The Ukrainian Supreme Court nullified the runoff election and ordered a second runoff. [224], In a press conference several days after leaving Kyiv, Yanukovych claimed that at the time he did not "flee anywhere", but that his car was shot at "by automatic rifles" as he left Kyiv for Kharkiv "to meet the representatives of local parties" and he was then forced to move around Ukraine amid fears for the safety of himself and his family. [333] He, however, made efforts to speak better Ukrainian. [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. Once Yanukovych was announced as a winner, massive. "5.ua:: " ", Ukrainian State University of Finance and International Trade, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, relations between Ukraine and Russia in the gas sector, 2010 UkrainianRussian Naval Base for Natural Gas treaty, Ukrainians fighting on opposite sides in World War II, high-profile political opponents under criminal investigation include, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Agreement on settlement of political crisis in Ukraine, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, List of awards and honours received by Viktor Yanukovych, Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, Prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, About self removal of President of Ukraine from execution of his constitutional powers and assignment of early elections of President of Ukraine ( ), Ukraine's Tymoshenko Slams Rival, No Comment On Election Result, "Ukraine's ex-president Viktor Yanukovych found guilty of treason", "Yanukovych set to become president as observers say Ukraine election was fair", "Ousted Ukraine president warns of civil war, criticizes U.S. for aiding current government", "How Ukraine's Parliament Brought Down Yanukovych", "Russia 'blackmailed Ukraine to ditch EU pact', "Why Yanukovych Was Right To Exercise Caution With The EU- Ukraine Deal (PART 2)", "Who's Telling the 'Big Lie' on Ukraine? [258] Yanukovych said he would try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to return Crimea to Ukraine. [60][61], In January 2006, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine started an official investigation of the allegedly false acquittal of the criminal convictions which Yanukovych received in his youth. [226] On 28 February 2014 the BBC reported him as insisting that military action was "unacceptable" and as stating that he would not request Russian military intervention. [204], On Saturday 22 February, Yanukovych could not be found, and parliament were not informed of his whereabouts. [145] According to Yanukovych the only way to lower the state budget deficit, as requested by the International Monetary Fund, while protecting pensioners and minimal wages was to extend the Russian Navy lease in Crimea in exchange for cheaper natural gas. [203] The acting Prime Minister, Serhiy Arbuzov, was also missing. [241] On the same day, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he didn't know anything about this. Viktor Pinchuk, $2.6 billion Pinchuk, 60, whose assets span from steel works to media, saw his net worth almost double over the past year from $1.4 billion to $ 2.6 billion. Early Life [358] Manafort's task was to rehabilitate Yanukovych's political career in the aftermath of the Orange Revolution. Kremlin planning to declare ex-President Viktor Yanukovych as new head [citation needed], In October 2004, Ukrainian deputy Hryhory Omelchenko accused Yanukovych of having been a member of "a group of individuals who brutally beat and raped a woman, but bought off the victim and the criminal case was closed". The lack of such provisions was a loophole. [181] Authorities in Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein froze the assets of Yanukovych and his son Oleksander on 28 February 2014 pending a money laundering investigation. [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. [114], Yanukovych rejected accusations that improvement of Ukrainian-Russian relations harmed relations with the European Union. [316] After the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War she reportedly moved to Crimea. In 2004, as the Prime Minister, Yanukovych participated in the controversial Ukrainian presidential election as the Party of Regions candidate. Yanukovych is a surname of Belarusian origin,[36] Yanuk[37][38] being a derivative of the Catholic name Yan ("John"). He subsequently declared himself to still be "the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state elected in a free vote by Ukrainian citizens",[24] and maintained that his removal was a coup d'tat. [120][121], Yanukovych's stance on the Holodomor was: "Holodomor took place, was denounced and the international society gave an evaluation of the famine, but it was never labeled as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. According to then governor of Kharkiv Oblast, Mykhailo Dobkin, Yanukovych had intended to make his stay in Kharkiv look like "just another presidential inspection tour" and according to Dobkin, "was desperate to make it look like he wasn't running away". He testified via video link from Russia. Having completely rejected such European values as human rights and democracy, the Ukrainian president uses Europe as a place to hide his dirty money with impunity. [365], In January 2019, Manafort resigned from the Connecticut bar.