Ukrainian Choice – Right of the People
Украинский выбор — право народа
Український вибір — право народу
LeaderViktor Medvedchuk
FounderViktor Medvedchuk
Founded4 April 2012 (2012-04-04)
DissolvedMarch 2022 (2022-03) (de facto)
Split fromSocial Democratic Party of Ukraine (united)
HeadquartersVasylkivska 23-B, Kyiv
IdeologyRussophilia
Social conservatism
Christian conservatism
Euroscepticism
Federalism
Political positionBig tent
National affiliationOpposition Platform — For Life (2018–22)
Colours  Light blue
  Purple
  Magenta
Website
vybor.ua

Ukrainian Choice, officially since 2016[1] named[2] Ukrainian Choice – Right of the People (Ukrainian: Український вибір — Право народу; Russian: Украинский выбор — право народа), is an NGO in Ukraine.[3][4] It was initiated by and is led by the business tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk. In Ukraine it is considered a pro-Russian organisation.[2]

After the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine some of the organisation leaders were detained by the SBU on charges of preparing a coup d'état and collaborating with Russian special services.[5] Medvedchuk himself is living in exile in Russia since September 2022 after being handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange.[6]

Ideology

The organization was founded in April 2012. It opposes Ukraine–European Union relations and NATO membership of Ukraine and would prefer Ukraine to join the Eurasian Economic Union instead. The group also wants "decentralization of power followed by the transition to a federal structure, while maintaining the territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine".[7]

Ukrainian Choice also emphasizes Slavic Orthodox values: in July 2013, it organized a conference on the topic "Orthodox-Slavic values – the basics of the civilizational choice of Ukraine", where Vladimir Putin held a speech.[8] (Putin is the godfather of Medvedchuk's 2004 born daughter Darina).[9]

Activities

According to The New York Times the group aimed at stopping former president Viktor Yanukovych from signing Ukraine's Association Agreement with the European Union.[8] In a leaked June 2013 Russian-ordered consultation document, whose contents have been corroborated by a former security source in Ukraine, the Russian government wanted Ukrainian Choice to influence public opinion.[7] At the time Medvedchuk and the organization had marginal popular support in Ukraine.[10]

In the fall of 2013, Ukrainian Choice ran an aggressive anti-gay ad campaign warning against "decayed values" in the Western world.[8] Some of the ads claimed that association with the European Union would mean the legalization of same-sex marriage.[3] At the time, Medvedchuk described the European Union as the "modern heir to the Third Reich."[8] Another slogan of the organisation at the time was "the European path of development – is the path to the destruction of Ukraine's independence.[11]

During annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014, the organization organized blockage of Ukrainian military logistics.[12]

De-facto end of the organisation

After the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine some Ukrainian Choice leaders were detained by the SBU on charges of preparing a coup d'état and collaborating with Russian special services.[5]

Ukrainian Choice leader Viktor Medvedchuk himself is living in exile in Russia since September 2022 after being handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange.[6]

In October 2022 the Kyiv District Administrative Court opened proceedings on a lawsuit by the Ministry of Justice banning, but a date of consideration of this case was not set.[13]

A former coordinator of the organisation in Mykolaiv Oblast was employed by Russian occupation officials and became a spokesperson of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant in September 2023.[11]

In April 2023 Medvedchuk created the "Second Ukraine" movement that operates from Russia.[14]

Criticism

Former president of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk stated in 2012 that "The Ukrainian Choice is not a Ukrainian choice, but a choice of Russia in Ukraine".[15]

Dmitry Alekseev, a Russian political technologist and director general of Russia's National Political Agency, said in December 2013 that Russia was trying to "forge" pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, so it was funding Viktor Medvedchuk's Ukrainian Choice project, as previously funded by Natalia Vitrenko's Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine.[16]

On February 26, 2014, deputies of the Zakarpattia Oblast Council banned the activities of Viktor Medvedchuk's "Ukrainian Choice" in the region.[17]

"Ukrainian Choice" is also accused of anti-Semitism for articles on the organization's website, which accuses Jews of allegedly owning all power in Ukraine.[18][19]

