Leonid Kuchma
Encyclopedia
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (born 9 August 1938) was the second President of independent Ukraine
from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election
against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk
. Kuchma won re-election for an additional 5-year term in 1999
.
His presidency was surrounded by numerous corruption scandals and the lessening of media freedoms. Corruption accelerated after Kuchma's election in 1994, but in 2000–2001, his power began to weaken in the face of exposures in the media.
Under his watch the Ukrainian economy
continued to decline until 1999, whereas growth was recorded since 2000, bringing relative prosperity to some segments of urban residents. During his presidency, Ukrainian-Russian ties
began to improve.
. His father Danylo Prokopovych (1901–1942) had died at the field hospital 756 near a village of Novoselytsia during World War II and his mother Paraska Trokhymivna worked at a farm. Kuchma attended the Kostoborove general education school in the neighboring Semenivka Raion. He enrolled to Dnipropetrovsk National University
and graduated it in 1960 with a degree in rocket science
as an engineer-mechanic. Kuchma is a candidate of technical sciences. The same year he joined the Communist Party of Soviet Union.
. At 28 he became a technical tests director at Baikonur
(Kazakh SSR
). There are speculations that Kuchma's earlier career was significantly boosted by his marriage to Lyudmila Mykolaivna Kuchma (Talalayeva) (1967), an adopted daughter of a chief engineer of Yuzhmash
and later a minister of mid-class machine-building of USSR Gennadiy Tumanov. At 38 Kuchma became the Communist party chairman at Yuzhmash
and a member of the Central Committee of Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine. He was a delegate of the 27th and 28th Congresses of the Communist Party of Soviet Union.
In 1982 Kuchma was appointed the first deputy of general design engineer
and from 1986 to 1992 he held position of a general director at the manufacturing complex "Yuzhny Machine-building Plant
". From 1990 to 1992 Kuchma was a member of the Ukrainian parliament
(1st (12) convocation, Committee on Defence and State Security), and became Prime Minister of Ukraine
in 1992. In 1991 he became one of the founders of the Academy of technological sciences of Ukraine.
in September 1993 to successfully run for the presidency in 1994
on a platform to boost the economy by restoring economic relations with Russia and faster pro-market reforms
. He was re-elected in 1999 to his second term. During Kuchma's Presidency opposition papers were closed and several journalists died in mysterious circumstances.
of industry and agriculture, and reforms in currency regulation and banking. The parliament approved the plan's main points. The International Monetary Fund promised a $360 million loan to initiate reforms.
He was re-elected in 1999 to his second term. Opponents accused him of involvement in the killing in 2000 of journalist Georgiy Gongadze (see also SBU, "Cassette Scandal
", Mykola Mel'nychenko), which he has always denied. Critics also blamed Kuchma for restrictions on press freedom. Kuchma is believed to have played a key role in sacking the Cabinet
of Viktor Yushchenko
by Verkhovna Rada
on 26 April 2001.
Kuchma's Prime Minister
from 2002 until early January 2005 was Viktor Yanukovych
, after Kuchma dismissed Anatoliy Kinakh
, his previous appointee.
. Additionally, he referred to Russian as "an official language". He signed a special partnership agreement with NATO and even raised the possibility of membership of the alliance.
After Kuchma's popularity at home and abroad sank as he became mired in corruption scandals, he turned to Russia
as his new ally, saying Ukraine needed a "multivector" foreign policy that balanced eastern and western interests.
In September 2000 journalist Georgiy Gongadze disappeared and his headless corpse was found mutilated on 3 November 2000. On 28 November, opposition politician Oleksandr Moroz
publicised the tape recordings implicating Kuchma in Gongadze's murder. In 2005 the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office instigated criminal proceedings against Kuchma and members of his former administration in connection with the murder of Gongadze. It is rumored, however, that Kuchma had been unofficially granted immunity from prosecution in return for his graceful departure from office in 2005.
Critics of the tape point to the difficulty of Mel'nychenko recording 500 hours of dictaphone tape unaided and undetected, the lack of material evidence of said recording equipment and other doubts which question the authenticity and motive of the release of the tape.
