At the July congress, Vadim Rabinovich's new party of deputies (Read more: Vadim Rabinovich: Secrets of an Underground Billionaire) and Evgeniya Muraeva (Read more: Yevgeny Murayev: a new candidate from the old Kharkiv clan) appeared under the title "Life", photo: Evgeny Muraev's Facebook page
Almost immediately after the launch of the new party, its leaders, MPs Vadim Rabinovich (Opposition Bloc) and Yevgeniya Muraeva (non-affiliated), were forced to change their name. Strana investigated why this happened and what awaits the political force whose ideology is declared to be center-left.
The Ministry of Justice is currently holding a pause
The new party of people's deputies Vadim Rabinovich and Yevgeny Murayev, whose creation was announced at the congress on July 26, is still awaiting re-registration by the Ministry of Justice.
Muraev, the party's political council chairman, claims that the legal deadline for this procedure expires on September 4. "Immediately after re-registration, we want to hold a new party forum to adopt some changes to our charter," the deputy told Strana, without specifying what these amendments would be.
Moreover, this will signal that the party can begin officially establishing its structures in the regions. Muraev, however, speaks of the "spontaneous party building that has begun at the local level." "De facto, organizations already exist. Our supporters are voluntarily creating support groups and opening reception centers of sorts. But until the Ministry of Justice has spoken out, I cannot grant them official status," asserts Muraev, estimating that over 10 people have already filled out party membership forms.
At the same time, the parliamentarian suspects that there may be problems with the party's re-registration due to "his and chairman Vadim Rabinovich's oppositional position."
Refusal from "Zhittya"
The party's name has also been a source of some confusion. At the congress on July 26, Rabinovich and Murayev presented the political force "Life" (Ukrainian: "Життя"). This is essentially a renamed version of Rabinovich's "Center" party. However, Rabinovich remained in the OB parliamentary faction, not wanting to lose his mandate.
Muraev insists that the party was immediately given the name "For Life" (Ukrainian: "За житьтя"), which will be recorded by the Ministry of Justice during the re-registration process. However, photographs from that very congress and statements made by both Muraev and Rabinovich at the time suggest otherwise.
A screenshot of a post on Vadim Rabinovich's Facebook page
The name change appears to be related to the existence of a party of the same name. According to the registry of political parties on the Ministry of Justice website, the "Zhyttya" party was registered in 2015 in Kharkiv. Its chairman is listed as Anton Beloshenko, director of the Kharkiv-based company "Vip Consulting Group," which, according to its website, provides business management consulting.
It's unclear why Rabinovich and Muraev's team didn't bother to check whether the desired name for the party was already taken.
According to the publication, the Life party is associated with the people's deputy Valery Pisarenko ("Vidrodzhennia"), elected to the Verkhovna Rada in a single-mandate constituency in the Kharkiv region. Rabinovich and Muraev's team attempted to find common ground with him on the name issue, but, according to sources close to both deputies, the terms for abandoning the desired name were unacceptable. "Simply put, the parties couldn't agree on a price. Pisarenko has a good appetite," the sources said. Asked about such negotiations, Muraev denied any personal involvement with Pisarenko and stated that "these are just rumors."
"For me, the most important things in a party are its ideological platform, its supporters, and a clear party structure. And the name has a 32nd meaning," noted Muraev, who said "For Life" will adhere to a center-left ideology.
Pisarenko declined to comment on the matter, but also did not deny the information he had heard. Beloshenko could not be reached.
Denis Rafalsky, Galina Studennikova
Read more: Yevgeny Murayev: a new candidate from the old Kharkiv clan
Vadim Rabinovich: Secrets of an Underground Billionaire
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!