UKRAINIANS ARE WRITING THE CHRONICLES OF OUR TIMES WITH THEIR BLOOD, WE ARE SHAPING HISTORY

Viktor Yushchenko is a towering figure in Ukrainian politics.

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Starting with his key role in reforming Ukraine's financial and banking systems and as one of the architects of the national currency, the hryvnia, introduced in 1996, Yushchenko steered the country away from the ruble zone, a significant step in asserting Ukrainian independence.

Appointed governor of the National Bank of Ukraine in 1993, he was internationally recognised as one of the world’s top ten central bankers. Under his leadership, inflation was reduced from over 10,000 per cent to below 10 per cent. Thanks to his reforms, the hryvnia withstood the shocks of the 1998 Russian financial crisis.

Yushchenko’s entry into politics was not easy. He was appointed prime minister in 1999 but resigned in 2001 due to political opposition and pressure from oligarchic groups. Undeterred, he founded a political party, Our Ukraine. It won a seat in parliament in 2002, and emerged as the leading candidate in the 2004 presidential election.

Facing government-imposed media restrictions, Yushchenko built his campaign through direct engagement with voters. His rival, Viktor Yanukovych (later president from 2010 until his ouster in 2014), accused him of being a Nazi—despite Yushchenko’s father being a Red Army soldier imprisoned at Auschwitz and his mother having risked her life to hide three Jewish girls during World War II.

In September 2004, Yushchenko survived an assassination attempt via dioxin poisoning, which severely disfigured his face and caused lasting health damage. The perpetrators fled to Russia and remain at large.