CANDIDATE PROFILE: Oleh Kubakh of the Ukrainian National Assembly (03/29/98)

CANDIDATE PROFILE: Oleh Kubakh of the Ukrainian National Assembly

by Yarema A. Bachynsky
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Thirty-three-year-old Oleh Kubakh of the Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) states openly that his party has no illusions about taking a large number of seats in the next Ukrainian Parliament. But that's not stopping him from running in both a Kyiv district and as a candidate of the UNA's 42-person party list for the Verkhovna Rada.

"I was directed by the leadership of the organization to run in a single-mandate district, as well as to included in our party list," the philologist-turned-journalist-turned politico said dryly, when asked what drove him to seek a parliamentary seat. Mr. Kubakh was elected to the Kyiv City Council in 1994 and is now trying his hand in Ukraine's political major league. "Unlike those many candidates running because they want political cover for their personal economic or financial activities, I do not have such interests to protect, and neither do any of our candidates. Our interest is in seeing elementary political, economic and societal order restored in this country, in ensuring that Ukraine takes an appropriate place under the sun."

Mr. Kubakh's campaign is directed towards breaking through what he describes as an "abominable wall of apathy" on the part of citizens, which prevents their voices from being heard and represented in Parliament. "The Communists and other leftists play on pensioners' and others' nostalgia for bygone Soviet days, the national-democratic forces have lost their connection to the people who put them in office, while the center cleaves to the party of power, but none of the above advocate the assumption of personal responsibility by citizens for their future, for their tomorrow," he stated. "In my campaign appearances I continually stress to potential voters that without their active participation in elections and informed political choices, Ukraine will continue to drift in the economic and political muck in which it is presently."

Political observers say the average single-mandate Verkhovna Rada seat will cost $100,000 but Mr. Kubakh is not in the least concerned about financing, which is not within striking distance of the named figure. "I do not have the kind of sponsors or personal finances that some other political heavy-hitters, such as Hryhoriy Surkis of the Social Democratic Party - United, or for that matter, Viacheslav Chornovil and Rukh have. And there is absolutely no chance of my obtaining such sponsorship, because neither I nor the UNA are interested in becoming beholden to personal or business wealth which could then control our actions in Parliament."

Mr. Kubakh's election program consists of three essential points - order, solidarity and economic well-being. "Our party has stood for order, solidarity and well-being since its inception in August 1991. We have never wavered from his stand, whether it was in opposing attempts at 'reforming' Ukraine's armed forces out of existence [in reference to the controversy surrounding former Defense Minster Valerii Shmarov's tenure in office], or protecting the Ukrainian population of the 'Transdniester Republic' [Ukrainian National Assembly - Ukrainian National Self-Defense Organization paramilitaries deployed to this area of northeastern Moldova in 1991-1992 after former President Leonid Kravchuk refused requests by Transdniester leader Igor Smirnov that Ukraine play an active role in settling tensions between Moldovans, Ukrainians and Russians in that region], or protecting small business and entrepreneurs from crushing taxation reaching 80 percent."

When asked to identify the strongest political parties in Ukraine, Mr. Kubakh rated the Communist Party of Ukraine first due to its stable electorate of "mostly older people, those of post-pension age." He added, "The Communists have strength in numbers, but they are absolutely bereft of ideas, which sharply limits their appeal among persons age 40 and younger, although today's unemployment and wage crisis will bolster their support among those blue-collar workers accustomed to stability and the 'caring hand' of the Soviet system." For similar reasons, the Socialist-Peasant party bloc also is a serious player in Ukraine today, according to Mr. Kubakh. Centrist parties such as the Social Democratic Party - United (SDP-U), National Democratic Party (NDP), Green Party and Hromada, also have a considerable electorate and will do well in the elections, although Hromada's support is limited, said Mr. Kubakh, by the ongoing political war of "kompromat" between President Leonid Kuchma and former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko. Among national democrats, Rukh continues to lead, although it has recently lost support to the center.

When asked what he would do if he is not elected to Parliament, the former editor of the now disbanded UNA newspaper Ukrayinski Obriyi (Ukrainian Horizons) was philosophical. "I will continue, together with my party, to work at getting ordinary Ukrainians to take responsibility for themselves and their children's future. Our work does not depend, in the first instance, on being elected to Parliament - although being represented makes the job considerably simpler. We are a catalyst, first and foremost, pushing and pulling people to take their today and their tomorrow into their own hands."