Czarina for a day
Image via Wikipedia
The Obama administration is apparently big on czars (somewhere between 18 and 21) but if they were looking for a real czarina they need look no further than Yulia Tymoshenko, the ballsy, blonde and braided Prime Minister of the Ukraine who last week announced her candidacy for President.
Born in the Ukraine in 1960, Yulia received her PhD in Economics and worked for several years as an engineer/economist. In the late 80’s she laid the groundwork for her personal wealth by opening a video store rental chain. In the 90’s Tymoshenko became General Director of one of the Ukrainian petrol companies and from 1995 to 1997 she was president of a natural gas company that was the largest importer of Russian natural gas into the Ukraine. It was during this time that she made millions, some of it allegedly not quite legally.
Yulia was first elected to the Ukrainian parliament in the mid-90’s and rose to become Deputy Prime Minister of Fuel and Energy. She is rumored to have survived an assassination attempt in 2002 (there is no love lost between her and the Russian government). Tymoshenko became Prime Minister in 2005 and then lost it less than 9 months later. It took her two years to win it back, which she did in December of 2007. She has gone toe to toe with Vladimir Putin, refuses to have Russian named the official second language in her country and is pushing for the Ukraine to enter the EU. Forbes has twice named her one of the most powerful women in the world.
Yulia is married and has one daughter who recently married the lead singer of a Russian heavy metal band. On top of all that, her signature look includes long blonde braids that call to mind Heidi or Red Ring Hood.
How can you not love this woman?
This week Yulia is visiting the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and if you’ve been there you’ll understand why it’s such a perfect backdrop for her. Luxembourg ville as well as the country itself, looks like something out of a Perrault story and Prime Minister Tymoshenko looks like one of its central characters.
But her push to be president is only a fairytale in the U.S.
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I admire Yulia Tymoshenko for many reasons but especially because she is a totally different style of woman than have been portrayed to me of my ancestors from the Ukraine. Win or lose as the next Prime Minister, sometimes running and being in the public eye can bring monumental changes in attitudes. Changes in attitudes lead to changes in behaviour.