Yanukovych Laid Bare: Evidence Of Fraud Made Public

Viktor Yanukovych’s “appointment” to the post of President did not only arouse street protests: emotions raged in some quiet offices, too. Shortly after the Central Election Commission announced the final returns of the November 21 presidential runoff, MP Oleg Rybachuk disclosed the techniques the Yanukovych election team had used. Rybachuk presented transcripts of phone conversations between Yanukovych election staffers. According to him, the talks were intercepted between October 30 and November 23.

Unlike the notorious Melnychenko tapes of 2000, the technical quality of these digital recordings is high. They reveal in detail how the voting procedure was managed and coordinated, and why the turnout and returns data changed so weirdly. The recordings show no signs of electronic processing or compression. The voices are clearly identifiable. If the court recognizes their authenticity, these recorded conversations could serve as very serious evidence, ruling out the legitimacy of the official returns.

Moreover, Rybachuk said, the man who handed these materials over to the opposition is a Ukrainian citizen and “in a safe place”, but is ready to testify in court. If that’s all true, the case is sure to be very exciting.

Some interesting fragments reveal how the CEC computer circuit was “hacked”.

O (presumable organizer): We’ve got contradictory information. Sergey says they took some boxes, but nobody took them.

C (presumable local election chief of staff): No. They’ve just told me there were boxes, but they couldn’t find the password. I’ve just been talking to my men. They’re sitting there, working. They told me he didn’t give them the box - they found all the passwords accidentally.

C: There’s one more thing to decide. The man who met with Sergey should be here at eight in the morning. We are working on some things, and the man who helped our guy get inside yesterday will take him there at eight.

O: No, this man doesn’t know who you are. You just have to tell him about the algorithm of work.

C: The algorithm is very simple. Sergey has this algorithm. We’ve got to get inside tomorrow morning for fifteen minutes.

C: I suggest… By eight we’ll be ready, they’ve been working all night. Let’s make it 8.15.

Evidently, the scheme worked, which can be seen from the following conversation.

C: I can’t say it’s final yet, I’m checking some programs. But we already control the system. Now I’m completing the program files, I mean I can’t say they’re 100 percent ready, but I’m close. I think everything’s gonna be OK in…

O: OK, Zhenya, as soon as you’re finished, get in touch with me. We’ve got to meet, right?

The following conversation took place on November 21, during the presidential runoff.

C: It’s the returns we’ve got from 6,700 [voters] - that’s about 60 percent. I guess now the dynamics will change in our favor, because the whole village has voted. We’re going to make the figures bigger.

O: At six we must have an advantage. You’re in touch with Eddie, aren’t you?

C: We’ve got an agreement: I’ll give him real figures and he’ll give the necessary parameters. We need about half an hour. No, wait - we’re only finishing at six. Let’s make it about seven. After seven p.m. I’ll send real returns. Then we’ll adjust all figures and get the necessary returns in all regions.

On the same day, the organizer had a phone conversation with another local chief of staff.

C: We planned a difference of three percent or three and a half percent in our favor. We have the diagrams of returns in all regions and in fifteen or twenty minutes we’re going to fax them.

C: Yes. Should we place these data on the website or give them to [the news agency] Interfax? We don’t want to get exposed on TV.

At 5 a.m. November 22 the “organizer” again contacted a Kyiv staff functionary.

C: The situation here is like this: I have some 18.2 percent for our candidate and 76 percent for Yushchenko.

C: I have all the protocols. But the CEC laid up seven protocols on my command. I’ve got to know what to do now, should I wreck them or not? [“wreck” meant “invalidate the vote in those seven polling stations”].

C: The percentage [in Yushchenko’s favor] would be lower, but our total balance would be negative.

O: No problem. We’re in the lead. You just add to our balance and we’ll have a bigger difference.

As the transcripts show, some techniques were quite original. Shortly before the polls closed on November 21, an unidentified representative of the Kyiv election staff (C) talked with a Yanukovych campaign staffer (S). The unidentified man says that the voter turnout at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute was increased by 30 percent.

C: They began to drive students out in slippers, the teachers are standing at the entrance and won’t let “outsiders” inside.

