State of the rule of law
Yanukovych had been elected on promises of returning stability, but the state of Ukraine under his rule was described as a "well-ordered lawlessness" modelled on the "manageable democracy" of neighbouring Russia. Under Yanukovych's rule, chief organs responsible for security, most notably the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), were headed by oligarch appointees. Among controversial decisions which were deemed to have negative consequences to the rule of law in Ukraine was the release of FSB agent Vladimir Noskov, who had attempted to kidnap a Ukrainian security officer. The number of injuries and suspicious deaths reported as "suicides" significantly rose in Ukrainian prisons in the months after Yanukovych's installment.
In December 2010 several opposition members of parliament were severely beaten by a group of Party of Regions members in the Verkhovna Rada building. Soon after the event one of the party's leaders Mykhailo Chechetov denied the fact of the assault and claimed that the opposition MPs "broke their own heads against the wall" and were now trying to accuse their opponents.
In early November 2011, Yanukovych claimed that "arms are being bought in the country and armed attacks on government agencies are being prepared." These claims were met with disbelief. Yanukovych and the Party of Regions were accused of trying to create a "controlled democracy" in Ukraine and as a means to this were trying to "destroy" main opposition party BYuT, but both denied these charges. One frequently cited example of Yanukovych's attempts to centralize power is the 2011 sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko, which was condemned by Western governments as potentially being politically motivated. Other high-profile political opponents under criminal investigation include Kuchma, Bohdan Danylyshyn, Ihor Didenko, Anatoliy Makarenko, and Valeriy Ivaschenko.
According to Yanukovych (on 4 February 2011), "[M]any lies [have been] told and attempts made to misinform the international community and ordinary people in Ukraine about the true state of affairs in the country." He also stated, "[A] crushing blow delivered under [my] rule to corruption and bureaucracy has been met with resistance". He stated in February 2012 that the trial of Tymoshenko and other former officials "didn't meet European standards and principles".
As president, Yanukovych stated in early February 2010 that he would support the freedom of speech of journalists and protect their interests. During spring 2010 Ukrainian journalists and Reporters Without Borders complained of censorship by Yanukovych's Presidential Administration; despite statements by Yanukovych how deeply he valued press freedom and that 'free, independent media that must ensure society's unimpeded access to information.'
Anonymous journalists stated early May 2010 that they were voluntarily tailoring their coverage so as not to offend the Yanukovych administration and the Azarov Government. The Azarov Government, the Presidential Administration and Yanukovych himself denied being involved with censorship. In a press conference 12 May 2010 President Yanukovych's representative in the Parliament Yury Miroshnychenko stated that Yanukovych was against political repression for criticism of the regime.
The first Year of Yanukovych's presidency saw a significant increase in the number of crimes against journalists, as reported by the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. Many reporters would be illegally searched, detained and interrogated by authorities.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe confirmed witness accounts of voters being blocked from access to polls and being attacked along with local election officials who tried to frustrate the Berkut's practice of falsifying voters' ballots in favor of Yanukovych's Party of Regions candidates. Individual cases have been reported of citizens grouping together and fighting back against the Berkut in order to preserve election integrity and results. Upon coming to power Yanukovych had reversed oversight measures established during the Yushchenko administration to restrain the Berkut's abuse of citizens whereupon the special force "upped its brutality."
Yanukovych has been criticized for "massive" corruption and cronyism. Ukraine under his rule was described as a "systemically corrupt" country. According to a 2010 report by Transparency International, 34% of respondents in Ukraine acknowledged paying a bribe at least once during the past year. At the same time, main institutions charged with eliminating corruption – the judiciary and the police – were perceived by the population as the most corrupt.
In February 2012 Yanukovych appointed Ihor Kalinin and Dmytro Salamatin as head of SBU and minister of defence respectively, despite both being known to have been Russian citizens in the past. Soon thereafter mass protests took place in relation to the murder of Oksana Makar in the southern city of Mykolaiv, after reports emerged that the murderers had been released due to their alleged ties to the government. This happened in the aftermath of a number of cases, where children and other relatives of important officials from Yanukovych's entourage would be given milder sentences after committing crimes.
By January 2013, more than half of the ministers appointed by Yanukovych were either born in the Donbas region or made some crucial part of their careers there, and Yanukovych has been accused of "regional cronyism" for his staffing of police, judiciary, and tax services "all over Ukraine" with "Donbas people". Over 46% of the budget subventions for social and economic development was allotted to the Donbas region's Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast administrations – ₴0.62 billion ($76.2 million) versus ₴0.71 billion ($87.5 million) for the rest of the country. Yanukovych's political clan has been often described by Ukrainian publicists as a "Donetsk mafia".
