Ukraine's Political Crisis and U.S. Policy Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
Premium Purchase PDF for $24.95 (18 pages)
add to cart or
subscribe for unlimited access
Pro Premium subscribers have free access to our full library of CRS reports.
Subscribe today, or
request a demo to learn more.
| Release Date |
Revised Feb. 1, 2005 |
| Report Number |
RL32691 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Steven Woehrel, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
Premium Dec. 14, 2004 (15 pages, $24.95)
add
|
Summary:
In 2004, many observers believed that Ukraine was at a key period in its transition that could
shape
its geopolitical orientation for years to come, in part due to presidential elections held on October
31, November 21, and December 26, 2004. In their view, Ukraine could move closer to integration
in Euro-Atlantic institutions, real democracy and the rule of law, and a genuine free market economy,
or it could move toward a Russian sphere of influence with "managed democracy"
and an oligarchic
economy. For the past decade, Ukraine's political scene had been dominated by President
Leonid
Kuchma and the oligarchic "clans" (regionally based groups of powerful politicians
and
businessmen) that have supported him. The oligarchs chose Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych as
their candidate to succeed Kuchma as President. The chief opposition candidate, former Prime
Minister Viktor Yushchenko, was a pro-reform, pro-Western figure seen by many observers as a man
of high personal integrity.
International observers criticized the election campaign and the first and second rounds of the
election as not free and fair, citing such factors as government-run media bias in favor of
Yanukovych, abuse of absentee ballots, barring of opposition representatives from electoral
commissions, and inaccurate voter lists. Nevertheless, Yushchenko topped the first round of the vote
on October 31 by a razor-thin margin over Yanukovych. Other candidates finished far behind. After
the November 21 runoff between the two top candidates, Ukraine's Central Election
Commission
proclaimed Yanukovych the winner. Yushchenko's supporters charged that massive fraud
had been
committed. They blockaded government offices in Kiev and appealed to the Ukrainian Supreme
Court to invalidate the vote as fraudulent. The court did so on December 3, calling for a repeat of
the second round on December 26. Yushchenko won the December 26 re-vote, with 51.99% of the
vote to Yanukovych's 44.19%. After several court challenges by Yanukovych were rejected,
Yushchenko was inaugurated as President of Ukraine on January 23, 2005.
The European Union and the United States strongly denounced electoral fraud in Ukraine in
the first two rounds, and hailed the largely free and fair conduct of the repeat vote. In contrast,
Russian President Vladimir Putin openly backed Yanukovych and publicly congratulated him on his
"victory" soon after the second round vote. Russian officials have charged that the
United States and
the European Union's charges of electoral fraud were an attempt to bring Ukraine under
western
influence. U.S. policymakers must tackle such difficult issues as how to promote democracy in
Ukraine, Ukraine's possible troop withdrawal from Iraq, and U.S.-Russian tensions over
Ukraine's
future geopolitical orientation.
The 109th Congress adopted legislation on the Ukrainian elections. H.Con.Res. 16 and S.Con.Res. 7 congratulated Ukraine for its commitment to democracy and its
resolution of its political crisis in a peaceful manner, and pledged U.S. help to Ukraine's
efforts to
develop democracy, a free market economy, and integrate into the international community of
democracies. This report will not be updated.
