Opposition Bloc, formerly called Opposition Bloc — Party for Peace and Development until June 2019, was a Ukrainian

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

that was founded in 2019. On 8 June 2022, the party was banned in court. The ban was not appealed and the party officially ceased to exist on 25 July of the same year. The creation of the party was the result of a schism in the

Opposition Bloc The Opposition Bloc (, ) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine that was founded in 2014 by the merger of six parties that did not endorse Euromaidan. Legally, the party was created by renaming the lesser-known party "Leading Force".

party, a party of the same name founded in 2014. By January 2019, two wings of this party had nominated two different candidates for the

2019 Ukrainian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. As none of the 39 candidates on the ballot received an absolute majority of the initial vote, a runoff was held on 21 April between the top two vote-getters: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a t ...

.Opposition split. How Boyko and Vilkul divide the legacy of "regionalists"

Ukrainska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(18 December 2018)"Odd-man-out. Why Leovochkin and Medvedchuk are preparing for the election without Akhmetov"

(20 November 2018)

Yuriy Boyko Yuriy Anatoliyovych Boyko (, ; born 9 October 1958) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician who served as one of the Second Azarov government, Vice Prime Ministers of Ukraine between 2012 and 2014,

was nominated by the party wing called

Opposition Platform — For Life The Opposition Platform – For Life (; , OPZZh) was a Russophilia, pro-Russian and Euroscepticism, Eurosceptic Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine banned after the 2022 Russian invasion. The party was the successor of Fo ...

,Boyko began registering as a presidential candidate

(17 November 2018)
The association of Boyko-Rabinovich was determined with the presidential candidate

(17 November 2018) while a competing party wing wanted to nominate Oleksandr Vilkul as its candidate. The party wing supporting Vilkul formed a new party, Opposition Bloc — Party for Peace and Development. That new party proceeded to nominate Vilkul as its presidential candidate. In the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, the elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parli ...

, the new party won six single-seat constituencies, and its nationwide list won 3.23% of the votes, failing to overcome the 5% election barrier. Legally, Opposition Bloc — Party for Peace and Development is the successor of the Industrial Party of Ukraine (,

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 ...

: Индустриальная Украина) founded in 2014.

History

In 2014, six parties that did not endorse

Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...

merged into a new party called

,Opposition Bloc chooses top ten candidates for parliamentary elections

Interfax Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(23 September 2014)
Allies of Yanukovych trying for parliament

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

(21 September 2014)
Party Of Regions Will Not Contest Snap Parliamentary Elections Independently
,

Ukrainian News Agency The Ukrainian News Agency ( ) is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, as well as a popular photo reporting service. Since February 2008 the company is part of the Inter Medi ...

(14 September 2014)Opposition Bloc boosts rating by distancing itself from Yanukovych era

(24 October 2014)
Development party of Ukraine, 'Ukraine – Forward!' and four more political forces team up in Opposition Bloc

(15 September 2014)
Ukraine's Elections: The Battle of the Billionaires

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

(10.25.14)
Non-Maidan parties united into the Opposition Bloc

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

. 14 September 2014 which was social-liberal and pro-Russian. In the

2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an un ...

, the party won 29 seats, predominantly in the

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

, and

Kharkiv oblast Kharkiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in eastern Ukraine. Kharkiv borders Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the southeast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the southwest, Poltava Oblast to the w ...

s.Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine (), or Ukrinform (), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of Ukraine. It was founded in 1918 during the Ukrainian War of IndependencePeople's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections – CEC

Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(8 November 2014)
Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament – CEC

(8 November 2014)"OPPOSITION BLOCK"

Civil movement "Chesno" Chesno () is a Ukrainian public campaign that emerged late 2011 to advance a fair election process. It is widely known for its critical analysis and evaluation of politicians and the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in Ukraine. The organization provi ...

(2018) According to ''

'', in the summer of 2018, negotiations began regarding the unification of the parties For Life (which had split from Opposition Bloc in 2016) and Opposition Bloc. ''Ukrainska Pravda'' reported that these talks were instigated by Serhiy Lyovochkin, who, along with

Dmytro Firtash Dmytro Vasylovych Firtash (; born 2 May 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman who heads the board of directors of Group DF. He was highly influential during the Yushchenko administration and the Yanukovych administration. As a middleman for the R ...

