Latest Articles about Europe's East
Yanukovych in Moscow: More Than Balancing his Brussels Visit
Ukraine’s newly elected President, Viktor Yanukovych, paid a visit (and, to a degree, homage) to Moscow on March 5. Inaugurated in office on February 25, Yanukovych chose Brussels as his first destination for a working visit abroad on March 1 (EDM, March 4). Having tilted... MORE
Brussels Ready to Work with Yanukovych for Ukraine
Ukraine’s newly elected President, Viktor Yanukovych, chose Brussels as his first destination for a working visit abroad. Inaugurated on February 25, Yanukovych held talks with European Union leaders on March 1, ahead of a March 5 visit to Moscow. This chosen sequence, as well as... MORE
Yanukovych Inaugurated: a Pseudo Kuchma Era?
Viktor Yanukovych was inaugurated as Ukraine’s new president on February 25. His first steps and statements have proved reminiscent of President Leonid Kuchma’s (1994-2004) first term. Yanukovych selected Kuchma’s former secretary as the head of his administration and demonstrated that in foreign policy he will... MORE
Yanukovych’s Election Opens Up Crimean Separatist Threat
Viktor Yanukovych’s inauguration as Ukrainian president on February 25 forced him to face the fact that the Party of Regions that he leads, has re-opened the Pandora’s Box of Crimean separatism. National Institute of Strategic Studies analyst Petro Burkovsky asked “Will President Yanukovych open up... MORE
Tymoshenko Refuses to Recognize Yanukovych as President
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has withdrawn her appeal from the High Administrative Court against the February 7 election runoff result. This means that nothing will prevent the election winner Viktor Yanukovych’s inauguration on February 25. However, Tymoshenko refused to admit her defeat. Moreover, she told... MORE
Belarus Targets the Union of Poles
On February 8, around midday, about twenty Belarusian police and officials from the Valozhyn district court descended on the Polish House in Ivyanets (Iweniec), 40 miles west of Minsk, ordered all personnel to leave, and then changed the locks. The Belarusian authorities claimed that the... MORE
Ukraine: Largest Ailing Bank Nadra Remains in Limbo
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has rejected the government plan to liquidate Nadra, the largest among Ukraine’s ailing banks. The only potential investor interested in Nadra, energy and chemical tycoon Dmytro Firtash, failed to persuade the NBU to sell Nadra. Nadra remains in limbo... MORE
Yushchenko Facilitates Yanukovych’s Election and Buries the Orange Revolution
Two major myths promoted by President Viktor Yushchenko in Ukraine’s 2010 presidential elections were that there was no difference in policies between the two main candidates, Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko, and that both were “pro-Russian.” These myths helped defeat Tymoshenko by 3 percent in... MORE
Ukrainian President-Elect Yanukovych Resurrects Gas Consortium Scheme
Throughout the electoral campaign, Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yanukovych promised to seek a special deal with Russia on natural gas: Russia to supply Ukraine with gas at discounted prices and, in return, be allowed to take over an ownership share in Ukraine’s gas transit system, which... MORE
Yanukovych Faces Uphill Struggle for Control of Ukraine, Despite Victory in Presidential Election
As expected, opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych has won the February 7 presidential election runoff. Unlike in 2004, when Yanukovych lost a controversial poll to Viktor Yushchenko and his supporters were accused of large-scale election fraud, this time international observers said the election was free and... MORE