Viktor Yanukovych - Early Life
A Brief Profile from Childhood to Regional Transportation Manager
Biography of Ukraine's two-time Prime Minister and Party of Regions leader, from orphan with a troubled childhood to a prominent transportation sector leader.
Viktor Yanukovych has been involved in Ukrainian politics since the mid 1990s and has aspirations of becoming Ukraine’s next president in 2010. To gain insight into the man and his current political activities, it is important to look at his childhood and work as a regional transportation manager under the old Soviet system.
Childhood
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych, was born July 9, 1950 to a working class family in Yenakiyevo, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Viktor’s father was a train operator and his mother, a nurse, died when he was two years old. After being orphaned as a teenager, Viktor was raised by his grandmother.
Viktor had a troubled childhood, and in 1968 and 1970, he was convicted and imprisoned for robbery and bodily injury. During the 2004 elections, he claimed to have been acquitted of the charges in 1978, but was unable to produce any backing documentation. Referring to his upbringing and early years,, Yanukovych said, "I came from a very poor family and my main dream in life was to break out of this poverty."
Family
Viktor is married to Lyudmila Oleksandrivna and has two sons: Oleksandr and Viktor. He enjoys playing tennis, hunting, breeding pigeons, parachuting, and flying. He is a devout Orthodox Christian and a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Education
In 1980, Yanukovych graduated (via correspondence) from Donetsk Polytechnical Institute (now Donetsk State Technical University), majoring in mechanical engineering. He earned a Master's Degree in international law from The Ukrainian Academy of Foreign Trade, and a Doctor of Economics Degree (the equivalent of a Ph.D.) in 2000.
Beyond his educational degrees, Yanukovych is also a professor, full member of the Academy of Economic Sciences of Ukraine, and a member of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Pre-Political Career
In 1969, Yanukovych worked in the Yenakiyevo metallurgical works as a gas-fitter. In 1972, he became an electrician for a local bus company. After earning his degree in mechanical engineering, Viktor was appointed chief manager of a Yenakiyevo transportation company. This position was his first of many managerial positions in regional automotive transport. In total, he worked in transportation sector executive positions for 20 years, including General Director of the Production Association "Donbastransremont", "Ukrvuglepromtrans", and Donetsk Regional Territorial Association of Motor Transport. Yanukovych was admitted to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1980.
Yanukovych has been accused of having ties to organized crime. These charges are due to his ties with wealthy businessman Rinat Akhmetov, head of the Clan of Donetsk, a group of local businessmen supposedly involved in organized crime. These accusations followed Yanukovych into his political life where he is also suspected of illegal activities due to his positions within the corrupt regime of President Leonid Kuchma in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
References
Government Portal: Prime Minister of Ukraine.
Kupchinsky, Roman. “Analysis: The clan from Donetsk.” Ukrainian Weekly. January 12, 2003.
Leader of the Party of Regions. Party of Regions Official Website.
Viktor Yanukovych - Personal Information Server.
