20 years of the "cassette scandal"

News story for November 26, 2020, on the 20th anniversary of the "cassette scandal" - the murder of Georgy Gongadze.

On the video: archival footage with comments by the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, fragments of the work of journalist Georgy Gongadze, the moment his body was found; audio recording presented by People's Deputy Oleksandr Moroz and an employee of the Presidential Security Service Mykola Melnychenko; archival videos from the meetings.

Comments: Myroslava Gongadze's representative Valentyna Telichenko; press secretary of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma in 1998–2001 Oleksandr Martynenko; editor of the political department and deputy editor-in-chief of "Dzerkal Tyzhnya" in 1998–2008 Serhiy Rakhmanin; lawyer, public figure Viktor Chumak.

The issue was worked on by: Daryna Kolomiyets, Ivan Gorbunov.

Reference: The "Cassette Scandal" ("Melnychenko tapes") was a political crisis that erupted in Ukraine in the fall of 2000 after the release of audio recordings made in the office of President Leonid Kuchma, which indicated the possible involvement of senior officials in the kidnapping and murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze. The scandal sparked mass protests under the slogan "Ukraine without Kuchma" and became an important milestone in the formation of Ukrainian civil society. Despite several investigations and court decisions, the issue of the authenticity of Melnychenko's recordings and Kuchma's responsibility remains legally unresolved.