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. [277] To date, Russia has declined to extradite him. Later, during TV debates with Yushchenko he explained, "I called the traitors goats. Viktor Medvedchuk (file photo) The United States imposed sanctions on Medvedchuk in 2014, accusing him of undermining democracy in Ukraine. In a feature with photos on Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya mansion, Sergii Leshchenko notes "For most of [Yanukovych's] career he was a public servant or parliament deputy, where his salary never exceeded 2000 US dollars per month." In 2006, a criminal charge was made for the falsification of documents regarding the retraction of Yanukovych's prior conviction. [352][e], The Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, Jos Manuel Pinto Teixeira, stated during an April 2012 interview with Korrespondent that Yanukovych's presidency "fell short of expectations". [95][96][97], In May 2012, Yanukovych set up the Constitutional Assembly of Ukraine, a special auxiliary agency under the President for drawing up bills of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine; the President then can table them in parliament. He currently lives in exile in Russia, where he has lived since his removal from office in 2014.[4]. Viktor Yanukovych - Wikipedia A Yanukovych Pal and the 13 Million Yacht his Family Loves [144] Opposition members accused Yanukovych of "selling out national interests". Fled the country on the night of 2122 February, but claiming the presidency sometime after that. 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[289], However, on 12 January 2015, Viktor Yanukovych was listed by Interpol as "wanted by the judicial authorities of Ukraine for prosecution / to serve a sentence" on charges of "misappropriation, embezzlement or conversion of property by malversation, if committed in respect of an especially gross amount, or by an organized group". [189], On 21 November 2013, Yanukovych abruptly changed his mind on the Association Agreement with the EU, instead deciding to strengthen economic ties with Russia. [231], On 26 February 2014, Russian media company RBC reported[232] Yanukovych's presence in Moscow. Due to the Crimean crisis he was put on the US sanction list on 17 March 2014, an action which had been already previously been considered. Yanukovych abandoned his large estate, Mezhyhirya[182] when he fled the capital. "[91] These claims were met with disbelief. [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. "[312], Website Pravda.com.ua reported that Yanukovych received the honorary title of docent (lecturer) of the Faculty of Automobile Transport at the Donetsk State Academy of Administration, a tertiary education establishment that specialised in Economics and Management[313] In January 2014, this developed into deadly clashes in Kyiv between protesters and Berkut special riot police. In 2003, during the premiership of Viktor Yanukovych, a majority of the company's shares came ended up in private hands - in particular, those of Prygodskyy and Rinat Akhmetov. 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. [227] Putin and Yanukovych later stated that Russian forces helped Yanukovych fly to Russia on 24 February 2014. [336] Thereafter, he came to be widely referred to with this nickname[clarification needed] in opposition media and opponents' speeches. Yanukovych secretly fled the city that evening. [281] In 2006, the General Prosecutor closed the case due to lack of evidence. [52], Yanukovych drew strong support from Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the east of the country. Akhmetov built Ukrainian coal-and-steel empire in the mid-1990s by forging ties with then prime minister Viktor Yanukovych. [86] In May 2011, Yanukovych stated that he would strive for Ukraine to join the EU. (VIDEO, UPDATE)", "Ukrainian parliament, after ousting president, tries to consolidate power, frees prisoners", "Ukraine's Acting President Warns Economy Is in Dire State", "Ukraine Leader Was Defeated Even Before He Was Ousted", "Ukraine crisis live: Russia admits its troops are moving in Crimea", " , , ", Putin: Russia helped Yanukovych leave Ukraine, "Putin: Russia helped Yanukovych to flee Ukraine", "Ukraine uprising: The private zoo, the galleon moored on a private lake, the fleet of vintage cars Ukrainians left open-mouthed", " : ", " : , , ", 5% (Fewer than 5% of Ukrainians want the return of Yanukovych to the presidential chair), "ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part", " $52 ", "Russia 'grants Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych protection', ": ", "Kyiv Says Yanukovych Obtained Russian Citizenship", "No information about Russian citizenship granted to Yanukovych Kremlin spokesman", "Yanukovych was allowed to stay in Russia for another year", "Viktor Yanukovych, there you are! . "[33], In 2004, Yanukovych was seen as outgoing President Leonid Kuchma and Russian President Vladimir Putin's protg. [75][76], Ukraine's parliament had (on 16 February) fixed 25 February 2010 for the inauguration of Yanukovych as president. [232] The Press Secretary of the department that manages Barvikha Sanatorium denied the report, stating that he had no information of Yanukovych settled in Barvikha Sanatorium. Will Putin declare ex-President Viktor Yanukovych as new head of - mint At that time, multiple media houses reported major election fraud . The Ukrainian Supreme Court nullified the runoff election and ordered a second runoff. [67], Minister of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lutsenko accused Yanukovych of financial fraud during the campaign. 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. Viktor Janukovytj - Wikipedia It was the result of the policies of Stalin's totalitarian regime. [47][48], On 29 January 2010, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Oleksandr Medvedko claimed that Yanukovych had been unlawfully jailed in his youth. [58] The press-service of the Ukrainian Cabinet asserted that Yanukovych suffered for the attempt to defend a girl from hooligans. The cost of monitoring the mass media was reportedly $5.7 million just for the month of December 2010.