Saturday 22 February 2014

Protestors storms amazing mansion belonging to former Ukraine president (Photos)


Opulence: Ukranians walk around President Yanukovych's countryside residence in Mezhyhirya. The property has been closed off to the public during his reign

Via Dailymail:

A beautiful forested estate of graceful waterways, summer houses and exotic gardens.
This is the home of Ukraine's fugitive president, who was dramatically ousted from power after one of the worst periods of violence in the country's history. 
Ukraniains streamed to see Viktor Yanukovich's luxury estate, which has been closed off to the world for nearly a decade, and rubbed their eyes in disbelief when they were confronted by the scale of the opulence he built around him.

The property in Mezhyhirya, an hours drive from Kiev, has a golf course, helicopter pad and is situated in a country where the average salary is less than £300 a month.
Below the house, a garage is filled with classic sports cars worth millions, while in the exotic gardens Australian and African ostriches stretch their legs. 
The house became a tourist attraction for the day. Visitors were able to take a look at the exotic gardens and monuments dotted around the estate
The house became a tourist attraction for the day. Visitors were able to take a look at the exotic gardens and monuments dotted around the estate
People wander around President Viktor Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya estate, which was abandoned by security
People wander around President Viktor Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya estate, which was abandoned by security
Protesters try to play on a golf course at the Ukrainian President Yanukovych's countryside residence in Mezhyhirya, Kiev's region. Ukrainian security and volunteers from among Independence Square protesters have joined forces to protect the presidential countryside retreat from vandalism and looting
Protesters try to play on a golf course at the Ukrainian President Yanukovych's countryside residence in Mezhyhirya, Kiev's region. Ukrainian security and volunteers from among Independence Square protesters have joined forces to protect the presidential countryside retreat from vandalism and looting
A man wearing a kevlar vest and combat trousers plays golf on the president's private course
A man wearing a kevlar vest and combat trousers plays golf on the president's private course
A protester poses in a bathtub at the residence has the crowds take photos of some of the sprawling outhouses
A protester poses in a bathtub at the residence has the crowds take photos of some of the sprawling outhouses
Locals said that up to 3,000 security and support staff would arrive when Yanukovich planned a major social event.

    Yanukovich, 63, who fled into hiding on Saturday as the turmoil of three months confrontation with his people caught up with him, relaxed at weekends in luxury behind high walls patrolled by scores of security guards.
When the dream ended and Yanukovich's staff fled the Gatsby-like mansion in the early hours of Saturday, the Kiev protest movement that had opposed him invited Ukrainians to go to see the opulence Yanukovich lived in.
As they poured in their thousands, by foot and by car, onto the 140-hectare grounds for a first glimpse at a luxury they could only suspect, Ukrainians gawped in wonderment at the fairytale surroundings.
A man wearing a kevlar vest and a helmet gives a peace gesture to the cameras as he relaxes on a sofa with a fellow protestor
A man wearing a kevlar vest and a helmet gives a peace gesture to the cameras as he relaxes on a sofa with a fellow protestor
A protestor waves the European Union flag outside the front door of the sprawling mansion. Opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko told supporters on her release from prison that she believed Ukraine would be joining the EU
A protestor waves the European Union flag outside the front door of the sprawling mansion. Opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko told supporters on her release from prison that she believed Ukraine would be joining the EU
The curtains were drawn shut and the doors were locked on the outside of the house, but the scale of the luxury house is evident from the outside
The curtains were drawn shut and the doors were locked on the outside of the house, but the scale of the luxury house is evident from the outside
Protestors watch a ship, which was converted into a restaurant. Protestors took full control of the premises after Yanukovych was ousted from power
Protestors watch a ship, which was converted into a restaurant. Protestors took full control of the premises after Yanukovych was ousted from power
What they saw reflected more the inflated dreams of a Middle East potentate - with all the attendant obsessions with security - rather than a rough-hewn man from the gritty eastern Ukraine who got to the top the hard way.
Yanukovich bought a small house on the plot at the start of his presidency in 2010. Subsequently, according to local media, he acquired control of the full estate which exists today through a chain of companies with which he had close interests.
Beyond a five-floor Russian-style house - some said it was his guest house - a stone staircase opened up to a landscaped vista of water features, arboreal walkways and tree-lined avenues stretching into the distance.

Protestors sort through documents which were left in the house. In the background is a hovercraft and jet-propelled boat
Protestors sort through documents which were left in the house. In the background is a hovercraft and jet-propelled boat
Some documents were discovered burnt as protestors took control of the property
Some documents were discovered burnt as protestors took control of the property

Few people - apart from Yanukovich's chosen few and family - have visited a secret place which has been charted by satellite images that show a helicopter pad and a golf course.
With Yanukovich obsessed by security and fear of attack, they had to leave their mobile phones at the entrance to the grounds and pick them up only on leaving, locals said.
'This is a monument to a tyrant which we want to show the people,' said Eduard Leonov, a parliamentary deputy from the far-right nationalist Svoboda party.

One visitor takes in the view of the house from across the artificial lake. Hundreds of people entered the grounds but not one has entered the building itself
One visitor takes in the view of the house from across the artificial lake. Hundreds of people entered the grounds but not one has entered the building itself
One visitor carried a Ukranian flag while touring the grounds of the house while a man in the distance takes a photo. There is a private golf course and zoo nestled in the estate
One visitor carried a Ukranian flag while touring the grounds of the house while a man in the distance takes a photo. There is a private golf course and zoo nestled in the estate
A protester guards the entrance to Ukrainian President Yanukovych's countryside home. Viktor Yanukovych is not in his official residence of Mezhyhirya, which is about 20 km (12.5 miles) north of the capital
A protester guards the entrance to Ukrainian President Yanukovych's countryside home. Viktor Yanukovych is not in his official residence of Mezhyhirya, which is about 20 km (12.5 miles) north of the capital
Graeco-Roman statues - a Goddess covering her modesty with her hair, lovers intertwined - decorated the lawns. Ornate ponds - half frozen on Saturday - nonetheless bubbled with water being pumped through them. Love-seats and colonnaded meeting places dot the estate.
There is a Russian bath-house - closed to the public on Saturday with an opposition protester's helmet on a chair across the door. On a hilltop, looking down on the Dnipro river through trees, was a plaza for a barbecue.
Families and lovers out for a different sort of Sunday afternoon excursion, posed for family album snaps at a once-in-a lifetime occasion.
Most shook their heads in wonderment at the ambitions of a president who had always proclaimed that he was on the side of the poor people of Ukraine.
'We did not expect anything like this. It is really extensive and all done with our money, the money of ordinary people. It really is too much for one person. It's very emotional when you see something like this,' said Serhiy Remezovsky, who had brought his wife and nine-month old son.

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