In early 2005, Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov reached out to Paul Manafort, a highly-regarded American consultant and lobbyist, who had occupied top spots in a number of US presidential campaigns.
Akhmetov – estimated by Forbes to be worth around $3 billion – made his name as one of the most ruthless players in Ukraine’s cut-throat metals and mining industries, but now he uncharacteristically found himself in a position of weakness. The political party that he supported and helped financed, the Party of Regions (POR), was in many voters’ eyes a thoroughly discredited organization and was taking a nose-dive in the polls.
