Viktor Yanukovych

For his son, see Viktor Yanukovych (politician, born 1981).

Viktor Yanukovych
Віктор Янукович
Official portrait, 2010
4th President of Ukraine
In office
25 February 2010 – 22 February 2014[a]
Prime Minister
Preceded byViktor Yushchenko
Succeeded byPetro Poroshenko
9th and 12th Prime Minister of Ukraine
In office
4 August 2006 – 18 December 2007
PresidentViktor Yushchenko
DeputyMykola Azarov
Preceded byYuriy Yekhanurov
Succeeded byYulia Tymoshenko
In office
28 December 2004 – 5 January 2005
PresidentLeonid Kuchma
DeputyMykola Azarov
Preceded byMykola Azarov (acting)
Succeeded byMykola Azarov (acting)
In office
21 November 2002 – 7 December 2004
PresidentLeonid Kuchma
DeputyMykola Azarov
Preceded byAnatoliy Kinakh
Succeeded byMykola Azarov (acting)
People's Deputy of Ukraine
In office
25 May 2006 – 12 September 2006
ConstituencyAt-large
In office
23 November 2007 – 19 February 2010
ConstituencyAt-large
Governor of Donetsk Oblast
In office
14 May 1997 – 21 November 2002
Preceded bySerhii Polyakov
Succeeded byAnatoliy Blyznyuk
Chairman of Donetsk Oblast Council
In office
14 May 1999 – 14 May 2001
Preceded byIvan Ponomaryov
Succeeded byBorys Kolesnikov
Deputy Governor of Donetsk Oblast
In office
August 1996 – May 1997
GovernorSerhii Polyakov
Personal details
Born (1950-07-09) 9 July 1950 (age 74)[2]
Yenakiieve, Donetsk Oblast, Soviet Union
Nationality
  • Soviet (1950–1991)
  • Ukraine (1991–2023)[3]
  • Russia (2014–present)
Signature
WebsiteViktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (Archived)

Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych[b] (born 9 July 1950) is a former Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014.[4] He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of the Verkhovna Rada from 2006 to 2010. A member of the pro-Russian Party of Regions, Yanukovych provoked mass protests — the Euromaidan — against his rejection of closer integration with the European Union[5] and was removed from the presidency by the Ukrainian parliament in 2014,[6] at the time neighboring Russia started to annex Ukrainian Crimea and started the Russo-Ukrainian War. Since then, he has lived in exile in Russia.[7]

Before entering national politics, Yanukovych was the Governor of his native Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002. He was simultaneously the Chairman of the oblast's legislature from 1999 to 2001.

Yanukovych first ran for president in the 2004 election, where he advanced to the runoff and was declared the winner against former prime minister Viktor Yushchenko. However, allegations of electoral fraud and voter intimidation caused widespread protests and Kyiv's Independence Square was occupied in what became known as the Orange Revolution. The Ukrainian Supreme Court ultimately nullified the runoff election and ordered a rerun, which Yanukovych lost to Yushchenko. Yanukovych ran for President again in the 2010 election, this time beating Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in an election that was judged free and fair by international observers.[8][9]

Yanukovych argued in favour of economic modernisation, increased spending and, initially, continuing trade negotiations with the EU. He pledged to remain non-aligned in defence policy. However, his years in power saw what analysts described as democratic backsliding,[10] which included the jailing of Tymoshenko, a decline in press freedom[11] and an increase in cronyism and corruption.[12] In November 2013, Yanukovych made a sudden decision, amidst economic pressure from Russia,[13] to withdraw from signing an association agreement with the EU and instead accept a Russian trade deal and loan bailout. This sparked mass protests against him that ultimately led to his ousting as president.[14][15][16] The civil unrest peaked in February 2014, when almost 100 protesters were killed.[17]

Ukraine's political forces managed to reach an agreement. After the agreement was signed, Yanukovych, fearing for his life and the safety of his family[citation needed], left Kyiv without warning, first for Kharkiv and later for Crimea.

