UKROP

For other uses, see Ukrop (disambiguation).
Ukrainian Association of Patriots
Українське об'єднання патріотів
AbbreviationUKROP (УКРОП)
LeaderTaras Batenko
FounderHennadiy Korban
Founded18 June 2015 (2015-06-18)
Registered25 September 2014 (2014-09-25)
DissolvedJune 2020 (2020-06) (de facto)
Merged intoFor the Future (de facto)
HeadquartersKyiv
Ideology
Political position
Colours  Green
9th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada
3 / 450
Party flag
Website
ukrop.party

UKROP (Ukrainian: УКРОП, lit. 'dill' in Russian), short for the Ukrainian Association of Patriots (Ukrainian: Українське об'єднання патріотів, romanized: Ukrainske ob'ednannya patriotiv), was a political party in Ukraine.[1]

UKROP was established months after the Euromaidan Revolution of February 2014. The core of the party comprised civil society activists, participants of Euromaidan, volunteers and members of Ukrainian territorial defense battalions.[2]

In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election the party won 3 seats in single-seat constituencies, but these were won by UKROP members as candidates for Servant of the People (the two parties had no formal allegiance).[3] UKROP itself did not take part in the election.[4]

The name "ukrop" was initially a derogatory Russian slang term used to refer to Ukrainians; however, in this case some Ukrainians reclaimed the term "ukrop" to refer to themselves.[5][6]

History

On 2 December 2014, in the Ukrainian Parliament was established an inter-factional group called UKROP.[7] It includes non-faction MPs Dmytro Yarosh, Andriy Biletsky, Boryslav Bereza, Borys Filatov and Volodymyr Parasiuk.[7] Following the resignation of multibillionaire Ihor Kolomoyskyi from the post of governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, members of his team announced their intention to build a new political force.[8][9]

The political party UKROP was founded on 18 June 2015,[1] transformed from the party Patriotic Alliance ("Патриотический альянс") registered on September 25, 2014.[10] The head of the party's political council became oligarch[11] Hennadiy Korban.[12]

The party logo was designed earlier by Ukrainian artist Andriy Yermolenko to serve as a sleeve badge for the participants of the war in Donbas. The author released it for the use by the party for a symbolic fee of ₴1.[10] In its turn, the word "ukrop" ("укроп") used by Yermolenko was a repurposed Russian ethnic slur for Ukrainians.[6] Korban was deputy governor of Kolomoyskyi when Kolomoyskyi was governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast from 2 March 2014 until 24 March 2015.

The party's first political activity was when Korban took part in the 26 July 2015 parliamentary by-election in constituency 205 located in Chernihiv[13] (He lost these elections to Serhiy Berezenko of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, who won with 35.90% of the vote).[13] Korban took second place with 14.76%.[13] During the run-up to these elections Korban was repeatedly accused of bribing voters, the use of black PR and other violations (of the electoral legislation).[14] Berezenko was accused of employing these tactics as well.[14]

The party took part in the 25 October 2015 Ukrainian local elections,[12] with their best region being Dnipropetrovsk.[15] In this city its candidate Borys Filatov was elected Mayor.[16][nb 1] Nationwide (in this election) the party won nationwide eight percent of the total vote.[18] This did not lead to being one of the top seat gainers of the elections.[19]

In 2015 the Ukrainian media reported that the party was allied to Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.[1][12][7][20][21] Korban was his deputy governor when Kolomoyskyi was governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast from 2 March 2014[22] until 24 March 2015.[23][24]

On 31 October 2015, Korban was arrested and suspected to be head of organized crime group.[25][26][27] The party claims offices of other party members and party offices were also searched by police.[28]

During 17 July 2016 constituency mid-term elections the party won its first two seats in the Ukrainian parliament.[29]

During its November 2016 party congress Kolomoyskyi was elected into the party leadership.[30] By then Korban was not a member of UKROP anymore.[30]

On 23 March 2018 UKROP member Oleksandr Savchenko was appointed Governor of Volyn Oblast.[31][32]

In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election the party won 3 seats in single-seat constituencies, but these seats were won by UKROP members as candidates for Servant of the People (the two parties had no formal allegiance).[3] UKROP itself did not take part in the election.[4] Former prominent UKROP member Ihor Palytsia has stated that de facto since 2020 UKROP's is replaced by the party For the Future.[33] Indeed, UKROP's social media pages were re-branded as "For the Future" social media pages.[33]

In the 2020 Ukrainian local elections 1 person won a local seat on behalf of UKROP.[34]

Ideology and political positions

Tom Burridge of BBC News has described UKROP as a centre-left party,[35] while the European Centre for Tolerance, the European Centre for Democracy Development and the Institute for Ethnic Policy and Interethnic Relations Studies describe UKROP as right-wing.[36] Deutsche Welle described the party as "right-wing nationalist".[31][37][36]

The party claims it will create a "New Ukraine" with a social market economy including social welfare programs (including free internet access, environmental reimbursements for healthcare costs, and a public option for those who cannot afford healthcare), nationalization, environmentalism, public-private partnerships, and use of minimal regulation to guarantee "socially responsible business" in Ukraine.[38] It claims that the Russian Federation is a Fascist regime comparable to Hitler's Germany and wants Ukrainian membership in NATO and the EU.[38]

