A Kyiv court was set to sentence opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to a lengthy prison sentence last week but unexpectedly the trial was postponed to September 27 after the US and EU sent strong warnings to the Viktor Yanukovych administration to halt these politically motivated trials.

The recent indictment of former President Leonid Kuchma for abuse of power in the case of the murder in 2000 of investigative journalist Heorhiy Gongadze has sent shockwaves through the Ukrainian body politic.

On the first anniversary of the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, it is entirely appropriate to offer an overall report card on the performance of Ukraine’s new leader and his government team.

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s decision to confer the title of Hero of Ukraine on nationalist leader Stepan Bandera on Jan. 22 has unleashed a storm of outrage inside and outside Ukraine. Critics accuse Yushchenko of whitewashing a Nazi-era fascist and betraying the ideals of the Orange Revolution that brought him to power.

Orange Revolution hero Viktor Yushchenko has been rejected decisively by Ukraine's voters in the January 17th vote. However, this repudiation should not prevent us from seeing some his enduring successes, even as we acknowledge his failings.

The signs are pointing to a relatively clear, free and fair first round in Ukraine's presidential elections. As of 3 p.m. Kyiv time, turnout was 46 percent, with no dramatic regional anomalies that would suggest ballot stuffing or ballot rigging.

President Viktor Yushchenko has little chance of engineering a last-minute election victory; after Ukrainians go to the polls this Sunday, the most likely outcome will be a February run-off pitting the two former prime ministers against each other: Yuliya Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych.

As Ukrainians go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president, Western observers should interpret the outcome in light of how the U.S. premier political scientist distinguished between good and bad government.