This is the Face of Viktor Yanukovych and His Supporters

December 27, 2013
Hundreds hold pictures of the beaten Ukrainian journalist on Christmas day | © Anastasia Vlasova

Tetyana Chornovol, a well-regarded Ukrainian journalist who has investigated government corruption and spoken at Euromaidan protests, has been beaten so badly she was hospitalized after her car was rammed off the road by an SUV. Many vocal supporters of Euromaidain and opponents of President Viktor Yanukovych have blamed his supporters for the attack.


Tetyana Chornovol was brutally beaten.

Tomorrow there will be a lot of words. A lot of meaningless words.

But no matter how and who will comment on this barbarity, one fact is obvious.

All those who are now together with Viktor Yanukovych – from the Party of Regions deputies, members of the government, Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko, head of the administration Sergei Liovochkin, head of the National Security Council Andriy Klyuyev, Dmitri Firtash and Rinat Akhmetov – ALL who continue playing for his team – ALL of YOU automatically support what is happening right in front of your eyes.

All those who pretend they know nothing and can do nothing, in one way or another participated to every blow to the face of of Tetyana Chornovol.

You can pretend that it is not so. You can cowardly remain silent. But it’s YOUR face.

It is YOUR choice to stay there and hide behind meaningless words.

It’s YOU who are silent, not us. It was YOU who are the reason why all this became possible in this country.

It was YOU who promptly investigated snowballs against Yulia Liovochkin, Irina Gorina and Irina Berezhnaya and now YOU, who cowardly haven’t said a word, will fly away for Christmas holidays.

You can remain silent and walk by. But it does not change the essense: YOU support this ugliness and are part of it.

And it’s not any more a matter of image, loss of power or influence – it’s about losing your human face and all of our generation. You no longer have a right to decide for us what country we live in.