Public image of Yulia Tymoshenko

Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's first female prime minister, who spent two terms on that post in 2005 and 2007–2010, is known as a voluble public performer, whose fiery rhetoric has made her an icon of the country's politics.[1][2] During the Orange Revolution, some Western media publications compared her with Joan of Arc.[3] According to Tamara Hundorova, Tymoshenko's owes much of her success to her gender image, which broke the previously accepted convention in Ukrainian politics by underlining her specifically feminine qualities as opposed to the male-dominated political establishment.[4]

Public persona

Visual appearance

Tymoshenko wearing her trademark hairstyle at the 2011 European People's Party summit

Tymoshenko's notorious braid, which, according to one of her political consultants, had been inspired by the hairstyle of Ukrainian poetess Lesya Ukrainka, gave her the looks of a "simple village teacher" close to the common folk,[5] and her use of white colour and a pointedly feminine silhouette brought associations with popular figures such as Barbie, Snow White and Madonna, hinting at her supposed purity. Tymoshenko herself has repeatedly underlined her authenticity as a woman and claimed to refrain the from use of nail extensions, wigs and makeup in favour of natural looks. According to Korrespondent.net, "probably no supermodel or Hollywood actress has yet learned to produce such a great furore by changing her hairstyle like Ukraine's prime minister".[4]

In what can be seen as sexualization of politics, Tymoshenko resorted to appearing in photoshoots, posing for Elle magazine, and in June 2005 the Polish edition of Playboy named her "person of the month" and published her photo with the trademark braid. Gender scholar Oksana Kis described Tymoshenko's strategy as "imitation of femininity" with the aim of achieving success in the field of politics, which had traditionally been unaccessible to women. This can be seen as part of emancipationist trends in post-Soviet Ukraine, where women have achieved more prominence in business, politics and science, and traditional gender characteristics eroded. In these circumstances Tymoshenko's image served to normalize the participation of women in Ukrainian politics.[4] In some newspapers and television programs, Tymoshenko has been referred to as Lady Yu (Ukrainian: Ледi Ю, Russian: Леди Ю).[6]

Allegations of criminal ties and corruption

Tymoshenko's critics have suggested that, as an oligarch, she gained her fortune improperly. Her former business partner, former Ukrainian prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko, was convicted in the United States on charges of money laundering, corruption and fraud, the magnitude of which was in the billions of dollars.[7] However, on 7 May 2004, Judge Martin Jenkins of the US District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed the allegations of Tymoshenko's involvement in Lazarenko's murky business.[8] Her transition from oligarch to reformer was believed by many voters to be both genuine and effective.[9][10][11] Discrepancies between her declared income and her luxurious designer outfits, have been pointed out in the Ukrainian tabloids.[12][13][14]

Language question

When Tymoshenko joined the Yushchenko government, she did not speak Ukrainian.[15] According to fellow Ukrainian politician Borys Tarasyuk, in 2002 Tymoshenko "only spoke Russian even when I spoke to her in Ukrainian", but since then she has made the transition to speaking only Ukrainian.[15][16][17]

Opinions of fellow politicians

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has stated (in November 2009) he found it comfortable to work with his (then) Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko and also praised her for strengthening Ukrainian sovereignty and building stable ties with Moscow[18] and called the second Tymoshenko Government "efficient and a force for stability".[19] It has been suggested by Reuters that the Russian government, after seeing her opposition to Viktor Yushchenko, supported her since late 2008, although Putin denied it.[20]

Former ally and President of Ukraine Yushchenko stated in November 2009, "I am sure that every week spent by Yulia Tymoshenko in the post of prime minister leads the country to a catastrophe. Because of Yulia Tymoshenko, it is a crisis, a crisis in everything".[21] Yushchenko has repeatedly accused his former ally turned rival Tymoshenko of acting in the interests of Russia, although she firmly denied the allegations.[2] On 31 May 2010, Yushchenko stated that Tymoshenko was his "worst mistake", "The most serious mistake was to give the power to her twice".[22] Expert in Ukrainian politics Dr. Taras Kuzio believes that he has always prioritized personal revenge against Tymoshenko over Ukraine's national interests.[23] In her turn, Tymoshenko has blamed President Viktor Yushchenko for obstructing the government-proposed anti-crisis measures and efforts to form a broad coalition to battle the crisis. "The president is using flashy words today to deprive the nation, first of all its government, of the opportunity to counter the crisis, and to leave the nation without a government it logically needs" she said. "Viktor Yushchenko has no right to any criticism. He is the incumbent president. He only has the right to work and to serve Ukraine. He will have the right to criticize when he joins the opposition. Now he must work and answer for his moves".[24]

