Boyko under the EU flag, Medvedchuk with dirt. How the Opposition Platform – For Life party is disintegrating and considering revenge. (collage by Taisiya Zaryanova/LIGA.net)
Boyko and Lyovochkin created a group from the ruins of the Opposition Platform – For Life party. Another group was created with the help of Zelenskyy's former MPs.
The Opposition Platform – For Life party is banned, so the MPs from the eponymous faction have gone into hiding. They vote for all government initiatives, and they're more constructive than ever. Some Opposition Platform – For Life members have even created a separate group committed to close cooperation with Bankova.
"Their political fate is entirely in the hands of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," said Nikita Poturaev, a member of parliament from the Servant of the People party. "Their only remote chance will appear when the Armed Forces of Ukraine reach the demarcation line on February 23. Right now, they have no voters."
But Yuriy Boyko and company are already calculating how they can get into the next Rada. Their plan: to disown Russia and embrace socialism and populism.
What influence groups remain after the Opposition Platform - For Life party, how former "servants" helped one of them create a separate parliamentary force, and how Viktor Medvedchuk can harm his fellow party members—in this analysis LEAGUE.net.
"They sit and don't respond"
The disintegration of the Opposition Platform – For Life party began long before February 24. The party was never a strong structure, with three influence groups. We wrote about them in detail here.
In 2018, gritting their teeth, the clans of Yuriy Boyko/Sergei Levochkin, Viktor Medvedchuk/Vadim Rabinovych, and Vadim Stolar teamed up to run for parliament under the banner of the Opposition Platform – For Life. However, they did not become close partners, maintaining a strained relationship.
FILE: Levochkin. "The Gray Cardinal" and his sister
Trial over Medvedchuk became a time bomb for the future of the Opposition Platform — For Life, and the Russian invasion only accelerated its detonation. In March, the National Security and Defense Council suspended the Opposition Platform — For Life, and in April, the eponymous faction suffered a similar fate.
"We spent a month brainstorming with Maliuska (the Minister of Justice – Ed.) and Stefanchuk (the Speaker of Parliament – Ed.) about how to ban the Opposition Platform – For Life party from parliament," one of the heads of the Presidential Office told LIGA.net. "And we came up with a not entirely legal solution, when Korniyenko read something and dissolved it."
There was no strong opposition from former Opposition Platform – For Life members, and it's unlikely there will be any. "They didn't seem shocked by the ban," recalled one of the Golos faction MPs in a comment to LIGA.net. Some Opposition Platform – For Life members even voted for their own ban.
In topic: It became known which of the people’s deputies joined Stolar-Efimov’s deputy group “Ukraine Renewal”
Suto Mamoyan, Nestor Shufrich, Yuri Boyko and Grigory Mamko (photo - video screenshot)
Boyko is completely calm about the ban on the Opposition Platform - For Life.
"Our political force has always advocated for peaceful cooperation with all our neighbors and partners. But specifically for peaceful and equal cooperation, partnership-based, not coercive or military," he said in a comment to LIGA.net.
Former Opposition Platform - For Life members are now very constructive, Servant of the People MP Nikita Poturaev told LIGA.net. They vote for almost all parliamentary decisions and don't submit thousands of amendments.
"They sit back and keep a low profile, not discussing anything like they used to. They vote for land issues and privatization. They understand that it's better to cooperate," says a source in the Servant of the People faction leadership.
"MEDVEDCHUK SAID A LOT TO THE SBU"
To maintain parliamentary sovereignty, the Opposition Platform – For Life (OPZZh) faction reformed into the Platform for Life and Peace (PLZM), comprising up to 25 MPs. Boyko was appointed leader; he is responsible for communications with parliamentary leadership. PLZMZh's representatives first attended the conciliation council, followed by Shufrych and then Hryhoriy Mamka.
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"I see one of the priorities of our parliamentary group's activities as supporting the government's efforts to protect Ukraine and restore its economy," Boyko told LIGA.net.
According to him, the majority of deputies in the new group "remained loyal to their state, joined the ranks of territorial defense, or are engaged in resolving humanitarian issues at the local level."
"The watershed occurred on February 24th. Everyone decided for themselves their position on the military invasion of Ukraine," Boyko asserts.
The group is primarily composed of deputies who entered parliament under the "gas workers" quota (the codename for the Levochkin/Boyko group). However, "asylum" was also granted under the Medvedchuk quota, specifically to Oleh Voloshin, Vasyl Nimchenko, and Viktor Cherny.