[184]. Oh wait. The election was judged free and fair by international observers. [139], On 22 November 2010, the European Council and Ukraine announced "an action plan for Ukraine toward the establishment of a visa-free regime for short-stay travel". [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. 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". [88] He stated on 7 January 2010 that Ukraine is ready to consider an initiative by Dmitry Medvedev on the creation of a new Europe collective security system[88] stating "And we're ready to back Russia's and France's initiatives". By RFE/RL. 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". [145], According to Yanukovych the main priority of his foreign policy was to integrate Ukraine "into the European mainstream", while improving relations with Russia. Who Is Viktor Yanukovych And What's His Connection To Paul - HuffPost In 2004, as the Prime Minister, Yanukovych participated in the controversial Ukrainian presidential election as the Party of Regions candidate. [101], On 25 June 2010, President Yanukovych criticised 2004 amendments in the Ukrainian Constitution which weakened presidential powers such as control over naming government ministers, passing those functions to parliament. Kremlin planning to declare ex-President Viktor Yanukovych as new head [citation needed]. After all ballots were counted, the Ukrainian Central Election Commission declared that Yanukovych won the runoff election with 48.95% of the vote compared with 45.47% for Tymoshenko. [56], In the second round of the election, Yanukovych was initially declared the winner. That day, Mykola Azarov, the prime minister of Ukraine, resigned "for the sake of a peaceful resolution" to the civil unrest. 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. [114] In February 2012, Yanukovych stated, referring to relations with Russia, "It is not wise to fall asleep next to a big bear". Yanukovych is a surname of Belarusian origin,[36] Yanuk[37][38] being a derivative of the Catholic name Yan ("John"). In a statement issued by Oleksandr Yefremov, parliamentary faction leader, the party and its members "strongly condemn[ed] the criminal orders that led to human victims, an empty state treasury, huge debts, shame before the eyes of the Ukrainian people and the entire world. News reports at the time highlighted several similar deaths of people with ties to Yanukovych's father. [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". [203] Parliament then elected Oleksandr Turchynov as Chairman. . [197], The deadliest clashes were on 1820 February, which saw the most severe violence in Ukraine since it regained independence. [301] Yanukovych was charged with encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, high treason, and complicity in aggressive warfare by the Russian Federation aimed at altering Ukraine's state borders. [143], On 22 April 2010, Yanukovych stated he did not rule out the possibility of holding a referendum on the stationing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine after the necessary legislative framework is adopted for this in future. [47] On 8 June 1970 he was convicted for a second time on charges of assault. [59] In 2008, Yanukovych spoke at a congress of the United Russia party. The protesters, united under the Maidan People's Union, demanded Yanukovych fulfill his pledge to sign the Agreement or else resign. [32], Viktor Yanukovych was born in the village of Zhukovka near Yenakiieve in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. [212][213] The Ukrainian Constitution at this time (like many other constitutions) did not provide any stipulation about how to remove a president who is neither dead nor incapacitated, but is nonetheless absent or not fulfilling his duties. [citation needed], In 2005, the Party of Regions signed a collaboration agreement with the Russian political party United Russia. 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"). "[346] After his February 2014 escape to Russia, during his 28 February press conference in Rostov-on-Don, Yanukovych said, "Ukraine is our strategic partner" (misspeaking and confusing Ukraine with Russia). "[citation needed] "The Holodomor was in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. [44], By the time he was a teenager, Yanukovych's father had remarried. [33], Yanukovych's political career began when he was appointed as a Vice-Head of Donetsk Oblast Administration in August 1996. The victims of Yanukovych's raider methods were offered to pay a regular "tribute" in the amount of 3050% of the company's profits or to cede ownership of it. Viktor Yanukovych is known for being the fourth president of Ukraine until 2010 when he was. [109], According to Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc member of parliament Oleh Shevchuk, Yanukovych broke this election promise just three days after the 2010 presidential election when only two lawmakers of Yanukovych's Party of Regions supported a bill to raise pensions for low-incomes. Janukovytj flydde till Ryssland i februari 2014 och talades i maj 2017 fr att ha gjort allt fr att hjlpa Ryssland att annektera ukrainskt territorium. "[186], Since 2012, Ukraine and the EU had been negotiating a free trade and association agreement. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Viktor Yanukovych and could vary in the range between $729.7K - $1.5M. Interpipe, his main business asset which produces steel pipes and railway wheels, is worth $500 million. [310], According to the Russian website ua.spinform.ru, from December 2000 to February 2004, while in the position of Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yanukovych headed the Faculty of Innovative Management at the Donetsk State University of Management. On 14 May 1997, he was appointed as the Head of the Administration (i.e. [92][93][94] Yanukovich announced $2 billion worth of pension and other welfare increases on 7 March 2012. [269][270], Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24February 2022. I had to fight for myself every day. [110], According to Yanukovych, relations between Ukraine and Russia in the gas sector were to be built "according to the rules of the market". Viktor Yanukovych | Facts, Biography, & Flight to Russia [220], Yanukovych was soon disowned by the Party of Regions. [251] In the press conference he stated that he was still President of Ukraine