From Ukraine with hair

OK, so I was going to write something about Yulia Tymoshenko's hair, but it has turned into a mini essay on recent political events in Ukraine. The hair stuff is at the end of the post.

In November 2004 the world's media was focused on the Orange revolution in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Thousands of demonstrators flooded onto the city's central independence Square following the suspected fraudulent victory of pro-Russian prime minister Viktor Yanukovych in the presidential elections. Pressure from the protests and from abroad prompted Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, to launch an investigation into the allegations of fraud. The protestors were mostly supporters of the loosing candidate, pro-Ukrainian and pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko, and his right-hand lady, Yulia Tymoshenko.

46 year-old Tymoshenko (pictured) is something of a political phenomenon in the region. The media in Ukraine and Russia have been enchanted by her beauty, intelligence and ambition. However, her career has not been short of controversy. In 2001 she was fired from her position of prime minister for fuel and energy by then president Leonid Kuchma. She was then arrested for forging customs papers and the illegal exportation of gas, a charge that Tymoshenko insists was fabricated by Kuchma's regime. Until recently she was actually wanted in Russia for stealing Russian gas and avoiding taxation. Furthermore, she has been at the receiving end of considerable criticism for the way she amassed her substantial fortune - she is basically an oligarch. Her critics accuse her of hypocrisy, since she campaigns for reform, and the end of corruption in Ukraine, despite having a corrupt past herself.

In December 2004, the Ukrainian Rada announced that there would be a re-run of the elections, and on Christmas day, under the supervision of thousands of international monitors, Viktor Yushchenko swept to victory. The period that followed was a time of great optimism among Ukrainians hoping for a more independent Ukraine, a step away from Russia and corruption, and a step towards the West. Ukraine is a diverse country, and can be crudely divided into two halves, the Russian speaking East, and Ukrainian speaking West. More accurately, the line between the linguist divide runs diagonally from the south-west up to the north-east. For example, in Viktor Yanukovych's home city of Donets'k, in the far east of the country, almost everyone is a Russian speaker, and people generally don't or can't speak Ukrainian. In fact, when Viktor Yanukovych was made Prime Minister it was rumoured that he started a crash course in the Ukrainian language. Even today in interviews his Ukrainian falters, and he inadvertently uses Russian words. In Ruslana's birth place, the city of L'viv in the very west of the country, almost everyone is a Ukrainian speaker, and people don't, or at least pretend not to speak Russian. In fact, the city tried to ban Russian pop music on buses in the city (how dare they!).

President Yushchenko made Yulia Tymoshenko his Prime Minister, but sacked her only 6 months later amid accusation of further corruption. The embittered Tymoshenko then went about preparing herself and her party, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, for the 2006 parliamentary elections. This March, proof was given that the Orange revolution had more than lost it's shine. The hero of the 'revolution' president Yushchenko had to settle for a highly embarrassing third place, after his party, Our Ukraine, polled less than 14% of the votes. If that wasn't bad enough, he was beaten by Yulia Tymoshenko's party, which polled 22%, and even worse, by the Party of Regions (33%), lead by Viktor Yanukovych, the man who Yushchenko ousted during the Orange revolution.

In order to "keep Ukraine orange", the three main parties of the Orange revolution, Our Ukraine, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, and the Socialist Party, began discussions relating to the formation of an 'Orange coalition', with a total vote share of 42%, thus beating the Party of Regions. However discussions were heated and unproductive, due to the still frosty relations between Tymoshenko and the president. As the elections were only parliamentary, president Yushchenko's position is theoretically safe. If the three parties can come to an agreement, it is expected that Yushchenko will remain as president, Yulia Tymoshenko will be reinstated as prime minister, and the socialists may be given the position of speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. Currently Yushchenko is not very happy about the final point, but to be honest, he's not really in any position to be throwing his weight around.

But back to Yulia Tymoshenko! Possibly her most distinguishing feature is her intricate hair style, which she has sported for the past few years. Although the link has not been proven, a number of women's magazines, including the British weekly You, have claimed that Mary J Blige and Penelope Cruz's new barnets were inspired by Mrs. Tymoshenko herself. The magazine even included a handy illustration that shows women "How to do the Yuliya". I would naturally try it myself, if I had the hair...... and was a woman.

Sean Carr, a bearded, long-haired, bloated-faced, tattooed rock star from Yorkshire, England is by far not the most attractive man in the world. Add to that, that he has a history of woman-beating, it was not very surprising, that his marriage to Yulia Tymoshenko's beautiful young daughter Yevhenia attracted international media attention. I know they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but really I don't see the attraction. Perhaps he has a massive cock. More photos of the wedding can be seen here, but unfortunately Yulia was wearing her hair down that day.