“Freedom is not only the calculation of taxes. It is also dignity and people”: Yuliya Tychkivska spoke at the Free Market Road Show
Yuliya Tychkivska, executive director of Aspen Institute Kyiv and co-founder of Bendukidze Free Market Center, participated in the Europe Reconsidered panel discussion at the Free Market Road Show. The event took place in Warsaw. Yuliya spoke about the true meaning of freedom, Ukraine’s struggle for values , and sanctions.
Yuliya Tychkivska is the co-founder of Bendukidze Free Market Center. Julia raised the question, does the libertarian community (the classical liberal community) have an answer to this war?
— Kakha Bendukidze told us many times that freedom is not taxes but people. It is about the dignity of people. In the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are talking about Bucha and Irpin. It is not about governments protecting only their citizens, nor about “we should not lose 5% of economic growth.”
Yuliya added that Ukrainians do everything they can to protect their lives, sovereignty, and state freedom every minute. Therefore, democratic values - values - are not declarations; they are about action.
— We are fighting for the freedom and dignity of the civilized world. The Ukrainian people defend their land and right to existence and pay a high price daily. It is essential to understand that this war concerns not only Ukraine. It is about freedom, security, and peace in Europe.
Speaking about sanctions, Yuliya emphasized that they are important and that more should be done in this direction. Sanctions are a painful but fair language for communicating with the population of the Russian Federation. Average Russians who support the war, and the majority of them, should feel the impact of the sanctions.
— During the first 2-3 weeks of the war, we conducted mass campaigns to reach the Russians, to call them to stand up and take to the streets. Only about 10,000 people rose in Moscow. We gave up on it, realizing how brainwashed they were. We see that 82% of Russians support the war. Sanctions must be challenging and affect the foundations of the life of ordinary citizens of this country until they stop glorifying this war, glorifying their superiority over other nations. They will not stop terrorizing Moldova and Georgia until they take tangible steps to liberate all Ukrainian people and territories. Democracy must be protected better than autocracy and dictatorship. We ask the free world to stand firm with Ukraine in this decisive battle for as long as it takes for freedom to win.
