Ukrainian candidates: a view from Russia

Last Sunday presidential nominations ended in Ukraine. Although the CEC will complete their registration only on April 4, some conclusions about the electoral prospects of candidates for president can be made today.

According to the director of the International Institute of Political Expertise, Yevgeny Minchenko, the favorites in the race are already clear. "Today we see two obvious leaders in the orange and the nationalist camps. Poroshenko, the leader by ratings, especially after he teamed up with Klitschko,  and Yulia Tymoshenko, whose ratings are weaker but who has much stronger force and administrative resources," he said.

The expert urged not to dismiss the head of "Right Sector" Dmitro Yarosh, "who today seems to be on the decline, but we have to see what happens next."

According to the analyst, no matter who wins, s/he will be in an extremely difficult situation. "Even if the elections are recognized by external actors, the new president of Ukraine will face so many problems with a risk of losing his/her ranking almost faster than  happened with Viktor Yushchenko, who fell in just a year and a half," stressed Yevgeny Minchenko.