A prominent pro-Russian political party has announced its top candidates ahead of the Ukrainian parliamentary election.
The Opposition Platform – For Life, a party largely made up of former members of ousted ex-President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, held its convention on June 6 in Kyiv. There, it announced the names occupying the top 10 slots on its party list for the July 21 election.
According to Ukrainian electoral law, half of the Verkhovna Rada’s 450 lawmakers are elected through party lists, while the other 225 run for office in single-mandate districts.
The top 10 candidates on the Opposition Platform – For Life list are:
- Yuriy Boyko – a stalwart of pro-Russian politics and a lawmaker with the Opposition Bloc, which he left to form Opposition Platform – For Life in 2018. He formerly served as deputy prime minister (2012-2014), minister of energy and the coal industry (2010-2012), and minister of fuel and energy (2006-2007, 2010). In 2002-2005, Boyko was chairman of the board of state oil and gas company Naftogaz.
- Vadym Rabinovych – a member of parliament with the Opposition Bloc, who left the party in 2018 to form Opposition Platform – For Life. Rabinovych is also a serial entrepreneur with a focus on media and the chairman of the Ukrainian Jewish Congress. He served a prison term in the Soviet Union for establishing and running a commercial enterprise, which was illegal at the time.
- Viktor Medvedchuk – a businessman and the former head of the presidential administration (2002-2005) and deputy speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (1998-2001). Medvedchuk is known for his informal political influence and for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the godfather of his children.
- Nataliya Korolevska – a member of parliament with the Opposition Bloc, former minister of social policy (2012-2014) and ex-chair of the parliamentary committee on industry, regulatory policy and entrepreneurship (2007-2012).
- Serhiy Lovochkin – a member of parliament with the Opposition Bloc, who formerly served as chief of the presidential administration (2010-2013) and chief-of-staff of Ukraine’s prime minister (2006-2007). In these two positions, Lovochkin was directly subordinate to Yanukovych. Lovochkin is also a wealthy businessman, with interests in the chemical industry and media.
- Vasyl Nimchenko – a former judge of the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. Nimchenko was among the 59 members of parliament who submitted a request for the Constitutional Court to declare an article of the Criminal Code prohibiting illegal enrichment unconstitutional. In February, the court struck down the law, granting a de facto amnesty to officials being investigated for corruption.
- Nestor Shufrych – a member of parliament since 2002, currently with the Opposition Bloc. Shufrych has experience in business and served as minister of emergency situations twice (2006-2007, 2010).
- Serhiy Larin – a member of parliament since 1998, currently with the Opposition Bloc. In 2010-2013, Larin was governor Kirovograd Oblast. In 2013, he worked as deputy head of the presidential administration. Prior to 1998, Larin made a career in local politics in Donetsk Oblast.
- Serhiy Dunayev – a member of parliament with the Opposition Bloc and the former mayor of Lysychansk, an industrial town of roughly 100,000 people in Luhansk Oblast, some 750 kilometers to the southeast of Kyiv.
- Taras Kozak – a member of parliament with the Opposition Bloc and the owner of NewsOne, a television channel with a pro-Russia bent. In 1993-2010, he made a career in Ukraine’s customs and tax agencies, eventually becoming deputy chief of the State Customs Service.
The Opposition Platform is running its campaign on slogans of ensuring peace and economic growth in Ukraine. The party promises to reach these goals by using its close connections to the Russian political elite.
On March 22, Boyko and Medvedchuk met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Aleksei Miller, the CEO of Russia’s state-controlled natural gas company, Gazprom, to discuss an agreement for the company to supply Russian gas directly to Ukraine with a 25-percent discount.
According to a poll published by the International Institute of Sociology on June 10, the Opposition Platform – For Life party enjoys 11.8-percent support among decided voters.
