Orange-clad demonstrators gather in the Independence Square in Kiev on 22 November, 2004. Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Майдан Незалежності literally Independence Square) is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the On some days, the number of protesters in the center of Kiev reached hundreds of thousands (one million by some estimates)

The Orange Revolution (Ukrainian: Помаранчева революція, Pomarancheva revolyutsiya) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was compromised by massive corruption, voter intimidation and direct electoral fraud. Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. Protest expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations sometimes in favor though more often opposed Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. The presidential election held in November and December 2004 in Ukraine was mostly a political battle between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an Election. Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, was the focal point of the movement with thousands of protesters demonstrating daily. Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the Nationwide, the democratic revolution was highlighted by a series of acts of civil disobedience, sit-ins, and general strikes organized by the opposition movement. Civil disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain Laws demands and commands of a Government, or of an occupying power, without resorting to physical A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more persons nonviolently occupying an area for a Protest, often to promote political social A general strike is a Strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city region or country

The protests were prompted by reports from several domestic and foreign election monitors as well as the widespread public perception that the results of the run-off vote of November 21, 2004 between leading candidates Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych were rigged by the authorities in favor of the latter. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( Ukrainian: Viktor Andrijovyč Juščenko) (born February 23 1954) is the third and current President of Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( Ukrainian: Viktor Fedorovyč Janukovyč; Виктор Фёдорович Янукович (born on July 9, 1950 ^[1] The nationwide protests succeeded when the results of the original run-off were annulled, and a revote was ordered by Ukraine's Supreme Court for December 26, 2004. The Supreme Court of Ukraine (Верховний Суд України Verkhovny Sud Ukrayiny) is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction in Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Under intense scrutiny by domestic and international observers, the second run-off was declared to be "fair and free". The final results showed a clear victory for Yushchenko, who received about 52 percent of the vote, compared to Yanukovych's 44 percent. Yushchenko was declared the official winner and with his inauguration on January 23, 2005 in Kiev, the Orange Revolution peacefully reached its successful conclusion. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Ukraine

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Ukraine

Constitution Administrative divisions Parliament Chairman Imperative mandate President Viktor Yushchenko Cabinet Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Cabinet of Ministers Judicial system Constitutional Court Supreme Court Prosecutor General Elections Political parties Presidential election 2004 - 1999 - 1994 - 1991 Parliamentary elections 2012 - 2007 - 2006 - 2002 - 1998 - 1994 - 1990 National Referendums 2000 - 1991 Mayoral Election Kiev 2008 Central Election Commission Political events Ukrainian nationalism Declaration of Independence Proclamation of Independence Cassette Scandal Ukraine without Kuchma Orange Revolution Russia-Ukraine gas dispute Universal of National Unity 2007 political crisis Foreign relations Argentina Armenia Australia Bulgaria Canada China Croatia Cyprus Georgia France Germany Greece India Ireland Japan Malta Moldova Montenegro New Zealand Poland Romania Russia Serbia South Africa South Korea Sweden Switzerland Transnistria (unrecognised) United Kingdom United States European Union CIS GUAM Diplomatic Missions Abroad Foreign Missions in Ukraine Further Information