The General Prosecutor of Ukraine's Office canceled its resolution to deny opening of criminal cases against Kuchma and other politicians within the Gongadze-case on 9 October 2010. On 22 March 2011, Ukraine opened an official investigation into the murder of Gongadze and two days later Ukrainian prosecutors charged Leonid Kuchma with involvement in the murder.
was one of the company's advisers from 1992 until he became President of Russia in 2000. On the tapes, Kuchma discusses Putin's Europe-wide operation to get into possession of all documents that could be used as evidence.
is not entirely clear. After the second round on 22 November 2004, it appeared that Yanukovych had won the election by fraud, which caused the opposition and independent observers to dispute the results, leading to the Orange Revolution
.
Kuchma was urged by Yanukovych and Viktor Medvedchuk
(the head of the presidential office) to declare a state of emergency
and hold the inauguration of Yanukovych. He denied the request by admittedly stating in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin
that he refused to pass the government into the hands of an alleged Donetsk criminal. Later, Yanukovych publicly accused Kuchma of a betrayal.
Nevertheless, Kuchma refused to officially dismiss Prime Minister Yanukovych after the parliament passed a motion of no confidence
against the Cabinet on 1 December 2004.
Soon after, Kuchma left the country. He returned to Ukraine in March 2005.
Kuchma stated in October 2009 he would vote for Victor Yanukovych at the Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
. Although Kuchma in conversation with United States Ambassador to Ukraine
John F. Tefft
, in a document dated 2 February 2010 uncovered during the United States diplomatic cables leak
, called the voters choice between Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko
during the second round of the 2010 presidential election as a choice between “bad and very bad" and praised (the candidate eliminated in the first round of the election) Arseniy Yatsenyuk
instead.
As of September 2011 Kuchma believes that Yanukovych was the real winner of the 2004 election.
in 2003. She is married to politician Viktor Pinchuk
, a famous industrialist and philanthropist whose Victor Pinchuk Foundation
regularly hosts a philanthropic forum at the annual World Economic Forum
in Davos
. Olena Pinchuk has a son Roman (born in 1991, from her previous marriage with Ukrainian businessman Igor Franchuk) who attends Brown University
, and two daughters Viktor Pinchuk, Katerina (born in 2003) and Veronica (2011).
According to the Ukrainian magazine Focus Olena Pinchuk placed among the top 10 most influential women in Ukraine for 2010.
Kuchma was an amateur guitar player in his younger years. He was also known for his skill at the complicated card game
preferans
. He was allowed to keep the state-owned dacha
in Koncha-Zaspa
for his personal use upon completion of his state duties. The government order #15-r that would allowed for Kuchma to keep his estate was signed by the acting prime-minister Mykola Azarov
on 19 January 2005. Kuchma was also allowed to keep his full presidential salary and all the service personnel along with two state-owned vehicles. That order also stated that for everything it would paid out of the state budget.
Related government issues
The next month a minister of Justice Roman Zvarych said that he has intentions to review that order. On 28 February 2005 the government of Tymoshenko canceled the order, but the new government of Yanukovych reinstated it once again on 18 April 2007.
i Istiglal Order
for his contributions to development of Azerbaijan-Ukraine relations and strategic cooperation between the states by President of Azerbaijan
Heydar Aliyev
on 6 August 1999.
Ukrainian Honours
Foreign Honours
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election
Ukrainian presidential election, 1994
The Ukrainian presidential election, 1994 was held on June 26, 1994 and July 10, 1994. The presidential election was ahead of schedule, following a political compromise between the President and Parliament...
against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk is a Ukrainian politician, the first President of Ukraine serving from December 5, 1991 until his resignation on July 19, 1994, a former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and People's Deputy of Ukraine serving in the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine faction.After a...
. Kuchma won re-election for an additional 5-year term in 1999
Ukrainian presidential election, 1999
The Ukrainian presidential election, 1999 was a presidential election held in 1999 in Ukraine.There were 15 candidates originally with two withdrawing prior to election ....
.
His presidency was surrounded by numerous corruption scandals and the lessening of media freedoms. Corruption accelerated after Kuchma's election in 1994, but in 2000–2001, his power began to weaken in the face of exposures in the media.
Under his watch the Ukrainian economy
Economy of Ukraine
The economy of Ukraine is an emerging free market, with a gross domestic product that fell sharply for the first 10 years of its independence from the Soviet Union and then experienced rapid growth from 2000 until 2008...
continued to decline until 1999, whereas growth was recorded since 2000, bringing relative prosperity to some segments of urban residents. During his presidency, Ukrainian-Russian ties
Russia–Ukraine relations
Russia–Ukraine relations were established in 1991 immediately upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union of which both were founding constituent republics.Russia has an embassy in Kiev and consulates in Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa and Simferopol...
began to improve.
