Original Article in Ukrainian by Ihor Lutsenko
Ukrainians are terrified with the cold winter during the hot summer days. Russians are artificially igniting the hysteria around the question of the natural gas supplies to Ukraine using quite a dirty means, which are likely to be taken from the arsenal of the soviet propaganda.
It is awkward that Ukraine has no inspired personalities, able to undertake the Northern challenge. The melody of apocalypses (“there is no gas, the gas was stolen”) which Russia is now broadcasting to the outer world and primarily to Ukraine through the loudspeakers of its media can be tuned up and altered using Ukrainian leitmotif. Unfortunately, nobody cares.
The humiliating fact is that one of the most influential Ukrainian corporations — Naftohaz Ukraiyiny looks like a whipping boy and looses the score to Russian Gazprom in the informational duel.
Naftohaz is behaving too passively and is unable to restore the media equilibrium to a degree, that would correspond to his real positions from the financial and business standpoint.
In our age the information is much more important, than the gas itself and victories and successes come from the ideas and views and not from tubes and vents. The mission of Naftohaz is the protection of the national interests of Ukraine, including the prevention of the outside informational expansions. The management of Ukrainian corporation should always bear this in mind.
From the point of view of PR the natural gas is an ideal substance for manipulations. Transparent, invisible and evaporative it can always be an object of the speculations. In other words — you can state that there is no natural gas even if it is actually present. No one would see.
Russian propaganda craftsmen are very gifted, creating one myth after another. Their Ukrainian colleagues (if they actually exist) are passive and do not hesitate to make any refutations to neutralize the ‘creative production’ of our Northern neighbors.
Russians are deploying their offensive in the several directions:
The first direction is so called ‘stolen gas’ or the issue of 7,8 billions of cubic meters of Russian natural gas, that had allegedly disappeared while being transferred through the Ukrainian territory.
That of course is incorrect. However, the specifics of the gas transit system does not allow refuting this fact easily. Should Ukrainians have dealt with the issue in a more professional manner, the myth would be damaging to Gazprom itself.
First of all, if the gas was stolen — that should have happened before 2005, when other people were governing Ukraine. And let us remind the reader, that Gazprom was supporting these people.
Therefore, the question shall be posed to the great friends of Russia like Kuchma, Yanukhovich and Boiko (former chief of Naftohaz). And there are all reasons to suspect, that like any other transaction in the sphere of fuel and energy the ‘steeling’ of the Russian gas resulted into the personal benefit of the top Russian and Ukrainian government officials.
Secondly, it seems that Russians are confusing their ‘testimonies’. From the very beginning they claimed that Ukraine had stolen nearly 8 billion cubic meters of gas, then Russian delegation have ‘found’ it. Next day Putin reversed and stated that there is no gas and that the previous statement had appeared because the gas is present according to the official documents only.
Thirdly, the system of gas transit from Russia to Europe is difficult process. It can not always follow the pre-established schedule. However, the tinniest failure of the schedule can be interpreted as an attempt to steal the gas.
However, few know about the fact, that the Russian transit system which is used for the transit of Ukrainian gas from Turkmenistan is functioning worse than ours. After all — Ukrainian gas transit system is one of the key national treasures, that is why it is maintained better then Russian transit systems. The same applies to the legal ‘purity’ of the Russian transit schemes.
That is why there were instances in the age of Kuchma, when Russians simply stole the natural gas, which Ukraine had bought in Turkmenistan. However, these instances were not discussed due to the reasons that are easy to understand.
The conclusion follows. We could have countered the myth of ‘Ukrainian thieves’ but nothing was done in the practice.
The gas price increase. Russians have used this insistent idea during several weeks as the overture to the ‘steeling issue’. It is unlikely, that Gazprom would increase the price. However, this myth can be used to demand the maximum price for the gas, that was allegedly stolen. Should we count on the previous arguments, that the gas was not actually stolen, this fact can be explained as another attempt to overvalue it.
Now, the whole combination appears. Gazprom stated, that a share of the gas, that was supplied to Ukraine was not sold but stolen. Then Russian corporation started requiring the tripled price.
Such headstrong methods are called ‘Russian zatochka’ in the business environment. ‘Zatochka’ is a self-made sharp instrument that prisoners use to kill their enemies.
The most interesting fact is that if Ukraine would offer Gazprom to transfer 8 billions of cubic meters of the natural gas back to Russia, the corporation would have to refuse — Russians simply have no place to store this gas.
Should Naftohaz did that, it would inevitably appear, that the steeling saga is a mere ideological tango, a Northern neighbor of Ukraine continues to dance in order to conceal its increasing geopolitical loneliness.
A ‘conflict’ between Turkmenistan and Ukraine. Should you listen to Russian media, turkmenbashi had given a four penny to our delegation, accusing Ukrainians in all of the human sins.
The opposite had actually happened — Oleksiy Ivchenko negotiated the transparent scheme of gas supplies from Turkmenistan and agreed to sign the long-term agreement on the gas purchase in this country within the volumes, that theoretically allow Ukraine to be fully independent from Russian supplies.
The success of the negotiations can be merited by the fact, that Russians had closed their midair to Ivchenko’s plane. The last fact can be regarded as a display of powerlessness. However, Ukrainian media had got the Russian canard and the nation was informed worngly. Once again Naftohaz had missed the boat and failed to refute the incorrect information in time.
The general conclusion follows. Naftohaz is not ready to be engaged in the information wars against the gang of former KGB chiefs, who had now become the captains of one of world’s strongest energy companies.
The speed of the reaction, the precision of the messages, the creativity and the inspiration in producing the asymmetric informational lunges are absent as well.
Gazprom and its Kremlin bosses are unable to rival Ukraine with the assistance of shortened expenditures, optimal investment policy, etc. That is why they are forcing Ukraine to the playground, that is well familiar to any KGB officer — the realm of ideology and propaganda.
I hope that my compatriots understand well: energy always goes paired with politics. It is not a bone-dry and apolitical business. It is a battlefield, where the nation’s interests and dignity shall be protected not only by the deeds but by the words too.
