Tymoshchuk and Rakitsky

A well-known journalist, Mykola Nesenyuk, spoke on the topic of betrayal on his Facebook page using the example of Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.

I don't know why, but I've always distrusted people who have demonstrated a particular zeal in public space at some point. It started at school - those of us who were activists in pioneer and Komsomol organisations tried not to invite them to friendly companies. Although, as I now understand, there were enough "snitches" in those companies even without the leaders of the school pioneers and Komsomol members. It was neither good nor bad - there is just a type of person who tries to be the first to support something that can later benefit them.

So I wasn't too surprised to see a bunch of former heads of communist and Komsomol organisations among the 'national patriots' of the early nineties, raising blue and yellow flags and portraits of Shevchenko with the same zeal as they had raised red flags and portraits of Lenin the year before. No wonder: life has changed - activists have changed! I only knew that I could not trust them. Because a person with principles, with a life position, whatever it may be, cannot turn in the opposite direction in such a short time. Or rather, they can, but this turn will be as insincere and deceptive as the previous one.

Football is a mirror of life, as I never tire of reminding people. Let's remember Tolik Tymoshchuk, who was the first of our footballers to wrap himself in the national flag, draw it almost on his forehead, and even braid blue and yellow ribbons in his braids, and sing "I'm not dead yet..." louder than anyone else.

Now let's think of Yaryk Rakytskyi, who was the complete opposite of Tymoshchuk - he never sang the national anthem and during its public performance kept his hand on his liver instead of his heart. Now we know which of them was sincere to everyone and to himself, and which was a clever opportunist. Because if Rakytsky had behaved like Tymoshchuk, he would not have been himself - a simple boy from a Russian-speaking region who played football well and was not nationally conscious in the sense we were used to at the time.

When singing the national anthem was no longer enough to be conscious, Rakytskyi made his choice in favour of Ukraine, without really advertising it. And Tymoshchuk became a vile traitor, which, as it is now clear, he had always been. Now he has chosen a different flag and is inspired to lie not to us, but to our enemies.

And so we have all now, willingly or unwillingly, divided into Tymoschuks and Rakytskys. Someone is ready to be the first to sing the anthem and run to the "volunteers", as if not knowing that they can go to war. And someone doesn't sing the anthem at all, but makes the right choice when it's time!

Mykola Neseniuk