Early life
Kuchma was born in a village of Chaikine Chernihiv OblastChernihiv Oblast
Chernihiv Oblast is an oblast of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv.-Geography:The total area of the province is around 31,900 km²....
. His father Danylo Prokopovych (1901–1942) had died at the field hospital 756 near a village of Novoselytsia during World War II and his mother Paraska Trokhymivna worked at a farm. Kuchma attended the Kostoborove general education school in the neighboring Semenivka Raion. He enrolled to Dnipropetrovsk National University
Dnipropetrovsk National University
Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University is one of the leading establishments of higher education in Ukraine. It was founded in 1918. The first four faculties were history and linguistics, law, medicine and physics and mathematics....
and graduated it in 1960 with a degree in rocket science
Rocket science
Rocket science is a colloquial term for aerospace engineering and related fields.Rocket science may also refer to:* Rocket Science Games, a video game development company* Rocket Science VFX, a Canadian visual effects production company...
as an engineer-mechanic. Kuchma is a candidate of technical sciences. The same year he joined the Communist Party of Soviet Union.
Professional career
After graduation Kuchma worked in a field of aerospace engineering for the Yuzhnoye Design BureauYuzhnoye Design Bureau
Yuzhnoye Design Bureau , located in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, is a designer of satellites and rockets, and formerly of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles established by Mikhail Yangel. Yuzhnoye's OKB designation was OKB-586....
. At 28 he became a technical tests director at Baikonur
Baikonur
Baikonur , formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kyzylorda Province of Kazakhstan, rented and administered by the Russian Federation. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995.The shape of the...
(Kazakh SSR
Kazakh SSR
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kazakh SSR for short, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union.At in area, it was the second largest constituent republic in the USSR, after the Russian SFSR. Its capital was Alma-Ata . Today it is the independent state of...
). There are speculations that Kuchma's earlier career was significantly boosted by his marriage to Lyudmila Mykolaivna Kuchma (Talalayeva) (1967), an adopted daughter of a chief engineer of Yuzhmash
Yuzhmash
The A.M. Makarov Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant, or PA Yuzhmash is a Ukrainian manufacturer of space rockets, agricultural equipment, buses, trolley buses and trams, wind turbines, and satellites...
and later a minister of mid-class machine-building of USSR Gennadiy Tumanov. At 38 Kuchma became the Communist party chairman at Yuzhmash
Yuzhmash
The A.M. Makarov Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant, or PA Yuzhmash is a Ukrainian manufacturer of space rockets, agricultural equipment, buses, trolley buses and trams, wind turbines, and satellites...
and a member of the Central Committee of Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine. He was a delegate of the 27th and 28th Congresses of the Communist Party of Soviet Union.
In 1982 Kuchma was appointed the first deputy of general design engineer
Design engineer
Design Engineer is a general term that covers multiple engineering disciplines including electrical, mechanical, industrial design and civil engineering, architectural engineers in the U.S...
and from 1986 to 1992 he held position of a general director at the manufacturing complex "Yuzhny Machine-building Plant
Yuzhmash
The A.M. Makarov Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant, or PA Yuzhmash is a Ukrainian manufacturer of space rockets, agricultural equipment, buses, trolley buses and trams, wind turbines, and satellites...
". From 1990 to 1992 Kuchma was a member of the Ukrainian parliament
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
(1st (12) convocation, Committee on Defence and State Security), and became Prime Minister of Ukraine
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
in 1992. In 1991 he became one of the founders of the Academy of technological sciences of Ukraine.
President (1994–2005)
Kuchma resigned from the position of Prime Minister of UkrainePrime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
in September 1993 to successfully run for the presidency in 1994
Ukrainian presidential election, 1994
The Ukrainian presidential election, 1994 was held on June 26, 1994 and July 10, 1994. The presidential election was ahead of schedule, following a political compromise between the President and Parliament...
on a platform to boost the economy by restoring economic relations with Russia and faster pro-market reforms
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
. He was re-elected in 1999 to his second term. During Kuchma's Presidency opposition papers were closed and several journalists died in mysterious circumstances.
