The ZN drew up tentative estimates of the promises given by the major candidates in the Ukrainian parliamentary race.

The recent Ukraine-EU summit did not bring any surprises.

It has become a tradition for Ukrainian politicians to make loud statements about strengthening the country’s defense and security capabilities before every election. 

Justice has to be won. Sixty years ago this simple truth was discovered by Maria Eva Duarte de Peron. It became the slogan of her husband general’s party named “Justicialist”. Yulia Tymoshenko made struggle against injustice her political trademark.

Many were surprised and amazed at President Yushchenko’s unusual and unexpected resolution upholding his right to dissolve the parliament.

Yuliya Tymoshenko: "This year Ukrainian politics is so unpredictable that I would like to give an overview of the results of the outgoing period earlier than at the end of the year because current events might be forgotten and loose their importance by winter."

DMITRY VYDRIN

Yuliya Tymoshenko managed to personify Lesya Ukrainka as well as Evita Peron. So, she deserved her victory. She created a failsafe image that could only be outmatched, but everybody failed to do it.

IGOR POPOV

On the eve of the elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, balance of political forces is about the same as it was when the campaign started. This makes it possible to say that the majority may be formed by the two groups of political forces.

VITALY BALA

The returns of forthcoming parliamentary election in Ukraine will surprise its participants. Firstly, it concerns the Party of Regions. Any efforts to mobilize the voters by accusing the rivals were inefficient. This tactic proved to be counterproductive.

VITALY BALA

On September 4, the Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Party of Regions and the Communist Party of Ukraine took part in the special session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, called by Speaker and leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, Oleksandr Moroz.

VADIM KARASYOV

The election campaign has begun in Ukraine not only with President Viktor Yushchenko’s fourth decree on dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada. A series of party conventions has recently taken place in Ukraine.

The queen of Ukrainian politics, opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, was the unofficial victor in Ukraine’s snap elections on Sunday, with exit polls indicating she will head the next government. But Tymoshenko’s ascension to power will be anything but a sexy saunter, as her enemies are unlikely to allow themselves to be sidelined by a pretty populist.

There was a time when educated Ukrainians didn't read the latest bestseller translated from English, or Dostoyevsky (pardon - Taras Shevchenko). During the middle ages, the literate were versed in what are called the Lives of Saints. The typical plot of these religious works is the struggle of a God-fearing Christian against heathens, nature or sinners. Times and tastes have changed, of course.

When EU leaders visited Kyiv on September 14 for the annual Ukraine-EU Summit, they didn't say a lot that was new. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, their host, also stuck to his usual, pro-Western rhetoric. Nevertheless, taking place just two weeks before Ukraine's fateful, early parliamentary elections, the summit served as a nice sounding board.

If Ukraine wants to maintain its dynamic economic growth, it's going to have to cut red tape and bring down barriers to competition, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD). The report marks the first-ever assessment of Ukraine by the OECD, a largely Western organization dedicated to free markets and representative democracy.

The hottest topic in Ukrainian politics these days is whether lawmakers should lose their perks. With early elections scheduled for September 30, parliamentary hopefuls need the issue to motivate an otherwise fed up electorate. The tricky part, though, is that all the major blocs are promising the country the same thing - to strip themselves and their colleagues of long-held immunity from prosecution.

Ukraine recently marked 16 years of independence, on August 24^th. In less than a month, on September 30^th, Ukrainians will vote for a new parliament in early elections. One might be tempted to think that a sense of national purpose is foremost in the minds of many Ukrainians and their leaders, but that would mean taking the country too seriously.