Compromise is Not Success

“Sometimes I have the feeling that for Ukrainian politicians, revolution is more important that evolution and compromise is not success,”

These were the words of former Polish president and Aleksander Kwasniewski as he delivered a report on the European Parliament’s envoy to Ukraine.

I smiled wryly when I read those words:  ‘compromise is not success’, because they suggest that, after just 40 days, Mr Kwasniewski has a pretty good understanding of a Ukrainian tradition that took me three years to understand.

Now, I’m not about to steer this blog into the dirty waters of Ukrainian politics, but if you want to spend time in Ukraine,  this non-compromising attitude is something to watch out for.   In business, in politics and in many other areas of society, Ukraine and Ukrainians stick doggedly to black-and-white totalitarian tendencies.   More often than not, opposition and competition are seen as serious threats which should be destroyed.

Even those who should know better, such as the EBA and American Chamber of Commerce, two large ‘Western’ business groups engage in this nonsense as their executive directors scheme, plot and plan victory over each other at the expense of their members.  The Ukrainian press (not unlike the UK’s press)  is almost exclusively used to dictate the views of its Oligarch ownership, and if you ask a Ukrainian speaker about language, you will most probably find the same black and white logic.  I’ve lost count of the number of time that I’ve been told that there should be one nation, one official language and everyone should speak it.

Even the ubiquitous phrase “eta normalno?” (is it normal?) hints at a world-view that sees ‘normal’ behavior as right and, by definition, everything else as abnormal.

The irony is that, on some levels, I find Ukrainians to be the most tolerant people on the planet, with an ability to dismiss even the most serious tragedy by shrugging their shoulders, while at the same time they can be equally intolerant of anyone who is not ‘normal’.  This makes it a tough place to be a minority.

Anyway, I think I’ve made my point and I hope it doesn’t seem like an unfair criticism.  Of course I’ve simplified things ridiculously for the sake of a blog post, but I suspect most readers will understand what I’m getting at.

If you want to listen to a few other national stereotypes, Adam Gopnik (yes that’s really his name), shares his thoughts about the US, France, Canada and the UK here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rlsw7. Skip forward to 1 min 10 seconds to avoid the into.  

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10 Comments

  1. Oleg

    What’s your point? I don’t understand… Compromises will not change the situation in Ukraine.

  2. Oleg

    What’s your point? I don’t understand… Compromises will not change the situation in Ukraine.

  3. baobab67

    What’s your point? I don’t understand. The situation in Ukraine must be changed.

  4. baobab67

    What’s your point? I don’t understand. The situation in Ukraine must be changed.

  5. I disagree. I think that learning to deal with criticism, learning to accept differences of opinion, of character, of needs etc, and of millions of other aspects of life would change Ukraine a lot. Believing that you are right and not listening to other viewpoints (or worse trying to silence/destroy them) does not IMO make Ukraine a stronger place.

  6. I disagree. I think that learning to deal with criticism, learning to accept differences of opinion, of character, of needs etc, and of millions of other aspects of life would change Ukraine a lot. Believing that you are right and not listening to other viewpoints (or worse trying to silence/destroy them) does not IMO make Ukraine a stronger place.

  7. baobab67

    The situation is more complicated than You think… Can You read Russian? http://mnenie-ua.com/stati/revolyutsiya-v-ukraine-neizbezhno

  8. baobab67

    The situation is more complicated than You think… Can You read Russian? http://mnenie-ua.com/stati/revolyutsiya-v-ukraine-neizbezhno

  9. I find myself also an adherent of balck-and-white rhetoric…”Either we get rid of Yanukovych and his gang, or they will get rid of us”, sort of thing. How else would you treat those who steal from the national budget and destroy the moral fiber of your nation by their lies and manipulations?

  10. I find myself also an adherent of balck-and-white rhetoric…”Either we get rid of Yanukovych and his gang, or they will get rid of us”, sort of thing. How else would you treat those who steal from the national budget and destroy the moral fiber of your nation by their lies and manipulations?

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