Domestic policy
In October 1994, Kuchma announced comprehensive economic reforms, including reduced subsidies, lifting of price controls, lower taxes, privatizationPrivatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of industry and agriculture, and reforms in currency regulation and banking. The parliament approved the plan's main points. The International Monetary Fund promised a $360 million loan to initiate reforms.
He was re-elected in 1999 to his second term. Opponents accused him of involvement in the killing in 2000 of journalist Georgiy Gongadze (see also SBU, "Cassette Scandal
Cassette Scandal
The Cassette Scandal , also known as "Tapegate" and "Kuchmagate", erupting in 2000, was one of the main political events in Ukraine's post-independence history...
", Mykola Mel'nychenko), which he has always denied. Critics also blamed Kuchma for restrictions on press freedom. Kuchma is believed to have played a key role in sacking the Cabinet
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
of Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
by Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
on 26 April 2001.
Kuchma's Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
from 2002 until early January 2005 was Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
, after Kuchma dismissed Anatoliy Kinakh
Anatoliy Kinakh
Anatoliy Kyrylovych Kinakh is a Ukrainian politician and honorary professor at the Mykolaiv Government Humanitarian University. Kinakh is a People's Deputy of Ukraine in the 6th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament...
, his previous appointee.
Foreign policy
Kuchma signed a "Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership" with Russia, and endorsed a round of talks with the CISCommonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
. Additionally, he referred to Russian as "an official language". He signed a special partnership agreement with NATO and even raised the possibility of membership of the alliance.
After Kuchma's popularity at home and abroad sank as he became mired in corruption scandals, he turned to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
as his new ally, saying Ukraine needed a "multivector" foreign policy that balanced eastern and western interests.
Kuchma and the Cassette Scandal
From 1998 to 2000, Kuchma's bodyguard and former KGB employee, Mykola Mel'nychenko, bugged Kuchma's office and turned over the recordings to an opposition member of the Ukraine Parliament. The release of the tapes – dubbed "Kuchmagate" by the Ukrainian press – supposedly revealed Kuchma approving the sale of radar systems to Saddam Hussein and ordering the director of Ukraine's intelligence agency to "take care" of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, who had been following the government’s connections to illegal arms sales, among other allegations.In September 2000 journalist Georgiy Gongadze disappeared and his headless corpse was found mutilated on 3 November 2000. On 28 November, opposition politician Oleksandr Moroz
Oleksandr Moroz
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Moroz is a Ukrainian statesman and politician. He was the Speaker of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine twice: July 2006 to September 2007, and previously in 1994 through 1998. Moroz is one of the founders and leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, which was an influential...
publicised the tape recordings implicating Kuchma in Gongadze's murder. In 2005 the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office instigated criminal proceedings against Kuchma and members of his former administration in connection with the murder of Gongadze. It is rumored, however, that Kuchma had been unofficially granted immunity from prosecution in return for his graceful departure from office in 2005.
Critics of the tape point to the difficulty of Mel'nychenko recording 500 hours of dictaphone tape unaided and undetected, the lack of material evidence of said recording equipment and other doubts which question the authenticity and motive of the release of the tape.
The General Prosecutor of Ukraine's Office canceled its resolution to deny opening of criminal cases against Kuchma and other politicians within the Gongadze-case on 9 October 2010. On 22 March 2011, Ukraine opened an official investigation into the murder of Gongadze and two days later Ukrainian prosecutors charged Leonid Kuchma with involvement in the murder.
Kuchma, Putin and transnational crime
One of the taped conversations is about the Saint Petersburg Immobilien und Beteiligungs AG, a company suspected of facilitating Saint Petersburg mobsters, Colombian drug lords, and transcontinental money laundering. Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
was one of the company's advisers from 1992 until he became President of Russia in 2000. On the tapes, Kuchma discusses Putin's Europe-wide operation to get into possession of all documents that could be used as evidence.
Role in the election's crisis of 2004
Kuchma's role in the election's crisis of 2004Ukrainian presidential election, 2004
The Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 was held on October 31, November 21 and December 26, 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union...
is not entirely clear. After the second round on 22 November 2004, it appeared that Yanukovych had won the election by fraud, which caused the opposition and independent observers to dispute the results, leading to the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution 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 claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
.
