UKRAINE: Chris Stephen reports on the turmoil and political in-fighting which has dominated Ukraine in the past year
Ukraine's capital, Kiev, was bathed in orange last night as thousands of people marked the anniversary of last year's pro-democracy demonstrations, the so-called "Orange Revolution".
However, in line with the disappointment felt with the progress of the government, numbers were drastically down on the crowds of 500,000 which brought the city to a standstill a year ago.
Citizens bundled in orange scarves against the biting cold nevertheless cheered last night and sang along to some of the pop tunes which had entertained them each night during the Orange Revolution.
Last year's protests began when foreign observers accused former prime minister Viktor Yanukovich of rigging the presidential election of November 2004 to ensure his victory. Three weeks of huge demonstrations, carried out as armed police threatened to intervene, saw Yanukovich agree to hold new elections, which Viktor Yushchenko won.
A year later, the Orange Revolution has lost much of its lustre, with Yushchenko and his former ally in the pro-democracy leadership, Julia Timoshenko, having gone their separate ways after an acrimonious split.
During the demonstrations, the pair were inseparable, forming a memorable double-act - her attractive features contrasting with his pebble-dashed face, the result of a poisoning attack by the secret police.
Yet, in power, the two repeatedly clashed. Timoshenko won plaudits for attacking the corrupt privatisations of the former regime. Yushchenko supporters accused her of populism by raising pensions and wages for state workers last spring, a move which has resulted in a doubling of the national debt to US$6 billion.
Timoshenko supporters in turn have accused Yushchenko of being soft on corruption, and her criticism has fallen on fertile ground.
Many in Kiev were shocked at the opportunism of Yushchenko's 19-year-old son, Andriy, who tried to patent the slogan of the Orange Revolution, "Tak", meaning "Yes". Tee-shirts, scarves and badges with this slogan do a roaring trade at city-centre souvenir stalls, but Ukrainians were dismayed that anyone, least of all the president's son, could try to corner the market.
The second blow to Yushchenko's prestige came in the summer when he shook hands with his former adversary, Yanukovich. This handshake came after Timoshenko supporters in parliament refused to support Yushchenko. Determined to get new laws passed, the president reached out to his former enemy. But images of the two men shaking hands left many Ukrainians wondering if he had gone back on promises made during the revolution.
In September, the two camps began trading insults, and Yushchenko sacked his entire cabinet, including Timoshenko.
However, Timoshenko seized the limelight back from Yushchenko in Independence Square last night. In an impassioned 20-minute address, delivered without notes, she clearly won over the crowd of more than 100,000.
"I am certain that, just as we supported Viktor Yushchenko in the presidential election, we must now unite to elect a prime minister who will embody everything we fought for," said Timoshenko, tears welling in her eyes.
"I want to dismiss all the rumours that it is Timoshenko versus Yushchenko. This cannot be so, because this is the president that you and I helped bring to power. We did it together."
Timoshenko told the crowd that only a united team of reformers could win the March 2006 election to a parliament led by a prime minister with expanded powers.
Yushchenko, looking uncomfortable, eventually issued a similar call at the end of a speech lasting nearly an hour. "Do we want to win the 2006 parliamentary election? Yes, we do," Yushchenko said to modest applause from the crowd.
"This team standing behind me must be united, must work together and extend a hand to one another."