Polls closed in the decisive presidential election runoff yesterday (November 21) between Viktor Yushchenko, the candidate of the center-right coalition of market liberals and nationalists, and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who was backed by outgoing president Leonid Kuchma and the "oligarchs." The Central Electoral Commission... MORE

With the second round of Ukraine's election set for November 21, President Leonid Kuchma will soon become an ex-president. The final vote tally is due no later than 15 days after election day; therefore, the new president should be inaugurated in early December. After a... MORE

On November 10, the Central Election Commission issued the final results of the October 31 Ukrainian presidential election. The final tally gave challenger Viktor Yushchenko a slight lead of 0.55%. This edge was challenged by exit polls that gave Yushchenko a far higher lead of... MORE

On November 12, nine days before Ukraine's presidential election runoff, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to that country to bolster Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's presidential bid. During their day-long, amply televised visit to Crimea, Putin hugged Yanukovych, wishing him success in the election in several... MORE

On November 12-13, Russian President Vladimir Putin made his second visit to Ukraine in as many weeks. Although Kremlin officials maintain that this time Putin went to the neighboring country to open a ferry line across the Kerch Strait, most analysts agree that the Russian... MORE

Ahead of the November 21 presidential runoff between Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, the pro-Russian Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOCMP) has strongly come out in support of the pro-Russian candidate -- Yanukovych. The Moscow church has stopped... MORE

Unlike the 1994 and 1999 races, foreign policy issues have not played a central role in Ukraine's 2004 presidential campaign. The main opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, has deliberately stayed away from foreign policy issues. More importantly, foreign policy issues are not a major concern for... MORE

Rumors from sources close to the Russian presidential administration have suggested that Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych might be ready to withdraw from the second round of the presidential elections, set for November 21 (top.rbc.ru, November 5). Such a drastic step would ensure a second... MORE

The news of George W. Bush's re-election has drawn scant comment from Ukrainian policymakers. This is not surprising, given the fact that the U.S. elections took place just two days after Ukraine's own crucial presidential poll, whose first round ended in a draw between opposition... MORE

Five days after the election, the final results are still not declared in Ukraine's presidential election. Nevertheless, as opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko declared: "Whatever the authorities might say to us," he won the first round. "And, in the second round we shall finalize this victory,"... MORE