Speaking at a recent Kennan Institute talk, Jaroslav Koshiw, director, Artemia Press, Ltd., U.K., and Title VIII-supported research scholar, Kennan Institute, discussed the career of Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Koshiw stated that several images of Yanukovych exist in the public imagination in Ukraine, which range widely from positive to negative. They include "criminal/gangster" and "fraudster," as well as "good master" and "democrat."

In his youth, Yanukovych was convicted once for robbery, and once for "causing serious bodily harm," Koshiw stated. These convictions were discovered accidentally in 2002 prior to Yanukovych's term as prime minister by an investigative journalist, he continued. This led to Yanukovych's "criminal" image, he said. Throughout his political career, Yanukovych has maintained strong ties with figures from the criminal world, which has led to his "gangster" image.

At the same time, Koshiw noted, his term in Donetsk region as governor has led to one of his most positive images, that of a "good master." Strong economic growth in his oblast during his term made him very popular there, and currently Donetsk forms Yanukovych's political base, he observed. He also enjoys the reputation of being a strong and assertive leader, Koshiw added.

During his unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2004, Yanukovych continued to be seen as different things by different people, Koshiw said. The two criminal convictions from his youth were only mentioned on his application to become a candidate for prime minister in 2002, along with a statement that a court had quashed the convictions. Afterwards Yanukovych did not mention the convictions again, either in his applications to be candidate for president in 2004 or to be a member of parliament in 2006, Koshiw noted. The court statement canceling the two criminal convictions turned out to have been falsified. This led to his image of being a "fraudster," he said. In addition, allegations of election rigging against Yanukovych's party during the 2004 presidential campaign reinforced this image in the minds of many in Ukrainian society, he stated.

Today, after the victory of the Party of Regions in the 2006 parliamentary elections, and his return to the post of prime minister, Yanukovych projects a very different image, according to Koshiw. He has hired Western image consultants and speaks about democracy to various international audiences, he said. Which image corresponds to the real Yanukovych remains to be seen, Koshiw concluded.