Ukrayinska Pravda Online News Media

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Ukrayinska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth) is an independently owned, online news company. Founded by Georgiy Gongadze and Olena Prytula in March 1995 with the goal of making information and politics accessible to the common man, Ukrayinska Pravda's articles include a comments section for users all over the world to post their thoughts and contribute to civil discourse. Like most Ukrainian news outlets, our stories are available in Russian or Ukrainian. Critics will occasionally dismiss us as a tabloid, but some of our articles have received journalism awards. Several politicians have expressed their own thoughts: ​

"It's rubbish." --Viktor Yanukovych, 1997

"Actually, I thoroughly enjoy your articles, just not when they're about me." --Leonid Kravchuk, 1996

"Don't talk to me." --Julia Tymoshenko, 1996

"If Ukrayinska Pravda continues to promote degenerate and dishonest materials, the Attorney General shall pursue legal action against you. This is your final warning." --Vitenka Shchuka, 1995

"At least you won't be wasting paper..." --Viktor Yushchenko, 1996



We ask our readers to assess the quality of our writing for themselves.

 

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A Look Back on 1995: Ukraine's Communist Party and the Revolution that Wasn't
By Georgiy Gongadze, February 1997

"Premier" Petro Symonenko, May 1995 ​

Petro Symonenko is the luckiest man alive. It has been two years since he attempted to force Soviet chains back on Ukraine, and so far he has not been stabbed, strangled, or found with a suicide note. In fact, he has not even faced trial for the long list of allegations filed against him. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Vsevolod Usenko, has remained silent on this case, other than the occasional “I’m working on it,” he is so well known for.

Ballot tampering, voter intimidation, bribery, and all sorts of election rigging schemes are alleged to have been carried out in prior years by or on the orders of Symonenko. Under his leadership, the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) allegedly paid individuals to stage protests against our young, independent government and to instigate violence at pro-Western political rallies. Simultaneously, KPU members quietly consolidated ownership of multiple news-media companies, which allowed them to further manipulate public opinion.

In 1995 Symonenko and the Communist Party ostensibly employed these tactics to capture complete control of the Verkhovna Rada. “[We are] very happy to announce the return of a stable government to Ukraine,” Symonenko frequently declared—neglecting to acknowledge the instability prior to 1995 as his own doing. Messages to diplomats and heads of state attempted to reassure foreign leaders that Ukraine would “not practice the militaristic and harsh version of old communism that led to the damage of the Ukraine in countless famines and strikes.”

It’s hard to say wether or not Symonenko’s brand of economic prescriptions would have led to the same unspeakable hunger that was purposefully imposed on us by the Kremlin less than a century ago. Still, the Neo-Soviet government was poised to become just as brutal when it came to oppression of free speech. During Symonenko’s tenure as “Chairman and Premier,” the bloated bodies of 11 journalists were discovered along the Dnipro. Of the 23 reporters found to have committed suicide in their homes, 18 had accomplished the amazing feat of shooting themselves twice in the back of the skull. Equally impressive was the endurance of at least three reporters who dove from their apartment balconies after snapping their own necks. Newscasters from KPU-owned media rarely met the same ends.

Examples of Propaganda distributed by KPU owned media.
Left: "Say no to NATO barbarians in our territory of Ukraine" 1994 Right: "My Husband has returned!" 1995​

Suppression of accurate news reports was not the only characteristic shared with the Original Soviets whom Symonenko claimed to differ from. The party’s servility to Russia was yet another common trait. Shortly after wrestling control of parliament away from any lawfully elected Peoples’ Deputies, Symonenko and his administration began correspondence with communist coup leaders in Russia. Thanks to the police confiscation of his personal computer, the text of Symonenko’s first email is included below:

“Comrade [Alexander Rutskoy]! It is with the relief and joy that the news of the return to Soviet control of Russia is announced. Here in Ukraine we struggled with oligarchs and greed, the disastrous effects of the collapse of our glorious union. Our people quickly were turned to support us in our revolution once again […] We would be honored to stand strongly beside your own revolution and show our solidarity with our brethren in Russia. "Whatever threats you face, and however you must face them, The Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine will face them alongside you in whatever capacity we can. Our own armed forces are currently undergoing a massive reorganization and restructuring following the disastrous collapse of the USSR. We will however help in whatever way we can.”​

Left: Ruslan Khasbulatov and Alexander Rutskoy, leaders in the 1995 Russian Coup
Image Sourced from TV Centre Archives. Right: Yeltsin's military back in-check, 1996​

The Russian communists were presumably just as eager to reinstate the “glorious union” of which Symonenko spoke. Soon, a Ukrainian airlift was deployed and 2,000 home guardsmen were on their way to provide support for communist hardliners in Moscow. Thankfully, not all Russians were in favor of a return to failed ideology. After denial of landing clearance at Russia’s Sheremetyevo International Airport, the airlift had no choice but to return to Ukraine. Meanwhile, protests much like those that took place during Russia’s 1993 coup ousted the Soviet hardliners from the Kremlin. The flag of the USSR dropped just as quickly as it had been hoisted.

