The All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" ( uk, Всеукраїнське об'єднання «Свобода», translit=Vseukrainske obiednannia "Svoboda"), commonly known as Svoboda, is an

ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

political party in Ukraine This is a list of political parties in Ukraine, both past and present. As of January 1, 2020, there are 349 officially registered political parties in Ukraine.

Oleh Tyahnybok Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok ( uk, Оле́г Яросла́вович Тягнибо́к, born 7 November 1968) is a Ukrainian politician and Far-right politics in Ukraine, far-right activist who is a former member of the Verkhovna Rada and the ...

since 2004. It formed and officially registered as a political party in October 1995. It was characterized as a radical right-wing populist party that combined elements of ethnic ultranationalism and

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

. During the 1990s, it was accused of

neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

due to the party's recruitment of

skinheads A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

and usage of neo-Nazi symbols.Andrusechko, P.
Road of Tyahnybok towards Freedom
'. "Ukrayinsky zhurnal". Poznan, May 2009 Tyahnybok was elected in 2004 as the president of the party and shortly after he made efforts to moderate the party's image by changing the party's name and symbols and expelling neo-Nazi and

neofascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration se ...

groups. Although Tyahnybok expelled neofascist groups from his party, it never abandoned ethnic ultranationalist views. The party gained increasing popularity in the late 2000s and early 2010s, winning 10.45% of the vote in the 2012 parliamentary election. Between 2009 and 2014, it was an observer member of the far-right Alliance of European National Movements. It played a role in the

2014 Ukrainian revolution The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

and Euromaidan protests but its support dropped quickly following the

2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014. * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presi ...

. Since then, Svoboda has been polling below the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

, and it currently has one seat in the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

. Svoboda's political position has been described as

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

. Widely described as an ultranationalist and right-wing populist party, it expressed support and staged commemorations honoring early 20th century, Ukrainian far right nationalist leader

Stepan Bandera Stepan Andriyovych Bandera ( uk, Степа́н Андрі́йович Банде́ра, Stepán Andríyovych Bandéra, ; pl, Stepan Andrijowycz Bandera; 1 January 1909 – 15 October 1959) was a Ukrainian far-right leader of the radical, terr ...

, and it opposes immigration,

globalism Globalism refers to various patterns of meaning beyond the merely international. It is used by political scientists, such as Joseph Nye, to describe "attempts to understand all the interconnections of the modern world—and to highlight patterns ...

and

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

. It is staunchly anti-communist and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

regarding social issues, and it favors

economic nationalism Economic nationalism, also called economic patriotism and economic populism, is an ideology that favors state interventionism over other market mechanisms, with policies such as domestic control of the economy, labor, and capital formation, incl ...

and

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

. It has been also widely considered as a neofascist, neo-Nazi and

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

party by multiple journalists and organizations, although those labels are disputed, while some consider them as a radical-right

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

party.

History

Social-National Party of Ukraine

The Social-National Party of Ukraine (SNPU) was registered as a party on 16 October 1995;Oblast Council demands Svoboda Party be banned in Ukraine

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

(12 May 2011) the constituent congress of the party took place on 13 October 1991, in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

. The party was established by the Soviet Afghan War veterans organization, the youth organization "Spadshchyna" (''Heritage'', headed by Andriy Parubiy), the Lviv Student Fraternity (headed by

), the Rukh Guard (headed by Yaroslav Andrushkiv and

Yuriy Kryvoruchko Yuriy Hryhorovych Kryvoruchko ( uk, Юрій Григорович Криворучко; born 19 December 1986) is a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2006. Kryvoruchko was Ukrainian champion in 2013. ...

). Dr. Yaroslav Andrushkiv was elected leader of the party. The party adopted a party emblem that could be associated with fascist formation and in Europe is used by neo-Nazi organizations.Andrusechko, P.
Way of Tyahnybok to Freedom
'. Poznan: "Ukrayinskyi zhurnal", May 2009 Due to a

corporate raid In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to t ...

threat on temples of the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) The history of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the history of Christianity, to the Apostolic Age, with mission trips along the Black Sea and a legend of Saint Andrew even ascending the hills of Kyiv. The first C ...

, there were created SNPU formations for their protection, particularly the Holy-Dormition Church of

Volodymyr Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, Volodýmyr, , orv, Володимѣръ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ...

and the Saint Trinity Church in

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...

.Party's history
Svoboda website. Due to the 1993 Massandra Accords, SNPU formed the Extraordinary Committee in Rescue of Nation and State which in the fall of 1993 picketed the

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

in regards to eliminate the threat of loss by Ukraine the Crimea and Black Sea Fleet. The SNPU's official program defined itself as an "irreconcilable enemy of Communist ideology" and all other parties to be either collaborators and enemies of the Ukrainian revolution, or romanticists. According to Svoboda's website, during the 1994 Ukrainian parliamentary elections the party presented its platform as distinct from those of the communists and social democrats. In the 1998 parliamentary elections the party joined a bloc of parties (together with the All-Ukrainian Political Movement "State Independence of Ukraine") called "Fewer Words" ( uk, Менше слів), which collected 0.16% of the national vote.Всеукраїнське об'єднання «Свобода»
Database ASD

Candidates list for ''Less words''

Central Election Commission of Ukraine The Central Election Commission of Ukraine ( uk, Центральна виборча комісія України, commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК (''Tse-Ve-Ka''); sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukrai ...

Party member

Олег Тягнибок

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...

was voted into the

Ukrainian Parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

in this election. He became a member of the

People's Movement of Ukraine The People's Movement of Ukraine ( uk, Народний Рух України, Narodnyi Rukh Ukrayiny) is a Ukrainian political party and first opposition party in Soviet Ukraine. Often it is simply referred to as the Movement ( uk, Рух, R ...

faction. The SNPU established the paramilitary organization

Patriot of Ukraine The Patriot of Ukraine ( uk, Патріо́т Украї́ни, Patriót Ukrayíny) was an ultranationalist organization in Ukraine founded in 1999, disbanded in 2004, revived in 2005 and defunct since December 2014. In its original form, it was ...

in 1999 as an "Association of Support" for the

Military of Ukraine A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and registered with the Ministry of Justice. The paramilitary organization was disbanded in 2004 during the SNPU's reformation but was reconstituted as an independent organization in 2005. Svoboda officially ended association with the group in 2007, but they remain informally linked, with representatives of Svoboda attending social campaigns such as protests against price increases and leafleting against drugs and alcohol. In 2014, Svoboda was noted for clashing with the far-right group

Right Sector Right Sector ( uk, Пра́вий се́ктор, ''Pravyi sektor'') is a right-wing to far-right, Ukrainian nationalist organization. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several radical nationalist orga ...

, a coalition which included Patriot of Ukraine. In 2001, the party joined some actions of the "

Ukraine without Kuchma Ukraine without Kuchma ( uk, Україна без Кучми; ''Ukrayina bez Kuchmy'', Russian: Украина без Кучмы, UBK) was a mass protest campaign that took place in Ukraine in 2000–2001, demanding the resignation of President ...

" protest campaign and was active in forming the association of Ukraine's rightist parties and in supporting

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

's candidacy for

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, although it did not participate in the 2002 parliamentary elections. However, as a member of

Victor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

Our Ukraine bloc Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulat ...

, Tyahnybok was reelected to the Ukrainian parliament. The SNPU won two seats in the

Lviv oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...

council of deputies and representation in the city and district councils in the

and

Volyn oblast Volyn Oblast ( uk, Воли́нська о́бласть, translit=Volýnsʹka óblastʹ; also referred to as Volyn or Lodomeria) is an oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. Its administrative centre is Lutsk. Kovel is the westernmost town an ...

s. In 2004 the party had less than 1,000 members. (source also availabl
here

All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda

In February 2004, the arrival of Oleh Tyahnybok as party leader led a significant change in moderating the Social-National Party's image. Then still the Social-National Party of Ukraine, it changed its name to the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda", and abandoned the "I + N" (Ukrainian «Ідея Нації» ''"Idea Natsii" = "idea of a nation"'')

Wolfsangel (, translation "wolf's hook") or () is a heraldic charge from Germany and eastern France, which was inspired by medieval European wolf traps that consisted of a Z-shaped metal hook (called the ''Wolfsangel'', or the ''Crampon'' in French) th ...

logo (a symbol popular among

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

groups) with a three-fingered hand reminiscent of the 'Tryzub' pro-independence gesture of the late 1980s. Svoboda also pushed neo-Nazi and other radical groups out the party, distancing itself from its neofascist past while retaining the support of extreme nationalists. Andrushkiv, former head of the party, rejected Tyahnybok's claim that Svoboda was successor party to the SNPU and called Svoboda 'a different political phenomenon.' Both he and Andriy Parubiy would leave the 'new' party following its transformation. However, according to Polish lawyer and political scientist , party leader Tyahnybok never concealed that these changes were made primarily for image purposes.Svoboda party – the new phenomenon on the Ukrainian right-wing scene
OSW Commentary, 5 July 2011 The party remained associated with the 'wide social nationalist movement' (consisting of numerous organisations and websites) and gathered around the Social-Nationalist Assembly which was set up in 2008. Yuri Mykhailyshyn, Tyahnybok's adviser who topped the list of Svoboda's Lviv branch in the 2010 municipal council elections, founded the Internet ''

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

Political Research Centre'' (the centre later changed Goebbels for

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir '' Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful businessman and ...

) in 2005. Ukraine's Patriot, a paramilitary organisation dissolved in 2004 and re-established in 2005 in a different legal form, continued to maintain ties with Svoboda. It was not until 2007 that this paramilitary organisation announced the break-up of all relationships with "Svoboda". Even then, some prominent Svoboda members, such as Andriy Illienko from Svoboda's Kyiv branch, continued to identify themselves with the ideas of "Patriot of Ukraine", which still uses the Wolfsangel symbol. In 2004, Tyahnybok was expelled from the Our Ukraine parliamentary faction for a speech calling for Ukrainians to fight against a "

Muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K Al2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavag ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

mafia", and celebrated the

Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists ( uk, Організація українських націоналістів, Orhanizatsiya ukrayins'kykh natsionalistiv, abbreviated OUN) was a Ukrainian ultranationalist political organization estab ...

for having fought "Moscovites, Germans, Jews and other scum who wanted to take away our Ukrainian state." The speech was delivered at the grave-site of a commander of the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...

where Tyahnybok praised its struggle against " Moskaly", a derogatory term for either Russians or pan-Russian nationalists;Yushchenko Finally Gets Tough On Nationalists

The Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, wh ...

(3 August 2004)
Germans; and " Zhydy", an archaic but controversial term for Jews in Ukraine due to it being a slur when used in the

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...

.Harvest of Despair: Life and Death in Ukraine Under Nazi Rule
by

Karel C. Berkhoff Karel Cornelis Berkhoff (born 1965) is a senior researcher at NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam. Berkhoff studied history and Russian studies at the University of Amsterdam, Soviet Studies at Harvard University an ...

Belknap Press of Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 2008, (page 60) Tyahnybok's 2004 comments were widely circulated on the three TV channels controlled by the head of the Presidential Administration,

Viktor Medvedchuk Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk ( uk, Віктор Володимирович Медведчук, ; born 7 August 1954) is a Ukrainian lawyer, business oligarch, and politician who is since September 2022 living in exile after being handed over ...

: State Channel 1, 1+1 and Inter. In the 2006 local elections the party had obtained 4.2% of the votes and 4 seats in the

Ternopil Oblast Council The Ternopil Oblast Council ( uk, Тернопільська обласна рада) is the regional oblast council (parliament) of the Ternopil Oblast (province) located in western Ukraine. The council is composed of 64 members and is situated i ...

, 5.62% of the votes and 10 seats in the

Lviv Oblast Council The Lviv Oblast Council or Lviv Regional Council ( uk, Львівська обласна рада) is the regional council (parliament) of the Lviv Oblast (region) located in western Ukraine. Legislative framework The Regional Council is a loc ...

and 6.69% of the votes and 9 seats in the Lviv city council. In the 2007 parliamentary elections, the party received 0.76% of the votes cast, more than double their share during the 2006 parliamentary elections, when they received 0.36%. It was ranked eighth out of 20 parties (in the 2007 elections) and the non-participation of the

Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists The Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists ( uk, Конгрес українських націоналістів ''Konhres ukrayinskykh natsionalistiv'') is a far-right political party in Ukraine. It was founded on October 18, 1992, and registered wit ...

made the party the only far-right party to participate in the 2007 parliamentary elections. In autumn 2009, Svoboda joined the Alliance of European National Movements as the only organisation from outside the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. That year the party claimed to have 15,000 members.

2009 Electoral breakthrough

The party's electoral breakthrough was the

2009 Ternopil Oblast local election The Ternopil Oblast local election, 2009 elections in the Ternopil Oblast regional council, were held on March 15, 2009 Ternopil Oblast Council The Ternopil Oblast Council ( uk, Тернопільська обласна рада) is the regional oblast council (parliament) of the Ternopil Oblast (province) located in western Ukraine. The council is composed of 64 members and is situated i ...

. This was the best result for a far-right party in Ukraine's history. Tyahnybok's candidacy in the 2010 presidential election did not build on the 2009 Ternopil success. Tyahnybok received 1.43% of the vote. Most of his votes he gained in

Ternopil Oblast Ternopil Oblast ( uk, Тернопі́льська о́бласть, translit=Ternopilska oblast; also referred to as Ternopilshchyna, uk, Терно́пільщина, label=none, or Ternopillia, uk, Тернопілля, label=none) is an obl ...

and

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вська о́бласть, translit=Ivano-Frankivska oblast), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вщина), is an administrative divisions of Ukrain ...

accounted to 5% of the vote. In the second round, Tyahnybok did not endorse a candidate. He did present a list of some 20 demands for second round candidate

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

and ridding herself of what he called Ukraine-haters in her close circles. During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections the party won between 20 and 30% of the votes in

Eastern Galicia Eastern Galicia ( uk, Східна Галичина, Skhidna Galychyna, pl, Galicja Wschodnia, german: Ostgalizien) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil), having also essential h ...

