«Split» of the Peopleʼs Movement of Ukraine in 1999 (retrospective analysis)

Abstract

Among all national political parties there are the «right-wing» parties, which have always stood for the protection of state interests stand out. Among these parties, the People’s Movement, which was the hegemon of the national-democratic camp during the 1990s, occupies a special place. The «split» of the NRU in 1999 was a resonance event, because the crisis embrace the largest state-owned party, the situation in which depended on the future path of the country’s development. O. Melnikova, A. Rusnachenko, S. Hrytsai, l. Rozhkova, G. Honcharuk addressed the problem of the NRU «split» in 1999 in their researches. Therefore, the goal of the article is an attempt to rethink such a phenomenon as the NRU «split» in 1999, which was the subject of the dissertation study, its causes, the course of events against the background of nationwide processes, consequences, coverage in the press, based on the challenges of the Ukrainian present time. Biased media were inclined to accuse political rivals of the centrality of internal party processes in the NRU. The «split» in the NRU in 1999 is a natural crisis process that had a subjective and objective nature. The crisis in the NRU and the «split» as its consequence arose as a result of the activities of the party (political and business) leadership. The situation in the NRU and in the entire party environment was an objective process that was caused by the method of creation and development of the party movement in Ukraine. The analysis of the course of events in the NRU since the 1998 elections gives grounds to assert that the «split» was not a surprise. The problem of the «split» in the NRU took place against the background of the problem of the participation of movement activists in the elections and the problem of the unity of the National Democrats and the nomination of a single candidate. The reasons for the Movement’s defeat in the presidential elections were both purely party factors and formal factors of campaigning. The end of 1999 was the final stage in the «split» of the NRU, on the basis of which two parties were formed. As a result of the «split», the influence of the Movement on processes in the country weakened both at the higher and local levels; a tangible blow was inflicted on the entire national-democratic camp. The «red threat» to the existence of independent Ukraine was the factor that forced the majority of national democratic parties to vote for l. Kuchma, as the «lesser evil». An analysis of a number of periodicals from the end of 1999 to 2001 showed that crisis processes continued in the NRU and UNR. The oligarchic system formed in the times of Leonid Kuchma and Russian threats were the challenges that at the beginning of the 21st century forced the Movements and other right-centered forces, despite the party egoism, to unite around new leaders, political projects and together with the nationally conscious part of society to fight for civil rights and freedoms, for the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine.