Carnegie Moscow Center expert Nikolay Petrov commented on the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election that took place on January 17, 2010.

“The first round of the Ukrainian presidential election brought no particular surprises. All the experts agree here. Many think that regardless of who wins in the second round, Viktor Yanukovych or Yulia Tymoshenko, Russian-Ukrainian relations will get a positive new boost. There is a wide range of various opinions on how the second round will unfold and what political and economic developments will be in store for the country after the election. This is normal: clear procedures and unclear results are part and parcel of the democratic model, as is change in power through elections, which we see taking place in Ukraine for the third time now. We should not hurry to bury the ‘orange revolution,’ after all, it was what made these elections possible, and had it not taken place, we would probably be seeing now a reelection of Viktor Yanukovych along the same lines as Kuchma’s election to a second term.”