The Left Opposition (; ) was a Pro-Russian coalition of socio-political organizations and parties in Ukraine established in June 2015. On March 19, 2022, the activities of the political group were suspended by and banned the

National Security and Defense Council The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, ( NSDCU; , ''RNBOU'') or RNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense. It is a state agency tasked wi ...

during

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

Leadership

The association was headed by 5 co-chairs:Симоненко та Вітренко об’єдналися в «Ліву опозицію»
— Радіо «Свобода», 15 червня 2015.
— Левый берег, 13 июня 2015. *

Petro Symonenko Petro Mykolayovych Symonenko (; born 1 August 1952) is a Ukrainian politician and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Symonenko was the party's candidate in the 1999 and 2004, 2010, and until his with ...

– First Secretary of the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU or KPU) is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 and claimed to be the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine, which had been banned in 1991. In 2002 it held a "unifi ...

Nataliya Vitrenko Nataliya Mykhailivna Vitrenko (; born December 28, 1951) is a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and scientist. Since 2014, Nataliya Vitrenko has been living in Moscow. She blames the West and Ukraine for charging of Russo-Ukrainian War. Presid ...

– Chairwoman of the

Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine The Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (PSPU) is a banned, pro-Russian political party in Ukraine led by Nataliya Vitrenko. The party was represented in Ukraine's national parliament between 1998 and 2002. The party is considered neo-commu ...

* Valery Soldatenko – former director of the

Ukrainian Institute of National Memory The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINM, ), also translated as the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, is the central executive body operating under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Established on 31 May 2006 as a special org ...

Rudolf Povarnitsyn Rudolf Pavlovich Povarnitsyn (; born 13 June 1962, in Votkinsk, Udmurtia) is a Ukrainian high jumper. He represented the Soviet Union and Ukraine. Career Competing in the high jump, his greatest achievement was a bronze medal at the 1988 ...

– world record holder in athletics * Heorhiy Kryuchkov – member of the

Members

The association includes 5 political parties, 13 public organizations and 6 individuals. Parties: *

(banned 15 December 2015) *

(banned 20 March 2022) * "Kievan Rus'" Party * Workers' Party of Ukraine * Slavic Party of Ukraine * New Power Party (entered on 24 September 2015)Компартия примет участие в выборах под названием "Новая держава"
— LB.ua, 25 сентября 2015 Public organizations: * Anti-Fascist Committee of Ukraine * All-Ukrainian Union of Workers * All-Ukrainian Union of Soviet Officers * All-Ukrainian Women's Organization "The Gift of Life" * Eurasian People's Union * Association "For the Union of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia" (ZUBR) * Association "Intelligentsia of Ukraine - for socialism" * Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine * Labor Conference of Ukraine * Slavic Committee of Ukraine * Cathedral of Orthodox Women of Ukraine * Communist Student Council * Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods of Ukraine Individuals: *

Petro Tolochko Petro Petrovych Tolochko (; 21 February 1938 – 28 April 2024) was a Soviet and Ukrainian historian, archaeologist, and political activist. He was one of the leading specialists in history of the Kievan Rus (Old Rus) and one of leading research ...

—

National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; , ; ''NAN Ukrainy'') is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine that is the main center of development of Science and technology in Ukraine, science and technology by coordinatin ...

It was also announced that the vicegerent of the

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra (), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic lavra or large monastery of Eastern Christianity that gave its name to the Pecherskyi District where it is located in Kyiv. Sin ...

, Metropolitan Pavel (Lebed), close to the Communist Party of Ukraine, could join the movement. The

Socialist Party of Ukraine The Socialist Party of Ukraine (, abbreviated SPU) was a social democratic and democratic socialist Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine. It was one of the oldest parties in Ukraine and was created by former members of the Sov ...

and the All-Ukrainian Public Movement " Ukrainian Choice" of

Viktor Medvedchuk Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk (; born 7 August 1954), also known as Viktor Vladimirovich Medvedchuk (), is a former Ukrainian lawyer, business oligarch, and politician who has lived in exile in Russia since September 2022 after being handed ...

refused to participate in the association.

Ideology

Political theses of the organization: * The events of February 2014 are a "coup d'état" that led Ukraine to the loss of economic and political independence; * The domestic and foreign policy of Ukraine is “determined by the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

, international financial oligarchies”; * Ukraine is “united by a common history, culture, spirituality, civilizational values” with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, but not with the USA and EU countries; * The territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine were preserved only in the conditions of the unity of "our countries (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus) and fraternal peoples"; * Organization denounces laws condemning communist ideology; * The organization condemns the course towards the integration of Ukraine with Europe. Goals: * Joining the

Customs Union A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a) Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set u ...

with Russia; *

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

as a second state language; * "Restoration of good neighborly, equal and mutually beneficial relations" with the Russian Federation and Belarus.

History

On 12 June 2015, the constituent assembly of the political movement was held in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Criticism

Name theft charge

The eponymous socialist organization "Left Opposition" (one of the successors of the Organization of Marxists, mainly from its

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

wing; its representatives create a new left party " Social Rukh") accused "representatives of the previous authorities (KPU), marginal Russophiles ("Kievan Rus") and

Black Hundreds The Black Hundreds were reactionary, monarchist, and ultra-nationalist groups in Russia in the early 20th century. They were staunch supporters of the House of Romanov, and opposed any retreat from the autocracy of the reigning monarch. Their na ...

(PSPU), who parasitize on the left movement”, of stealing its name. According to the statement of its activist Nina Potarskaya, their organization is named after the leftists of the 20s with whom they associate themselves (leftists in the Central Rada and the

Left Opposition The Left Opposition () was a faction within the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) from 1923 to 1927 headed '' de facto'' by Leon Trotsky. It was formed by Trotsky to mount a struggle against the perceived bureaucratic degeneration within th ...

in the

VKP(b) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

opposing Stalinism).

References

2015 establishments in Ukraine Banned political parties in Ukraine Conservative parties in Ukraine Defunct political party alliances in Ukraine Defunct socialist parties in Ukraine Eurasianism Left-wing nationalist parties Pan-Slavism Political opposition alliances Political parties disestablished in 2022 Political parties established in 2015 Russian nationalism in Ukraine Russophilic parties in Ukraine Socially conservative parties {{Ukraine-party-stub