Today there is no resident of the troubled Ukraine, who would not ask himself/herself the tantalizing question: ‘what will happen next?’. Partly the answer to this question can be found by reference to the life and times of Adolf Hitler in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, we bear witness to the rapid growth of the ideology of nationalism in the Ukraine. It is worth noting that such ideas spread from the Western part of the country.
It is not surprising that the accumulated over the decades offence of the “Zupadances” (inhabitants of Western Ukraine) on the Communists and the Soviet Union as a whole, could not be constrained for a long period in Lvov, the Carpathians, etc. Nationalism took advantage of the weakness of the central government and has spread to the central regions of the Ukraine. Later on, with substantial support coming from the US and other Western European states, Western rooted Ukrainian nationalists overthrew the incumbent authorities in Kiev in a violent manner. Earlier unknown Dmitry Yarosh became the main ideologue of the galloping Ukrainian nationalism. If one examines his scanty biography, he can find some similarities with the Hitler’s life and times. Like Adolf Hitler, Dmitry Yarosh struck a bad school record. Nevertheless, Yarosh wields great oratory skills, necessary tools in the art of disorienting and captivating one’s audience. Yarosh refers to numerous crimes of his nationalist organization not only against its own citizens, but against Russian and Jewish people. Hitler and his supporters coming to power also ruthlessly killed political enemies and propagated hatred. We may recall that millions of Jews and Russians perished in the Nazi concentration camps.
Like Hitler, Yarosh was able to establish contacts with industrial magnates who sponsor his activities. Today in the Ukraine the once obscure Right Sector, is increasingly becoming an important organization. Likewise in the 1930s, Hitler’s NSDAP rose from obscurity. Even politicians, police and military authorities rely on the strength of this organization. Now thugs of the Right Sector can officially carry firearms and legally participate in anti-terrorist operations.
Another parallel with Hitler’s politics: in the 1930s, Adolf managed to remove his associate Strasser from the leadership of the party; today Yarosh managed to eliminate Belogo, who was a leadership hopeful in the Right Sector. Furthermore, the political programme of the Right Sector is similar in ideology with Hitler’s so-called “25 Points” programme. Nowadays, thanks to the efforts of nationalists the Russian language is almost officially banned in the Ukraine. Whether Petro Poroshenko, the new leader, will approve the relevant law any time soon, remains to be seen.
It is widely expected that Dmitry Yarosh will occupy a high post in the government of Ukraine and then no one can guarantee that the ambitions of this ‘empowered’ maverick politician are limited only to Ukraine. Yarosh repeatedly stated that he is not a supporter of Ukraine’s European integration and sees Europe only as a financial sponsor of the growth of Ukrainian nationalism.
But what will happen when EU aid miss the targeted goal? The answer to this question we will not find, neither in the Ukrainian Constitution nor in the numerous laws adopted by the Verkhovnaya Rada. What would the European leaders make of the uncontrolled nourishment of Ukrainian fascism in the European neighbourhood?
Should not the EU guard against a Nazi-type Ukrainian nationalist monster growth endangering peace, tolerance and therefore security and stability in the whole European continent?