A VAST COUNTRY estate, marble-lined mansions, a private golf course and zoo: the unimaginable luxury of the private residence of departed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was flung open Saturday for all to see.

As parliament voted to oust Yanukovych after he fled to a pro-Russian bastion in east Ukraine following months of bloody protest against his rule, thousands of Ukrainians wandered awestruck around the breathtaking luxury of his abandoned property some 15 kilometres from Kiev after it was taken by demonstrators.

“I am in shock,” said retired military servicewoman Natalia Rudenko, as she looked out over the manicured lawns studded with statues of rabbits and deers.

“In a country with so much poverty how can one person have so much — he has to be mentally sick.

The world needs to see this and bring him to justice.

Cars backed up for kilometres and a large crowd lined up patiently at the imposing wrought iron front gates to get a glimpse of the former leader’s lavish lifestyle, fit for even the most ostentatious billionaire oligarch.

“Don’t worry, everyone will get to go inside — it is big enough for all of you,” an opposition activist standing atop a column shouted through a loudhailer.

He warned people to stay off the lawn in case of landmines and to beware of provocateurs trying to damage the place.

“Welcome to Ukraine,” he said as people shuffled by.

Elite security forces

Guarded just hours before by elite security forces, the property — the scale of which had been kept a closely guarded secret and appears to confirm suspicions of titanic corruption — was now under the control of anti-Yanukovych activists, patrolling the area and keeping people out of buildings to avoid looting.

According to official declarations, Yanukovych’s salary as president was around $100,000 a year. The luxury of the estate clearly showed wealth far beyond that.

At the entrance a sign was hung reading: “People, do not destroy this evidence of thieving arrogance.”

Inside, visitors peered with disbelief through the windows of the palatial main house at the baroque, marble-covered living rooms decorated with gold icons and suits of armour.