the west are so unbelievably naive
I always find it astonishing how little you know
even when the clues are all right in front of you staring you in the face

oh, all right, I’ll explain a little of it to ya
Gozpedy

it was kolomoisky who “greased” the road to zelensky’s success in the first place
all of zelensky’s "awards"
you ever feel like these "contests" are rigged?
kanyeshna, now ya know by who and why
all of zelensky’s success was paid for behind the scenes by kolomoisky, all of it
he’s a star 100 % manufactured by kolomoisky
kolomoisky owns him and has him “locked up” in 100 different ways

kolomoisky has the biggest freakin criminal network that you could ever imagine
and not just in Ukraine
just to give a single example, Ukraine sued him in British court over the billions he stole from Privat Bank, he ended up manipulating the Ukrainian side into deliberately losing the lawsuit
as a result Ukraine has had to pay him millions on top of the billions he stole and this just happened a few months ago!!
so you silly ludie think that a guy who can manipulate the government court that's suing him over 5 billion can't figure out a way to manipulate his own "media creation"
is the Pope Catholic, does a bear mess in the woods, you be the judge...

kolomoisky and Putin have a very complex relationship!!!
but if kolomoisky is involved, then it means Putin is in some way as well...
but kolomoisky is pulling zelensky’s strings, guar-an-teed
why? because it’s freakin Ukraine, and that’s how it works!!!

so what’s next?

a NEW PRESIDENT OF THE NBU!
and a lotta new “staff”

then...
FINANCIAL CRISIS!!!!   NBU INSOLVENT!!!!!   200 uah/DOLLAR
BLAME IT ON THE ZHIDS!!!!!
PUTIN CUTS OFF GAS TO UKRAINE OVER NON PAYMENT
UKRAINE SHIVERS
ATTACKS AGAINST JEWS IN ODESSA
300 RUSSIAN SOLDIERS RECEIVE LDR CITIZENSHIP EVERY DAY FOR VACATION
AND THEN ONE DAY
THOUSANDS OF TANKS APPEARED ON THE HORIZON
WHILE THE CITIES BURNED


the war is going to change EVERYTHING!

Dear World,
I'm just a voice in the internet wilderness
but last summer I rode a bicycle cross the Southern Crimean Canal System
I saw things...
 

[Boethius]

I don't think this has anything to do with Putin. 

Kolomoisky is locked in the country.  He's persona non grata in the EU and the UK.  He has some holdings in Norway, but could be thrown out at any time.   He is a ruthless killer, who has had killed anyone who has crossed him.  He can't keep doing that.  If his puppet is president, he controls the judicial system.  He controls the police.  He controls the fate of his empire. 

It's down to greed, nothing more.

This post was composed without the aid of google.

[krimster2]

“I don't think this has anything to do with Putin.”

mon cherie, the world is formed of very complex patterns
open your eyes a little...
THERE IS a pattern of kolomoisky, and Putin (and Google will verify this)
connected to Privat Bank and connected to Dnipropetrovsk
and connected to the Russian take over of Ukraine
one name always precedes the other in this relationship
where one goes, the second always follows, or so it seems...
but there is “no collusion” I mean none that anyone can prove in a court of law...

your first sign will be the change in management of the NBU
look closely at these new people....

“It's down to greed, nothing more.”

and revenge, mon cherie
see this part you do not understand
it’s also about revenge
what Kolomoisky is going to do to Ukraine
is he’s going to get Ukrainians to destroy themselves
just so he can gloat over it (and of course get a few more billion $$)
wouldn't it be "special" if  Kolomoisky uses a Russian laundromat for looting the NBU?
with Mogilevich as broker
the sharks are already circling in Moscow
everyone smells the blood in the water
tender Ukrainian blood
soon it will be Easter......
and they'll all say that Mogilevich performed the ritual...
and then, even God can not save Ukraine
no. not even God
people are such fools
sometimes I think they deserve their fate

events are to be synchronized to 2024 when Putin leaves Presidency (for a time)
the clock is ticking
A LOT is going to happen between now and then!!!!
A LOT!!!
 