, where it became one of the main forces in local government.Local government elections in Ukraine: last stage in the Party of Regions’ takeover of power

Centre for Eastern Studies The Centre for Eastern Studies ( pl, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich, OSW) is a Warsaw-based think tank that undertakes independent research on the political, economic and social situation in Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Caucasus and Central ...

(4 October 2010) The 2009 provincial elections in Ternopil had previously been the greatest success of the Svoboda party, when it won 34.4 per cent of votes cast.Генеральна репетиція президентських виборів: на Тернопільщині стався прогнозований тріумф націоналістів і крах Тимошенко

Ukrayina Moloda ''Ukrayina Moloda'' ( uk, Україна молода, ''Young Ukraine'') 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 ...

(17 March 2009) During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections, Svoboda surpassed this figure, accounting for 5.2% of the vote nationwide. Analysts explained Svoboda's victory in Galicia during the 2010 elections as a result of the policies of the Azarov Government, who were seen as too

pro-Russian Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Century, ...

by the electorate.Nationalist Svoboda scores election victories in western Ukraine

(11 November 2010)
Підсилення "Свободи" загрозою несвободи

BBC Ukrainian BBC News Ukrainian ( uk, BBC News Україна) is the Ukrainian service of the BBC which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Ukraine and the world. It started broadcasts in 1992.

(4 November 2010) According to

Andreas Umland Andreas Umland (born 1967) is a political scientist studying contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history as well as regime transitions. He has published on the post-Soviet extreme right, municipal decentralization, European fascism, post-communis ...

Senior Lecturer Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this concep ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...

,On the move: Andreas Umland, Kyiv – Mohyla Academy

(30 September 2010) Svoboda's increasing exposure in the Ukrainian media has contributed to its recent successes. Between 2004 and 2010 party membership increased threefold to 15,000 members (traditionally party membership is low in Ukraine As of 2011 Svoboda had factions in eight of Ukraine's 25 regional councils, and in three of those Svoboda is the biggest faction.Ukrainian nationalist leader thriving in hard times
, Business Ukraine (20 January 2011) Reportedly, the members and supporters of Svoboda are predominantly young people. Several clergymen of the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC; uk, Українська автокефальна православна церква (УАПЦ), Ukrayinska avtokefalna pravoslavna tserkva (UAPC)) was one of the three major Eastern Orthod ...

and

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...

are Svoboda members and have stood for election as Svoboda candidates. According to the party, they were chosen on election lists "to counterbalance opponents who include "

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

priests" in their election lists and have aspirations to build the "

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n World" in Ukraine". Per the party's desire to separate the clergy from politics, all churchmen will be recalled if a draft

Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine ( uk, Конституція України, translit=Konstytutsiia Ukrainy) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament ...

proposed by the party is approved. In early 2012 Svoboda was criticized in domestic and international media after party member Yuri Sirotyuk said that Ukrainian pop star

Gaitana {{confusing, date=May 2014 Gaitana, also known as Guaitipan, is referred to as La Gaitana and Cacica Gaitana, was a 16th-century Yalcon ''cacica'' from the region of Timaná, Huila, a leader who, in 1539–40, led the indigenous people of the U ...

, who is of African descent, was a poor choice to represent Ukraine at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

because she was "not an organic representative of the Ukrainian culture" Sirotyuk stated that "It looks like we don't want to show our face, and Ukraine will be associated with a different continent, somewhere in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

2012 elections: Growing support

In the run-up to the 2012 election, some Ukrainian media commentators and political analysts expected Svoboda's rising support would come at the expense of more mainstream elements of the opposition and to the benefit of the ruling Party of Regions. In July 2012 the party agreed with

Batkivshchyna The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" ( uk, Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина", translit=Vseukrains'ke obiednannia "Bat'kivshchyna") referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by Peo ...

on the distribution of the candidates in

single-seat constituencies A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...

(its share was 35 constituencies) in the October 2012 parliamentary elections. In the run up to these elections various opinion polls predicted the national vote (in a parliamentary election) of the party to sixfolded or sevenfolded which would make it possible that the party would pass the 5%

election threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

.Parliament passes law on parliamentary elections

(17 November 2011)
If parliamentary elections were held next Sunday how would you vote? (recurrent, 2008–2010)
,

Razumkov Centre Razumkov Centre ( uk, Центр Разумкова), or fully the Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies named after Olexander Razumkov ( uk, Український центр економічних і політичних дослі ...

Динаміка виборчих орієнтацій громадян України

(10 February 2011)
Electoral moods of the Ukrainian population: September 2011

Sociological group "RATING" Rating ( uk, Рейтинг), or fully the Sociological group "Rating" ( uk, Соціологічнна група «Рейтинг»), is a Ukrainian independent, non-governmental research organization, that specializes in conducting all types ...

(30 September 2011)
Ratings of parties

Electoral moods of the Ukrainian population: February 2012
,

(5 March 2012) But the party's results in the elections were much better than that with 10.44 percent (almost a fourteenfold of its votes compared with the 2007 parliamentary elections) of the national votes and 38 out of 450 seats in the

. The lion's share of these votes were won in

Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...

(30–40% in three

Oblasts An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom o ...

), while in

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khark ...

it won 1% of the votes. At the 116 foreign polling stations Svoboda won most votes of all parties with 23,63% of all votes.After counting all ballots at 116 foreign polling stations "Svoboda" wins in parliamentary elections in Ukraine
,

National Radio Company of Ukraine Ukrainian Radio ( uk, Українське радіо) is the publicly funded radio broadcaster in Ukraine since 1924. In 2017 has been merged with national TV company into country's public broadcaster Suspilne.

(29 October 2012)
No violations reported at Ukraine’s overseas polling stations

ITAR-TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

(28 October 2012) In

the party reportedly won over 50% of the votes. In

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

it became the second most popular party, after

Fatherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

. Voting analysis showed it was the party most popular among voters with a

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

(about 48% of its voters had a higher education).

was elected leader of the party's parliamentary faction (also) on 12 December 2012. On 19 October 2012 the party and Batkivshchyna signed an agreement "on the creation of a coalition of democratic forces in the new parliament". The party is also coordinating its parliamentary activities with

Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform ( uk, Український демократичний альянс за реформи Віталія Кличка; the acronym UDAR ( uk, УДАР) translates to "strike" or "punch", en, Ukrainian ...

(UDAR). In recent years, the BBC writes that "Svoboda" has "tapped a vast reservoir of protest votes" because of its

anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measu ...

stance and because it has softened its own image.Svoboda: The rise of Ukraine's ultra-nationalists

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 broadca ...

(26 December 2012) According to

the percentage of the party's electorate who only use the

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...

decreased from 75% to 68% between September 2012 and March 2013.

2012 election aftermath and Euromaidan campaign

Opposition leaders by the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday

During the first two sessions of the newly elected parliament, Svoboda

deputies A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

and other opposition politicians physically clashed with MPs during the election of a prime minister and

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

amid allegations of continued voting for absent colleagues by government deputies. Clashes again erupted in March 2013 between Svoboda and

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of Uk ...

