Viktor Yanukovych - Political Positions

Political Positions

"The new modernization strategy sets a number of basic priorities, first of all, the creation of a modern competitive state, the substantial characteristics of which are the supremacy of law and a developed legal culture, a balanced representative democracy, strong self-government, and disciplined and mobile state management.

The second priority is the humanization of development, which means increasing social investments in human capital and the formation of a modern life sustenance infrastructure.

The organization of the modernization of the education and healthcare systems, an increase of social standards, the creation of a culture of the creative use of spare time and the development of national cultural industries are defined as the top priorities of the reforms."

Yanukovych annual address to parliament (April 2011)

Yanukovych has said, "Ukraine's integration with the EU remains our strategic aim", with a "balanced policy, which will protect our national interests both on our eastern border – I mean with Russia – and of course with the European Union". According to Yanukovych, Ukraine must be a "Neutral state" which should be part of a "collective defence system which the European Union, NATO and Russia will take part in." Yanukovych wants Ukraine to "neither join NATO nor the CSTO". He stated on 7 January 2010 that Ukraine is ready to consider an initiative by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the creation of a new Europe collective security system stating "And we're ready to back Russia's and France's initiatives". Yanukovych stated during the 2010 presidential election-campaign that the current level of Ukraine's cooperation with NATO is sufficient and that the question of the country's accession to the alliance is therefore not urgent. "The Ukrainian people don't currently support Ukraine's entry to NATO and this corresponds to the status that we currently have. We don't want to join any military bloc". On 27 May 2010 President Yanukovych stated he considered Ukraine's relations with NATO as a partnership, "And Ukraine can't live without this, because Ukraine is a large country".

Regarding the European Union (EU) Yanukovych wants to create a free trade zone and visa-free travel between Ukraine and the EU countries. Once "Ukraine achieves those standards that currently exist in Europe", then the country should consider joining the EU. "But today this is an absolutely motivating, stimulating process we must aspire to", he stated in January 2010. In May 2011 Yanukovych stated that he will strive for Ukraine to join the EU. According to Yanukovych Ukrainian relations with "the West" are "a guide in both social and technical standards that we should strive for in creating a European life level in Ukraine". Yanukovych believes that the European integration of Ukraine is not an end in itself, but a way of implementation of the European standards in the state.

According to Yanukovych, relations between Ukraine and Russia in the gas sector must be built “according to the rules of the market”. He sees the gas agreement signed in 2009 after the 2009 Russia-Ukraine gas dispute as very unprofitable for Ukraine he and wants to "initiate the discussion of the most urgent gas issues" after the 2010 presidential election. Yanukovych has promised before his election as Ukrainian President to "solve the issue" concerning the Russian Black Sea Fleet, currently stationed in the Ukrainian port Sevastopol, "in a way so that the interests of Russia or Ukraine would not be harmed". This led to the April 2010 Ukrainian–Russian Naval Base for Natural Gas treaty. Yanukovych had also promised to create a consortium that would allow Russia to jointly operate Ukraine's gas transportation network and he has pledged to help Russia build the South Stream natural gas pipeline. As of June 2010 both did not happen. Yanukovych rejected accusations that improvement of Ukrainian-Russian relations harms relations with the European Union. “Our policy is directed to protection of our national interests. We do not live in a fairy tale and understand that our partners also defend their interests”. In February 2012 Yanukovych stated, referring to relations with Russia, "It is not wise to fall asleep next to a big bear".

Yanukovych has stated that his "aim and dream" is a unification of Ukraine, although in his opinion "there are already no borders between the East and West of the country today". Yanukovych wants to create a free trade zone and visa regime with the EU as soon as possible. Prospects for Ukraine's joining the European Union first depend on a political decision of the European Union, according to Yanukovych.