Other countries · Atlas  Politics Portal view • talk • edit

Prelude

Two main candidates in the 2004 presidential election in Ukraine: Viktor Yushchenko, the main opposition candidate pictured with the flag of Ukraine. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Politics of Ukraine take place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic Republic and of a multi-party system The Constitution of Ukraine (Конституція України was adopted at the 5th session of the Verkhovna Rada ( parliament) of Ukraine is subdivided into 24 Oblasts (provinces, one Autonomous republic, and two " cities with special status' " The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Верховна Рада України English: Supreme Council of Ukraine) is Ukraine 's Parliament The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Голова Верховної Ради України is the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine Imperative mandate is commonly referred to a provision in Ukraine's Constitution in which members of Ukraine's Parliament are bound by the constitution and laws of Ukraine to remain members The President of Ukraine (Президент України is the head of the state of Ukraine and acts in its name Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( Ukrainian: Viktor Andrijovyč Juščenko) (born February 23 1954) is the third and current President of The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Кабінет Міністрів України is the highest body of state Executive power in Ukraine and serves as the The Prime Minister of Ukraine (Прем'єр-міністр України Prem'ier-ministr Ukrayiny) presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko (Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко ʋɔlɔ'dɪmɪriʋnɑ tɪmɔ'ʃɛnkɔ Julia Volodymyrivna Tymošenko) (born on November The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Кабінет Міністрів України is the highest body of state Executive power in Ukraine and serves as the The judicial system of Ukraine consists of four levels of courts of general jurisdiction as follows Local courts of general jurisdiction (combining The Constitutional Court of Ukraine (Конституційний Суд України is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Supreme Court of Ukraine (Верховний Суд України Verkhovny Sud Ukrayiny) is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction in The Prosecutor General of Ukraine (also Attorney General of Ukraine Генеральний прокурор України heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as Elections in Ukraine gives information on Election and election results in Ukraine. Political parties in Ukraine lists political parties in Ukraine. The presidential election held in November and December 2004 in Ukraine was mostly a political battle between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych The Ukrainian presidential election 1999 was a presidential election held in 1999 in Ukraine. The Ukrainian presidential election 1994 was a presidential election held in 1994 in Ukraine. The Ukrainian presidential election 1991 was the first presidential election held in Ukraine. Early parliamentary elections in Ukraine took place on September 30, 2007. The Ukrainian parliamentary election took place on March 26, 2006. Ukrainian parliamentary election of 2002 took place on March 31. The second Ukrainian parliamentary election after the collapse of Soviet Union took place on 29 March 1998. The first parliamentary election in independent Ukraine took place in 1994 The first relatively free parliamentary election held in the Ukrainian SSR took place in several stages during March 4 - 18, 2000 Ukrainian national referendum (Всеукраїнський референдум 16 квітня 2000 року held on April 16, 2000 on the issue The Referendum took place in Ukraine on December 1, 1991. The only question of the Referendum was "Do you support the Act of The Central Election Commission of Ukraine (Центральна виборча комісія України commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК ( Tse-Ve-Ka Ukrainian nationalism is the term used for the Nationalist Ideology of Ukraine. The Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine (Акт проголошення незалежності України was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on August The Cassette Scandal (Касетний скандал also known as "Tapegate" erupting in 2000, was one of the main political events in Ukraine 's post-independence Ukraine without Kuchma! or UBK (Україна без Кучми! Ukrayina bez Kuchmy!) was a mass Protest campaign that took place in The Universal of National Unity, also known as the Declaration of National Unity, (Універсал Національної Єдності translit On April 2, 2007, Viktor Yushchenko, the President of Ukraine, dissolved parliament and signed the presidential decree ordering early parliamentary Western relations Ukraine considers Euro - Atlantic integration its primary foreign policy objective but in practice balances its relationship with Europe Canada-Ukraine relations (also called Ukraine-Canada relations) are the interstate ties between Canada and Ukraine. Chinese-Ukrainian relations are foreign relations between Ukraine and the People's Republic of China. Croatian-Ukrainian relations are foreign relations between Croatia and Ukraine. French-Ukrainian relations are Bilateral foreign relations between France and Ukraine. Greek-Ukrainian relations are foreign relations between Greece and Ukraine. Indo-Ukrainian relations are foreign relations between India and Ukraine. According to the European parliament the EU is seeking an increasingly close relationship with Ukraine going beyond cooperation to gradual economic integration and deepening of political cooperation GUAM redirects here See Guam for the Pacific island territory Listed below the embassies and consulates-general of Ukraine (excluding honorary consulates Europe Yerevan (Embassy This page lists diplomatic missions resident in Ukraine. At present the capital city of Kiev hosts 69 embassies Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent The presidential election held in November and December 2004 in Ukraine was mostly a political battle between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( Ukrainian: Viktor Andrijovyč Juščenko) (born February 23 1954) is the third and current President of The Flag of Ukraine (державний прапор України translit . .

