You're reading: RIA Novosti: Russian banker asks Yanukovych for protection

Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, the owner of National Reserve Bank, has asked Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to order an investigation of claims against him following protests in Kyiv. The Ukrainian Coalition of Public Initiatives and Organizations organized a 200 strong rally outside the Russian Embassy, with banners stating “Putin, take Lebedev away from Ukraine” and “Lebedev, this bell is tolling for you.” The activists believe Lebedev financed the election campaigns of several parliamentary candidates to create a lobby group in the Verkhovna Rada to help him control “Ukrainian black soils.”

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