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The triumph of Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday marks the remarkable political comeback of a man who was the pariah of the Orange Revolution of 2004.
Despite derisive portrayals (in the media and by his rival Yulia Tymoshenko) of Mr. Yanukovych as an ex-convict, authoritarian, and captive of the Kremlin who would reverse Ukraine's democratic progress and block its march toward the European Union, he was elected narrowly but clearly on Sunday by a margin of 49.5% to 45%, according to an average of independent exit polls.