It is difficult to confirm just who initially ordered the airlift. Once it became clear Moscow would remain the seat of a capitalist republic, Symonenko and the Ukrainian Communist Party began to vocally condemn the Ukrainian military leaders involved. “Colonel Sherymentov and his cronies threatened to instate a dictatorship if the party did not yield. We had no choice but to let them go [support the Russian coup],” Vitenka Shchuka, Symonenko’s right hand man, famously lamented on state television. That night, 12 military leaders were arrested. These included:

Brigadier General Vadim Boleslaw, Brigadier General Yuriy Gribanov; Col. Vasily Sherymentov, Lt. Col. Yaroslav Gribanov, Lt. Col. Igor Koryavov, Lt. Col. Viktor Obolensky, Lt. Col. Fyodor Selidov, Lt. Col Yuri Smolyaninov; Maj. Lukyan Gurkovsky, Maj. Artur Osintsev, Maj. Tomas Vershinin; and Cpt. Yakiv Ivanenko.

These men were deemed responsible for, or complicit in Operation Kremlin Support and considered threats to the Communist Party. However, this was not a conspiracy theory the majority of Ukrainians would subscribe to. State News refused to acknowledge crowds of protestors slowly gathering outside the Verkhovna Rada. Ukrayinska Pravda reporters were present at the event and interviewed several protestors. Some declared their support for the alleged criminals. One unknown dissident reasoned, “These officers were only trying to further the communist cause.” Many more, however, held signs which accused Ukraine’s Neo-Soviets of being “Vatnyk dogs.”

Peaceful protestors at the Maidan, 1995 ​

Another masked protestor who identified himself only as Mykola attempted to summarize the general energy of the protest. “We are angry. They [the KPU] took credit for this [military intervention]. They were proud of it until it didn't work out—until they saw how many of us are standing out here. A return to the Soviet Union would mean the return of Russian abuses, and that is fine with them. The KPU do not care about the Ukrainian people—much less our brothers in the military…” He glanced over his shoulder, someone in the crowd was shooting up blue and gold flares. They sent sparks raining through the air like a new years firework-display. “The KPU cares about Molskals like Rutskoy. They want them in power so they can be their lapdogs. Their plan has failed, now they’ll try to shift blame with a pathetic show-trial. The crime these twelve men committed was following the orders of those the law obligated them to obey.”

Protests took place throughout Ukraine, not just outside of the parliament building. For four days Symonenko’s administration failed to address the country. At 9:17 P.M. on the fifth night, a wide eyed Vitenka Shchuka stood in front of television cameras. In an attempt to appease the crowds, he announced that Col. Sherymentov, Lt. Col. Koryavov, Lt. Col. Obolensky, and Lt. Col Smolyaninov would be set free. Still, people refused to return to their homes. “It [the protest] is not just about the officers. We don’t like anything the government does. Shchuka is a scrub and Symonenko is no better,” explained an anonymous female student. Her friend quickly piped in, "They will take away Adidas and McDonalds. I need my capitalist nuggies, man."

The tenth night, Shchuka again appeared and declared free, emergency parliamentary-elections. Perhaps, with all the news media companies under their control, the Communist Party had fooled itself into believing they truly had the mandate of the people. Shchuka declared that any non-communist leaders would "be allowed to represent the minority that might elect them." He had no words when, two days later, the results were announced.

1995 Emergency Election Results

Party	Leader	Seats
Party of Regions	Viktor Yankuovych	186
Tymoshenko Bloc	Yulia Tymoshenko	129
Our Ukraine Bloc	Yuriy Yekhanurov	71
Socialist Party	Oleksandr Moroz	38
Communist Party	Petro Symonenko	26

Symonenko was no where to be seen during the first session of the new Verkhovna Rada. Within hours a condemnatory statement was issued by the parliament, an emergency Attorney General was appointed, and a warrant was written for the arrest of Symonenko and several communist leaders.