. . . and Viktor Yanukovych on the 2004 campaign poster that emphasized his credentials as a serving Prime Minister. Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( Ukrainian: Viktor Fedorovyč Janukovyč; Виктор Фёдорович Янукович (born on July 9, 1950 The Ukrainian text reads: "Hope is good, reliability is better"

The 2004 presidential election in Ukraine featured two main candidates. The presidential election held in November and December 2004 in Ukraine was mostly a political battle between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych One was sitting Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, largely supported by Leonid Kuchma (the outgoing President of Ukraine who already served two terms in the office and was precluded from running himself due to the constitutional term limits). The Prime Minister of Ukraine (Прем'єр-міністр України Prem'ier-ministr Ukrayiny) presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( Ukrainian: Viktor Fedorovyč Janukovyč; Виктор Фёдорович Янукович (born on July 9, 1950 Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Леонід Данилович Кýчма born August 9, 1938) was the second President of Ukraine from July The President of Ukraine (Президент України is the head of the state of Ukraine and acts in its name The Constitution of Ukraine (Конституція України was adopted at the 5th session of the Verkhovna Rada ( parliament) of See also Rotation in office A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office The opposition candidate was Viktor Yushchenko, leader of the Our Ukraine faction in the Ukrainian parliament, also a former Prime Minister (1999–2001). In Politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the Government, party or group Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( Ukrainian: Viktor Andrijovyč Juščenko) (born February 23 1954) is the third and current President of The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (Блок Наша Україна–Народна Самооборона Blok Nasha Ukrayina-Narodna Samooborona, OU-PSD The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Верховна Рада України English: Supreme Council of Ukraine) is Ukraine 's Parliament

The election was held in a highly charged atmosphere, with the Yanukovych team and the outgoing president's administration using their control of the government and state apparatus for intimidation of Yushchenko and his supporters. In September 2004, Yushchenko suffered dioxin poisoning under mysterious circumstances. Not to be confused with Dioxane or Digoxin. Dioxin is a heterocyclic, organic, antiaromatic compound While he survived and returned to the campaign trail, the poisoning undermined his health and altered his appearance dramatically (his face remains disfigured by the consequences to this day).

The two main candidates were neck and neck in the first-round vote held on October 31, 2004, collecting 39. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " 32% (Yanukovych) and 39. 87% (Yushchenko) of the vote cast. The candidates that came third and fourth collected much less: Oleksandr Moroz of the Socialist Party of Ukraine and Petro Symonenko of the Communist Party of Ukraine received 5. Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Moroz (Олександр Олександрович Мороз born February 29, 1944, in Buda, Taraschanskyi Raion The Socialist Party of Ukraine ( Ukrainian: Sotsialistychna Partiya Ukrainy) is a Socialist political party in Ukraine. Petro Mykolayovich Symonenko ( Пётр Никола́евич Симоне́нко, Петро Миколайович Симоненко) (born August 1 The Communist Party of Ukraine (Комуністична партія України Komunistychna Partiya Ukrayiny) is a Political party in Ukraine 82% and 4. 97%, respectively. Since no candidate carried more than 50% of the cast ballots, a run-off vote between two leading candidates was mandated by Ukrainian law. The two-round system (also known as the second ballot or runoff voting) is a Voting system used to elect a single winner Soon after the run-off was announced, Oleksandr Moroz threw his support behind Viktor Yushchenko. Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Moroz (Олександр Олександрович Мороз born February 29, 1944, in Buda, Taraschanskyi Raion Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( Ukrainian: Viktor Andrijovyč Juščenko) (born February 23 1954) is the third and current President of Another Ukrainian opposition leader, the charismatic populist Yulia Tymoshenko, chose not to run herself. Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko (Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко ʋɔlɔ'dɪmɪriʋnɑ tɪmɔ'ʃɛnkɔ Julia Volodymyrivna Tymošenko) (born on November Promised the position of Prime Minister if Yushchenko were to win the presidency,^[2] Tymoshenko enthusiastically supported his presidential bid from the onset of the campaign.

