President booted out

The week's news at a glance.

Vilnius

Lithuania’s parliament impeached President Rolandas Paksas this week over his ties to a controversial Russian businessman. Paksas gave Lithuanian citizenship to the Russian, Yuri Borisov, after Borisov helped finance his campaign. He also sought to make Borisov, reputed to have links to organized crime, his top advisor. Paksas, a charismatic former Soviet stunt pilot, said he was being persecuted for cracking down on legislators who took kickbacks. “I am convinced that there would have been no scandal had I not made attempts to destroy the corrupt system,” Paksas said. An election for his replacement will be held in two months, and Paksas said he would run.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up