Thursday, February 25, 2010

Viktor Yanukovych sworn in as Ukraine president


Viktor Yanukovych, the opposition leader who won Ukraine's recent election, has been inaugurated as the country's new president. His electoral opponent, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, says Mr Yanukovych won through fraud and refuses to recognise his victory.
Both Mrs Tymoshenko and the outgoing president, Viktor Yushchenko, refused to attend the ceremony.
However international observers have said the election was conducted fairly. Mr Yanukovych swore the oath of office in parliament, in front of deputies and visiting foreign heads of state and representatives. There was a block of empty seats in the chamber where deputies belonging to Mrs Tymoshenko's and Mr Yushchenko's coalition of supporters would have sat. After taking the oath, Mr Yanukovych acknowledged the divisions in parliament and Ukraine's economic difficulties but said he could lead the country out of the crisis.



One page from his biography to say truly scares a bit. Here is a extract from President's biography published by Wikipedia:

...On December 15, 1967, at 17 Yanukovych was sentenced to three years incarceration for participating in a robbery and moderate assault. The sentence was later reduced to 18 months due to the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. The fact is that the court did not even excuse him as he was underage, although such practice was taking place especially for the first time convicted. At the process Yanukovych plead guilty and did not appeal his sentence even though he had the chance for the expense of the state. He served his sentence in the Kremenchuk (100km. away from Poltava) detention center, but was released after seven months for exemplary behavior. Yanukovych was also convicted on June 8, 1970 for causing a mild degree body injuries and was sentenced to two years imprisonment which he as the previous sentence did not appeal. While in prison he received the nickname "Kham" (the boor) from other inmates. Also there are some rumors that the second cases was first trialed as a rape under the Article 118 of Criminal Code of Ukrainian SSR and later changed to the mild degree body injury. It is unknown where Yanukovych served his second sentence, but some residents of Yenakieve claim that it was in the local correctional-labor institution ITL #52. On July 18, 1973 after serving a year of his sentence, the people's court of the city Yenakieve stripped off the both convictions of Yanukovych....


You can learn more about biography of the newly elected President of Ukraine at


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