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This article is part of a series about Leonid Kuchma
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The Cassette Scandal (Ukrainian: Касетний скандал, Russian: Кассетный скандал, also known as Tapegate or Kuchmagate) was a Ukrainian political scandal in November 2000 in which Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma was caught on tape ordering the months-earlier kidnapping of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, whose decapitated corpse had recently been found. The scandal was one of the main political events in Ukraine's post-independence history, dramatically affecting the country's domestic and foreign policy. The scandal, triggering the Ukraine Without Kuchma protests, also began a slow and gradual shift of Ukraine's political and cultural orientation from Russia towards the West, although this only became more pronounced after Euromaidan in 2013-2014. The scandal also damaged Kuchma's political career.
The scandal started on 28November 2000, in Kyiv, when Ukrainian politician Oleksandr Moroz publicly accused President Kuchma of involvement in the abduction of journalist Georgiy Gongadze and numerous other crimes. Moroz named Kuchma's former bodyguard, Mykola Melnychenko, as the source. He also played selected recordings of the President's secret conversations for journalists, supposedly confirming Kuchma's order to kidnap Gongadze. That and hundreds of other conversations were later published worldwide by Melnychenko.
Journalists nicknamed the case after the compact audio cassette used by Moroz. Melnychenko himself was supposedly using digital equipment, not cassettes, for recording in the president's office.
The CassetteScandal (Ukrainian: Касетний скандал, Russian: Кассетный скандал, also known as Tapegate or Kuchmagate) was a Ukrainian political scandal in...
an effort by President Leonid Kuchma to distract attention from the CassetteScandal, which opponents claimed implicated him in the murder of journalist...
publication of these recordings in 2000 caused a major scandal in Ukraine (known as the CassetteScandal), which dramatically affected the country's domestic...
of journalists, the death of Georgiy Gongadze, and the subsequent CassetteScandal and mass protests. The Ukrainian economy continued to decline until...
involved in the murder case of Georgiy Gongadze and the subsequent "CassetteScandal." Kravechenko later was the governor of the Kherson Oblast (2001—2002)...
ordered the abduction of Gongadze to journalists using a cassette player, which earned the scandal its name. The party was heavily involved in the Ukraine...
organized by the political opposition, influenced by the infamous CassetteScandal, presidential elections of 1999, and aimed mainly to demand the resignation...
death became a national scandal and a focus for protests against then-President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma. During the CassetteScandal, audiotapes were released...
United States. No material confirmation has been found in Iraq. See CassetteScandal for further information. Unconfirmed reports in September 2006 suggested...
Kuchma's bodyguard team. Mel'nychenko was the central figure of the CassetteScandal (2000)—one of the main events in Ukraine's post-independence history...
explosion in Kyiv on 20 July 2016 A 2005 cartoon from Ukrainska Pravda CassetteScandal Mykola Melnychenko Myroslava Gongadze Новим власником "Української...
of Independence Proclamation of Independence Corruption in Ukraine CassetteScandal Ukraine without Kuchma Orange Revolution Russia-Ukraine gas dispute...
parts of downtown Kyiv. On recordings, which were termed the "Second CassetteScandal" and released in early January 2002, Omelchenko demonstrably urged...
Revolution in 2004. After two terms of presidency (1994–1999) and the CassetteScandal of 2000 that significantly damaged his image, Kuchma decided not to...
nationalism Declaration of Independence Proclamation of Independence CassetteScandal Ukraine without Kuchma Orange Revolution Russia–Ukraine gas disputes...
"Privat Group", led by oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi. Kuchma, marred by the CassetteScandal as well as questions surrounding his sale of missiles to Iraq, pushed...
nationalism Declaration of Independence Proclamation of Independence CassetteScandal Ukraine without Kuchma Orange Revolution Russia–Ukraine gas disputes...
nationalism Declaration of Independence Proclamation of Independence CassetteScandal Ukraine without Kuchma Orange Revolution Russia–Ukraine gas disputes...
was surrounded by numerous corruption scandals and the lessening of media freedoms, including the CassetteScandal. During Kuchma's presidency, the economy...
nationalism Declaration of Independence Proclamation of Independence CassetteScandal Ukraine without Kuchma Orange Revolution Russia–Ukraine gas disputes...
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