Preamble:
She was once a legendary woman in Ukrainian politics and the Iron Lady in the eyes of the people, but now she has been reduced to a prisoner and has been exposed to intimate videos with her lawyer in prison. Although it is difficult to distinguish the authenticity of this video, it undoubtedly became a turning point for her to fall from the peak.
In the winter of 2011, every household in Ukraine was talking about the same thing — a video of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's affair with her lawyer while in prison. The video, which was repeatedly shown on national television, was questioned for authenticity, but it became a trigger for public discussion about Tymoshenko's character.
For Tymoshenko herself, this is undoubtedly an important turning point from the top of politics to the bottom. So, how authentic is this video, what kind of woman does it reflect, and what kind of end of life will she usher in?
Ukraine's legendary political strongwoman
Tymoshenko, this name was once a legend in the political arena in the minds of the Ukrainian people. Born into a working-class family in Donetsk, she single-handedly created a huge business empire with her business acumen, and was known as the "gas princess of Ukraine".
After the Orange Revolution broke out in 2005, Tymoshenko entered politics and quickly rose to prominence. She served twice as the prime minister of Ukraine during her political career, during which she was decisive and won the support of the people. Even in the 2009 presidential election, she managed to reach the second round of voting, only to lose by a narrow margin.
It can be said that in this post-socialist country of Eastern Europe, Tymoshenko is one of the very few women who can achieve great success in both politics and business. She is affectionately known as the "Iron Lady" by the populace and is the pride of the entire country.
For Tymoshenko, politics is undoubtedly the best stage to show her ambitions and ideals. Growing up in the working class, she knows better than anyone how difficult it is for an ordinary person to gain a foothold in this country. The prolonged economic recession has put the vast number of working people under tremendous pressure to live under pressure. She wants to speak up for the people and fight for more rights and interests for them.
Thus, Tymoshenko pursued a bold policy during her tenure as prime minister. She strengthened the social security system and raised the pension and minimum wage. During her tenure, Ukraine's economy has also improved significantly, and unemployment has fallen, keeping her approval ratings high. The people have pinned their hopes on her, hoping that she can lead this suffering country to prosperity and strength.
Clouds: Gas deal scandal
However, just as Tymoshenko was in the limelight, a gas import scandal that had been going on for years began to accumulate on her, eventually detonating and sending her political career to rock bottom.
As early as the beginning of her tenure as prime minister, Tymoshenko was faced with the problem of a shortage of domestic gas supplies. To ensure domestic demand, she signed a long-term gas import agreement with Gazprom on behalf of the Ukrainian government.
This agreement gives Ukraine ample access to cheap natural gas. But by 2009, the agreement caused an uproar due to changes in prices on the international market and intensified political struggles in Ukraine. Critics argue that Tymoshenko used her position to purchase gas from Russia at a price higher than the market price, causing the country nearly $2 billion in damages.
As a key figure in signing the agreement, Tymoshenko faces tough questions from all sides. It stands to reason that this is just a normal business decision, and the price fluctuations of commodities that involve the national economy and people's livelihood are also reasonable. However, the opposition politicians seized the opportunity to make a big fuss, accusing her of giving and receiving things privately for personal gain.
Despite her repeated pleas, the voice of personal skepticism against her has not diminished. The opposition parties have come out to demand that she pay for the country's losses. More and more people are beginning to wonder if this mythical strong woman of the past is just as corrupt as other politicians.
In the face of the onslaught of public opinion, Tymoshenko felt extremely frustrated and painful. She has done so much for the development of this country, and she has been subjected to such groundless accusations. It was only because the politicians on TV wanted to pull her off the horse that the people would be so easily incited. She began to wonder if her life was really worth dedicating to such a political career.
Prison life: Severe beatings and scandals
After retirement, Tymoshenko did not live quietly. In 2011, she was formally arrested and imprisoned on charges of abuse of power, and sentenced to seven years in prison. The fact that such a once powerful woman became a prisoner undoubtedly shocked the whole country.
While in prison, Tymoshenko claimed to have been brutally beaten by prison guards. To protest the atrocities committed by the prison authorities, she went on a hunger strike for 12 days. However, just as her protest was causing public buzz, a video of the inside of the prison that shocked the nation suddenly came to light in the media.
The content of the video, which is about 3 minutes, is extremely clear: a blonde woman who closely resembles Tymoshenko is making out with a man in a prison cell. This man is none other than Tymoshenko's defense lawyer, Valasenko.
This is undoubtedly a blow to this strong woman. In prison, she was humble and vulnerable. She couldn't believe that she would one day end up in such a field. Spend all day in the company of criminals, and even suffer violence. She used a hunger strike to express her inner resistance, but unexpectedly set herself on fire and caused a bigger scandal.
Seeing the plausible self in the video, Tymoshenko was ashamed. She knew that the prison must have orchestrated this show in order to make her famous. Sure enough, public opinion has been full of voices that make fun of and ridicule her, as if all her political achievements over the years have been characterized as opportunistic.
