Behind every billionaire there is a story!

Oligarchs loom large in Kiev politics

During the campaign for Ukraine’s parliamentary election, at the convention for the Regions party, the man at the centre of attention was not Viktor Yanukovich, the then prime minister and party leader, but Rinat Akhmetov, the country’s richest man. Sitting in the front row, two seats from Mr Yanukovich, he attracted the biggest crowds of journalists, politicians and cameramen.

Meanwhile, Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the rival Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko, was seen on the campaign trail riding in a helicopter with Kostyantin Zhevago, an iron ore billionaire.

And even President Viktor Yushchenko, who has often decried the political influence of Ukraine’s oligarchs, allowed himself to get close to leading businessmen, who have donated money to Yushchenko-backed charities.

With all parties campaigning hard for the parliamentary elections, politicians were taking all the support they could. But it is a delicate relationship. Mr Yushchenko had warned openly that the oligarchs were once again interfering in politics and gaining “the taste of power”.

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