What happened before the meeting in Yalta: the presidential campaign started, Ukraine refused to join NATO and the EU
On July 3, 2004, the presidential election campaign officially started. A total of 26 candidates registered. Although at that time it was already clear that the main struggle would take place between two persons — the pro-government candidate and then prime minister
Yushchenko with a presidential candidate certificate, July 6, 2004. Kuchma and Yanukovych at a parade in Kyiv for the Independence Day of Ukraine, August 24, 2004.
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On the day of the meeting with Putin in the Livadia Palace, on July 26, 2004, it became known that on July 15, Kuchma, by his decree, excluded from the Military Doctrine the provisions on Ukraineʼs accession to NATO and the European Union. He wrote this provision in the doctrine just one month ago — on June 15, 2004. Such a sharp change took place after the NATO Summit in Istanbul at the end of June, where Kuchma was criticized for suppressing public freedoms and inadequate preparations for holding presidential elections. However, Kuchma has said before that Ukraine is not yet ready to join NATO and is at the same distance from the Alliance as it is from the European Union.
What happened at the meeting: talks about oil and high technologies, Putin promoted Yanukovych
On July 26, 2004, Putin brought the head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, to a meeting with representatives of Ukrainian and Russian business in the Livadia Palace in Yalta. Kuchma brought the head of his Administration Viktor Medvedchuk
Putin and Kuchma in the Livadia Palace in Yalta, July 26, 2004.
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Who was among the Ukrainian oligarchs:
- Yuriy Alekseev — general director of the L.M. Makarov Southern Machine-Building Plant Production Association;In July 2005, he became the general director of the National Space Agency of Ukraine. In October 2014, he was dismissed under the law "On Purification of Power".
- Rinat Akhmetov — president of the System Capital Management company;He was a member of parliament in 2006-2012. After the beginning of the Russian aggression, he lost a significant part of his wealth and assets. However, Akhmetov still remains the richest Ukrainian with a fortune of approximately $4 billion.
- Vyacheslav Boguslaev — general director of Motor Sich PJSC;On October 22, 2022, the SBU detained Boguslaev on suspicion of treason. He has been under arrest since then.
- Yuriy Boyko — chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine;He was a minister in the governments of Yanukovych and Azarov, was elected as a deputy from the Party of Regions, nominated his candidacy in the presidential elections. In 2018, he became co-chairman of the pro-Russian party "Opposition Platform — For Life". After its ban in 2022, he created and headed the deputy group "Platform for Life and Peace". Currently, he remains a member of the Ukrainian parliament.
- Volodymyr Boyko — MP, General Director of JSC Mariupol Metallurgical Plant named after Ilyich;He was elected as a Peopleʼs Deputy several times, headed the Mariupol Metallurgical Plant until his death in 2015.
- Oleksandr Derkach — chairman of the board of the Aval bank;Subsequently, he became one of the founders of the Prestige bank, later of the Milk Alliance holding.
- Heorhiy Dzekon — chairman of the board of JSC Ukrtelecom;In 2011, he left with his family for the USA, got American citizenship. In October 2014, the SBU declared Dzekon wanted.
- Ihor Kolomoisky — chairman of the board of the Privat group of companies;Since September 2023, he has been in the pre-trial detention center. He is suspected of fraud and money laundering. In May 2024, Kolomoiskyi was informed of a new suspicion of attempted murder of a lawyer.
- Volodymyr Lukyanenko — president of OJSC Sumy Machine-Building Research and Production Association named after M. V. Frunze;He owned parts of several plants in Sumy. In 2023, he was sanctioned, deprived of the title of Hero of Ukraine and other awards. The High Anti-Corruption Court is considering the case of the nationalization of assets of the Lukyanenko family.
- Viktor Pinchuk — President of Interpipe;Today, Pinchuk is the second richest Ukrainian after Akhmetov, with a fortune of about $2 billion.
- Georgy Skudar — MP, Chairman of the Board of Novokramatorsk Machine-Building Plant CJSC;He was a deputy from the Party of Regions. As of February 2022, the Skudar family owned 78% of shares in the Novokramatorsk Machine-Building Plant.
- Hryhoriy Surkis — peopleʼs deputy, honorary president of FC Dynamo Kyiv;President of the Football Federation of Ukraine in 2002-2012. Member of parliament from OPzZh pro-Russian party, involved in anti-corruption investigations. After the full-scale Russian invasion, he left Ukraine in March 2022.
- Serhiy Taruta — chairman of the board of directors of the Industrial Union of Donbas corporation;Member of parliament from the "Batkivshchyna" faction. He remains the chairman of the board of directors of the "Industrial Union of Donbas".