In the wake of the first round of the election many complaints regarding voting irregularities in favor of the government supported Yanukovych were raised. However, as it was clear that neither nominee was close enough to collecting an outright majority in the first round, challenging the initial result would not have affected the final outcome of the election. As such the complaints were not actively pursued and both candidates concentrated on the upcoming run-off scheduled for November 21.

An orange ribbon, a symbol of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution. The orange ribbon is a symbol adopted for a wide variety of uses Ribbons are common symbols of non-violent protest.

Orange was originally adopted by the Yushchenko's camp as the signifying color of his election campaign. The colour orange occurs Later the color gave name to an entire series of political terms, such as the Oranges (Pomaranchevi in Ukrainian) for his political camp and supporters. At the time when the mass protests grew, and especially when they brought about political change in the country, the term Orange Revolution came to represent the entire series of events.

In view of the success of using color as a symbol to mobilize supporters, the Yanukovych camp chose blue for themselves. Blue is a Colour, the Perception of which is evoked by

The protests

Protests began on the eve of the second round of voting, as the official count differed markedly from exit poll results which gave Yushchenko up to an 11% lead, while official results gave the election win to Yanukovych by 3%. An exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations While Yanukovych supporters have claimed that Yushchenko's connections to the Ukrainian media explain this disparity, the Yushchenko team publicized evidence of many incidents of electoral fraud in favor of the government-backed Yanukovych, witnessed by many local and foreign observers. The news media refers to the section of the Mass media that focuses on presenting current News to the public Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an Election. These accusations were reinforced by similar allegations, though at a lesser scale, during the first presidential run of October 31. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse

Protesters at Independence Square on the first day of the Orange Revolution. Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Майдан Незалежності literally Independence Square) is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine

Blue-clad miners rally in support of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev.

The Yushchenko campaign publicly called for protest on the dawn of election day, November 21, 2004, when allegations of fraud began to spread. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Beginning on November 22, 2004, massive protests started in cities across Ukraine: the largest, in Kiev's Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), attracted an estimated 500,000 participants,^[3] who on November 23, 2004, peacefully marched in front of the headquarters of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, many wearing orange or carrying orange flags, the color of Yushchenko's campaign coalition. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Майдан Незалежності literally Independence Square) is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Верховна Рада України English: Supreme Council of Ukraine) is Ukraine 's Parliament TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those

The local councils in Kiev, Lviv, and several other cities passed, with the wide popular support of their constituency, a largely symbolic refusal to accept the legitimacy of the official election results, and Yushchenko took a symbolic presidential oath. Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the Lviv ( Ukrainian: Львів, L’viv, Lwów Lemberg Львов L'vov; see also other names) is a major city in western An oath of office is an Oath or Affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an Office, usually a position in government or within a religious ^[4] This "oath" taken by Yushchenko in half-empty parliament chambers, lacking the quorum as only the Yushchenko-leaning factions were present, could not have any legal effect. In Law, a quorum is the minimum number of members of a Deliberative body necessary to conduct the business of that group WikipediaManual of Style#National varieties of English.-->A political faction But it was an important symbolic gesture meant to demonstrate the resolve of the Yushchenko campaign not to accept the compromised election results. In response, Yushchenko's opponents denounced him for taking an illegitimate oath, and even some of his moderate supporters were ambivalent about this act, while a more radical side of the Yushchenko camp demanded him to act even more decisively. Some observers argued that this symbolic presidential oath might have been useful to the Yushchenko camp should events have taken a more confrontational route. In such a scenario, this "presidential oath" Yushchenko took could be used to lend legitimacy to the claim that he, rather than his rival who tried to gain the presidency through alleged fraud, was a true commander-in-chief authorized to give orders to the military and security agencies. A commander-in-chief is the Commander of a nation's Military forces or significant element of those forces

