"[330], Yanukovych is not known as a great speaker. On self-removal of the President of Ukraine from the exercise of constitutional powers and appointment of extraordinary elections of the President of Ukraine. 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. Akhmetov is joined with Deputy Prime Minister Borys Kolesnikov. While small, the museum was well worth a visit. [253] He said he was surprised ("knowing the character of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin"[226]) by the silence of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, on the events in Ukraine. [336] His autobiographic resume of 90 words contains 12 major spelling and grammatical errors. He was the president of Ukraine from the years of 2010. [265], On 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of President of 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. This government was marred by growing conflict between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko. [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". Then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (left) gives a wink to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a signing ceremony after a meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian Interstate Commission at the . [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. I grew up without my mother, who died when I was two. alluding to the fact that several positions in the transitional government went to representatives of the right-wing extremist nationalist group Svoboda, condemned by the EU in 2012 (see Svoboda Party). Yanukovych has denied that he embezzled funds and has said that his alleged foreign accounts do not exist. However, the legitimacy of the election was questioned by many Ukrainians, international organizations, and foreign governments following allegations of electoral fraud. [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". In January 2014, this developed into deadly clashes in Kyiv between protesters and Berkut special riot police. [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. [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." [164], As president, Yanukovych stated in early February 2010 that he would support the freedom of speech of journalists and protect their interests. Early Life Yanukovych has half-sisters from his father's remarriage, but has no contact with them. He allegedly sustained back and knee injuries while "playing tennis". [126], Effective in August 2012, a new law on regional languages entitles any local language spoken by at least a 10% minority be declared official within that area. [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. )[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. [316], Until 2004, Yanukovych was known as batia ("Dad") among his family members, but since that time he became "leader". During the 'Maidan uprising', Independence Square was a huge protest camp occupied by thousands of protesters and protected by makeshift barricades. [23] Acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov declared that Yanukovych had been placed on Ukraine's most wanted list and that a criminal case for the mass killings of civilians had been opened against him. [92][93][94] Yanukovich announced $2 billion worth of pension and other welfare increases on 7 March 2012. Monument to corruption: Ukraine's most-wanted man built $75M home on a $25G salary By | Fox News The Ukraine's most-wanted man, ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, remains on the run as his. [304][305], However the former leader was hospitalized in Moscow days before he was scheduled to give the final statement. 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. [227] Putin and Yanukovych later stated that Russian forces helped Yanukovych fly to Russia on 24 February 2014. [293][294][295][296] According to the Ukrainian Interpol office, this was a temporary measure due to Yanukovych's complaints that the charges were politically motivated. Yanukovych, (left), was competing with pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who was poisoned by dioxin during the campaign. [320], Yanukovych was seen by opponents as representing the interests of Ukrainian big business; they pointed out that his campaigns benefited from backing by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov. "[221][222][223], Yanukovych left Kyiv during the night of 2122 February 2014 and initially moved to Kharkiv. [232][233], According to an April 2014 poll conducted by the Razumkov Centre, only 4.9% of respondents would have liked to see Yanukovych return to the presidency. [16][226][252], He apologised to the Ukrainian people for not having "enough strength to keep stability" and for allowing "lawlessness in this country". [258] He said he gave no orders to open fire on Euromaidan protesters. [90], In early November 2011, Yanukovych claimed that "arms are being bought in the country and armed attacks on government agencies are being prepared. [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. After his ally lost . "[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. 