Union of Communists of Ukraine
The Union of Communists of Ukraine (Russian: Союз коммунистов Украины, Ukrainian: Союз комуністів України abbreviated СКУ or SKU) is a Ukrainian anti-revisionist[1] communist organization.
Union of Communists of Ukraine Союз комуністів України | |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 1992 |
| Newspaper | Marksizm i sovremennost |
| Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism[1] Anti-revisionism |
| International affiliation | IMCWP ICS (defunct) |
| European Parliament group | INITIATIVE |
| Verkhovna Rada | 0 / 450 |
In May 2015, a set of new Ukrainian decommunization laws came into effect, banning the Union of Communists of Ukraine from participating in electoral politics and rendering the party obsolete.[2]
History
The founding conference of the Union of Communists was held in December 1992, and it was registered with Ukrainian authorities in March 1993.[3][4] At the time of organization on 12 March 1993 it claimed to have 2,000 members in 13 oblasts.[3][4] Yurii Solomati was registered as the leader of the organization.[4] The main stronghold of the party has been Luhansk.[4] Initially many party members were also affiliated to the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU), although the KPU soon began purge dissident elements.[4][5] Whilst the influence of the Union of Communists waned, it acted as a competitor of KPU in south-eastern Ukraine at an early stage.[5]
At the 23rd congress of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union held in March 1993, the Union of Communists is included as an associative member.[6] Considering itself as the legitimate heir of the CPSU, the Union of Communists demanded return of CPSU property seized by the Ukrainian state.[5] The organization called for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union.[5]
The Union of Communists began publishing the theoretical journal Marksizm i sovremennost' (Марксизм и современность, 'Marxism and Modernity') from Kyiv in 1995.[7] Politically it is close to the Russian Communist Workers Party, with many people (including Yabrova) holding dual memberships.[5]
As of the early 2000s, the party was led by Tamil' Yabrova.[5]
In 2013 the party took part in the founding of the Initiative of Communist and Workers' Parties.[8]
In May 2015 laws that ban communist symbols came into effect in Ukraine.[2] Despite that, the Union of Communists of Ukraine is still active.
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Ukraine bans Soviet symbols and criminalises sympathy for communism". The Guardian. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - http://shron.chtyvo.org.ua/Andrew_Wilson/The_Ukrainian_Left_In_Transition_to_Social_Democracy_or_Still_in_Thrall_to_the_USSR7__en.pdf
- Jane Leftwich Curry; Joan Barth Urban (1 September 2004). The Left Transformed in Post-Communist Societies: The Cases of East-Central Europe, Russia, and Ukraine. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 213, 219. ISBN 978-0-585-46676-7.
- Справочник: Общественно-политические движения и партии в России (2 ed.). Информационно-справочная служба. 1993. p. 13.
- В. Тюлькин (2002). Не дрогнуть на избранном пути. БФРГЦ "Слово". p. 473. ISBN 978-5-86639-029-8.
- http://www.initiative-cwpe.org/en/home/