FILE: Vasily Nimchenko: Putin's crony's pocket lawyer and full-time propagandist. PART 1
"This alliance is about increasing the number of deputies," explains Poturaev. "The more deputies in a group, the greater the political weight. But who to include on the electoral list for the next elections is another matter."
Konstantin Batozsky, political scientist and director of the Azov Region Development Agency, is convinced that Medvedchuk's people are of no use to anyone in the political market. "No party is interested in recruiting these people into their team," he says.
It seems Medvedchuk's wing understands this, too. Vadim Rabinovich flew to Israel on February 3rd and hasn't returned yet. Voloshin went to Belarus, and Medvedchuk's ally Taras Kozak is in Russia.
FILE: Vadim Rabinovich: Secrets of an Underground Billionaire
Three parliamentary sources told LIGA.net that representatives of other influence groups are abroad. These include Natalia Korolevskaya and her husband, Yuriy Solod, and Sergei Levochkin and his sister, Yulia. Vadym Stolar was also not seen in parliament.
But Medvedchuk must have his say, Batozsky believes.
"We don't know if the SBU video about Poroshenko was his only revelation," he explains. "Medvedchuk will be 'rolled' to the hilt, and he'll reveal everything: how Russia sponsored him, how much money he brought from Moscow, and to whom he gave it."
"Medvedchuk has realized that he's not valuable to Russia as a potential exchange fund, so he's trying to raise the stakes," Fedir Venislavsky, a Servant of the People MP and the president's representative to the Constitutional Court, told LIGA.net. "That is, if he's not exchanged, he might reveal even more."
LIGA.net's source in the Security Service did not directly answer the question. regarding Medvedchuk's testimony against his fellow party members, but hinted that Vladimir Putin's godfather "said a lot." "Not everything has been published," he said.
NEW TRUST FOR BANKING
A few days before the National Security and Defense Council's decision, Kyiv developer Vadym Stolar, whose quota included five MPs in parliament, left the Opposition Platform — For Life party. Stolar assured LIGA.net that he had decided to leave the faction on February 24, when its leadership "failed to formulate a position condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine."
Along with him came Kharkiv businessmen Alexander Feldman and Igor AbramovichThe latter is a partner in the gas business of former Party of Regions member Vitaly Khomutynnik and a former assistant to Feldman. Journalists recorded the meeting in the fall. Abramovich with David Arakhamia, leader of the SN faction.
"I don't know how Abramovich ended up in the Opposition Platform - For Life party. Trust suits him better," one of the SN leaders quipped.
It was around Abramovich that a new parliamentary group began to form after the dissolution of the Opposition Platform – For Life party. It took at least a month to assemble, as there were only 13 former Opposition Platform – For Life members and four more volunteers needed to be found.
Former "servants" came to the rescue. Specifically, Oleksandr Yurchenko (involved in a controversial traffic accident in the summer of 2021), Artem Dmitruk, and Oleg Voronko (at the time of the group's creation, members of the inter-factional alliance of former Rada Speaker Dmytro Razumkov).
The final decisive figure was Maxim Yefimov, a Kramatorsk businessman and former Party of Regions member. In this convocation, he was part of the Bankova-friendly party. Trust groupYefimov and Abramovich became the heads of a group called "Restoration of Ukraine."
"Abramovich's group will be larger than Doverie; they'll be given some kind of committee position," says a source in the SN leadership.
Stolar believes that today all MPs "must rally around the president and Ukraine to protect the state." "This isn't just the Office of the President now. Today, it's the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who fights for the country every day. That's why I, and all of us, are behind him," he explains to LIGA.net.
FILE: Vadim Stolar. The notorious "sneaker"
Maksym Yefimov: The Kramatorsk Werewolf in the Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Part 1
At the same time, Poturaev denies the new group's connection to Bankova. "They're businessmen and pragmatists. They need to have normal relations with the authorities," he explains. "A group is a formalization of your presence in the Rada. If you've recruited people for a group, you have a completely different status. It's an opportunity to participate in the conciliation council. You have political clout."
But the MP admits: It will be "easier for the Servant of the People to understand who to negotiate with" in the event of complex parliamentary decisions.
According to Batozsky, it made no sense for the Restoration group to remain under the umbrella of the PZZhM.
