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 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 ...

. Symonenko was the party's candidate in the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, and until his withdrawal, the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Ukrainian presidential elections. The

Central Election Commission of Ukraine The Central Election Commission of Ukraine (, commonly abbreviated as , ); sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine) is a permanent and independent collegiate body of the Ukrainian state that acts on the basis of th ...

prohibited his candidacy 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 ...

because the statute, name, and symbolism of his party did not comply with the decommunization laws in Ukraine.The CEC refused to register nearly fifty presidential candidates
Ukrayinska Pravda (8 February 2019)

Biography

Symonenko was born in Stalino (now Donetsk). He became a member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union 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 ...

in 1978, and worked as a party functionary in the 1980s. He has been the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the

since 1993. He is also the chairman of the Communist Party Faction in the

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 ...

(Ukraine's Parliament)."Opening of the First Session of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 6th Convocation"
Verkhovna Rada website, 23 November 2007. Symonenko has been a Ukrainian delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. From 1994 to 1996 he was a member of the Ukrainian parliament's Constitution Commission. He was a candidate in the 1999 Ukrainian presidential election, receiving 22.24% of the votes in the first round and taking second place. In the second round he won 37.8% of the votes, losing to Leonid Kuchma. His election program had classic Communist content. In late 2002, Viktor Yushchenko ( Our Ukraine),

Oleksandr Moroz Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Moroz (born 29 February 1944) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician. He was the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada twice, from 1994 to 1998 and again from 2006 to 2007. Moroz is one of the founders and the leader of the Soci ...

(

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 ...

), Yulia Tymoshenko ( Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc), and Symonenko issued a joint statement concerning "the beginning of a state revolution in Ukraine". His party left the alliance, as Symonenko was against a single candidate from the alliance in the

2004 Ukrainian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 October, 21 November, 26 December 2004 and 1 January 2005. This was the fourth Ukrainian presidential elections, presidential election in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union. The ...

; the other three parties remained allies, at least until July 2006. Symonenko's support sharply declined at the time of the 2004 presidential election. He received 5% of the votes and came in fourth place, unable to get into the controversial runoff which caused the Orange Revolution. Symonenko was re-elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election."The Makeup of the New Verkhovna Rada"
, ''Ukrayinska Pravda'', November 5, 2007. At the opening of the new parliament's first session on 23 November 2007, he was re-elected as chairman of the Communist Party faction. During the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, Symonenko was the candidate of the Bloc of Left and Center-left Forces,Bloc of left and center-left forces to nominate CPU Leader for Ukraine's president

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) ...

(October 3, 2009) receiving 3.54% of the votes. In 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, he was re-elected into the Verkhovna Rada.Список депутатів нової Верховної Ради
Ukrayinska Pravda (11 November 2012) In the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election, he initially ran as a candidate of his party on a federalization-platform that should have eventually led to a "

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...

without the institution of the presidency at all".Leader of Communist party stands for step-by-step transition to federation followed by elimination of post of president

(8 April 2014) He withdrew from the race on 16 May.Communist leader Symonenko withdraws his candidacy from presidential race
Kyiv Post (16 May 2014) He stated he withdrew "to save Ukraine from arbitrariness, which takes place today", and said about the elections itself "in our opinion they will be illegitimate". Later the same day, Symonenko's car was attacked by a mob with baseball bats and Molotov cocktails as he left a TV interview. He was uninjured in the incident. In the 2014 presidential election, he received 1.51% of the vote.
Results election of Ukrainian president
Телеграф (29 May 2014) The

did not register his candidacy for the

due to the fact that the statute, name, and symbolism of the Communist Party of Ukraine did not comply with 2015 decommunization laws. In late May 2021, TV channel 112 Ukraine received a fine of ₴100,000 for broadcasting Symonenko's claim that the war in Donbas was "a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

" initiated by " Ukrainian nationalists and neo-fascists supported by the United States." During the

2022 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 ...

, Simonenko has taken a pro-Russian stance.А куда пропал Петр Симоненко? Оккупанты помогли ему выехать
Obozrevatel (12 May 2022) In March 2022, as reported by '' Obozrevatel'', he managed to escape from

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, ...

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 ...

during the Kyiv offensive with the assistance of Russian forces. In October 2022, Symonenko took part in the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. During the speech, he blamed the United States and the United Kingdom for the war, and said they wanted to "use Ukraine against Russia and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

". In August 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine opened an investigation against Symonenko on the charges of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. The investigation established that during the Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast of the

he had fled to

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 ...

accompanied by Russian Special Forces. In Russia Symonenko was appointed deputy chairman of the Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union.Biography of Petro Symonenko
Civil movement "Chesno" Symonenko assets were blocked and he was stripped of his Ukrainian state awards on 19 January 2025 by a decree of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Political positions

On 28 November 2006, the Ukrainian Parliament narrowly passed a law defining the Holodomor as a deliberate act of genocide and made public denial illegal. Commenting in 2007, Symonenko said that he "does not believe there was any deliberate starvation at all", and accused Viktor Yushchenko of "using the famine to stir up hatred". In response, Yushchenko declared he wanted "a new law criminalising Holodomor denial".Laura Sheeter
"Ukraine remembers famine horror"
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 24 November 2007 In May 2012, Symonenko defended the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, saying that this measure saved Crimean Tatars because otherwise a civil war would have started.Симоненко заявил, что крымских татар депортировали, чтобы защитить
''

UNIAN The Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News () is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, and a photo reporting service. As of October 2022, it was the most v ...

'', 16 May 2012

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symonenko, Petro 1952 births Living people Politicians from Donetsk Communist Party of Ukraine politicians Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) politicians Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Third convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Fourth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Fifth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Sixth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Seventh convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Candidates in the 1999 Ukrainian presidential election Candidates in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election Candidates in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election Candidates in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election People of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Ukrainian collaborators with Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Exiled Ukrainian politicians Ukrainian exiles