Photo: laboratory8
Fighter, defendant, mother
Yulia Tymoshenko (51) is not only since her arrest and the resulting protests one of the most dazzling figures in international politics. Only externally small and petite proves the exceptional politician in her relentless struggle strength and self-confidence.
Entrepreneur, fighter in the Orange Revolution, Prime Minister of Ukraine, opposition leader - Yulia Tymoshenko has an impressive career. But the acting president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, she was always a thorn in the eye. Since August 2011, Yulia Tymoshenko is in prison. It is said to have closed gas contracts with Russia to the detriment of Ukraine; The EU suspects that the detention is exclusively politically motivated. The prison conditions are unreasonable, complains Tymoshenko - everywhere on her body were seen large bruises . She went on a two-week hunger strike in protest despite a backache, until she was examined by German doctors. Yulia Tymoshenko's health is still poor. A German doctor now said that the herniated disc may not be completely cured. The 51-year-old needs a pain therapy, as physiotherapist Anett Reißhauer. Tymoshenko's prison conditions led to pan-European protests, so many politicians, including Angela Merkel, refused to attend the preliminary round matches of the European Championship in Ukraine.
Dmitri Popov (49) and Ilia Milstein (51), two Russian journalists living in Munich, have recorded their impressive life story in the book "Yulia Tymoshenko - The Authorized Biography", which will be published on June 14, in many personal talks with Yulia Tymoshenko.
WUNDERWEIB spoke with Dmitri Popov and learned who is behind the Iron Lady of Ukraine.
Mr. Popov, can you describe Yulia Tymoshenko in three terms?
Dmitri Popov: "Strong, fearless, good actress, and charismatic, though I can name four terms."
And how does she see herself?
"She plays different roles, the braid, her" costumes ", she takes all these roles very seriously and is the director of her own life, depending on the phase of her life, her self-image varies."
How much of the real Yulia Tymoshenko is behind her roles?
"It's masks she puts on, but all these masks come from her own. Yulia Tymoshenko is a mix of all her roles."
Where does Yulia Tymoshenko get the strength to continue fighting despite health problems and massive resistance?
"It is these resistances that give her strength, she is always strongest when she is down, so her imprisonment was not only inhumane, but politically a wrong decision by President Yanukovich - because now Yulia Tymoshenko will fight even harder, stronger than ever. "
What drives her, why does she sacrifice herself so?
"She sees her life as a political mission, she feels she is chosen."
What does this mission look like?
"She is fighting for a new, independent Ukraine and for a better role for women in society, and Yulia Tymoshenko is very personified in the world, and in her eyes Victor Yanukovich is a criminal who has to be stopped."
How is Yulia Tymoshenko to the European Championship?
"She has done a great deal for the EM to be realized in her country, she wants Ukraine to be open, and now she hopes the European Championship will be a stage where the abuses of the country will be visible to the rest of the world They reject a boycott because many countries are being forced by politics to take political positions. "
Yulia Tymoshenko always looks tough, assertive and confident. Does she also have a soft side?
On the one hand, when it comes to her daughter, she is a mother with heart and soul. "Just as President Leonid Kuchma went against her, it became clear: She sent her daughter to boarding school in England at 14 to protect her On the other hand, there are moments when she sits in front of the mirror, all alone, and realizes that time is passing, her greatest asset, her beauty, does not last forever difficult to accept. "
Can she allow this weakness?
"No, never, that would not correspond to her self-image."
They say their biggest asset is their beauty. How so?
"She uses her feminine charm in politics and economics, and in her eyes it is perfectly acceptable that women succeed by other means than men, for example, in talks with Gazprom chief Wjachirew, she wears mini-jackets and high-heeled boots - for millions To supporters in Ukraine, she is a kind of supra-woman - lover, daughter, mother - or, if she wants, 'miracle-wife', she is a seductress, even in politics. "
How would you characterize the relationship between Yulia Tymoshenko and her daughter Yevgeny?
"Yulia Tymoshenko is a great role model for her daughter, but that's what makes it difficult for Yevgenyya to lead a normal life, her mother's marriage and family life failing as she struggles to fight for her mother As she becomes more and more like her, she seems to be just as passionate and strong - that's what Yulia Tymoshenko is certainly proud of. "
The politician grew up in a women's household. How did she shape that?
"It can always be read that Yulia Tymoshenko had boyish and tomboy like traits already in her childhood, she preferred to play football rather than dolls, so whether that comes from assuming the male part at home is something to guess My mother never made much money, Yulia Tymoshenko wanted a better life and when she was 18 she left home and became an adult and self-employed. "
What is Yulia Tymoshenko's biggest wish?
"Right now, she wants to get out of prison and back home, victorious, and of course back to power."
What fascinates you about the "Iron Lady"?
Yulia Tymoshenko never gets tired of going on, never ending, just starting out again, and some things remain unclear to this day, such as her struggles during the bloody Mafie wars of Ukraine in the wild '90s I am sure that we will hear a lot more from Yulia Tymoshenko, and the continuation of our biography will be on the news and reading. "
