The Fork in the Road

[Nentsia]

This is Channel1 Live with an exclusive interview with our President Aliaksei Vynnychuk....

Ksenia turned up the volume in her office at Sosnitskaya Street, not far from the Presidential palace. The demonstrators had been occupying the central squares in the country for three days now. They refused to leave, knowing that the authorities would never allow them to come back the next day for a new demonstration. So demonstrations had become a sit-in. In an attempt to create division among the moderate participants in the demonstrations, Vynnychuk had arranged an interview with the major tv channels in which he would announce a number of reforms. The media appearance was a surprise even to Ksenia however, and she had no idea what to expect.

What Vynnychuk did not know however, was that it was already too late to begin a charm offensive. The demonstrators in the squares believed not a word of what he said, especially not after sending military aircraft over their heads. The military aircraft had sent a powerful message to the demonstrators indeed: they saw it as a confirmation of the illegitimacy of the regime.

During the interview, Vynnychuk was at his most vulnerable. Although he managed to obscure his poor health, he still lacked energy. To the average viewer, he probably seemed completely out of touch with reality, rambling about how much he had done for working-class Nentsians and how he had brought stability and prosperity. Ksenia also noticed it wasn't a good interview, not because she could see how much her father had lost connection to reality - she hadn't got a better connection herself - but she saw a man who was simply tired. His answers were not to the point. He even seemed confused at some point. Vynnychuk assured the nation in the interview that the elections should indeed be more open and fairer, and that he intended to have better monitoring and international observations to ensure their integrity. He also promised harsher anti-corruption laws and independent investigative committees to prosecute corruption.

During the interview, Ksenia received a phonecall from the UGB director Piotr Hrycuk. He requested a brief meeting with her. Ksenia told him to come to her office. An hour later, he had arrived and was sitting before her desk. The conversation was top secret, so everyone else was dismissed from the office. ''Mrs Vynnychuk... I have a lot of respect for you. Everyone has. But the current crisis is threatening the very foundations of the State. You hold the key to solving it. If you would... take a step back from politics, it would shatter the resistance movement. Their hatred of you, however misguided, is what unites them.''

Ksenia listened to the words of Piotr Hrycuk without moving a muscle in her face. In her eyes, she was talking to a traitor. ''If I must resign in order to appease a bunch of extremists camping in a square, then I'd be a poor leader. Imagine if my father would've had the same attitude. And you call yourself the director of the UGB, which is supposed to uphold order and security. You are a coward and weak. You are dismissed, and I assure you that you will be the first man to leave when I'm in charge.''

After that meeting, Ksenia picked up the phone to call her father. She congratulated him with the terrific interview. ''True patriots will recognize your good intentions for the country, and reconcile with you. Only the fundamental enemies of the state will now persist in their unlawful actions.''

After lavishing her father with compliments, she began to discuss with him the ''functioning'' of the UGB chief, Piotr Hrycuk. He should've seen this crisis coming, and he should've stopped the ring-leaders. He failed, and ought to be dismissed. ''I know a good man at the UGB, Ihar Kumieha. He is reliable. He could succeed Hrycuk immediately.'' It was surprisingly easy for Ksenia to convince her father to dismiss the security chief who had watched his back for decades. The president realized that by dismissing Hrycuk, he might even use it as PR to really show his intention to the opposition that he was going to reform the system.

That night, as the crowds in the squares grew again, the presidency made the announcement that UGB chief Piotr Hrycuk had been dismissed and placed under arrest under suspicions of corruption and abuse of power. He had been replaced by Ihar Kumieha.