According to representatives of the opposition, the recorded voices may belong to very important persons, such as

- Andriy Klyuyev, Vice Prime Minister, the chief of the Yanukovych central staff, Yanukovych’s comrade-in-arms and one of the main sponsors of his campaign;

- Viktor Medvedchuk, the Presidential Chief of Staff, who directly manages and coordinates the use of administrative resources and law enforcement structures in the interests of the Yanukovych campaign. During the campaign he controlled three national TV channels;

- Yuri Levenets, a Ukrainian political engineer, who organized Leonid Kuchma’s election campaign in 1999 and worked for the [pro-government] bloc of political parties “For United Ukraine!” in the 2002 parliamentary election;

- Eduard Prutnik, Yanukovych’s proxy, one of the main sponsors of his campaign;

- Sergey Klyuyev, Andriy Klyuyev’s younger brother, his assistant in business and the presidential campaign;

- Sergey Larin, Klyuyev’s trustee and assistant in organizational matters, who controlled the work of local staffs.

According to representatives of the opposition, they possess recordings of hundreds of conversations and intend to make them public immediately. Of course, only the court is authorized to establish their authenticity, but in a democratic state, such serious evidence of electoral violations must be assessed in the shortest possible time. Moreover, the authorities themselves ought to be interested in an investigation. The U.S. Department of State has warned of personal sanctions against Ukrainian government officials suspected of electoral violations. Who would want to get onto the “black list”?

So far, the authorities have not commented on the recordings. We contacted some people whose involvement was alleged by the opposition. According to our source in the Yanukovych staff, he does not recognize the authenticity of the recordings and is concerned about the possible fact of eavesdropping. But even if the recordings were proven to be authentic, he would insist on their invalidity as they were obtained illegally.

According to the source, the Yanukovych staff has a very effective radio security system. Andriy Klyuyev and his team held all important meetings in their office, which was protected with special shields and an active jamming system that blocked any electromagnetic impulses. But such protection systems were not installed in other rooms. Besides, such systems never work around the clock. They are only turned on for a short time, as they are hazardous to human health.

Now the Yanukovych staff are looking for the leak from cell phone talks between high-ranking officials. To organize such a large-scale operation is a rather complex enterprise. The circles close to Yanukovych presume that the eavesdropping was organized by specialists employed by the opposition, who used special intercepting scanners - such devices are freely available through the Internet.

Yes, it is easy to buy a scanner - just half a million dollars. But it is very difficult to bring it into Ukraine legally. Otherwise the importer faces criminal charges. Besides, the risk of detection is very high. Therefore, it is hardly serious to consider the version of an “amateurish operation”.

The new “tape scandal” obviously involved professionals. Unlike the way it was done by Maj. Melnychenko, recordings in this format could never be made single-handedly. The equipment and techniques that were used point very clearly to special services. Such technical capacities are available, among others, to the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] Operative Technical Division. Meanwhile, the SBU shows no signs of enthusiasm: Yanukovych’s portraits, which some department chiefs hastily put up above their desks, have been removed just as quickly. SBU senior commanders demonstrate their neutrality. Since crowds of protesters gathered in Kyiv, there has been only one attempt to involve SBU personnel in street operations. On November 22, when the authorities saw that the police cordon around the CEC building was not strong enough, an Alpha group was dispatched to the CEC. A few hours later, they were called off. At present, separate Alpha squads are guarding different facilities and premises, and it would be very difficult to gather them together in force and deploy the whole group anywhere quickly. It is clear that the authorities would not like the SBU to remain neutral. SBU Chief Igor Smeshko has pledged non-interference with any civil conflicts. At the same time, he demonstrates loyalty. According to a source close to the SBU senior staff, the Ukrainian leadership has lately lost interest in analytical reports and forecasts sent in by SBU agents. According to unofficial information, the influence of SBU First Deputy Chief Volodymyr Satsyuk, Viktor Medvedchuk’s protege, has substantially decreased amidst the latest political developments. Satsyuk has no serious support within the security service, where he is regarded as a dated political figure. Satsyuk has been in contact with the Yanukovych team on behalf of the SBU and is charged with the Prime Minister’s personal security, the privacy of phone communication included. Three years ago, the Melnychenko tapes resulted in the resignation of then-SBU Chief Leonid Derkach. Now the disclosure of the eavesdropped conversations within the Yanukovych staff undermines Satsyuk’s authority and career prospects. However, few of his colleagues would be disappointed with Satsyuk’s disfavor.

The new tape scandal may have a catastrophic impact on the Ukrainian authorities. Regardless of possible court verdicts, it shows that the opposition has not only taken to the streets, but also to the high offices.

How Yanukovich Forged the Elections. Headquarters’ Telephone Talks Intercepted

21 November 2004. 5:59 p.m.

Levenets’ (Yanukovich’s spin-doctor): How are you?

Anonym: Up to now we have the data for 2:30 p.m. Yet we are behind by 1.46.

Levenets’: Is that for the whole unit?

Anonym: We have interrogated 6.700, i.e., 60% of our sampling. As far as I understand the trend is now to take our direction because the whole village has voted. We’ll be gaining.

