A national referendum on Russian becoming...

"I have not been in politics that long, but I can definitely say that every election has divided the country, and the holding of a referendum on [the language] issue - you can imagine what the result would be," Vadim Kolesnichenko said at a news conference, predicting another 50-50 split..

"How can we talk about a united country, about uniting our common interests to create a unified society?" the chairman of the Russian Ukraine nongovernmental organization said.

Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych received almost 50 percent of the vote in the last two presidential elections, losing to Viktor Yushchenko in 2004 but beating Yulia Tymoshenko on February 7 this year.

Yanukovych draws most of his support from the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine, while Yushchenko"s stronghold is the more nationalist west of the country. Yushchenko steered a fiercely pro-Western path as president, often antagonizing Moscow, and his successor, who takes office on Thursday, is

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