a lot...

now bear with me,
remember these names for the future
Serhiy Tihipko and Dimitry Firtash
and let's not forget Oleksandr Turchynov who was born in Dnipropetrovsk, and is the current Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine went to court for allegedly destroying files pertaining to Simon Mogilevich
and so many more!!!

hey JayH
is it still "different now"???
no more corruption, all a thing of the past, is it?
hahahaha
and
once more
hahahahaha

[JayH]

Ukrainians want reforms and a government that believes in them. For any elected leader in Ukraine trying to reform is going to be a highly perilous task . It is all to easy to fall back to the old ways ( as Poroschenko has found) .Zelenskiy  could do a lot worse than recruiting a lot of the younger reformers pushed out during the last few years after initially showing great promise eg the Health appointee Ulana Suprun--  who has popular support but lost out to the old guard.
Virtually every sector  of Ukrainian government is crying out for reform - and there have been some progress -- but no where near enough .
Now is the time -- for either candidate to come out swinging on the real key issues .
The first priority is to continue heading west -- and that means standing up to Russia -- and I mean in every way. It is impossible to negotiate anything acceptable with Russia -UNLESS- acting from a position of strength.
Pushing on with needed reform and dealing with corruption in the strongest way possible ( & creating new ways of dealing with it) will create a path to a much better economy -- and the potential for a better life for Ukrainians .
A better Ukraine will ultimately solve the Russian problem -- but while that is being achieved Russia must be kept at bay.
An example in one sector  of what should happen--here-
 http://www.unian.info/society/1739536-american-born-doctor-takes-on-ukraines-health-care-system-atlantic-council.html

Zelenskiy  could become the hero he portrays on the screen ---  or -- he could be a disaster for the future democracy in Ukraine

Article written by Brian Bonner for Kyiv Post.

5 ways that Zelenskiy can win

The other day, I looked at how President Petro Poroshenko can recover from his first-round defeat on March 31 and go on to beat comedic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the April 21 runoff. People asked for balance, so here it is – 5 ways, some of them contradictory, that Zelenskiy can cruise to victory after winning 30 percent of the vote compared to Poroshenko’s 16 percent in the first round. Another editor’s note: The Kyiv Post will not endorse either candidate for president on its editorial pages. We intend to be as fair and neutral as journalistically possible.

1/Run out the clock
People have made up their minds. They want someone else besides Poroshenko. You’re the someone else. Do as little as possible. Don’t go out of your comfort zone – stay on the road for the remaining 17 days with your comedy troupe. You could have avoided debates entirely by reminding people that Poroshenko refused to debate in 2014. But you went ahead and accepted the debate challenge, opening yourself up to risk and giving Poroshenko an opening.

2/ Give assurances
People are justifiably worried about the security situation of a nation at war, with Russia already occupying 7 percent of Ukrainian territory. People want to know you’ll be tough on Russia and unwavering in trying to get the eastern Donbas and Crimean peninsula returned. Start naming your national security team. Otherwise, seek to calm nerves by saying there will be no imminent shakeup in the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry or National Security and Defense Council. Remind people that the president doesn’t do the fighting – the soldiers do.

3/ Ban Kolomoisky
You’ve said you’re not a puppet of billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, but there are still strong doubters.  The doubts are fueled by the people on your team who have also worked for Kolomoisky – like the lawyer Andriy Bohdan, who is on your team but doesn’t take a public role. You need to clearly state your revulsion to Kolomoisky’s illegal business practices and rent-seeking, while show that you will not interfere with Ukraine’s attempts to recover the $5.6 billion pilfered from PrivatBank, owned by Kolomoisky until the state took it over in 2016. Like in “Servant of the People,” a condemnation of the oligarchy always wins votes. But from you, people will be watching your ties to Kolomoisky very closely. It’s best to avoid any advisers tied to him should you get elected.

