12:12pm UK, Monday February 08, 2010

Roddy Mansfield, Sky News Online

Ukraine’s pro-Moscow presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich has declared victory in the country’s fiercely contested elections, sparking fears of a repeat of the country’s Orange Revolution.

Supporters of Viktor Yanukovich celebrate in central Kiev

Mr Yanukovich says he faced down his arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko, with exit polls suggesting he scraped home by just 3%.

But the last time he won the election, in 2004, he was accused of corruption and ballot rigging.

Ukrainians mounted large-scale street protests, sit-ins and general civil disobedience.

The affair ended when the title was taken from him in court and pro-Western Viktor Yuschenko went on to win the re-run.

The narrow margin again this time could mean ex-mechanic Mr Yanukovich faces another challenge in the courts and on the streets of Kiev.

Declaring victory: Viktor Yanukovich has dismissed fears of a revolution in Kiev.

Ms Tymoshenko has already threatened to lead another Orange Revolution after accusing Mr Yanukovich of stealing the presidency again.

Both candidates have made allegations against the other of ballot rigging and electoral fraud.

But Mr Yanukovich has brushed aside fears of mass protests on the streets and put his victory down to his campaign to fight “the utter poverty of millions of Ukrainians”.

“I have done everything to stop this madness for the past five years,” he said. “The aim of the so-called Orange Revolution was to weaken Russia but not to strengthen our state.”

Yulia Tymoshenko has accused Mr Yanukovich of stealing the presidency again

Born into a working-class family in Ukraine‘s Donetsk region, Mr Yanukovich’s mother died when he was just two.

He survived a rough childhood by learning to fight with his fists, though he was later jailed for a string of petty crimes and assault. He claims the “mistakes of his youth” helped him climb the political ladder.

Campaigning under the slogan “There is a leader, there is a state”, Mr Yanukovich struck a chord with ordinary Ukrainians by insisting his opponents were “ignoring the people”.

He claims to favour a strong, independent, neutral Ukraine but has, like Ms Tymoshenko, called for improved relations with Russia.