Orange Revolution

KIEV -- President Viktor Yushchenko fired his seven-month-old government yesterday, dismissing his dynamic prime minister -- the heroine of the Orange Revolution that swept him to power -- and accepting the resignation of one of the movement's top financial backers. The government breakup, amid allegations of corruption, deepened a crisis that has diminished the popularity of the man whose dioxin poisoning and defiant stand against election fraud seized the world's attention last year.

MOSCOW - A Ukrainian judge sentenced a former prime minister to seven years in prison yesterday, harming Ukraine's prospects for democracy and confronting the United States and Europe with a serious challenge. Both have been warning President Viktor Yanukovych against pursuing the prosecution of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, calling it politically motivated. If they do not respond with consequences, the West could well be accused of standing by as Ukraine broke the promises of its Orange Revolution.

KIEV -- One cold day this fall, Inna Grigoryeva stepped out in her orange scarf, hoping it would add a bit of cheer, and she was overwhelmed by the smiles and affectionate looks from passersby. A year after Ukraine's color-coded Orange Revolution, the excitement and ideals that brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to the capital's main square are already the stuff of orange-tinged nostalgia. Reality has taken on a darker hue, muddied by unfulfilled promises and fallible heroes.

KIEV - Acting on a judge's orders, police arrested former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko during her abuse-of-office trial yesterday for violations of court procedures. Her supporters in court, including national lawmakers, squabbled with riot police, trying to prevent them from driving her away in a prison car and shouting: "Shame! Shame!" Dozens of Tymoshenko's supporters then gathered outside the court building in central Kiev and tried to block the road. The United States and the European Union have condemned court cases against Tymoshenko and several of her...

KIEV -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said today he is nominating his former Orange Revolution foe, Viktor Yanukovych, for prime minister, insisting the decision would help unite the divided nation but acknowledging it might cause confusion. The decision ends four months of political uncertainty sparked by parliamentary elections in which no party won a majority. Yushchenko made the announcement in an early-morning address, two hours after the constitutional deadline passed for him to decide on Yanukovych's candidacy.

KIEV -- Ukraine's pro-Western, reformist parties agreed yesterday to form a coalition government that would return ousted prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko to her former job. But the deal, which reunites the team that led the country's Orange Revolution, may still fail. Talks among the three parties that led the Orange Revolution protests began after Ukraine's March parliamentary election ended without a decisive winner. President Viktor Yushchenko's pro-Western government had become unpopular because of political infighting, allegations of corruption, and disillusionment...

KIEV, Ukraine -- Corruption allegations, a faltering economy, and the failure to raise living standards cost the founders of the Orange Revolution at the polls. Ukraine's fiery heroine of the 2004 mass protests, Yulia Tymoshenko, called on her estranged former ally, President Viktor Yushchenko, to rejoin her in a coalition to keep the pro-Moscow candidate out of power even though he got the most votes. The question is: Can they reconcile? Tymoshenko, who was fired from her post as prime minister by Yushchenko and wants the job back, insisted a united front...

KIEV - Outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko said yesterday that the policies of his newly elected successor could turn Ukraine back into a Kremlin vassal state. Yushchenko made the statements, some of his harshest against President-elect Viktor Yanukovych, at a news conference nine days before he is due to hand over power. “The victory of Yanukovych is a Kremlin project. It is a policy of deep dependence on Russia,’’ Yushchenko said. Yushchenko was the leader of mass street protests in 2004 against Yanukovych’s Kremlin-backed...

KIEV -- Parliament confirmed Yulia Tymoshenko as Ukraine's new prime minister yesterday and gave the firebrand of the country's "Orange Revolution" protests the go-ahead to set the former Soviet republic on a new, westward course. In unanimous votes, Tymoshenko won confirmation as premier and won support for her government's program aimed at fighting poverty, tackling corruption, and preparing Ukraine for European Union membership. "We have passed through a long election path," said Tymoshenko, whose penchant for provocative statements has won her countless supporters and enemies.

KIEV - Ukrainian lawmakers have forged a three-party governing coalition, a top legislative leader said ending months of deadlock that paralyzed the country amid its worst financial crisis in a decade. The new coalition puts back together the fractured alliance of President Viktor Yushchenko and his rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko along with another smaller party. The announcement was made by Volodymyr Lytvyn, the shrewd former parliament speaker who played an important role during the 2004 Orange Revolution.