Levenets’: When are we going to have the approximate data?

Anonym: After seven o’clock. We have agreed now we are to do that by six.

Levenets’: By six we must have positive results. Guess you are in connection with Edik, aren’t you?

Anonym: Yes, I am. At what time shall it come out?

Levenets’: At 6:00 p.m. the preliminary results must be in our favour.

Anonym: We have an agreement with him that I should give him the actual results, he gives operation factors… We need about half an hour. No, wait. We are only to finish at 6:00 p.m. So probably at 7:00 p.m. After 7:00 p.m. I will give the actual results. We’ll settle the operation factors and achieve the factors we need in all regions.

Levenets’: All right.

21 November 2004. 7:05 p.m.

Levenets’: Hi! So what… How are you?

Valery: Nothing to boast of. We’re in minus.

Levenets’: What do you mean?

Valery: Our opponent has got 48.37, we have only 47.64.

Levenets’: Is that by 6:00 p.m.

Valery: We have agreed that the difference should be some 3-3.5 per cent in our favour. Now we have the table for the regions. In 15 or 20 minutes we fax it.

Levenets’. How many people had you interrogated by 6:00 p.m.?

Valery: 10612

Levenets’: It that the "real"?

Valery: Yes. Shall we place these data on the site? Or shall we pass them to Interfax least we should appear on the TV.

Levenets’: Call up Prutnik, these matters are in his competence.

Valery: Guess we should speed up the administrative measures in order to shun eventual troubles.

Levenets’. Got it. Well, hear you later.

21 November 2004. 7:34 p.m.

An anonym is telling Sergiy Kluev, brother of boss of Yanukovich’s shadow headquarters Andriy Kluev, that they have "raised for 30% in an hour in the Kiev Polytechnic Institute.”

Anonym: We have started driving students in slippers out. Teachers have taken their place by the gate. “Let no strangers in.”

Kluev: Let’s send our assault group there.

Anonym: Already sent.

Kluev. Then let’s manage a scuffle there or something in the way.

Anonym: Already in process.

22 November 2004. 5:30 a.m.

Levenets’: How are you? What? Kiev is rioting…

Anonym: My situation is as follows: roughly speaking, I have gathered 18.2 per cent for our contender and 76 for Yushchenko.

Levenets’: Have you counted all?

Anonym: All counted and I have the following to do...

Levenets’: Have you got all protocols with you?

Anonym: I have everything with me. But the Central Election Commission has put aside seven protocols, as I commanded them. I have to find out whether to foil them or not.

Levenets’: Have you the reasons to foil?

Anonym: I have.

Levenets’: So what’s the trouble?

Anonym: The indices will go down, though the balance is negative, of course. Levenets’: Hell with those indices. The balance will be better.

Anonym: Sure.

Levenets’: Well, no more questions. Do that.

Anonym: Got it. Now I’ll try.

Levenets’: No problem. We are leading. You increase our balance, we just broaden the difference.

These are just several talks generously given to Yushchenko’s representatives. In general, the records now in possession of Yushchenko’s headquarters contain the talks between the representatives of Yanukovich’s shadow headquarters from the 30th of October up to this day.

The records contain voices of Medvedchuk, Kivalov, Kluev brothers, Tsariov, Liovochkin and Prutnik.

Oleg Rybachuk, the head of Viktor Yushchenko’s office, stated that those talks would be published in the nearest future. Moreover, they were being prepared to be transferred to international institutes, foreign embassies and NGOs.

People’s deputy asserted he was then preparing requests to the General Office of Public Prosecutor and to the Security Office of Ukraine demanding either to explain, refute or ascertain the authenticity of the records.

Rybachuk especially emphasized that the person who had given the records to Yushchenko’s representatives was in a secure place. The person was ready to take part in a trial and had an unwavering purpose to ascertain the authenticity of those records before the court.

How Yanukovich Forged the Elections. Part II

30.10.04., 09:09 p.m.

Anonym: The director (of the pension “Leader”) has created uproar there. They neither let people in nor lodge them… You said those would come to meet the people. None met anybody… V. Ratushny (Ratushnjak?) (former assistant of the head of the General Administration of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine in Kiev; he is responsible for special operations in Yanukovich’s election headquarters): I know. I just had a chat with the head of the republican road inspection. They are to settle the questions with this Kobra.

At the end of the talk Ratushny promised to manage for the lodgings. It dealt with a “thousand people.” Some 400 came to the pension “Radar.”

30.10.04, 00:01 p.m.

Ratushny: ... Write down: KASHTAN. It is in Koncha-Zaspa. DAZVILLYA and YASNY. People are sitting without any question. They are unfed.

