Leonid Danylovych Kuchma[b] (Ukrainian:Леонід Данилович Кучма,IPA:[leoˈn⁽ʲ⁾iddɐˈnɪlowɪtʃˈkutʃmɐ]; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the secondpresident of Ukraine, serving from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005.[3] The only president of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by economic stabilization and an improvement inRussia–Ukraine relations, but at the same time was accompanied bydemocratic backsliding and growth of the influence ofUkrainian oligarchs, as well as several scandals.
After a successful career in the machine-building industry of theSoviet Union, Kuchma began his political career in1990, when he was elected to theVerkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament); he wasre-elected in 1994. He served asPrime Minister of Ukraine between October 1992 and September 1993. Kuchma took office after winning the1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent PresidentLeonid Kravchuk. Kuchma won re-election for an additional five-year term in1999. Corruption accelerated after Kuchma's election in 1994, but in 2000–2001, his power began to weaken in the face of exposures in the media.[4]
Kuchma's administration began a campaign ofmedia censorship in 1999, leading to arrests of journalists, the death ofGeorgiy Gongadze, and the subsequentCassette Scandal andmass protests.[5] TheUkrainian economy continued to decline until 1999, whereas growth was recorded since 2000, bringing relative prosperity to some segments of urban residents. During his presidency, Ukrainian-Russian ties began to improve.[6] Kuchma declined to seek a third term in office, instead supportingParty of Regions candidateViktor Yanukovych for the 2004 election. Following public protests over the alleged electoral fraud which escalated into theOrange Revolution, Kuchma took a neutral stance and was a mediator betweenViktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych. Between 2014 and 2020, Kuchma was a special presidential representative of Ukraine at thequasi peace talks regarding thewar in Donbas.
Kuchma's legacy has proven controversial, and he has been described asauthoritarian by various sources. Widespread corruption and media censorship under Kuchma's administration continue to have an impact on Ukraine today, and he has been accused of promotingoligarchism.
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma was born in the village ofChaikyne in ruralChernihiv Oblast on 9 August 1938.[7] His father, Danylo Prokopovych Kuchma (1901–1942) was wounded inWorld War II and eventually died of his wounds in the field hospital #756 (near the village of Novoselytsia) when Leonid was four.[8][9] His mother Paraska Trokhymivna Kuchma worked on akolkhoz.[10]
Some political observers suggested that Kuchma's early career was significantly boosted by his marriage toLyudmyla Talalayeva, an adopted daughter of Gennadiy Tumanov, theYuzhmash chief engineering officer and later the Soviet Minister of Medium Machine Building.[12][13]
At 38 Kuchma became the Communist party chief atYuzhny Machine-building Plant and a member of the Central Committee of theCommunist Party of Ukraine. He was a delegate of the 27th and 28th Congresses of the Communist Party of Soviet Union. By the end of the 1980s, Kuchma openly criticized the Communist Party.[14]
Kuchma resigned from the position ofPrime Minister of Ukraine in September 1993 to run for thepresidency in 1994 on a platform to boost the economy by restoring economic relations with Russia and fasterpro-market reforms. Kuchma won a clear victory against the incumbent PresidentLeonid Kravchuk, receiving strong support from the industrial areas in the east and south. His worst results were in the west of the country.[14]
Kuchma's first presidential campaign had been run on promises of economic reform. After his electoral victoryRoman Shpek, theMinister of Economy, was appointed responsible for reforming Ukraine's economy in cooperation with international advisors provided, among others, by the foundation ofGeorge Soros,USAID, theEuropean Union'sTACIS program,International Monetary Fund, as well as members of theUkrainian diaspora.[16] In October 1994, in his speech to parliament, Kuchma declared his aim of radical market reforms including reducedsubsidies, lifting of price controls, lower taxes,privatization of industry and agriculture, and reforms in currency regulation and banking. The parliament approved the plan's main points. TheInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) promised a $360 million loan to initiate reforms.[citation needed]
In order to stophyperinflation, which had peaked at 91% in December 1993,Viktor Yushchenko, then nead of theNational Bank of Ukraine, temporarily stopped the issuing of credit, which allowed to stabilize the economy. Price liberalization during Kuchma's first months as president helped to reduce shortages and reinvigorated the agriculture. The abolition of subsidies on gas imports from Russia further reduced the budget deficit. Through a presidential decree, Kuchma also reduced the maximum personal income tax from 90 to 50 percent. In 1994-1995 the parliament adopted a new Law on Taxation and reduced the value-added-tax rate. By March 1995 the financial stabilization allowed theMinistry of Finance to issuetreasury bills.[17]
On 1 March 1995 Kuchma dismissed Communist-aligned Prime MinisterVitaliy Masol, who had opposed his reforms, and promoted his own ally,Yevhen Marchuk, in his place. In his new address to the parliament in April he praised the success of previous reforms and proclaimed his aim to be "state-regulated transition to a social-market economy". In October this declaration was followed by the adoption of a new government program of evolutionary market reform.[18]
