REFLECTIONS OF ELECTION OBSERVERS: Lessons learned in Kryvyi Rih (01/30/05)

REFLECTIONS OF ELECTION OBSERVERS

Lessons learned in Kryvyi Rih

by Taras Szmagala Jr.

I was fortunate to be stationed in Kryvyi Rih, a major industrial city in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Watching the voters there, and, more importantly, speaking with many Yanukovych supporters (including his poll-watchers), it struck me that this election was less about Ukrainian vs. Russian (either language or culture) than about economics and demographics.

For instance, I found that most Yanukovych supporters were able to speak with me in Ukrainian (which is an accomplishment, as my Ukrainian is poor and my Russian practically non-existent). They expressed a genuine interest in the fact that we preserved our Ukrainian culture, and that we were interested in Ukraine. I did not find the Yanukovych camp in any way "anti-Ukrainian."

However, I did notice significant demographic differences in the supporters of the candidates. Specifically, I cannot remember meeting one person under 40 who supported Yanukovych (although a few expressed their preference for "none of the above"). This was true even with Russian-speaking younger people. Older voters, however, were much more likely to resist change - perhaps thinking that "the devil you know is better than the devil you don't." Many Yanukovych supporters expressed concern that a Yushchenko administration would let Europeans buy their factories and shut them down. In sum, it seemed that age correlated with candidate selection more than language preference.

Reflecting on the experience, I think the idea that this election was about some sort of a geopolitical "tug-of-war" between Russia and Europe, or between speakers of different languages, is overblown. I suspect instead that the election had more to do with those things that traditionally motivate voters: economic insecurities and the acceptance or reluctance to change.

Taras Szmagala Jr. is a third-generation Ukrainian American from Cleveland. He spent December 24-26 in Kryvii Rih as an observer with the UCCA, as part of a delegation led by Ukrainian American and fellow member of the Ukrainian National Association Peter Teluk.

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