Russia Ukraine war, page-6518

Revolutions are a 'coup' these days?

I thought communists such as yourself loved revolutions.

Read up on repressive stooge Yankovcych, currently living in exile in Russia.
The Ukrainian people are well rid of this Putinist gangster.

Alleged attempt to remove opposition[edit]

President Yanukovych and the Party of Regions were accused of trying to create a "controlled democracy" in Ukraine and as a means to this were trying to "destroy" main opposition party BYuT, but both denied these charges.^{[136][137][138][139][140][141][142][143][144][145][146]} One frequently cited example of Yankukovych's attempts to centralize power is the 2011 sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko, which was condemned by Western governments as potentially being politically motivated.^[147][148] Other high-profile political opponents under criminal investigation include Leonid Kuchma,^[149] Bogdan Danilishin, Igor Didenko,^[150] Anatoliy Makarenko,^[151] and Valeriy Ivaschenko.^[152]
According to Yanukovych (on 4 February 2011), "[M]any lies [have been] told and attempts made to misinform the international community and ordinary people in Ukraine about the true state of affairs in the country." He also stated, "[A] crushing blow delivered under [my] rule to corruption and bureaucracy has been met with resistance".^[92] He stated in February 2012 that the trial of Tymoshenko and other former officials "didn't meet European standards and principles".^[153]

Reports of corruption and cronyism[edit]

Yanukovych has been widely criticized for "massive" corruption and cronyism.^{[171][172][173][174][175]}
By January 2013, more than half of the ministers appointed by Yanukovych were either born in the Donbas region or made some crucial part of their careers there, and Yanukovych has been accused of "regional cronyism" for his staffing of police, judiciary, and tax services "all over Ukraine" with "Donbas people".^[176] Over 46% of the budget subventions for social and economic development was allotted to the Donbas region's Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast administrations – 0.62 billion UAH ($76.2 million) versus 0.71 billion UAH ($87.5 million) for the rest of the country.^[177]
Anders Åslund, a Swedish economist and Ukraine analyst, described the consolidation of Ukrainian economic power in the hands of a few "elite industrial tycoons", one of the richest and most influential of whom has become President Yanukovych's own son Oleksandr Yanukovych. The exact distribution of wealth and precise weight of influence are difficult to gauge, but most of the country's richest men were afraid to cross the Yanukovich family, even in cases where their own economic interests favored an economically pro-EU Ukraine.^[172]
The Yanukovych family, a group of young businessmen described as "robber capitalists", have been buying up both public and private businesses at "rock bottom" prices available in the stagnating economic conditions brought on by Yanukovych's economic policies."^[178] According to Åslund, one notable exception to the Yanukovych family's influence was Petro Poroshenko, who is described as "uncommonly courageous", although his confectionery empire is less susceptible to ruin by the substantial power the Yanukovych family wielded in the heavy industry sectors located in Yanukovych's geographic power base of Donetsk.^[172]
Yanukovych had an estimated net worth of $12 billion,^{[citation needed]} and has been accused by Ukrainian officials of misappropriating funds from Ukraine's treasury. Arseniy Yatsenyuk has claimed that treasury funds of up to $70 billion were transferred to foreign accounts during Yanukovych's presidency. ^[179] Authorities in Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein froze the assets of Yanukovych and his son Oleksander on 28 February 2014 pending a money laundering investigation. Yanukovych has denied that he embezzled funds and has said that his alleged foreign accounts do not exist.
During the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, at least 7000 Ukrainian companies were attacked by the oligarchic clan of Yanukovych (the so-called "Yanukovych Families"). This number includes both cases of the so-called Family entering the corporate rights of the firms they like by illegal methods, and "assaults" in order to obtain "tribute" – that is, commercial gain. This is evidenced by the data of the Anti-Raider Union of Entrepreneurs of Ukraine. The victims of Yanukovych's raider methods were offered to pay a regular "tribute" in the amount of 30–50% of the company's profits – or to cede ownership of it.^{[citation needed]}
Personal excesses[edit]

Yanukovych abandoned his large estate, Mezhyhirya^[180] when he fled the capital. The estate is located in a former forest preserve on the outskirts of Kyiv.
He had acquired the property in 2007, according to critics, through a convoluted series of companies and transactions. Yanukovych did not reveal the price he paid, although he called it a "very serious price".^[181] Mezhyhirya is estimated to have been sold for more than 75 million U.S. dollars.
Protesters walked unchallenged into the former president's office and residential compounds after police and security left their posts in Kyiv. Protesters had free access to government buildings, and to the presidential mansion and estate. They were amazed at the opulence and extravagance of what they found, including a private zoo, a fleet of cars, and a large boat.^[182]
In a feature with photos on Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya mansion, Sergii Leshchenko notes "For most of [Yanukovych's] career he was a public servant or parliament deputy, where his salary never exceeded 2000 US dollars per month." Under a photo showing the new home's ornate ceiling, Leschenko remarks, "In a country where 35% of the population live under poverty line, spending 100,000 dollars on each individual chandelier seems excessive, to say the least." Crowned with a pure copper roof, the mansion was the largest wooden structure ever created by Finnish log home builder Honka, whose representative suggested to Yanukovych that it be nominated for the Guinness Book of Records.^[171]
The property contained a private zoo, underground shooting range, 18-hole golf course, tennis, and bowling. After describing the mansion's complicated ownership scheme, the article author noted, "The story of Viktor Yanukovych and his residence highlights a paradox. Having completely rejected such European values as human rights and democracy, the Ukrainian president uses Europe as a place to hide his dirty money with impunity."^[171]
Documents recovered from Yanukovych's compound show among other expenses $800 medical treatment for fish, $14,500 spent on tablecloths, and a nearly 42 million dollar order for light fixtures. Also recovered were files on Yanukovych's perceived enemies, especially media members, including beating victim Tetyana Chornovol. The cost of monitoring the mass media was reportedly $5.7 million just for the month of December 2010.^[183]
When the former president departed, 35 cars and seven motorbikes were left behind. Kyiv's District Court seized 27 vintage cars in 2016 from the fleet stationed at Mezhyhirya, some worth more than $US 1 million.
Yanukovych told BBC Newsnight (in June 2015) that stories that Mezhyhirya cost the Ukrainian taxpayer millions of dollars were "political technology and spin" and that the estate did not belong to him personally; he claimed that the ostriches in the residence's petting zoo "just happened to be there"^[184] and remarked "I supported the ostriches, what’s wrong with that?".
Accusations of police abuse and vote rigging[edit]

Yanukovych's refusal to sign a Trade Association Agreement with Western Europe originated massive protests that culminated in the murder of 88 demonstrators between the 20 and 22 February 2014.^{[185][186][187][188]} The treaty was signed on 29 May 2014, after his removal.^[189] Yanukovych has been accused, by Amnesty International among others, of using the Berkut to threaten, attack, and torture Ukrainian protesters. The Berkut, disbanded on 25 February 2014, were a controversial national police force under his personal command and were accused of promoting Russian interests.^[12]
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe confirmed witness accounts of voters being blocked from access to polls and being attacked along with local election officials who tried to frustrate the Berkut's practice of falsifying voters' ballots in favor of Yanukovych's Party of Regions candidates. Individual cases have been reported of citizens grouping together and fighting back against the Berkut in order to preserve election integrity and results.^[12] Upon coming to power Yanukovych had reversed oversight measures established during the Yushchenko administration to restrain the Berkut's abuse of citizens whereupon the special force "upped its brutality."^[190]