Paradoxically, the most famous woman in Ukraine on a global scale over the past decade was not an actress, singer or literary figure. This proud title is rightfully held by a female politician, Tymoshenko Yulia Vladimirovna.
The gas princess, Lady Yu, the country's former chief political prisoner, the most influential Ukrainian - no matter how she is called!
A huge number of secrets from all sides surrounded by Yulia Tymoshenko. Biography, nationality and even the personal life of a politician excite many, becoming the cause of gossip.
The one that is always there
Probably, the public will never be indifferent to its bright person. Every day all Ukraine speaks of her. Yulia Tymoshenko appears on the TV screen, and her photo - in newspaper articles, on roadside posters. Ukrainians see her face several times a day. It seems that she has long become an integral part of the life of every citizen of this country.
Despite her strong and strong-willed character, without which such a climb up the career ladder would have been simply impossible, she appears before her voters as a gentle benefactress. For many, she represents a mother, a faithful friend, and, of course, a true Ukrainian with a wide open soul. It seems that Julia Vladimirovna is absolutely frank in front of people. However, every year her unsolved secrets become more and more.
And the most confusing secret is the nationality of Tymoshenko Yulia.
The question that worries everyone
In each family of the post-Soviet period, it is rather difficult to find the truth about the origin of the ancestors. People moved to the territory of a huge country, the blood mixed, and as a result, few people can accurately answer the question about their nationality. Now citizenship has become more important. It determines the attitude of a person to a particular country, society, ethnic group.
The family of Yulia Vladimirovna is no exception. They talked a lot about her. Some of the statements were almost immediately denied by Yulia Tymoshenko herself.
Who is the politician by nationality, became a question for the majority after she abruptly changed her image at the beginning of the 2000s. It was then that Lady Yu first braided her famous braid. Her whole appearance began to unequivocally resemble the image of the poetess Lesya Ukrainka. What did Yulia Tymoshenko want to achieve with such changes? The before and after photos are so vivid and eloquent that they unwittingly push the public to the national question. She was repeatedly accused of pretense and falsehood. People wanted to know the truth about the true relation of a politician to their country and were convinced that truthful information about its origin would help "reveal all the cards."
What truth is hidden by her ancestors, and Yulia Tymoshenko herself? Biography, nationality, some facts from life and a number of publications are likely to help sort out this complicated story.
So let's go!
Beginning of life
Maiden name of Yulia Tymoshenko Grigyan. She was born in the city of Dnepropetrovsk on November 27, 1960 in the family of Vladimir Abramovich Grigyan and Lyudmila Nikolaevna Telegin.
Yulia Tymoshenko's parents divorced when she was 3 years old. Mother worked as a dispatcher in a taxi fleet. In addition to the little daughter, her sister's mother and family needed her maintenance.
Of course, there was not enough money for anything. However, as Yulia Tymoshenko herself later told, despite the difficult living conditions, the mother was able to surround all her loved ones with warmth, attention and care. Little Julia grew up surrounded by love from all sides.
years of education
Education in primary and secondary classes was held at school number 37 in the same Dnepropetrovsk. However, she spent the last two years of schooling in secondary school No. 75. Yulia Vladimirovna will come here, having become a famous politician, with one of her election visits.
According to the memoirs of Tamila Furman (a class teacher in high school), she studied without triples, however, she was not an excellent pupil either.
Yulia Vladimirovna in childhood and youth was actively interested in sports. She attended the rhythmic gymnastics section. Everyone who knew the girl was convinced that she was “threatened” by a career in sports.
Just before graduation, Julia replaces her father's surname Grigyan with her mother's. In all documents, the graduate is called Telegin.
Upon graduation, in 1978, she enters the Dnepropetrovsk Mining Institute. But after studying there for only one year, she takes the documents and transferred to the Economics Department of Dnipropetrovsk State University. In this educational institution, Julia receives a diploma in higher education with a degree in Economic Cybernetics.
Personal life of Tymoshenko
Julia Grigyan-Telegin got married very early - at the age of 18. Then she studied in the first year of university.
There are many versions of acquaintance with the future husband, Alexander Tymoshenko. The most common, as the participant in the events tells about her, says that an erroneous phone call brought the future spouses. One evening in the apartment of Julia, the phone rang, on the other end of the wire was a friendly young man who was mistaken when dialing a number. A conversation ensued, as a result of which the young people agreed on the first meeting.
After a year of happy marriage, the daughter of Eugene was born in the Tymoshenko family.
Marriage with Alexander Timoshenko is the only one in the life of Yulia Vladimirovna. However, like all known people, she is credited with many novels on the side. Such rumors are born because of the long separation of the spouses (Alexander was imprisoned for a long time), in addition, Lady Yu herself, on duty, is always surrounded by spectacular and influential men. A light sexual subtext, always present in the appearance of the politician, as if confirms public speculation.
However, the analysis of gossip about novels will not help to find out what nationality Yulia Tymoshenko.
Popular version
For a long time, it was generally accepted that the famous politician is of Russian-Armenian origin. In confirmation of her Armenian roots, the surname Grigyan was given, which was worn by girlhood Timoshenko Yulia Vladimirovna.
Nationality, of course, can not be determined based solely on the name. Therefore, it is worth analyzing some of the statements of the politician and the facts from her life.
