Democratychna Sokyra ( uk, Демократична Сокира, Demokratychna Sokyra or ''D7'') is a Ukrainian political party and
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
founded in 2018 and officially registered at the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
on 22 May 2019.Lokatar Ogar: A review of the Democratic Ax, a party of Facebook bloggers Civil movement "Chesno" (18 September 2020)
History
Founding
The "Democratic Horde" party was announced at the end of April 2018. About 30 well-known bloggers (Iurii Gudymenko, Ihor Bihdan), journalists (Viktor Tregubov, editor-in-chief of the site "Peter and Mazepa"), Mykhailo Makaruk (volunteer of
Narodny Tyl Narodny (masculine), Narodnaya (feminine), or Narodnoye (neuter) may refer to:
*Narodny Municipal Okrug, a municipal okrug of Nevsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia
*Moscow Narodny Bank Limited
*Moscow Narodny Bank (Mosco ...
and the
Inform Napalm
InformNapalm is a volunteer initiative to inform Ukrainian citizens and the foreign public about the Russo-Ukrainian War and the activities of the Russian special services as well as the militants of DPR, LPR, and Novorossiya. The team members ...
community), businessmen (Bohdana Yarova, Pylyp Dukhlii), hackers (people known by the nicknames "Sean Townsend" and "Jeoffrey Dahmer" from the "
Ukrainian Cyber Alliance
The Ukrainian Cyber Alliance (UCA, ukr. ''Український кіберальянс'', УКА) is a community of Ukrainian cyber activists from various cities in Ukraine and around the world. The alliance emerged in the spring of 2016 from ...
"), ATO veterans (Oleksandr Zolotko, Anton Kolumbet), volunteers ("Serg Marco", Yaroslav Matiushyn), programmers and writers made statements about joining or supporting the party.
In the summer of 2018, the party was renamed from the "Democratic Horde" to the "Democratic Axe". The founders explained it with negative connotations that evoked the word "horde" in the name.
On August 4, 2018, the constituent assembly of the party was held at the ''Svii v dosku'' () pub, which was attended by 400 people. On December 27, 2018, documents were submitted to the
Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство юстиції України) is the main body in the system of central government of Ukraine that regulates state legal policy. It is often abbreviated as "Мinjust" f Ukraine It ...
for official registration of the party.
Officially added to the register of political parties by the Ministry of Justice on May 22, 2019.
Ukrainian Galician Party
The Ukrainian Galician Party ( uk, Українська Галицька партія, Ukrayins'ka Halyts'ka partiya) or UGP ( uk, УГП) is a Christian democratic political party active in the western Ukrainian region of Galicia, which consis ...
" and "Democratic Axe" became partners to coordinate their work to "resist the Russian revanchism" and advance democratic reforms.
On June 13, 2019, the CEC registered 10 candidates in single-mandate constituencies. None of the candidates were successful, Anton Kolumbet and Mykyta Soloviov achieved the highest results, 4.3% and 3.4% respectively.
Ideology
The party stands for "the land market, the liberalization of gun laws, the consistent decriminalization of light drugs, the legalization of casinos and
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
,
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
marriages and all other initiatives aimed at maximizing the release of a responsible citizen from the dictatorship of the
socialist state
A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a Sovereign state, sovereign State (polity), state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The ...
." The Party considers the minimization of the state's influence on the life of citizens as a cornerstone of ideology, so its general program and sectoral annexes are derived from this ideology - the abolition of the moratorium on land sales, total
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
, maximum
deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
.
Advocacy activities
Even before registration, the party launched a campaign to support the draft law on replacement of
corporate tax
A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed at ...
with the tax on withdrawn capital. The party also held a flash mob to block draft law 6688, which significantly restricted internet freedom and
providers Providers is a Danish hip hop, R&B and pop song production team made up of Jeppe Federspiel and Rasmus Stabell.Natural gas transmission system law code by
National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities
The National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities is the state collegial body subordinated to the President of Ukraine and accountable to the Parliament of Ukraine. The commission was created by Presidential Decree No.715/ ...
for two months. According to the Democratic Axe leadership, the amendments to this code enabled the regional gas companies connected with
Dmytro Firtash
Dmytro Vasylovych Firtash ( uk, Дмитро́ Васи́льович Фі́рташ; born 2 May 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman who heads the board of directors of Group DF. He was highly influential during the Yuschenko administration and th ...
to carry out unauthorized gas extraction from the GTS without any consequences for themselves.
On June 6, 2018, three representatives of the "Democratic Axe Horde" NGO created by the party — Maksym Dizhechko, Tetiana Lokatska and Anatolii Mazur — garnered the highest number of votes during the elections to the Public Control Council of
National Anti-Corruption Bureau
National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine ( uk, Національне Антикорупційне Бюро України, ''НАБУ'') or NABU is a Ukrainian law enforcement anti-corruption agency which investigates corruption in Ukraine ...
and became part of it.
In the 2019 elections to the
National Anti-Corruption Bureau
National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine ( uk, Національне Антикорупційне Бюро України, ''НАБУ'') or NABU is a Ukrainian law enforcement anti-corruption agency which investigates corruption in Ukraine ...
Public Control Council, NGOs, close to Democratic Axe, formed a coalition with the "Veterans Movement of Ukraine" and won 14 out of 15 seats.
Structure and leadership
From its inception, the Democratic Axe has positioned itself as a party without a charismatic leader. All important decisions are made by voting among party members.
Party chairman:
Ihor Shchedrin
Igor ( be, Ігар, Ihar ; russian: Игорь, Igor' ; sr-Cyrl, Игор ; uk, Ігор, Ihor ; ) is a common East Slavs, East Slavic given name derived from the Norsemen, Norse name Ingvar (name), Ingvar, that was brought to ancient Kievan ...
The political council of the party: Iurii Gudymenko, Anton Shvets, Viktor Tregubov, Keira Harmashova, Yelisey Khodolovsky, Taras Kotov, Bohdana Levytska, Mark Savchuk, Mykhailo Hrechuhkhin, Tetyana Komlyk, Mykyta Solovyov, Dmytro Shamray, Artem Zhuk, Ihor Shchedyn
Party funding
According to the founders,
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
is one of the main sources of funding for the party. The party regularly publishes expense and income statements.