The slap made her ears buzz. She realized that her life had come to an end and that she would never return to the pinnacle of politics. So she began to reflect that maybe she was not fit to be a politician at all, otherwise how could she end up so miserably.
Storm again: real and fake videos cause an uproar
As soon as the video was broadcast, it caused an uproar across the country. Public opinion is divided into two fiercely opposing factions: on one side are Tymoshenko's supporters, who denounce it as a fabricated fake video; The other side believes that this video is 100% true and proves the true face of Tymoshenko.
In the midst of this public opinion war, a senior official of the prison administration publicly confirmed that the video did indeed come from the internal surveillance of the Kachalovsky Women's Prison. At the same time, defense lawyer Varasenko himself denied the contents of the video and threatened to sue the television station that posted it.
However, more and more people are beginning to question the authenticity of the video itself. Some of the details in the video are clearly different from the facts. For example, the time of the video shows that Tymoshenko was still being held in a detention center in Kyiv at the time; And Kyiv was cloudy at the time, which did not correspond to the sunny scene in the video.
The debate over whether the video is true or false has been going on for a long time and has dominated almost all media headlines. Tymoshenko's supporters came out to defend her, claiming that it was a complete framing by her political opponents. There are also self-media people who stand in the middle and rationally analyze the doubts of the video itself.
And after the video was exposed, Tymoshenko herself no longer had the usual strength and courage. She realized that her reputation was completely ruined, and even if it was finally proved that the video was fake, it would be difficult to save the hearts of the people. She even suspected that this was deliberately done by the core of power, wanting to make it difficult for her to turn over forever.
All these events show that politicians who were once so powerful cannot withstand the ups and downs of fate. The high-spirited prime minister back then is now discredited. This is undoubtedly the turning point of her fall from the peak, and it also makes her see the cruelty of this political world.
After Prison Release: Failures and Falls in Returning to Politics
In 2014, the political turmoil in Ukraine led to an Maidan revolution that overthrew former President Viktor Yanukovych. As a result, Tymoshenko was granted early release. After being released from prison, the political legend did not retire from prison, but returned to the political arena and actively prepared for the next presidential election.
For a long time, polls showed that Tymoshenko remained one of the most likely candidates to win the election. However, time has passed, and the former Iron Lady and princess has lost her former charm. In the 2019 presidential campaign, she was eliminated in the first round of the election and completely lost the possibility of entering the presidential palace.
In 2022, the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out. I thought that Tymoshenko would show the demeanor of the Iron Lady in such a time of crisis, but she released a photo with a gun that was obviously fake, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among the Ukrainian public. At the beginning of 2023, incumbent President Volodymyr Zelensky also removed her from her post as deputy head of the presidential office.
After being released from prison, Tymoshenko was extremely empty and lost in her heart. She realized that she was no longer hot in the political arena. Every campaign, no matter how hard you try, the end result is a failure. The people will never again pin their hopes on her. The feeling of falling from the clouds was overwhelming for her.
The Russia-Ukraine war has given her a chance to rise again. But she still made a fatal political mistake. This is undoubtedly the last lifeline. When she was officially dismissed, she finally announced her retirement from politics. The once dazzling star has fallen into the mortal dust like this.
So far, the reputation of this once glamorous female politician in political circles and the people has fallen to the lowest point. The scandal video is undoubtedly an important turning point in her fall from the top, and it has also become a stain that can never be erased in her life.
Epilogue:
Regarding the legendary woman Tymoshenko, the outside world has almost the opposite evaluation. Her supporters see her as the pride and hope of Ukraine, and one of the few strong women in politics and business in this land. Her opponents see her as an opportunistic and unscrupulous person.
Regardless of whether this scandal video in prison is true or not, it has revealed a corner of the strong woman's heart to some extent. What kind of woman is she when her power and status are gone, and what kind of human weakness will she reveal end her political career?
Perhaps the answer to all this will always be unknown. Together with this legendary woman, they will become a favorite story in Ukrainian politics.
For everyone, Tymoshenko has always been a mystery. She has too many paradoxical qualities in her. arrogant, and at the same time speaking for the people; Strong autocracy, but also ended miserably. What kind of woman is she?
And what is her attitude towards this? In a few interviews, Tymoshenko behaved calmly. She said I didn't care what others slandered, I just trusted my own judgment. All fame and achievements are like clouds and smoke in the past, and the most important thing is the clarity of the heart.
These words make it impossible to guess what she really thinks. Was she just willing to retire from politics? Or was it just a superficial peace? Was something secretly brewing inside her?
In the years that followed, however, Tymoshenko did not make much of a move. Occasionally, political articles are published, or current affairs are commented on, but there is no sharp edge. It seems that she was really crushed by this incident and lost her fighting spirit.
When asked by a reporter in an interview about her plans, the vicissitudes of Tymoshenko said: "I am already old, and I have no capital to do anything." Now I just want to live quietly and let history judge my life. ”
This fluttering sentence is the final answer given by this legendary woman. Her political legends and her romantic affairs will become a piece of history. And the real Tymoshenko, who can see through it? She has always been a fog in this country, illusory and real.