Despite the macroeconomic stabilization, Ukrainian economy continued to perform poorly during the latter part of the 1990s due to excessivebureaucracy,corruption, overregulation and lack of foreign investment. Additional problems were caused by the influence of the1998 Russian financial crisis. A tax reform introduced in 1999 allowed to reduce the size ofshadow economy and eventually contributed to the renewal of economic growth in the following years.[19]
In July 1995 Kuchma announced the introduction of a new national currency to replace thekarbovanets by October of the same year. However, this declaration caused panic and mass selling of currency, which forced authorities to delay the plan.[20] In September 1996hryvnia was launched as Ukraine's national currency, contributing to the stabilization of the economy.[21]
In 1995privatization vouchers were distributed throughUkraine's state savings bank to 28,5 million citizens (55% of the population). These certificates could either be used by citizens themselves in privatization auctions, or transferred to a state-licensedinvestment fund. Sale of vouchers was not allowed. The privatization policy was managed byYuri Yekhanurov, head of theState Property Fund of Ukraine. Throughout Kuchma's early presidency, Ukraine'sCommunist-dominated parliament attempted to block privatization efforts and issued a list of up to 6000 enterprises excluded from being privatized. The privatization of smaller enterprises had been mostly completed by 1996, but many large-scale and medium enterprises were either appropriated by their managers through insider privatization at minimum cost, or remained state property. Voucher privatization was officially ended in mid-1997 and replaced by cash privatization through outside investors. By that time the share of Ukraine's GDP originating from private sector had risen to 55%, further increasing to 65% after 2002, although some estimates offered the number of 80%.[22]
In March 1995 the Ukrainian parliament invalidated the previously adoptedseparatist Constitution of Crimea, restoring direct Ukrainian control over the peninsula.[23] In May the parliament supported Kuchma's Law on State Power and Local Self-Government with amendments, which removed norms onimpeachment and dissolution of parliament by the president. Enjoying higher popularity that the legislature, Kuchma repeatedly threatened to issue a decree on a popularreferendum, extracting concessions from the deputies. On 8 June 1995 Kuchma andVerkhovna Rada speakerOleksandr Moroz signed a constitutional agreement, which provided additional powers to the president.[24]
Finally, on 28 June 1996 the newConstitution of Ukraine was adopted through parliamentary vote. The new basic law was a victory for Kuchma, as it subordinated thecabinet of ministers to the president, who nominated theprime minister to be approved by the parliament, and appointed all ministers and regional governors. The president preserved the right to issue economicdecrees and veto laws. The constitution guaranteed the right to private property. It declared Ukraine a unitary state and recognizedUkrainian as the sole official language, withRussian being provided a minority status. Executive control over law enforcement was reinforced, and judicial reform received little attention. Although leaving an important role to the legislature, the new constitution awarded the president with excessive powers.[25]
Kuchma was elected for his first term in 1994 on promises of improving relations with Russia.[26] In his inaugural address, he said:
Historically, Ukraine is part of the Euro-Asian cultural and economics space. Ukraine's vitally important national interests are now concentrated on this territory of the former Soviet Union. ... We are also linked with... the former republics of the Soviet Union by traditional scientific, cultural and family ties... I am convinced that Ukraine can assume the role of one of the leaders of Euro-Asian economic integration.[27]
Kuchma signed aTreaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership with Russia, and endorsed a round of talks with theCIS. Additionally, he referred to Russian as "an official language". Despite this, Kuchma's foreign policy wasn't characterized with any kind of reorientation toward Moscow, and under his presidency Ukraine's involvement into the CIS continued in the same limited manner, as under his predecessor. In 1994 Ukraine joined thePartnership for Peace program. In 1996 Kuchma signed a special partnership agreement withNATO and raised the possibility of Ukraine's membership of the alliance. In 1995 Ukraine also became a member of theCouncil of Europe.[19]
Kuchma wasre-elected in 1999 to his second term.[15][14] His opponent in the runoff wasCommunist leaderPetro Symonenko, whose party had significantly improved its result during the previous year'sparliamentary election.[19] This time the areas that had given Kuchma strongest support last time voted for his opponents, and the areas which had voted against him during the 1994 election came to his support.[14] The result of the 1999 election was to a large degree decided by a split in the left-wing opposition and a strong media bias in Kuchma's favour, and was interpreted as a decisive break with Ukraine's Soviet past.[19] According to historianSerhy Yekelchyk, President Kuchma's administration "employed electoral fraud freely" during the 1999 presidential elections and the following2000 constitutional referendum.[28]