- Eduard Shifrin is the founder of the Metallurgical Center company;In 2010, he sold his main asset, the Zaporizhstal plant. In 2016, he received Russian citizenship. In 2020, he left Russia, and after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, he renounced his Russian citizenship. Lives in London and Monaco, has citizenship of Great Britain and Israel.
- Mykola Yankovskyi — Peopleʼs Deputy, Chairman of the Board of Concern Stirol OJSC;He was a confidant of Yanukovych in the 2000 elections, then a deputy from the Party of Regions, and from 2012 to 2014, a freelance adviser to the president. In 2010, he sold Styrol to a holding company that was part of Group DF of oligarch Dmytro Firtash.
- Oleksandr Yaroslavskyi is a peopleʼs deputy, honorary president of the UkrSibbank.After the transfer of control over UkrSibbank to the international financial group BNP Paribas in 2006, Yaroslavskyi created and headed the investment group Development Construction Holding. He was the president and owner of the Kharkiv football club "Metalist". In February 2022, a person died in a road accident involving the Yaroslavsky motorcade. Since then, he hardly appears in public space.
Who was among the Russian oligarchs:
- Vagit Alekperov — president of JSC Lukoil;
- Petr Aven — president of JSC "Alfa Bank";
- Oleg Deripaska — Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Basic Element and RUSAL companies;
- Vladimir Yevtushenkov — Chairman of the Board of Directors of AFK Sistema;
- Andrei Kostin — chairman of the board of JSC "Vneshtorgbank";
- Aleksandr Lebedev — deputy of the State Duma, president and general director of JSC "National Reserve Bank";
- Aleksei Miller — Chairman of the Board of JSC Gazprom;
- Shafagat Takhautdinov is the general director of JSC Tatneft.
For two hours, they formally discussed cooperation within the framework of the Joint Economic Space
View of the Livadia Palace, 2006.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Putin tried to emphasize that cooperation with Ukraine is not limited to oil. And tried to start a conversation about high technologies. But they only agreed on the fact that the Ukrainian company UMC, which was bought out by the Russians last year, became the number one mobile operator in Ukraine.
Unexpectedly, the president of "Dynamo" Hryhoriy Surkis took the floor. He said that Ukraine turned to Poland with a proposal to submit an application for the joint hosting of the 2012 European Football Championship. But the Poles are dragging their feet with the answer, then maybe Russia will join the application instead of Poland. To which Putin angrily replied that "Russia will never be on a second guess."
It all ended with passing statements about "the preparation of a package of agreements within the framework of the JES, which will have enormous opportunities." And at the end, Putin almost traditionally declared that the "Western agents" are trying in every possible way to disrupt the integration between Russia and Ukraine.
What happened after the meeting: Russian political technologists, elections and the victory of the Orange Revolution
Yanukovychʼs election campaign began, led by a group of Russian political technologists headed by Gleb Pavlovskiy
"Three types of Ukrainians" leaflet from Yanukovychʼs PR staff, 2004.
On the morning of September 6, 2004, Yushchenko began to complain of nausea, terrible headaches and stomachaches. In a few days, he was taken to an Austrian hospital, where he was diagnosed with toxin poisoning. Yushchenko accused the government of being involved in the poisoning. At the end of September, the General Prosecutorʼs Office opened a criminal case, closed it at the end of October, and resumed the investigation in December. The case still remains unsolved.
Due to his health, Yushchenko was unable to effectively conduct an election campaign. Three weeks before the elections, according to opinion polls, Yanukovych jumped ahead by several percentage points.
The meeting of Yushchenko, Kuchma and Yanukovych in the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, 2004.
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After voting on October 31, 2004, Yushchenko and Yanukovych were predicted to enter the second round. The second round of voting took place on November 21. And the very next day, Putin congratulated Yanukovych on his victory, although the official results appeared only on November 24. The Central Election Commission announced the victory of Yanukovych.
Already on November 22, 2004, a protest action began on Independence Square in Kyiv due to mass falsifications during the elections, which later turned into the Orange Revolution. Ultimately, the Supreme Court of Ukraine invalidated the results of the second round and scheduled a re-vote for December 26. According to its results, Yushchenko won. This is how the opposition came to power in Ukraine.
Supporters of Yushchenko on Independence Square in Kyiv during the beginning of the Orange Revolution, November 23, 2004. Supporters of Yushchenko set off fireworks on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv, a few days after the runoff of the second round of the presidential election, on December 28, 2004.
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In an interview in 2021, the former Russian banker and former friend of Putin, Sergei Pugachev, recalled how Putin spent huge sums of money on Yanukovychʼs campaign in 2004. He was sure that he would have a pocket Ukrainian president. But these plans were hindered by "some people over there". At that time, Putin was very offended by Ukraine and immediately after Yushchenkoʼs victory, he began to put pressure on it, initially with the help of "gas blackmail"
Translated from Ukrainian by Anton Semyzhenko.
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