Tempered Cheers in Ukraine for Ex-Premier, Tied to Political Past

By STEVEN ERLANGER and ANDREW E. KRAMER, NYT
MARCH 19, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine — Released from prison last month by the rebellious Ukrainian Parliament, Yulia V. Tymoshenko raced to Independence Square in Kiev to join the celebrations. But the appearance of Ms. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, was curiously subdued, and not just because she was in a wheelchair.

While the thousands gathered there welcomed her, the cheers were tentative, sending a message of appreciation for her suffering but also skepticism.

“I, as a politician, repent,” she said, quickly sensing the mood. “Up until today, politicians were unworthy of you.”

As Russia cemented its hold on the Crimean Peninsula on Tuesday in a pomp-filled ceremony in Moscow, Ms. Tymoshenko emerged as a pivotal, if not beloved, figure in a nation that finds itself directly astride the East-West divide, forced to accommodate its muscular neighbor even as much of its population clamors for closer ties to the West.

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