Anonym: I phone again. Everything’s gonna be all right. In two minutes the person called Ratushny up again. Ratushny was notified that the order had been given and the people would be immediately fed.

30.10.04, 1:14 p.m.

Anonym: I have 200 people with me. We are in Pushcha-Voditsa. You are our coordinator.

Ratushny: Nobody from Donetsk told me that 200 people… What kind of people those are? Are they pitmen?

Anonym: No-no. We were planned for the CEC. They are fighters, sportsmen… We are from Sergey Petrovich, from Kluev… We all have already been distributed. We are in Pushcha-Voditsa. We are to coordinate our actions for tomorrow. Which is our plan for today… I… phoned… to Sergey Petrovich.

Ratushny asked his interlocutor to name all the people who had arrived in order to give them public security guard certificates.

31.10.04, 4:15

Anonym (talking over telephone of People’s deputy LARIN): Make a fuss there (it is about the low attendance rate in Odessa– 48%).

Anonym 2: I am doing this. I have understood everything.

Anonym: The attendance rate in Odessa must be 80-85. Got it?

Anonym 2: Yes.

Anonym: Do everything you want.

Anonym 2: I see.

31.10.04, 5:07 p.m.

Anonym (Kluev?): Why is the voting rate in the Donetsk and Dnepropetrovsk regions so low?

Larin: We’re increasing it now.

Anonym: Don’t drag the things out.

Larin: Increasing.

Anonym: Act.

31.10.04, 8:07 p.m.

Larin: Talk with Inter. Let them talk the level of violations is very high in West Ukraine. Do you have them or not?

Nevidomij: Yes, all right.

31.10.04, 8:31 p.m.

Larin: The request is such: awful lawlessness is taking place in West Ukraine.

Anonym: We’ve just told of this.

Larin: You must have tougher comments: "it is unheard of.”

Anonym: We wish someone fetched us…

31.10.04, 11:10 p.m.

Anonym: Listen, it is genuine sabotage. We cannot do a thing... Now everybody will refuse and the game’s over.

Larin: Did they take the rhino?

Anonym: Of course, they have. They all refuse, just refuse, that’s all… plainly refuse. Tell me what I shall do?

01.11.04, 00:59 a.m

Anonym: The attendance rate is low. That’s terrible! Odessa, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovs’k, Kharkiv.

Larin: All right. That’s all. Say nothing before a camera.

Below you will find the evidence of the plot aimed at forging the voting outcome by means of an illegal computer system installed in Viktor Yanukovich’s election headquarters.

The direct participants of this conspiracy are S. Katkov, Ye. Zimin (who is closely related to G. Dzekon), G. Dzekon, Yu. Levenets’, S. Liovochkin, S. Kluev, O. Tsariov, Ye. Prutnik.

During the second round of the elections S. Kivalov, who gave the passwords to access the system “The Elections of the President of Ukraine,” and V. Medvedchuk, who applied direct pressure on Kivalov, also took a direct part in the conspiracy.

02.11.04, 00:59 p.m.

The interlocutors are discussing the order of head of the CEC S. Kivalov to “manually finish the undone protocols in order to get 100%.”

Anonym: Phone to Liovochkin.

S. Kluev: What for?

Anonym: Let them be quiet. Let the deputies go.

S. Kluev: The deputies are already underway. A group of our deputies will be disrupting the work.

After that at 1:02 a.m. on 2.11.04 head of the CEC’s Informatization Department S. Katkov phoned to S. Kluev “on the instructions of S. Liovochkin” to ascertain the abovementioned team of S. Kivalov.

02.11.04, 01:07 a.m.

S. Kluev: I believe we have to stop the work in some way. He’s a good guy. He phoned us.

Oleg (parliamentary Tsariov?): Let him do nothing.

S. Kluev: We have to protract that and stop the work.

02.11.04, 01:10

S. Kluev: I think otherwise. We should make a mess to stop the job… as far as I see Kivalov has wavered if he ordered at one a.m.

Anonym: We must help Andrey out.

S. Kluev: What shall we tell him when he had already faltered?

An anonym named Stas believes “Andrey will find what to tell S. Kivalov.”

02.11.04, 01:17 p.m.

S. Kluev: So, what result do we have?

Katkov: Let’s have a look. I think the picture is not to change. The ratio of votes is not to change.

S. Kluev: The task I beg you to do is that if the picture should suddenly change… add. You may add, but if the picture changes… Lord forbid! You know what it means?

S. Kluev: I do.

S. Kluev: That is what is to change now. The difference.

Katkov: Yes.

