[269][271][272][d], On 2 March 2022 the Security Service of Ukraine raided the Kyiv District Administrative Court[uk] in an attempt to physically block Yanukovych's lawsuits to overturn his removal of the constitutional powers as President of Ukraine to be heard. [56], After the election, the Ukrainian parliament passed a non-binding motion of no confidence in Yanukovych's government, urging outgoing President Leonid Kuchma to dismiss Yanukovych and appoint a caretaker government. Yanukovych first ran for president in 2004: he advanced to the runoff election and was initially declared the winner against former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko. [16][226][252], He apologised to the Ukrainian people for not having "enough strength to keep stability" and for allowing "lawlessness in this country". Crowned with a pure copper roof, the mansion was the largest wooden structure ever created by Finnish log home builder Honka, whose representative suggested to Yanukovych that it be nominated for the Guinness Book of Records. [116], Yanukovych stated that his "aim and dream" was to unify Ukraine, although in his opinion "there are already no borders between the East and West of the country today". [179], Anders slund, a Swedish economist and Ukraine analyst, described the consolidation of Ukrainian economic power in the hands of a few "elite industrial tycoons", one of the richest and most influential of whom has become President Yanukovych's own son Oleksandr Yanukovych. Early Life [228][b], Following his flight from Kyiv, protesters gained entry to Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya Residence, as police and security had abandoned their posts. [185], In an April 2014 poll by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology those polled in southern and eastern Ukraine were generally split on the legitimacy of the then Yatsenyuk government and parliament, but a majority in all regions agreed that Yanukovych was not the legal president of the country. [317][318] Yanukovych himself stated[clarification needed] that his ex-wife did not wish for her grandson to pick up the bad habits of his grandfather, but Yanukovych did not specify what kind of habits those were. "I didn't want mothers to lose their children and wives their husbands. [89], Yanukovych stated during the 2010 presidential election-campaign that the current level of Ukraine's cooperation with NATO was sufficient and that the question of the country's accession to the alliance was therefore not urgent. [112], This led to the April 2010 UkrainianRussian Naval Base for Natural Gas treaty. [27][28][29][30][31] Yanukovych has also given his name to a collective term of different blunders made by Ukrainian politicians now called Yanukisms. The cost of monitoring the mass media was reportedly $5.7 million just for the month of December 2010.[184]. This sparked large protests by supporters of European integration, who occupied Kyiv's Independence Square and held rallies throughout Ukraine, in a wave of civil unrest dubbed the "Euromaidan". [259], On 28 March 2014, Yanukovych asked the Party of Regions to exclude him. He won a Ukrainian comedy competition and went on to produce and star in numerous films and TV shows with his Kvartal 95 production company. They also called for a return to the 2004 Constitution of Ukraine to give more power to parliament over the president. His dad is brutally corrupt Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych, (left), was competing with pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who was poisoned by dioxin during the campaign. This caused widespread citizen protests and Kyiv's Independence Square was occupied in what became known as the Orange Revolution. [302], More than 100 witnesses were interviewed for the case. In the first round of voting held on 31 October 2004, Yanukovych took second place with 39.3 percent of the votes to opposition leader Viktor Yuschenko with 39.8 percent. He continued to serve in that role through the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election,[356][302][357] even as the US government opposed Yanukovych. [15] That day, the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) voted 3860 to reinstate the 2004 Constitution of Ukraine. [326][327] During the 2010 presidential election campaign Yuriy Yakymenko, director of political research at the Razumkov Centre, stated: "I think he has not just changed on the surface but also in his ideas. [185] He said "the members of the security forces fulfilled their duties according to existing laws. [100] 235 deputies from the 450-member parliament signed the coalition agreement. Also recovered were files on Yanukovych's perceived enemies, especially media members, including beating victim Tetyana Chornovol. If presidential elections were held next Sunday how would you vote? During the 'Maidan uprising', Independence Square was a huge protest camp occupied by thousands of protesters and protected by makeshift barricades. ", Yanukovych says he is clean, unlike the current government, "Ousted Ukraine leader aiming to return as rebel rockets threaten peace plan", "Who Is Paul Manafort's Man In Kyiv? [16] He vowed to return to Ukraine "as soon as there are guarantees for my security and that of my family". The Family's business interests spread far and wide, from oil and gas to prime real estate in the capital. [210] Unlike his 28 February press conference, Yanukovych did not take questions from reporters. [23] After his departure, Yanukovych held several press conferences, and declared himself to remain "the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state elected in a free vote by Ukrainian citizens". [226], He did not take part in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election since he "believe[d] they are unlawful". [288], For several years, Interpol refused to place Viktor Yanukovych on the wanted list as a suspect by the new Ukrainian government for the mass killing of protesters during Euromaidan. He is wanted by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, charged with responsibility for mass murder of the Maidan protesters, as well as abuse of power, misappropriation of public funds, bribery, and property theft. He served as Prime Minister for a second time from 4 August 2006 to 18 December 2007, under President Yushchenko. [211] Parliament did not vote to impeach the President, which would have involved formally charging Yanukovych with a crime, a review of the charge by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and a three-fourths majority vote in parliamentat least 338 votes in favor. During his first year in office, Yanukovych spent. They stated that "the court, having heard the testimony of witnesses, examined conclusions of experts, documents and material evidence, assessed the arguments of prosecution and defense, considers that the guilt of the accused in committing the crimes under Part 1 Article 111 (high treason), Part 5 Article 27, Part 2 Article 437 (complicity in conducting an aggressive war) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is duly proved by relevant and admissible evidence". [14] On 21 February, Yanukovych and the parliamentary opposition signed an agreement to bring about an interim unity government, constitutional reforms and early elections. [329] In another Wikileaks diplomatic cable, Volodymyr Horbulin, one of Ukraine's most respected policy strategists and former presidential advisor to then-President Viktor Yushchenko, told the United States Ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst in 2006 that Yanukovych's Party of Regions was partly composed of "pure criminals" and "criminal and anti-democracy figures. As President, Viktor Yanukovych has used millions of dollars worth of government funds to build even more lavish properties in Mezhyhirya. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych speaks during a news conference in Kiev March 1, 2013. [130], In a late July 2013 speech Yanukovych stated: "All churches and religious organizations are equal for the state. [307] He was acquitted of the other charge relating to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. On 2March, Ukrayinska Pravda reported that Ukrainian intelligence sources believed that Yanukovych was spotted in Minsk, Belarus, and that it was Russia's intention to declare Yanukovych as President of Ukraine in the event of Russian forces gaining control of Kyiv. [214][215][216][217], On the same day that parliament removed Yanukovych from office, it voted to authorize the release of his rival Yulia Tymoshenko from a prison hospital. [33], Yanukovych is of Russian, Polish[34][35] and Belarusian descent. The payments totalled $2 billion over years, ranging from $500,000 to $20 million paid in cash, the recipients included "ministers, heads of agencies, Verkhovna Rada members, civic activists, representatives of international organizations, top judges, including those of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court, and the Central Election Commission". The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe confirmed witness accounts of voters being blocked from access to polls and being attacked along with local election officials who tried to frustrate the Berkut's practice of falsifying voters' ballots in favor of Yanukovych's Party of Regions candidates. We will not allow the use of churches and religious organizations by some political forces for their narrow interests. Other cases of strong colloquialisms used by Yanukovych include the incident when he called former president Viktor Yushchenko "a coward and a babbler",[citation needed] as well as a speech in Donetsk during the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, when he referred to the electorate of his opponent Yushchenko as "goats that make our lives difficult" (" , "). [135] Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (April 2010[citation needed]) and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (June 2010[136]) soon stated they noticed a big improvement in relations with Ukraine since Yanukovych's presidency. We need to reverse our approaches 180 degrees, and we will do it. "[186], Since 2012, Ukraine and the EU had been negotiating a free trade and association agreement. However, Manafort's friends have said that Yanukovych "stopped listening" to him after he became president in 2010; Manafort warned him of the consequences of "extreme" political measures. "[298] In 2017, Yanukovych's son was removed from Interpol's wanted list. [141][142], On 21 April 2010, in Kharkiv, Yanukovych and Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, signed the 2010 UkrainianRussian Naval Base for Natural Gas treaty, whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea would be extended beyond 2017 by 25 years with an additional 5-year renewal option (to 204247) in exchange for a multi-year discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas. It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Viktor Yanukovych. We respect the choice of our citizens and guarantee everyone's Constitutional right to freedom of religion. It led to uprising of pro-Russian rebels in