MPs, when ruling Party of Regions MP

Oleksandr Yefremov Oleksandr Yefremov or Aleksandr Efremov ( uk, Олександр Сергійович Єфремов, russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Ефре́мов) is a Ukrainian former parliamentarian and politician. A former governor o ...

delivered a speech in Russian; the speech was drowned out by Svoboda MPs, shouting "Speak Ukrainian!" A later speech by Tyahnybok provoked chants of "Fascist" and a large, brief fist-fight between the two parties. Svoboda MP and deputy leader Ihor Miroshnychenko attracted international criticism in December 2012 for writing on his

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

wall that American actress

Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Since ...

, who was born in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

of Jewish descent, is "not Ukrainian but a zhydivka" (a pejorative term for a Jew).Winer, Stuart
Ukraine okays ‘zhyd’ slur for Jews
The Times of Israel, 19 December 201
International Business Times
''Svoboda: The Rising Spectre Of Neo-Nazism In The Ukraine'', 27 December 2012. According to Svoboda, the word does not have the

connotation in Ukrainian that it does in Russian. Citing a Ukrainian academic dictionary, 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 ...

considered the word archaic but not necessarily a slur. Svoboda has repeatedly said that it would not stop using words it considers legitimate Ukrainian parlance. Attempts to use antisemitism as a propaganda weapon against the

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...

movement were noted, and reports of widespread antisemitism were disputed by analysts, historians and human-rights activists.
In May 2013, Svoboda, Fatherland and UDAR announced that they would coordinate during the 2015 Ukrainian presidential election. Anti-government protests in Kiev, December 29, 2013

Anti-government protests in Kiev, December 29, 2013

A 7–17 December 2013 opinion poll indicated that in a presidential election between

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...

and Svoboda leader Tyahnybok Tyahnybok would win 28.8 percent of the popular vote to Yanukovych's 27.1 percent. Svoboda participates in the ongoing pro-European Union protest campaign to influence regime change and integration with the EU. When the

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

monument in

was toppled during Euromaidan, MP Ihor Myroshnichenko accepted responsibility for the act on behalf of Svoboda. Eighteen Svoboda members were killed in the Euromaidan protests and the

2014 Ukrainian revolution The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

In government (February–November 2014)

On 27 February 2014 the Yatsenyuk government was formed, including three Svoboda ministers: Deputy Prime Minister

Oleksandr Sych Oleksandr Maksymovych Sych ( uk, Олександр Максимович Сич; born 16 July 1964) is a Ukrainian politician. He is a member of the Svoboda party. On 27 February 2014 he became one of two "Vice Prime Ministers" to the Deputy ...

, Agrarian Policy and Food Minister

Ihor Shvaika Ihor Oleksandrovych Shvaika (born 25 February 1976 in Troyitskoye, Kalmykia) is a right-wing Ukrainians, Ukrainian politician and a former Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food (Ukraine), Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. Shvaika w ...

and Environment and Natural Resources Minister Andriy Mokhnyk.Svoboda party members in Ukrainian government resign – Deputy Premier Sych

Interfax-Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...

(12 November 2014)Maidan nominates Yatseniuk for prime minister

(26 February 2014)
Ukrainian parliament endorses new cabinet

(27 February 2014) Party members were appointed governors of

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...

( Viktor Buhaychuk on 2 March 2014),

Ternopil Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...

(

Oleh Syrotyuk Oleh Myroslavovych Syrotyuk ( uk, Олег Мирославович Сиротюк; born 18 February 1978, Ternopil, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian activist and later politician, member of the Verkhovna Rada. In 1999-2012 he was activist of various patr ...

on 2 March) and

Rivne Oblast Rivne Oblast ( uk, Рі́вненська о́бласть, translit=Rivnenska oblast), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna ( uk, Рі́вненщина) is an oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of th ...

s ( Sergey Rybachka on 3 March 2014).
Sich Battalion, September 30, 2014

On 18 March 2014, Svoboda members posted an online video of party MPs beating acting

National Television Company of Ukraine The Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine ( uk, Національна суспільна телерадіокомпанія України, Natsionalna Suspilna Teleradiokompaniia Ukrainy; abbr. NSTU), shortened to Suspilne ( uk, Суспіль� ...

president

Oleksandr Panteleymonov Oleksandr Yevhenovych Panteleymonov ( uk, Олександр Євгенович Пантелеймонов; born 2 February 1978) is Ukrainian editor and television producer. Acting CEO of National Television Company of Ukraine (from February 20, ...

and trying to force him to sign a letter of resignation because he broadcast the Crimea accession to the Russian Federation ceremony in the Kremlin. In the video Panteleymonov's broadcast was called "state treason" by Svoboda MP Miroshnychenko, deputy head of the Parliamentary Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information. Tyahnybok condemned the attack ("Such actions were fine yesterday (during the protests), but now they are inappropriate"), which was also condemned by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and acting prime minister

Arseniy Yatsenyuk Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk ( uk, Арсеній Петрович Яценюк ; born 22 May 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine twice – from 27 February 2014 to 27 November 2014 and f ...

. On 20 March 2014 Svoboda withdrew as observers from the Alliance of European National Movements (AENM) over sympathy by several alliance members for the Russian military intervention,"Свобода" і європейські націоналісти: конфлікти є, війни нема ''"Svoboda" and European nationalists: conflicts are not the war''

(24 January 2013)
Europe's Far Right Is Embracing Putin

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

(10 April 2014)
Oleh Tiahnybok withdraws Svoboda's membership within the Alliance of European National Movements
and in June the party formed the

Sich Battalion , image = Patch of the Sich Battalion.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = , dates = June 2014 – present , country = , allegi ...

to fight the

war in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. The May

2014 Ukrainian presidential election Snap presidential elections held in Ukraine on 25 May 2014 resulted in Petro Poroshenko being elected President of Ukraine.Oleh Tyahnybok Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok ( uk, Оле́г Яросла́вович Тягнибо́к, born 7 November 1968) is a Ukrainian politician and Far-right politics in Ukraine, far-right activist who is a former member of the Verkhovna Rada and the ...

only received 1.16% of votes. On 24 July 2014 Svoboda and the

(UDAR) withdrew from the government coalition, stating they were doing so in order to pave the way for early parliamentary elections; Prime Minister

Arseniy Yatseniuk Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk ( uk, Арсеній Петрович Яценюк ; born 22 May 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine twice – from 27 February 2014 to 27 November 2014 and fr ...

announced his resignation to the Verkhovna Rada a few hours later. On 25 July newly elected President

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...

dissolved the Verkhovna Rada and called snap elections in November.

2014 and 2019 elections: Losing support

In the October

2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May. Svoboda won no constituencies in its former stronghold

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...

. Its election outcome was also undermined by the fact that in this election the party was not the only one using radically patriotic,

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

and

anti-Russian Anti-Russian sentiment, commonly referred to as Russophobia, is dislike or fear of Russia, the Russians, Russian culture. or Russian policy. The Collins English Dictionary defines it as intense and often irrational hatred of Russia. It is the ...

slogans. On 12 November 2014 the party's ministers in the Yatsenyuk Government resigned (they became

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

ministers until a new Government was formed). The parties governors of

Poltava Oblast Poltava Oblast ( uk, Полта́вська о́бласть, translit=Poltavska oblast; also referred to as Poltavshchyna – uk, Полта́вщина, literally 'Poltava Country') is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The administrative ...

and

also resigned and were formally dismissed by President

on 18 November 2014. In

West Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian ...

