Ukrainian Choice


All-Ukrainian Social Movement "Ukrainian Choice" is a pro-Russian and explicitly Anti-Ukrainian and anti-Semitic NGO in Ukraine. It was initiated by and is led by the business tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk.

Ideology

The organization was founded in April 2012 and is noticed to oppose European Union and NATO membership of Ukraine and would prefer instead Ukraine's membership in Eurasian Economic Union. The group also wants "decentralization of power followed by the transition to a federal structure, while maintaining the territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine".
Ukrainian Choice also emphasizes Slavic Orthodox values: in July, 2013, it organized a conference on the topic "Orthodox-Slavic values – the basics of the civilizational choice of Ukraine", where Vladimir Putin held a speech..

Activities

According to The New York Times the group aimed at stopping former president Viktor Yanukovych from signing Ukraine's Association Agreement with the European Union. In a leaked June 2013 Russian-ordered consultation document, whose contents have been corroborated by a former security source in Ukraine, the Russian government wanted Ukrainian Choice to influence public opinion. At the time Medvedchuk and the organization had marginal popular support in Ukraine.
In the fall of 2013, Ukrainian Choice ran an aggressive anti-gay ad campaign warning against "decayed values" in the Western world. Some of the ads claimed that association with the European Union would mean the legalization of same-sex marriage. At the time, Medvedchuk described the European Union as the "modern heir to the Third Reich."
During annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014, the organization organized blockage of Ukrainian military logistics.

Criticism

Ex-president of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk has stated that "The Ukrainian Choice is not a Ukrainian choice, but a choice of Russia in Ukraine".
Dmitry Alekseev, a Russian political technologist and director general of Russia's National Political Agency, said in December 2013 that Russia was trying to "forge" pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, so it was funding Viktor Medvedchuk's Ukrainian Choice project, as previously funded by Natalia Vitrenko's PSPU.
On February 26, 2014, deputies of the Zakarpattia Regional Council banned the activities of Viktor Medvedchuk's "Ukrainian Choice" in the region.
"Ukrainian Choice" is also accused of anti-Semitism for articles on the organization's website, which accuses Jews of allegedly owning all power in Ukraine.