Putin's stooge flees to the East

[superbeets]

[h=1]House fit for a tyrant: Protestors storm the sprawling, luxury estate of Ukraine's fugitive president which has its own private zoo, golf course and is half the size of Monaco[/h]

• Protestors took full control of the residence after the security detail charged with protecting the compound fled
  
• Property is around an hour's drive from Kiev and stands as a symbol of the folly of the country's ousted president
• Visitors rubbed their eyes in disbelief as they entered the compound and saw the scale of opulence
• 140-hectare estate has a garage full of luxury sports cars below the house in Mezhyhirya, an hours drive from Kiev
• Anti-government demonstrators stormed the house on the day President Viktor Yanukovich fled the capital
• His arch-nemesis Yulia Tymoshenko was released from prison and made a speech at Independence Square
• Congratulated protestors for freeing the 'cancer' from Ukraine and called victims of the violence 'heroes'
• The root of the problems in Ukraine stem from a political divide between the east and west

 

[superbeets]

A beautiful forested estate of graceful waterways, summer houses and exotic gardens.
This is the home of Ukraine's fugitive president, who was dramatically ousted from power after one of the worst periods of violence in the country's history.

Ukraniains streamed to see Viktor Yanukovich's luxury estate, which has been closed off to the world for nearly a decade, and rubbed their eyes in disbelief when they were confronted by the scale of the opulence he built around him.
The property in Mezhyhirya, an hours drive from Kiev, has a golf course, helicopter pad and is situated in a country where the average salary is less than £300 a month.
Below the house, a garage is filled with classic sports cars worth millions, while in the exotic gardens Australian and African ostriches stretch their legs.

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Opulence: Ukranians walk around President Yanukovych's countryside residence in Mezhyhirya. The property has been closed off to the public during his reign

 

[superbeets]

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The house became a tourist attraction for the day. Visitors were able to take a look at the exotic gardens and monuments dotted around the estate

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People wander around President Viktor Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya estate, which was abandoned by security

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Protesters try to play on a golf course at the Ukrainian President Yanukovych's countryside residence in Mezhyhirya, Kiev's region. Ukrainian security and volunteers from among Independence Square protesters have joined forces to protect the presidential countryside retreat from vandalism and looting

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A man wearing a kevlar vest and combat trousers plays golf on the president's private course

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A protester poses in a bathtub at the residence has the crowds take photos of some of the sprawling outhouses

 

[superbeets]

Yanukovich, 63, who fled into hiding on Saturday as the turmoil of three months confrontation with his people caught up with him, relaxed at weekends in luxury behind high walls patrolled by scores of security guards.
When the dream ended and Yanukovich's staff fled the Gatsby-like mansion in the early hours of Saturday, the Kiev protest movement that had opposed him invited Ukrainians to go to see the opulence Yanukovich lived in.
As they poured in their thousands, by foot and by car, onto the 140-hectare grounds for a first glimpse at a luxury they could only suspect, Ukrainians gawped in wonderment at the fairytale surroundings.

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People gaze through the windows of the lavish residence to see a long dining table below a two-tiered chandelier

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The marble floors are covered in intricate patterns and the room is surrounded by vases filled with roses

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A man gives a thumbs up behind the bar which is nestled in a corner of the residence

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The immaculate lavatory still has neatly folded towels hanging on rails inside

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A man wearing a kevlar vest and a helmet gives a peace gesture to the cameras as he relaxes on a sofa with a fellow protestor

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A protestor waves the European Union flag outside the front door of the sprawling mansion. Opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko told supporters on her release from prison that she believed Ukraine would be joining the EU

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The curtains were drawn shut and the doors were locked on the outside of the house, but the scale of the luxury house is evident from the outside

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Protestors watch a ship, which was converted into a restaurant. Protestors took full control of the premises after Yanukovych was ousted from power

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Protestors sort through documents which were left in the house. In the background is a hovercraft and jet-propelled boat

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Some documents were discovered burnt as protestors took control of the property

 

[superbeets]