Further on S. Kluev offered Katkov to do just everything up to breaking the computer. On finding out that People’s deputy Tariov was by Katkov S. Kluev asked him to “control the process least the picture should change.”

Tsariov: I understand that if the picture doesn’t change, we start. If the picture changes, that means that we must stop this work.

S. Kluev: Just stop it.

02.11.04, 01:19 p.m.

S. Kluev told an anonym he had “connected Tsariov with the executor and that they would act according to the circumstances.”

Anonym: Whose man is Katkov?

S. Kluev: He’s of SERGEY LIOVOCHKIN.

Anonym: (If something goes wrong), we have then to turn to the chef because that should be decided at the level of VV (Medvedchuk?) and Andrei (Kluev?).

S. Kluev: Yes. I believe Andrei is keeping the present situation under control. If everything is all right, let it be. If it goes wrong, we shall engage VV in the process.

Anonym: Only they can settle the matters with Kivalov.

S. Kluev: Certainly.

Anonym: So you’ll engage Andrei and I shall engage VV (Medvedchuk.)

S. Kluev: If the picture should change.

02.11.04, 01:29 p.m.

S. Kluev answered Tsariov’s telephone call who notified that “entering all the data would change the ratio by 1.5%.”

Tsariov: We are now casting the exact quantity to show that it was they who were carrying the job but not to change the principal per cent rates of the two leaders...

S. Kluev: Well. Let’s do that. As you propose.

Further on Kluev told to make out any reason to “interrupt the job.” He also suggested that “Tsariov should give some money to Katkov.” Tsariov answered they needed no money for Katkov “was already their supporter.”

S. Kluev: Then cheer him up. Let him do that now and the go dawdling, disappear.

Tsariov: All right.

S. Kluev: Tomorrow let him bring something as if it had been altered and done. And let him go to hell then!

02.11.04, 07:56 a.m.

Tsariov: Give no order yet.

S. Kluev: Where shall we throw in?

Tsariov: Throw computer data.

S. Kluev: We shall hold on for some two or three hours until we do something. Try and persuade him to break down the system. It should remain broken for two hours. Give him money.

Tsariov: I’ll try.

02.11.04, 08:15 a.m.

Anonym: Tell me something comforting.

S. Kluev: I spent a half of the night to hold this stuff. At night the head of the organization ordered to quickly enter into computer and we got about minus two or three. But we are holding it still; there are our people there.

02.11.04, 10:19 a.m.

Tsariov phoned to Kluev notifying him that the difference had broadened “in our favour.”

S. Kluev: Listen, Oleg, we ought to give some rhino to that chap (S. Katkov). If he had not responded in time, had not called us up, then…

Tsariov: I have nothing with me.

S. Kluev: Call on my office, give him three and thank him. But for his call, we’d be in a deep ass.

02.11.04, 1:28 p.m.

Tsariov phoned to S. Kluev and told him he had offered to a “fellow” in the CEC what S. Kluev had offered but he did not take the money.

S. Kluev: The main thing is that we did this step.

03.11.04, 5:46 p.m.

S. Kluev: Are you sure we have the seals of all the circuits?

Anton'yeva: We have.

S. Kluev: Know what, I’m ready to kiss you… Well done.

03.11.04, 10:35 p.m.

Liovochkin and Dzekon are talking of an illegal system of intercepting the results of the voting (the so called “transit centre.”)

Liovochkin: I’ve just sent you a message. This is what troubles me that we should “sweep” everything there. That’s all.

Dzekon: We have everything “swept” there… Everything’s closed there. We had switched everything off for the night. Everything’s all right.

03.11.04, 11:24 p.m.

Kivalov: ... Listen, didn’t Serezha tell you, did he?

Dzekon: Well, in a few words. ...

Kivalov: ... They came to me seeking for that head of the Computer Department (Katkov?). He’s a good guy and so on. ... I told them, “He’s absent.” … That was for the first. For the second, they sat down and told me there was some delay, that Liovochkin had some delay, that that head of the Computer Department was directly connected with Liovochkin...

All those delays were his fault… And they told, “Call the militia. We’ll go and show you everything… We’ll open it up, break the door.” Somewhere at some place, "Telecom"... Some workshops or something of that kind...

Then they left us with some person on duty, they would spend the night on the fourth floor so that he might go in the morning and open. And they published everything on the site because that was an election forgery. And they showed me some paper for any minute and in the computer when we had transmitted and when we had received. Some difference…, I don’t know about that, some two or three hours.

Dzekon: Sergey Vasilyevich, don’t listen to them… There’s nothing of that kind… no delays, nothing… Got it. I will phone you again. May I?

Kivalov: O.K.

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