Oleh Tyahnybok

Oleh Tyahnybok
Leader of the All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom"
In office February 14, 2004 – December 4, 2007
Preceded by	Yaroslav Andruschkiv
Personal details
Born	November 7, 1968 (1968-11-07) (age 43) Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Political party	All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom"
Spouse(s)	Olha Tyahnybok (née Demchyschyn)
Children	Jaryna-Maria (1992) Daryna-Bohdana (1995) Hordiy (1997)
Religion	Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Website	http://www.tiahnybok.info/

Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok (Ukrainian: Олег Ярославович Тягнибок) is a Ukrainian right-wing politician and former parliamentary of Verkhovna Rada. He also is the leader of All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom", a former candidate to the President of Ukraine, and a deputy of the Lviv Regional Council.

Biography

Tyahnybok was born in the cultural center of the Ukrainian region of Halychyna, the city of Lviv, in the family of doctors, he also is a former doctor.^[1] His great grandfather was a brother of Lonhyn Tsehelsky, a politician in the West Ukrainian People's Republic.^[1] Tyahnybok claims he remembers from when he was younger the searches that were conducted by the agents of the KGB in the apartment of his family. According to Tyahnybok, an amazing story happened to his grand-father, Artemiy Tsehelsky, as he was sent to Siberia by KGB for seven years for refusing to switch his religious affiliation to the Russian Orthodox, even though the atheist KGB was notoriously against all religions, including the Russian Orthodox Church. Years later, Oleh will say that subconsciously he made his choice already then - when during those searches disappeared priceless family memorabilia - old photos, letters.

After the school he enrolled into the Lviv Med Institute, but after the second year was drafted to the army. After the return went back to school where he initiated the creation of the Med institute Student Brotherhood. That was the first step in his political life as civil activist. In 1994 25 year old Tyahnybok was elected to the Lviv Regional Council and in 1998 to the Verkhovna Rada.

Political career

In October 1991 Tyahnybok became a member of the Social-National Party of Ukraine.^[2] From 1994 till 1998, Tyahnybok served as a member of the Lviv Regional Council.^[3] In 1998, Tyahnybok was first elected to the Ukrainian Parliament as a member of Social-National Party of Ukraine^[2], in the parliament he became a member of the People's Movement of Ukraine fraction.^[2] In 2002, Tyahnybok was reelected to the Ukrainian parliament as a member of Victor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine bloc.^[2]

On July 20, 2004, Tyahnybok was expelled from the Our Ukraine parliamentary faction^[2][4] after he made a speech in the Carpathian Mountains at the gravesite of a commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.^[4] In the speech, which was aired on television in the summer of 2004, he made comments like:^[5]

"[You are the ones] that the Moscow-Jewish mafia ruling Ukraine fears most"

and

"They were not afraid and we should not be afraid. They took their automatic guns on their necks and went into the woods, and fought against the Moskali, Germans, Jews and other enemies who wanted to take away our Ukrainian state."^[4]

In his defence Tyahnybok said he had not offended Russians by calling them an occupying force as this was based on historical fact. He also denied that he was anti-Semitic, saying he was rather pro-Ukrainian.^[6][7] The head of the State Committee of National Migration (Derzhkomnatsmihratsia) Hennadiy Moskal published an open letter with insulting content towards the head of the AU Freedom. The Prosecutor's office filed criminal charges of inciting ethnic hatred, but later closed the case for lack of offense. Since that time Mr. Tyahnybok has won nine court cases in that regard. By the decisions of courts it was recognized that the criminal case was raised unlawfully, and the actions of TV-channel "Inter" that showed the footage of the Tyanybok's speech as well as the Head of the Derzhkomnatsmihratsia H. Moskal were recognized as ones that insult the honor and dignity Oleh Tyahnybok and caused him a moral damage. The actions around that issue led to creation of the "Program in defense of Ukrainians".

Since February 2004 Tiahnybok has headed the All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom".^[3]

In April 2005, Tyahnybok co-signed an open letter to President Yushchenko calling for a parliamentary investigation into the "criminal activities of organized Jewry in Ukraine." ^[8]

Tyahnybok stood as a candidate for the post of Mayor of Kiev during the Kiev local election in 2008. Incumbent mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi was reelected with 38% of the vote, while Tyahnybok received 1.37% of the vote. Currently Tyahnybok is the deputy of the Lviv Regional Council.