What they saw reflected more the inflated dreams of a Middle East potentate - with all the attendant obsessions with security - rather than a rough-hewn man from the gritty eastern Ukraine who got to the top the hard way.
Yanukovich bought a small house on the plot at the start of his presidency in 2010. Subsequently, according to local media, he acquired control of the full estate which exists today through a chain of companies with which he had close interests.
Beyond a five-floor Russian-style house - some said it was his guest house - a stone staircase opened up to a landscaped vista of water features, arboreal walkways and tree-lined avenues stretching into the distance.
Few people - apart from Yanukovich's chosen few and family - have visited a secret place which has been charted by satellite images that show a helicopter pad and a golf course.
With Yanukovich obsessed by security and fear of attack, they had to leave their mobile phones at the entrance to the grounds and pick them up only on leaving, locals said.
'This is a monument to a tyrant which we want to show the people,' said Eduard Leonov, a parliamentary deputy from the far-right nationalist Svoboda party.

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One visitor takes in the view of the house from across the artificial lake. Hundreds of people entered the grounds but not one has entered the building itself

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One visitor carried a Ukranian flag while touring the grounds of the house while a man in the distance takes a photo. There is a private golf course and zoo nestled in the estate

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A protester guards the entrance to Ukrainian President Yanukovych's countryside home. Viktor Yanukovych is not in his official residence of Mezhyhirya, which is about 20 km (12.5 miles) north of the capital

 

[superbeets]

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych winking at his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in December

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The last time Viktor Yanukovich was seen was when he signed a peace deal with opposition leader Vitali Klitschko. The pair shook hands after signing the agreement in the Presidential Palace, bringing the violence to a temporary end

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The ousted President looked defeated as he waited to sign the agreement aiming to end the violence which has engulfed the Ukrainian capital

​

 

[superbeets]

The average daily wage in Ukraine is £8. In a number of regions, it is barely £5. More than a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. It has the most severe HIV epidemic in Europe. Millions lack adequate health and social care.

 

[superbeets]

Forbes magazine reported that Yanukovych's own son, a dentist, won 50 per cent of all state contracts last month, which one commentator called "possibly the biggest dental extraction in history". There is no independent judiciary.

 

[Michelangelo]

Wonder how many ruples it would take to rent that cottage out for a weekend party?

 

[akphidelt]

Perfect country for Willie and his friends!

 

[DrunkenHorseplayer]

Five years from now, the current president will be doing the same thing and will be overthrown.

 

[ScottL]

• Putin's Ukrainian Port at Sevastopol Is the Heart of Russia's Activity in the Eastern Mediterranean - Amatzia Baram
  Russia maintains an enormous military port in the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol, home of Russia's mighty Black Sea Fleet. All Russian activity in the eastern Mediterranean is currently dependent upon the Sevastopol port. However, it is through the Syrian ports of Tartus and Latakia that Russia is transferring increasingly large arms shipments to Assad's army and safeguarding its interests in Damascus.
  With America's recent wariness of Egypt, contacts are being pursued between Moscow and Cairo for a $2 billion arms deal that would be financed by Saudi Arabia. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Sevastopol port is indirectly the key to Syria and perhaps to Egypt and the entire Mediterranean in the future.
  If Ukraine degenerates into chaos, Russia's naval base in Sevastopol will be in danger. If that happens, Putin may have an interest in seeing Ukraine split, for he will have no choice but to seize control of Sevastopol and the surrounding area, or even of Eastern Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula where it is situated. Professor Baram teaches Middle East history at Haifa University. (Ha'aretz)
• [SL -- Both Russia and Saudi Arabia playing all sides here ]
• U.S., Saudi Arabia and Jordan Helping Syrian Rebels - Zvi Bar'el (Ha'aretz)
  Every month, between 200 and 250 Syrian rebel soldiers undergo training at the Jordanian special forces base near the city of Salt.
  The U.S. is constructing runways for reconnaissance aircraft in Jordan near the Syrian border.
  Saudi Arabia has flown weaponry and ammunition purchased in Ukraine to bases in Jordan.
  According to reports, Israel provided active assistance to a rebel attack four months ago when it jammed Syrian army communications.