At the same time, local officials in Eastern and Southern Ukraine, the stronghold of Viktor Yanukovych, started a series of actions alluding to the possibility of the breakup of Ukraine or an extra-constitutional federalization of the country, should their candidate's claimed victory not be recognized. Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( Ukrainian: Viktor Fedorovyč Janukovyč; Виктор Фёдорович Янукович (born on July 9, 1950 Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing Demonstrations of public support for Yanukovych were held throughout Eastern Ukraine and some of his supporters arrived in Kiev. However, in Kiev the pro-Yanukovych demonstrators were far outnumbered by Yushchenko supporters, whose ranks were continuously swelled by new arrivals from many regions of Ukraine. The scale of the demonstrations in Kiev was unprecedented. By many estimates, on some days they drew up to one million people to the streets, in freezing weather. ^[5]

Political developments

Although Yushchenko entered into negotiations with outgoing President Leonid Kuchma in an effort to peacefully resolve the situation, the negotiations broke up on November 24, 2004. Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Леонід Данилович Кýчма born August 9, 1938) was the second President of Ukraine from July Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Yanukovych was officially certified as the victor by the Central Election Commission, which itself was allegedly involved in falsification of electoral results by withholding the information it was receiving from local districts and running a parallel illegal computer server to manipulate the results. The Central Election Commission of Ukraine (Центральна виборча комісія України commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК ( Tse-Ve-Ka The next morning after the certification took place, Yushchenko spoke to supporters in Kiev, urging them to begin a series of mass protests, general strikes and sit-ins with the intent of crippling the government and forcing it to concede defeat.

In view of the threat of illegitimate government acceding to power, Yushchenko's camp announced the creation of the Committee of National Salvation which declared a nationwide political strike.

On December 1, 2004, the Verkhovna Rada passed a resolution that strongly condemned pro-separatist and federalization actions, and passed a non-confidence vote in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a decision Prime Minister Yanukovych refused to recognize. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Верховна Рада України English: Supreme Council of Ukraine) is Ukraine 's Parliament Separatism refers to the advocacy of a state of cultural ethnic tribal religious racial or gender separation from the larger group often with demands for greater political autonomy Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing A motion of no confidence (also vote of no confidence, censure motion, no-confidence motion, or confidence motion) is a Parliamentary motion The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Кабінет Міністрів України is the highest body of state Executive power in Ukraine and serves as the The Prime Minister of Ukraine (Прем'єр-міністр України Prem'ier-ministr Ukrayiny) presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( Ukrainian: Viktor Fedorovyč Janukovyč; Виктор Фёдорович Янукович (born on July 9, 1950 By the Constitution of Ukraine, the non-confidence vote mandated the government's resignation, but the parliament had no means to enforce a resignation without the co-operation of Prime Minister Yanukovych and outgoing President Kuchma. The Constitution of Ukraine (Конституція України was adopted at the 5th session of the Verkhovna Rada ( parliament) of Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Леонід Данилович Кýчма born August 9, 1938) was the second President of Ukraine from July

