The Opposition Platform – For Life (; , OPZZh) was a pro-Russian and Eurosceptic political party in Ukraine banned after the 2022 Russian invasion.
The party was the successor of For Life (, Russian: За жизнь) formerly All-Ukrainian Union "Center" from 1999 to 2016, a small pro-Russian political party. It was registered in December 1999. Who is who on the list? Opposition platform – "For life." With whom and with what the elections are going to Medvedchuk and Rabinovich, Espresso TV (5 July 2019) In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the party won 37 seats on the nationwide party list and six constituency seats. Although it espoused pro-Russian policies, the party publicly denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 8 March 2022.
On 20 March 2022, its activities were suspended by the National Security and Defense Council for the period of martial law due to allegations of having ties to Russia made by the Council. On 14 April, the party's parliamentary group was dissolved in Ukraine's parliament. On 21 April, twenty-five of the party's former deputies formed a new parliamentary group called "Platform for Life and Peace" (). On 20 June, the party was banned by court. On 15 September 2022, the final appeal against this ban was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Ukraine. In Ukraine, the activity of the OPZZH party was finally banned, (15 September 2022)
History All-Ukrainian Union "Center" At the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election the party won only 0.16% of the votes as part of National Movement Bloc along with People's Movement of Ukraine for Unity. During the legislative elections of 26 March 2006, the party was part of the Opposition Bloc "Ne Tak". In the 30 September 2007 elections, the party failed as part of the Electoral Bloc of Political Parties "KUCHMA" to win parliamentary representation. The party did not participate in the 2012 parliamentary elections. Results of voting in single constituencies in 2012 & Nationwide list, Central Election Commission of Ukraine For the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the party joined Opposition Bloc along with other five parties; in these elections Opposition Bloc won 29 seats.Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament , Ukrinform (8 November 2014)People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections – CEC , Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament – CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)Opposition Bloc boosts rating by distancing itself from Yanukovych era, Kyiv Post (24 October 2014)Opposition Bloc boosts rating by distancing itself from Yanukovych era, Kyiv Post (24 October 2014)Development party of Ukraine, 'Ukraine – Forward!' and four more political forces team up in Opposition Bloc, Kyiv Post (15 September 2014)Ukraine's Elections: The Battle of the Billionaires, The Daily Beast (10.25.14) Non-Maidan parties united into the Opposition Bloc. Radio Liberty. 14 September 2014
For life In July 2016, former members of Opposition Bloc Vadim Rabinovich and Yevhen Murayev reconstituted the party under the name For Life. In September 2018, Murayev left For Life Muraev said that he was leaving Rabinovich and created his own party, Ukrayinska Pravda (21 September 2018) and five days later created the new political party Ours (Nashi).Murayev will head Nashi Party, Interfax-Ukraine (26 September 2018) People's Deputy Murayev is heading a new party "OUR", Channel 24 (26 September 2018) The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine did not register the name change of All-Ukrainian Union "Center". FOR LIFE Who is Vadim Rabinovich to whom? by Ukrayinska Pravda/Civil movement "Chesno" (2017)
Foundation of Opposition Platform – For Life According to Ukrayinska Pravda, the negotiations on the unification of the parties For Life and Opposition Bloc started in the summer of 2018. Ukrayinska Pravda claims these talks were instigated by Serhiy Lyovochkin who, along with Dmytro Firtash, controlled one of the wings of Opposition Bloc, whereas Rinat Akhmetov controlled the other wing of Opposition Bloc. In early November 2018, the Opposition Bloc members loyal to Akhmetov decided to take pause the negotiations. Odd-man-out. Why Leovochkin and Medvedchuk are preparing for the election without Akhmetov, Ukrayinska Pravda (20 November 2018)
On 5 November 2018, one of Russian president Vladimir Putin's closest associates and chief of staff to former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Medvedchuk was elected chairman of the party For Life political party's council. Medvedchuk was also leader of the Ukrainian Choice NGO, a socially conservative pro-Russian political group and partially prohibited in Ukraine as openly anti-Ukrainian.Medvedchuk's "Ukrainian Choice" banned in Zakarpattia (На Закарпатті заборонили «Український вибір» Медведчука) . ZIK. 26 February 2014
On 9 November 2018, Opposition Bloc chairman Yuriy Boyko and For Life signed an agreement (called Opposition Platform – For Life) for cooperation in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election and the parliamentary election of the same year.Two Russia-friendly parties join forces for presidential election, Kyiv Post (9 November 2018) The association of Boyko-Rabinovich was determined with the presidential candidate, Ukrayinska Pravda (17 November 2018) The same day, Opposition Bloc leading members Vadym Novynskyi and Borys Kolesnikov claimed the agreement was a "personal initiative" of Boyko and that the party had not taken any decisions on cooperation with For Life. Boyko's decision to merge with Rabinovich does not concern the "Opposition" – Novinsky, Ukrayinska Pravda (9 November 2018)
Opposition Bloc members, Ukraine – Forward! and Party of Development of Ukraine joined the Opposition Platform – For Life alliance on 17 November 2018. Партія «Опозиційна платформа – За життя»: програма, обіцянки, перші номери, гроші та скандали , Opinionua.com (17 July 2019) The same day, Opposition Platform – For Life nominated Boyko as its candidate in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.