Former Ukrainian Minister of Finance of Ukraine Viktor Pynzenyk has called Tymoshenko's decisions "normally guided by 'adventurous populism'", which she saw as a tool to "consolidate power in her own hands" and believed Tymoshenko should have "taken advantage of the opportunity presented by the 2008–2009 Ukrainian financial crisis to reform".[25]

Party of Regions Deputy Head Borys Kolesnykov stated on 11 February 2010, "Tymoshenko was the most effective politician during the entire period of Ukraine's recent history".[26] Former European High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana has called Tymoshenko "a patriot regardless of the position in which you have found yourself".[27] Yanukovych stated about Tymoshenko on 13 May 2010, "She likes to create a sensation. We have grown used to this extravagant woman".[28]

Public opinion

A supporter of Tymoshenko at the Euromaidan protests in 2013

Polls

During her second stint as prime-minister her ratings in opinion polls fell. In early 2008, in opinion polls for the 2009 Ukrainian presidential election, she stood at 30% but by late April 2009 that had shrunk to 15%[29] According to a poll carried out between 29 January and 5 February 2009 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, just over 43% of the Ukrainian voters believed Tymoshenko should leave her post, whereas just over 45% believed she should stay.[30] According to an opinion poll carried out between 3 and 12 February 2009 by the "Sofia" Center for Social Studies, some 59.1% of those polled believed that the activities of (then) Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko were aimed at the defense of her own interests and that of her entourage, some 4.2% said her activities were aimed at the defense of interests of foreign states, and some 23.9% believed that Tymoshenko worked for the sake of national interests. 77.7% of the respondents were unsatisfied with the economic policy of the second Tymoshenko Government. Some 71.8% believed that this government was not able to lead the Ukrainian economy out of the 2008–2009 Ukrainian financial crisis or even change the situation in Ukraine to better; 18.1% of respondents did think that the government could do that.[31][32] Despite the neck-to-neck 2010 presidential race, many experts believed that Tymoshenko would win the vote due to her ability to "hike her popularity just before the voting day". JP Morgan Securities Inc. experts said that Tymoshenko's victory in presidential election would "bring stability in 2010, with budget consolidation, better terms of crediting and higher influx of capital. As a result, the economy will have better prospects of growing in the second half of 2010 and 2011".[33]

Rankings

International

Tymoshenko has been ranked three times by Forbes magazine among the most powerful women in the world. During her first term in 2005, she was ranked third (behind Condoleezza Rice and Wu Yi),[34] in 2008 she was number 17[35] and in 2009 at number 47.[36]

Domestic

In 2004, Korrespondent magazine named Yulia Tymoshenko "Revolutionary of the Year".[37]

In 2006 Korrespondent magazine ranked Tymoshenko as its 2005 "Personality of the Year", naming her in the TOP 100 most influential politicians of Ukraine, 2nd place (Women with nimbus), Person of the year.[38]

2007 Yulia Tymoshenko, Focus magazine, the most influential women of Ukraine, 1st place. Yulia Tymoshenko, Korrespondent magazine, TOP 100 the most influential politics of Ukraine, 4th place (Woman-brand), Person of the year. Yulia Tymoshenko, Focus magazine, 200 the most influential Ukrainians, 2nd place.

2009 Yulia Tymoshenko, Korrespondent magazine, TOP 100 the most influential Ukrainians, 1st place (Dream women). Yulia Tymoshenko, Focus magazine, the most influential women of Ukraine, 1st place. Yulia Tymoshenko, Focus magazine, TOP 200 the most influential politicians of Ukraine, 1st place.

According to the Ukrainian magazine Focus, Tymoshenko placed first in an annual ranking of the most influential women in Ukraine in 2006–2010 (five years).[39][40]

Between 2007 and 2013 in Ukraine, Tymoshenko was the most popular politician on the Internet,[41] in blogs[42][43] and social networks.[44] As of 2010, Yulia Tymoshenko was the most popular foreign politician in the Russian media.[45]

In 2012 the national rating (28 December 2012) by the Razumkov Center and the "Foundation for Democratic Initiatives" recognised Yulia Tymoshenko as the best prime minister of Ukraine – 19.5%, compared with Viktor Yanukovych – 11.4%, Mykola Azarov – 8.6%, Leonid Kuchma – 5.6%, Viktor Yushchenko – 3.9%, Pavlo Lazarenko – 2.2%.[46]

According to the sociological group "Rating" Yulia Tymoshenko was ranked as third most trusted politician in early April 2021, behind President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then-Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov.[47]

Since 2022, Tymoshenko's trust ratings have declined sharply. In May 2025, a KIIS poll showed Tymoshenko had the second-highest net distrust rating (14% trust, 80% distrust) among Ukrainian politician, second to Oleksii Arestovych.[48] A July 2025 survey by "Rating" ranked her as public figure with the highest net distrust (14% trust, 83% distrust).[49]