Anders Åslund, a Swedish economist and Ukraine analyst, described the consolidation of Ukrainian economic power in the hands of a few "elite industrial tycoons", including Yanukovych's son Oleksandr. The exact distribution of wealth and precise weight of influence are difficult to gauge, but most of the country's richest men were afraid to cross the Yanukovich family, even in cases where their own economic interests favored an economically pro-EU Ukraine.
The Yanukovych family, a group of young businessmen described as "robber capitalists", have been buying up both public and private businesses at "rock bottom" prices available in the stagnating economic conditions brought on by Yanukovych's economic policies." According to Åslund, one notable exception to the Yanukovych family's influence was Petro Poroshenko, who is described as "uncommonly courageous", although his confectionery empire is less susceptible to ruin by the substantial power the Yanukovych family wielded in the heavy industry sectors located in Yanukovych's geographic power base of Donetsk.
Yanukovych had an estimated net worth of $12 billion, and has been accused by Ukrainian officials of misappropriating funds from Ukraine's treasury. Arseniy Yatsenyuk has claimed that treasury funds of up to $70 billion were transferred to foreign accounts during Yanukovych's presidency. Authorities in Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein froze the assets of Yanukovych and his son Oleksander on 28 February 2014 pending a money laundering investigation. Yanukovych has denied that he embezzled funds and has said that his alleged foreign accounts do not exist.
Corporate raiding was rampant in Ukraine under Yanukovych's presidency. During that period, at least 7,000 Ukrainian companies were attacked by the oligarchic clan of Yanukovych (the so-called "Yanukovych Families"). This number includes both cases of the so-called Family entering the corporate rights of the firms they like by illegal methods, and "assaults" in order to obtain "tribute" – that is, commercial gain. This is evidenced by the data of the Anti-Raider Union of Entrepreneurs of Ukraine. The victims of Yanukovych's raider methods were offered to pay a regular "tribute" in the amount of 30–50% of the company's profits – or to cede ownership of it.
According to Yanukovych's former ally Taras Chornovil, a group of officials and businessmen close to Yanukovych, composed of Serhiy Lyovochkin, Valeriy Khoroshkovskyi, Dmytro Firtash and Yuriy Boyko, were involved in deals with Russian president Putin and criminal boss Semion Mogilevich related to the purchase of Russian gas.
Yanukovych abandoned his estate Mezhyhirya when he fled the capital.
Officially, Yanukovych claimed to own a modest home of roughly 250 square meters near the perimeter of the Mezhyhirya grounds, which he made available for journalist interviews. His actual residence, however, was a vast, enclosed estate of approximately 350 acres – nearly half the area of New York's Central Park.
He had acquired the property in 2007, according to critics, through a convoluted series of companies and transactions. Yanukovych did not reveal the price he paid, although he called it a "very serious price".
In a feature with photos on Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya mansion, Serhiy Leshchenko notes "For most of [Yanukovych's] career he was a public servant or parliament deputy, where his salary never exceeded 2000 US dollars per month." Under a photo showing the new home's ornate ceiling, Leschenko remarks, "In a country where 35% of the population live under poverty line, spending 100,000 dollars on each individual chandelier seems excessive, to say the least." Crowned with a pure copper roof, the mansion was the largest wooden structure ever created by Finnish log home builder Honka, whose representative suggested to Yanukovych that it be nominated for the Guinness Book of Records.
The property contained a private zoo, underground shooting range, 18-hole golf course, tennis, and bowling. After describing the mansion's complicated ownership scheme, the article author noted, "The story of Viktor Yanukovych and his residence highlights a paradox. Having completely rejected such European values as human rights and democracy, the Ukrainian president uses Europe as a place to hide his dirty money with impunity."
Documents recovered from Yanukovych's compound show among other expenses $800 medical treatment for fish, $14,500 spent on tablecloths, and a nearly 42 million dollar order for light fixtures. Also recovered were files on Yanukovych's perceived enemies, especially media members, including beating victim Tetyana Chornovol. The cost of monitoring the mass media was reportedly $5.7 million just for the month of December 2010.
Yanukovych told BBC Newsnight in June 2015 that stories that Mezhyhirya cost the Ukrainian taxpayer millions of dollars were "political technology and spin" and that the estate did not belong to him personally. He said that the ostriches in the residence's petting zoo "just happened to be there" and remarked "I supported the ostriches, what's wrong with that?".
