The Cassette Scandal (Ukrainian: Касетний скандал), a.k.a. "Tapegate", erupting in 2000, has so far been one of the main political events in Ukraine's post-independence history. It has dramatically affected the country's domestic and foreign policy, changing Ukraine's orientation from the West to Russia and radically turning the career of President Leonid Kuchma. This article is about the year 2000. ... The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Леонід Кучма) (born August 9, 1938) was the second President of Ukraine from July 19, 1994 to January 23, 2005. ...

The scandal was started on 28 November 2000 in Kyiv, when Ukrainian politician Oleksander Moroz publicly accused President Kuchma of involvement in the abduction of journalist Georgiy Gongadze and numerous other crimes. Moroz named Kuchma's former bodyguard, Major Mykola Mel'nychenko, as the source of information. He also played selected recordings of the President's secret conversations for journalists, supposedly confirming Kuchma's order to kidnap Gongadze. That and hundreds of other conversations were later published worldwide by Mel'nychenko. November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Kiev (Київ, Kyiv, in Ukrainian; Киев, Kiev, in Russian) is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper river. ... Categories: Ukraine-related stubs | People stubs | Ukrainian politicians | Elections in Ukraine ... Kidnapper redirects here. ... Georgiy R. Gongadze (in Ukrainian Heorhiy Ruslanovych Honhadze) (May 21, 1969 – 2000) was a Ukrainian journalist kidnapped and murdered in 2000. ... A bodyguard is a person who protects someone (known as their principal) from personal assault, kidnapping, assassination, loss of confidential information, or other threats. ... (Major) Mykola Melnychenko (Микола Мельниченко) was a bodyguard of the former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. ...

Journalists nicknamed the case after the compact audio cassette that was used by Moroz. Mel'nychenko himself was supposedly using digital equipment, not cassettes, for recording in the President's office. A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or things real name (for example, Tom is short for Thomas). ... Typical audio Compact Cassette. ... A digital system is one that uses numbers, especially binary numbers, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (an analog system) or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons. ...

Immediate consequences

The described events provoked a long-term political crisis, resulting in mass protests in Kyiv. Opposition started a campaign of non-violent resistance called UBK ("Ukraine without Kuchma!"), demanding President's resignation. Numerous other political changes resulted from the scandal. Despite economic growth in the country, President Kuchma's public approval ratings fell below 9%. A crisis is a turning point or decisive moment in events. ... Kiev (Київ, Kyiv, in Ukrainian; Киев, Kiev, in Russian) is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper river. ... Nonviolent resistance (or nonviolent action) is the practice of applying power to achieve socio-political goals through symbolic protests, economic or political noncooperation, civil disobedience and other methods, without the use of physical violence. ... Ukrayina bez Kuchmy! or UBK (Ukrainian: Україна без Кучми!—Ukraine without Kuchma!) was a mass protest campaign that took place in Ukraine in 2000–2001. ...

2002-3

In 2002, the governments of United States and other countries became more deeply involved after one of the recordings revealed the alleged transfer of a sophisticated Ukrainian radar system (called "Kol'chuha") to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. As a result, Leonid Kuchma was boycotted by Western governments for a time. In particular he experienced an offensive diplomatic demarche when visiting the NATO summit that took place on 21-22 November 2002 in Prague. Breaking the decades-lasting tradition, the list of participating countries was announced in French, not English. As a result Turkey was named after Ukraine, instead of the United Kingdom and United States, thereby avoiding the appearance of Kuchma next to Tony Blair and George W. Bush. 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... Wikinews has news related to this article: Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, (Arabic ), born April 28, 1937 , was President of Iraq from 1979 until his removal and capture after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ... A boycott is a refusal to buy, sell, or otherwise trade with an individual or business who is generally believed by the participants in the boycott to be doing something morally wrong. ... The NATO flag NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The area on which Prague was founded was settled in ancient times since the Paleolithic Age. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Right Honourable Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ...