Svoboda improved its electoral performance in the October 2015 Ukrainian local elections. In the elections its candidate Ruslan Martsinkiv was elected Mayor of

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...

. On 19 November 2018, Svoboda and fellow

Ukrainian nationalist Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French Revol ...

political organizations

and C14 endorsed

Ruslan Koshulynskyi Ruslan Volodymyrovych Koshulynskyi ( uk, Руслан Володимирович Кошулинський; born 9 September 1969) is a Ukrainian politician, nationalist, soldier, and former People's Deputy of Ukraine who served as the 9th Deputy S ...

candidacy in the

2019 Ukrainian presidential election The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April in a two-round system. There were 39 candidates for the election on the ballot. The 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia and the occupation of parts of Donetsk Oblast an ...

. In the election he received 1.6% of the votes. Svoboda-2019 %

In the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolv ...

, other parties joined Svoboda to form a united party list; the

Governmental Initiative of Yarosh Dmytro Anatoliyovych Yarosh ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Я́рош; born 30 September 1971) is a Ukrainian activist, politician, nationalist and military commander who is the main commander of the Right Sector's Ukrainian Vol ...

and

National Corps The National Corps ( uk, Національний корпус, Natsionalnyi korpus), also known as the National Corps Party, and previously called the Patriots of Ukraine, is a far-right political party in Ukraine founded in 2016 and then led by ...

.Yarosh, Tyagnibok and Biletsky have all formed a single list for the elections (''Ярош, Тягнибок та Білецький таки сформували єдиний список на вибори'')
Glavcom (9 June 2019) But in the election they won 2.15% of the votes, less than half of the 5% election threshold, and thus no parliamentary seats via the national party list. The party did win one constituency seat, in

.CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections

(26 July 2019)
Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

(21 July 2019) Svoboda candidate Oksana Savchuk won the party's sole constituency seat with 46.68% of the votes in constituency 83. In the 2020 Ukrainian local elections, Svoboda managed to secure first round re-election for their incumbent mayors in West Ukraine, in

(

Serhiy Nadal Serhiy Vitaliyovych Nadal ( uk, Сергій Віталійович Надал; born 1 January 1975) is a Ukrainian politician. He is the mayor of Ternopil and head of the Ternopil United territorial community in western Ukraine. A member of th ...

Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi ( uk, Хмельни́цький, Khmelnytskyi, ), until 1954 Proskuriv ( uk, Проску́рів, links=no ), is a city in western Ukraine, the administrative center for Khmelnytskyi Oblast (region) and Khmelnytskyi Raion (dist ...

( Oleksandr Symсhyshyn) and Ivano-Frankivsk (Ruslan Martsinkiv), but again failed at expanding its support base into other parts of the country. 863 people won seats in local councils on behalf of the party, that is about 2.61% of the available seats.The CEC showed the top 10 parties that won the most seats in the election

(18 November 2020) The election gave the party 19 mayors, making the party ninth in the number of elected mayors.

Political image

Olexiy Haran, a political science professor at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, says "There is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding Svoboda" and that the party is not fascist, but radical.

Ihor Kolomoyskyi Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magn ...

, president of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, stated in 2010 that the party has shifted from “ultranationalist closer to the center.” However, the party have been involved in several actions against the country's minorities since then. In 2012, political scientist

predicted the party would continue to become more moderate over time, and that "there's a belief that Svoboda will change, once in the Verkhovna Rada, and that they may become proper national democrats." Since then, the party has gained seats in parliament and has net over 10% of the national vote in the 2012 parliamentary elections. The US ambassador in Kyiv,

Geoffrey Pyatt Geoffrey Ross Pyatt (born November 16, 1963)Welcome, Mr. Pyatt!
, ''Den (ne ...

, said in 2014 that he had been "positively impressed" by Svoboda's evolution in opposition and by its behavior in parliament. "They have demonstrated their democratic bona fides," the ambassador asserted. Alexander J. Motyl argues that Svoboda's brand of nationalism "has significantly diminished during, and possibly as a result of, the Euro Revolution." Membership was restricted to

ethnic Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

, and for a period the party did not accept

atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

or former members of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. The party has been accused of recruiting skinheads and football hooligans. On 29 August 2013, Svoboda announced the opening of a representative office, at Rue de la Science/Wetenschapsstraat 14b in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, the same address as the 2012-founded

European Centre for a Modern Ukraine The European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECFMU) was an organisation based in Brussels and operating internationally. It described itself as "an advocate for enhancing EU-Ukraine relations". Operation It has been described by the ''Ukrayinska Pr ...

In government

Former government officials

Ihor Tenyukh Ihor Yosypovych Tenyukh ( uk, Ігор Йосипович Тенюх; born 23 May 1958) is a former Ukrainian admiral and member of the nationalist Svoboda political party. He was the commander of the Ukrainian Navy from 2006 until 2010 when di ...

– acting Minister of Defense (February–March 2014), resigned on own initiative, resignation accepted by parliament after repeated voting * Oleh Makhnitsky – acting General Prosecutor February–June 2014 (not part of the

Cabinet of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

, officially unaffiliated) On 12 November 2014 the party's ministers in the Yatsenyuk Government resigned (they became

ministers until a new Government was formed), they were: *

– Vice Prime Minister * Andriy Mokhnyk – Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources * Ihor Shvayka – Minister of Agriculture

Paramilitary activities

With the ecclosion of the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and the failures of the

Ukrainian Armed Forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

, many former

activists and right-wing parties formed volunteer

militias A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and paramilitary groups to fight the separatists, they are known as the

Ukrainian volunteer battalions Ukrainian volunteer battalions (, more formally , or abbreviated ) were militias and paramilitary groups mobilized as a response to the perceived state of weakness and unwillingness of the regular Armed Forces to counter rising separatism in sp ...

. In June 2014, Svoboda formed the "Sich" Battalion, with volunteers coming mostly from

. The Sich Battalion was placed under command of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

and given official status of a " Special Tasks Patrol Police". All volunteers were required to have a military background, and included former

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

veterans. The unit was designed for anti-terror operations since its inception. The unit was deployed to the regions around the city of

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...

, mostly provided internal security and participated of combat operations around Marinka and

Avdiivka Avdiivka (, , is a city of regional significance in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast. The city is in the center of the region, just north of the city of Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city's population is officially ...

. By 2015, the Ministry of Internal Affairs banned people registered in political parties of enlisting in their units. The Sich Battalion cut their official ties with Svoboda and was redesignated as the 4th Company "Sich" of the Kyiv Regiment, part of the

special police Special police usually describes a police, police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no ...

of Kyiv.

Ideology

Svoboda's ideological base emanates from

leader

Yaroslav Stetsko Yaroslav Semenovich Stetsko (; 19 January 1912 – 5 July 1986) was a Ukrainian politician, writer and Nazi collaborator, who served as the leader of Stepan Bandera's Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), from 1968 until his death. Du ...