"Having your own group is a resource for connections with the Public Chamber. It's better to have something of your own than to stick to the same old path. That way, they'll negotiate with you. They have minor problems at the district and city level," he adds.
COLLABORATORS CANNOT BE EXPELLED OR LEFT
At the local level, the situation is different. Here, Opposition Platform – For Life factions in most regions have either dissolved themselves or reformed into groups. "They're currently waiting to see what we'll do with them," says one of the OPZZh leaders. "After all, there's a huge public demand for this. But we haven't yet decided how to do this without disrupting the quorum in the councils. Forty councils won't have a quorum because there are a number of decisions that require a two-thirds majority."
Now, according to him, parliament is trying to resolve this issue with a separate bill.
"The former Opposition Platform – For Life party is currently haggling over local councils. They have about a thousand deputies across the country. Therefore, they're not particularly keen on being 'eliminated' in one fell swoop. But we'll still get around to recalling them; it's just a matter of how," the source adds.
He recalled that a mechanism for recalling local council members was supposed to be in place this fall, but it wasn't legally established. Therefore, open collaborators remain members of parliament to this day.
In the Zaporizhia region, Gauleiter Yevhen Balitsky is still a member of the regional council. In Mariupol, nine Opposition Platform – For Life deputies defected to the occupiers. And Kupyansk Mayor Gennady Matsegora, from the Opposition Platform – For Life, surrendered the city to Russian troops.
HOW THE OPPOSITION – FOR LIFE PLANS TO REVIVE
The current strategy of the former Opposition Platform - For Life is very reminiscent of the events of February 2014, when, at the height of the Revolution of Dignity, the Party of Regions disintegrated into several parliamentary groups that remained as quiet as a mouse.
"Their political fate is entirely in the hands of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Poturaev believes. "Their only remote chance will be when the Ukrainian Armed Forces reach the demarcation line on February 23rd. Right now, they have no voters. Some are occupied, others evacuated."
Batozsky is convinced that the Opposition Platform – For Life (OPZZh) franchise and project are already history.
"They're seasoned players. I can't imagine the rhetoric Voloshin or Korolevskaya will bring to the elections," he explains. "They only know one tune: poverty, filth, and friendship with Russia. Plus, because of the occupation, they're losing resources. They won't get any money from Russia anymore, because they're traitors to Putin. So the question is, will they have enough resources for the next elections?"
The electoral potential of the former Opposition Platform — For Life party is also unclear. "The Opposition Platform — For Life electorate consisted of two layers. The fundamental lower layer consisted of people who were not pro-Russian, but pro-Soviet. And now these people are migrating to socialism and populism, to someone like Yulia Tymoshenko," says one of the leaders of Servant of the People. "Therefore, at the level of individual politicians, they could regroup as the Industrialists' Party."
"These figures definitely have a future. They have personal approval ratings," says a source in the SN leadership. "Boyko could come out and say, 'The Opposition Platform — For Life was a mistake, and now we, the industrialists, are rebuilding and building a strong economy.'"
According to the source, Zelenskyy intends to build an economy after the war that will leave little room for big business. Therefore, Boyko, with his image as a factory director, could appeal to the segment of the electorate that will be drawn to rhetoric about industrial restoration.
"Plus, they might remember that they were once in favor of European integration, but Yanukovych ruined everything," suggests one of the leaders of the Office of the President. His assumption, it seems, is quickly becoming reality. Recently, Boyko, against the backdrop of the EU flag, reported on a meeting with the EU ambassador to Ukraine.
Boyko's entourage confirms that the new political project involving him will be left-wing and will champion socio-economic issues.
"There will be a demand for the country and the economy to be restored, and Boyko's new party will respond to it," a Boyko associate told LIGA.net.
But it won't just be Boyko's supposed party that will run for office under the slogans of social justice, Poturaev emphasizes. One of the main competitors in this electoral arena is Yulia Tymoshenko.
"The Opposition Platform — For Life electorate is made up of poor and needy people. Their numbers will increase now. But the problem is that the majority of this electorate will understand that they have become poorer not because of the incompetent government, but because of Putin," Poturaev believes.
At the same time, at the local level, former Opposition Platform – For Life members have fewer concerns about their political future. "If a politician hasn't disgraced himself with overt collaborationism and has maintained a pro-Ukrainian stance, then people won't care what brand they run under," explains Poturaev. "People want to vote for those they know."
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