An amazing piece of news has come from over the ocean. US senators Hillary Clinton (Democrat) and John McCain (Republican), leaving aside their party differences, have unanimously proposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

In their letter to the Nominating Committee they write, in particular, that "recognizing these men with the Peace Prize would honor not only their historic roles in Georgia and Ukraine, but would also offer hope and inspiration to those seeking freedom in lands still denied it". In the senators' view, both presidents "have won popular support for the universal values of democracy, individual liberty, and civil rights". Special stress has been laid on Saakashvili and Yushchenko having "exhibited an extraordinary commitment to peace".

It seems worthwhile to scrutinize the latter assertions of the letter. Possibly, for the US both Yushchenko and Saakashvili have indeed played a "historic role". Small wonder, since their "historic role" has been lavishly paid for.

True, at his time Mikhail Saakashvili could really boast of a wide-scale popular support with the fantastic 96 percent of vote won in the presidential election. But then, based on such a high level of support, the Nobel Peace Prize could have been easily claimed by Turkmen-Bashi of Turkmenia or Saddam Hussein a couple of years ago.

The 51 percent of vote won by Viktor Yushchenko at the third go, can only show that his aggressive and unceremonious pre-election, post-election and again pre-election campaign has split Ukraine in two. And the intensity of popular love for him in the west of Ukraine is quite on par with the popular dislike, to say the least, for him in the south-east.

Of course, both these figures succeeded in promoting the "universal values of democracy, individual liberty, and civil rights". Not only Clinton and McCain were quick to notice it. The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe also had a few things to say about it. In its special resolution on Georgia European parliamentarians stated that Georgia under Saakashvili is a regime where President holds excessively broad powers, parliamentary opposition is non-existent, civil society weakened, and legal system far from secure and reliable. In their opinion, local democracy in Georgia is poorly developed if not altogether lacking, media is subjected to auto-censorship, and the model of autonomy in Adjaria leaves much to be desired.

As for Yushchenko and his supporters' democratism, the world has been watching it for a whole month. Having twisted the arms of all the three branches of power in Ukraine, paralyzed the functioning of one of Europe's biggest cities, trampled on all possible constitutional norms, the "orange guards" have achieved their aim. Yushchenko's "fight for human rights" has been especially admired by millions of Ukrainian invalids and pensioners who, through his good offices, have been deprived of voting in the third (or whichever they call it) round of presidential election.

What is really touching is the "extraordinary commitment to peace" of the newfangled nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize. Evidently, it is due to this commitment that Yushchenko and company have nearly brought Ukraine to an outbreak of an internecine strife. For the first time since 1919 Ukraine was on the verge of a civil war and disintegration as a State. It is only either Solomonian wisdom of Kuchma and Yanukovich, or their political impotence (it does not really matter which) that saved Ukraine. The Kuchma-Yanukivich tandem seems to have no less reason to ask for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mikhail Saakashvili is also a well-known peace-maker. At present this "dove of peace" proposes to spend this year $200 million to purchase armaments for Georgian army. Is he going to heap all these weapons on some square and burn them all down? Media has already broadly covered Mikhail Saakashvili's "peace-making" activities, there is no need to repeat it..

No doubt, very worthy candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize these two are. There is reason to believe that they may get it after all. The point is that mass consciousness both in the West and the East is uncertain about Saakashvili and Yushchenko. On the one hand, they seem to be passionary figures, on the other hand, puppets working off the money invested in them. The Nobel Peace Prize would probably help the West to legalize these two favorites in the face of history as full-fledged independent political figures with special services rendered to all (!) mankind. An extremely difficult task it seems, but it's worth trying.