's "Two Revolutions" doctrine (written in 1951). The essence of this doctrine states: "the revolution will not end with the establishment of the Ukrainian state, but will go on to establish equal opportunities for all people to create and share material and spiritual values and in this respect the national revolution is also a social one".The Extreme Right in Ukraine
by Mridula Ghosh,

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as the ...

(October 2012) A crucial condition for joining Svoboda is that its members must belong to the Ukrainian

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

. In the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

the party favors resolving the conflict through use of force.

Nationalism

Svoboda is a party of

Ukrainian nationalism Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French Revol ...

and in 2011 was noted for favoring a solely presidential regime.Ukraine right-wing politics: is the genie out of the bottle?

openDemocracy.net openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...

(3 January 2011) In 2013, however, the party pushed for constitutional reform which would limit the president's powers and return power to parliament. Party leader Tyahnybok has argued that "depicting

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

as extremism is a cliché rooted in

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and modern globalist

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

" and that "countries like modern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

are fully nationalistic states, but nobody accuses the Japanese of being extremists." Tyahnybok defined nationalism as love of one's homeland and drew a distinction from

chauvinism Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...

and fascism which he defined as the superiority of one nation over another. Sich Battalion, September 30, 2014 (7)

The party has often staged commemorations honouring Ukrainian nationalist leader

and the

(UPA). Bandera lead the UPA in its struggle against the Soviets and later the Germans during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to establish an independent Ukrainian state but also engaged in acts of ethnic cleansing including the

massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia The massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia ( pl, rzeź wołyńska, lit=Volhynian slaughter; uk, Волинська трагедія, lit=Volyn tragedy, translit=Volynska trahediia), were carried out in German-occupied Poland by th ...

.Norman Davies. (1996). ''Europe: a History''. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Aleksander V. Prusin. ''Ethnic Cleansing: Poles from Western Ukraine''. In: Matthew J. Gibney, Randall Hansen. Immigration and asylum: from 1900 to the present. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. 2005. pp. 204–205.
Timothy Snyder. ''The reconstruction of nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999''. Yale University Press. 2003. pp. 169–170, 176
John Paul Himka
''Interventions: Challenging the Myths of Twentieth-Century Ukrainian History''
University of Alberta. 2011. p.4.
Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe. ''"The Ukrainian National Revolution" of 1941. Discourse and Practice of a Fascist Movement''. Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History. Vol. 12/No. 1 (Winter 2011). p. 83. In a 2011 march organized by Svoboda to celebrate the World War II-era Waffen-SS Galicia Division, participants shouted "one race, one nation, one Fatherland." The party views the dominating role of Ukraine's oligarchy as "devastating". While oligarchs have typically played a major role in the funding of other Ukrainian parties, Svoboda claims to receive no financial support from oligarchs, but rather from Ukraine's

small and medium-sized businesses Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Ba ...

. The party seeks to put a stop to immigration into Ukraine, and to make sure that only ethnic Ukrainians can be employed as civil servants.International Business Times
''Svoboda: The Rising Spectre Of Neo-Nazism In The Ukraine'', 27 December 2012.

Anti-communism

Svoboda is known for its

stance, and several party activists over the years have been accused of trying to destroy Communist-era statues.Ukraine's Orange band loses its voice

()
Monument to Lenin was opened with scandal

UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

(27 November 2009)
Police detain two persons who threw bottle of paint at Lenin monument in Kyiv
''

'' (27 November 2009)
Svoboda activists questioned due to explosion of monument to Stalin
''

'' (3 January 2010)Події за темами: У Києві облили фарбою пам’ятник Леніну під час його відкриття після реставрації

(27 November 2009) On 16 February 2013, police in Ukraine opened a criminal case on charges of hooliganism against nationalist activists led by Svoboda Supreme Rada deputy Ihor Miroshnychenko for the dismantling of a statue of

Okhtyrka Okhtyrka ( uk, Охти́рка, ) is a city located in the Sumy Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast significance. The city has also served as the administrative center of the smaller Okhtyrka Ra ...

Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast ( uk, Сумська́ о́бласть, translit=Sumska oblast; also referred to as Sumshchyna – uk, Су́мщина) is an oblast (province) in the northeastern part of Ukraine. Population: The oblast was created in its most r ...

. Miroshnychenko said: "There is no place for Communist symbols and ideology in European Ukraine and if the authorities cannot get rid of them, we will do it ourselves." According to police, Miroshnychenko climbed the statue and put a rope around Lenin's figure, which was then pulled down by a truck.

Social conservatism

Svoboda supports conservative values, and opposes abortion and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

. In 2012,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

condemned Svoboda for disrupting a gay rights rally, called "a Sabbath of 50 perverts" in an official statement by Svoboda. Svoboda opposed legislation in 2013 that would have barred employers from discriminating against workers on the basis of their sexual orientation. Journalist David Stern describes the party as a "driving force" behind anti-gay politics in Ukraine, but states that many of its members may not share all its controversial positions. In April 2013, three Svoboda MPs sponsored a bill banning abortions except in cases involving severe pathology, a medical risk to a woman's life, and rape when proven in court. Future Vice Prime Minister

, who has long opposed abortion, was one of the authors of the bill and responded to a question about what a pregnant woman should do if she failed to prove the rape in court by encouraging women to "lead the kind of lifestyle to avoid the risk of rape, including refraining from drinking alcohol and being in controversial company."

Neo-Nazism and political extremism

Svoboda has been described as an

and sometimes a

party by some journalists, organizations that monitor hate speech, Jewish organizations, and political opponents. Svoboda advisor

Yuriy Mykhalchyshyn Yury, Yuri, Youri, Yurii, Yuriy, Yurij, Iurii or Iouri is the Slavic (russian: Юрий, Yuriy, or uk, Юрій, Yuriy, or bg, Юрий, Jurij, or be, Юры, Jury) form of the masculine given name George; it is derived directly from the Gree ...

started a blog called "'Joseph Goebbels Political Research Centre" in 2005, later changing "

" to "

." Mykhalchyshyn wrote a book in 2010 citing works by Nazi theorists

Ernst Röhm Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...

Gregor Strasser Gregor Strasser (also german: Straßer, see ß; 31 May 1892 – 30 June 1934) was an early prominent German Nazi Party, Nazi official and politician who was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. Born in 1892 in Bavaria, Strasse ...

and Goebbels. Elsewhere Mykhalchyshyn referred to

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

as a "period of Light in history". According to ''

Segodnya ''Segodnya'' ( rus, Сегодня, p=sʲɪˈvodʲnʲə, t=Today, a=Ru-сегодня.ogg) was a Russian-language Ukrainian tabloid newspaper founded in 1997. While run from Kyiv, it was linked to Donbass political and business groups; its hold ...

