Svoboda (political party)

For the Slovenian political party, see Freedom Movement (Slovenia).

All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom"
Всеукраїнське об'єднання «Свобода»
LeaderOleh Tyahnybok
Founded16 October 1995 (1995-10-16) (as SNPU)
February 2004 (2004-02) (as Svoboda)
Preceded bySocial-National Party of Ukraine
HeadquartersKyiv
Youth wingC14 (2010–2014)
Paramilitary wingSich Battalion (2014–2015)[1]
Membership (2010)15,000[2][needs update]
Ideology
Political positionFar-right[8]
European affiliationAlliance of European National Movements (observer, 2011–2014)
Nation Europa (2024–)
Colors  Blue
  Yellow
Verkhovna Rada
1 / 450
Regions[9]
890 / 43,122
Party flag
Website
www.svoboda.org.ua
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The All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" (Ukrainian: Всеукраїнське об'єднання «Свобода», romanized: Vseukrainske obiednannia "Svoboda"), commonly known as Svoboda, is an ultranationalist political party in Ukraine. It has been led by Oleh Tyahnybok since 2004.

Its predecessor, the Social-National Party of Ukraine (SNPU) formed and officially registered as a political party in October 1995. The SNPU was characterized as a radical right-wing populist party that combined elements of ethnic ultranationalism and anti-communism. During the 1990s, it was accused of neo-Nazism due to the party's recruitment of skinheads and usage of neo-Nazi symbols.[10][11][12] 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 groups.[13][14]

Although Tyahnybok expelled neofascist groups, Svoboda never abandoned ethnic ultranationalist views and he reaffirmed the party's commitment to its original xenophobic platform.[15] 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 and Euromaidan protests but its support dropped quickly following the 2014 elections. Since then, the party has been polling below the electoral threshold, and it currently has one seat in the Verkhovna Rada.

Svoboda's economic platform is statist and anti-liberal.[2] Its political position has been described as right-wing,[16][17] or far-right.[18] Described as an ultranationalist,[19][20] right-wing populist party,[21][22] it expressed support and staged commemorations honoring early 20th century, Ukrainian far-right nationalist leader Stepan Bandera, and it opposes immigration, globalism and free trade. It is staunchly anti-communist and conservative regarding social issues, and it favors economic nationalism and protectionism.[23] The party has been described as "deeply anti-Semitic",[24][22][25] and "fascist",[26][27] though others say the party is no longer overtly anti-Semitic,[26] and is now best described as a "radical nationalist party".[26][28]

  1. ^ "Партія Свобода створює власний батальйон". Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b Olszański, Tadeusz A. (4 July 2011). "Svoboda Party – The New Phenomenon on the Ukrainian Right-Wing Scene". Centre for Eastern Studies. OSW Commentary (56): 6. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Ultranationalism in Ukraine – a photo essay". The Guardian. 11 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Svoboda tames radicals to get into parliament - Nov. 22, 2012". 22 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Svoboda: The rise of Ukraine's ultra-nationalists". BBC News. 22 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Ukraine right-wing politics: is the genie out of the bottle? | openDemocracy".
  7. ^ "Svoboda Fuels Ukraine's Growing Anti-Semitism". Algemeiner Journal.
  8. ^ Tarasiuk, Taras; Umland, Andreas. "Unexpected Friendships: Cooperation of Ukrainian Ultra-Nationalists with Russian and Pro-Kremlin Actors | illiberalism.org". Illiberalism. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  9. ^ Кандидати, яких обрано депутатами рад. www.cvk.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 24 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  10. ^ Umland, Andreas; Anton Shekhovtsov (September–October 2013). "Ultraright Party Politics in Post-Soviet Ukraine and the Puzzle of the Electoral Marginalism of Ukrainian Ultranationalists in 1994–2009". Russian Politics and Law. 51 (5): 41. doi:10.2753/rup1061-1940510502. S2CID 144502924.
  11. ^ Andrusechko, P. Road of Tyahnybok towards Freedom. "Ukrayinsky zhurnal". Poznan, May 2009
  12. ^ Rudling, Per Anders (2013). Ruth Wodak and John E. Richardson (ed.). The Return of the Ukrainian Far Right: The Case of VO Svoboda. New York: Routledge. pp. 229–247.
  13. ^ Olszański, Tadeusz A. (4 July 2011). "Svoboda Party – The New Phenomenon on the Ukrainian Right-Wing Scene". Centre for Eastern Studies. OSW Commentary (56): 6. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  14. ^ Umland, Andreas; Anton Shekhovstsov (2013). "Ultraright Party Politics in Post-Soviet Ukraine and the Puzzle of the Electoral Marginalism of Ukraine Ultranationalists in 1994-2009". Russian Politics and Law. 51 (5): 33–58. doi:10.2753/rup1061-1940510502. S2CID 144502924.
  15. ^ Polyakova 2014, p. 218, ...was mainly an image campaign. Tyahnybok’s speech following the 2004 convention clearly reaffirmed Svoboda’s commitment to its original racist, anti- Semitic, and xenophobic platform when he claimed that Ukraine was ruled by a Russian-Jewish mafia.
  16. ^ Britannica Book of the Year 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. p. 478. ISBN 9781615353668. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  17. ^ Radzina, Natallia (7 February 2014). "Vitaliy Portnikov: First Belarus, then Russia will follow after Ukraine". Charter '97.
  18. ^ Far right:
  19. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Ukraine". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Svoboda: The rise of Ukraine's ultra-nationalists". BBC. 25 December 2012. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  21. ^ Ivaldi, Gilles (2012). "The Populist Radical Right in European Elections 1979-2009". In Uwe Backes; Patrick Moreau (eds.). The Extreme Right in Europe. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 20. ISBN 978-3-525-36922-7. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  22. ^ a b Wodak, Ruth; KhosraviNik, Majid; Mral, Brigitte (2013). Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse. A&C Black. p. 251. ISBN 9781780933436. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021. KUN and Svoboda are also Russophobic and antisemitic
  23. ^ "ІІ. Економічний націоналізм: заможна нація, соціальна справедливість та деолігархізація". Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  24. ^ Stern, David (13 December 2013). "What Europe Means to Ukraine's Protesters". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017.
  25. ^ Spyer, Jonathan (9 January 2014). "Kiev Showdown". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014. The far-right, anti-Semitic Svoboda party of Oleh Tyahnybok is also in evidence in the square. The third organized element is the Batkivschnya (Fatherland) party, which is close to Timoshenko.
  26. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference reutersFarright was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Fascist:
  28. ^ Shekhovtsov, Anton (5 March 2014). "From electoral success to revolutionary failure: The Ukrainian Svoboda party". Eurozine. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014.