The far-right National Corps party and its associated vigilante group the National Militia rounded off a protest in central Kyiv on March 16 by hurling stuffed toy pigs at the Presidential Administration building while shouting “To jail with Poroshenko’s svynarchuks (pig-men)!”
The protest started on Maidan Nezalezhnosti amid steady drizzle, with thousands of people gathering for a National Corps rally to demand the arrest of the suspects in a large-scale embezzlement scheme in Ukraine’s defense sector.
The scheme, uncovered by Nashi Groshi investigative journalists on Feb. 25, allegedly involved the son of a top ally of President Petro Poroshenko — the now-sacked deputy secretary of the National Defense and Security Council, Oleh Hladkovskiy.
In 2014, Hladksovskiy changed his last name from “Svynarchuk,” which sounds similar to the Ukrainian words for “pig” and “pig herder.” The word “svynarchuk” was coined by the National Corps to describe people allegedly involved in the defense sector embezzlement scheme.
The National Corps estimated the number of protesters at the rally at 10,000, while the police say there were about 2,000. From Maidan Nezalezhosti, the protesters marched to the Presidential Administration, where they ended their rally by throwing toy pigs at the building and the police.
There were no reports of violence or other incidents of disorder during the rally in Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Poroshenko was speaking to voters in Poltava, a city of 290,000 people located 350 kilometers east of Kyiv. National Corps supporters in Poltava also rallied there ahead of Poroshenko’s arrival.
At the rally in Poltava, they also threw toy pigs at the police, provoking skirmishes on the city’s central square, where Poroshenko was to meet his voters. The police reported that less than 20 young men were detained, but then released.
As a result of the skirmishes, one civilian woman was inured. The Poroshenko event went ahead without further incident.
On March 9 similar rallies against corruption in the defense sector were held by the National Corps in Kyiv and Cherkasy, with more serious clashes in both cities. The National Corps promised to hold a mass protest every week until their demands for justice are met.
Unlike at the previous rally, on March 16 the National Corps requested for no party symbols or flags at the event. However, the name and logo of the party and its affiliate National Militia were on full display on the jackets of their members and supporters.
