Top political events

Yanukovych wins the presidential race

February 25, 2010, the leader of the Party of Regions took the Ukrainian version of the Pledge of Allegiance as the fourth President of Ukraine. This landed him a spot as one of Time‘s Top Ten Comebacks, as the only foreigner among the US showmen, athletes, and politicians: earlier this year Yanukovych defeated Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to become president — for real. To the unease of many, he has since strengthened relations with Russia and increased his power.”

Unlike well-to-do Europe, there is more to the presidential elections in Ukraine than electing the Guarantor of the Constitution and Commander-in-chief; there is also the civilizational choice to be made. Each time Ukrainians choose the “development vector.” Yanukovych’s presidency preconditioned Ukraine’s non-bloc status and formation of a strong vertical of power.

lack Tuesday

April 27, 2010, was tagged as Black Tuesday, considering that it saw two markedly negative events: (a) Viktor Yanukovych declared in Strasbourg that the Holodomor should not be recognized as an act of genocide [against the Ukrainian people] and that it was part of a tragedy that had befallen all territories of the Soviet Union that would consequently become independent states; (b) ratification of an agreement prolonging the deployment of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine for some fifty years. Ukrainian Speaker of Parliament Volodymyr Lytvyn hid under an umbrella from a shower of eggs hurled from the Verkhovna Rada’s audience, a dramatic moment that captured the world’s headlines. Despite the shouts of Shame!, homemade smoke grenades, and fistfights, the prolongation bill received 236 yeas.

Tax Code Saga

Mass protest rallies of entrepreneurs against the new Tax Code doubtlessly marked one of the year’s most important events. This code was the result of a long and painful effort, after compromises had been sought on the Maidan, at the Cabinet of Ministers and Presidential Administration. In the end, the business people got their simplified taxation formula and Ukraine got its tax legislation.