[366]. [322] The People's Movement of Ukraine labeled his election on 10 February 2010 as "an attack by anti-Ukrainian forces on our state" and stated that "all possible legal means should be used to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of anti-state politician Yanukovych and his pro-Moscow retinue". During his second foreign visit to Moscow in March, Yanukovych vowed to end years of acrimony with Russia, saying that ties between Russia and Ukraine "should never be the way they were for the past five years". At that time, multiple media houses reported major election fraud . Have you forgotten what fascism is?" [citation needed]. Yanukovych served as the governor of Donetsk Oblast, a province in eastern Ukraine, from 1997 to 2002. Viktor Yanukovych - Wikipedia I didn't want to assume power through bloodshed. "[citation needed] "The Holodomor was in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. [103], On 30 November 2010, Yanukovych vetoed a new tax code made by the Azarov Government and earlier approved by the Verkhovna Rada but protested against in rallies across Ukraine (one of the largest protests since the 2004 Orange Revolution). 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. [185] He said "the members of the security forces fulfilled their duties according to existing laws. [125], In a newspaper interview during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election campaign, he stated that the status of Russian in Ukraine "is too politicized" and said that if elected president in 2010 he would "have a real opportunity to adopt a law on languages, which implements the requirements of the European Charter of regional languages". Some think so", "The biography of Yanukovych for who has forgotten it", , Ukraine's election: portraits of main players, Yanukovych faces uphill battle in getting Lviv to accept him, Popular Rukh of Ukraine calling on political forces to prevent concentration of power in hands of Yanukovych's team, "Viktor Yanukovych: My aim is to build a strong and independent Ukraine. "[57], Following his electoral defeat in 2004, Yanukovych led the main opposition party against the Tymoshenko government made up of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, and Oleksandr Moroz's Socialist Party. [124] Currently Ukrainian is the only official language of Ukraine. [117] Yanukovych said he wanted to create a free trade zone and visa regime with the EU as soon as possible. [24] On 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of president by parliament. What an inspirational rags to riches story! [137][138] A day later Yanukovych stated that the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Kosovo violates international law, "I have never recognized Abkhazia, South Ossetia or Kosovo's independence. [193][194] Police assaulted the camp several times, causing further anger. [361][362][363], Manafort hired the public relations firm Edelman to lift Yanukovych's public image. [74] Tad Devine, an associate of Rick Gates and Paul Manafort, wrote Yanukovych's victory speech. [52] He is disliked and distrusted in western Ukraine. [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. Oleksandr Yanukovych - Wikipedia I went around bare-footed on the streets. Viktor Yanukovych Net worth 2023: Political Career Earnings Yanukovych, (left), was competing with pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who was poisoned by dioxin during the campaign. He also wrote that Donbas Chekists under any conditions have done and do their high duty with honor. [72] Election observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said there were no indications of serious fraud and described the vote as an "impressive display" of democracy. [100] 235 deputies from the 450-member parliament signed the coalition agreement. [336] Thereafter, he came to be widely referred to with this nickname[clarification needed] in opposition media and opponents' speeches. Who would govern Ukraine if Kyiv fell", "Who is Viktor Yanukovych? [81][82], Yanukovych's immediate predecessor, Yushchenko, did not attend the ceremony, nor did the Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, and her party, Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko. [315] From 2006 to 2014, the younger Viktor was a member of the Parliament of Ukraine; he died by drowning at Lake Baikal in 2015. American federal prosecutors alleged that between 2010 and 2014 Manafort was paid more than $60 million by Ukrainian sponsors, including Rinat Akhmetov, believed to be the richest man in Ukraine. If presidential elections were held next Sunday how would you vote? [33], Yanukovych is of Russian, Polish[34][35] and Belarusian descent. [14] On 21 February, Yanukovych and the parliamentary opposition signed an agreement to bring about an interim unity government, constitutional reforms and early elections. This is my rule of politics. Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (file photo) Ukraine on April 28 started returning an estimated $1.5 billion in assets allegedly stolen from the . Oh wait. [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. [16][248][c][16][250], Yanukovych stated he had been able to escape to Russia "thanks to patriotic officers who did their duty and helped me stay alive". The Ukrainian nation is wise and it will understand. "[344] In spite of this claim, on 22 September 2007, during the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election campaign, while delivering a speech in Vinnytsia, he compared Yulia Tymoshenko's performance as Prime Minister to "a cow on ice",[345] (" '-, .", "She is a prime minister like a cow on ice") most likely referring to her skills and professionalism as a prime minister. During the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, at least 7,000 Ukrainian companies were attacked by the oligarchic clan of Yanukovych (the so-called "Yanukovych Families"). Akhmetov is joined with Deputy Prime Minister Borys Kolesnikov. Yanukovych was ousted and fled Ukraine in early 2014 after mass protests. '[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. 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. Monument to corruption: Ukraine's most-wanted man built $75M home on a [336], Other famous blunders by Yanukovych are his claim that Anton Chekhov was "a Ukrainian poet" in January 2010,[338][339][340] forgetting on 6 January 2011 to congratulate the Greek-Catholic Ukrainian community, which, along with the rest of the Ukrainian people, celebrates Christmas that day,[341] and confusing Kosovo with Serbia and Montenegro, and North Ossetia with South Ossetia in March 2010. [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. "[91] These claims were met with disbelief. [359][69][360] According the Party of Regions' accounting book (Ukrainian: " "), Paul Manafort, who after the Orange Revolution provided strong support to Yanukovych, received funds from the Party of Regions via the Belize based Neocom Systems Limited's account at the Kyrgyzstan based Asia Universal Bank (AUB) on 14 October 2009. However, Viktor left home due to conflicts with his stepmother, and was brought up by his Polish paternal grandmother, originally from Warsaw. [224] Dobkin's impression of Yanukovych (during this meeting) was "a guy on another planet". Former Pro-Russian President Of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, Son Hit With He allegedly sustained back and knee injuries while "playing tennis". [36][39][40] His mother was a Russian nurse and his father, Fyodor Yanukovych, was a Polish-Belarusian locomotive-driver, originally from Yanuki in the Dokshytsy Raion of the Vitebsk Region which is in present-day Belarus. [peacockprose] According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta two documents had been forged regarding Yanukovych's robbery in association with rape and assault and battery. Almost 100 protesters were killed, as were 13 police officers. He had acquired the property in 2007, according to critics, through a convoluted series of companies and transactions. His government was overthrown after a chain of violent clashes between protesters . [70], Early vote returns from the first round of the election held on 17 January showed Yanukovych in first place with 35.8% of the vote. They also called for a return to the 2004 Constitution of Ukraine to give more power to parliament over the president. [47][48], On 29 January 2010, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Oleksandr Medvedko claimed that Yanukovych had been unlawfully jailed in his youth. With its marble-lined mansions, a golf course and a petting zoo . . He endured a very hard childhood about which he has stated: "My childhood was difficult and hungry. Richest Ukrainian Makes $3 Billion in Six Months on State Sales [300], On 14 March 2017, the Prosecutor General submitted to court documents of the Yanukovych's case on state treason. [33], Yanukovych's political career began when he was appointed as a Vice-Head of Donetsk Oblast Administration in August 1996. [286], On 30 September 2014, the General Prosecutor of Ukraine opened a new case against Yanukovych for using 220 million of state money to establish his own private communication company based on Ukrtelekom. [277] To date, Russia has declined to extradite him. 