Lugansk and Donetsk regions of the country, where many of Akhmetov's. [41][42] On various occasions, Yanukovych's family has been dogged by accusations that Fyodor Yanukovych was a member of the Schutzmannschaft during World War II, in particular claims by members of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, which included documents from the NKVD supposedly revealing his involvement with the Schutzmannschaft. He is popular for being a politician who served as the former president of Ukraine from 2010, in the Maidan Revolution in 2014, he was removed from office. [16], Yanukovych said that an "armed coup" had taken place in Ukraine, and that he was still the legitimate president because there had been no impeachment, resignation, or death. [265], On 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of President of Ukraine. [348], Opinion polls showed that Yanukovych's popularity sank after his election as president in 2010, with polls giving him from 13% to 20% of the votes if a presidential election were to be held in 2012 (in 2010 he received 35.8% of the vote in the first round of that election. [299], In November 2016, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko questioned Yanukovych via video link in connection with the former Berkut. [304][305], However the former leader was hospitalized in Moscow days before he was scheduled to give the final statement. "I have never offended anyone. [86][87] According to Yanukovych, Ukraine must be a "neutral state" which should be part of a "collective defence system which the European Union, NATO and Russia will take part in." [15] Later that day, however, he secretly fled the capital for Kharkiv, claiming his car was shot at as he left Kyiv, and travelling next to Crimea, and eventually to exile in Russia. That day, Mykola Azarov, the prime minister of Ukraine, resigned "for the sake of a peaceful resolution" to the civil unrest. "[citation needed] "The Holodomor was in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. [277] To date, Russia has declined to extradite him. Yanukovych was taken to Moscow's Sklifosovsky Institute of Emergency Medicine by ambulance on 16 November in an immobilized condition. As Viktor Yushchenko celebrates his sixty-seventh birthday this week, those words may well be applied to Ukraine's much maligned and often misunderstood third president. At that time, multiple media houses reported major election fraud . [163], According to Yanukovych (on 4 February 2011), "[M]any lies [have been] told and attempts made to misinform the international community and ordinary people in Ukraine about the true state of affairs in the country." After describing the mansion's complicated ownership scheme, the article author noted, "The story of Viktor Yanukovych and his residence highlights a paradox. This number includes both cases of the so-called Family entering the corporate rights of the firms they like by illegal methods, and "assaults" in order to obtain "tribute" that is, commercial gain. Viktor Medvedchuk (file photo) The United States imposed sanctions on Medvedchuk in 2014, accusing him of undermining democracy in Ukraine. [260][261], On 13 April, Yanukovych again gave a press conference in Rostov-on-Don, this time accompanied by former Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka and former interior minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko. [85], Yanukovych said, "Ukraine's integration with the EU remains our strategic aim", with a "balanced policy, which will protect our national interests both on our eastern border I mean with Russia and of course with the European Union". [144] Opposition members accused Yanukovych of "selling out national interests". Akhmetov built Ukrainian coal-and-steel empire in the mid-1990s by forging ties with then prime minister Viktor Yanukovych. Ukrainians were amazed at the opulence and extravagance of what they found at Mezhyhirya, including a private zoo, a fleet of cars, and a large boat. [69], On 11 December 2009, Yanukovych called for his supporters to go to Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Kyiv's Independence Square, in case of election fraud. '[167], Anonymous journalists stated early May 2010 that they were voluntarily tailoring their coverage so as not to offend the Yanukovych administration and the Azarov Government. They were fired on by police snipers. [231], On 26 February 2014, Russian media company RBC reported[232] Yanukovych's presence in Moscow. [114], Yanukovych rejected accusations that improvement of Ukrainian-Russian relations harmed relations with the European Union. Of the remaining deputies, 115 were absent and 6 did not vote. Yuriy Lutsenko, the head of the ministry, announced that forensic tests proved the forgery of the respective documents (issued in instead of 1978) and initially claimed that lack of the formal acquittal precluded Yanukovych from running for the seat in the 2006 parliamentary election.[62]. [173][174][175][176][177], By January 2013, more than half of the ministers appointed by Yanukovych were either born in the Donbas region or made some crucial part of their careers there, and Yanukovych has been accused of "regional cronyism" for his staffing of police, judiciary, and tax services "all over Ukraine" with "Donbas people". )[71][349][350][351] A public opinion poll taken by Sociological group "RATING" gave him 25.1% of the votes in an imaginary February 2013 presidential election. [256] On 4 March 2014 Putin answered questions of reporters about the situation in Crimea.
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