Ukraine

The Yanukovych presidency

The next presidential election, held on January 17, 2010, confirmed the political demise of President Yushchenko, who received only about 5 percent of the vote. The top two candidates, Yanukovych and Tymoshenko, garnered about 35 and 25 percent, respectively. Because neither had won a majority of votes, a runoff poll was held on February 7. The runoff results were split largely along regional lines, with most of western Ukraine supporting Tymoshenko and most of the east favouring Yanukovych. Winning 48.95 percent of the vote—a narrow lead over Tymoshenko’s 45.47 percent—Yanukovych took the presidency. Although international observers determined that the poll had been fair, Tymoshenko declared the results fraudulent and refused to recognize Yanukovych’s victory; she and her supporters boycotted the inauguration of Yanukovych on February 25. The following week Tymoshenko’s government was felled by a vote of no confidence and Mykola Azarov of the Party of Regions was installed as prime minister. President Yanukovych gained greater executive authority later in 2010 when the Constitutional Court overturned the 2006 reform that had enhanced the powers of the prime minister.

Yanukovych, ViktorViktor Yanukovych upon his inauguration as president of Ukraine, February 25, 2010.Anastasia Sirotkina/AP

In April 2010, following a fractious parliamentary debate, Ukraine agreed to extend Russia’s lease of the port at Sevastopol, originally set to expire in 2017, until 2042. In exchange, Ukraine would receive a reduction in the price of Russian natural gas. The Ukrainian government further improved relations with Russia in June 2010, when it officially abandoned its goal of joining NATO—a pursuit Russia had opposed. As the Yanukovych administration continued its pivot towards Moscow, EU leaders expressed concern about the preservation of the rule of law in Ukraine.

In 2011 former prime minister Tymoshenko, the country’s most popular politician, was convicted of abuse of power in connection with a 2009 natural gas deal with Russia and given a seven-year prison sentence. In February 2012 Tymoshenko’s interior minister, Yuri Lutsenko, also was convicted of abuse of power and sentenced to four years in prison. Many observers believed both trials were politically motivated. When Ukraine cohosted the UEFA European Championship football (soccer) tournament in summer 2012, a number of EU countries registered their concern for Tymoshenko by boycotting the event.

In the parliamentary election in October 2012, the ruling Party of Regions emerged as the single largest bloc, with 185 seats. Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party claimed 101 seats, Vitali Klitschko’s Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms (UDAR) won 40 seats, and the ultranationalist Svoboda (“Freedom”) party had a surprisingly strong showing, winning 37 seats. Challenging the validity of the results, Tymoshenko embarked on a hunger strike. Although international observers called attention to irregularities in some contests, the European Parliament characterized the election as comparatively fair, and the main opposition parties accepted the official results. In December 2012 sitting Prime Minister Azarov formed a government with the support of Communist and independent deputies. In what was widely seen as an attempt to thaw relations with the EU, Yanukovych pardoned the imprisoned Lutsenko and ordered his release in April 2013.