Paradoxiacally strong

A triumphant Viktor Yanukovich is inaugurated in Kiev, but his political problems have only just begun. EVEN in Ukraine, elections can end. After two rounds of voting and weeks of legal rumbles, Viktor Yanukovich was inaugurated on February 25th as Ukraine’s fourth democratically elected president. In November 2004 he tried and failed to steal the crown. Now he has played (mostly) by the rules—and won. Although Yulia Tymoshenko, his charismatic rival (and Ukraine’s prime minister), refuses to recognise Mr Yanukovich’s victory, she withdrew her legal appeals this week. Ukraine’s highest office has thus moved from an incumbent to an opposition leader: a rare achievement in an ex-Soviet republic. Feb 25th 2010 | MOSCOW | From The Economist print edition: http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_ID=15580872&fsrc=nlw|wwp|02-25-2010|politics_this_week