4/  Take The High Road
Respond quickly to attacks on you, but take the high road of the victor. Start looking more and more presidential and less and less like an actor with each day, so people can get used to you in this role in real life. Ukrainians don’t like reelecting presidents. Only Leonid Kuchma was reelected in 1999, and he had to cheat to get it done. The spring wind is at your back. Remember that Poroshenko is not evil. The nation’s survival was at stake in 2014 when he took over. He helped keep everyone together. His flaws don’t make him or his presidency a failure. National unity can come by extending him a hand, if you win, rather than a punch to the face.

5/ Bring back the reformers
Poroshenko forced out more than one reformer during his time in office in many areas of government. The more that you can show people that you aim to bring well-respected professionals back into positions of power, the better, regardless of their political affiliation. Ukraine’s major reforms took place in 2014-2016, before stalling the last three years. Having ex-Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk and ex-Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius in the fold is a healthy start. But you need more. Poroshenko also has some great people working for him. They should be kept on. You will need the ex-president to help with a smooth transition and with getting things done in parliament, since his 135-member bloc is the dominant force among lawmakers. Politics is brutal, but governance need not be.

http://www.kyivpost.com/article/opinion/op-ed/brian-bonner-5-ways-that-zelenskiy-can-win.html

[krimster2]

jayH

shto te gavorite?

“The doubts are fueled by the people on your team who have also worked for Kolomoisky – like the lawyer Andriy Bohdan, who is on your team”

It is suggested, that a special bill is needed to remove Andriy Bohdan who may otherwise take a seat in parliament.  Bohdan is currently the lawyer representing Hennady Korban, whose recent arrest and scandalous detention hearing are widely believed to be linked with Poroshenko’s battles with Korban partner Ihor Kolomoisky.

This Andriy Bohdan????
do you see the outlines of a Clan yet?  I can already give you a list of 5 names
after the first 100 days (be cool before parliamentary elections)
then it’s fun...fun...fun...
till her daddy took her t-bird away....

“while show that you will not interfere with Ukraine’s attempts to recover the $5.6 billion pilfered from PrivatBank, owned by Kolomoisky until the state took it over in 2016. “

update your info JayH, your info is old and out of date
Ukraine already lost the suit back in December due to internal manipulation by Kolomoisky to deliberately make it crash and burn from within, end result of Ukraine’s effort of recovery is that it owes Kolomoisky and the UK court about $5 million!!!!

in the Poroshenko camp, Zelensky is ridiculed as a clueless Kolomoisky puppet supported by opportunistic ex-officials. 

but they’re probably out of touch with the new Ukraine, right Jay?

thank jehweh my ancestors freakin left Odessa after the Easter Pogrom
I mean the FIRST Easter Pogrom of course...
the second one hasn't happened YET...
but it WILL...

I feel it, the distant gathering storm....
anyone in its way had better run

[msmob]

jayH

shto te gavorite?

If you are going to use the friendly or 'familiar' form of the 2nd person singular..  govor ends in  'ish'..!;)


It is abundantly clear, though, that JayH has lost his ' source'  in Ukraine..

We are back to copy and paste mode..

[JayH]

Krim-- 
the "facts" & views stated in quoted articles are not necessarily the same as mine !
So--it is quite inaccurate to quote them and attribute them to me -- that should be obvious.

As for quoting articles- it is far easier to post for all to see and read for themselves more detail and background -especially in complex subjects like this one.

I note in replies some very debatable assertions being passed of as facts  by some here -- but given the general pia nature of them I prefer to ignore and try and let the thread stay on course.

[JayH]

 
 Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), had on 3 April declared that his party will only recognize the Ukrainian elections if Volodymyr Zelenskyi is the winner.