'', the party's 2011 congress was addressed by , the leader of the band Komu Vnyz, who describes himself as a "selective anti-Semite" and who allegedly gave a Nazi-style salute (which a fellow band member described as a

roman salute The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held ...

rather than a Nazi gesture). In December 2012, the European Parliament expressed concern regarding Svoboda's growing support, recalling "that racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic views go against the European Union, EU's fundamental values and principles," and appealed "to pro-democratic parties in the

not to associate with, endorse or form coalitions with" Svoboda.13/12/2012 Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
European Parliament (13 December 2012) Party leader

stated in March 2013 that the EU warning against Svoboda's influence was the result of "Russia, Moscow agents working through a Bulgarian socialist MP". Referencing a similar resolution made by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Tyahnybok claimed it to be a result of a mud-slinging campaign by political opponents, stating: "When we did not have a parliamentary faction or normal channels for contacting influential groups in the European Union, a very negative image of Svoboda was created and in an extremely crude fashion." However, after speaking to European MP's he stated they "admitted that they had received completely different information about us." Tyahnybok furthermore stated that "spin doctors who are working against Svoboda" cover up the non-controversial points in the party's election programme "by promoting some clearly secondary issues through mass media outlets controlled by pro-government forces".Oleh Tyahnybok: “The three opposition parties should not be required to act completely in sync”
The Ukrainian Week (31 March 2013) During a Party of Regions rally in Kyiv to counter the ongoing

protests, MP Olena Anatoliivna Bondarenko, Olena Bondarenko called Tyahnybok a "traitor" and one "who helps the Kremlin and Moscow." Her words were altered to read on her party's website that he was instead a "Nazi" and that "Nazis are not just disrespected, they are outlawed in Europe and throughout the civilized world". Svoboda members have denied the party is antisemitic.
Ukrainian party picks xenophobic candidate
, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (25 May 2009)
Tiahnybok denies anti-Semitism in Svoboda

(27 December 2012) Party leader Tyahnybok stated in November 2012 "Svoboda is not an anti-Semitic party, Svoboda is not a xenophobic party. Svoboda is not an anti-Russian party. Svoboda is not an anti-European party. Svoboda is simply and only a pro-Ukrainian party". In defense of these accusations, Tyahnybok has stated "I have repeatedly said that Svoboda is not an anti-Semitic organization. If you have any comments on our views, go to court. But nobody will, because everyone understands that even biased Ukrainian courts cannot pass any sentence against Svoboda because we do not violate Ukrainian laws." Tyahnybok says a criminal case was opened against him for promoting racial rights, but he managed to win all the court cases and protect his name.

In media

According to ''Der Spiegel'', "anti-Semitism is part of the extremist party's platform," which rejects certain minority and human rights. The paper reported that in 2013 a Svoboda youth leader distributed Nazi propaganda written by Joseph Goebbels. According to the ''Algemeiner Journal'', "Svoboda supporters include among their heroes leaders of pro-Nazi World War II organizations known for their The Holocaust in Ukraine, atrocities against Jews and Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, Poles, such as the

(OUN), the

(UPA), and the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Ukrainian), 14th Waffen-SS Galicia Division." Prominent Ukrainian journalist and president of TVi (TV channel), TVi Channel Vitaly Portnikov defended Svoboda against criticism, as he noted he is often questioned for supporting party leader Oleh Tyahnybok despite himself being Jewish. Portnikov said, "I [stand with them] with great pleasure, because Oleh wants Ukraine to be part of the European Union" and that "presently Svoboda is acting in a very decent way, and I see no problem there. Right-wing parties function in every European country." Ukrainian media associated with the

, the Communist Party of Ukraine, and Russophilia, Russophile groups contributed to a trend of characterizing Svoboda as a "Nazi menace." Political analyst Olszański argued that voters from southern or eastern Ukraine, especially those who are poor, less educated, or attached to a "Soviet historical narrative," are hostile to

, easily convinced that Svoboda is the modern analog of the Nazi invaders, and further that the Party of Regions is the only force capable of stopping a 'Sturmabteilung, brown revenge'. According to political scientist Taras Kuzio, the label "nationalist" is "disastrous" in Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine and used as an epithet by political opponents.

Statements by political scientists

Political scientist Tadeusz A. Olszański writes that the social-nationalist ideology which Svoboda formerly adhered to has included "openly racist rhetoric" concerning 'white supremacy' since its establishment, and that comparisons with National Socialism are legitimized by its history.

, a political scientist at the

, has asserted in 2010 that "Svoboda was a racist party promoting explicitly ethnocentric and anti-Semitic ideas". He also believes that internally, Svoboda "is much more radical and xenophobic than what we see". However, Umland has also stated that he believes the party will continue to become more moderate over time, stating that "there's a belief that Svoboda will change, once in the Verkhovna Rada, and that they may become proper national democrats". Olexiy Haran, also a political science professor at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, says "There is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding Svoboda" and that the party is not fascist, but radical. Alexander J. Motyl contends that Svoboda is not fascist, neither in behaviour or in ideology, and that "they are far more like the Tea Party movement, Tea Party or right-wing Republican Party (United States), Republicans than like fascists or neo-Nazis." According to Anton Shekhovtsov, expert on radical parties in Europe, "The main peculiarity of the Ukrainian far right is that its main enemy is not immigrants or :Ethnic groups in Ukraine, national minorities, as often happens with the EU-:Far-right political parties by country, based far right, but the Government of Russia, Kremlin".

Statements by Jewish organizations

Thirty members of the

i Knesset condemned the party in a signed letter addressed to the President of the European Parliament. In the letter the Israeli politicians accused Svoboda of "openly glorifying Nazi murder" and "Nazi war criminals". In May 2013 the World Jewish Congress labelled the party as "

" and called for European governments to ban them. Ukraine's chief rabbi Yaakov Bleich said "Svoboda is an enigma in many ways," calling it "a right-wing, nationalist party with anti-Semitic elements in it." Vyacheslav A. Likhachev of the Eurasian Jewish Congress, said that the "party has a very anti-Semitic core in its ideology," and that it leads to "symbolic legitimization of neo-Nazis and anti-Semitic ideology in the eyes of society." Member of parliament from the pro-presidential Party of Regions and president of the Jewish Committee of Ukraine, Oleksandr Feldman, criticized Svoboda as a "party which is notorious for regularly injecting anti-Semitism into their speeches and public pronouncements" and accused the party of "rallying behind this recognition and exploited mistrust of Jews in Ukraine, Jews to gain popularity among some in the lower class who painfully welcomed the chance to be a part of campaigns of hate". Feldman also writes that Svoboda has helped erode the shame associated with open expressions of anti-Semitism and other ethnic hatreds. Feldman has been an advocate for the Party of Regions and president

, reportedly also funding the latter's public relations firm. During the

protests, Feldman said the protests had degenerated into "ultra-nationalism and anti-Semitism," and called for opposition leaders Arseniy Yatseniuk and Vitali Klitschko to distance themselves from Svoboda. Four groups, including the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, said they have seen no upsurge in antisemitic attacks. "We call on Ukrainian citizens and foreign observers to remain calm and critically assess the panic-mongering statements in the media regarding anti-Semitism in the country," the groups said in a statement on the website of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. In 2012 international human rights organization The Simon Wiesenthal Center placed Svoboda party leader Oleg Tyahnybok fifth in its list of the top 10 antisemites and haters of Israel, based on his previous comments regarding Jews in Ukraine.

