With his election to the Ukrainian presidency, Viktor Yushchenko became a hero throughout the world for his courage in the face of nearly overwhelming adversity. After three elections (two of them marred by fraud), one attempted murder by poison, one r

"This volume explores the role of former president Kuchma and the oligarchs, societal attitudes, the role of the political opposition and civil society, the importance of the media, and the roles of Russia and the West"--Provided by publisher.

In December 2004, the world watched as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians gathered to defy the results of a transparently rigged presidential election. The charismatic popular candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, had been poisoned and disfigured by his opponents. The security forces threatened violent repression. But the demonstrators stayed and, as international pressure grew, the corrupt old regime that had been supported by Putin's Kremlin was deposed. It was the most significant moment for Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall. An Orange Revolution is the gripping account of this historic uprising and the events that led to it. Ukraine was treated roughly by the twentieth century, occupied by the Germans and annexed by the Soviets. It saw guerrilla fighting after the Second World War and dissent was crushed by successive Communist administrations. Its history has been one of corruption, power struggles, organised crime, but a resiliently optimistic population. Based on firsthand observation and interviews with major players and anonymous demonstrators alike, this is about a people who have forced a lasting change: judges who defied death threats, a murdered journalist, amateur musicians who composed an anthem for the people, and soldiers who staked their lives to back the opposition. An Orange Revolution also traces the story of the author's family, who paid a high price for speaking out. An Orange Revolution is a captivating book about a defining moment in European history.

One of Europe's old nations steeped in history, Ukraine is today an undisputed independent state. It is a democracy and has transformed into a market economy with predominant private ownership. Ukraine's postcommunist transition has been one of the most protracted and socially costly, but it has taken the country to a desirable destination. Åslund's vivid account of Ukraine's journey begins with a brief background, where he discusses the implications of Ukraine's history, the awakening of society because of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms, the early democratization, and the impact of the ill-fated Soviet economic reforms. He then turns to the reign of President Leonid Kravchuk from 1991 to 1994, the only salient achievement of which was nation-building, while the economy collapsed in the midst of hyperinflation. The first two years of Leonid Kuchma's presidency, from 1994 to 1996, were characterized by substantial achievements, notably financial stabilization and mass privatization. The period 1996–99 was a miserable period of policy stagnation, rent seeking, and continued economic decline. In 2000 hope returned to Ukraine. Viktor Yushchenko became prime minister and launched vigorous reforms to cleanse the economy from corruption, and economic growth returned. The ensuing period, 2001–04, amounted to a competitive oligarchy. It was quite pluralist, although repression increased. Economic growth was high. The year 2004 witnessed the most joyful period in Ukraine, the Orange Revolution, which represented Ukraine's democratic breakthrough, with Yushchenko as its hero. The postrevolution period, however, has been characterized by great domestic political instability; a renewed, explicit Russian threat to Ukraine's sovereignty; and a severe financial crisis. The answers to these challenges lie in how soon the European Union fully recognizes Ukraine's long-expressed identity as a European state, how swiftly Ukraine improves its malfunctioning constitutional order, and how promptly it addresses corruption.

Ukraine's struggle for a national identity plagued this former Soviet Union state long before the Cold War shook the world. Its central location between Eastern Europe and Western Asia invited many different cultures to settle the land, ultimately populating a powerful early medieval society known as Kievan Rus. However, readers will learn how Kievan Rus's Golden Age quickly crumbled with decades of Mongol invasions, Polish-Lithuanian occupation, and Russian empirical ruling. Explore how Ukraine flirted with independence in the early 20th century, only to be quickly taken over by harsh Soviet rule in 1922. Despite its independence from the USSR in 1991, devastating consequences of the socialist rule have allowed the world to witness Ukraine's ceaseless efforts to attain a stable government, struggling through the poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko, rigged elections, and the Orange Revolution. Kubicek's survey is comprehensive and concise-a perfect resource for high school students and undergrads, as well as general readers looking to further their knowledge of this up-and-coming nation.

In January 2005, Viktor Yushchenko became Ukraine's new President, after massive demonstrations help to overturn the former regime's electoral fraud, in what has been dubbed the "Orange Revolution," after Yushchenko's campaign color. The "Orange Revolution" sparked a good deal of interest in congress and elsewhere. Some hope that Ukraine may finally embark on a path of comprehensive reforms and Euro-Atlantic integration after nearly 15 years of half-measures and false starts. However, subsequent events heave led to a certain amount of disillusionment among Yushchenko's supporters. These include infighting within his governing coalition and a political non-aggression pact Yushchenko made with his opponent from the presidential election, Viktor Yanukovych. Economic reforms have also been hampered by political conflict, including over an effort to reprivatize firms sold to the previous regime's cronies at very low prices. Economic growth has slowed since the Orange Revolution. on march 26, 2006, Ukraine held parliamentary elections. No party won a majority of the vote, resulting in protracted talks to form a coalition government. Analysts interpreted the election results as a sharp rebuke to President Yushchenko and his Our Ukraine bloc. The largest vote-getter in the elections was the Party of Regions, headed by Yanukovych. Our Ukraine is attempting to reconstitute the Orange Revolution coalition government, which many Western observers see as the best outcome for promoting reform and a pro-Western foreign policy. However, such a result is far from assured, due to continuing enmity between supporters of Yushchenko and those of former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, who Yushchenko fired in September 2005. The importance of the new parliament will be heightened by the implementation of constitutional reforms that will reduce the powers of the presidency and increase those of the prime minister and the parliament. After taking office as President, Yushchenko said that Ukraine would seek integration into the global economy and Euro-Atlantic institutions. The Ukrainian government's main foreign policy goal is to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the end of this year. In the longer term Ukraine's leaders seek to join the European Union and NATO. Ukraine is seeking to retain good ties with Russia, but relations have been troubled since Yushchenko has taken power, particularly after Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine in January 2006. The supplies were quickly restored, but only after Ukraine agreed to a hefty increase in gas prices. U.S. officials supported the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine in late 2004 and early 2005, warning the former regime against trying to impose fraudulent elections results, and hailing Yushchenko's ultimate victory. U.S. officials have remained upbeat about Ukraine's successes in some areas, such as adopting legislation needed for WTO membership and in improving media freedom, while acknowledging difficulties in others. Administration officials have also praised Ukraine's efforts to hold a free and fair parliamentary election on March 26, 2006.

On Feb. 7, 2010, Viktor Yanukovych defeated Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko to win Ukraine's presidency. Yanukovych was able to quickly form a new parliamentary majority in the current parliament by inducing dozens of supporters of the previous government to change sides. Government opponents charged that bribery and threats to the business interests of members were used to effect the change. President Yanukovych has pursued closer ties with Russia, esp. in the economic sphere. Contents of this report: (1) Background; (2) Current Political Situation; (3) Current Economic Situation; (4) Ukraine's Foreign Policy: NATO; European Union; Russia: Energy Issues; (5) U.S. Policy; U.S. Aid to Ukraine. This is a print on demand report.