Word: tymoshenko
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...round of voting offer little fresh cause for hope. In the conservative corner is dour former mechanic and factory boss Viktor Yanukovych, 59, whose disputed victory in the 2004 poll sparked massive protests and a fresh vote. In the opposite corner, though hardly a paragon of change, is Yulia Tymoshenko, 49, a former gas tycoon and a pivotal figure in the orange revolution. The main message of both campaigns: vote to prevent the other candidate coming to power. "We should line them all up against a wall," grumbles Andriy, a taxi driver in the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk, who declined...
...implementing democratic reforms, ending rampant corruption and creating a better quality of life. The stirring rhetoric of the revolution soon crashed against the sobering reality of Ukrainian politics, dominated since independence in 1991 by powerful business leaders and a deeply embedded system of patronage and graft. The fiery Tymoshenko, who wears her hair in a peasant braid like a crown, became Yushchenko's Prime Minister, but disagreements between the two hindered their attempts to govern. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, wiping 50% off the Ukrainian currency's value in a few weeks, Yushchenko tried to disband Parliament...
...reformists' failure has opened the path for the return of Yanukovych, who won 35% of the vote in the first round, leading Tymoshenko by 10 percentage points. Yanukovych is a rags-to-riches figure - he was jailed twice in his youth for assault and robbery - who relies on the pro-Russian east and south of the country for support. His strategy this time round has been simple: remind voters of the mess the country is in and point the finger at his opponents. "Precisely while the orange government has been running the country, Ukraine gained one of the leading places...
That may be true, but Yanukovych, himself a two-time former Prime Minister, was accused by opponents of funneling budget funds and state assets to his backers while in power and he continues to surround himself with Kuchma-era cronies. Tymoshenko claims Yanukovych would be a puppet for the country's powerful oligarchs...
...Ukraine next, it won't be pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, who placed fifth in the nation's Jan. 17 elections. Since coming to power in 2005, Yushchenko has clashed with Russia and angered Ukrainians by failing to make good on his promises of economic reform. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her predecessor Viktor Yanukovych--both seen as more Moscow-friendly--were the top vote getters, prompting Russia to unfreeze ties with the former Soviet republic. The two will face each other in a Feb. 7 runoff...