In Ukraine, the rich take from the poor Oct 27 at 19:39 | Viktor Nikazakov Inherited poverty, which in Ukraine

is called zlydni, is now on the rise. On Oct. 17, the world marked the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. But in Ukraine it went almost unnoticed. I got interested in the issue of poverty eight years ago, in the midst of a scandal that the central bank, which was then controlled by the National Bank Governor Viktor Yushchenko, paid for the education of his eldest daughter. The sum involved in this allegedly corrupt act was tiny, even in those relatively clean days just a few thousand dollars. What struck me was Yushchenkos cynical phrase: I dont see anything in the fact that children of bankers become bankers, he said. This logic, however, can doom the children of the poor to destitution for life. Inherited poverty, which in Ukraine is called zlydni, is now on the rise. The current president was born in a poor family. Perhaps this is the reason why one of his first decrees on Feb. 26, 2010, was called on emergency measures to overcome poverty. He ordered the cabinet to develop within three months a national program for overcoming and prevention of poverty for 2010-2015. The program is yet to be written. However, in September 2010, during the summit of the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly Viktor Yanukovych was trying to persuade the world public that Ukraine is trying to achieve millennium goals by year 2015, one of which is overcoming poverty. He failed to address the obvious problem: how can you achieve the goals if you have not even created a program for it? A month later, in October 2010, addressing the nation during Eradication of Poverty Day, he did not even mention the program. Another year has passed, and the latest address to the nation on anti-poverty day informed the public that poverty decreased by 2.3 percent, due to the measures taken, including the program for economic reforms for 2010-2014. Moreover, Yanukovych promised that stabilization of the development of the Ukrainian economy, reduction of administrative pressure on business, setting clear tax rules will stimulate creation of new jobs, increase the incomes of workers, and consequently will allow to increase budget expenses on social payments to the needy. But the presidents figures do not look persuasive. If poverty is decreasing, why is next years budget showing an increase of poverty? Moreover, how trustworthy is he if he said an antipoverty program is to be drafted in three months, yet it does not yet exist? Moreover, the same very hand that had released the decree, signed the tax code and all subsequent changes to it. As a result, small-and-medium businesses, which fed up to half of Ukrainians before Yanukovych, has virtually ceased to exist. A third of owners stopped their businesses. Yet the government thinks they went into the shadows. Yet nobody up there seems concerned that as a result of their reform, in favor of a small group of

oligarchs, many other people have lost means for existence. More mouths are expected to go hungry as a result of the so-called pension reform. The pensions of millions of regular Ukrainians are sometimes up to 20 times less than those of the high-ranking bureaucrats, whose payments also include various bonuses and extras depending on the number of years served. To make matters worse, Yanukovych has recently signed a law on court fees, so now a pensioner who wants to go to court has to pay a sum roughly equal to their income for a half-year. And if you still insist on suing and decide to borrow money for it, even your smallest debt can allow the bailiff to take away your home, leaving you out in the street. These are just some of the reforms planned by the presidents administration. There are 21 of them altogether, they say. Particularly worrisome is the draft budget, which, instead of redistributing the money received from the rich to guarantee reasonable living standard of the poor, takes care of a bunch of nouveau riche and bureaucrats at the expense of the poor. Hundreds of million dollars worth of debts of big business have been written off, channels for taking money offshore have been legalized, few privileged business groups get their value added tax returned while others are allowed to monopolized whole industries. The list is long. So, its not surprising that using the UN method of calculation, almost 80 percent of Ukraines population can be considered poor. But even on this dismal background the leader of the nation himself looks particularly bad. His expensive motorcades, helicopters and vast expenses have become the talk of the folk. The revolting takeover of a huge part of a nature reserve in Mezhyhirya has become a slap in the face of every Ukrainian. This type of behavior is typical for a dictator, but its not fit for any respectful politician, and particularly a leader of a democratic state. Impoverishment of people leads to radical moods, which was clearly demonstrated by the events of the Arab Spring. I dont like hungry riots or revolution of all colors. Thats why I have my own recipe for fighting poverty to offer to those who have power. First of all, they should stop stealing from the poor. They have to guarantee elementary democratic procedures in the new law on parliamentary elections, and cut back on attempts to manipulate their results with the purpose of holding on to the trough of power. Only the power whose opposition breathes them in the back is capable of making real changes in the name of its people. And last, but not least, the president has to give back Mezhyhirya. Some people think that he managed to make a good real estate deal. But in reality, he prepared a detonator for a powerful explosion of resentment. Viktor Nikazakov is a prominent Ukrainian lawyer. He can be reached at vpn2006@ukr.net.