Yulia Tymoshenko

One of the things that still frustrates me about my time at Columbia was that I was not able to hear President Putin when he spoke at Lowe Library. The whole thing was very poorly organized and I wasn't able to get a ticket beforehand and wasn't one of the luckyfew who was able to get in without a ticket. I was pretty pissed. This was back in the days of me wearing a suit everyday. So after I didn't get in I stood facing one of the American special services agents in my suit with my Falkland Islands' pin staring down one of the American secret service agents who had kept people out. Eventually he approached me and asked me who I was working for that day (i.e. he thought I was some sort of service too). Again staring down security agents probably wasn't the brightest idea in the world considering there were snipers on all of the roofs waiting to take out wood-be assassins, but again I was pretty pissed.

So I am learning to deal with that pain, though this year when my Russian politics professor quoted Putin from when he spoke at Columbia a part of me died inside, again.

So this year Yulia Tymoshenko is going to Columbia, jut as I am writing a big paper on Ukrainian politics. For those that don't know Yymoshenko is one of the leaders of Ukraine's orange revolution, which through peaceful protests managed to get falsified elections overturned and a pro-reform president elected, which resulted in a real opening in Ukrainian society. That being said I wouldn't say I really like her. I am a Ukrainian nationalist and her support base is in the nationalist west (where my grandma is from, ohhh), but she is from the Russian east and a former oligarch. None the less she is a populist and very influential, and according to my politics teacher a real bitch, all of which makes me really want to hear her speak. So again part of me dies inside for not being able to. So if I sent you an e-mail telling you to go hear her speak you had better! So anyway, below is some wallpaper from her website that conflicts from her usual very feminine image and a Russian KBH video making fun of her and her Ukrainian peasant-style hairdo. Also, if you want to hear here speaking Ukrainian click here.

[Note: Can we say Schadenfreude? Tymoshenko ended up suddenly cancelling the entire New York leg of her trip. I am sorry for everyone that didn't get to go, but also glade I didn't miss it. I am a horrible person]