On December 3, 2004, Ukraine's Supreme Court finally broke the political deadlock. Events 1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Supreme Court of Ukraine (Верховний Суд України Verkhovny Sud Ukrayiny) is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction in The court decided that due to the scale of the electoral fraud it became impossible to establish the election results. Therefore, it invalidated the official results that would have given Yanukovych the presidency. As a resolution, the court ordered a revote of the run-off to be held on December 26, 2004. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " ^[6] This decision was seen as a victory for the Yushchenko camp while Yanukovych and his supporters favored a rerun of the entire election rather than just the run-off, as a second-best option if Yanukovych was not awarded the presidency. On December 8, 2004 the parliament amended laws to provide a legal framework for the new round of elections. Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The parliament also approved the changes to the Constitution, implementing a political reform backed by outgoing President Kuchma as a part of a political compromise between the acting authorities and opposition. The Constitution of Ukraine (Конституція України was adopted at the 5th session of the Verkhovna Rada ( parliament) of

The December 26 revote was held under intense scrutiny of local and international observers. The preliminary results, announced by the Central Election Commission on December 28, gave Yushchenko and Yanukovych 51. The Central Election Commission of Ukraine (Центральна виборча комісія України commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК ( Tse-Ve-Ka 99% and 44. 20% of the total vote, respectively. ^[7] The Yanukovych team attempted to mount a fierce legal challenge to the election results using both the Ukrainian courts and the Election Commission complaint procedures. However, all their complaints were dismissed as without merit by both the Supreme Court of Ukraine and the Central Election Commission. The Supreme Court of Ukraine (Верховний Суд України Verkhovny Sud Ukrayiny) is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction in ^[8] On January 10, 2005 the Election Commission officially declared Yushchenko as the winner of the presidential election^[8] with the final results falling within 0. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 01% of the preliminary ones. This Election Commission announcement^[9] cleared the way for Yushchenko's inauguration as the President of Ukraine. An inauguration is a ceremony of formal Investiture whereby an individual assumes an office or position of authority or power The President of Ukraine (Президент України is the head of the state of Ukraine and acts in its name The official ceremony took place in the Verkhovna Rada building on January 23, 2005 and was followed by the "public inauguration" of the newly sworn President at Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in front of hundreds of thousands of his supporters. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Майдан Незалежності literally Independence Square) is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine ^[10] This event brought the Ukrainian Orange Revolution to its peaceful conclusion.

Role of Ukrainian intelligence and security agencies

According to one version of events recounted by The New York Times,^[11] Ukrainian security agencies played an unusual role in the Orange Revolution, with a KGB successor agency in the former Soviet state providing qualified support to the political opposition. KGB ( Transliteration of "КГБ" is the Russian abbreviation of Committee for State Security ( Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty As per the paper report, on November 28, 2004 over 10,000 MVS (Internal Ministry) troops were mobilized to put down the protests in Independence Square in Kiev by the order of their commander, Lt. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs (Міністерство внутрішніх справ України Ministerstvo vnutrishnikh sprav Ukrayiny, MVS is the national Gen. Sergei Popkov. The SBU (Security Service of Ukraine, a successor to the KGB in Ukraine) warned opposition leaders of the crackdown. History The SBU is a successor of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic 's Branch of the Soviet KGB, keeping the majority of its 1990s personnel Oleksander Galaka, head of GRU (military intelligence) made calls to "prevent bloodshed". Col. Gen. Ihor Smeshko (SBU chief) and Maj. Gen. Vitaly Romanchenko (military counter-intelligence chief) both claimed to have warned Popkov to pull back his troops, which he did, preventing bloodshed.

In addition to the desire to avoid bloodshed, the New York Times article suggests that siloviki, as the security officers are often called in the countries of the former Soviet Union, were motivated by personal aversion to the possibility of having to serve president Yanukovych, who was in his youth convicted of robbery and assault and had alleged connection with corrupt businessmen, especially if he were to ascend to the presidency by fraud. A Silovik (силови́к plural siloviks or siloviki силовики́ from a Russian word for force) is a Russian politician The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( Ukrainian: Viktor Fedorovyč Janukovyč; Виктор Фёдорович Янукович (born on July 9, 1950 Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. Assault is a Crime of Violence against another person. In some Jurisdictions including Australia and New Zealand, Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain The personal feelings of Gen. Smeshko towards Yanukovych may also have played a role. Additional evidence of Yushchenko's popularity and at least partial support among the SBU officers is shown by the fact that several embarrassing proofs of electoral fraud, including incriminating wiretap recordings of conversations among the Yanukovych campaign and government officials discussing how to rig the election, were provided to the Yushchenko camp. Wiretap redirects here For the radio program see WireTap (radio program Telephone tapping (or wire tapping / wiretapping in ^[12] These conversations were likely recorded and provided to the opposition by sympathizers in the Ukrainian Security Services.

