Dear President-Elect Trump:
Viktor Yushchenko is a man you ought to get to know.
You’ll remember him as the leader of Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution. He was Ukraine’s first serious opposition candidate to its Russian backed government.
Ukraine’s struggle with Russia did not begin in December 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine. It started November 2004 when Ukrainians rebelled against their government’s rigged election and demanded that Viktor Yushchenko be their president. Poisoned by the Russians prior to the election and politically eviscerated by the Russians during his one term as President, he could tell you a thing or two about Vladimir Putin.
He could also teach you much more.
Ukraine has declared its independence six times from Russia/ Soviet Union. The last time was in 1991. Ukraine disavowed the Soviet Ruble as its currency and had no national currency until 1996 as a way of distancing itself. People did business using government-issued coupons as a replacement for the Ruble. Ukraine suffered from 10,000 percent annual inflation during this time.
Viktor Yushchenko became the Head of the Central Bank of Ukraine in 1993. By 1996, he had introduced a national currency—the Ukrainian Hryvnia–and reduced inflation from 10,000 percent annually to ten percent annually.
In 1999, the Russian backed Ukrainian government appointed Viktor Prime Minister of Ukraine. As Prime Minister, he repaid back pensions of Ukrainian citizens, rebuilt infrastructure, and put Ukraine on a more solid path. He resigned as Prime Minister in 2001 to build an opposition party, opposing the very people who had appointed him.
By 2004, he was such a serious contender that the Russian backed government poisoned him. Miraculously, he survived. People who knew him both before and after described him changed not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. The photo that accompanies today’s letter is a before and after photo of Viktor Yushchenko.
He served as President of Ukraine from January 2005 until February 2010 when Russian backed candidate Viktor Yanukovich replaced him. Part of Yushchenko’s legacy to Ukraine is the example of a sitting president allowing a fair vote and agreeing to leave office peacefully.
When asked about his governance as President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko gave this answer: “As head of the central bank, I introduced a national currency and lowered inflation. As Prime Minister, I rebuilt infrastructure and repaid pensioners. As President, people wanted to know my economic plan, my education plan, my foreign policy, etc. What I have learned is that unless a nation understands who it is spiritually, no policy—foreign or domestic—really matters. All will fail, unless a nation knows itself spiritually.”
The United States of America: Who are we spiritually? We are a collection of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Agnostics, and a whole lot of other things. But who are we spiritually as a nation?
Until Tomorrow,
David O. Leavitt