During its later years, Kuchma's presidential regime was described as a "blackmail state" due to his government's systematic use ofblackmail in order to persecute political opponents.[29] Kuchma's administration closed opposition papers and several journalists and political opponents, such asViacheslav Chornovil, died in mysterious circumstances.[30][31][32] Opponents accused him of involvement in the killing in 2000 of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, but Kuchma has consistently denied such claims. Critics have also blamed Kuchma for restrictions on press freedom. Kuchma is believed to have played a key role in sacking theCabinet ofViktor Yushchenko byVerkhovna Rada on 26 April 2001. After his dismissal Yushchenko became the main leader of anti-Kuchma opposition.[19]
Kuchma with President of the European CommissionRomano Prodi in Brussels, 5 December 1999
In 2002, Kuchma stated that Ukraine wanted to sign an association agreement with theEuropean Union by 2003–2004 and that Ukraine would meet all EU membership requirements by 2007–2011.[33] He also hoped for afree trade treaty with the EU.[33]
After Kuchma's popularity at home and abroad sank as he became mired in corruption scandals, he turned to Russia as his new ally.[citation needed] From the late 1990s he adopted a foreign policy which he described as "multi-vector", reaching out to Russia, Europe, and the United States.[36] Critics assessed this policy as manipulating both the West and Russia to the personal benefit of Kuchma andUkrainian oligarchs.[37]
On 4 October 2001,Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 was shot down over the Black Sea by the Ukrainian Air Force while en route toNovosibirsk, Russia, fromTel Aviv,Israel. All 78 occupants of the plane, most of whom were Israelis visiting relatives in Russia, were killed.[38] Following the shootdown, Kuchma initially refused to accept the resignation ofOleksandr Kuzmuk, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, and said, "Look what is happening around the world, in Europe. We are not the first, and we will not be the last. There is no need to make a tragedy out of this. Mistakes happen everywhere, and not only on this scale, but on a much larger, planetary scale."[39] A week later, however, Kuchma announced his willingness to cooperate with Russian investigators, apologised to the governments of Russia and Israel, and accepted Kuzmuk's resignation.[40]
From 1998 to 2000, Kuchma's bodyguardMykola Melnychenko was allegedly eavesdropping Kuchma's office, later publishing the recordings. The release of the tapes – dubbed the Cassette Scandal – supposedly revealed Kuchma's numerous crimes, in particular approving the sale of radar systems toSaddam Hussein (among other illegal arms sales)[41] and ordering the death of journalistGeorgiy Gongadze.[42]
In September 2000, Gongadze disappeared and his headless corpse was found mutilated on 3 November 2000. On 28 November, opposition politicianOleksandr Moroz publicised the tape recordings implicating Kuchma in Gongadze's murder. In 2005, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office instigated criminal proceedings against Kuchma and members of his former administration in connection with the murder of Gongadze.[43] In 2005, the press reported that Kuchma had been unofficially granted immunity from prosecution in return for his graceful departure from office.[44][45]
Critics of the tapes point to the difficulty of Melnychenko recording 500 hours of dictaphone tape unaided and undetected, the lack of material evidence of said recording equipment, and other doubts which question the authenticity and motive of the release of the tape. Kuchma acknowledged in 2003 that his voice was one of those on the tapes, but claimed the tapes had been selectively edited to distort their meaning.[46]
However, according to theUnited States ambassador to Ukraine,Carlos Pascual, that the tapes are genuine, undistorted, unaltered, and not manipulated. His statement was based on the conclusion made byFBIElectronic Research Facility's analysis of the original recording device and the original recording, which found no unusual sounds which would indicate tampering of the recording, detected no breaks in its continuity and no traces of manipulation in the digital files.[47][48]
TheProsecutor General of Ukraine's Office cancelled its resolution to deny opening of criminal cases against Kuchma and other politicians within the Gongadze-case on 9 October 2010.[49] On 22 March 2011, Ukraine opened an official investigation into the murder of Gongadze and, two days later, Ukrainian prosecutors charged Kuchma with involvement in the murder.[50][51] A Ukrainian district court ordered prosecutors to drop criminal charges against Kuchma on 14 December 2011 on grounds that evidence linking him to the murder of Gongadze was insufficient.[52] The court rejected Melnychenko's recordings as evidence.[53] Gongadze's widow,Myroslava Gongadze, lodged an appeal against the ruling one week later.[54]
During the trial ofOleksiy Pukach for the murder of Gongadze, he claimed that Kuchma and Kuchma's head of hisPresidential Administration,Volodymyr Lytvyn, were the ones who ordered the murder.[55][56] Pukach was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the murder of Gongadze.[55]
First DeputyProsecutor General of UkraineRenat Kuzmin claimed 20 February 2013 that his office had collected enough evidence confirming Kuchma's responsibility for ordering Gongadze's assassination.[57] Kuchma's reply the next day was, "This is another banal example of a provocation, which I've heard more than enough in the past 12 years".[57]
2004 Ukrainian presidential election and Orange Revolution