Documentaries

  • 2009 — Julia by the American film studio Coppola Productions.[50]
  • 2011 — documentary (25 minutes) shown to delegates to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, 8 October 2011.[51]

Plays

Publications

  • On 4 October 2014 in Milan, Italy, Yulia Tymoshenko's daughter Eugenia Tymoshenko presented the book "Ukraine, Gas and Handcuffs: The Trial of Yulia Tymoshenko" (Italian: «Ucraina, gas e manette: il processo a Yulia Tymoshenko»[56]). The title, "Ukraine, Gas and Handcuffs: The Trial of Yulia Tymoshenko", demonstrates a clear understanding that energy is the key source of Ukraine's dependence. The author, Matteo Cazzulani, draws a clear parallel between Ukraine and the fate of Yulia Tymoshenko, denied her freedom because of her fight against corruption, the oligarchy and the dependence of the Ukrainian energy-sector on Russian energy.[57][58][59]

References

  1. ↑ Ukraine's Yanukovich shuns TV face-off with rival, Kyiv Post (1 February 2010)
  2. 1 2 BBC News profile
  3. ↑ Westcott, Kathryn (4 October 2007). "The queen of Ukraine's image machine". BBC. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022. "Orange princess", "Gas Princess", "Goddess of the Revolution", the "Princess Leia of Ukrainian politics", "a Slavic Joan of Arc" – her nicknames over the years have acquired mythological proportions.
  4. 1 2 3 Тамара Гундорова (20 January 2026). "Епоха Тимошенко і фемінізація української політики".
  5. ↑ "Від "газової принцеси" до "сільської вчительки". Соціальний психолог Олег Покальчук про образ Тимошенко й нинішню справу". Hromadske. 20 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "Images of Леди Ю". Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    "of Ледi Ю (less extent)". 3 October 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    "Images of Lady Yu (lesser extent)". 19 January 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    "Ukrainian News Portal". Mukachevo.net. 19 June 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    (in Ukrainian) Family and Home Archived 28 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
    "Мужчины Леди Ю". From-ua.com. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    "Тайна богатства Леди Ю". Vlasti.net. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    "Тимошенко: прошлое и будущее Леди Ю". Obozrevatel.com. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    "Comedy club ua – Леди Ю. ( или казнь Миледи ) (video)". Video.bigmir.net. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    "Четыре дела Леди Ю". Donbass.ua. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    Top-POP. "Прощальное фото правительства Леди Ю". Kp.ua. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
    (in Ukrainian) Історія об'єднання "Нашої України" та БЮТ [репортаж, відео], 5 Kanal (12 December 2010)
  7. ↑ "Former Ukraine PM is jailed in US". BBC News. 25 August 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2006.
  8. ↑ Kupchinsky, Roman (10 May 2004). "Many Charges Dropped Against Ukraine's Ex-Premier". Rferl.org. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Kuzio, Taras (2013). "4". Democratic Revolution in Ukraine: From Kuchmagate to Orange Revolution. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-99647-7.
  10. ↑ Slivka, Andrey (1 January 2006). "Bitter Orange". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  11. ↑ Levy, Clifford J. (7 October 2007). "'The braid' is crowning glory for the Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "While leading lavish lifestyles, politicians declare almost pauper-like incomes, assets". Kyiv Post. 17 June 2010. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010.
  13. ↑ (in Ukrainian) Тимошенко і "Віттон" – Люксембурзький "мове тон", Tablo ID (17 June 2009)
  14. ↑ (in Ukrainian) Юлія Тимошенко і Катерина Ющенко вдарили по Chanel, Tablo ID (19 November 2008)
  15. 1 2 "Tea with the Financial Times: Yulia Tymoshenko". www.unian.info. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  16. ↑ Bilaniuk, Laada (2005). Contested Tongues: Language Politics and Cultural Correction in Ukraine. Cornell University Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN 0-8014-7279-2. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  17. ↑ "Orange Leaders Face Shutout in Ukraine Election". ABC News. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "Russia's Putin says comfortable with Ukraine's Tymoshenko". Kyiv Post. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011.
  19. ↑ "Putin gives Ukraine a break on gas deal". Kyiv Post. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009.
  20. ↑ Ukraine's election: portraits of main players, Kyiv Post (1 January 2010)
  21. ↑ "Tymoshenko's activity at post of Prime Minister is reason of crises in Ukraine – Yushchenko". UNIAN. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  22. ↑ Yushchenko told about his 'worst mistake', Kyiv Post (31 May 2010)
  23. ↑ "Yushchenko's hand in the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko". Kyiv Post. 17 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011.