Moreover, widely publicized conversations depicted Kuchma as a rude, undereducated and spiteful person, using filthy lexics and speaking a freak mixture of Russian and Ukrainian languages. Advocates argue that excessive foul language is the proof of a deliberate montage of the recordings using extrinsic audio samples. MONTAGE MONTAGE [1] American pop group (1991-current) consisting of singer/songwriter Chris Jones, drummer/songwriter Andrew Doss and various guitarists. ...

Influenced by all above-mentioned, the President soon became disillusioned with European integration and started to loosen Ukraine's relations with the United States and EU, critical to his regime. Instead, he boosted integration with Russia, considering the fact that its new leader, Vladimir Putin, was continuously supporting Kuchma and refusing to recognize the allegations. European integration is the process of political and economic (and in some cases social and cultural) integration of European states into a tighter bloc. ... Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин, ▶ (help· info), Pútin; born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician, and the current President of the Russian Federation. ...

In September 2003, Ukrainian troops joined U.S.-lead stabilization forces in Iraq, which is widely perceived as Kuchma's effort to improve relations with the West. Since then, high-level relations were partially restored. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Commenting on the scandal and Mel'nychenko's actions in particular, Leonid Kuchma persistently claims they were a result of foreign interference, but never accuses any specific country. However, some of his statements on the issue may be interpreted as cautious hints on the role of either United States or Russia.

Modern developments

Today, all the main figures of the scandal remain active and influential in modern Ukrainian politics. The case is directly connected with the political career of not only Kuchma (whose presidential term will soon expire), but also Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's Prime Minister at the time and now a leading candidate in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election. Oleksander Moroz took the third place in the election and concluded an alliance with Yushchenko, resulting in the reformation of Ukraine's constitution (in favor of the parliament). Hundreds of politicians and activists taking part in 2001 protests are at the lead of the 2004 "Orange Revolution", happening on the very same street and in a similar manner. Yushchenko, who supported Kuchma back in 2001 and refused to be at the head of UBK campaign, was leading the revolution and became President on January 23 2005. Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Андрійович Ющенко) (born 23 February 1954) is the President of Ukraine. ... Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister A prime minister may be either: chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the... (Redirected from 2004 Ukrainian presidential election) The presidential election held in November and December 2004 in Ukraine was mostly a political battle between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and former Prime Minister and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. ... An aerial view of Parliament of India at New Delhi. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Orange-clad supporters of Viktor Yushchenko gather in Independence Square in Kiev. ... Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Андрійович Ющенко) (born 23 February 1954) is the president of Ukraine. ... Ukrayina bez Kuchmy! or UBK (Ukrainian: Україна без Кучми!—Ukraine without Kuchma!) was a mass protest campaign that took place in Ukraine in 2000–2001. ...

Mykola Mel'nychenko (now in U.S. political asylum) continues to release new portions of his recordings. Some analysts find his behavior partisan and suspicious. In 2004, Volodymyr Tsvil', a Ukrainian businessman who assisted Mel'nychenko in his escape, publicly accused him of not revealing certain details of the case and trying to sell the audio archive to Kuchma's aides. Power lines leading to a trash dump hover just overhead in El Carpio, a Nicaraguan refugee camp in Costa Rica Under international law, a refugee is a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The criminal investigation regarding the circumstances of Mel'nychenko's records and Georgiy Gongadze's death remains inconclusive despite a mass of information revealed by numerous journalistic investigations. for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ...

Viktor Yushchenkohas claimed on February 23 2005 that two witnesses on the case of Georgiy Gongadze were murdered. Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Андрійович Ющенко) (born 23 February 1954) is the President of Ukraine. ...

“I have information, which renders me optimistic, that we can put an end to this story… Many things were wiped out, two out of the four main witnesses were murdered”, said Victor Yushchenko, giving no details.

