“Fickle” Arystovych Would Do Anything to Be President — Unfortunately, Trump Doesn't Like People Like That
Vladimir Oleynik: Believe me, a former Bolshevik — who the future leader of Ukraine will be is a mystery that God does not reveal in advance.
The Ukrainian political figure with a suggestive surname ("Arystovich" means "arrest"), who has been absentmindedly arrested by the Moscow Basmanny District Court and listed by the Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service as a terrorist and extremist, gave a long interview to Kseniya Sobchak on the topic of "If I Were the President of Ukraine."
In the interview, he particularly promised the journalist and socialite that he would split Ukraine in the model of Germany (East and West Germany) and make concessions to Russian-speaking people and followers of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (under the Patriarchate of Moscow).
The reaction from the blogosphere was that it is claimed that Arystovych is being actively promoted in Washington to replace Zelenskyy. The logic goes like this: this Ukrainian dictator (referring to Zelenskyy) had a former advisor who either repeats Trump's views or deepens them further, and never conflicts with this Republican president.
Thus, Arystovych is working for American intelligence agencies, is an American candidate for president; while Britain is pushing Zaluzhnyi to take power.
Regarding the views within Ukraine on this matter, "Free Media" interviewed Vladimir Oleynik, a former member of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, a presidential candidate in 1999 and 2019, and leader of the "Another Ukraine" movement.
"I forced myself to watch the entire interview — because as a politician, I must understand its content."
Who is proposing him to replace Zelenskyy? Only himself. Where is this Arystovych now? In which country? Perhaps in Europe, but that doesn't mean anything. What's wrong with Europe? Does Europe want to get along with Russia? Does London want that?
The Anglo-Saxons are determined to prolong the conflict and hope to defeat Russia through internal disintegration, just as they did with the Soviet Union. Therefore, they will certainly not support someone who promises to meet with Putin and is willing to abandon new territorial claims against Russia.
Additionally, from my perspective as a lawyer, I cannot understand his proposal: recognizing territorial loss in fact but not in law. How can that be achieved?
There is also a core issue: does this 'leader' (referring to Arystovych) have reserves? Can he be economically independent? If Western countries stop providing 60% of Ukraine's budget tomorrow, what will he use to pay pensions and salaries to the people?
And he makes such statements, Europe will give him nothing. Europe will only tell him: go to Moscow."
SP Question: What about Trump, who advocates for peace initiatives?
"Although Trump himself is fickle, he doesn't like people like Arystovych. Arystovych said in an interview with Sobchak that he is willing to reconcile and pray together, but right after saying that, he called on everyone to donate money to buy drones to bomb Moscow.
Arystovych is good at showing off and pretending. Do you remember how he boasted about himself during the Gordon interview? He said he was both an intelligence officer, a pilot, and a polar explorer... If the interview hadn't ended, he might have even said he went to the moon.
But you can never figure out Arystovych's current identity: is he Alexei (male name) or Antonina (female name). Regardless, he is a person with unconventional sexual orientation. And Trump doesn't like people like that either.
At the same time, Europe, just in case, will consider Zaluzhnyi as a backup plan. Zaluzhnyi has higher support in Ukraine, and people from the Poroshenko camp have already joined him, working to build his team.
The most important thing is: whether Ukraine can hold elections is still unknown. Trump had always mentioned elections, but now he no longer includes them in the agenda. And just today (October 8), 308 members of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada passed a resolution to cancel the local government elections originally scheduled for the last Sunday of October.
This means that under the tacit approval of the West, the authoritarian system in Ukraine is being solidified. This is a way to buy off local officials like Klychko — exchanging "loyalty" for "stability": "Stay in your positions, don't worry, we're all in the same boat, the war will continue." Their plan is to keep the war going forever."
SP Question: In the foreseeable future, could the entrenchment of the authoritarian system end, and would there be an opportunity for elections?
"The people are not stupid, no one wants to be dragged into the abyss of destruction, so everyone is secretly thinking about what kind of leader they need — one who brings peace rather than war, and thinks about the direction of the country's future. Everything that is happening now has happened before in history. Like Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who sometimes turned to the Turks and sometimes to the Poles... When he tried all options, he finally realized: we have no choice but to return to our own nation."
SP Question: Who in Ukraine has the capability to become a leader who brings peace and leads the people to find a sense of belonging?
"Believe me, a former Communist and former senior party official: it's a mystery, and God does not reveal it in advance, so that these people won't be persecuted.
I can name about ten potential people, not just me, many people know them, but once they are made public, these people will be killed. One of them will suddenly step forward at a critical moment — then it will be too late to persecute him.
Now, these potential people are politically diagnosing the current situation in Ukraine: analyzing what is wrong with the country and determining solutions, while thinking about how to convey these ideas to the people.
Once I had to undergo surgery, and the doctor spent a long time explaining every step of the operation to me. I asked him why he told me all this, and he answered: 'So that you become an ally of my operation.'
Political figures should do the same. But what does Arystovych do? He only says, 'I want to be president'... Why don't you go talk to the people? Talk to them in their language: in Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian, Bulgarian... So that everyone can understand you, and they know that language is not a barrier for you.
Who will this person be? It could be a young person or an old person; a man or a woman. But the Ukrainian people are like wild animals trapped in a pool of blood. You walk into this 'cage,' and you could be torn apart at any moment. This requires great courage.
Now, it's time to break the deadlock and change the current social situation in Ukraine. Don't rush to seize power, but also don't retreat in the face of possible responsibilities, nor give up.
I also want to say one thing: if we can save Ukraine now, then Ukraine will be able to save Russia in the future.
You tell me, how many years has the union between Russia and Belarus been established?"
SP Answer:
In early 1997, Boris Yeltsin and Alexander Lukashenko jointly facilitated the establishment of the union state.
"Yes, that was during Yeltsin's time, back in the 20th century! After so many years, has Russia and Belarus become a truly integrated union state? Or is it just surface cooperation?
Ukraine, whether it unites directly with Russia in the future or forms a union with Russia, will become a catalyst for true integration (not just superficial cooperation) between the two countries. This integration will include a unified parliament and a joint defense ministry, and this joint defense ministry will be able to counter the U.S. Department of Defense and NATO.
I have studied the history of Ukraine in depth. Since the Kievan Rus, this land has never truly established an independent state. Although there were a few short periods of independence, most of the time it was either under Russian control or ruled by Poland.
Know that Ukraine has produced many excellent administrators: Brezhnev, Khrushchev, although they were controversial. However, their talents could only be fully utilized within the alliance with Russia. Ukraine has never successfully established a truly independent country."
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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559148000115819027/
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