Tymoshenko herself has repeatedly stated that in her father’s family all “up to the tenth generation” are Latvians. The misunderstanding with the surname occurred due to the fault of the passport office workers. It was they who accidentally changed the Baltic surname Grigyanis to Grigyan. There is also a version that the original sounding of the surname was Grigas.
It is also possible that the ending was intentionally changed in order to avoid negative attitudes in society.
Latvian girl Yulia Tymoshenko
Who by nationality the ancestors of Julia on the part of the father is not easy to make out. If you believe the words of the politician about the many generations of ancestors-Latvians, in the territory of modern Latvia should live not one or two families Grigyanisov (or Grigyasov). But no such evidence was found. A similar surname is simply not typical for residents of the Baltic countries. This fact is confirmed by Latvian philologists who claim that the Grigyanis form can only be derived from the Armenian surname.
But if Tymoshenko Yulia Vladimirovna tells the truth about her Latvian roots, and there is no reason not to trust her, then where did all her distant Baltic relatives go?
Were there any boys?
The absence of namesakes in the territory of modern Latvia can only be explained by the fact that for several generations only girls were born in the family, thanks to which the surname was practically lost. Its happy owners were only the grandfather and father of Julia Vladimirovna.
But where did the ancestors of Tymoshenko come from?
Grandfather Abram
Father Yulia Vladimirovna bore the name and patronymic of Vladimir Abramovich. And if he is really a purebred Latvian, then why was his father called Abram? To find a person with such a purely Jewish name and surname Grigyanis (Grigas) in Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia is almost impossible. With a great deal of certainty, it can be argued that the roots of Vladimir Grigyan (Tymoshenko’s father) are of Jewish origin.
Armenian ancestors
All attempts to find relatives of a politician in the territory of modern Armenia failed. The surname Grigyan was very rare in this country. Only one such family is registered in Yerevan.
At the same time, it is reliably known that quite a few families with the surname Grigyan live in Nagorno-Karabakh. This genus has an ancient, even aristocratic, origin.
There is also evidence that the surname Grigyan is quite common among Bessarabian Jews, as well as among gypsies. This information again leads the search to the "Jewish trace".
Examination of information about paternal relatives gives only half the answers to the question of which nation Yulia Tymoshenko belongs to.
Who is the national mother of politics
Mother Julia Vladimirovna was born in Dnepropetrovsk on August 11, 1937, in the Nelepov family. The first time she married at 18, taking her husband's surname Telegin. The marriage quickly broke up. After a while, the second husband of Lyudmila Nikolaevna was the father of Julia - Vladimir Abramovich Grigyan. However, this marriage did not last long. The mother returned to the name of her first husband, and Julia herself bore the name of her father almost until the graduation class.
This, in fact, is all information about the family ties of Lyudmila Nelepova-Teleginoy-Grigyan. Neither Lady Yu nor her mother ever spoke in detail about her family. Even the most agile journalists could not get more information about this.
Literary aunt
Some light about this half of Tymoshenko’s relatives is shed by her mother’s sister, Antonina Ulyakhina. She devoted two books to her famous niece: “Julia, Julia” and “Julia, Julia Vladimirovna” (both were published in Dnepropetrovsk in 2007). They have memories of Antonina's parents and grandfather and grandmother (great-grandfathers of Yulia Vladimirovna). However, the author managed not to make a single mention of their names and patronymics. Only sentimental stories and childhood memories.
Reliable facts about the national identity of the mother of the "gas princess" from this book, of course, cannot be obtained. However, after a careful reading, we can come to some conclusions.
Great-grandmother Julia on some pages of the book speaks Ukrainian phrases. But neither mother Tymoshenko nor her sister speak the national language . Also, Julia Vladimirovna herself did not speak it until 1999. All her early interviews are recorded exclusively in Russian. In addition, Lady Yu herself has repeatedly stated that she mastered the Ukrainian language during this period of time.
These facts suggest that the great-grandmother “speaks” Ukrainian specifically to gently prompt (prove) to the reader the Ukrainian origin of the politician.
Rare mentions of names in the book also give rise to reflection. Grandmother calls the author Tosha, and her very name is Dasha. Such names are inherent exclusively to the Russian-speaking population. In the Ukrainian village, Dara, Odarka, Tusya, Darina are more likely to apply.
In addition, we can say with confidence that the family name of Nelepov has exclusively Russian roots.
Everything described can rightfully be considered proof of the Russian origin of the mother of Yulia Tymoshenko.
Who is she - Yulia Tymoshenko?
Who was a well-known politician by nationality could not be recognized even after a careful study of the origin of all the blood members of her family. Unfortunately, the main reason lies in Tymoshenko herself, who reliably hid this part of her personality.
Of course, in the modern world, nationality has absolutely no meaning. Citizens of Ukraine do not even have such a column in their passport. After all, at least two or three different bloods are mixed in each. Thanks to such a “cocktail”, they do not affect either the character or the tastes and preferences of a person ... Therefore, the issue of nationality has become practically not important for others.
However, a successful and unsophisticated politician must be honest and frank before his voters, including in matters of his origin. Especially when they worry more than one hundred people. Moreover, if this active interest is provoked by the political person himself. Yulia Vladimirovna herself knows this very well.
Undoubtedly, Julia Vladimirovna would have received a lot of positive feedback and even an increase in her political rating if she had at least partially revealed this secret.