According to him, the main problem in the Gongadze case is to preserve the materials which may indicate the guilty.

The President has disclosed that after his meeting with Lessia Gongadze, a “special group of police and SBU departments was set up and subjected to the General Prosecutor’s Office”. According to him, this group is being used for an effective probing into this case.

“As of today, two cases, which are indirectly connected with the death of Giya Gongadze, have been passed by the PGO to court”, said the President.

On March 1, 2005, Yushchenko announced that the journalist's suspected killers had been arrested. [1] Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun announced the following day that the case had been solved, telling Ukrainian television that Gongadze had been strangled by employees of the Interior Ministry. Two of the alleged killers were said to be senior policemen working for the Interior Ministry's criminal investigations directorate (CID). Former Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko, one of those recorded with Leonid Kuchma in the "cassette scandal", was also said to be under investigation. The two police colonels accused of the killing have been detained and a third senior policeman, identified as CID commander Oleksiy Pukach, was being sought on an international arrest warrant. March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Svyatoslav Mykhaylovych Piskun (8 March 1959) was the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General in 2002-2003 and 2005. ... Yuriy Fedorovich Kravchenko (Ukrainian: Юрій Федорович Кравченко, March 5, 1951–March 4, 2005), was the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine from 1995 until he was fired in March 2001. ...

The Ukrainian newspaper Siehodnia ("Today") reported that Gongadze had been abducted by the policemen and accidentally shot in the head while seated in a vehicle, necessitating his decapitation (to avoid the bullet being recovered and matched to a police weapon). His body had been doused in petrol which had failed to burn properly, and had then been dumped. [2] Gasoline, as it is known in North America, or petrol, in many Commonwealth countries (sometimes also called motor spirit) is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ...

On March 4, Yuri Kravchenko was found dead in a dacha in the elite residential area of Koncha-Zaspa, outside Kyiv. He had died from apparently self-inflicted gunshot wounds, though some speculated that he might have been assassinated to prevent him from testifying as a witness. Hryhory Omelchenko, who chaired the parliamentary committee that investigated the Gongadze case, told the New York Times that Kravchenko had ordered Pukach to abduct Gongadze on President Kuchma's orders. Kuchma himself has denied this allegation but has since been interviewed by investigators. March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... Dacha ▶(?) (Russian: да́ча) is a name for summer home or vacation house in Russia and CIS countries where people spend their summer holidays and grow fruit and vegetables for their own use. ...

In April/May 2005, Piskun released more details of the ongoing investigation. He told the press that after Gongadze was murdered, a second group disinterred him and re-buried him where he was eventually found, in the constituency of Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz. According to Piskun, the aim was to undermine the government (led by Viktor Yushchenko when he was still Prime Minister). The second group was part of or allied with the United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (SDPUo), a pro-oligarch grouping which had been hit hard by Yushchenko's crackdown on corruption and therefore wanted to see his government toppled. According to the journal Ukrayina moloda (April 14, 2005), the SDPUo moved Gongadze in order to discredit President Leonid Kuchma and force early elections, which could have led to party leader Medvedchuk succeeding Kuchma. Politics of Ukraine Politics of Ukraine Political parties in Ukraine Elections in Ukraine: President: 2004 SDPU(o) party emblem Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (United) or SDPU(U)or SDPU(o) (Ukrainian: Sotsial-Demokratychna Partiya Ukrayiny [Obyednana], СОЦІАЛ-ДЕМОКРАТИЧНА ПАРТІЯ УКРАЇНИ (ОБЄДНАНА) or СДПУ(О)), is a Ukrainian political party. ...

As of November 2005, nobody has been arrested or prosecuted for the murder of Georgiy Gongadze. Georgiy R. Gongadze (in Ukrainian Heorhiy Ruslanovych Honhadze) (May 21, 1969 – 2000) was a Ukrainian journalist kidnapped and murdered in 2000. ...

References