In March 2021 the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) searched "Ukrainian Choice" offices across Ukraine as part of their investigation theses that the organisation helped to organize the Crimean referendum during the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.[1] The SBU also claimed that the organisation continued to coordinate the activities of its members in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea "despite attempts to publicly distance themselves from the illegal actions of their colleagues on the peninsula."[1] "Ukrainian Choice" officially liquidated its Crimean branch in 2017.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 (in Ukrainian) The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) searched the office of Medvedchuk's public movement, Ukrayinska Pravda (25 March 2021)
  2. 1 2 Criminal proceedings against Viktor Medvedchuk opened over high treason, encroachment on Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Ukrinform (5 February 2019)
  3. 1 2 Ukraine's Choice: East Or West?, Radio Free Europe (April 17, 2016)
  4. ↑ Ukrainian Choice leader Medvedchuk says he doesn't represent interests of DPR, LPR, but negotiates with them, Kyiv Post (Jun. 25, 2014)
  5. 1 2 BFM.ru. "На Украине задержан член фракции "Оппозиционная платформа — За Жизнь" Виктор Медведчук". BFM.ru - деловой портал (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-12.
    "СБУ задержала одного из лидеров партии Медведчука "Украинский выбор"". www.unian.net (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-12.
    "В Киеве задержали одного из лидеров партии Медведчука "Украинский выбор", который сотрудничал с российскими спецслужбами | Громадское телевидение". hromadske.ua (in Russian). 5 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
    "СБУ заявила о задержании одного из лидеров партии Медведчука". Life.ru (in Russian). 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  6. 1 2 "Putin Ally Medvedchuk, 55 Servicemen Freed in Swap With Ukraine". Moscow Times. 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
    Wilson, Andrew (2005). Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09545-7.
    Kinstler, Linda (28 May 2015). "The 12 people who ruined Ukraine". POLITICO.
    "I currently live in Moscow on permanent basis "by necessity" – Medvedchuk". Ukrainska Pravda. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  7. 1 2 Failing Ukraine state plays in to Russia's hands, Reuters (May 18, 2014)
  8. 1 2 3 4 Close Friend of Russian Leader Takes Role as a Negotiator for Ukraine, The New York Times (FEB. 11, 2015)
  9. ↑ Медведчук і Марченко помінялися місцями. Tablo ID (in Ukrainian). 2007-11-11. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  10. ↑ Kremlin-imposed “Ukrainian choice”, The Ukrainian Week (3 July 2012)
    Playing opposition, Den (15 August 2013)
    Russia's Plan For Ukraine: Purported Leaked Strategy Document Raises Alarm, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (20 August 2013)
  11. 1 2 Former coordinator of the pro-Russian movement Medvedchuk «Ukrainian choice» became the speaker of the South Ukrainian NPP, Detector media (19 September 2023) (in Ukrainian)
  12. ↑ Pro-Russian group of people blocked the Odesa highway in Mykolaiv impeding transportation of Ukrainian military transport. News PN. 2 March 2014
  13. ↑ Minjust wants to ban “Ukrainian choice” Medvedchuk, Chesno (21 October 2022) (in Ukrainian)
  14. ↑ Medvedchuk recruited in his new « movement » in the Russian Federation accused in the state of political scientists and commentators who managed to escape from Ukraine – «Schems», Radio Free Europe (26 April 2023) (in Ukrainian)
    In Serbia, a branch of the Russian organization Medvedchuk "Drugaya Ukrain" was registered, UNIAN (7 December 2023) (in Ukrainian)
  15. ↑ «Український вибір» Медведчука — це вибір Росії в Україні" // «Країна», 24.07.2012. (in Ukrainian)
  16. ↑ "Російський політтехнолог розповів, хто фінансує "Український вибір" Медведчука". www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  17. ↑ "На Закарпатті заборонили "Український вибір" Медведчука". zik.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  18. ↑ "Антисемитский выбор Виктора Медведчука". АРГУМЕНТ. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  19. ↑ "Антимайдан і "антиєвреї"". Club-tourist. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
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