KHARKIV, Ukraine, Dec. 17 -- Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych faced opposition in his stronghold of eastern Ukraine on Friday as he campaigned in the rerun of a presidential election pitting him against his rival Viktor Yushchenko.
As the two candidates crossed paths in this industrial city, the presence of Yushchenko's supporters and the signature color of his "Orange Revolution" were evidence of the changed political landscape. Mass demonstrations in the capital of Kiev have cascaded into areas once considered to be solidly in Yanukovych's camp.
Several hundred people chanted Yushchenko's name as Yanukovych spoke at one rally, drawing the ire of his supporters and forcing police to form a line to separate the two groups. There was no violence, but Yanukovych's supporters hurled insults at their foes.
At a series of rallies in Kharkiv and neighboring towns Friday, Yanukovych battled the riptide against him. In short speeches, none longer than 10 minutes, he tried to galvanize his supporters with the message that Ukraine is on the verge of occupation by unnamed foreigners.
"They want us to be penniless," he said at one rally. "They want people who can be manipulated."
At one point, he told his supporters there was no Orange Revolution -- only "orange rats." But elsewhere he sounded a more conciliatory note, saying during an interview on local television, for example, that "I sympathize with the so-called protest electorate."
"They felt they were cheated," he said.
Kharkiv is mostly Russian-speaking and lies just 30 miles from the Russian border. In the election on Nov. 21, which was declared fraudulent by local and international election monitors, Yanukovych won 71 percent of the vote to Yushchenko's 24 percent, according to official returns.
Some people interviewed Friday said they had been intimidated during the previous voting and were now willing to demonstrate in favor of Yushchenko.
"I'm 57 years of age and I feel free," said Yekaterina Kotolodnaya, a retired accountant who wore an orange scarf as she walked down the city's main shopping street after listening to Yushchenko speak. "Isn't that wonderful?"
Just four weeks ago, Kotolodnaya said, she wouldn't have dared to wear such a color, fearing retribution against her family for her political choice.
On Nov. 23, a day after Yushchenko's supporters filled Independence Square in Kiev, tens of thousands of Kharkiv residents also packed this city's giant Liberty Square beneath an imposing sculpture of Lenin. Kharkiv was the first capital of Ukraine when it was part of the former Soviet Union.
After the demonstration, the mayor of the city, whose administration had previously banned Yushchenko from holding a rally on Liberty Square, declared his political neutrality. His action defied not only Yanukovych but also the local governor, Yevgeny Kushnariov, who was among the first regional leaders to raise the specter of eastern regions seceding from Ukraine if Yushchenko won.
A local university president, previously in Yanukovych's camp, said his students were now free to publicly back Yushchenko and wear orange clothes. Local television stations and newspapers that had trumpeted Yanukovych and bashed his opponent said they were adopting a new ethic of objectivity.