Yanukovych's stance on the Holodomor is: "Holodomor took place, was denounced and the international society gave an evaluation of the famine, but it was never labeled as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. Ukraine's attempts to do so by blaming one of our neighbors are unjust." "The Holodomor was in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It was the result of the policies of Stalin's totalitarian regime." In 2003 he supported then President Leonid Kuchma’s position that the Holodomor famine was genocide against Ukrainians. Yanukovych's press service claims that he does not approve of crimes of the KGB and their predecessors in Soviet times, however, in 2002 he wrote in a book endorsing the KGB and its predecessors, stating that the NKVD and Cheka "firmly stood on guard over the interests of our people and the state” and praised them for launching “a struggle against political extremism, sabotage and criminal activities.”).

Yanukovych has stated in the past that he wants Russian to become the second state language in Ukraine (currently Ukrainian is the only official language of Ukraine; Russian is more spoken in daily communications in Ukraine than Ukrainian). On the other hand, he stated at a meeting with Taras Shevchenko National Prize winners in Kiev on 9 March 2010 that "Ukraine will continue to promote the Ukrainian language as its only state language". In a newspaper interview during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election-campaign he stated that the status of Russian in Ukraine "is too politicized" and said that if elected President in 2010 he would "have a real opportunity to adopt a law on languages, which implements the requirements of the European Charter of regional languages". He said that this law would need 226 votes in the Ukrainian parliament (50% of the votes instead of the 75% of the votes needed to change the constitution of Ukraine) and that voters told him that the current status of Russian in Ukraine created "problems in the hospital, school, university, in the courts, in the office".

Yanukovych Party of Regions wants to increase social benefits, and raise salaries and pensions. In late 2009, a law that raised the minimum wage and pensions was passed in the Ukrainian Parliament. As a result of this, the International Monetary Fund suspended its 2008–2009 Ukrainian financial crisis emergency lending programme: according to the IMF, the law breached promises to control spending. During the 2010 presidential campaign Yanukovych had stated he would stand by this particular law. According to Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc member of parliament Oleh Shevchuk, Yanukovych broke this election promise just three days after the 2010 presidential election when only two lawmakers of Yanukovych's Party of Regions supported a bill to raise pensions for low-incomes.

Yanukovych thinks that the demographic situation in Ukraine "is unacceptable" and hopes to increase the birth rate in Ukraine by improving the economic situation. He also stated that the Party of Regions is planning to create conditions for the return of Ukrainian migrant workers to Ukraine.

During the 2010 presidential campaign Yanukovych called for the modernization of Ukraine's energy sector (including technologies to save energy) increase of Ukraine's domestic natural gas production, tax reforms (cut the Value Added Tax (VAT) to 17 percent by 2011 from 20 percent and corporate tax to 19 percent from 25 percent, banks should not offer mortgages with more than 7 percent interest rates), and reforming the legal system in order to fight against corruption. He also believed that by 2019 Ukraine should be one of the G-20 major economies. Yanukovych believes Ukraine could gain energy security through the development and construction of more nuclear power stations and he wants to modernise the Ukrainian coal industry. Immediately after his election as President of Ukraine in February 2010 Yanukovych announced that "The new Cabinet of Ministers should start a war against corrupt practices". During the festivities dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the State Tax Service of Ukraine on 1 July 2010 President Yanukovych announced a step up of efforts towards the eradication of corruption.

As president Yanukovych has stated (early February 2010) he will support the freedom of speech of journalists and protect their interests. In general he wants the civil society to be involved in government policy making.

Yanukovych has been a speaker at congresses of the Russian political party United Russia. Party of Regions signed a collaboration agreement in 2005 with United Russia.

During the campaign Yanukovych stated that if elected president in 2010 he would not oblige government representatives to hang his portraits or other symbols portraying him.

On 25 June 2010 President Yanukovych criticised 2004 amendments in the Ukrainian Constitution which weakened presidential powers such as control over naming government ministers, passing those functions to parliament.

During the 2011 World Economic Forum Yanukovych called Ukraine "one of the leaders on democratic development in Eastern Europe".