Ukraine Votes in Presidential Election

Ukrainians voted for a president on Sunday in an election crucial to the country's relations with Russia and its place in Europe but marked by disenchantment with politics and anger over a deep economic crisis.

It is the first presidential election in the former Soviet republic of 46 million since the Orange Revolution mass street protests in 2004 broke the grip on power of a sleazy post-Soviet leadership and swept President Viktor Yushchenko into office.

In an ironic twist, the front-runner in Sunday's vote is opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych, once seen as a pro-Moscow stooge, whose rigged election sparked the 2004 protests. The 59-year-old, a towering, barrel-chested man, is backed by wealthy industrialists in the densely-populated East and the Crimean peninsula, both Russian-speaking areas.

Many voters are disillusioned with all political leaders after two parliamentary polls, four governments and bitter rowing amongst the political elite in the past five years.

The country descended deep into recession and had to be propped up by the International Monetary Fund.

"This is total nonsense. Nothing will change after the election -- they are all identical," said Mykola, a 55-year-old wrapped up warmly on a snowy Kiev street, who did not vote.

The last polls published at the start of the year showed that second in line was Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a style-conscious, sharp-tongued populist who has been accusing him of preparing election fraud.

Neither is expected to win an outright victory on Sunday and a second round of voting is expected on Feb. 7. Yushchenko has little chance of re-election, polls showed.

Both Tymoshenko, 49, and Yanukovych, 59, have recognized the cynicism many Ukrainians now have towards the political elite and portrayed the election as heralding long-term change.

"Ukrainians want change and soon a new era of life will begin in Ukraine," Yanukovych said, after voting in Kiev. Analysts say Yanukovych proved himself to be a solid pair of hands when he served as premier, helped by a booming economy.

"His victory will lead to order in the country," said Oleksander, a 31-year-old engineer living in the Crimean capital of Simferopol. "Two years ago, when he was prime minister, he showed he knows how to work, as opposed to Yulia Tymoshenko."

Tymoshenko portrays herself as the only possible saviour for a country which, she said, was teetering on a "razor-sharp edge of choice" and could tip into the abyss. "I am sure that our national independent state is capable of giving its children, its citizens, a great life. I will serve that purpose all my life, so that the people feel they have someone they can lean on," she said, her voice hoarse from campaigning, from her hometown of Dnipropetrovsk.

Analysts say Ukraine, which depends on Russia for most of its energy needs, must navigate a prudent course in relations with its old Soviet master after bad blood between the two countries during the Yushchenko years.

The election victor will also have to revive a shattered economy and take control of collapsing state finances that have been propped up by a $16.4 billion IMF bail-out program.

Both Yanukovych and Tymoshenko have balanced their comments on Russia with the need to integrate the country with the rest of Europe, though Tymoshenko has gone furthest with her ambitious goal to take Ukraine into the EU in five years.

Yushchenko has angered Moscow with his anti-Soviet view of history and has said both Yanukovych and Tymoshenko are part of a pro-Kremlin tandem that represents a real threat to Ukraine.

By midday Moscow time 15 percent of the electorate had voted, according to the Central Election Commission. Voting ends at 9 p.m. Moscow time with first exit polls due soon after.

Surprises cannot be ruled out. A Russian opinion poll has said former central bank chief Sergey Tigipko has been creeping up on Tymoshenko and may have overtaken her. The businessman has portrayed himself as a strong leader able to rescue the economy.

"I voted for democracy, for market reform, for the competitiveness of the country," a confident-looking Tigipko said from a polling station in central Kiev. Some fear if he pushes Tymoshenko out in the first round, she may challenge the result, either through the courts or by trying to bring people out into the streets as she did in 2004. The election is monitored by a small army of observers.