included extreme nationalism, autocracy, communism and fascism, each responsible for visiting their own brand of terrifying violence on the country's population: civil war, mass starvation, genocide, deporta- tion and widespread poverty.

The most enduring domestic legacy of this chaotic history has been the division of Ukraine into two geographic and two Slavic language camps: west and east; Ukrainian and Russian. The capital Kiev sits between the two like a wobbly bridge, hoping to reconcile the some- times hostile traditions. In the darkest days of the twentieth century the west of the country became linked in some people's minds with fascism and Germany, while the east was regarded as a bulwark of commu- nism and Muscovy.

This split is not always so clear - pockets of Ukrainian speakers are found in the east, while pro-Russian candidates often pick up unex- pected votes in parts of the west. Nonetheless, it is a useful rule of thumb. Since independence, Kiev and the western provinces have striven for closer ties with the European Union and NATO, while the east has sought to strengthen its links with Russia. Indeed, many eastern Ukrainians still feel they belong in every sense to their giant neighbour.

Until 2004 successive Ukrainian governments and presidents had supported a pro-Russian line, much to the satisfaction of the east and the unhappiness of the Ukrainian nationalists in the west. As a conse- quence, relations with the EU, NATO and the USA were frosty - Ukrainian government officials were hosted as often in US jails, convicted of money-laundering and other McMafia activities, as they were in the White House.

But as civil servants, politicians and oligarchs lined their pockets at the expense of ordinary citizens, whose living standards collapsed before and after the turn of the millennium, a fresh political movement coalesced around two new-style politicians, Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko. Only later did it emerge that they were cut from similar cloth to their opponents. Yushchenko hit the headlines in September 2004 after somebody tried to poison him with dioxin (almost certainly the work of Russia's KGB). He survived the assassination attempt, albeit with severe facial disfigurement, and announced that he would continue to stand for election as President.

The campaign to oust the old guard caught the imagination of young