Liberalism in Ukraine

Liberalism in Ukraine refers to the political philosophy and movement that advocates for individual liberties, democratic governance, free markets, and human rights within the context of Ukrainian politics. Historically, liberal ideas were represented by the Ukrainian Democratic Party and later the Ukrainian Radical Democratic Party, which played a role in pre-Soviet and early 20th-century Ukrainian politics.

In the post-Soviet era, several parties have adopted liberal principles to varying degrees, including the Liberal Party of Ukraine, Reforms and Order Party, PORA, and Yabluko. Larger political blocs such as the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and UDAR have also incorporated liberal democratic elements. Due to Ukraine’s fragmented party system, liberal representation has often been inconsistent and limited in the Verkhovna Rada.

History

In the mid-1990s, the Liberal Party of Ukraine (Liberalna Partia, observer LI) formed out of small parties in Crimea. The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc seemed to develop into a more or less liberal party. The UDAR, which as of 2013 holds 42 seats in the Verkhovna Rada, has been described as a "Western-style liberal party". Other, small liberal parties include Liberal Democratic Party of Ukraine, Reforms and Order Party, PORA and Yabluko. Also, the Democratic Party of Ukraine and the Democratic Union have sometimes been referred as liberal parties, though their liberal nature has not been confirmed.

Ukrainian Radical Democratic Party

• 1905: Inspired by the ideas of Michailo Drahomanov, sympathizers of the Russian Constitutional Democratic Party in Ukraine formed the liberal Ukrainian Radical Democratic Party (Ukrajin'ska Radikal'no-Demokratyčna Partija).
• 1908: The party is reorganized into the Ukrainian Progressive League (Tovarystvo Ukraijins'kych Progresystov), which became the dominant party.
• 1917: The party is renamed "Ukrainian Party of Federalist Socialists" (Ukrajin'ska Partija Federalistiv-Socialistiv), which was, despite its name, a liberal democratic party led by Serhij Jefremov. He did not survive the anti-Ukrainian processes by the communist regime. In exile, the party was renamed into its original name, the Ukrainian Radical Democratic Party.

Liberal leaders

• Serhij Jefremov
• Yurii Hudymenko
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy

See also

• History of Ukraine
• Politics of Ukraine
• List of political parties in Ukraine