  24. ↑ "Tymoshenko blames Yushchenko for obstructing government's fight against crisis". Kyivpost.com. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  25. ↑ "Pynzenyk, ex-finance minister, calls Tymoshenko "destructive force"". Kyiv Post. 3 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010.
  26. ↑ "Regions Party calls Tymoshenko most effective opposition figure in Ukraine". Kyiv Post. 11 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010.
  27. ↑ "Solana happy with Tymoshenko's constructive mood in opposition". Kyiv Post. 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.
  28. ↑ "Yanukovych says will not intervene over Tymoshenko". Kyiv Post. 13 May 2010. Archived from the original on 15 May 2010.
  29. ↑ See 2010 Ukrainian presidential election#Opinion polls for references and more information
  30. ↑ "Poll says Ukraine's president should step down now". UNIAN/RIA Novosti. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  31. ↑ "Majority of Ukrainians believe Tymoshenko defends her own interests". UNIAN. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  32. ↑ "Ukrainians have lost confidence in government's handling of crisis, says poll". Interfax-Ukraine. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  33. ↑ "What's in store for Ukraine if Tymoshenko wins presidential election". Zik.ua. 31 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  34. ↑ MacDonald, Elizabeth; Schoenberger, Chana R. (28 July 2005). "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
  35. ↑ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. 27 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  36. ↑ "The 100 Most Powerful Women – No.47 Yulia Tymoshenko". Forbes. 20 August 2009.
  37. ↑ "KORRESPONDENT MAGAZINE NAMES PERSONALITIES OF 2004". www.ukrinform.net. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  38. ↑ "Korrespondent magazine names Tymoshenko Personality of the Year – Jan. 19, 2006". KyivPost. 18 January 2006.
  39. ↑ ТОП-100 найвпливовіших жінок: родички Кучми та Ющенка і "невмируща" Тимошенко [Top 100 most influential women: relatives of Kuchma and Yushchenko and the "immortal" Tymoshenko]. ТаблоID (in Ukrainian). Tabloid.pravda.com.ua. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  40. ↑ 100 самых влиятельных женщин Украины. Рейтинг Фокуса [The 100 most influential women in Ukraine. Focus's rating] (in Russian). Focus.ua. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  41. ↑ "(Russian language) Popularity rating of politicians on the Internet: Tymoshenko ahead of Yanukovych". Delo.ua. 26 December 2012. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  42. ↑ Кутик, Максим (9 February 2012). "(Russian language) Yulia Tymoshenko is the most popular politician in the blogs of Ukraine. 2007". Ain.ua. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  43. ↑ Кутик, Максим (9 February 2012). "Yulia Tymoshenko is the most popular politician in the blogs of Ukraine". Ain.ua. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  44. ↑ Самый популярный политик в «Одноклассниках» и «ВКонтакте» – это Тимошенко [The most popular politician in "Odnoklassniki" and "VKontakte" – is Tymoshenko]. UAINFO (in Russian). 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013.
  45. ↑ "(Russian language) Yulia Tymoshenko is the most popular foreign policy in the Russian media". Top.novostimira.biz. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  46. ↑ Тимошенко лидирует в рейтинге премьер-министров Украины – опрос [Yulia Tymoshenko leads in the ratings as the best Prime Minister of Ukraine – survey]. Korrespondent.net (in Russian). 27 December 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  47. ↑ "Рейтинг доверия среди украинцев возглавили Зеленский, Разумков и Тимошенко". rbc.ua. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  48. ↑ "Level of trust in individual Ukrainian politicians". KIIS. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  49. ↑ "Public opinion in times of war: Political preferences, trust and ideological orientations of Ukrainians" (PDF). WFD. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  50. ↑ "Yulia". IMDb.
  51. ↑ "The trial of Yulia Tymoshenko. True story". 7 October 2011 – via www.youtube.com.
  52. ↑ "The Hans Otto Theater". Potsdam.de. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  53. ↑ "Who Wants to Kill Yulia Tymoshenko? (Edinburgh Fringe) – Reviews". Whatsonstage.com. 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  54. ↑ "Talia - Gus Halper - YouTube". www.youtube.com. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  55. ↑ "Ride the cyclone" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2022.
  56. ↑ Ucraina, gas e manette: il processo a Yulia Tymoshenko, by Matteo Cazzulani, ISBN 9788891157478
  57. ↑ "La figlia di Yulia Tymoshenko "Diritti umani negati a mia madre"". milano.corriere.it. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  58. ↑ "Vera storia del processo Tymoshenko. Pilotato da Mosca". 5 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  59. ↑ "Book on persecution of Yulia Tymoshenko presented in Italy". 4 October 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.