Sure, the wine flowed freely and the food was abundant, as usual.
Many guests, including journalists, were eating up and drinking up as Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian member of parliament, author and former journalist, interviewed a panel that included Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Okean Elzy rock star Syvatoslav “Slava” Vakarchuk and billionaire Sergiy Taruta.
The talk was fairly predictable until Vakarchuk — who is used to charging up audiences with his music — triggered applause by directing pointed criticism at some of the people in the audience for not building a strong Ukrainian state during 23 years of independence.
No, he did not mention any of the elite by name or single out anyone among the hundreds in the crowd.
But, in the audience, ex-President Viktor Yushchenko, host Pinchuk, his wife Elena Pinchuk, Taruta and representatives of various billionaire oligarchs in the crowd — Dmytro Firtash’s man, Boris Krasnyansky, and Rinat Akhmetov’s guy, Jock Mendoza Wilson — might have reason to think he was talking about them.
Speaking to the “rich and influential” people gathered, Vakarchuk asked, in reference to the Kremlin-backed separatist war in the eastern Donbas: “What have you done in these 23 years to prevent the situation we have today?”
People applauded.
He went on to answer his own question by blaming the political elite of the nation for “23 years of doing nothing” for people — not treating them with courtesy, sympathy or dignity, not helping them build prosperous and hopeful lives.
“You are just using these people, using these people, using these people!” he exclaimed.
More applause.
During the same discussion, Vakarchuk said Ukraine needs to do a better job of countering Kremlin propaganda and he called on the world to impose tough sanctions against Russia. “If you really want to help Ukraine, you need to feel a little pain in order not to feel a big pain later,” he said.
Afterwards, Vakarchuk told me that he is glad to have delivered the scathing criticism and that he planned the remarks.
He still wouldn’t name names, but said he assigns blame for Ukraine’s crisis proportionate to power and influence. “All presidents, all prime ministers, rich people” bear “bigger responsibility” than others for the fate of the nation, he said.
“I don’t have any posts or positions, so I say what I want,” Vakarchuk said. “Right or wrong, at least it’s honest.”
We’ll see how much more honesty will be forthcoming this weekend at Pinchuk’s 11th annual Yalta European Strategy — in Kyiv.
Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner can be reached at [email protected].