Kuchma (seated in the middle) participating in the "round table" talks between Yushchenko, Yanukovych and international representatives during the Orange Revolution, 1 December 2004
Kuchma's role in the2004 Ukrainian presidential election and subsequentOrange Revolution is not entirely clear. In the run-up to the elections,oligarchs opposed to Leonid Kuchma contributed about $150 million to opposition political parties. According toMichael McFaul, U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014 and architect ofBarack Obama's policy in the region, the U.S. government spent more than $18 million on "democracy promotion" in the two years leading up to the election.[58] Kuchma, who had been cleared by theConstitutional Court to run for a third term, eventually refused to take part in the elections and endorsed the candidacy of Viktor Yanukovych, who was also supported by Russian presidentVladimir Putin.[19] After the second round on 22 November 2004, it appeared that Yanukovych had won the election by fraud, which caused the opposition and independent observers to dispute the results, leading to the Orange Revolution.[59][60]
Kuchma was urged by Yanukovych andViktor Medvedchuk (the head of the presidential office) to declare astate of emergency and hold the inauguration of Yanukovych. He denied the request. Later, Yanukovych publicly accused Kuchma of a betrayal. Kuchma refused to officially dismiss Prime Minister Yanukovych after the parliament passed amotion of no confidence against the Cabinet on 1 December 2004. Soon after, Kuchma left the country. He returned to Ukraine in March 2005.[61]
In September 2011, Kuchma stated that he believed that Yanukovych was the real winner of the 2004 election.[62]
Leonid Kuchma has been active in politics since his presidency ended. He aligned himself with PresidentViktor Yushchenko in 2005,[63] but later raised concerns about the president in correspondence with then U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine,John Tefft.[64] Kuchma said in October 2009 that he would vote for Victor Yanukovych in the2010 Ukrainian presidential election and endorsed him during the presidential campaign.[65][66] In a document dated 2 February 2010 and uncovered during theUnited States diplomatic cables leak, Kuchma, in a conversation withUnited States Ambassador to UkraineJohn F. Tefft, called the voters' choice between Yanukovych andYulia Tymoshenko during the second round of the 2010 presidential election as a choice between "bad and very bad" and praised (the candidate eliminated in the first round of the election)Arseniy Yatsenyuk instead.[67]
Involvement in the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
On 11 February 2015, Kuchma was one of the signatories of a draft plan to end the conflict in Donbas. The summit was known asMinsk II. The plan ensured that a ceasefire was implemented; reaction from leaders in Europe was generally positive.[71]
In March 2015, Kuchma delivered an address calling on the west for greater involvement in the region.[72] He criticized the action of Russian-backed forces in the attempt to seize the town ofDebaltseve.[73]
In September 2015, Kuchma was again appointed as the representative for Ukraine at theTrilateral Contact Group. The group met inBelarus to discuss ending the conflict in Donbas. In early 2017, Kuchma spoke out against the transport blockade of Donbas.[74][75] In March 2017 at the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) in Minsk, he demanded that the Russian Federation repeal their decree on the recognition of passports issued in separatist-held areas.[76]
On 2 October 2018, Kuchma stepped down as Ukraine's representative in the Trilateral Contact Group due to his age.[77] He returned to the talks in June 2019, at the request of newly elected Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy and after mediation byVictor Pinchuk.[78][79] According to American sources, he left the post again in July 2020, citing fatigue. He was replaced byLeonid Kravchuk.[80][81]
When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kuchma said that he would remain to help defend the country: "I stay at home, in Ukraine, because we are all in our Homeland, there is no other. And we will defend it together until the very victory – without division into party columns, without personal interests and old arguments. United we stand around the Flag, the Army, and the President. Ukraine is not Russia. And it will never become Russia. No matter how hard they want this. We are already winning. And this can’t be stopped. And I will only say to the Russian Federation that I agree with the words of my compatriots who say in one voice: damn you all!".[82]
In November 2023, Kuchma presented his new bookUkraine is Not Russia: Twenty Years Later.[83]
This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(March 2013)
Kuchma with his son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk in 2014
Kuchma has been married toLyudmyla Talalayeva since 1967.[84] is the Honorary President of the National Fund of Social Protection of Mothers and Children, "Ukraine to Children"[85] and is also known as aparalympic movement in Ukraine supporter.[84]
Kuchma's only child, daughterOlena Pinchuk, is married toViktor Pinchuk, an industrialist and philanthropist whoseVictor Pinchuk Foundation regularly hosts Ukraine-dedicated and philanthropic forums at the annualWorld Economic Forum inDavos. Victor Pinchuk made headlines when it was revealed that one of his lobbyists was previously picked by Donald Trump for national security aide.[86][87]
Kuchma was an amateur guitar player in his younger years. He was also known for his skill at the complicatedcard gamepreferans.