Involvement of outside forces

Many analysts believe the Orange Revolution was built on a pattern first developed in the ousting of Slobodan Milošević in Serbia four years earlier, and continuing with the Rose Revolution in Georgia. Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country The "Revolution of Roses quot (often translated into English as the Rose Revolution) (ვარდების რევოლუცია - vardebis Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Each of these victories, though apparently spontaneous, was the result of extensive grassroots campaigning and coalition-building among the opposition. Each included election victories followed up by public demonstrations, after attempts by the incumbent to hold onto power through electoral fraud.

Each of these social movements included extensive work by student activists. Student activism is work done by students to effect political environmental economic or social change The most famous of these was Otpor, the youth movement that helped bring in Vojislav Koštunica. Otpor! (Отпор! in English: Resistance!) was a youth movement in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which has been widely credited for leading the eventually Dr Vojislav Koštunica ( Serbian Cyrillic: Војислав Коштуница) (ˈvɔjislaːv kɔˈʃtunitsa born March 24, 1944, Belgrade In Georgia the movement was called Kmara. Kmara (კმარა is a civic Resistance movement in the republic of Georgia which undermined the government of Eduard Shevardnadze. In Ukraine the movement has worked under the succinct slogan Pora ("It's Time"). PORA! (ПОРА! meaning IT'S TIME! in Ukrainian, is a civic youth organization in Ukraine espousing Nonviolent resistance Chair of Georgian Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security Givi Targamadze, former member of the Georgian Liberty Institute, as well as some members of Kmara, were consulted by Ukrainian opposition leaders on techniques of nonviolent struggle. Givi Targamadze (born July 23, 1968) is a Georgian politician ( United National Movement) Liberty Institute is Georgian non-profit Non-partisan, liberal public policy advocacy foundation Georgian rock bands Zumba, Soft Eject and Green Room, which earlier had supported the Rose Revolution, organized a solidarity concert in central Kiev to support Yushchenko’s cause in November 2004. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. Zaza Korinteli (ზაზა კორინთელი better known by his Stage name Zumba (born December 29 1973) is a Georgian Soft Eject is a Georgian Folk-rock band founded in Tbilisi in 1989 ^[13]

Activists in each of these movements were funded and trained in tactics of political organization and nonviolent resistance by a coalition of Western pollsters and professional consultants funded by a range of Western government and non-government agencies. Nonviolent resistance (or nonviolent action) is the practice of achieving socio-political goals through Symbolic Protests Civil disobedience, According to The Guardian, these include the U.S. State Department and USAID along with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the International Republican Institute, the Bilderberg Group, the NGO Freedom House and George Soros's Open Society Institute. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. The United States Agency for International Development (or USAID) is the United States federal government organization responsible for most non- military The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs ( NDIIA or NDI) is an organization created by the United States government by way of the Founded in 1983 the International Republican Institute (IRI is an organization funded by United States government that conducts international political programs sometimes The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an unofficial annual invitation-only conference of around Freedom House is a United States -based international Non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on Democracy, political George Soros (ˈsɔroʊs or /ˈsɔrəs/ Hungarian ˈʃoroʃ (born August 12, 1930, in Budapest, Hungary, as György Schwartz) is The Open Society Institute (OSI a private operating and grantmaking foundation aims to shape public policy to promote democratic Governance, The National Endowment for Democracy, a foundation supported by the U.S. government, has supported non-governmental democracy-building efforts in Ukraine since 1988. The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a US Non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote Democracy by providing cash The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. ^[14] Writings on nonviolent struggle by Gene Sharp formed the strategic basis of the student campaigns. Nonviolent resistance (or nonviolent action) is the practice of achieving socio-political goals through Symbolic Protests Civil disobedience, Gene Sharp (born 21 January 1928) is known for his extensive writings on nonviolent struggle he has been called both the "Machiavelli of nonviolence" and