After Boyko was excluded from the parliamentary faction of the Opposition Bloc (the reason given was "because they betrayed their voters'" interests), on 20 November 2018 he announced the creation of a new parliamentary group called Opposition Platform – For Life.Boiko, Loovochkin excluded from Opposition Bloc faction for betraying voters' interests – Vilkul , Interfax-Ukraine (20 November 2018)Boiko announces creation of Opposition Platform – For Life parliamentary group, Interfax-Ukraine (20 November 2018) According to Boyko, part of Opposition Bloc is to join this new parliamentary group and he claimed "we have several offers from MPs belonging to other groups".
On 13 December 2018, it was announced that a new party, called Opposition Platform – For Life, had been formed. New party will appear in Ukraine – "Opposition platform – For life", Interfax-Ukraine (13 December 2018)
Boyko's official nomination was announced on 17 November. Because Opposition Platform – For Life was not yet registered as a party in January 2019, it could not nominate him as a presidential candidate. Hence on 17 January 2019 Boyko submitted documents to the Central Election Commission of Ukraine for registration as a self-nominated candidate. Boyko began registering as a presidential candidate, Ukrayinska Pravda (17 November 2018) In the election Boyko took fourth place with 11.67% of the total vote.First round results of the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
2019 parliamentary election and 2020 local elections
In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election the party won 37 seats (13.05% of the total votes) on the nationwide party list and 6 constituency seats.CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, Ukrinform (26 July 2019) Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019, Ukrayinska Pravda (21 July 2019) 11.4% of the party's elected deputies were women. The new Council has increased the number of women deputies, Ukrayinska Pravda (23 July 2019)
In the October 2020 Ukrainian local elections Opposition Platform – For Life took third place with 11.75% of all votes being cast to the party. The CEC showed the top 10 parties that won the most seats in the election, Ukrayinska Pravda (18 November 2020) (The highest number of seats in the election was won by Servant of the People with 17.59% of local deputies nominated in the election by this party. Second place was for Fatherland with 12.39%.) The party was successful in South and Eastern Ukraine, although the local parties of city mayors (in particular in Odesa, Mykolaiv and Sloviansk) cost them support compared with its predecessor Opposition Bloc in the 2015 Ukrainian local elections. Party measurement of the results of local elections in 2020, Ukrayinska Pravda (23 November 2020) Local elections in Slovyansk: a cold shower for OPZZh, The Ukrainian Week (26 November 2020) Oleksandr Popov, former head of the Kyiv City State Administration, was a candidate for Mayor of Kyiv nominated by OPFL. In the election he received 68,757 votes, securing second place but losing the election to incumbent Mayor Vitali Klitschko. from the OPFL won the election for mayor of Kryvyi Rih.
Grenade attack and call for impeachment On 3 July 2020, a grenade was thrown into the party's office in Poltava, and one person was injured as a result of the explosion.
Following the enactment of Ukrainian sanctions imposed on fellow party member Taras Kozak and his media outlets on 2 February 2021, the party's deputies began moving to initiate an impeachment of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
2022 Russian invasion and banning As of early 2022, its leadership consisted of Rabinovich and Boyko (co-chairs), Medvedchuk (head of Political Council, chair of Strategic Council) and Serhiy Lovochkin (chair of the Executive Committee).
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On this day party member Illia Kyva expressed support for the invasion and blamed the war on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and urged him to resign. On 3 March 2022, Kyva was expelled from the party. On 15 March 2022, parliament deprived Kyva of his mandate as a People's Deputy.
On 7 March 2022, the party deprived Medvedchuk, who was charged with high treason in May 2021, of the post of co-chairman of the party, making Yuriy Boyko the sole chairman. Medvedchuk had escaped his house arrest on 28 February 2022. On 14 April, he was apprehended once again.
On 7 March 2022, the party also demanded "from the leadership of the Russian Federation to stop the aggression against Ukraine and calls on the participants of the negotiation process to immediately decide on a ceasefire and withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine." The party also decided to support the participation of members of the Territorial Defense Forces to protect critical infrastructure, housing and looting and to support humanitarian corridors for the withdrawal of civilians. Boyko became the chairman of the political council of the OPZH. Medvedchuk was deprived of the post of co-chairman, (8 March 2022)
Opposition Platform – For Life was one of several political parties suspended by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on 20 March 2022, along with Derzhava, Left Opposition, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Party of Shariy, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Union of Leftists, and the Volodymyr Saldo Block.
At the 24 March 2022 parliamentary sitting five MPs announced their resignation from the Opposition Platform – For Life faction. Meanwhile, parliament itself was consulting with the Ministry of Justice on actions against the party's remaining deputies, as Ukrainian law did not provide for a single mechanism for suspending the activities of the party represented in parliament.