The party also claims it seeks center-right economic reforms. "We support middle class entrepreneurship, de-monopolization, lowering trade barriers and simplification of tax laws, but with an emphasis on patriotism."[39]

The party aims the "complete destruction of the existing bureaucratic corruption system", "new faces in all branches of government and law enforcement agencies, the creation of a new Constitution and gradual "zeroing" of all laws, transparent funding of political parties, as well as the nationalization of strategically important enterprises."[40]

Notes

  1. ^ In June 2020 Borys Filatov was one of the founders and joined the new party Proposition.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c Ukrop political party launched by oligarch Kolomoisky obtains registration, Ukrinform (18 June 2015)
  2. ^ "Local elections 2015". УКРОП. Українське об'єднання патріотів. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  3. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Party of Kolomoisky in the wrapper "People's servants", Deutsche Welle (24 July 2019)
    CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, Ukrinform (26 July 2019)
    (in Russian) Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019, Ukrayinska Pravda (21 July 2019)
  4. ^ a b "Електоральна пам'ять". ukr.vote.
  5. ^ "Пристрасті за "Укропом"". zaxid.net (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Як українці стають "Укропами" ("How Ukrainians become 'Ukrops'")". Radio Liberty (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  7. ^ a b c Justice Ministry registered the party Kolomoisky, Korrespondent.net (18 June 2015)
  8. ^ "Борис Филатов: В Днепропетровске сейчас не просто паника — там психоз - ФОКУС". ФОКУС. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  9. ^ #БУКВЫ. "Геннадий Корбан без Коломойского. Интервью". bykvu.com. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  10. ^ a b "Партия "Укроп" и автор логотипа Ермоленко урегулировали вопрос авторских прав на символ партии". interfax.com.ua.
  11. ^ "Forbes.ua | Бізнес, мільярдери, новини, фінанси, інвестиції, компанії". forbes.ua.
  12. ^ a b c UKROP party will run in local elections across Ukraine, Kyiv Post (July 27, 2015)
  13. ^ a b c With 100% of ballots counted in Rada by-election, Berezenko gets 35.90% of votes, Korban 14.76% – CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (28 July 2015)
  14. ^ a b Корбан: Я потерял моральное право возглавлять политсовет партии "Укроп" "Гордон", .07.2015
    This crazy Ukrainian election shows the country has a ways to go toward reform, Global Post (28 July 2015)
  15. ^ "Five lessons from the local elections in Ukraine | European Council on Foreign Relations". Ecfr.eu. 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  16. ^ Borys Filatov becomes Dnipropetrovsk mayor – election commission, Ukrinform (18 November 2015)
  17. ^ "Party of mayors: 6 mayors presented "ProPosition"". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 19 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ Poroshenko Bloc, Batkivschyna, Nash Kray get largest number of seats in local councils – Ukrainian Voters Committee, Interfax-Ukraine (12 November 2015)
  20. ^ "Accusations of logo theft greet new party of Kolomoisky allies - Jun. 18, 2015". Kyiv Post. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Преступности.НЕТ". News.pn. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  22. ^ Ukraine Turns to Its Oligarchs for Political Help, nytimes.com (2 March 2014)
  23. ^ Cullison, Alan (27 June 2014). "Ukraine's Secret Weapon: Feisty Oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Gennadiy Korban: 'We will continue the fight for Ukraine with its patriots' - Mar. 28, 2015". KyivPost. 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  25. ^ None 13:39 31.10.2015 (2015-10-31). "Korban detained, could be head of organized crime group, now he is not a suspect – SBU, PGO". En.interfax.com.ua. Retrieved 2018-03-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "SBU suspects Korban of organized crime activity, confirms detention | UNIAN". Unian.info. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  27. ^ "SBU, PGO on a large-scale raid in Dnipropetrovsk, over 500 officers involved | UNIAN". Unian.info. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  28. ^ "UKROP party says its leader Korban detained in Dnipropetrovsk | UNIAN". Unian.info. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  29. ^ (in Ukrainian)Data on vote counting at percincts within single-mandate districts Extraordinary parliamentary election on 17.06.2016 Archived 2016-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  30. ^ a b "Новини | Українська правда". Pda.pravda.com.ua. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  31. ^ a b "Austrian ski resort of Semmering losing faith in Ukrainian oligarch investors". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  32. ^ "Ukraine's Volyn regional governor replaced". LB.ua. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  33. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Is Kolomoisky's party "For the Future" a new political project?, Civil movement "Chesno" (6 July 2020)
  34. ^ "Results of the 2020 Ukrainian local elections on the official web-server of the". Central Election Commission of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  35. ^ "EU resists Russian overtures on Ukraine - BBC News". Bbc.com. 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  36. ^ a b Xenophobia, radicalism and hate crime in Europe 2015 European Tolerance Center, European Center for Democracy, Institute for Ethnic Policy and Interethnic Relations Studies.
  37. ^ Democracy and Disorientation: Ukraine Votes in Local Elections by Balázs Jarábik, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (23 October 2015 )
  38. ^ a b Ideological platform. "Ideological platform / УКРОП. Українське об'єднання патріотів". Ukrop.com.ua. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  39. ^ "У Житомирі нардеп Купрій розповів про ідеологію партії "УКРОП" та представив голову її обласного осередку". www.zhitomir.info.
  40. ^ "Kolomoisky promoted to senior position in UKROP Party". Retrieved 10 March 2018.