Former president Leonid Kravchuk accused Russian oligarch and sworn enemy of President Putin, Boris Berezovsky, of financing Yushchenko's campaign, and provided copies of documents showing money transfers from companies he said are controlled by Berezovsky to companies controlled by Yuschenko's official backers. Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term " Business magnate " Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (; born 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, USSR; now Saint Petersburg, Russia was the second President of Russia Boris Abramovich Berezovsky (Бори́с Абра́мович Березо́вский (also known as Platon Elenin (born January 23, 1946) is a Russian Berezovsky has confirmed that he met Yushchenko's representatives in London before the election, and that the money was transferred from his companies, but he refused to confirm or deny that the companies that received the money were used in Yushchenko's campaign. Financing of election campaigns by foreign citizens is illegal in Ukraine. ^[15] According to BBC's The Russian Godfathers^[16], Berezovsky poured millions of dollars into sustaining the spontaneous demonstrations and was in daily contact with the key opposition leaders.

On the other hand, Russia's involvement in the election was more direct and heavily on the side of Prime Minister Yanukovych. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 the Russian Federation became an independent country The extent of this involvement is still contested but some facts are indisputable such as multiple meetings between Russian president Vladimir Putin, Kuchma and Yanukovych before and during the elections. The President of Russia (Президент России or the President of the Russian Federation, Президент Российской Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (; born 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, USSR; now Saint Petersburg, Russia was the second President of Russia Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Леонід Данилович Кýчма born August 9, 1938) was the second President of Ukraine from July Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( Ukrainian: Viktor Fedorovyč Janukovyč; Виктор Фёдорович Янукович (born on July 9, 1950 Putin repeatedly congratulated Yanukovych while the results were still contested, which was soon to embarrass both parties. Yanukovych received a much more preferential treatment in Russian state-controlled media, and was surrounded by Russian consultants known to be close to the Kremlin throughout the election cycle. Most observers agree that the Yanukovych campaign received significant contribution from Russian state-controlled businesses. Other allegations, still disputed and unproven, include Russian involvement in Yushchenko's poisoning several weeks before the election, as well as the alleged presence of Russian security forces^[17] sent to help Yanukovych to ascend to the presidency. Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( Ukrainian: Viktor Andrijovyč Juščenko) (born February 23 1954) is the third and current President of

See also

• Post-election developments in Ukraine, 2004

References

External links

• http://www.OrangeChronicles.com Feature documentary that focus on personal journey through Orange Revolution. (Damian Kolodiy)

• “Maidan” – An Internet Hub for Citizens Action Network in Ukraine
• Orange Revolution, a feature-length documentary film by Steve York
• Watch Documentary Free, covering the organization of the Orange Revolution(s)
• http://www.nothingandnever.narod.ru "NOTHING AND NEVER" Documentary film about Orange Revolution (Ukraine 2006, 16 mm ,45min)
• Images at theorangerevolution.com
• Short film: AEGEE's Election Observation Mission
• Orange Winter, a feature documentary about the Orange revolution by Andrei Zagdansky
• Photos from the Orange revolution by Bohdan Warchomij

Books

(2007) The Orange Revolution in Ukraine - a Step to Freedom (8. Steven H York (born July 1, 1943) is a documentary filmmaker who has worked in Europe Asia Africa and North and South America on subjects ranging from religious 5" x 11"), 2nd ed (in English), 48.