In the Agora: The Ukraine is Weak

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November 27, 2004

The Ukraine is Weak

We've covered the mess (to put it lightly) raging in Ukraine in several posts, this being one example, but surprisingly the most audacious development may just now be unfolding. The popular pro-Western opposition leader, Yushchenko, has contracted a mysterious appearance-altering illness. Yushchenko was widely complimented for his dashing good looks, pictured in the left frame, but contrast it with the monstrous image of him now on the right. The cause is not yet known, but one of the physicians handling the matter asked for help from "a specialist in military operations and biological weapons."

It is too soon to point the finger at the controlling party, and by extension Putin's Russia. But if the culprits turn out to be Putin or his cronies, democracy and the rule of law in former Soviet states may be even further behind than we previously thought.

Update: Daniel Drezner has more links here, here, and here.

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at November 27, 2004 02:34 PM

Comments

Holy cow! That looks like something off the front page of the National Enquirer. If not for the CNN link, I'd think that were some kind of prank or photoshop job.

Posted by: Eric Seymour at November 27, 2004 11:09 PM | permalink

The poisoning--for some time the Financial Times and Economist have been reporting it as an attempted assassination--occurred in September. Leonid Kuchma, the current president of Ukraine, has been credibly accused of orchestrating the killing of at least one journalist. Neither Ukraine nor Russia are stable democracies, although Ukraine was better off than Russia until very recently.

Posted by: Paul at November 28, 2004 03:24 AM | permalink