Kuchma was urged by Yanukovych and Viktor Medvedchuk
Viktor Medvedchuk
Viktor Volodymyrovich Medvedchuk is a Ukrainian politician, lawyer, and business oligarch.-Brief overview:In 1998–2001, Medvedchuk was the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada . In 2002–04, Medvedchuk served as head of Leonid Kuchma's presidential administration...
(the head of the presidential office) to declare a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
and hold the inauguration of Yanukovych. He denied the request by admittedly stating in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
that he refused to pass the government into the hands of an alleged Donetsk criminal. Later, Yanukovych publicly accused Kuchma of a betrayal.
Nevertheless, Kuchma refused to officially dismiss Prime Minister Yanukovych after the parliament passed a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
against the Cabinet on 1 December 2004.
Soon after, Kuchma left the country. He returned to Ukraine in March 2005.
Kuchma stated in October 2009 he would vote for Victor Yanukovych at the Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
The Ukrainian presidential election of 2010 is Ukraine's fifth presidential election since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The first round was held on January 17, 2010...
. Although Kuchma in conversation with United States Ambassador to Ukraine
United States Ambassador to Ukraine
The history of Ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine began in 1992.Until 1991 the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had been a constituent SSR of the Soviet Union. Upon the breakup of the USSR, the parliament of Ukraine declared the nation’s independence on August 24, 1991...
John F. Tefft
John F. Tefft
John F. Tefft is the United States Ambassador to Ukraine. He has been a career Foreign Service Officer for thirty-three years.Tefft is also a former United States Ambassador to Georgia and Lithuania, as well as former Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S...
, in a document dated 2 February 2010 uncovered during the United States diplomatic cables leak
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
, called the voters choice between Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
during the second round of the 2010 presidential election as a choice between “bad and very bad" and praised (the candidate eliminated in the first round of the election) Arseniy Yatsenyuk
Arseniy Yatsenyuk
Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer. Yatsenyuk served in the government of Ukraine as Minister of Economy from 2005 to 2006; subsequently he was Foreign Minister of Ukraine in 2007 and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada from 2007 to 2008.-Early life:Arseniy...
instead.
As of September 2011 Kuchma believes that Yanukovych was the real winner of the 2004 election.
Aides and advisors that became public figures after or before
- Volodymyr HorbulinVolodymyr HorbulinVolodymyr Horbulin Volodymyr Horbulin Volodymyr Horbulin (Ukrainian: Володимир Павлович Горбулін, (born 17 January 1939) is a Ukrainian statesman and politician, Head of the Council for Foreign and Security Policy, former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, former...
– personal friend, aide, later Head of the National Security and Defense CouncilNational Security and Defense Council of UkraineNational Security and Defense Council of Ukraine , locally referred by its abbreviation RNBO, is an organizational state body in Ukraine tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters in advising the President of Ukraine .The Council was originally created in... - Volodymyr LytvynVolodymyr LytvynVolodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn is a Ukrainian politician and the current Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Having previously served in that position from 2002 until 2006, he was re-elected in December 2008 after his party agreed to join the former coalition of Yulia...
– long-term first aide, later Head of Presidential Administration, then Speaker of the Verkhovna RadaVerkhovna RadaThe Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman... - Viktor MedvedchukViktor MedvedchukViktor Volodymyrovich Medvedchuk is a Ukrainian politician, lawyer, and business oligarch.-Brief overview:In 1998–2001, Medvedchuk was the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada . In 2002–04, Medvedchuk served as head of Leonid Kuchma's presidential administration...
– business oligarchBusiness oligarchBusiness oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
, then First Vice Speaker of Verkhovna Rada, later Head of Presidential Administration (2001–2004) - Dmytro TabachnykDmytro TabachnykDmytro Tabachnyk is an Ukrainian politician, science and education minister of Ukraine since March 11, 2010. Tabachnyk has the equivalent of a doctorate in historical science, has the title of professor, and is a current member of the Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine.-Career:In 1986 Tabachnyk...
– manager of the Kuchma's first successful election campaignUkrainian presidential election, 1994The Ukrainian presidential election, 1994 was held on June 26, 1994 and July 10, 1994. The presidential election was ahead of schedule, following a political compromise between the President and Parliament...
, later Head of Presidential Administration, then Vice Prime Minister; now Minister of Science and Education
Influential statesmen
- Leonid Derkach – personal friend, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine
- Yuri Kravchenko – Minister of Internal AffairsMinistry of Internal Affairs of UkraineThe Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is the main body in the system of central bodies of exeecutive power that provides formation and realization of the state policy in the sphere of protection the rights and liberties of citizens, unlawful acts against the interest of society and state,...
