The Communist Party of Ukraine 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 "unification" congress when both "old and new" parties merged. The party is a member of the Moscow-based Union of Communist Parties, an umbrella organisation for all communist parties of the former Soviet Union. The party has been led by Petro Symonenko since it was founded.
The Socialist Party of Ukraine was a social democratic and democratic socialist political party in Ukraine. It was one of the oldest parties in Ukraine and was created by former members of the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine in late 1991, when the Communist Party was banned. The party was represented in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, from 1994 to 2007 and was the third and fourth largest party during that period. From 2007 onwards the party's electoral results became increasingly marginal, failing to win any seats in subsequent elections despite historically strong support in the central regions of the country. Oleksandr Moroz had led the party for more than twenty years before his resignation in 2012.
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed the Lisbon Protocol, undertaking to give up Ukraine's nuclear arsenal. He was also the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and a People's Deputy of Ukraine serving in the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) faction.
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests, that lead to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election run-off which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter intimidation and electoral fraud. Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, was the focal point of the movement's campaign of civil resistance, with thousands of protesters demonstrating daily. Nationwide, this was highlighted by a series of acts of civil disobedience, sit-ins, and general strikes organized by the opposition movement.
Elections in Ukraine are held to choose the president, Verkhovna Rada (legislature), and local governments. Referendums may be held on special occasions. Ukraine has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which often not a single party has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.
Below is the timeline of events that followed the runoff presidential election held in Ukraine on 21 November 2004 that sparked off the "Orange Revolution".
Ukraine without Kuchma was a mass protest campaign that took place in Ukraine in 2000–2001, demanding the resignation of President Leonid Kuchma, and preceding the Orange Revolution. Unlike the Orange Revolution, Ukraine without Kuchma was effectively extinguished by the government enforcement units, and followed by numerous arrests of the opposition and the Ukrainian-speaking participants. Seeking the criminal responsibility for those events was renewed with the election of Viktor Yanukovych as the President of Ukraine.
Petro Mykolayovych Symonenko 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 withdrawal, the 2014 Ukrainian presidential elections. The Central Election Commission of Ukraine prohibited his candidacy for the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election due to the fact that the statute, name, and symbolism of his party did not comply with the decommunization laws in Ukraine.
Ukraina Moloda is a daily Ukrainian-language newspaper based in Kyiv with a circulation of 99,000. It is published by State Company "Presa Ukrayiny". In the beginning of 2018 the editorial staff of the newspaper was asked to vacate its leased office at "Presa Ukrayiny".
Yevhen Kyrylovych Marchuk was a Ukrainian politician, intelligence officer, and general who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Ukraine after its independence in 1991.
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-communist and wants to restore state ownership of industry and workers' democracy in Ukraine. Due to ideological ties to Dugin, it has also been described by some observers as being National Bolshevik.
The Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) (Ukrainian: Соцiал-демократична партія України (об'єднана), romanized: Sotsial-demokratychna partiia Ukrainy (obiednana)), abbreviated as SDPU(o) (Ukrainian: СДПУ(о)) is a Ukrainian political party that was originally established as the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine. At the 1998 and 2002 parliamentary elections it won parliamentary seats, but has since then failed to win any seats. When in the Verkhovna Rada the party was influential, but since the Orange Revolution (of late 2004) it has been marginalized.
Yuriy Ivanovych Yekhanurov is a Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2005 to 2006 and Minister of Defense from 2007 to 2009.
Ivan Stepanovych Plyushch was a Ukrainian politician. He thrice served as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, from 9 July to 23 July 1990 (acting), from 5 December 1991 to 11 May 1994, and from 1 February 2000 to 14 May 2002.
Oleksandr Mykolaiovych Tkachenko was a Ukrainian politician who served as a People's Deputy of Ukraine from 1994 to 2012, variously representing the Peasant Party of Ukraine and the Communist Party of Ukraine. Between 7 July 1998 and 21 January 2000, Tkachenko was the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.
The 2006 Parliamentary crisis in Ukraine started in March 2006 as a result of inconclusive parliamentary elections, and ended on 3 August 2006 with Viktor Yanukovych being chosen as a Prime Minister to replace Yuriy Yekhanurov, who resigned right after the parliamentary elections.
Early presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 26 June 1994, with a second round on 10 July. They were held ahead of schedule following a compromise between President Leonid Kravchuk and the Verkhovna Rada. The elections saw Kravchuk defeated by his former Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma. They were the first presidential elections in the Commonwealth of Independent States in which the incumbent was defeated.
Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 October 1999, with a second round on 14 November. The result was a victory for Leonid Kuchma, who defeated Petro Symonenko in the run-off.
Early parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 30 September 2007. The election date was determined following agreement between the President Viktor Yushchenko, the Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Moroz on 27 May 2007, in an attempt to resolve the political crisis in Ukraine triggered by the 2 April 2007 presidential decree on dissolution of Ukraine's parliament.
Oleksandr Yuriyovych Tretiakov is a Ukrainian politician and statesman, People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th convocations. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on veterans, combatants, participants in the anti-terrorist operation and people with disabilities. Since June 2015 is a deputy head of the parliamentary faction of the political party Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Head of the Cabinet of the President of Ukraine (2005). Tretyakov lost his seat in the Rada in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary elections.
