Power To The People

Viktor Yushchenko got a nasty New Year’s Eve surprise. On Dec. 31, Ukraine’s new President-elect learned that Turkmenistan was abruptly cutting its natural gas supplies unless Ukraine agreed to pay more in the coming year. It only reopened the taps on January 3, after Yuri Boiko, head of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state oil and gas company, agreed to a $500 million price hike.

Ukraine gets more than 75% of its natural gas from Turkmenistan and Russia, and many Ukrainians saw the hand of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who opposed Yushchenko’s election, in the sudden price increase. “The empire strikes back,” says political analyst Konstantin Bondarenko, “but Putin does it by proxy to show Ukraine its place.” The Kremlin had no comment.

Yushchenko, who’s expected to be sworn in later this month, has also avoided the issue, but he did reiterate his pledge to create a modern free-market economy, even as Ukrainians saw their gas prices soar. “If this country is governed by honest people and the government can survive, people will feel the effects of the economic development plan within a year,” he told Polish TV. Ukrainians hope Yushchenko is right; his survival as President may depend on it.