Brian Frederick was supposed to be back in Lawrence by Dec. 8.

He may be late. He’s watching history being made.

“They’re not letting people into Kiev now,” he said during a telephone interview Wednesday from his apartment in Kharkov, Ukraine. “So I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Authorities restricted access to Kiev after tens of thousands of people staged protests accusing supporters of newly elected president Viktor Yanukovych of rigging the Nov. 21 election.

Supporters of Yanukovych’s opponent, Viktor Yushchenko, called for a nationwide political strike.

Frederick, a 24-year-old Kansas University political science major from St. Louis said he was taking full advantage of the opportunity to watch history unfold.

“I went to the demonstration (in Kharkov) yesterday,” he said. “It was very peaceful. A lot of police and probably 50,000 people were there, but there was never a hint of violence.

“I couldn’t go to the demonstration this morning,” he said, “but I’m going to the one tomorrow.”

He’s going, he said, because he wants to show his support for democracy and “for the effects democracy will have on my friends.”

Frederick called the election “a complete sham,” citing reports of widespread fraud and abuse.

“It’s been really disheartening to watch,” he said.

Ukraine declares winner (11-25-04)

Frederick explained that exit polling showed Yushchenko ahead. But before the votes were counted, Yanukovych declared himself the winner.

Outgoing president Leonid Kuchma’s support for Yanukovych has fueled rumors of wrongdoing, Frederick said. “You hear all kinds of things: that instead of votes being counted, they were marked ’90 percent for Yanukovych, 10 percent for Yushchenko,’ that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is pulling strings behind the scenes, and that Yanukovych is connected to the Mafia,” he said.

According to Ukraine’s Central Electoral Committee, Yanukovych won 49 percent of the vote, and Yushchenko won 47 percent.

“Most people find that hard to believe,” Frederick said, noting Yushchenko is considered “pro-Western Europe and pro-U.S.” Yanukovych, he said, is “much more under the influence of Russia.”

Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States did not recognize Yanukovych’s victory and called for “a full review of the conduct of the election and the tallying.”

Frederick said he took some photographs at a Nov. 22 demonstration led by a nephew of Yushchenko.

“I got on top of a building,” he said. “It was incredible. You could see all these people — for about a mile — walking, holding up these orange, pro-Yushchenko banners, and chanting (translated) ‘You can’t stop freedom!'”

Unfortunately, the photographs aren’t much to look at. “It was too dark,” Frederick said.

He said he hoped to be in Lawrence by mid-December to visit friends, begin graduate school and “have a few beers at Free State” Brewing Co.