Expert about "caps": Authorities alienated from citizens on ground of faith

Молитвенное стояние верующих УПЦ у стен Верховной Рады. Фото: news.church.ua

On June 16, 2021, political expert of the Ukrainian Institute of Politics Daniil Bogatyrev said on his Facebook page that the words of the President of Ukraine, who contemptuously commented on the prayer standing of the UOC believers near the Verkhovna Rada, speak of the alienation of the powers that be from the citizens of the country on the ground of faith.

“After yesterday's prayer standing of UOC believers under the walls of Parliament, the President contemptuously called them “old women in the caps of the OPZZh”, confusing two different events that took place that day. And even more contemptuously he said "again something is wrong in the Church", suggesting that all problems can be solved by ‘giving money to the elderly’," Bogatyrev wrote.

According to Bogatyrev, the words of the President, as well as some decisions of the authorities, are "links in one chain of the alienation of the power from the citizens of the country".

“It is ideologically alienated from someone. From others – on the ground of faith or atheism. From the third – through the desire to fumble in their wallet over and over again. From the fourth – through the desire to ‘take over’ their land and apartments. In this situation, I don’t know for whom this power can be “their own”. Probably, except for the officials appointed by it, there are no such people left,” resumed Daniil Bogatyrev.

As reported, on June 15, 2021, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, commenting on the prayer standing of the UOC believers, said that under the walls of the Verkhovna Rada "there are old women and children ... in yellow caps of the OPZZh". According to the President, “something is wrong in the Church again. And so by chance everyone became interested in this issue that by chance thousands of old women came in yellow caps of the OPZZh”.

In turn, UOC believers launched a flash mob with an appeal to the President of Ukraine to apologize for his words about the “yellow caps”.

Vladimir Zelensky did not respond to this request in any way, and the Office of President Zelenskyy tried to justify him.

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