Platform

Party leader

(in January 2011) has described the Azarov Government and the presidency of

"a Kremlin Colonialism, colonial administration", referencing Svoboda's opposition to perceived Russian influences in Ukrainian politics. Before the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election most of the radical points which were present on the Svoboda's original party platform vanished from the official election program that Svoboda filed with the

. In its place, a tamer, populist program focused on the impeachment of President

and the renunciation of the 2010 Kharkiv agreements that let

's Black Sea Fleet stay in Crimea through 2042 was used. In its campaign for the 2008 Kyiv local elections the party also used less ethnic nationalist terms and it relied more on a strong anti-establishment, populist and anti-corruption in Ukraine, corruption rhetoric. Kyiv is angry 013

Svoboda's platform is called "Our Own Authorities, Our Own Property, Our Own Dignity, on Our Own God-Given Land." and includes the following points: * Ukraine—a presidential republic, head of state is the head of government * Lustration of state authority: publication of lists of all Soviet KGB agents that served or continue to serve in Ukraine, dismissal of such people as well as members of the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union from state leadership positions, replace them with graduates of the Ukrainian universities *Criminal prosecution for "Anti-Ukrainian sentiment, Ukrainophobia" *Only those born in Ukraine can become Ukrainian citizenship, Ukrainian citizens, with the exceptions for those who have lived in Ukraine for more than 15 years, know the

, Ukrainian culture, culture and Constitution of Ukraine, Ukrainian Constitution *Renunciation of the 2010 Ukrainian–Russian Naval Base for Natural Gas treaty, 2010 Kharkiv agreements
Rada fails to support bill on denunciation of Kharkiv accords on Black Sea Fleet basing in Ukraine

(19 June 2013) *Impeachment of President of Ukraine, President

*Ban on abortion, except in cases of medical necessity, or rape;Svoboda MPs propose legislatively banning abortions in Ukraine

(8 April 2013) and imprisonment from three to seven years for those who violate this ban *Criminalization of public promotion of abortions or calls for abortions (by introducing a fine for doing so) *The right to keep and bear arms Euromaidan in Khmelnytskyi 20140124 163608

Euromaidan in Khmelnytskyi 20140124 163608

*Cancelling taxes on Ukrainian language products—Cinema of Ukraine, films, Music of Ukraine, music and Ukrainian literature, literature—and instead imposing taxes on non-Ukrainian language products. The proceeds obtained this way will be channeled into developing Ukrainian language products *Nationalization of major enterprises, greater state control of the banking system and a ban on privatization of land *Energy policy of Ukraine, Energy independence for Ukraine *The development of competitive industries, particularly food processing and aircraft engineering, shipbuilding, machine-tool construction, machine manufacturing, the military–industrial complex and the aerospace industry *Ban on the import of the food products that are also produced inside Ukraine and import only exotic food that is not domestically grown *The restoration of the Soviet passport, Soviet practice of indicating ethnic origin on passports and birth certificates *Proportional representation on executive bodies of ethnic Ukrainians, on the one hand, and Demographics of Ukraine#Ethnic groups, national minorities, on the other *Ban on adoptions by non-Ukrainians of Ukrainian children *Preferential treatment for Ukrainian students in the allocation of dormitory places, and a series of similar changes to existing legal provisions *Ordained persons should have no right to be elected to state authorities or local self-government authoritiesTiahnybok: Priests on Lists of Svoboda Party Are to Counterbalance 'Moscow Priests' on Lists of Opponents
Religious Information Service of Ukraine (19 October 2010) *Abolition of Crimea, Crimean autonomy *Abolition of value added tax *Farmlands are to be state-owned and given to farmers in hereditary use *The state is to implement a firm pro-family policy Ternopil-Vstavai-UA-13037204

*Dismissal of employees of state structures who had been active in the Soviet apparatus before 1991 *Decommunization of public space (monuments, names of streets and places) *

should apologize "for its Holodomor, communist crimes" *Ukraine is to leave the Commonwealth of Independent States "and other post-Soviet structures" *An explicit guarantee of accession to NATO within a set period of time *Nuclear weapons and Ukraine, Ukraine should again re-acquire tactical nuclear weaponry Svoboda also states in its programme that it is both possible and necessary to make Ukraine the "geopolitical centre of Europe". The

is not mentioned in the programme. According to Party leader

the programme is a worldview based on Christian values and the "rejection of various deviations". People's Deputy of Ukraine, Member of parliament Ihor Miroshnychenko asked the head of the Kyiv City State Administration Oleksandr Popov on 7 March 2013 to ban a march that was held the next day because he believed it would "contribute to promoting sexual orientation" and he further stated in his request "homosexuality provokes sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS in Ukraine, AIDS". 8 March rally was in fact not an LGBT march but organized by Women's rights in Ukraine#History of feminism in Ukraine, feminist organizations.

Language

In late January 2013 Svoboda urged Ukrainians to boycott revised Ukrainian history textbooks and to give up the teaching of the

in school, calling Ukrainians "to categorically refuse to study in school the language of the occupier – Russian, as a further reliable means of the assimilation of Ukrainians". On 13 February 2014 following the

2014 Ukrainian revolution The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

, Svoboda supported legislation abolishing the law on regional languages making Ukrainian the sole state language at all levels. This proposal was vetoed by acting President Oleksandr Turchynov.

Party leaders

Election results

Verkhovna Rada

Presidential elections

Change in party voting

File:Свобода - 2006 Eng version.png, 2006 parliamentary File:Свобода — 2007 Eng version.png, 2007 parliamentary File:Олег Тягнибок 2010 Eng version.PNG, 2010 (January — presidential) for Tyahnybok File:Svoboda 2010 Eng version.png, 2010 (October, local election) File:Svoboda-2012.png, 2012 parliamentary File:Результати виборів до ВР України 2014 (Політична партія Всеукраїнське об’єднання Свобода).png, 2014 parliamentary File:Svoboda-2019 %.png, 2019 parliamentary

Notes

References

Literature

* * * * *

External links

* *
Svoboda's candidates elected at 2012 parliamentary elections
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Svoboda 1995 establishments in Ukraine Anti-communism in Ukraine Anti-communist parties Conservative parties in Ukraine Euromaidan Far-right political parties in Ukraine Nationalist parties in Ukraine Organizations that oppose LGBT rights Parliamentary factions in Ukraine Political parties established in 1995 Right-wing populism in Ukraine Right-wing populist parties Social conservative parties Anti-Russian sentiment National conservative parties Right-wing parties in Europe

History

Social-National Party of Ukraine

All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda

2009 Electoral breakthrough

2012 elections: Growing support

2012 election aftermath and Euromaidan campaign

In government (February–November 2014)

2014 and 2019 elections: Losing support

Political image

In government

Former government officials

Paramilitary activities

Ideology

Nationalism

Anti-communism

Social conservatism

Neo-Nazism and political extremism

In media

Statements by political scientists

Statements by Jewish organizations

Platform

Language

Party leaders

Election results

Verkhovna Rada

Presidential elections

Change in party voting

See also

Notes

References

Literature

External links