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. He served as Prime Minister for a second time from 4 August 2006 to 18 December 2007, under President Yushchenko. [144] Opposition members accused Yanukovych of "selling out national interests". [13] Upon coming to power Yanukovych had reversed oversight measures established during the Yushchenko administration to restrain the Berkut's abuse of citizens whereupon the special force "upped its brutality. From 2006 to 2007 he was the prime minister of Ukraine; he also served in this post from November 2002 to January 2005, with a short interruption in December 2004. Five years ago Oleksandr Yanukovych was a humble dentist in Kiev earning $14k a year. Viktor Yanukovych is known for being the fourth president of Ukraine until 2010 when he was. [240], On 3 October 2014, several news agencies reported that according to a Facebook post made by the aide to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, Anton Gerashchenko, Viktor Yanukovych had been granted Russian citizenship by a "secret decree" of Vladimir Putin. [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. I grew up without my mother, who died when I was two. [238][239] In a June 2015 interview with BBC's Newsnight he thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for "saving his life". [279], On 11 July 2005, the office of the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor charged Yanukovych with fraud,[280] stemming from alleged irregularities in the way his convictions were expunged twenty years earlier. [247] The same day Swiss and Austrian authorities blocked Yanukovych's and his associates' assets, and launched a corruption investigation. [287] The prosecutor's office also considered that Yanukovych was helped by former government officials Mykola Azarov (prime minister), Yuriy Kolobov (finance minister), Anatoliy Markovsky (first deputy minister of finance), Hennadiy Reznikov (director of Derzhspetszviazok), and Dzenyk (Ukrtelekom board of directors). 21, 2015", "Yanukovych, son off Interpol's wanted list", "Treason trial against Yanukovych begins in Ukraine", Case against Yanukovych was submitted to court ( ), "Ukrainian Prime Minister Reinvents Himself", "Ukraine's former president Viktor Yanukovich on trial. [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. Since the revolution, Yanukovych has been convicted in absentia of high treason against Ukraine. This included multiple cash payments to a number of Ukraine's top officials which were investigated as suspected bribes. [331] His native language is Russian,[332] similar to a majority of the population of his power-base and native Eastern Ukraine. [48], In 1971, Yanukovych married Lyudmyla Nastenko[49] a niece of Yenakiyeve city judge Oleksandr Sazhyn. [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. [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. [321] Supporters of Yanukovych pointed out that the Donetsk Oblast secured unprecedented levels of investment during his time in office. As Yanukovych was feeling pressure from coup violence, "The White House said Joe Biden, the vice-president, spoke to Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday by telephone and warned him that the US was . [13] There was severe violence in Kyiv on 1820 February, when police snipers fired on protesters, killing almost 100. In 1976, as a second-year student, he was promoted to director of a small trucking division within the Ordzhonikidzeugol coal-mining company. Later, during TV debates with Yushchenko he explained, "I called the traitors goats. 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. [269], Russian forces never gained control over Kyiv since the Russian army abandoned its Kyiv offensive on 2 April 2022.[275]. [198] Thousands of protesters advanced from the Maidan in Kyiv towards parliament, led by activists with shields and helmets. [278], Sanctioned by the UK government in 2014 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War. [45] Others, particularly members of the Party of Regions, have claimed that the documents were a falsehood with the intention of disparaging Yanukovych ahead of elections. [209] On 11 March he claimed he should return to Ukraine as soon as this was possible. Yanukovych lived in the estate from 2002, when he first . Manafort alone laundered $18 million, according to the indictment, which he earned while playing a prominent role in working to keep Yanukovych and his party political power players in Ukraine. 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. [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. The election was judged free and fair by international observers. [342] Over the years, Yanukovych's proficiency in the Ukrainian language has noticeably improved[citation needed] (in a form filled in for the 2004 election he claimed to be fluent in Ukrainian, yet made in that very form a series of egregious mistakes, inter alia spelling his own wife's patronym incorrectly).[343]. "[173], Documents recovered from Yanukovych's compound show among other expenses $800 medical treatment for fish, $14,500 spent on tablecloths, and a nearly 42 million dollar order for light fixtures. Yanukovych served as the governor of Donetsk Oblast, a province in eastern Ukraine, from 1997 to 2002. Yanukovych abandoned his large estate, Mezhyhirya[182] when he fled the capital. We will not allow the use of churches and religious organizations by some political forces for their narrow interests. [193][194] Police assaulted the camp several times, causing further anger. [158][159] Other high-profile political opponents under criminal investigation include Leonid Kuchma,[160] Bogdan Danilishin, Igor Didenko,[161] Anatoliy Makarenko,[162] and Valeriy Ivaschenko. 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. We do not live in a fairy tale and understand that our partners also defend their interests". What is Viktor Yanukovych's Net Worth? Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (file photo) Ukraine on April 28 started returning an estimated $1.5 billion in assets allegedly stolen from the . [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. [220], Yanukovych was soon disowned by the Party of Regions. [286], A warrant for Yanukovych's arrest was issued on 24 February 2014 by the interim government, accusing him of responsibility for the mass murder of protesters. [254], On 28 February 2014 Yanukovych claimed "eastern Ukraine will rise up as soon as they have to live without any means". [80] Patriarch Kirill also attended the inauguration[citation needed] along with High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, United States National Security Advisor James Jones and speaker of the Russian parliament Boris Gryzlov. [113] As of June 2010, both did not happen. Of the remaining deputies, 115 were absent and 6 did not vote. [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.