National Bank of Ukraine head Kyrylo Shevchenko has resigned because of health-related issues, according to his Facebook page. We will remember him for bailing out banks belonging to his friends and printing lots of hryvnia.
The story Shevchenko’s path from TERF in Tula to trans-inclusive in Kyiv via Stakhanov by way of Kharkiv sounded impressive at the time, when we all ignored the Finance and Credit Bank horror stories1.
Alas, Operation Y has long been forgotten and we must move on2.
In related news, dozens of Ukrainian economists, sociologists, legal experts, scientologists, etc in mid September cooked up five scenarios for the country’s further development, assuming the country survives fascistic Russia’s genocidal campaign.
Defeating Russia should mean it’s time for Ukraine’s top officials to kill the dragon in themselves, but they’re not thinking about Schwartz’s play34.
Ukraine has a remained a sham democracy, a primitive post-soviet feudal autocracy not underpinned by elections or coordinated work of institutions, but by popular uprisings and war (2000, 2004, 2014, 2022). Absent them, even the illusion of tolerance, much less official competency, would not exist5.
Punchy combinations of frankness and emotional power don’t trump competent governance. In other words, message isn’t as important as reality, minus cuddle parties and pep talks6.
A close reading of Elon’s wacko Twitter feed discloses many further examples of bad thinking that one thinks cannot really be serious, or cannot be serious if Tesla’s stock price is to remain high.
Against which nation was Russia’s attack first directed almost eight years ago? Which country was the first to bomb civilians, and in what capital city? Which belligerent nation was the first to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty? But these details are figleafed in denial. They cannot exactly be omitted from the broader picture, nor can Elon be permitted any profane influence on the outcome of our fight with the dragon.
And finally, maps. Lots more maps.
Ukraine’s Blueticked Banking Racket. Nice positive zero-sum status game (July 16, 2020)
Operation Y. Who torpedoed Ukraine’s previous government (June 25, 2020)
Evgeny Schwartz. Schwartz’s play Дракон is a story about the good knight Lancelot challenging and, despite huge odds, eventually killing the Dragon that has terrorized a town for 400 years — an allegory of Nazism and its ultimate defeat, although it later came to be interpreted as a sign that the Dragon of Stalinism had been destroyed. Mark Zakharov’s Убить Дракона (To Kill the Dragon, 1989) takes it one step further, suggesting the destruction of the whole Soviet system.
They All Will Be Dragons Again. Scene kids return to Kyiv (July 17, 2020)
Eat, Sleep, Fight. Tough rules, clear and quick steps (June 24, 2022)
Masterclass in Messaging. Devotional navels and genitalia (July 28, 2022)