After retirement, Kuchma was allowed to keep the state-owneddacha inKoncha-Zaspa for his personal use upon completion of his state duties.[88] Government order #15-r, which allowed Kuchma to keep his estate, was signed by acting Prime MinisterMykola Azarov on 19 January 2005. Kuchma was also allowed to keep his full presidential salary and all service personnel, along with two state-owned vehicles. That order also stated that these costs would be paid out of the state budget.
Kuchma's legacy as President of Ukraine has proven divisive and controversial. He has been commonly referred to asauthoritarian,[89][90] and his attacks on independent media, as well as his economic reforms, have continued to impact Ukraine in the years since he left office.
Political advisor Dmytro Vydrin and first head of Kuchma's presidential administrationDmytro Tabachnyk claimed Kuchma to be a representative ofcentrist forces supported by Ukraine's industrial establishment, and denied his allegiance to any particular ideology. According to them, during his presidency Kuchma combined his functions as a political leader with those of a manager, seeing Ukraine as a stabilizing force on the post-Soviet space and as an equal participant in the global market.[91] Kuchma himself didn't deny Ukraine's need for a national idea, but refused to see it in exclusivelyethnonationalist terms.[92] According toTaras Kuzio, Kuchma's refusal to sacrifice Ukraine's nation- and state-building despite his policies of normalizing relations with Russia, proved that the allegiance of hisRussophone voters to the idea of an independent Ukrainian state was not weaker than that of Ukrainiphone Ukrainians.[93]
Kuchma's detractors have accused him of establishing theUkrainian oligarchs with his economic reforms, and many oligarchs entered politics during his presidency, among them Kuchma's son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk, Viktor Medvedchuk,Ihor Bakai,Kostyantyn Zhevago andHeorhiy Kirpa.[94]
Kuchma's political legacy has also been impactful. Each of his successors exceptVolodymyr Zelenskyy began their political career under and with the support of Kuchma.[95][96][97][98] Several other politicians, such as Medvedchuk, Volodymyr Lytvyn,Leonid Derkach,Volodymyr Horbulin, andOleksandr Omelchenko also were promoted by Kuchma during his tenure in office.[94]
Despite numerous human rights abuses during his tenure, such as vote rigging in the 2004 presidential election, and the mysterious deaths of numerous political opponents, among them Gongadze and Viacheslav Chornovil, Kuchma has never been charged with a crime, and numerous attempts to do so have proven unsuccessful.[99][43][52]
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class (Russia, 20 April 2004) – for his contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between Russia and Ukraine
^Mykola Riabchuk (2020).Eastern Europe since 1989: between loosened authoritarianism and unconsolidated democracy. Centre for East European Studies (Studium Europy Wschodniej UW). University of Warsaw. p. 129.ISBN9788361325888.
^Riabchuk, Mykola (2012). "Ukraine's 'muddling through': National identity and postcommunist transition".Communist and Post-Communist Studies.45 (3–4):439–446.doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2012.06.007.
Sochor, Zenovia A. "Political Culture and Foreign Policy: Elections in Ukraine 1994." in: Tismăneanu, Vladmir (ed.). 1995.Political Culture and Civil Society in Russia and the New States of Eurasia. (1994)ISBN1-56324-364-4. pp. 208–224.
Whitmore, Sarah.State Building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian Parliament, 1990–2003. Routledge, 2004online editionArchived 10 August 2011 at theWayback Machine
1Presidents of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile.2 Chairman of the Ukrainian National Council.3During the Soviet period the republican leader was the 1st secretary of the party, while a head of state de jure was the chairman of the parliament's presidium.
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