Tymoshenko v Tymoshenko: Funny business at the polls

[muriel_volestrangler]

You have to pay $92,000 to enter the first round of the Ukrainian presidential election. You get it back if you get to the final 2, but lose it otherwise. So:

Which is why one of the candidate's financial declarations rather caught my eye. A family income of just about $10,000 a year, with no additional bank accounts or cash savings.
...
But this Tymoshenko is a man called Yuriy. And if you live outside Ukraine you won't have heard of him yet. In fact, though he is an MP, very few people have heard of him inside Ukraine either.
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The widespread suspicion is that Yuriy is what's known as a clone candidate, planted maliciously to steal votes from confused people who really want to vote for the former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. Yes, the woman with the curled blonde plait.
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Leading the polls at the moment is the Monty Python fan, Mr Zelenskiy, with Yulia Tymoshenko and current president Petro Poroshenko scrapping it out just behind.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-47333307

Yuriy Volodymyrovich Tymoshenko is his real name, and she is Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko. It does looks suspicious, but as the article points out, there are others who have stumped up, and surely stand no chance, being currently charged with crimes. And Zelenskiy plays a president on TV - a principled one, so he seems to be running on that. Which all looks a bit depressing for the future of Ukraine.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. Unfortunately Ukraine's political situation is chronically chaotic

Which ultimately makes them easy pickings for Russian interference and meddling, if not worse.

Their best hope had been Arsenyi Yatsenyuk, who had been the prime minister following the fall of the Yanukovich regime—he had a western style sensibility that was markedly free of the oligarchic corruption that has plagued post Soviet politics. But for whatever reason he chose to walk away from his post and a shot at the presidency. It’s a shame.

I worry Putin is going to try to milk any Ukrainian chaos for what it’s worth. The fact that he invaded and annexed Crimea just days after Yanukovych fled is no coincidence.