Symonenko was discovered nearly 30 km outside Kyiv when a police officer pulled over a black sedan for speeding. In his possession was a Russian drivers-license and passport—both under a false name—and an ticket from Boryspil International Airport to Transnistria. Without an acting President or “premier” an emergency election was again called. President Viktor Yushchenko was soon sworn into office.

Content No Longer Available

The following paragraphs were included in the original "A Look Back on 1995: Ukraine's Communist party and the Revolution that Wasn't" article. After a few hours online, several ministries were alerted of the sensitive information the article contained and ordered Ukrayinska Pravda to delete the section for the purpose of national security. They would comply and the information would no longer be available for reading on UkrayinskaPravda.Com--but we all know how hard it is to truly erase something from the internet. The redacted section would likely still be available on Ukrainian forums or screencap'ed and posted on Twitter--causing quite the panic in the Rada and the Ministry of Defense...

But one year after the KPU’s demise, Ukraine’s troubles are not over. Again, Symonenko has not yet faced trial, nor have his constituents. In fact, a few members of the KPU have yet to be located. Then there is the military—or more specifically our lack of a military. Following the collapse of the original Soviet Union, Ukraine’s armed forces were in need of reorganization. Like attempts to repair a shattered vase with a hammer, the fall of the Neo-Soviets only served to further fracture our armed services.

Equipment was scarce enough after the fall of the original USSR. Any vehicles and arms not destroyed by pro-capitalist, pro-republican personnel during the rise of the Neo-Soviets was destroyed by the communists before they fled their posts. Our government has not published an estimate on just how much of our military is still functioning, so Ukrayinska Pravda has conducted a study based on police reports, court documents, defense production records, and military foodstuffs orders. We have concluded that 85% of defense personnel are currently under investigation, absent without leave, have resigned, been dismissed, convicted, or are otherwise not performing their duties to our country.

Ukrayinska Pravda does not publish this information with the goal of jeopardizing Ukraine, but rather to shove the Rada towards making improvements. They have been sleeping on a landmine, now is the time for us to defuse the danger by rearming and training our forces. There are many more changes for us to make if we wish to improve our country, but our people have the resilient will to raise Ukraine to her own two feet.

But over a year after the KPU’s demise, Ukraine’s troubles are not over. Again, Symonenko has not yet faced trial, nor have many of his constituents. Then there are the socio-economic and defense issues our country faces. Our people can raise Ukraine to her feet, she will one day stand on her own, but we must remain resilient. The Communist Revolution was a failure, but our own Ukrainian Revolution will not be. In 1918 our patriots began the struggle for national consciousness and independence. It has taken us nearly a century, but here we are, a nation-state. We have already come this far.

The Rodina Mat statue as a new dawn rises in Kyiv, 1996​

Editor's Note: Here at Ukrayinska Pravda we are just as disappointed in the sloppy conclusion of this article as you are. It does not comply with our standards of quality. It reads as if it has been written in under five minutes because it was written in under five minutes. The Ministries of Defense, Internal Affairs, and Justice all jumped on this story. They have demanded we remove the original conclusion, and due to limited funding we will not fight their demands for censorship, yet.

While I am indeed an immigrant from Georgia, as many readers have concernedly commented, Ukrayinska Pravda has no reason to believe the Ministries' demands for a retraction were based on prejudice. They are acting in what they think is Ukraine's best interest and would have censored anyone who published the information we have. Still, we are disappointed. We published the now-redacted information in order to implement action. In the words of my parents, "We're critical because we care." Ukrayinska Pravda has complied with government demands and retracted the sensitive information from our website, but we cannot retract it from public consciousness.

My editing team have also come to the consensus that my original statement accusing Symonenko of being "a kulak" should be removed due to the history behind the word. I understand it is offensive--I intended it to be--but my goal was to mock Symonenko for hypocrisy, not to cause survivors of collectivization and the Holodomor any offense. We have since removed the word. The terms "Vatnyk dog" and "Molskal" used in this article have also caused some scandal. I remain firm in their inclusion. These words are different in that they were used in quotations by members of the public. To omit them would be to omit an accurate depiction of the frustration and abuse the Ukrainian people felt. Before anyone accuses us of Russophobia, I'll further clarify that if a protestor or public figure had referred to the KPU as "a bunch of kulaks" then the phrase would have remained included. If "Vatnyk" and "Moskal" were my own words then I would remove them and issue an apology.

Ukrayinska Pravda is responsible for the speech of it's staff, not for the words of unaffiliated parties.

~Georgiy Gongadze,
Editor, reporter, company founder, Ukrainian.