Ukraine: Only the best for 'the son of god'
Independent: Children of the Orange Revolution's extravagant ways
Six months after he swept to power promising to stamp out cronyism, corruption and inequality, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has been forced on the defensive by the extravagant behaviour of his son.
Andrey Yushchenko, 19, has caused a stir and considerable resentment in Kiev by ostentatiously driving a rare BMW car around the city and generally conducting a playboy lifestyle. His excesses have enraged Ukrainians, many of whom earn less than 100 pounds per month.
Mr Yushchenko has rejected all accusations of impropriety concerning his family and has attacked the media for picking on "children". But his son, a student of international relations in Kiev, is now sarcastically referred to in sections of the press as the "Son of God".
So embarrassing has the scandal become that Andrey has released a written statement justifying his behaviour.
The brand new BMW M6 that is his vehicle of choice, which has a starting price in the region of 90,000 pounds, has come under particular fire. The car in question is apparently the only one of its kind in Kiev. The newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda has quoted witnesses who declare that Andrey should have been stripped of his driving licence long ago for accelerating down the narrow street where his girlfriend lives at 60 miles per hour.
The paper also wondered aloud how Andrey, a student in one of Europe's poorer countries, could possibly afford such an expensive car, noting that even his famous father - with an annual salary of about 34,000 pounds - would be hard pressed to buy it.
Attention has also been drawn to Andrey's Vertu mobile phone, which is also the preferred handset of oligarchs across the former Soviet Union. His personal model is said to be the top of the range one, with a platinum body, that costs about 25,000 pounds.
As the optimism of the Orange Revolution becomes more muted, many Ukrainians are beginning to believe that power in the country may have simply shifted from the pro-Soviet oligarchy of former president Leonid Kuchma to a new elite. The president's son is being treated as a case in point. Read more
Six months after he swept to power promising to stamp out cronyism, corruption and inequality, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has been forced on the defensive by the extravagant behaviour of his son.
Andrey Yushchenko, 19, has caused a stir and considerable resentment in Kiev by ostentatiously driving a rare BMW car around the city and generally conducting a playboy lifestyle. His excesses have enraged Ukrainians, many of whom earn less than 100 pounds per month.
Mr Yushchenko has rejected all accusations of impropriety concerning his family and has attacked the media for picking on "children". But his son, a student of international relations in Kiev, is now sarcastically referred to in sections of the press as the "Son of God".
So embarrassing has the scandal become that Andrey has released a written statement justifying his behaviour.
The brand new BMW M6 that is his vehicle of choice, which has a starting price in the region of 90,000 pounds, has come under particular fire. The car in question is apparently the only one of its kind in Kiev. The newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda has quoted witnesses who declare that Andrey should have been stripped of his driving licence long ago for accelerating down the narrow street where his girlfriend lives at 60 miles per hour.
The paper also wondered aloud how Andrey, a student in one of Europe's poorer countries, could possibly afford such an expensive car, noting that even his famous father - with an annual salary of about 34,000 pounds - would be hard pressed to buy it.
Attention has also been drawn to Andrey's Vertu mobile phone, which is also the preferred handset of oligarchs across the former Soviet Union. His personal model is said to be the top of the range one, with a platinum body, that costs about 25,000 pounds.
As the optimism of the Orange Revolution becomes more muted, many Ukrainians are beginning to believe that power in the country may have simply shifted from the pro-Soviet oligarchy of former president Leonid Kuchma to a new elite. The president's son is being treated as a case in point. Read more
posted by exoplanet at 11:53 AM
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