Steering Away From the Rocks

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TOL Talk: A Ukraine expert says the next president must act fast to right the listing ship of state.
by Andy Markowitz 15 January 2010

Wilson

Since Viktor Yushchenko swept to Ukraine's presidency five years ago, the country has lurched from crisis to crisis, with political instability magnifying the effect of the economic crisis. Now the public is poised to repudiate Yushchenko – and, by extension, his aspirations for a more Europe-leaning Ukraine – in favor of Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin favorite whose fraud-tainted victory in the 2004 election triggered the Orange Revolution.

Ahead of Sunday's first round of presidential balloting, TOL talked to Andrew Wilson, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation, about the tarnished legacy of the Orange Revolution and what the next president must do to get the country on a sounder footing.

The interview was conducted on Friday, 8 January. You can listen to the conversation on the player below or download it by right-clicking here.

Andy Markowitz is TOL's multimedia editor. Home page photo of a 2004 Kyiv protest by M.A. Cholewicz.

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TOL PROMOTION

Minority Coverage in Focus

With the recent events in Kyrgyzstan, the need to improve coverage of ethnic and other minorities was again thrown into stark relief. Toward that end, TOL has launched a call for applications for a distance-learning course on the subject for media professionals and bloggers from Central Asia. Deadline: September 20th, 2010

For more information or to apply, click here.

NEWS FILTER

Several killed in Nagorno-Karabakh clash: BBC News

Medvedev Sets Kremlin Atwitter: WSJ

A Desperate Homecoming for Deported Roma: Der Spiegel

Fear for fans as Ukraine announces budget cut in Euro 2012 plans: The Guardian

Is Saakashvili Preventing Peace with Russia?: RES/ISN

Azerbaijan Flood Victims Complaining about Slow Reconstruction Pace: Eurasianet

Polish leader urges EU to keep generous aid funds: Reuters

Poland: Afghan Costs Crimping Force Modernization, Leader Says: The New York Times

Anniversary Of Beslan School Tragedy: RFE/RL

Will Russia's Bloggers Survive Censorship Push?: Der Spiegel

The Road From Democracy
As the Yushchenko era draws to a close, even Viktor Yanukovych has earned the right to lecture his old Orange opponent on the meaning of democracy.
By Sergey Sydorenko
14 January 2010

Coming Together
The revolution in Europe’s perception of Ukraine continues, with the European Parliament urging Europe’s leaders to offer Ukraine the possibility of EU membership.
by Ivan Lozowy
11 January 2010

At the Crossroads
A burgeoning Tymoshenko bloc, a neutered presidency, and a miffed Moscow – all the elements were in place for Yushchenko's failure even before he was sworn in.
by Ivan Kolos
22 December 2009

Yanukovych’s Shrinking Snowball
Professional political pundits doubt that Ukraine’s almost-president of 2004 can fulfill his dream in 2010.
BBC Monitoring
24 November 2009