The Mezhyhirya Residence is an estate in Ukraine where Viktor Yanukovych lived when he was Prime Minister and then President of Ukraine and is now a museum displaying Yanukovych's luxurious lifestyle. Yanukovych lived in the estate from 2002 to 21 February 2014, when he fled the country during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.The estate was founded as a monastery that functioned off-and-on until closed in 1923 by the Bolsheviks following the establishment of the Soviet Union. From 1935 Mezhyhirya was a state government residence, first under the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and then under an independent Ukraine, until 2007 when it was privatized. In 2012 the State Administration of Affairs rented a space from Tantalit for 99,691 Ukrainian hryvnia per year, arranging it for official receptions. In 2014, it returned to state ownership. The estate is over 140 ha and is situated on the banks of the Dnieper river in the village of Novi Petrivtsi, Vyshhorod Raion. There is a yacht pier, an equestrian club, a shooting range, a tennis court and other recreational facilities as well as hunting grounds. The estate also has an automobile museum displaying some of Yanukovich's former exotic cars, a golf course, an ostrich farm, a dog kennel, numerous fountains and man-made lakes, a helicopter pad, and a small church. The entire complex is enclosed by a five-meter tall fence along the perimeter.The lease of 1 ha in Mezhyhirya for Yanukovych cost 314 Ukrainian hryvnia per month which was about $39.57 according to the exchange rate. Internet newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda in its investigation published a number of documents that confirm a link between those organizations-tenants, family members of Yanukovych and his entourage.Another, perhaps even more luxurious residence was under construction near Cape Aya in Crimea at the time Yanukovych was ousted from office. Journalists call it Mezhyhirya №2.
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