KIEV — Former Ukranian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko of Ukraine went on trial yesterday on charges of abuse of office, insisting during a chaotic hearing in a small and stiflingly hot courtroom that the case is a plot by the nation’s president to keep her out of politics. Tymoshenko, 50, said President Viktor Yanukovych is seeking to bar her from upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections as a convicted felon. But the 2004 Orange Revolution heroine, now the country’s top opposition leader, said she would not be quiet: “My voice will be even louder from prison because the...

KIEV — Ukraine’s Constitutional Court yesterday shifted key powers from parliament to the presidency, a move that boosted the influence of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, but also threw the country into legal uncertainty. The court invalidated a controversial political reform passed at the height of the 2004 Orange Revolution protests. Those amendments significantly strengthened the legislature and weakened the president’s powers. The court ruled that those changes were unconstitutional and returned to the president the power to name the...

KIEV - Parliament ousted Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a no-confidence motion yesterday that could end a political deadlock that has forced Ukraine to cope with an economic crisis without a budget. Parliament now has 30 days to form a new governing coalition and it is expected to coalesce around newly elected President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions. It would then be able to put forward a new prime minister. In her last minutes as premier, Tymoshenko, who lost last month’s presidential election, vowed to lead the opposition to Russia-friendly Yanukovych...

KIEV - Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, facing the imminent presidential inauguration of her rival, yesterday called on her narrow majority coalition in Ukraine’s parliament to hold firm against him. Tymoshenko lost to Viktor Yanukovych in the presidential election Feb. 7. She contends that Yanukovych’s victory by about 3.5 percentage points was fraudulent, but last week she dropped a court challenge to the official results, claiming that...

KIEV - Outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko said yesterday that the policies of his newly elected successor could turn Ukraine back into a Kremlin vassal state. Yushchenko made the statements, some of his harshest against President-elect Viktor Yanukovych, at a news conference nine days before he is due to hand over power. “The victory of Yanukovych is a Kremlin project. It is a policy of deep dependence on Russia,’’ Yushchenko said. Yushchenko was the leader of mass street protests in 2004 against Yanukovych’s Kremlin-backed election...

KIEV - International monitors yesterday hailed Ukraine’s presidential election as transparent and honest, bolstering opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych’s claim of victory and leaving Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a strategic bind. Tymoshenko, who was the charismatic catalyst of the 2004 Orange Revolution mass protests, had said she would call supporters into the streets if she deemed Sunday’s election fraudulent. But although she has signaled she will challenge the outcome in the courts, she issued no protest call yesterday and canceled two news conferences as she...

KIEV -- Ukraine's feuding president and prime minister agreed early today to hold an early parliamentary election on Sept. 30, diffusing a months-long political crisis that had threatened to escalate into violence. "We found a decision, which is a compromise," Yushchenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency after emerging from nearly more than eight hours of tense talks. The president had summoned thousands of troops to Ukraine's capital yesterday, but forces loyal to the nation's prime minister stopped them outside Kiev.

KIEV — Ukraine’s Constitutional Court yesterday shifted key powers from parliament to the presidency, a move that boosted the influence of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, but also threw the country into legal uncertainty. The court invalidated a controversial political reform passed at the height of the 2004 Orange Revolution protests. Those amendments significantly strengthened the legislature and weakened the president’s powers. The court ruled that those changes were unconstitutional and returned to the president the power to name the...

KIEV - Ukrainian presidential hopeful Viktor Yanukovych tried to look every part the winner last night as he mounted the stage before thousands of cheering supporters to the accompaniment of a victorious fanfare two days before the vote. On a square a block away, bitter rival Yulia Tymoshenko delivered a somber address to her followers, flanked by more than a dozen bearded priests in black frocks. Her campaign seemed to be losing momentum, and observers said victory appears to be slipping from her grasp.

KIEV - Opposition leader Viktor Yanukoyvch, the chief target of the 2004 Orange Revolution, took a big lead in the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election over his rival, Orange heroine and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, officials said yesterday. But that advantage after Sunday’s vote could prove illusory when the two go head-to-head in the final round of voting Feb. 7. Many expect a close race between the two candidates, who are likely to follow the same line on Ukraine’s most important policy issue - relations with Russia.