The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (), referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by People's Deputy of Ukraine, Тимошенко Юлія Володимирівна, Verkhovna Rada (29 August 2019) former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. As the core party of the former Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Batkivshchyna has been represented in the Verkhovna Rada—the parliament of Ukraine—since Yulia Tymoshenko set up the parliamentary faction of the same name in March 1999.Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough by Anders Aslund and Michael A. McFaul, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2006, State Building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian Parliament, 1990–2003 by Sarah Whitmore, Routledge, 2004, , page 106 Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина" All-Ukrainian Union Batkivshchyna , RBC Ukraine After the November 2011 banning of the participation of blocs of political parties in parliamentary elections,Parliament passes law on parliamentary elections , Kyiv Post (17 November 2011) Batkivshchyna became a major force in Ukrainian politics independently.
In the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Batkivshchyna took part under the banner "United opposition Batkivshchyna" and other parties allied with Batkivshchyna. The list won 62 seats and 25.55 percent of the vote under the nationwide proportional party-list system (down from 30.71 percent in 2007 for the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc), and another 39 in constituencies – thus a total of 101 seats. On 15 June 2013, the parties "Front of Changes" and "Reforms and Order" merged with the Batkivshchyna by self-liquidation. By 31 December 2013, the parliamentary faction Batkivshchyna had 90 deputies. Депутатські фракції і групи VII скликання Deputy fractions and Groups VII convocation , Verkhovna RadaParty of Regions gets 185 seats in Ukrainian parliament, Batkivschyna 101 – CEC , Interfax-Ukraine (12 November 2012)250 MPs sign up to join coalition – Turchynov , Interfax-Ukraine (27 February 2014)
From 5 August 2011 to 22 February 2014, Yulia Tymoshenko was a political prisoner of the Yanukovych government. In the concluding days of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, she was released after three years in jail and her reputation was rehabilitated by the Supreme Court of Ukraine and the European Court of Human Rights.Yatsenyuk became a leader of the "People's Front" political council, while Turchynov is a head of its headquarters . Ukrainska Pravda. 10 September 2014Ukrainian PM, Parliament Speaker to Head Newly Formed Popular Front Party , RIA Novosti (10 September 2014) Tymoshenko began reforming the party, and Batkivshchyna went into the parliamentary elections of 2014 with new members—the top five including Nadiya Savchenko, Yulia Tymoshenko, Ihor Lutsenko, Serhiy Sobolev, and Alyona Shkrum. Based on the election results, the party received 19 seats in the Ukrainian parliament: 17 according to party lists and two through the majority system.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) Until 17 February 2016, the party was a member of the Second Yatsenyuk Government, but it later moved into opposition.
In the snap parliamentary election of 2019, Batkivschyna received 8.18 percent of the votes and 26 MPs (two elected in constituencies). In the Verkhovna Rada, the party went into opposition. According to the results of the local elections in 2020, the Batkivshchyna received 12.39% votes of voters, and became one of the leading parties in the local elections in Ukraine.CEC named the party leaders in the local elections in Ukraine, lb.ua (18 November 2020) Despite having a social-democratic image, the party joined the European People's Party in 2008. Nevertheless, Batkivshchyna maintains its centre-left position. It is in favor of Ukraine's integration into the EU and joining NATO.
History Early history The predecessor of the party is the Association of Peace-loving Forces "Batkivshchyna", founded in 1995 by Volodymyr Prisnyakov, a rector at Dnipropetrovsk National University. In 1998 Yulia Tymoshenko was elected a people's deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the Bobrynets constituency in Kirovohrad Oblast. In 1999 Tymoshenko created a parliamentary group called "Batkivshchyna" as a breakaway group of Hromada.State Building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian parliament, 1990–2003 On 14 September 1998, the General Prosecutor of Ukraine accused Hromada leader Pavlo Lazarenko of embezzlement, and in the following March, Tymoshenko established the "Fatherland" parliamentary group.Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough by Anders Aslund and Michael A. McFaul, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2006, State Building in Ukraine: The Ukrainian Parliament, 1990–2003 by Sarah Whitmore, Routledge, 2004, , page 106 On 9 July 1999, based on the parliamentary group and smaller party, a new political party – All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" – was founded its constituent congress. On the same day, the Charter of the party was approved. According to which the party is entrusted with the main duties to protect the interests of the Ukrainian people in their struggle for the independence of Ukraine, the preservation of national identity, the European future of the country and a decent life for all its citizens. Статут Всеукраїнське об’єднання «Батьківщина», Ba.org.ua (9 July 1999) The first party chairman was elected Viktor Drachenko, a former Communist Party secretary from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The party was registered by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 16 September 1999 under certificate number 122. Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина" , Database DATA At the second congress, held on 18 December of the same year, Yulia Tymoshenko was elected chairman of the party, replacing Drachenko.
Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc In the 2002 parliamentary elections, the party was the main constituent of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc. The bloc obtained 22 seats in the parliament—13 of whom were allocated to Batkivshchyna.
