The squabbling “orange revolution” leaders are failing to push through the longer-term reforms that the economy needs
A COUNTRY in default, engulfed by social protests and political chaos, crumbling to bits. This has been the West’s nightmare image of Ukraine. It was the first country to ask the IMF for a bail-out, its currency was in free fall, its economy is contracting at an annual rate of 9%. Yet the main activity in Kiev today seems to be putting up summer terraces outside cafes, not tents for demonstrators. In front of the main government building, a dozen bored protesters call on Yulia Tymoshenko, the prime minister, to come out “to the people”. Even in the industrial east, where output has fallen by as much as a third, the mood is subdued.
⚠ Тільки зареєстровані користувачі бачать весь контент та не бачать рекламу.