Final Word from Wednesday, August 3, 2005
The Russian media are having great fun with the tale of 19-year-old Andriy Yushchenko, son of the Ukrainian president whom Moscow never wanted elected. The young Yushchenko has been speeding around in a Czech-plated BMW M6, which sells for a minimum of E133,000 in Kiev. He also carries a Vertu phone and leaves $300 tips after buying champagne for $1,000 a bottle. The official story is that he made $100m on the sale of Orange Revolution memorabilia. No matter how you look at it, the story raises doubts about whether the Orange Revolution was truly a new beginning for Ukraine. Václav Klaus said he had never visited the country until this year because he didn't want to give legitimacy to its structures. Yet while in Kiev in June, he promised the elder Yushchenko help in joining the EU. It seems that Klaus, like Brussels and Washington, fell for the orange propaganda.[Czech Republic Russia President Viktor European Union]