In January 2005, Tymoshenko became Prime Minister of Ukraine under Viktor Yushchenko's presidency.Ukraine's Gold-Plaited Comeback Kid , Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (23 September 2008) Several months earlier, she was a leader in the Orange Revolution which enabled Yushchenko's election.
After losing several seats in 2002 and 2003, the bloc had grown to 40 members by September 2005.Virtual Politics – Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World, Andrew Wilson, Yale University Press, 2005, Ukraine on Its Meandering Path Between East and West by Andrej Lushnycky and Mykola Riabchuk, Peter Lang, 2009, Ukraine at the Crossroads: Velvet Revolution or Belarusification by Olexiy Haran, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, October 2002 In March 2005, the Yabluko party merged with Batkivshchyna. However, in March 2007, Yabluko became the Party of Free Democrats and withdrew from Batkivshchyna. In late 2005, the United Ukraine party also merged with Batkivshchyna. In the 2006 and 2007 parliamentary elections the party was part of the Tymoshenko Bloc, which won 129 of 450 seats in 2006 (22.29 percent of the total vote) and 156 of 450 seats (30.71 percent of the total vote) in 2007.
On 18 December 2007, Yulia Tymoshenko was reelected prime minister by a two-vote margin, making Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc a majority coalition. Since 2008, the party has been an observer member of the European People's Party. Європейська народна партія взяла до себе "УДАР" і виключила "Нашу Україну" European People's Party took a "hit" and excluded "Our Ukraine" , Ukrainska Pravda (6 September 2013)Member Parties , European People's Party
In 2009 Batkivshchyna put Tymoshenko forward as a candidate for the presidency of Ukraine. After its defeat in the elections, the parliamentary coalition ceased to exist, and Tymoshenko's cabinet was dismissed. Tymoshenko stated on 22 February 2010 that she would go into opposition.Yulia Tymoshenko's address to the people of Ukraine Tymoshenko says cabinet won't stay on as caretaker , Kyiv Post (3 March 2010)Tymoshenko: Government members will immediately leave offices after Rada's decision on cabinet dismissal , Kyiv Post (3 March 2010)MPs desert defeated Ukraine candidate Yulia Tymoshenko , BBC News (21 September 2010)Sobolev: Seven MPs from BYT bribed to vote for Tymoshenko's resignation , Kyiv Post (3 March 2010) During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections party (political blocs were not permitted to compete in the election)Ukraine changes election rules before key vote , Kyiv Post (28 July 2010)Law: All parties registered in Ukraine will be able to participate in local elections , Kyiv Post (30 August 2010) was defeated by the rival Party of Regions in nearly all regions of Ukraine, although it remained the main opposition party.Local government elections in Ukraine: last stage in the Party of Regions’ takeover of power , Centre for Eastern Studies (4 October 2010) Although Batkivshchyna won seats in 19 of 24 regional parliaments, it did not win a seat in the Supreme Council of Crimea. Results of the elections, preliminary data, on interactive maps by Ukrainska Pravda (8 November 2010) In Lviv Oblast and Kyiv Oblast as well as in Ternopil the party did not participate in the elections cause it was unable to register its candidates. Yulia Tymoshenko claimed that "fraudulent Batkivshchyna party organisations were registered on orders from Viktor Yanukovych"."Westerners, local observers rip Oct. 31 elections as undemocratic" , Kyiv Post (5 November 2010)European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2010 on Ukraine , European Parliament (25 November 2010)In Lviv, popular incumbent squares off against Party of Regions-backed candidate , Kyiv Post (29 October 2010)
Batkivshchyna – United Opposition On 16 November 2010, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc in the Verkhovna Rada was renamed the Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko-Batkivshchyna. Фракція БЮТ змінила свою назву , STB (16 November 2010) During the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, several criminal cases were opened against Tymoshenko. On 5 August 2011, Tymoshenko was arrested. On 11 October, she was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of abuse of power and official authority when entering into gas contracts with Russia in January 2009. The Danish Helsinki Committee, observing the trial, came to the conclusion that it was politically motivated and included violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. Between 2010 and 2013, the European Parliament adopted six resolutions in which the persecution of Tymoshenko was named "politically motivated selective justice".Yulia Tymoshenko ends hunger strike after hospital move , BBC News (9 May 2012)
On 17 November 2011, party blocs were again banned in parliamentary elections. The following month, Batkivshchyna and the People's Self-Defense party announced that the latter would merge with the former, Партії Тимошенко і Луценка об’єднаються у середу? , Ukrainska Pravda (16 December 2011) Батьківщина та Народна самооборона завтра оголосять про злиття , Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (16 December 2011) and on 28 December first deputy head of the party Oleksandr Turchynov said, "I believe that other political forces will join us".Turchynov: Batkivschyna, People's Self-Defense start unification (updated) , Kyiv Post (28 December 2011)