Yulia Marushevskaya: we are fighting on two fronts: one inside the country against corruption and the other in the east of the country, against Russia.
In a recent press conference in Ukraine’s port city of Odessa, the 26 year old Ukrainian star of ‘EuroMaidan’ and the city’s port customs chief, Yulia Marushevskaya, shared some information about herself, the port workers of the town and various other aspects of her work.
Born in Kiev, Yulia Marushevskaya became famous after publishing the popular, “I am Ukrainian” video during the Euromaidan movement in Ukraine in November of 2013. In the video, Yulia called out to the world saying, “we are fighting against authoritarian regimes and against corruption. Please help us.”
After the video became famous around the world, Russian media began disseminating propaganda claiming that Yulia was an American spy. After she received a master’s degree from the prestigious Stanford University, she began her PhD in Kiev. During the Maidan movement, the young activist was teaching at the university. She said she had participated in rallies with her students and family.
Two leaders cross paths in Panama and become divided during Maidan
A few months ago, journalistic investigations mentioned hundreds of high-ranking officials which took the world by surprise. In those documents, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev were among those mentioned. So what do those presidents think about Maidan? One of them sees Europe extending its hand to them and offering a way out, while the other sees it as a ‘dirty’ hand.
Ukraine’s Euromaidan movement is remembered every year on the same day in Ukraine as Dignity and Freedom Day and celebrated by the president, Petro Poroshenko who personally attends rallies in honor of the day. Poroshenko has stated that Ukraine has “fulfilled the technical conditions for visa – free travel within the European Union and now [looks] forward to their decision.”
Ilham Aliyev’s views are at odds with those of his Ukranian counterpart. Aliyev speaks strongly and critically about the Maidan movement: “They want to create the same kind of movement in Azerbaijan. They tempt young people, but we consistently expose their dirty deeds. The stability and development of normal life goes on. We have protected our country from calamity; we cut off those dirty hands to protect our country and will ensure the security and development of our people.”
The road to public office from the Maidan movement
Upon his appointment to the governorship of Odessa, Mikhail Saakashvili started to gather young and talented people around him. Of course, he did not ignore the shining star of Maidan, young Yuliya. After the Maidan movement, he trained her at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. After that, he appointed her to Odessa’s government. Marushevskaya accomplished a lot of work in just a few months, which caught the government’s eye. She was appointed head of customs of Odessa, which is Ukraine’s largest sea port. President Poroshenko was present at the appointment ceremony.
Both Saakashvili and Marushevskaya are disliked by the central government. Saakashvili went to war against the corruption of high-ranking officials. Yulia, after taking office, adopted the motto of the Next Generation. Therefore, she didn’t make any friends with senior officials.
Ukraine’s border customs have been open to change, but the situation of Azerbaijan’s customs department and the corruption within the system seem otherwise. Georgian customs can be cleared within several minutes, while Azerbaijani customs are notorious for taking hours. Despite this, Azerbaijan’s customs checkpoints tend to be more porous than those of Georgia when it comes to narcotics shipments. Moreover, journalists and other social activists are routinely stopped at border checkpoints, where they can be remanded into the custody of the police. Attempts to contact the Customs Administration of Azerbaijan regarding these problems was unsuccessful. The press service of the State Customs Committee did not respond to questions posed to them by Meydan TV correspondents, and hung up.
Marushevskaya: we thought that during the Maidan movement, if we made a few changes, everything would work out fine…
The head Ukraine’s largest customs office for close to a year, 26-year-old Julia Marushevskaya determined that the customs office in Odessa, which was the country’s most corrupt, wanted bribes for everything. “If you have a strong will, you can fight against corruption. We thought that during the Maidan movement, if we made changes, everything would be fine. But now I understand that we have to work hard and to go to war against corruption. It’s a hard job. ”
Odessa seaport is the largest port in Ukraine, where
millions are stolen every month
by the local mafia, administrators and politicians. Marushevskaya says, “I wanted to make customs more transparent. We began construction of a new building, which is surrounded by windows. The customs system became electronic. Tankers that can carry tens of thousands of tons can get their documentation within a few hours and in a transparent way. It was hard for us because the central government is living in the past and we want to move forward. This is a war waged between the future and the past.”
Local media outlets and forward-thinking government forces watch in amazement at the innovative changes taking place in Odessa customs. The head of major media outlets around the world document the progress of the 26-year-old customs chief at work in Odessa.
The war with Russia, according to Marushevskaya
After the Maidan movement, there was a shift of power more aligned to the West which worried supporters of Russia in Ukraine. This concern resulted in eastern Ukraine breaking off with Russian separatist militants. In April 2014, a war in Donbass took place between the Ukrainian military and the separatists. Even though Putin has always stated Russia has not taken sides in the conflict, the media openly supports the separatists. Even in his speech, Poroshenko said 2,000 Ukranian servicemen had been killed as a result of Russian aggression. Ukrainians and the separatists are still at war. Now and again skirmishes pop up and occasionally escalate. Yulia says we are fighting two fronts; one inside the country against corruption and the other in the east of the country against Russia.
