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Image Myths in the 2004 Ukrainian Presidential Campaign

Olena Yatsunska, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Mykolayiv National Shipbuilding University; Kluge Fellow, Library of Congress; and former Regional Exchange Scholar, Kennan Institute

Date & Time

Monday
Nov. 21, 2005
10:00am – 11:00am ET

Overview

At a recent Kennan Institute talk, Olena Yatsunska, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Mykolayiv National Shipbuilding University; Kluge Fellow, Library of Congress; and former Regional Exchange Scholar, Kennan Institute, analyzed the use of different types of myths in candidates' television advertising during Ukraine's 2004 presidential campaign. She argued that image myths are an important part of any political campaign, which are used to influence voters on an emotional level and shape their understanding of the candidates, the issues, and their society as a whole. Yatsunska analyzed the advertisements that were shown by a variety of candidates during their free air time on Ukraine's main state television channel, UT-1. Comparing Ukrainian electoral myths with myths described by American political scientists, she concluded that Ukrainian political strategists adopted many myths directly from U.S. political culture, but some American myths were adapted to fit Ukrainian realities, and some were simply not used in Ukraine.

Yatsunska examined four categories of myths, identified by Nimmo and Combs in American political campaigns: master myths, us and them myths, heroic myths, and pseudo-myths. Master myths are subdivided into foundation, sustaining, and eschatological myths. To demonstrate some of the ways that these myths are used in Ukraine, Yatsunska showed excerpts of political ads from several candidates. Foundation master myths, she argued, featured prominently in the campaign of then-Prime Minister Viktor Yaunkovych, which used televised images to highlight the greatness and nobleness of the Ukrainian state and its people.

Eschatological myths, which project the nation's destiny on the basis of its past and present, were used by many candidates, according to Yatsunska. Current President Viktor Yushchenko's ads focused on the idea that it is Ukraine's destiny to defeat the corrupt clans that controlled the government and take its rightful place in the world. Liberal Democratic Party candidate Ihor Dushin used his ads to show that Ukraine could become a happy and prosperous state through liberalization of the state and the economy. Anatoly Kynakh, of the Party of Industiralists and Entrepreneurs, used his personal success story to project an image of individual hard work leading to prosperity. Finally, Yatsunska noted that eschatological myths idolizing rural life are very popular in Ukraine, as she demonstrated with an ad for Oleksandr Rzhavsky of the United Family Association.

Yatsunska argued that us versus them myths, which set specific social groups apart from others within the nation, were used primarily by "technical candidates," whose campaigns were intended by the government to discredit the opposition. She gave the example of Dmytro Korchysky and the right-wing party Bratstvo. Yatsunska used the campaign ads of Natalia Vitrenko of the Progressive Socialist Party to demonstrate the use of heroic myths. Vitrenko's campaign slogan was "a woman who will save Ukraine," and she portrayed herself as a heroic figure who could right all the wrongs of contemporary Ukraine.

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Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Russia and Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange.  Read more

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