Translated by Ollie Richardson & Angelina Siard
17:54:39
05/04/2018
smi.pp.ua
The pensioner Raisa Kuzmenko, who featured in the President Petro Poroshenko’s propaganda video about pension increases, sits on the minimum and counts her kopeks.
This was described in the “TSN” programme on the “1+1” channel belonging to the Dnepropetrovsk oligarch Igor Kolomoisky.
The female resident of Chernigov receives 1,900 hryvnia and 1,500 of them goes on utility payments. She tries to make the rest last for the remainder of the month.
“I bought a pot of milk, I boiled it – this will last me for the week. I want to have apples, oranges, and tangerines … But when I went into the shop – a loaf of bread cost 12 hryvnia, I can’t buy some meat, I don’t have enough money. I can just about take chicken wings, but even these cost 47 hryvnia. I look for discounts. If I find something, then it’s mine. As is said about a dog walking on the street and collecting things. If it finds a little bone – it eats it, and this applies to us too,” said Kuzmenko.
The woman complains – if she had known that the video she was asked to feature in was propaganda, she would have refused: “They told me that it’s for advertising – we will carry out advertising and we will feature you in it. If they had paid me at least some kopeks… I haven’t felt any changes for the better [in the country – ed]”.
In the video prepared by Poroshenko’s PR managers it speaks about how good living in Ukraine became, that pensions were raised, and that roads, kindergartens, and schools are being built. In this video Kuzmenko stated: “I’ve been working for 43 years. At last I received a raised pension. I believe that everything will be better”.
This video already appeared in the center of a scandal. Earlier the singer Anastasiya Prikhodko, who also participated in this video, said that she was deceived during filming. She allegedly didn’t know that the video would be propaganda and will support the President.
“I am shocked by the situation that happened with the propaganda video of Mr. Petro Poroshenko. Now, together with my lawyer, I am preparing an official appeal to the Presidential election team in order to clarify the range of persons involved in the violation of my rights, and subsequent appeals to the court.”
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