Mezhyhirya Residence

Meschyhirja (Ukrainian Межигіря; Russian Межигорье / Meschigorje ) was the private residence of the reigning until February 22, 2014 President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych.

The property is located in Novi Petriwzi north of the capital Kiev on the banks of the Dnieper. On the site formerly stood the monastery Meschyhirja, which was closed in 1918 and demolished in 1935 after a decision of the Politburo until 1936.

The entire property is about 137 acres in size, days of the Soviet Union was it owned by the Communist Party of Ukraine, later it served as the guesthouse of the Ukrainian state. Yanukovych lived in the house for the first time during his first term as Prime Minister in 2002 and later leased it to a remarkably low price. According to media reports, Yanukovych was later appropriated the state property on an opaque manner, and then, largely rebuilt at the expense of the state in a luxurious residence. The acquisition of the property he had veiled behind front companies abroad.

The property includes a Yachtkai, a shooting range, a zoo, an equestrian center and more complex as well as a private hunting area. Meschyhirja is surrounded by up to five meters high wall and part of a restricted flight. The residence was guarded by the special unit Berkut and protected by air defense systems. After Yanukovych had settled on the night of February 22, 2014 to Kharkiv, the residence of protesters of Euromaidan was occupied and declared a "people's Museum of corruption", also to prevent vandalism. In the pond in front of his residence hastily discarded documents were found. A few hundred of them could be fished out of the water and can now be seen on a specially created website called Yanukovychleaks.