, controlled one of the wings of Opposition Bloc;

Rinat Akhmetov Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov (born 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and businessman. He is the founder and president of international investment group System Capital Management (SCM), and is the wealthiest man in Ukraine. Akhmetov i ...

controlled the other wing of Opposition Bloc. In early November 2018, the party members loyal to Akhmetov decided to pause the negotiations. OppositionBlocLogo2019

On 9 November 2018, Opposition Bloc chairman Boyko and

Vadim Rabinovich Vadim Zinovyevich Rabinovich ( Ukrainian: Вадим Рабінович, Hebrew: ; born 4 August 1953) is an Israeli and formerly Ukrainian oligarch and Jewish community leader. He is a former leader of the banned Opposition Platform — For Li ...

's party For Life signed an agreement for cooperation in the

and the parliamentary election of the same year, and created the alliance

.Two Russia-friendly parties join forces for presidential election

(9 November 2018)The association of Boyko-Rabinovich was determined with the presidential candidate

(17 November 2018) The same day, Opposition Bloc leading members Vadym Novynskyi and

Borys Kolesnikov Borys Viktorovych Kolesnikov (, born 25 October 1962) is the leader of the political party Ukraine is Our Home. He is the former secretary of the Party of Regions' presidium, former people's deputy in Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's national parliamen ...

claimed that the agreement was a "personal initiative" of Boyko and that the party had not taken any decisions on cooperation with For Life. On 17 November 2018, Opposition Platform — For Life nominated Boyko as its candidate in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election. The same day, Opposition Bloc member Party of Development of Ukraine joined the Opposition Platform — For Life alliance. On 20 November 2018, Boyko and Serhiy Lyovochkin (the leading member of the Party of Development of Ukraine) were excluded from the Opposition Bloc faction because they "betrayed our voters' interests", according to the faction co-chairman, Vilkul. The Peace and Development Billboard of Opposition Bloc in Saltivka in Kharkiv 2019

The Peace and Development Billboard of Opposition Bloc in Saltivka in Kharkiv 2019

On 17 December 2018, an Opposition Bloc congress nominated Oleksandr Vilkul as their candidate in the

. A Ukrainian court had ruled three days before (in response to a lawsuit filed by People's Deputy of Ukraine for Opposition Bloc

Serhiy Larin Serhiy Larin () (born 11 January 1962, Khartsyzk/(website has automatic Google Translate option)''Short bio LIGA (last updated 16 May 2017)) is a Ukrainian politician and electrical engineer. Biography Larin has been (except between April 201 ...

) that Opposition Bloc's congress, at which Vikul was to be nominated, could not "reorganize the party by any means". On 18 December 2018, the website of Opposition Bloc stated that therefore all of the decisions made at the congress were invalid. On 20 December 2018 the website of Opposition Bloc was down. Vilkul was nominated for the presidency again by Opposition Bloc — Party of Peace and Development (the recently renamed Industrial Party of Ukraine) on 20 January 2019.Presidential elections: Kivu, Vilkul and Hnapa have been nominated

Korrespondent.net The ''Korrespondent.net'' ( ; ; literally: ''Correspondent'') is an online newspaper in Ukraine launched in 2000. It is a sister project to the ''Korrespondent'' printed weekly magazine also containing the latter's reduced free online version. ''K ...

(20 January 2019)
Kiva and Vilkul surrendered to the Central Election Commission

(22 January 2019) According to Liga.net,

had renamed Industrial Party of Ukraine to Opposition Bloc — Party of Peace and Development solely to circumvent the court's injunction of 20 December 2018 (which prohibited any changes to the statute of the Opposition Bloc party). The Industrial Party of Ukraine was registered by the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

on 13 June 2014, and Rostyslav Shurma was then the chairman of that party. Shurma was at the time General Director of Zaporizhstal, part of the industrial complex owned by Rinat Akhmetov.PARTY "INDUSTRIAL UKRAINE" HEADS "MAN AKHMETOV"

5 Kanal 5 Kanal () is a television station in Ukraine formerly owned by businessman and fifth President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, the elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parli ...

, an alliance was formed between

's wing in the

party and

's and Oleksandr Vilkul's Party of Peace and Development. The alliance was later joined by Revival, Nashi, and Trust Deeds; the alliance selected Evgeny Murayev as leader of the united party list. In the election, the mayors of

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

(

Hennadiy Kernes Hennadiy Adolfovych Kernes (27 June 1959 – 16 December 2020) was a Ukrainian politician who was the 5th mayor of Kharkiv from 24 November 2010 until his death on 16 December 2020.