(police chief), committed suicide after the fall of Kuchma's regime - Oleksandr OmelchenkoOleksandr OmelchenkoOleksandr Oleksandrovych Omelchenko became the mayor of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, in 1999. He lost his re-election bid in March 2006. Omelchenko is now member of the Verkhovna Rada elected on behalf of Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc but expelled from that fraction in September 2011....
– long-term governor and mayor of KievMayor of KievMayor of Kiev is the elected mayor of the municipality of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, who is also normally automatically appointed as Head of the City's State Administration and Chair of the City Council....
Business oligarchs and managers of important state-owned companies
- Ihor Bakai – business oligarchBusiness oligarchBusiness oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
, later head of Naftogas of Ukraine national gas and oil company, then Head of the State Accommodation Department, escaped to Russia after the fall of Kuchma's regime, refusing to ever return permanently - Heorhiy KirpaHeorhiy KirpaHeorhiy Kirpa was a Ukrainian railway manager, statesman and politician, best known as the head of the Ukrzaliznytsia national railway company and Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications under President Leonid Kuchma.- Political career :In May 2002, Kirpa was appointed Minister of...
– long-term head of the UkrzaliznytsiaUkrzaliznytsiaUkrzaliznytsia , also known as Ukrainian Railways, is the State Administration of Railroad Transportation in Ukraine, monopoly that controls vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country with a combined total length of track of over 23,000 km, which makes Ukrainian railroad...
national railways, then Minister of Transportation, committed suicide after the fall of Kuchma's regime - Viktor PinchukViktor PinchukVictor Pinchuk is a Jewish-Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist. Forbes ranked him # 336 on the list of the wealthiest people in the world, with a fortune of $3.3 billion...
– second son-in-law, business oligarchBusiness oligarchBusiness oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
in control of several important media
Family and personal life
Leonid Kuchma is married, his spouse, Lyudmila Kuchma, is the Honourary President of the National Fund of Social Protection of Mothers and Children "Ukraine to Children". Kuchma's only daughter Elena Franchuk founded the ANTIAIDS FoundationANTIAIDS Foundation
The Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation is the first and only charity foundation in Ukraine, that is functioning thank to private funds. Main aim of the Foundation is to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine.- History :...
in 2003. She is married to politician Viktor Pinchuk
Viktor Pinchuk
Victor Pinchuk is a Jewish-Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist. Forbes ranked him # 336 on the list of the wealthiest people in the world, with a fortune of $3.3 billion...
, a famous industrialist and philanthropist whose Victor Pinchuk Foundation
Victor Pinchuk Foundation
The Victor Pinchuk Foundation is an independent philanthropic organisation based in Ukraine which supports projects to modernise Ukraine and foster a new generation of leaders. Its mission is to empower future generations to become the change makers of tomorrow...
regularly hosts a philanthropic forum at the annual World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
. Olena Pinchuk has a son Roman (born in 1991, from her previous marriage with Ukrainian businessman Igor Franchuk) who attends Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, and two daughters Viktor Pinchuk, Katerina (born in 2003) and Veronica (2011).
According to the Ukrainian magazine Focus Olena Pinchuk placed among the top 10 most influential women in Ukraine for 2010.
Kuchma was an amateur guitar player in his younger years. He was also known for his skill at the complicated card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
preferans
Preferans
Preferans is an Eastern European 10-card plain-trick game with bidding, played by three players with a 32-card Piquet deck. It is a sophisticated variant of the Austrian game Préférence, which in turn descends from Spanish Ombre and French Boston....
. He was allowed to keep the state-owned dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
in Koncha-Zaspa
Koncha-Zaspa
Koncha-Zaspa is a historic neighbourhood in the Holosiiv Raion of the city of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is located in the southern part of the city....
for his personal use upon completion of his state duties. The government order #15-r that would allowed for Kuchma to keep his estate was signed by the acting prime-minister Mykola Azarov
Mykola Azarov
Mykola Yanovych Azarov ; born Nikolai Yanovich Pakhlo on 17 December 1947, is a Ukrainian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine since 11 March 2010. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007, and he also served as acting...
on 19 January 2005. Kuchma was also allowed to keep his full presidential salary and all the service personnel along with two state-owned vehicles. That order also stated that for everything it would paid out of the state budget.