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. Viktor Yanukovych Net Worth When the former president departed, 35 cars and seven motorbikes were left behind. [244] In 2017, Russian media suggested that Yanukovych is apparently living in Bakovka near Moscow, in a residence owned by Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. [319], In March 2012, Yanukovych stated it was "a problem" for him in 2002 to speak Ukrainian but that "once I had the opportunity to speak Ukrainian, I started to do it with pleasure". Western Media's Peculiar Incuriosity About Nord Stream [321] Supporters of Yanukovych pointed out that the Donetsk Oblast secured unprecedented levels of investment during his time in office. [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. This is evidenced by the data of the Anti-Raider Union of Entrepreneurs of Ukraine. It led to uprising of pro-Russian rebels in Lugansk and Donetsk regions of the country, where many of Akhmetov's. Who is Viktor Yanukovych & why is Russia eager to replace Zelenskyy This also refers to foreign centres through which religious organizations sometimes seek to affect the internal political situation in Ukraine. [269][270], Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24February 2022. [113] As of June 2010, both did not happen. [140] Yanukovych's stance towards integration with the EU, according to The Economist, led him to be "seen in Moscow as a traitor", a reversal of the 2004 presidential election where Moscow openly supported Yanukovych. [337] Opponents of Yanukovych made fun of this misspelling and his criminal convictions during the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election campaign and the incident during the campaign (September 2004) in Ivano-Frankivsk when Yanukovych was rushed to hospital after being hit by an egg (while government officials claimed he was hit by a brick) was a source of ridicule. [311], Yanukovych's curriculum vitae, published at website europarl.europa.eu, states he is a "Doctor of Economics, Professor, Full Member of the Academy of Economic Sciences of Ukraine, Member of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences in Ukraine. [107], Yanukovych's Party of Regions wanted to increase social benefits, and raise salaries and pensions. [75][76], Ukraine's parliament had (on 16 February) fixed 25 February 2010 for the inauguration of Yanukovych as president. Ukraine's attempts to do so by blaming one of our neighbors are unjust. Yanukovych, the luxury residence and the money trail that leads to The exact whereabouts of Yanukovych when he made this statement was unclear. [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. Interpipe, his main business asset which produces steel pipes and railway wheels, is worth $500 million. [16] He said "When we arrived in Kharkiv, on the early morning of 22 February, the security service started to receive information that radical groups were arriving in Kharkiv. Ukrainians continue to tour the opulent Mezhyhirya estate of their ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled Kiev on 21 February. [254] He hoped to find out more on Russia's position when he meets with Mr. Putin "as soon as he has time". [231], On 26 February 2014, Russian media company RBC reported[232] Yanukovych's presence in Moscow. Breaking news "NovostiMira", " 24. [115], During the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, Yanukovych announced that Ukraine would give up its 90-kilogram stock of highly enriched uranium and convert its research reactors from highly enriched to low-enriched uranium. [13], Violence escalated after 16 January 2014, when Yanukovych signed draconian Anti-Protest Laws. [236], On 27 February, a report stated that Yanukovych had asked the authorities of the Russian Federation to guarantee his personal security in the territory of Russia, a request that they accepted. [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. [129] The 2012 law was ruled unconstitutional and was struck down by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in 2018, 4 years after the Euromaidan. [127] On 23 February 2014, following the Revolution of Dignity, a bill was passed by the parliament which would have abolished the law on regional languages, making Ukrainian the sole state language at all levels. 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". In 1976, as a second-year student, he was promoted to director of a small trucking division within the Ordzhonikidzeugol coal-mining company. [263] Russian media had previously reported that Yanukovych, along with his wife, had moved to Sochi. He called the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election illegal, as well as U.S. financial help, since US law allegedly did not allow the support of "bandits". Inside Yanukovych's opulent private mansion | Fortune [ 5][ 6][ 7] [110], According to Yanukovych, relations between Ukraine and Russia in the gas sector were to be built "according to the rules of the market".
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