INDEPTH: UKRAINE
Ukraine's two Viktors
CBC News Online | Dec. 13, 2004
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko was born in 1954 in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine, a predominantly agricultural area that borders Russia.
He was educated as an economist, and worked his way up from village accountant to higher positions in the banking system of Ukraine while it was a Soviet republic.
Viktor Yushchenko addresses a crowd at Kiev's Independence Square, accusing authorities of rigging the presidential vote. (AP photo)
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After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, Yushchenko continued his rapid rise, becoming head of the country's banking system in 1993. He is credited with taming hyperinflation and replacing the Russian ruble with Ukraine's own currency, the hryvnya.
By 1998, Yushchenko had become a political star, having largely shielded Ukraine from the impact of Russia's financial crisis, which was sparked by Moscow's inability to meet its debt payments.
In 1999, President Leonid Kuchma appointed Yushchenko prime minister. Kuchma's popularity continued to sag under allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Many called Yushchenko's decision to accept the position a political mistake, claiming he would be bolstering Kuchma's credibility but damaging his own.
Instead, he continued to gain support by keeping inflation in check, opening up the economy, paying pensions on time and bringing growth rates approaching six per cent to a country that had known nothing but recession for several years.
WHAT ARE DIOXINS?
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Dioxins are synthetic toxic chemicals that are produced as a byproduct:
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When organic substances are burned, as in incinerators.
- During the bleaching of paper and textiles.
- In the manufacture of herbicides, such as 2,4-D and Agent Orange.
Dioxins accumulate in living tissue, and cause a severe form of acne, called chloracne, in high doses. They are also known to cause cancer.
Because dioxins build up in living organisms and don't easily break down, they're called persistent organic pollutants.
» More in Toxins in a Fragile Frontier
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Yushchenko resisted overtures from liberal and nationalist opposition groups to become their leader, remaining - officially - an ally of his boss, the president.
But in 2001, Kuchma fired Yushchenko's deputy, who had been in charge of cleaning up corruption in the country's energy industry. Yushchenko quit as prime minister after parliament adopted a motion of non-confidence in his rule.
That freed Yushchenko to take on the leadership of the Our Ukraine opposition bloc. He is a Ukrainian nationalist, but does not bill himself as anti-Russian. He has campaigned on a platform of continuing to modernize the economy, ending corruption, and establishing closer ties with NATO and the European Union with the goal of eventually gaining membership in both.
Yushchenko is opposed to moves to introduce dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship. He says Russia, the EU and the United States should be Ukraine's strategic partners.
On Sept. 6, 2004, Yushchenko fell ill, suffering from back pain, pancreatitis and nerve paralysis on the left side of his face. He said he was certain he had been poisoned by a political opponent. His detractors suggested he had eaten some bad sushi. In December 2004 doctors confirmed that Yushchenko had dioxin poisoning.
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych (AP photo)
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Born on July 9, 1950, in Yenakiyevo in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Victor Yanukovych grew up speaking Russian. He learned Ukrainian later in life.
His youth was troubled: by 1970 he had been convicted of violent crimes twice and had spent time in jail. But Yanukovych turned his life around. In 1972, he landed a job as a mechanic at a bus company. In 1980, he graduated from the Donetsk Polytechnic Institute as a mechanical engineer.
He was appointed manager of a transportation company, beginning a career in regional automotive transport. For the next 20 years, Yanukovych held top executive positions in the industry.
In 1996, Yanukovych shifted to politics. He was appointed deputy head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration. Within a year, he was the top politician in the regional administration.
In 2001, Yanukovych graduated from the Ukrainian Academy of Foreign Trade, Faculty of International Law, as a doctor of economics.
Donetsk is home to three million people and its fortunes are key to Ukraine's economy. Yanukovych has been viewed as being very close to the region's political and business groups, and especially to businessman Rinat Akhmetov. Akhmetov's name has been linked to just about everything connected to sports, business and politics in eastern Ukraine - and not always in glowing terms.
Yanukovych's supporters say the Donetsk region received record levels of investment while he was governor. His opponents suggest his approach was vintage Soviet - rough and uncompromising.
On Nov. 21, 2002, President Kuchma appointed Yanukovych prime minister.
Yanukovych looks east for Ukraine's future. He favours closer integration with Russia, including dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship. He has pledged to make Russian one of Ukraine's official languages.
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Population: 47,732,079
Government type: Republic
Capital: Kiev
Independence: Aug. 24, 1991
Industries: coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar)
GDP: $260.4 billion
Unemployment: 3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers
Population below poverty line: 29%
Life expectancy: men 61.35 years, women 72.27 years
Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
Ethnic groups: Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8%
Religions: Ukrainian Orthodox – Moscow Patriarchate 26.5%, Ukrainian Orthodox – Kyiv Patriarchate 20%, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate) 13%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish
Source: CIA World Factbook
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