You're reading: Tymoshenko threatens Yanukovych with revolution

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is convinced that the future of politicians should be decided by democratic and fair elections.

"If anyone has got the impression that I am a fan of revolutions, I am not. I am a fan of fair elections but if there are none, I will never leave my country and people in a helpless position," she said in an interview with Korrespondent magazine. Excerpts from the interview are posted on her personal Web site.

"If autocratic regimes drive nations into a blind alley without fair elections or the freedom of speech, nations find other ways because an explosive situation always tears away the lid. I would want [Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovych to realize that he has only one safe way out – to keep fair elections without changing the law. If he doesn’t listen anyway, and the lid will be torn away, nobody will be able to guarantee his future," Tymoshenko said.

She said that she is determined to fight against the incumbent authorities, even if she gets a sentence.

"If I am given a suspended sentence, my team will go to parliament. I am not a deputy today, but that doesn’t mean that I am working less actively or effectively. Therefore all their efforts are senseless," she said.

The leader of Batkivschyna party said that history knows cases when respected people had prison records.

"Take our Viacheslav Chornovil or Russian dissidents who got horrible sentences, but that did not change anything in their lives," she said.