Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as the third president of post-Soviet Ukraine Sunday, capping months of political turmoil that saw the nation turn away from traditional Russian influence toward the West

Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as the third president of post-Soviet Ukraine Sunday, capping months of political turmoil that saw the nation turn away from traditional Russian influence toward the West. The wait is over for Viktor Yushchenko. After enduring weeks of roller-coaster like chaos in his country, a life-threatening poisoning attack, election fraud and an appeal before the country’s Supreme Court, the 50-year-old hero of the “orange revolution” finally saw his ambitions realized on Sunday when he was sworn in as Ukraine’s president. With his hand on the constitution and the Bible, Yushchenko read aloud the oath of office during a parliament ceremony attended by hundreds of international guests, including outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and presidents of several former Soviet satellite states. Yushchenko, who takes over after a decade of authoritarian-leaning rule by Leonid Kuchma, has vowed to eradicate corruption and build a country with a transparent economy and institutions. He aims to move his country closer to mainstream Europe and cooperate more with the European Union. Ukraine borders the 25-nation bloc, but in the past has turned more towards Moscow than Brussels.