The next day, 22 February, Ukraine's parliament voted to remove him from his position and schedule early elections on the grounds that he had withdrawn from his constitutional duties,[18] rather than through following the impeachment process outlined in the Ukrainian constitution. Some of his own party voted for his removal.[19][20][21][22] On 24 February 2014, the new government issued a warrant for Yanukovych's arrest, accusing him of being responsible for the killing of protestors. Yanukovych went into exile in Russia, claiming to still be the legitimate head of state.[23]

On 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of president by parliament.[24] On 24 January 2019, he was sentenced in absentia to a thirteen year prison term for high treason by a Ukrainian court.[25] In various polling conducted since his departure from office, Yanukovych was ranked the least popular president in Ukraine's independent history.[26] [27] Yanukovych has also given his name to a collective term for blunders made by Ukrainian politicians: Yanukisms.[28]

In social polls conducted since his departure from office, Yanukovych is regarded as one of the worst presidents in Ukrainian history.[29][30][31][32][33]

  1. ^ Resolution of Verkhovna Rada #757–VII. About self removal of President of Ukraine from execution of his constitutional powers and assignment of early elections of President of Ukraine (Про самоусунення Президента України від виконання конституційних повноважень та призначення позачергових виборів Президента України). Verkhovna Rada. 22 February 2014
  2. ^ "YANUKOVYCH, VIKTOR". Interpol. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  3. ^ Starkov, Nick (5 February 2023). "Ukraine's Zelenskiy strips citizenship of several former politicians". Reuters. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  4. ^ Ukraine's Tymoshenko Slams Rival, No Comment On Election Result, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (11 February 2010): "International observers and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have called the election transparent and honest."
  5. ^ Wilson, Andrew (8 November 2022). The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation. Yale University Press. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-300-27249-9.
  6. ^ "Rada removes Yanukovych from office, schedules new elections for May 25". Interfax-Ukraine (24 February 2014).
  7. ^ Roth, Andrew (25 January 2019). "Ukraine's ex-president Viktor Yanukovych found guilty of treason". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Timeline".
  9. ^ "Yanukovych set to become president as observers say Ukraine election was fair". the Guardian. 8 February 2010.
  10. ^ Ukraine election 'reversed democracy', OSCE says, BBC News (29 October 2012)
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference press-freedom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference SL-OD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Dinan, Desmond; Nugent, Neil, eds. (2017). The European Union in Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 3, 274.
  14. ^ Rajan Menon (28 January 2014). "Ukraine: Is Yanukovych Finished?". The National Interest. p. 3. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  15. ^ Kathy Lally (11 March 2014). "Ousted Ukraine president warns of civil war, criticizes U.S. for aiding current government". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  16. ^ Maxim Eristavi (2 March 2014). "How Ukraine's Parliament Brought Down Yanukovych". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  17. ^ "Accountability for killings in Ukraine from January 2014 to May 2016" (PDF). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. pp. 9, 21–25.
  18. ^ "Ukraine: Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov named interim president", BBC News (23 February 2014)
    "Ukraine protests timeline", BBC News (23 February 2014)
  19. ^ Andrew Higgins; Andrew E.Kramer (22 February 2014). "Archrival Is Freed as Ukraine Leader Flees". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  20. ^ David Stern (22 February 2014). "Ukrainian MPs vote to oust President Yanukovych". BBC. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  21. ^ "Офіційний портал Верховної Ради України". w1.c1.rada.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014.
  22. ^ Рада скинула Януковича [Parliament dropped Yanukovych] (in Ukrainian). 22 February 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  23. ^ "Yanukovych reportedly declares he is Ukraine's president and plans press conference in Russia on Feb. 28". Kyiv Post. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  24. ^ Published law deprives Yanukovych of presidential rank, Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (17 June 2015)
  25. ^ "Ukrainian court sentences ex-president Yanukovich to 13 years in prison". Reuters. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Хто був найкращим президентом на думку українців" [Who was the best president according to Ukrainians?]. Всеукраїнська газета Наголос (in Ukrainian). 22 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  27. ^ "Історія президентів України в семи актах – Центр спільних дій" [Presidents' assessment: Zelensky is most trusted, Kuchma is considered the best]. Сentreua (in Ukrainian). 1 December 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Янукізми". Український тиждень (in Ukrainian). 3 September 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  29. ^ "Хто був найкращим президентом на думку українців". Всеукраїнська газета Наголос (in Ukrainian). 22 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  30. ^ "Українці визначилися з "найкращим президентом" в історії країни - Рейтинг". LIGA (in Russian). 18 May 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  31. ^ "Як змінювався рівень довіри та підтримки Зеленського та його попередників (оновлено)". Слово і Діло (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Оцінка президентів: найбільше довіряють Зеленському, найкращим вважають Кучму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Історія президентів України в семи актах - Центр спільних дій". Сentreua (in Ukrainian). 1 December 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2022.


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