 News of the massive protests that followed rigged presidential elections in Ukraine dominated headlines all over the world in late 2004. A fierce campaign between Yushchenko, the outspoken opposition leader, and Yanukovich, the handpicked successor to an unpopular, Kremlin-supported regime, became mired in controversy. Not only was Viktor Yushchenko banned from access to state-owned radio and television, he was poisoned, leaving him in terrible pain, his face severely scarred by a toxin. When the state declared Viktor Yanukovich the winner, contrary to the results of any credible exit poll, the people had had enough. For 17 days straight, braving freezing temperatures and falling snow, half a million Ukrainians took to the streets in the capital. They lived in tents, refusing to abandon their protest despite the threat of violence at the hands of the regime. In the words of journalist Volodomyr Ariev, the Orange Revolution defined a historic turning point for Ukraine, one that allowed the country to move "into a new era, a new life and new possibilities."