Hacked 2014 docs from Russia’s LDPR party outline plan eerily similar to Zelenskyi campaign


Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), had on 3 April declared that his party will only recognize the Ukrainian elections if Volodymyr Zelenskyi is the winner. Hacked docs from his party in 2014 indicate a plan which is bewilderingly similar to the one used by Zelenskyi's campaign.

When on 3 April, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of Russia’s third-largest party LDPR, declared that he will recognize Ukrainian elections only if the winner is comic-turned-candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyi, it came as no surprise.

 After all, during the election campaign, Russian media has made his opponent, incumbent President Poroshenko, the key target of hate speech, as revealed by prevailing sentiments on the Russian VKontakte social network.

The reason is that Poroshenko, who came to power after the Euromaidan revolution ousted his pro-Russian predecessor in 2014, has taken a hardline stance against Russia and despite the blow of Russia’s occupation of Crimea and war in Donbas led Ukraine westward.
 
This has made many an analyst suppose that Russia prefers anyone but Poroshenko to win the election.
 Taken together with Zelenskyi’s vague statements on Russia and total inexperience in politics, this makes one suppose that Zelenskyi is the preferred candidate for Ukraine’s huge, aggressive neighbor.

However, what does come at least as a striking coincidence, is a plan to get someone like Zelenskyi elected which came allegedly from the servers of LDPR in September 2014.


 
“Pinocchio” political project

The document starts with outlining the overall Ukrainian political situation post-Euromaidan, after the presidential elections in May 2014 but prior to the parliamentary elections in October 2014:

“The protest electorate grows in relation to the previous [Yanukovych-era] authorities, which many consider traitors. But dissatisfaction grows also with the new “Maidan” authorities, among those, who had supported it not long ago. First of all, there are many among the dissatisfied who hoped to see new faces in power, and the oligarchs to be removed from power.

Darth and Pinocchio will distract voters and the media from the same boring old politicians and will conduct their pre-election race with rhetorics that are “close to the edge” but with serious topics cloaked in jokes. He will be one of the people, not the oligarchs.

 Pinocchio will toss out sharp phrases (slogans and psychological viruses) which a usual candidate couldn’t. He will create jokes and demotivators which start living their own life among the people; he will make fun of his opponents, the system, etc.

 Because he is such a bright and untrivial candidate, the media will hunt after him.

Pinocchio was a Russian plan for Ukraine’s 2014 parliamentary elections which never came to life (its cost was estimated at around $440,000).
 We don’t have proof that Zelenskyi is Pinocchio reincarnated, or that Russia is behind Zelenskyi. Nevertheless, there are a few coincidences between the two.

Zelenskyi indeed gathers the protest vote, and he has managed to motivate the traditionally passive youth to vote. The age sectors which usually stayed at home during elections had come to the polling booths for the first time, marking a change in Ukraine’s voting patterns;
Zelenskyi became known among the populace thanks to his comedy acting in “Kvartal 95,” in which virtually everything in Ukraine, from politicians to races to sexual minorities, was derided and ridiculed;
His stage persona as teacher-turned-president Vasyl Holoborodko in the TV series “Servant of the People” is one of the knights of the light.
 Holoborodko fights oligarchs and cleans up Ukraine. All according to the scriptwriter’s script.

His campaign after the first round has been based on deriding and making fun of his opponent Poroshenko and otherwise turning the political discourse into a joke which the media scramble to get covered first.

 His escapades, one more silly than the last, nevertheless have Ukrainians talking about them all day, and not about the real policy ideas of the candidates.

Even if Russia did not have a hand in Zelenskyi, it’s hard not to notice that he’s going down the road envisioned in the Pinocchio plan. And achieving great success, at that.

And that’s probably why Russia is most happy to see him as Ukrainian president. But it’s Ukraine that will be left to deal with a bad joke.


http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/04/06/hacked-2014-docs-from-russias-ldpr-party-outline-plan-eerily-similar-to-zelenskyi-campaign/