Related government issues
The next month a minister of Justice Roman Zvarych said that he has intentions to review that order. On 28 February 2005 the government of Tymoshenko canceled the order, but the new government of Yanukovych reinstated it once again on 18 April 2007.
Awards
Kuchma was awarded the AzerbaijanAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i Istiglal Order
Istiglal Order
Istiglal Order , is an Azerbaijani award presented by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Istiglal means Sovereignty in Azerbaijani.-History and status:...
for his contributions to development of Azerbaijan-Ukraine relations and strategic cooperation between the states by President of Azerbaijan
President of Azerbaijan
The country of Azerbaijan is a presidential republic, with the President of Azerbaijan as the head of state, and the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan as head of government...
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev , also spelled as Heidar Aliev, Geidar Aliev, Haydar Aliyev, Geydar Aliyev was the third President of Azerbaijan for the New Azerbaijan Party from June 1993 to October 2003, when his son Ilham Aliyev succeeded him.From 1969 till 1982, Aliyev was also the leader of Soviet...
on 6 August 1999.
Ukrainian Honours
- Order of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) of St. Ilya of Murom, 1st class (2004)
- Honorary Citizen of the Donetsk OblastDonetsk OblastDonetsk Oblast is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Donetsk. Historically, the province is an important part of the Donbas region...
(2002)
Foreign Honours
- Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicOrder of Merit of the Italian RepublicThe Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
(3 May 1995) - Order of Merit for the FatherlandOrder of Merit for the FatherlandThe Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
, 1st class (Russia, 20 April 2004) - for his great personal contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between Russia and Ukraine - Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke GediminasOrder of the Lithuanian Grand Duke GediminasThe Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this Order. The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke...
(Lithuania, 1998) - Order of the Golden Eagle (Kazakhstan, 1999)
- Order of the RepublicOrder of the Republic (Moldova)The Order of the Republic is Moldova's highest order. It is awarded by the President of Moldova.- Recipients :* Alexy II of Moscow* Traian Băsescu* Silviu Berejan* Vladimir Beşleagă* Valeriu Boboc* Ivan Bodiul* Petru Bogatu* Lorena Bogza...
(Moldova, 2003) - Order Laila Utama Dardzha Kerabat, 1st class (Brunei, 2004)
- Chain of the Order of Prince Henry (Portugal, 16 April 1998) February 3, 1999
- Order "Bethlehem - 2000" (State of Palestine, 2000)
Further reading
- Åslund, AndersAnders ÅslundAnders Åslund is a Swedish economist with a particular interest in economic transition from centrally planned to market economies. Åslund served as an economic adviser to the governments of Russia and Ukraine and from 2003 was director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie...
, and Michael McFaul.Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough (2006) - Aslund, Anders. How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy (2009)
- Birch, Sarah. Elections and Democratization in Ukraine (2000) online edition
- Kubicek, Paul. The History of Ukraine (2008) excerpt and text search
- Kuzio, TarasTaras KuzioDr. Taras Kuzio is an academic and expert in Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. He has written influential articles on contemporary Ukrainian issues.-Education and qualifications:...
. Ukraine: State and Nation Building (1998) online edition - Sochor, Zenovia A. "Political Culture and Foreign Policy: Elections in Ukraine 1994." in: Tismăneanu, Vladmir (ed.). 1995. Political Culture and Civil Society in Russia and the New States of Eurasia. (1994) ISBN 1-56324-364-4. pp. 208–224.
- Whitmore, Sarah. 'State Building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian Parliament, 1990–2003 Routledge, 2004 online edition
- Wilson, AndrewAndrew Wilson (historian)Andrew Wilson is a historian and political scientist specializing in Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine. He is a senior lecturer in Ukrainian studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London...
. Ukraine's Orange Revolution (2005) - Wilson, Andrew. The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation, 2nd ed. 2002; online excerpts at Amazon
- Wolczuk, Roman. Ukraine's Foreign and Security Policy 1991–2000 (2002) excerpt and text search
- Zon, Hans van. The Political Economy of Independent Ukraine. 2000 online edition
External links
- UKRAINE IS NOT AMERICA by Liudmyla Shanghina
- Yushchenko Won the Competition of Personalities (Kuchma's 2005 interview for Russian Vremia Novostey newspaper)