What Yanukovych really craves..

In a most interesting brief interview on the 'Ostrov' website, Taras Chornovil, one of the country's most 'promiscuous politicians, who in his time has been a member of both Yushchenko's and Yanukovch's innermost circles, claims politics in Ukraine is not determined in the Ukrainian parliament, but predominantly in Moscow via one of several shadowy domestic groups influence.

One of the groups mentioned is led by the his long-time buddy, Yuriy Ivanyushchenko. a.k.a. Yura Yenakiyivskiy - But the most significant group, according to Chornovil, is 'The Kremlin Quartet' - Lyovochkin, Firtash, [Boyko], and Khoroshkovsky.

Chornovil claims Koroshkovsky: "is totally dependent on the Kremlin. He receives instructions only from there. I think he is on a taboo - he is forbidden to take instructions and orders from the President of Ukraine, only from the president or prime minister of Russia. And the group that is associated with him: Firtash, is held on a a very serious hook there, Lyovochkin, who was directly imposed on Yanukovych ... It's there that politics in Ukraine are formed. Not in the Ukrainian parliament and even not in Ukraine, but they come directly from Russia. "

However, according to Taras Chornovil, Yanukovych is definitely not a puppet of Moscow - but he is lazy and greedy - easily influenced and manipulated by his close environment. Yanukovych's overriding concern is to amass great wealth and ensure that he can hold onto it in peace and quiet in the future. This is what the groups of influence provide.

Chornovil notes that in Yanukovych's address last week during the opening of the 8th session of the 6th convocation of parliament, most significantly, the president does not mention Russia at all, while the first concrete point raised is reform of legislation by means of which which Ukraine will embark on modernisation of society and formalise association relations with the EU. Chornovil claims this is a warning to the Kremlin Quartet.