Tyahnybok's results in the presidential elections of 2010

Tyahnybok was a candidate for President of Ukraine in the 2010 presidential election for the All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom". He received 352,282 votes, or 1.43% of the total.^[9] Most of his votes he received in the historic Halychyna oblasts - Lviv oblast, Ternopil oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk oblast accounted to 5% of the vote.^[10] In the second round, Tyahnybok did not endorse a candidate. He did presente a list of some 20 demands second round candidate Yulia Tymoshenko had to fulfil first before gaining his endorsement - which included publicizing alleged secret deals Tymoshenko had with Vladimir Putin and ridding herself of what he called Ukraine-haters in her close circles.^[11]

During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections his party won between twenty and thirty percent of the votes in Eastern Galicia where it became one of the main forces in local government.^[12][1]

Political positions

Unlike both imperialism and globalism, modern nationalism seeks a healthy balance between domestic development and productive international relations. Nationalists will always find a common language with patriots in other countries because true nationalism means both love of your own nation and respect for others. Only he who respects himself has the power to respect others.

Tyahnybok in a January 2010 interview with Business Ukraine

Tyahnybok regards Russia as Ukraine's biggest threat.^[5] He has accused the Medvedev presidency of "waging virtual war on Ukraine along many fronts – in the information sphere and the diplomatic sector, within the energy trade and throughout the world of international PR spin.".^[1] He is pro-NATO and critical of the European Union, but supports a Europe of free nations. According to polls both stances put him at odds with the majority of Ukrainians.^[5] Tyahnybok also wants to deprive Crimea of its autonomous status and Sevastopol of its special status.^[13][14]

Tyahnybok wants to introduce a “nationality” section into Ukrainian passport, a visa regime with Russia, and for Ukrainians to pass a Ukrainian language test to work in the civil service.^[15]

Tyahnybok wants to re-establish Ukraine as a nuclear power.^[15] He believes this would stop the "Russian virtual war on Ukraine" (mentioned above).^[1]

Cultural and political image

During a visit of Tyahnybok to Sevastopol on January 6, 2010 some 1,500 activists of parties and public movements picketed the Business and Culture Center where Tiahnybok had a meeting with voters.^[16] During this picket the Chairman of the Sevastopol city council, Valeriy Saratov, called on residents not to react to provocation from Tiahnybok's supporters, stating "The visit of the leader of the [all-Ukrainian] Freedom [association] is unwelcome, as Sevastopol's citizens highly appreciate human rights, [with] respect for each other"..."we can only regret that some Sevastopol residents reacted to the provocation."^[17]

See also

• Ukrainian nationalism

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Ukrainian nationalist leader thriving in hard times, Business Ukraine (January 20, 2011)
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} (Ukrainian) Олег Тягнибок, Ukrinform
3. ^ ^{a b} Political Pulse: Presidential field takes shape, Kyiv Post (November 11, 2009)
4. ^ ^{a b c} Yushchenko Finally Gets Tough On Nationalists, The Jamestown Foundation (August 3, 2004)
5. ^ ^{a b c} Tyahnybok: Nationalist, fearful of Russia, favors NATO, Kyiv Post (29 October 2008)
6. ^ Interview published in the Ukrainian newspaper Silski Visti on 13 August 2004, source: Ukrainian MP denies inciting racial hatred., accessmylibrary.com (17 August 2004)
7. ^ Ukrainian party picks xenophobic candidate, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (May 25, 2009)
8. ^ http://www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/042005Ukr_letter.shtml Ukraine Notables Sign Anti-Semitic Letter, Anti-Semitism in Ukraine, NCSJ, 04.20.2005
9. ^ (Ukrainian) ЦВК оприлюднила офіційні результати 1-го туру виборів, Gazeta.ua (January 25, 2010)
10. ^ (Ukrainian) Election results and map by region, Ukrainska Pravda (4 February 2010)
11. ^ Tymoshenko’s Looming Defeat: How Did She Make It Inevitable?, Serhiy Kudelia (January 29, 2010)
12. ^ Local government elections in Ukraine: last stage in the Party of Regions’ takeover of power, Centre for Eastern Studies (October 4, 2010)
13. ^ Tyahnybok: Crimean autonomy should be cancelled, Inter~Media (August 12, 2008)
14. ^ Nationalist presidential candidate in Ukraine calls for downgrading Crimea status, Kyiv Post (January 7, 2010)
15. ^ ^{a b} Tiahnybok’s virulent brand of nationalism shows no strength, Kyiv Post (January 14, 2010)
16. ^ 1,500 activists of over 10 parties protest arrival of nationalist leader in Sevastopol, Kyiv Post (January 6, 2010)
17. ^ Crimean official calls on residents not to react to provocation from Tiahnybok's supporters, Kyiv Post (January 7, 2010)

External links

• Official personal website (Ukrainian)

Media

• Tyahnybok campaigning for the 2004 elections

Persondata
Name	Tyahnybok, Oleh
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 7, 1968
Place of birth	Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Date of death
Place of death