Sir Paul McCartney plays in Kiev and Tony Blair takes a bow in Yalta - Ukraine billionaires provide the circuses

Elena Franchuk is the second wife of Jewish / Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Mykhaylovych Pinchuk ( Віктор Михáйлович Пінчýк) - he owns 4 TV channels (including the major channel ICTV (International Commercial Television)) and Ukraine's most popular tabloid, Fakty i Kommentarii and who owns amongst many other things EastOne, "in talent we trust" an investment company based at 2/3 Duke Street, St. James’s, SW1Y 6BN London.

Mr. Pinchuk dreams of closer ties between Ukraine and the EU. In furtherance of this aim , he created the Yalta European Strategy (YES). This is an international independent organization that promotes the project for Ukraine joining the European Union.

YES organise a junket in Yalta as a forum for high-level Ukraine-EU debate. This years conference on July 11th-12th was opened by Rt Hon Stephen Byers, MP, Chairman of the Board of YES and the Keynote speaker was Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the IMF. On the Saturday Karl Rove the Texas Turd Blossom held forth, followed oddly enough by Mikhail Saakashvili, President of Georgia. ... and later on by Tony Blair who was apparently UK Prime Minister (1997 – 2007)

Last Saturday an estimated 200,000 (350,000 according to New Musical Express) people crowded Kiev's Independence Square,in the teeming rain , to hear a free concert by ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. The gig was simultaneously broadcast on giant screens in six other Ukrainian cities and on television, with an estimated 10 million people watching.

The singer greeted the audience, which included former Ukrainian and actual Georgian presidents Leonid Kuchma and Mikheil Saakashvili, by the words in Ukrainian "Pryvit, druzi!" (Hello, friends!). "Thank you for coming out in the rain tonight".

Victor Pinchuk organised and paid the bills for this "Independence Concert", which was organised to promote the idea of unity between the pro-Western central and west region with the pro-Russian south-eastern regions... and sell papers and advertising on his TV channels.

It is after all a step up from South Ossetia using Boney M to promote Russia last summer - see post Saturday, October 13, 2007 Bullets and Boney M used in attacks on Abkhazian and Ossetian separatists

Remember "Rasputin" ?

There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
He was big and strong,
in his eyes a flaming glow
Most people looked at him with terror and with fear
But to moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear

He could preach the Bible like a preacher
Full of ecstacy and fire
But he also was the kind of teacher
Women would desire

Sir Paul is back in the UK and tells Lord patel he has a new love in his life.