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  • 12 years ago
He's known as Ukraine's "Chocolate King".

Now the billionaire oligarch and politician Petro Poroshenko - who earned his fortune with a chain of confectionary shops - is the front-runner in Ukraine's presidential elections.

He's up against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a popular but divisive figure.

In the recent Ukrainian uprising, Poroshenko came down on the side of the pro-Europe "Euromaidan" movement, appearing with opposition leaders on Independence Square.

He also gave it a lot of air time at his "5th Channel" TV station, turning it into a conduit for interviews and opinions which state-owned channels shunned.

Poroshenko's pro-Europe stance did not go unnoticed by Russia.

Last year Russia's consumer watchdog banned imports of sweets from his Roshen chain of outlets and Russian authorities have closed down a Roshen factory over alleged malpractice.

Ukrainians head to the polls on May 25th.
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