) and

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

(

Gennadiy Trukhanov Gennadiy Leonidovich Trukhanov (born 17 January 1965) is a Ukrainian politician. He is the mayor of Odesa since 2014. Since 2022, he has focused on constructing fortifications, prioritizing budget policies to support the Armed Forces of Ukrain ...

) were placed in the top ten of the nationwide party list. In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the party won six single-seat constituencies; the nationwide list, with 3.23% of the votes, did not overcome the 5% election barrier, so those six seats were the only seats that the party won in the election. In the

2020 Ukrainian local elections The 2020 Ukrainian local elections took place on Sunday 25 October 2020.Ukrai ...

the party gained 206 deputies (0.48% of all available mandates). It saw success in

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

, where it gained eight seats on the

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Council The Zaporizhzhia Oblast Council () is the regional oblast council (parliament) of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) located in eastern Ukraine. Council members are elected for five year terms. In order to gain representation in the council, a p ...

. By 2021, the party's activities had winded down significantly, and the Ukrainian press announced that the political project itself was ''de facto'' closed. The party's leading figure, oligarch

, announced the creation of a new political force in April 2021 on the basis of Opposition Bloc. In early May, one of the other key figures of Opposition Bloc

announced the creation of a new political force Ukraine is Our Home. Since the beginning of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

collaborationism Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th c ...

has become widespread among party members. So, on March 12, 2022, thanks to cooperation with the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

Galina Danilchenko Galina Viktorovna Danilchenko (born 5 July 1964) is a Russian and Ukrainian accountant and politician who was installed by Russia as the acting mayor of Melitopol during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, following the kidnapping of Ivan Fed ...

, a representative of the Opposition Bloc in

Melitopol Melitopol is a city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River, which flows through the eastern edge of the city into the Molochnyi Lyman estuary. Melitopol is the second-largest city ...

, was proclaimed by the Russians as “acting mayor of the city.” This happened the day after the arrest of Mayor Ivan Fedorov by the Russian military. On the same day, she announced that the city council would be abolished and would be replaced by a “Committee of People's Representatives”. Danilchenko appealed to the city residents to “adapt to the new reality” in order to quickly start living in a new way and thanked the

head of Chechnya The head of the Chechen Republic or head of Chechnya (; ; formerly president of the Chechen Republic or president of Chechnya until 5 March 2011) is the highest office within the political system of the Chechen Republic, as head of state and hea ...

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the ...

, for the humanitarian assistance. On 20 March 2022, Opposition Bloc was one of several political parties suspended by the

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine 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 the

, along with Derzhava, Left Opposition, Nashi,

Party of Shariy The Party of Shariy (; , PSh) is a banned political party in Ukraine founded by political blogger Anatoly Shariy. Its official proclaimed ideology is libertarianism.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 ...

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 ...

Union of Leftists Union of Left Forces (; SLS) was a political party in Ukraine led by Vasyl Volha from its founding in 2007 to 2019. On 9 May 2022, the head of the Opposition Bloc in the

Yevgeny Balitsky Yevgeny Vitalyevich Balitsky (, ; born 10 December 1969) is a Russian and former Ukrainian politician, entrepreneur and former army officer who is currently serving as the governor of Zaporozhye Oblast, one of the Russian-occupied territories ...

, appointed to the post of head of the Zaporozhye military–civilian administration. On 8 June 2022, the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal banned the Opposition Bloc. The property of the party and all its branches were transferred to the state. The decision was open to an appeal at the

Supreme Court of Ukraine The Supreme Court of Ukraine () is the highest judicial body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction in Ukraine. But the decision was not appealed, so on 25 July 2022 the party ceased to exist.

Party leaders

* Evgeny Murayev (chairman and leader of electoral list) * Oleksandr Vilkul (co-chair) Political Council *

Fraction in

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

leader * Vadym Novynskyi

Election results

Verkhovna Rada

Presidential elections

Local councils

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Ukrainian political parties 2019 establishments in Ukraine 2022 disestablishments in Ukraine Banned political parties in Ukraine Eurosceptic parties in Ukraine Liberal parties in Ukraine Parliamentary factions in Ukraine Political parties established in 2019 Political parties disestablished in 2022 Regionalist parties in Ukraine Russophilic parties in Ukraine Social liberal parties