and "I can't find words to characterise this new authority. [358] Manafort's task was to rehabilitate Yanukovych's political career in the aftermath of the Orange Revolution. [147][148][149][150][151][152][153][154][155][156][157] One frequently cited example of Yanukovych's attempts to centralize power is the 2011 sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko, which was condemned by Western governments as potentially being politically motivated. [297], Interpol later confirmed that Yanukovych and Oleksandr Yanukovych were no longer subject to an Interpol red notice or diffusion, and that they are unknown on Interpol's databases. In response, demonstrators occupied provincial government buildings in many regions of Ukraine. The exact whereabouts of Yanukovych when he made this statement was unclear. Who would govern Ukraine if Kyiv fell", "Who is Viktor Yanukovych? [304][305], However the former leader was hospitalized in Moscow days before he was scheduled to give the final statement. 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. [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. It had kitchens, first aid posts and broadcasting facilities, as well as stages for speeches, lectures, debates and performances. [219], Two days later, Ukraine's parliament dismissed five judges of the Constitutional Court for allegedly violating their oaths, who were then investigated for alleged malpractice. [89] "The Ukrainian people don't currently support Ukraine's entry to NATO and this corresponds to the status that we currently have. [209] On 11 March he claimed he should return to Ukraine as soon as this was possible. One was Denis Voronenkov, who was shot dead in downtown Kyiv at the end of March 2017. [224] Yanukovych asked Dobkin to "pick out a few factories for me to visit"; the director of state-owned industrial giant Turboatom[225] declined even to take his call (according to Dobkin). RosBusinessConsulting also reported sightings of Viktor Pshonka, a former Prosecutor General of Ukraine in the hall of Radisson Royal Hotel. This is my rule of politics. "[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. [224] Dobkin's impression of Yanukovych (during this meeting) was "a guy on another planet". Yanukovych did not reveal the price he paid, although he called it a "very serious price". He also stated, "[A] crushing blow delivered under [my] rule to corruption and bureaucracy has been met with resistance". The verdict was that Yanukovych was sentenced to 13 years of jail in absentia. [347] During the same press conference he also broke a pen in an emotional outburst, while trying to apologize to the Ukrainian people. [203], The vote came an hour after Yanukovych said in a televised address that he would not resign. '[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. [24] On 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of president by parliament. In Pictures: The Billionaires Of Eastern Europe - Forbes [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. On 28 February 2014, the General Prosecutor of Ukraine, Oleh Makhnitsky, formally asked Russia to extradite Yanukovych. [118] He noted the importance of finding ways of reconciliation between Ukrainians fighting on opposite sides in World War II in his speech at the ceremony to mark Victory Day 2013. [15] That day, the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) voted 3860 to reinstate the 2004 Constitution of Ukraine. 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. Yanukovych, the luxury residence and the money trail that leads to [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. "Our policy is directed to protection of our national interests. [77] Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree endorsing a plan of events related to Yanukovych's inauguration on 20 February 2010. 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. [282] In 2006, a criminal charge was filed for official falsifying of documents concerning the quashing of Yanukovych's prior convictions after it was discovered that two documents had been tampered with, including the forgery of a judge's signature in connection with one charge of battery. The President Of Ukraine Makes $115k A Year - Celebrity Net Worth The President And The Tycoon: Could A Fight Between Ukraine's Leader Gleb Garanich / Reuters. [64], In 2009, Yanukovych announced his intent to run for president in the then upcoming presidential election. [90], In early November 2011, Yanukovych claimed that "arms are being bought in the country and armed attacks on government agencies are being prepared. [16] He vowed to return to Ukraine "as soon as there are guarantees for my security and that of my family". [16], On 22 February 2014, the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove him from his post and schedule early elections on the grounds that he had withdrawn from his constitutional duties,[17][18] rather than through the impeachment process. Interpol's action followed an application to Interpol by Joseph Hage Aaronson on behalf of Yanukovych seeking his removal from the Interpol wanted list, as according to the law firm, the criminal charges brought by the Ukrainian government against Yanukovych were "part of a pattern of political persecution of him. [286] Yanukovych is being charged with abuse of power (Article 364) and state treason (Article 111) that are being investigated since April 2014 as well as the new procedure on creation of criminal organization (Article 255) that is being investigated since the summer. This included multiple cash payments to a number of Ukraine's top officials which were investigated as suspected bribes. "[324] Yanukovych refers to himself as Ukrainian. [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. [71] He faced a 7 February 2010 runoff against Tymoshenko, who finished second (with 24.7% of the vote). [283][284], After the Euromaidan events the General Prosecutor opened at least four new criminal cases against the former president of Ukraine. Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (file photo) Ukraine on April 28 started returning an estimated $1.5 billion in assets allegedly stolen from the . Yanukovych did plan to hold plebiscites also on other subjects.
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